Georgia amusement park to reopen as scheduled days after roller coaster death

Capital punishment as macabre theatre

There was already enough to write about the question of capital punishment when the State of Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Pike.

Slain chef’s family infuriated by stayed charges

The family of a Ste. Anne chef who died after an altercation at a party says they are angry a manslaughter charge has been stayed against a 46-year-old man.

Those on the front lines of coping with the city’s deepening homelessness and drug crises express concern at civic election candidates’ lack of attention to the issues

Just steps from city hall, two significant challenges facing Winnipeg play out every day.

But despite the proximity to the ongoing homelessness and toxic drug crises that have become woven into the fabric of Main Street, front-line service organizations worry civic leaders have lost sight of what needs to be done.

Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, says the situation has deteriorated under current Mayor Scott Gillingham and council, with inadequate support for outreach services and an unwillingness by the city to take greater responsibility for addressing homelessness.

“If you look at the last four years, I haven’t seen things get better in our sector. I’ve seen things become amplified in the most negative of ways,” Willis says.

Local advocates can't trust federal data on city's homeless numbers

The head of End Homelessness Winnipeg says she has no confidence in data about the city’s homeless population due to problems with the federal system that tracks those numbers.

Jennifer Rattray, the organization’s chief executive officer, told the Free Press Thursday it continues to work with the federal government to resolve problems with the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System, which keeps tabs on people who access homelessness services.

CBC has reported it obtained an internal memo from EHW that shows that as of the end of March, the number of chronically homeless Winnipeggers had fallen to 436 from about 4,400, as a result of efforts to correct the database.

Earlier this year, the organization had reported more than 8,000 people were accessing services.

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping (except for food and gas and important decisions until after 8:30 a.m. After that, the moon moves from Sagittarius into Capricorn.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

You couldn’t pick a better day for sports training or improving a skill in the arts, music, welding, sculpting, pottery making or doing anything that requires repetition to improve. That’s because you have the patience and the perseverance to keep trying.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

MPI still lacking brain injury expert

Manitoba Public Insurance has failed to hire an independent brain injury expert to probe how personal injury claims are handled, nearly two years after it was recommended.