Your forecast
Mainly sunny. Wind from the south at 30 km/h. High 18 C. UV index 2 or low.
What’s happening today
🏒 The Winnipeg Jets host the St. Louis Blues at Canada Life Centre, starting at 7 p.m.
💀 Sookram’s Brewery and the Park Theatre bring Ghostface and Michael Meyers together for a double feature of two slasher classics: Wes Craven’s Scream (1996) and John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978).
The former movie, which screens first at 6:30 p.m., was heavily inspired by the latter, which starts at 9 p.m. In fact, the doomed teenagers in Scream are actually watching Halloween in the final act of the film.
Each ticket includes a specially brewed 16 oz pour from Sookram’s Brewery. As such, this event is 18+. Doors open at 6 p.m., 698 Osborne St., tickets $19 available online.
Ghostface in a scene from Scream (Paramount Pictures)
Today’s must-read
The final report from the public inquiry into the scandal-plagued Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project concludes that former mayor Sam Katz and former city CAO Phil Sheegl broke public trust and engaged in unethical conduct.
And the report, released Monday by inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang, says the cost of the project — transforming a downtown Canada Post office tower and warehouse into the police HQ — soared, in part, because main contractor Caspian Projects overcharged the city by more than $40 million in expenses.
The project’s initial $135-million initial price tag rose to about $209 million in the end. The city purchased the complex in 2009; construction was completed in 2016.
Smorang’s report concludes Katz “violated the public trust” and council code of conduct, and Sheegl suffered from a “complete lack of a moral compass.” Joyanne Pursaga has the story.
“It seemed as if Manitobans were going to be once again reminded that nobody was going to be held truly and fully accountable for one of the worst scandals involving taxpayer money in Manitoba history,” writes columnist Dan Lett. “And then, the script flipped. Just moments before Smorang was scheduled to face reporters and review his findings, the Manitoba Prosecution Service made the stunning announcement it was taking a third look at the case.” Read his full column here.
Inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang (Ruth Bonneville / Free Press)
On the bright side
A battery system installed in a Buffalo, New York, apartment building will store excess energy when it’s plentiful and power the building when the grid is strained and electricity is costly. The manufacturer and state officials hope it will show that larger batteries can safely operate where people live and work.
The 3.75 megawatt-hour lithium-ion battery system, which can power the Peace Bridge Place affordable housing complex for several days, is among the largest battery systems in a U.S. residential building, manufacturer Viridi and developer Good Carbon Co. said Tuesday.
Deploying large batteries that can safely power apartment buildings is an important step toward replacing fossil fuels with renewables, experts say, but they’re uncommon because of the cost and concerns about fire risks. Already, larger batteries are paired with solar and wind projects, and homeowners are using smaller batteries to store excess energy from rooftop solar and for backup power. The Associated Press has more here.
A sign is displayed for Peace Bridge Place apartments that have Viridi’s lithium-ion battery energy storage system in Buffalo, N.Y. (Lauren Petracca / The Associated Press)
On this date
On Oct. 20, 1937: The Winnipeg Free Press reported European efforts to isolate the Spanish war remained deadlocked, with Britain’s foreign secretary Anthony Eden warning the Italo-German front the situation remained “severe.” A diplomatic correspondent for the News Chronicle reported that Italy was marshalling an army of 3,500,000 in its north African colonies, drawn from the local populace.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Free Press.
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