Doors close for final time on Amsterdam museum’s blockbuster Vermeer exhibition

Treat the disease

I understand there are valid concerns regarding specific short term rentals (STR) in Winnipeg. However, the article raised other alarms for me.

Winston Yee, the city’s manager of licensing and bylaw enforcement, stated the purpose of the new requirement (reporting 911 calls for STR) is “so we can become aware of issues.” So he isn’t aware of “the issues” yet? Are there not systems in place to obtain this information? Doesn’t the city know which addresses have high calls for emergency service? I sure hope the city’s systems aren’t so antiquated that it can’t cross-reference emergency calls with the STR registry.

I think the focus needs to be on the behavior, rather than the ownership structure. Part of the proposed solution to “parties, noise, violence, vandalism and other criminal activity” is to require owners of STR to advise the city when an emergency responder attends the property.

I demand restitution. Where’s my hour?

In the traditional fall-back, spring-forward time change set up — you know, ol’ trusty that’s been effect for lo these 63 years — we lost an hour in the spring that we got back in the fall.

That was the social contract: you commit to feeling like you’re on cold medication for a week in March because you know a glorious extra hour of sleep will be returned to you in November. (Unless, of course, you have little kids, but look: we all make our choices.)

Well, that transaction, flawed as it was, isn’t happening this year. That hour you sacrificed to the sun gods in the spring? Gone. Not coming back. We’ve sprung forward and we shan’t be falling back — not in November, and (possibly) not ever. The scale shall remain unbalanced and the loop shall remain unclosed as Manitoba has adopted permanent daylight time.