Good morning!
Charles Sykes / The Associated Press FilesPaul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee-wee Herman.
Your forecast: And now for celebrity holiday birthdays — Paul Reubens (a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman) turns 63 today. That’s right, 63. Feeling old now? I know you are but what am I? (Ha, that’s funny.) Anyways, let’s turn to the weather. Those of you sneaking away for a bike ride today are going to love this. Environment Canada is calling for a mostly sunny sky and a high of 28 C this afternoon. If you’re taking Friday off, cover your ears and go “La la la la la,” as there’s a rain shower headed our way. But Saturday and Sunday look mighty nice, with temperatures of 31 C and 33 C, respectively. And if you like what you’re seeing, then don’t just stand there and gaze. Why don’t you take a picture, it’ll last longer.
In case you missed it
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSThe fire started around 5 a.m. Tuesday at a home in the first 100 block of Fifth Avenue. Emergency responders picked up a seriously injured man nearby and rushed him to hospital, where he remains.
Plot to destroy home: Winnipeg police allege a city couple hired a man to burn down their home in the Glenwood neighbourhood of St. Boniface early Tuesday morning. But the plan itself went up in flames when the man was badly injured in an explosion and is in critical but stable condition in hospital. A 40-year-old man and 32-year-old woman are charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and arson with disregard for human life. The injured man has not been charged – yet. READ MORE
Entrapment means freedom: A rural shop owner facing a jail sentence for gun trafficking instead walked out of a Winnipeg courtroom a free man Wednesday after a judge found RCMP used illegal tactics to catch him. Cory Seymour, 36, was found guilty earlier this year after an RCMP undercover operation in 2010 caught him illegally selling guns out of his hunting and fishing store on Sagkeeng First Nation. But Queen’s Bench Justice Colleen Suche found Mounties acted improperly in the sting and tossed out the original court ruling. READ MORE
No spotlight on women’s issues: Not enough attention is being directed at women’s issues in Canada during the federal election campaign, some Manitobans say. While the issue of child care is gaining some headlines, other problems such as the wage gap, lack of top-paying jobs and violence against women aren’t. Plans for a party leaders’ debate on women’s issues fizzled earlier this week when NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair dropped out because Prime Minister Stephen Harper wouldn’t participate. READ MORE
Up next
Winnipeg Police ServiceGuido Amsel, 49.
Accused bomber: Guido Amsel, 49, appears in court today for a full-day bail hearing. He allegedly sent bombs through Canada Post to his ex-wife, Iris Amsel, his ex-wife’s lawyer, Maria Mitousis, and his former lawyers at a Stradbrook Avenue office. His lawyer, Martin Glazer, told Free Press crime reporter Mike McIntyre that Amsel plans to plead not guilty and says his client doesn’t even know how to make a bomb. Mitousis was badly injured July 3 when she opened a package at her office on River Avenue. READ MORE
Unique banking option: The architecture of banks has come a long way since cathedral-like edifices like the historic Bank of Montreal at Portage and Main. Today’s new banks don’t have the pillars, ornate exteriors and marble floors that intimidated past generations of customers into handing over their money. In fact, a proposal endorsed by city planners on Wednesday would have Tangerine Bank install a banking outlet in a modified shipping container on the parking lot of Kildonan Place. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
Metal detectors at school: The mother of a teen who was slain at Kelvin High School in early June has started a petition to get metal detectors installed at the gates of Winnipeg high schools. In an in-depth interview, Jamie Bourne, the mother of 17-year-old stabbing victim Brett Bourne, told Free Press reporter Jessica Botelho-Urbanski she’d like to see metal detectors at secure entrances around Kelvin and other high schools. The security practice, which is common in the United States, could prevent future tragedies, she said. READ MORE
To click or not to click: After Wednesday’s shooting death of two Virginia journalists while they were doing TV live, the gunman posted video of his heinous crime before he killed himself. Should we click, watch and share the gunman’s video? Or should we resist the temptation? Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti encourages us to be humane and compassionate: don’t watch it. READ MORE
Trending now
Taylor Swift
Smelly Cat – Taylor Swift called up another famous friend last night to share the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Julia Roberts, Lena Dunham and the U.S. women’s soccer team are among the A-listers who have already made cameos on her 1989 Tour. Friends star Lisa Kudrow made an appearance last night to do a duet of Smelly Cat with Swift. The song was made popular by Kudrow’s Friends character Phoebe Buffay in the 90s and yes, it still stinks.
National Burger Day – As if you needed an excuse to grab some greasy grub. It’s National Burger Day as appointed by… well, probably the same foodies who came up with National Doughnut Day, Ice Cream Day and the like. Take the opportunity to browse a special selection of Winnipeg burgs available exclusively next week for Le Burger Week (Sept. 1-7) on Facebook.
Long Live Avocado –A small Winnipeg mural got its own parody Twitter account, @longliveavocado, and it’s the pits. A painting of an avocado was the site of umpteen Instagram photos before it got painted over, then re-painted in an Osborne Village alleyway, spawning the rebellious hashtag, #cantstoptheguac.
On this date
On August 27, 1962: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that Russia nixed a proposal by the U.S. to ban nuclear tests in the atmosphere, under water or in space. Manitoba-born Arctic explorer Vilhalmur Stefansson died. A U.S. raid on Havana raised tensions with Communist Cuba. Manitoba premier Duff Roblin blamed the federal government for the failure to create plans for a new town site for the Port of Churchill. Winnipeg planned to combat mosquitoes beginning as early as mid-March, including DDT use. Unionized electrical workers, on strike since June 27, began to leave the city to seek work in the United States, where they were promised higher wages.
|
