Monday, March 18, 2024
Jets Season Tickets Are Down - Will They Leave?
Friday, February 23, 2024
CTV Cuts 4,800 Across Canada
Last year, CTV gutted their evening news broadcast and cut reporters in London, Washington, Los Angeles and in Ottawa. In Winnipeg they shuttered AM radio station 1290 which was presenting comedy and titled Funny. It was ranked last in the ratings. No radio stations lost this time in Manitoba but 45 sold across the country. More on that later on.
Now, CTV isn't the only one making cuts. CBC and Global have also cut. Newspapers as well like Toronto Star. Postmedia too which includes Winnipeg's Sun newspaper. The cuts in Winnipeg are such that they don't send a reporter to cover the Jets or Bombers when they are out of town. Is it is no wonder teams hire their own reporters now?
Some critics are saying that Bill C-11 and Bill C-18 which try to get online companies like Facebook and Google to pay into a system that supports journalism are to blame. Google will pay $100 million and Facebook has opted out and blocked Canadian media. Assuming a new Conservative government ends these bills and dissolves the the CBC and allows CTV, Global and others to drop all news in favour of U.S. programming, what will we actually have in Canada? In all likelihood, no Canadian programming at all in news, sports, music, drama, comedy or weather.
It is highly probable that the Canadian companies would ask to be sold to U.S. or international players since their argument is their is no economic basis for anything Canadian to exist. Is Canada economically not viable? In our quest to have products from all over the world in Canada including cultural, does this mean Canada really produce anything that Canadians and the rest of the world wouldn't like?
It should be pointed out that all over the world, digital giants are changing every cultural industry. Companies are merging over and over again, often to the detriment of workers, other industries and countries themselves. Monopolies have been broken up over the decades because by their very nature they are not competitive. In some cases they are anti-democratic. There likely would not have been an Internet as we know if AT&T had not been broken up.
CTV wants out of the news business. In two years they have cut nearly 10,000 workers. If capitalism can't be part of the grand bargain of providing a public service then government has no choice but to intervene. It goes back to the point above about whether there is a business case for Canada's very existence. And if there is, what is the consensus on that?Friday, February 9, 2024
Sherbrook Inn and Vendor Closed
The hotel sits in an area that has seen some spark of business but for decades, it has been the proximity to violence and perhaps even the source of problems in the area. It remains a question of whether parts of the neighbourhood are the problem or the hotel is the problem. Perhaps they feed off each other.
In the 1990s the area was suffering over a good part of the west end. Arson was a major problem as was rooming house murders. The hotel itself was scene of a murder back then and the reputation was a rough one. Since then we have seen part of Sherbrook and Maryland have new housing built, assisted living by the hospital and some new restaurants and shops.
The last few years have seen a return of arsons and nearby there were four people killed in a shooting. In another recent murder, the victim's truck was found in the hotel parking lot. The possible killer died after a police interaction. Drugs and alcohol have always played havoc in Manitoba. The harder drugs are hurting the entire continent.
The province has been very slow on supporting rehab programs and supportive housing. Mental health supports have been just as challenging. The one thing that people in the West End all seem to agree on is that the Sherbrook Hotel has been scary and despite the efforts of some in the community to put wrestling in and Tallest Poppy, it has gotten worse, not better.
The Free Press article ripping Sherbrook was one of utter contempt and disgust. The big question is: Will this compel the owners to sell? And if they sold, would it be another hotel operator to own it? At this point, the building may not be worth anything whereas the land might be. There is potential to turn this site into something that might enhance retail on Sherbook as well as provide housing. There have already been a few hosing projects along Sherbrook as well as Maryland that show developers are interesting in investing.
One thing for certain is that each block of an area has to be part of the solution to a vital neighbourhood. If the hotel is a no go zone then whatever success you have near the hotel or across from it is blunted by the feeling of danger. A hotel by itself doesn't have to be a bad thing. The Osborne Village had at times been a vital part of the business and culture of the area. It remains to be seen whether its demolition and what is coming will contribute to a real street life presence on Osborne. Perhaps with some of the developments down the street, we might see Osborne be reborn again. But the rent for commercial and residential people has to be more sensible.
The backlash against high costs has hit even McDonald's which has taken hits for $3 hash browns in the U.S. The company has declared they will be looking at the affordability issue. This was major news worldwide as the CEO said the complaints have the company looking at this issue. This can be said of so many industries where they have kept increasing prices.
