Homemade holidays: 12 days of vintage sweets Posted: 11:45 AM CST Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022 Last Modified: 9:49 AM CST Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022 Updates

Shocking development

HOCKLEY VALLEY, Ont. — It’s not too often you get into a new vehicle, look at the interior, and say to yourself, “Wow, this is different… in a good way.”

Automakers tend to stick pretty close to defined norms, and when they differ, it’s not always successful. I’m looking at you, Toyota Yaris and Nissan X-Trail.

So, stepping into the 2027 BMW iX3 was refreshing. A bright parallelogram of a main touchscreen is closer to the driver than most, aided in no small part by pushing the instrument cluster to a narrow band just under the windscreen.

The effect is to clean up the look of the dash but without moving to a centre-mount instrument panel like the Yaris and X-Trail. The most valuable information (speed, battery charge, range) is right in front of the driver, visible above the top rim of the steering wheel.

Heg

BRANDON — Western Manitoba is about to lose its only medical oncologist, leaving just 22 in the province — all of whom are in Winnipeg.

Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen raised the issue during question period Thursday, saying the departure of Dr. Brady Anderson will be a “major loss” for the region.

After four years working out of the Western Manitoba Cancer Centre in Brandon, Anderson’s last day will be Nov. 13.

“He literally sees hundreds of patients within the Westman area, and now those individuals will have to travel to Winnipeg to get that personal service,” Balcaen said, calling Anderson’s impending departure “catastrophic.”

Health officials ponder next steps as COVID cases surge in Southern Health region

Public-health officials say they're trying to avoid ordering another lockdown in southern Manitoba, where COVID-19 infection rates are surging.

Deputy chief provincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal told a news conference Wednesday he doesn't anticipate more lockdowns and suggested he will prioritize keeping schools open when considering future restrictions.

But he couldn't say what the next step will be in an area of the province where hospitalizations among unvaccinated residents are on the rise.

Average daily case counts in the southern part of the province are higher now than they were before lockdown measures went into effect last November, and officials are still figuring out what to do.

Security tightens at downtown library

Users of the downtown Millennium Library will be subject to several new security screening measures, more commonly seen at airports and sporting facilities.

City hall announced Friday that effective Feb. 25, all visitors to the Donald Street library will undergo bag checks and be subjected to a hand-held metal detector sweep for alcohol and prohibited weapons. Visitors who refuse to participate will be barred from entering the library.

“The number of incidents (has) increased in the past four to five years, incidences involving violence, threats, alcohol, substance abuse and it was concerning. We met with police and our security contractor. After discussing, we came up with this course of action,” Ed Cuddy, manager of library services, told reporters. “We feel it’s a big change, but we feel it’s justified based on the kind of incidents we’ve been experiencing recently.”

Cuddy wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the incidents, but did say library workers have not been the victims.

Neo-Nazi group members plotted to kill Free Press reporter

Disturbing details of a plan to kill a Free Press reporter who had infiltrated a white nationalist hate group were revealed for the first time Wednesday.