Full disclosure: Spielberg’s latest a solid sci-fi outing

Full disclosure: Spielberg’s latest a solid sci-fi outing

Steven Spielberg, who has been making feature films for over five decades now, is in “watch the skies” mode with his new sci-fi movie, a deliberately old-fashioned alien visitation story that is sometimes sinister, sometimes sentimental and often outright goofy.

Retired sportscaster Scott Oake determined as fundraising for women's addictions treatment facility enters home stretch

For now, the patch of land just east of the Victoria Hospital doesn’t look like much: just a field of rocks, mounded dirt, and concrete piles driven into the earth. Yet when Scott Oake looks over the site, he can already imagine how it will look in just over a year’s time, when the new Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre is expected to open.

It’s easier to picture this time around. In 2020, when the recently-retired CBC sportscaster and his late wife, Anne, were building their first labour of intermingled grief and love, the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre for men, it was hard for him to wrap his mind around how a raw construction site could transform into a welcoming addictions treatment facility.

When that centre opened in 2021, Oake found it looked “almost identical” to the architect’s renderings. So it’s easy to hope the Anne Oake Centre will be the same. It will be the first facility of its kind, its founders believe, not only in Canada but in North America: a place where 50 to 70 women can pursue sobriety while staying with their children.

“At Bruce Oake there’s a culture of love, and most of all a culture of hope,” Oake said, speaking at the site Thursday after a media conference to announce the final push of the centre’s fundraising campaign. “I can feel it every time I walk into that building. And I know it will be the same here.”

Injuries reported after police pursuit on Broadway

Winnipeg police are investigating a “serious incident” in which people were injured following a police pursuit near Broadway and Young Street Friday afternoon.

Police said the scene would remain secured as officers investigate. No details about the number or severity of injuries were released.

Broadway was closed between Furby and Young streets until further notice and motorists were asked to avoid the area.

Shaelyn Desmarais McLeod, whose car sustained minor damage, said she witnessed the end of the police pursuit.

Drug recovery centre opens office in ‘heart of the city’

Richard Halverson found his freedom from addiction through Adult & Teen Challenge and, six years later, he hopes a new Winnipeg location will bring hope to the city.

Dozens gathered Saturday morning to mark the grand opening of the recovery centre’s community services office on Main Street.

Located inside the former Wojcik funeral home, the bright-white building — which was also formerly a liquor store — will serve as an access point for people fighting drug addiction. That includes connecting them to addictions support, housing and training.

“For me, I always start with: ‘What’s your story?’” said Halverson, who now works for the faith-based organization.

The port of Churchill — but done right

The seagoing grain carrier wasn’t christened with a champagne bottle. There was no confetti or streamers. Nevertheless, the Aug. 31 event marking the first shipment of grain to be loaded at the Port of Churchill since 2020 was celebrated like the launch of a brand new vessel.

The presence of the federal minister of northern and arctic affairs, provincial cabinet ministers and leaders and elders from several northern First Nations signalled that the fast-tracked process of refurbishing and buffing up Manitoba’s deep-water seaport gem is gaining momentum.

For OneNorth, the partnership of 29 First Nations and 12 northern communities which owns the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway (both operated by the Arctic Gateway Group) the event heralded a new beginning. It’s been eight years since OneNorth purchased the port and railroad, and six years since grain was moved by rail through Manitoba and then by ship to European markets. Two more grain shipments, plus shipments of potash and critical minerals, will continue through the fall.

When Prime Minister Mark Carney solicited the premiers to suggest “nation-building” projects following his election in 2025, Premier Wab Kinew pitched a Manitoba trade corridor that would move wheat, critical minerals, potash and energy (oil or liquid natural gas) through the Port of Churchill.