Oxford University Press has named ‘rizz’ as its word of the year

Exchange welcomes new gallery

Co-owned by Laura Porath and Mike Page, Lucent Gallery + Design Studio celebrates its grand opening, Thursday.

Winnipeg soldiers help search and rescue efforts in Wainwright

Eleven military search and rescue technicians from Winnipeg were deployed to Wainwright, Alta., following the fire that killed four soldiers and injured 39 others during a live-fire training exercise Saturday.

It was the largest mobilization of SAR techs, elite primary-care paramedics in the Royal Canadian Air Force, in recent memory, a military spokesperson told the Free Press.

Every SAR tech available from 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, located at 17 Wing Winnipeg — even those off duty — were sent to CFB Wainwright.

The technicians, who are trained to jump from aircraft into extreme environments, parachuted onto the scene from a CC-130H Hercules airplane to provide care for those injured in the fast-moving grass fire that had engulfed a training area.

Winnipeg business closure scare leads Hydro to reschedule planned outage

Manitoba Hydro has cancelled a planned River Heights neighbourhood outage after a miscommunication led to area businesses fearing unexpected closure.

Hydro had planned to shut down power along Lanark and Renfrew streets between Corydon Avenue and John Brebeuf Place on Friday.

Overhead electrical maintenance work can only be done with the power off, during the day, for safety reasons, Hydro spokesman Peter Chura said. It chose Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. because St. John Brebeuf School had an in-service day.

However, the affected area houses a strip of businesses including a Royal Bank of Canada, eateries, shops, services such as physiotherapy and a medical centre.

Oxford University Press has named ‘rizz’ as its word of the year

LONDON (AP) — Oxford University Press has named “rizz″ as its word of the year, highlighting the popularity of a term used by Generation Z to describe someone’s ability to attract or seduce another person.

It topped “Swiftie” (an enthusiastic fan of Taylor Swift), “situationship” (an informal romantic or sexual relationship) and “prompt” (an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program) in the annual decision by experts at the publisher of the multivolume Oxford English Dictionary.

The four finalists were selected by a public vote and the winner was announced on Monday.

Rizz is believed to come from the middle of the word charisma, and can be used as a verb, as in to “rizz up,” or chat someone up, the publisher said.

Maple leaf love: Albertans vote strongly to stay in Canada

EDMONTON - O Canada, Alberta is staying put.

In a historic referendum Monday, voters marked their ballots in overwhelming numbers to remain in the country that made Alberta a province 121 years ago.

In early returns, about 76 per cent of Albertans said yes to Confederation, while 24 per cent said they wanted the province to hold a second, binding referendum on leaving.

Both Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney lauded the result.

Hydro eyes EV charging mitigation amid electricity shortfall forecast

Manitoba Hydro is looking to stagger electric vehicle charging as it anticipates future electricity shortages.

The Crown corporation is considering “managed charging” pilot projects. Details aren’t available; Hydro is in exploratory phases, spokesman Peter Chura wrote in a statement.

Alex Chiang, Hydro’s vice-president of customer solutions and experience, addressed dozens of electric vehicle industry members during a national conference at The Fort Garry Hotel on Wednesday.

Around 300 people registered for the conference, hosted by Electric Mobility Canada.