It is always somewhat amazing sometimes that commercial space goes unrented for so long. One of those reasons often is that some owners refuse to sell or bring down the price or subdivide. It will be interesting to see if the owners of the hotel will sell it as a hotel or for the land. Or maybe the wait goes on forever as we sometimes see.
As with the 1990s, Wolsely is on the edge on either a slide downward or a turn for the better. In the past, a revival of property values, people investing in property and security, a downturn in crime helped west of Maryland become a favoured community to own a house and some businesses thrived. The hotel closure and something new happening on the land might help change things extending down Sherbrook and spread to surrounding streets.
At the moment no one knows what's happening. It can be a slow burn of empty properties just siting and doing nothing. Even on major roads like Portage Avenue it is surprising how many places remain idle year after year. Former hotels have been converted at the Clarion and now the Balmoral for medical visits from the north. By all appearances they seem to be a practical solution for a need that is growing with an aging population. In Minneapolis, some older hotels have been converted for local income housing for those who have been homeless.
The mayor and the premier have both said they want faster solutions to the housing crisis in our region. An old hotel on Sherbrook might be what is needed.
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Richardson Family Re-acquires Fairmont Hotel Winnipeg
Between 1968 and 1970 the Richardson building and the then Winnipeg Inn were constructed. One became the tallest office building and headquarters to Richardson operations across the world and the other became one of the grandest hotels in the city.
The buildings are closer together than people realize. And the Richardson family has spent the last number of years improving the outside with public artworks and doing their part to ensure safety on their corner by moving the much feared entrance to the concourse into the secure are of their building.Friday, February 2, 2024
Babylon 5 TV Series Turns 30 Years Old
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Time for a New Manitoba Flag?
Monday, January 15, 2024
Will Dinner Theatre Ever Return?
For the first time in decades, Winnipeg has no dinner theatre. It has been some time since Celebrations has closed. A combination of years of Covid, rising inflation and a union strike made theatre owners throw in the towel. It remains to be seen whether a private theatre serving dinner will ever be able to get off the ground again in Winnipeg.
Monday, January 8, 2024
Thom Bargen Coffee Coming to Tuxedo
Tuxedo used to be a town before being absorbed into the city. It didn't have a very big commercial area but what it did have was on Corydon and had enough to support the residential area.
A Safeway and a Shopper's Drug Mart anchor a retail mall and the far end of it is Winnipeg's oldest and most resilient comedy club Rumors.
A retail mall across the street has provided a host of services and restaurants over the years and for the most part has been fairly stable in what businesses are there. For example there has been a Perth's drycleaner there for decades. Till recently, the Tuxedo Family Restaurant was a staple but controversy over pandemic regulations likely contributed to it closing. A Winnipeg favourite George's Burgers & Subs has taken over and appears to be quite busy.
In 1992, the corner location which had been a hair salon for many years was taken over by a franchise of Grabbajabba. It was an opportunity for many in the area to buy coffee beans for their new machines at home but also a place to sit down, have a coffee, latte and the like with windows all around. Musical artists would play Fridays and Saturdays. The patio came a year later and was a popular spot for dog walkers and bikes.
Th coffee shop lasted several years before Timothy's World Coffee took over and until this year had served the community. The closure was likely disappointing to many who had gotten used to a coffee place on the corner. A Starbucks in the mall at least was still available but often fairly busy.
It must have come as a relief when Thom Bargen Coffee announced they would be taking over and adding to the three locations they already have on Kennedy, Sherbrook and further down Corydon in the Fort Rouge area. The ten year old company is truly a Winnipeg institution and the opportunity to be in a place with patio and parking as well as walkable was likely to go pass up.
It is always tough to run a restaurant business. Many have had tough times these last years. It doesn't matter if it is a franchise or someone's family place. However, we have seen a few close and a few go up in their place. Some areas such as downtown still struggle as they cope with lost customers who no longer live or work in the area. Foot traffic has dried up in many years. Some from endless construction, bike paths on their street that block easier access and crime.
The Tuxedo Mall across has had a makeover in the last few years for its facade as well as the Safeway. The Shell station is gone in favour of an apartment building going up. The parking lot is always filled. This is an important thing to note. The area has always been a mix of recreation, residential, commercial and retail. Vacancies come up from time to time but this particular area has been resilient.
Thom Bargen should have good success in Tuxedo. And not just because of wealthy customers but because the area draws people every day for everything from groceries to dentists.
