Taylor Swift received a lot from The Giver

Positive anticipation is growing about major housing developments underway in Winnipeg’s downtown

If traffic is light and the wind is down, Somia Sadiq is able to hear the roar of Winnipeg Jets fans twice: first through her window, then on TV.

From her apartment view high above downtown, she can look out at Graham Avenue’s painted pedestrian landscape, see construction cranes and hear the heavy equipment at work as massive housing projects take shape at The Forks, at what used to be Portage Place shopping centre and at the former Hudson’s Bay building.

Sadiq has lived at 300 Main for 2 1/2 years, a few steps from the city’s famous, windy and reopened-to-pedestrians Portage Avenue intersection. At 42 storeys, it’s the tallest building in Winnipeg.

She is among 18,000 downtown residents who will soon be joined by thousands of others attracted to the city’s core by the new wave of major construction projects.

Taylor Swift received a lot from The Giver

NEW YORK -- Not all the actors at a star-packed news conference Tuesday for the new film The Giver had been familiar with Lois Lowry's acclaimed 1994 book before they made the film. But Taylor Swift sure had been.

The 24-year-old singer read it in school, and says it had a huge influence on her outlook on life.

"It celebrates all the things I hold really dear and are important to me," Swift said, "like our history, our music, our art, our intellect and our memories."

Swift, who has a small role in the film alongside the likes of Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, waxed philosophical about the idea that people should be protected from the darker side of life. In The Giver, people live in a community of Sameness. They have no memories of the past, to protect them from feelings like pain or loss. But they also never experience love or real happiness. One boy, Jonas, seeks to change all that.

Failure to exploit NDP weaknesses leaves PCs in tailspin

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative party is getting slaughtered.

Prost! Raise a glass to Oktoberfest

As September comes to a close, a pair of local breweries are bringing some serious gemütlichkeit.

For the uninitiated, gemütlichkeit’s a word that doesn’t translate neatly from German to English, but which roughly means friendliness and good cheer.

Both Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155 Fort St.) and Kilter Brewing Co. (450 Rue Deschambault) are hosting Oktoberfest parties this weekend featuring food, music, games and, of course, plenty of beer.

Both breweries are rolling out special releases to coincide with their respective Oktoberfests — expect malty festbiers, marzens, rauchbiers and other German-inspired brews, served up in hefty steins alongside Bavarian-inspired fare. Devil May Care’s festivities run through to Sunday and feature eats by Freebird Kitchen, while Kilter keeps the party going through to Saturday, Oct. 3, and is offering pretzels and Oktoberfest-themed hot dogs. Lederhosen is encouraged.