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‘Catastrophic’ ending to eventful Manitoba Derby

It had everything you could have wanted for the signature racing event of the season, including plenty of drama and excitement in front of a packed crowd at Assiniboia Downs.

Unfortunately, Monday night’s Manitoba Derby also served up another painful reminder of the potential perils of “The Sport of Kings” and what can occasionally happen when these magnificent animals are pushed to their limits.

Forty Twenty, a three-year-old bay colt who was one of the morning line favourites, looked to be in great shape as he approached the final turn and was near the lead in the nine-horse race.

But disaster struck as he approached the final turn and suddenly pulled up as the rest of the packed passed him.

Razed tree canopy leaves Selkirk Avenue stretch noisier, dirtier: resident

Selkirk Avenue resident Gail Allard sits on her front steps, looking at a row of tree stumps.

Until last fall, Allard would have opened her front door to a lush canopy of mature trees. Now, she has an unobstructed view of a freight terminal — the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. intermodal yard.

Although the residential street is quiet on this August afternoon, the steady beeping of machinery moving shipping containers carries throughout the neighbourhood.

It’s the first summer since Manitoba Hydro cut down 262 mature trees — most of them Siberian elms — along Selkirk Avenue between Keewatin and Railway streets.

Sea Bears say Allen recovering from nightclub assault

The Winnipeg Sea Bears are preparing for the Canadian Elite Basketball League playoffs without the services of its Most Valuable Player.

The club announced on Tuesday that star guard Teddy Allen has been ruled out for Thursday’s Western Conference semifinal against the Saskatoon Mamba at Canada Life Centre (7:30 p.m.) as he recovers from “significant health injuries” suffered after being assaulted by security staff at a downtown nightclub on Sunday.

“We continue to co-operate with the Winnipeg Police Service on its investigation and have referred them individuals and information based on what has been provided to us from those on the scene,” a statement from the club read.

“What we’ve seen and heard to date leads us to believe that Teddy was the victim of an assault at the hands of security at a downtown nightclub.”

Bell sheds 19 more Manitoba employees

At least 19 Manitoba jobs were lost recently during Bell Canada’s ongoing restructuring.

Parent company BCE Inc. confirmed in June it’d axe nearly 700 jobs through organizational changes. Those changes began last year.

A dozen Manitoba staff were laid off on July 30, according to Team-IFPTE Local 161, the union representing the workers.

Another seven union members left voluntarily though a departure program, the union reported Tuesday.

Ticked off by Trump’s tantrums

If Mr. Trump isn’t prepared to step up and better manage his ticks, he’s just blowing smoke.

Toronto’s alternative crisis response model deemed a success

A Toronto emergency response program that helped inspire Winnipeg’s proposed alternative crisis response model has already expanded city-wide, just four years after launching as a pilot project.

The Toronto Community Crisis Service, launched in 2022, has become the city’s fourth emergency service, providing a 24-7, community-based response to people experiencing mental health crises. The service has handled nearly 50,000 calls through 911 and 211, dispatched mobile crisis teams to more than 41,000 incidents, made more than 11,600 referrals to health and social services and resolved the majority of eligible 911 calls without police involvement.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham last week proposed creating a similar “fourth crisis response pathway” that would allow 911 calls that aren’t violent or criminal in nature to be transferred to community-based crisis teams.

Under the proposal, which has support from both the Winnipeg Police Service and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, a centralized crisis dispatch and co-ordination hub would receive triaged calls and match them with citywide response teams, staffed in part through existing community organizations, including the Downtown Community Safety Partnership and The Link’s mobile crisis teams. The goal is to divert appropriate calls away from the WPS and WFPS.