Finally! 50 Cent sells opulent Connecticut mansion

Mayor backs new way to handle 911 mental health, addiction calls

Mayor Scott Gillingham is enthusiastically endorsing a proposal to change the city’s crisis-response system, potentially diverting 10,000 calls away from overburdened police, fire and paramedic services every year.

The “fourth crisis response pathway” would allow 911 calls that aren’t violent or criminal in nature to be transferred to citywide crisis-response teams, staffed in part through current community resources, which could include the Downtown Community Safety Partnership and The Link’s mobile crisis teams.

A community crisis dispatch and co-ordination hub would receive triaged calls and match them with the teams, which would move them out of the Winnipeg Police Service and Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service calls for service.

“Every day, our 911 dispatchers receive calls from Winnipeggers who are in distress, dealing with complex mental health struggles, addiction, or wellness concerns,” Gillingham said after releasing a report on the proposal Tuesday.

‘Eight credible threats’ against Hydro employees: CEO

Manitoba Hydro president and CEO Allan Danroth took aim at critics and revealed he and staff members have been threatened while defending the Crown corporation’s plan for three new combustion turbines Monday.

Without identifying individuals, Danroth said “constant, uninformed criticism” of Hydro and misinformation has eroded public trust and contributed to hostilities and an unsafe workplace for employees.

“Manitoba Hydro is currently managing eight credible threats against our employees, five of them directed at me personally,” Danroth told a Public Utilities Board hearing in Winnipeg.

“More troubling is these threats are increasingly affecting our front-line workforce. In the last year, my employees have been threatened with weapons, including guns, while performing their duties, and in one recent incident a homeowner directed his dogs to attack one of our meter readers.”

Letters, July 29

I was excited to see the cover of (the July 27) Free Press. However, it appears the Canadian Press reporter, Ian Bickis, missed key aspects of the story. Purpose Construction not only bought the lot: they built the home Mr. Bettcher now lives in using labour from the neighbourhood as a part of a trades-training program. And they helped build the financing model.

Letters, July 28

Thank you for sharing the news of Blizzard’s passing. I walked the path (near the bison enclosure) many early mornings and was always compelled to say “Salaamelykun” (“Peace be with you’) to him. He would often walk to the wire fence, and we would just look at each other.