Free Press auto writer rides wave of awards

Mayor introduces charter change motion to remove council members charged with crimes

Mayor Scott Gillingham is urging council to move forward with his plan to force a paid leave of absence on elected civic officials charged with criminal offence.

Failure to exploit NDP weaknesses leaves PCs in tailspin

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative party is getting slaughtered.

Chamber hears about the business of belonging

Members of the city’s business community were encouraged to emulate Dolly Parton, the recently deceased country singer known for her upbeat attitude and philanthropic efforts, at a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon Friday afternoon.

“(The message of) this whole speech is basically, ‘Be like Dolly,’” said Cordella Friesen, president and CEO at the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg, noting that some communities celebrate Dolly Parton Day on Sept. 25 (9/25) — a reference to the singer’s hit movie and song, 9 to 5.

The lighthearted remarks kicked off Friesen’s keynote address in front of around 400 business executives at the Delta hotel.

Friesen spoke about her belief in radical optimism, which she defined as “the disciplined conviction, grounded in evidence, that any problem can be solved when moral courage is expressed through action.”

Relief, reproach from law school staff after disgraced ex-dean’s arrest in France

The overseas arrest of a disgraced former law dean who defrauded the University of Manitoba out of more than $600,000 is being met both with relief and renewed frustration in the local legal community.

Klein wants city-run, maintained ‘bridge’ space for homeless people

Mayoral candidate wants city to set up a 24-hour community space pilot project for homeless Winnipeggers

Positive anticipation is growing about major housing developments underway in Winnipeg’s downtown

If traffic is light and the wind is down, Somia Sadiq is able to hear the roar of Winnipeg Jets fans twice: first through her window, then on TV.

From her apartment view high above downtown, she can look out at Graham Avenue’s painted pedestrian landscape, see construction cranes and hear the heavy equipment at work as massive housing projects take shape at The Forks, at what used to be Portage Place shopping centre and at the former Hudson’s Bay building.

Sadiq has lived at 300 Main for 2 1/2 years, a few steps from the city’s famous, windy and reopened-to-pedestrians Portage Avenue intersection. At 42 storeys, it’s the tallest building in Winnipeg.

She is among 18,000 downtown residents who will soon be joined by thousands of others attracted to the city’s core by the new wave of major construction projects.