Snoozy flameout a good thing in long run

Transit driver, supervisor assaulted in separate incidents

TWO people are facing charges after Winnipeg Transit employees were assaulted in separate incidents within a 10-hour span Tuesday.

A 51-year-old man is accused of randomly throwing a beer can at a driver while exiting a bus at Dunkirk Avenue and Kingston Row at about 6 a.m.

The driver was bitten while trying to restrain the suspect, police said. A man was charged with assault and held in custody.

A supervisor was punched in the face at about 3:40 p.m., by a rider who refused to pay bus fare at Main Street and Pioneer Avenue, police said.

Health minister won’t remove WRHA board chair for travelling during pandemic

Health Minister Heather Stefanson said the province has no plans to rescind the appointment of the chairman of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority board of directors after he travelled to Arizona earlier this month.

Stefanson neither directly criticized nor defended the actions of Wayne McWhirter at a press conference Wednesday.

Instead, she said that chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin, Premier Brian Pallister and others have "been very clear that now is not the time for non-essential travel" and that McWhirter would be expected to "properly isolate" on his return home.

"At this time we are not looking to rescind his appointment, no," Stefanson said when asked by the Free Press.

Downtown outage caused by construction mishap: Bell MTS

Some customers in downtown Winnipeg are experiencing a Bell MTS service interruption after telecommunications infrastructure was damaged Tuesday.

Bell MTS said on social media that a third-party construction crew accidentally cut a copper cable, causing the outage.

Contractors drilled through multiple underground ducts, causing significant damage to several cables and requiring extensive repairs.

A small number of buildings, mainly concentrated on Fort Street, Garry Street and York Avenue, may be experiencing landline or internet issues because of the damage, said Bell spokesperson Elise von Scheel.

Beijing behind the scenes: On women’s hockey’s biggest stage, it’s not just the players under pressure

Alex Clarke of Weyburn, Sask., is a Canadian linesperson who isn’t part of Team Canada at the Olympics.

Pallister leaving future of bills to new premier

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says he is prepared to be replaced within a matter of weeks and is leaving the fate of major education reforms and other proposed legislation in the hands of his successor.

"I'm working on the assumption that the (Progressive Conservative) executive council will make a decision to have a leadership vote at some point in the next few weeks," Pallister said Monday in his first comments to the media since he announced Aug. 10 that he would not seek re-election.

The party executive was to meet Monday night to start laying out the rules and a date for a leadership convention.

The only declared candidate so far, former health minister Heather Stefanson, has said she wants to scrap an education bill that would eliminate elected English-language school boards. The proposed legislation, which would also centralize governance of schools, has been widely criticized in Winnipeg and rural areas.

No timeline to reopen city-owned fitness facility in North Kildonan after mould discovery

A city-run fitness centre that suddenly closed for repairs last October lacks a set date to reopen, while an investigation on how best to fix it is underway.

Peguis Trail Health and Fitness Centre in North Kildonan was first expected to welcome visitors back within a few weeks when it shut down due to plumbing problems on Oct. 28.

But in February, the city’s website noted a much later reopening date of Oct. 2 after mould was discovered when crews attempted to upgrade the floors.

The city has since hired a consultant to assess the site’s condition, determine what repairs must be done and estimate how much the work would cost, including mould abatement.