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Kelly Taylor

Kelly Taylor is a Winnipeg Free Press copy editor and award-winning automotive journalist. He's been a member of the Automobile Journalists' Association of Canada since 2001.

Hammer attack on cabbie has industry on edge

A leader in Winnipeg’s taxi industry is calling for people to come forward with information after one of his drivers was attacked by a man with a hammer.

The 26-year-old cabbie was taken to hospital in unstable condition after the incident Saturday morning, Unicity Taxi’s general manager said Wednesday.

“It was a very serious incident,” said Abhishek Tara, adding the driver remains in hospital.

“He lost a lot of blood.”

Purple Noodle serves up interesting mix of Asian dishes

With a bright atmosphere and fresh flavours, this new Asian noodle house offers lots of range (with Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese inflections), but not always the deep-down authenticity you might get at more specialized restos.

Tucked into Stafford Square at the corner of Stafford Street and Pembina Highway and open from lunch until late, the Purple Noodle Bar is a small venue located down a flight of stairs. It’s a basement room that doesn’t feel like a basement room, with clean, mod decor and lots of light.

The eclectic menu offers Asian snacks, as well as pho, ramen and wonton soups, and vermicelli and rice dishes. There are a few vegetarian and vegan options, along with some gluten-friendly dishes.

The agedashi tofu is tender with a gingery finish to the sauce, but the coating lacks crispness.

Israeli election once again up for grabs

The next general election in Israel will be held on Oct. 27. Needless to say, like most elections in the country’s modern and fraught history since 1948, it is a critical contest between right and left, secular and orthodox, and left, moderate, right and extreme.

Also, given Israel’s complex proportional representative political system, which allocates a seat in its 120-seat Knesset (parliament) for winning only 3.25 per cent of the national vote, this election is nearly impossible to predict.

Even before 1948, Israelis’ ardent faith in democracy, their differing points of view and penchant for arguing led to the establishment of a multitude of political parties representing a smorgasbord of almost every conceivable position on the political spectrum.

Because no political party has ever won the 61 seats required to form a majority government, the major parties have frequently had to rely on fringe parties to hold power.

School divisions to argue against paying property taxes on buildings

A fall court date has been set for Winnipeg school divisions to argue why they should not have to pay municipal property taxes on any of their buildings — not just elementary, junior high and high schools.

Under Manitoba’s Municipal Assessment Act, properties that are “used for a public school” should be exempt from taxation to a maximum exemption of 4.047 hectares.

Divisions claim that all of their non-school facilities, ranging from bus depots to education resource centres, contribute to schooling. The City of Winnipeg, however, only wants to provide exceptions to active schools.

“Schools are very different today. There’s a lot happening in the schools, in terms of all aspects of the mental, emotional, physical well-being of children,” said Mark Newman, the lawyer representing all six metro-area divisions: Winnipeg, Seven Oaks, River East Transcona, Pembina Trails, St. James-Assiniboia, and Louis Riel.