Hold onto family secret and think things through

Today’s horoscope

MOON ALERT: Caution! Avoid shopping (except food and gas) and major decisions all day until 7:30 p.m. After that, the moon moves from Virgo into Libra.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Be careful, because most of this day is a moon alert, which can promote creative, outside-of-the-box thinking. However, it can also promote unrealistic, crazy decisions. Write down your imaginative ideas. Don’t act until the moon alert is over. (See above.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Opening of Bruce Oake Treatment Centre is 'not the finish line, it's the start

The COVID-19 pandemic has been responsible for postponing or cancelling all kinds of projects, but it didn’t affect construction of the Bruce Oake Treatment Centre, which will be finished months before the planned fall opening.

Glimmer of hope amid skyrocketing COVID-19 cases

As Manitoba's COVID-19 infection rates reach some of their highest yet, with more than 2,000 new cases recorded over the past four days, the pace of the vaccine rollout is offering a glimmer of hope that the province is in a better position now compared with last fall.

Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chief provincial public health officer, said Monday it's too soon to say if restrictions would be loosened when public health orders expire at the end of the month. The orders, which came into effect Sunday, are the strictest measures Manitoba has had since second-wave lockdown restrictions were lifted in February.

"We are considering a significant amount of Manitobans protected by the end of May, so we really wanted to have that opportunity to review things very closely, see if there's any chances to loosen some of these restrictions at that point," Roussin said.

For the third day since Friday, Manitoba recorded more than 500 new cases of COVID-19 — matching the province’s third-highest daily case count since the beginning of the pandemic. Another grim milestone is on the horizon as the province's death toll from the virus rose to 997, with four more deaths announced Monday.

Fish will need to reel off two more wins at home

THE ace did his part on the mound, save for a couple of costly mistakes.

Unfortunately for the Winnipeg Goldeyes and starting pitcher Landen Bourassa, a normally red-hot offence picked a bad time to go ice cold.

The end result was a 5-1 loss Wednesday night in North Dakota to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, a defeat that quickly put the Fish on the brink of playoff elimination.

Winnipeg trails the best-of-three first-round series 1-0 and will now have to rattle off two straight victories to keep its season alive.

Jets goalie a worthy Masterton candidate

Winnipegger Bill Masterton was just 38 games into his NHL career when he suffered a devastating head injury in a January 1968 game. The Minnesota North Stars forward died in hospital two days later at the age of 29, the only player in league history to lose his life as a direct result of an on-ice incident.

Masterton's legacy in the sport is two-fold. First, his tragic passing sparked a debate about helmets which eventually led to them becoming compulsory. Secondly, the NHL immediately introduced an award in his honour, given annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

It may not carry the same prestige as the Hart, Norris, Vezina and Calder, but the Masterton is no less distinguished given what it represents. Bobby Ryan won it last year, working his way back after taking a leave to deal with alcohol abuse. Robin Lehner earned it the year before, speaking out publicly about his battle with mental illness.

Local chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, of which I am a member, nominate a player in all 31 NHL markets, then vote on the entire field to determine the eventual winner. When it came to picking a member of the Winnipeg Jets organization this year, I kept coming back to one name. I was pleased my colleagues saw it the same way and Eric Comrie is getting the recognition he richly deserves.

Humane Society urges revamp of rules to curb irresponsible pet ownership

Winnipeg is being lobbied to add strict new limits to its responsible pet ownership bylaw to reduce what some deem a pet “overpopulation.”

A city committee took a step toward studying some of those ideas on Monday.

Jonas Watson, chairman of the Winnipeg Humane Society, told council’s protection and community services committee that too many unwanted or improperly cared-for pets place “a never-ending strain on animal shelters and rescue organizations.”

“One of the most tragic consequences of pet overpopulation is the inevitable euthanasia of unadoptable animals,” Watson told the committee.