The Wrap: Skibicki trial underway, snooping nurses, green cemeteries and the Jets hang on by a thread

The trial of accused serial killer Jeremy Skibicki began this morning with a preliminary matter before the jury is called in next week.

Several weeks ago, Skibicki’s Legal Aid lawyers commissioned a poll asking respondents about the case and are now using it as the basis for another attempt to have the case tried by a judge, and not a jury.

Jurors were chosen last week and are expected to sit on May 8, when opening arguments are to start.

A review of discipline reports released by the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba revealed at least five nurses have been punished for improperly accessing health information in the last few years.

Collectively, the privacy violations have impacted up to 2,140 patients.

Little is known about whose information was accessed or why, or whether the patients were informed about the privacy breach — information critics say the public should know.

A green burial harkens back to the oldest form of interment, where a deceased person is simply placed in the ground, without any chemicals, preservatives or adornments, and covered with soil.

After death, the body is washed, then wrapped in a simple shroud or placed in a simple casket. There are no headstones or footstones to mark the grave. Instead the land above it is kept natural, seeded with native plants and flowers.

A.V. Kitching looks at local options for returning to an older, more ecological way to return to the earth after death.

The Winnipeg Jets once again find themselves at the proverbial fork in the road.

Down 3-1 in this first-round matchup with the Colorado Avalanche, the Jets used Monday to lick their wounds and try to reset as they prepare for what is clearly the most important game of the season.

Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday at Canada Life Centre, with puck drop around 8:50 p.m. CT.

Ken Wiebe looks at the team’s plan as the playoff undertaker lurks around the corner.