As 2024 progresses, we are likely to see more vacancies filled, especially within areas that have shown consistent abilities in drawing people. The more people, the more secure an area feels. And not just feels, actually is. Many stores and businesses in the Tuxedo area are open till 11 PM on most nights and early every day.
Will this be the last expansion for Thom Bargen? Maybe yes, maybe no. With 10 employees at the new Tuxedo location and not being crazy large, this could be a template for other areas. The problem is that some of those ideal places might just have too high rent. It is a mystery why some landlords don't lower rent to get places filled.
Business announcement have been happening fairly regularly so perhaps we have started to emerge of those tough years,
Sunday, January 7, 2024
Long and McQuade to Move to Polo Park Area
Long and McQuade, a Canadian national music store, started off pretty small for its Winnipeg location. They were the third location in Canada to open in 1971 and took over Winnipeg Piano, a city institution on Portage. Business boomed at Long and McQuade moved to Osborne the following year. By 1978, they had moved to Corydon.
My impression of Corydon was that it wasn't a big store but I was not sure how deep the store went or if it included a basement. One thing is clear is that the move to Stafford was one of constant expansion as they took over large swaths of the old Videon building in 1997 until there was little left that they didn't operate from. The move to Pembina Highway was a purpose-built store of 25,000 square feet in 2016.
There are three locations in the city now at Wall Street, Henderson Highway and Pembina Highway. It is the Wall Street location that is moving to Polo Park because there is very little room to expand at their present location. At one point there was a very music shops all along Portage and Wall Street but pretty much the only one left is St. John's Music. The Pembina location boasted it had the largest curved wall of guitars in the world. At 400 guitars, they might be right.
The old Wall Street location used to be Gorden Price/Mother's Music and became a Long and McQuade in 1993 and full renovation in 2014. Mother's Music used to be right across from University of Winnipeg in the 1980s.
The Henderson Highway location is fairly new at 2019. It was a former location of River City Sports. Henderson Highway is filled with music stores.
The location for the relocated Wall Street/Polo Park location is on Ellice just east of Empress Street. It is a multi-million purchase of the whole 9 acres and 120,000 square foot building where Long and McQuade will occupy 50,000 square feet of what is presently Bianca Amor's Liquidation Supercentre.
In 2007, the whole complex was purchased by Cabela from Sidney I. Robinson who used to operate S.I.R. Warehouse, a business not dissimilar to Cabela's. Prior to that, the building was used by MTS for their fleet vehicles.
Much of the area around Polo Park was industrial right up to the 1980s.
For those wondering what happens to Bianca Amor's, it has found a smaller spot on St. James.
The new Long and McQuade's is modelled after Halifax and Calgary which feature a store and distribution centre. The company has quite a bit of product going from place to place and at 50,000 square feet of space, the new Polo Park location can handle that.
This is a massive investment in the city and evidence that music lessons and musical instruments are big business. There isn't a company that I know of quite as coast to coast in their field as Long and McQuade. An employee increase for the people hired for the distribution centre and for music lessons is guaranteed. Total numbers are not known. And of course, the construction and millions spent will help the economy here in 2024.
Saturday, January 6, 2024
John Sauder Retires from CBC Broadcasting
Friday, January 5, 2024
Fit 4 Less St. James Opens Soon
Fit 4 Less is indeed part of Goodlife Fitness but it is the discount arm for the company and membership is not interchangeable. Unlike Goodlife, Fit 4 Less offers more limited staff hours, no classes and trainers and only a few amenities like tanning, massage chairs and hydro beds. It is open 24 hours with a card pass but showers are closed when no staff are around.
The pandemic was not kind to the fitness industry. Many Snap and Anytime Fitness Clubs were closed permanently. Many Goodlife Fitness locations were slow to re-open or complete their building. Some of their locations closed as well or were changes to Fit 4 Less.
The St. James location will bring the the number of Fit 4 Less in Winnipeg to three locations. One of the more prominent locations of the company is at St. Vital Mall.
Since the pandemic many new apartment buildings have been adding amenities such a fitness centres but plenty of places still don't have them nor maintain them if they do. And few offer 24 hour service. In other words: There is a need for them across Canada.
The grocery locations for Goodlife have served them well over the decades. But the big premium locations often stand alone. The old Goodlife on Kenaston is about to become a gym again. No word on the new name but will report when more is known.
The gyms re-opening and new ones coming is a sign the pandemic is being put behind many people. However, make no mistake it changed the industry. Reserving a group exercise spot and not crowding space remains in place. It changed some people's workouts to home units as well. But for the most part, gyms are coming back. It it still an open question if we see a bunch of Snap and Anytime Fitness places to pop up all over again.
