Magazines

 

I love magazines. Still do. 

When I was young we did not usually subscribe to too many magazines. Things like Consumer Reports, Women's Day and other were in the house. Others were received them from grandparents when they were done with them. For years that was usually Reader's Digest from my dad's side of the family. We had the the Winnipeg Tribune delivered to our River Heights home and I was a carrier from about 7 years old. Both the Free Press and the Trib were evening papers and the newspaper bundles were dropped off late afternoon and papers were to be delivered after school. Below from the Hulton Archive. See Free Press peaking out.

The 1970s were a busy a time and somewhat of a golden era for print media. A number of new magazines began and  check out stands and book stores were filled with all manner of offerings. People Magazine started in 1974,  Maclean's went weekly in 1975, Starlog in 1976, TV Guide Canada came onto newsstands in 1977, US Magazine in 1977 and Omni in 1978. There were quite a few others.

Our family didn't get cable from Videon till 1971. It was the same year we got a colour TV from my mom's parents. It was a huge cabinet TV and the picture tube was 21 inches. The TV cost about $500 which is $3000+ in today's dollars. The aspect was 4:3 but the quality of the Zenith TV was great. And Videon was about $5 a month. All of this was a lot of money for many families. Even in 1971, many people did not have cable or colour TVs. Cable only came to Winnipeg in 1968. Prior to Grade 1, we had CBWT and CJAY (which became CKY in 1973). The French channel came in fuzzy on rabbit ears as did KCND in Pembina, North Dakota. If they came in at all. To say it was a revolution in 1971 getting colour TV and cable would be to put it bluntly.

As mentioned, we didn't get TV Guide except for fall preview. It really didn't do anything for Canada that wasn't in the newspaper TV listings. By 1969, the Tribune and the Free Press were offering their own TV magazines. The Trib's TV Times was 32 pages. As cable grew across North America, many people looked to the newspapers and magazines to see what what was on TV.

If people got newspapers on Saturdays in the 1970s, they generally got a magazine a week. As it was part of the Southam newspaper chain, the Trib also distributed the Canadian magazine on Saturdays. The Free Press version was the Weekend. The Tribune also put their Saturday comics in magazine form in 1977 and it lasted till 1978. A visit to any friends houses who got newspapers meant seeing a pile of them. I became interested in the nexus between movies, TV and magazines. 

Star Wars came out in 1977 in my last year of elementary school, I had seen a preview in Starlog and had begun reading the Star Wars Marvel comic just before the movie came out. Thus, I was able to be there on opening night and 12 times more that summer for the movie that George Lucas said was aimed at 13 year olds. Like me. Or what age I was less than a year after it came out when I entered junior high.

I did not have the type of budget to get People magazine unless there was something compelling like Star Wars on the cover. The cover below was not even published till nearly three months after the movie became a sensation. I bought this one but alas didn't keep it. I did end up buying many other Star Wars things in 1977 including art, books and the like. I still have them today. But I never kept any of the magazines such as People or Starlog which I regret today.

I was always pretty up to date on current affairs. A kindergarten teacher told my mom that I shouldn't listen to CBC Radio anymore because I was too young to worry about Israel being attacked by surrounding Arab countries. While we had a TV in 1968, it did not factor as much as the radio did and we listened to As it Happens when it first broadcast that year. When we moved to Kingsway, it became a habit to prepare meals with CBC on in the background and through dinner. In 1970, my first year of school, my questions to the teacher on the conflict was no news is good news. My mom took the advice under advisement but the radio stayed on.

The National on CBC started in 1969 but I don't believe I really saw it till 1970 when Lloyd Robertson was the anchor. and we lived on Kingsway. Since the broadcast was at 11 PM, I saw it infrequently as the kids were off to bed much earlier. However, things like church, community club and union meetings often ran till 10:30 PM according to my mom's date book. No lie. There was a reason why the national and local news was so late. It was because 11 PM was the first time parents might be free.

As mentioned, my interest in current affairs was strong. One of the first books I read at the school library that I read was the Battle of Britain. There were so many veterans back then as the war was not even 25 years in the past. The Korean War was a mere 15 or so years past. I was already aware of conflict in Israel and by 1968 was aware of the Vietnam War. In 1972, the series MASH started and lasted 11 seasons surpassing the Korean War by 8 years in duration. All of this meant was that there was a keen interest in the Canadian public in general about the world around them.

This was reflected in the magazine racks at grocery and convenient store checkouts first placing magazines at cash checkouts. In Winnipeg that was in the 1950s and by the late 50s, Canadian magazines like Chatelaine and Maclean's would compete with space with Harper's and Saturday Evening Post. Archie Comics would also be a mainstay at checkout counters.

At 7/Elevens the checkout featured Time, Newsweek and Maclean's along with Rolling Stone right at the counter. On one horrific week, four magazine covers reflected the same tragic event in the same picture.

