Wired

Winnipeg Beach staple Playland back in action

Tyler Bennie and Melanie McFarlane needed a change of pace, so they bought an arcade.

RM says flood fight worsened by Bell MTS dead zone

Officials in St. Lazare had no option but to drive to more than 20 properties to warn people about impending flooding because there’s no cell service in the area in western Manitoba.

The 22 families who live north of the Qu’Appelle Bridge are isolated with absolutely no cell service, said Trish Huberdeau, the CAO of the Rural Municipality of Ellice-Archie, on Wednesday.

“We were able to physically drive out and talk to people before the floodwater came,” she said.

“The absence of dependable cellular coverage in our municipality is far more than an inconvenience — it is a significant public safety concern,” Huberdeau said.

Wired

A poor Jobs

ON Friday night, my business partner and I left the office in excitement to go to Polo Park and catch the release of the movie Jobs. Since I was a kid, I've looked up to Steve Jobs as one of the greatest innovators of all time. We got to the movie incredibly early to make sure we could get tickets and find seats. We got there 30 minutes early and to our surprise no one was there. I started to think people were watching this film at other theatres or they all went to the early shows. I thought this was supposed to be a big movie release given the movie hype. Thirty minutes into the movie, I had no idea what was going on. The movie was all over the place. Following the storyline was difficult; even for an Apple fan like myself. The acting was brutal, and the entire movie was Steve being really mad, crying, or telling people to go %$#* themselves. I left 55 minutes into the movie because it was that bad. I was really disappointed this movie turned out so gawd awful. I was hoping for it to be quite good just because how awesome the Social Network was. The Steve Jobs story is much cooler in my opinion than Zuckerberg's story; but the Social Network kicks the crap out of Jobs. Ashton Kutcher did a really poor job with the movie -- along with the writing and directing, they basically made the entire movie a bunch of inspirational quotes, advertising tag lines and a check-list of biopic clich©s. Steve Wozniak, one of the original founders of Apple, even said he doesn't recommend going to see Jobs. He said the movie was way too much fiction. Can you believe that when planning the Jobs movie they didn't even ask for Woz's input on the storyline or ask one of the founders of Apple to help formulate and mould the script? Jobs disappointed me, and I wouldn't recommend it.

Jets depth chart takes shape as off-season heats up

That Kevin Cheveldayoff was expecting the pace of the off-season to shift gears came as little surprise.

And while it appears as though there are still a few questions left unresolved when it comes to the Winnipeg Jets roster this fall — including a massive one involving starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck and his future with the organization — the depth chart is taking shape.

When he spoke to members of the media at the conclusion of Jets development camp, the general manager spoke about prioritizing a new contract for restricted free agent Cole Perfetti, who filed for arbitration on Sunday in what was more of a procedural move than an indicator of how negotiations might be going.

As Perfetti stated unabashedly after his exit interview, the Jets forward wants to be part of the long-term solution and there should be an opportunity for the player and the team to find common ground on a long-term deal with the Jets before an arbitration hearing takes place.

Celebrating an important milestone in their new country

Fourteen high school graduates gathered at Zaytoon on Wednesday to celebrate a milestone that represented years of hard work and adjustment.

The recent grads, all newcomers or refugees, arrived at the Osborne Village restaurant to find it decked out with balloons and flags from various countries for a special graduation dinner to honour their achievements.

The event was hosted by the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, which supports newcomer youth through programs including an after school program and homework and education for youth program.

“This is one of the biggest milestones in their life,” said Arshdeep Virk, IRCOM after-school program educator. “For some of them, coming from countries of war and different situations, them being able to come here and then graduate from high school is a big thing.”

Military members, volunteers arrive to assess Swan River flooding

Canadian Armed Forces members and volunteers from a veteran-led aid organization visited flood-hit homes in Swan River on Wednesday, while the federal government’s response to the week-old disaster began to fall into place.

Mayor Lance Jacobson said the personnel joined provincial staff to conduct assessments and learn more about flood victims’ needs in neighbourhoods that were underwater a few days ago.

“They went house-to-house in these areas to find out exactly what people are needing,” he said.

Dozens of homes flooded when the rain-swollen Swan River and other streams overflowed in Parkland June 30. Premier Wab Kinew requested federal help the next day.