As for St. James: Have we see the last of the Goodlifes in the region? I'd say no. Expect something bigger coming.
Monday, January 1, 2024
Downtown Recovery in 2024?
Saturday, November 11, 2023
Best Espionage/Spy/Thriller TV and Movies
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Terror in Israel, Protests in Winnipeg
The attacks on Israel by Hamas have been particularly brutal. The death toll is rising fast and nothing quite like it has happened before. Invariably, overseas events result in protests and rallies in Canada. At City Hall in Winnipeg we saw Palestinian and Israeli supporters on opposite sides of the street separated by Winnipeg Police. No incidents appear to have happened here but elsewhere in North America some of the crowds rejoiced.
Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group in Canada. They group opposes the legitimacy of Israel and any two state solution. They are Islamist and aim to push Jews and any other group out of the region. A former Hamas leader has called for a world jihad this week. Others have said prior their aims don't stop at Israel. One thing has been clear, Hamas is not interested in any negotiation. Their goal is the destruction of Jews according to their own words.
Inside the Gaza Strip, Hamas controls the territory after Fatah lost elections some years ago. Fatah remains as representative in the West Bank. The two factions are rivals for power in the region with different allies in the Arab and Muslim worlds. Since Hamas is not committed to the two state solution and supports violent expulsion of the Jews, Israel has walled off the very dense Gaza Strip. Egypt has done the same. And the air and the sea are blockaded to prevent arms shipments. Nevertheless, Gaza smuggles in weapons and rockets and continues to attack Israel to force them out.
In the days prior to the attack, it appeared Saudi Arabia and Israel might formalize some sort of relationship. This has a lot to with Iran which which many Arab countries feel is a threat to everyone. This still might happen but very likely everything is on hold while fighting still goes on. Israel has made progress with some of the big players in the Arab world but has stalled on the Palestinian front largely due to Hamas.
To be sure Netanyahu seems to have given up on the two state approach and has tried to blunt his critics in Israel and elsewhere. He has also continued to push settlements in the Golan Heights and West Bank. Support for his policies and for Netanyahu personally is sharply divided due to changes being made to the courts, corruption charges and security as it pertains to the region. Building houses in the West Bank has been contentious even for Israelis. It inflames already volatile feelings even more.
Blaming Israel for the attack from Gaza ignores the fact that there have been no Israeli settlements there for 20 years and that Hamas refuses to negotiate a two state settlement. Even those with sympathies for Palestinians have offered no solutions that don't involve the elimination of the Jews in Israel. And by elimination, Hamas has been explicit that it is extermination.
As for Canada, governments at all levels have to ensure security and safety. Violence here and exported from here cannot be tolerated. This applies to India, Israel or anywhere else where there is a hotspot. Freedom of speech is permissible but not when it becomes hate speech, incitement, calls for violence or raising money/arms for terror.
It is difficult to say what is to come in the next days and weeks. Canada's duty is to assist Canadians and permanent residents getting back home as best they can. That includes helping those who lost loved ones and need assistance in their time of grief. There may be refugees in the next while. It wouldn't be the first time bad people have tried to sneak in. We have had our fill of Nazis, warlords, terrorists and criminals try to come to Canada and some have succeeded. It is best we prepare now because often we are two steps behind as we have been in several recent conflicts.
We cannot tolerate militants using Canada as a safe base to attack their enemies in Canada and abroad. We have seen this from Irish as well as Indians in Canada supporting and carrying out terrorist attacks over the years. India certainly seems to think that Canada gives comfort to those who would commit violence. It may be why they are suspected in the extra judicial assassination of a Sikh Canadian. While free speech is permissible, fundraising for insurrection, incitements to violence and other violations can't be allowed to happen.
And as people protest, it is worthwhile to remember that if people are calling for peace and are peaceful, they should be left alone. And if they support one side over the other peacefully, they also should be left alone. Either might think the other side is hopefully naïve and misguided but non-violent demonstrations are part of the national discussion. Those who wish to do harm to one or the other have no right in Canada and should be dealt with.
Tough days ahead are likely. Lashing out at normal citizens because of their nationality, religion or ethnicity is uncalled for. Try to be kind to those who are hurting and fearful of family and friends caught in this. Do what you can to keep your neighbours and community safe. That should be a rule of thumb at any time. Work to create peace whenever you can.