Universal Orlando unveils details about resort’s new theme park, slated to open next year

International flavour: Canadian investors may want to make like Ottawa, diversify beyond U.S.

Canada is learning the hard way about the dangers of putting too many eggs in its U.S. economic basket.

Much has been made about the need to diversify our economy away from the United States.

Diversification is understandably beneficial. The more varied streams of revenue a nation has, the less affected the economy will be when one of those sources is interrupted.

The same can be said about investment portfolios.

Health minister warns $1.2 billion in annual federal funding set to expire in March

Manitoba’s health minister is warning of possible cuts to health care with $1.2 billion in annual funding from Ottawa set to expire next year.

“We’re very concerned that what would be the largest cut to health care in a generation is right in front of us,” Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Thursday at the Manitoba legislature. “It means that services that Manitobans depend on will be in jeopardy and be at risk.

“Any reductions, any cuts from Canada, will have direct impacts on the health outcomes of Manitobans.”

Asagwara, who serves as the provincial and territorial health minister lead, chaired a virtual meeting Tuesday with provincial and territorial health ministers to discuss federal funding for health care, mental health care and substance use services, which is scheduled to expire March 31, 2027.

Universal Orlando unveils details about resort’s new theme park, slated to open next year

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Universal Orlando Resort's new theme park opening next year will feature lands devoted to Super Nintendo World characters, Universal film monsters, the “Fantastic Beasts” films and the “How to Train Your Dragon” film franchise. But at the center of it all will be Celestial Park, theme park officials said Tuesday.

Standing in the middle of Universal Orlando's fourth theme park, Universal Epic Universe, Celestial Park will be a multi-acre space of gardens, waterways and pathways for strolling and serve as a gateway to the new park's four additional lands, Universal officials said in a news release.

“It really puts the park back into theme park,” said Mark Woodbury, chair and CEO of Universal Destinations & Experiences, which is a division of Comcast NBCUniversal.

Celestial Park will feature a dual-launch racing coaster reaching speeds up to 62 mph (100 kph) and heights up to 133 feet (40.5 meters) along 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) of track; a huge cosmos-themed carousel that glides forward and backwards; dancing fountains; a Nintendo Super Star Store; and array of restaurants.

Gillingham talks trash, pledges big bin boost

Scott Gillingham says he would add hundreds of locked garbage bins downtown to prevent unsightly trash piles if re-elected as mayor.

Creative powerhouse Perry Rosemond never lost Winnipeg roots

He created King of Kensington, directed the troops in the Royal Canadian Air Farce, and his creative eye was behind the lens for television shows starring Johnny Cash, Tom Jones, Mr. Dress-Up and the Friendly Giant.

He also wrote and developed the Canadian version of Sesame Street during his time as the head of school and preschool programming for CBC in Toronto, and directed a televised special in 2002 for Winnipeg sketch comedy troupe Royal Liechtenstein Theatre Company.

But before his name featured in the credits of some of the most iconic and influential pieces of the Cancon canon, Perry Rosemond was an only child living in a crammed, multi-generational home in Winnipeg’s North End, racing each day to beat the morning bell next door at William Whyte School.

In memoirs that have yet to be published, the late television producer recalled his childhood. “(T)here were 14 of us in the house at 193 Andrews St., and it wasn’t that big of a house,” he writes.

Gordon Bell rings in a century

Mischka Valencia had gotten used to the hum of heavy machinery at Gordon Bell High School.

“Ever since I’ve been here, it’s all been under construction,” the Grade 12 student said, standing on the sidelines of the brightly painted revamped outdoor basketball court. “I had no idea this was a court.”

The Filipina teenager landed in Winnipeg several months after the inner-city campus had transformed into a construction site.

It was the fall of 2023 and Mischka’s priorities were fitting in, befriending classmates and learning a third language via first-period French.