In 1978 all the newsmagazines including Maclean's, Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report all had the same picture on the cover. Not sure I've seen the same event use the exact same picture ever since. It was very eerie and there it was at every checkout counter at every store in the land.

While young people watched other programs on other stations, ABC was a favourite American channel for many of its programs such as Three's Company, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat and Happy Days. One show, the Partridge Family from 1970 to 1974 on ABC, was both a music show and family show and star David Cassidy was a staple of magazines like Tiger Beat. My sister would often get for Christmas or birthday a Tiger Beat which started in 1965 and would be end up in pasted pics on walls all over North America. The first teen publication was Seventeen and could be found at most newsstands in Winnipeg. Another Cassidy struck fame with an ABC show when in 1977, the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries series starred Shaun Cassidy. This resulted in a new wave of Tiger Beat covers in our home.

Towards the end of the 1970s our family would subscribe at different times to People, Time, Newsweek, Chatelaine, Women's Day and National Geographic. These were the result of subscription deals and the fact the pretty much every kind of the family was working while going to school and could afford both newspapers and magazines. Sundays were free days with work in most retail and businesses closed, a day of rest meant being able to read newspapers, magazines and books. And we did a lot of reading in our family.

In the 1980s, this tradition of various magazines being in the house along with newspapers continued. All through highschool in the first three years of the decade and up till graduation in 1988, we had various news magazines as well as the Beaver and several urban city publications befitting one of my majors in school. The 7/Eleven on Academy Road also carried USA Today and Toronto Star which I often got for a different perspective. USA Today boxes were all over the city. including Academy Road.

I left for Japan in 1989 and survived on Canadian news in greater detail from Maclean's and Free Press that my mom packed in about once every two months care packs. In Japan, I got the Japan Times, Tokyo Weekender and Tokyo Journal for my newspaper and magazine combos. The latter two let me know what things to do and see in Tokyo whether it was shows, sports, theatre and everything in between. I would get an Economist but it would take me a week to read of various train trips or at the office.

Upon return to Canada, I resumed some of magazine subscriptions such as Maclean's and by end of the 1990s our family often had four newspapers in the house. Today, I still love print magazines but digital has allowed me today to enjoy the occasional Atlantic or Vanity Fair issue among many others. And some magazines are entirely digital so I can enjoy them that way too.

Still, all things being equal, I do love a print magazine especially for the pictures which look great on paper. Some magazines have discontinued over recent years including beloved Starlog. Newsweek has moved totally online and by all accounts this has been successful financially for it. One thing I miss over the years are more Manitoba magazines.

Today, I still get a few print magazines a month at home and will likely do so for as long as it is possible. The long form journalism, the great photographs or graphics and the investment in reading something that is not standard news but a deeper look at a subject is always compelling. I have dropped much of social media but it lacks context, nuance and substance. It can be a useful business tool but only insofar as promotion. It can give immediate headlines or links to bigger stories but it isn't a debate most of the time, it is a bun fight. Give me a magazine with something to chew on every day.

The Forks Comeback 2023

Early in the new year, The Forks turned around their numbers for people coming the site to pre-pandemic levels. Measured by trackers at entrances and seen in actual numbers at events, January 2023 looked more like January 2019. Space to gather has been a hallmark of The Forks and key events, unique merchants, special food experiences and tourist attractions makes it different from other areas. Crime scares and protests groups have had an impact but renewed security may be helping. Random attacks cannot be dismissed as overreacting. If people are afraid they will stop going to a place. In fact, they will flee. And the recent occurrence of protest groups using The Forks for gatherings can and has resulted in problems. One of the reasons in the past we have not seen this is that the park area has been that it is intensely busy with festivals, concerts and recreation. Hard to have a protest when so many people are there already for other reasons. Usually celebrating.

The Forks has to walk a fine balance. Their next stage of development announced some time this year will probably be some sort of apartments across from the Human Rights Museum. The risk is that new residents take a dislike to some of the long term activities that have existed for decades such as concerts and festivals. Or perhaps new residents ask that the more than the century railway line be moved once apartments are up. It is not beyond the pale. It may be that new residents ask that the skate board park be removed. Certain we know that fireworks will no longer be part of Forks celebrations. Perhaps they will get an order for them to be stopped at Goldeyes Park as well.

Things evolve to be sure. Assiniboine Park no longer has fireworks and the same applies to The Forks. Tens of thousands used to go to both and stay for the fireworks. Arguments can be made about how it scares animals and annoys a great number of people but, in the case of Assiniboine Park, it means they shut down for the night quite early for activities. In recent years there have been calls to end concerts outdoors as well even if they earlier in the day. If The Forks goes down the same route, it is likely most outdoor activities might be limited due to residential complaints, especially at night.

The parkade at Portage Place continues to be cash injection every year at The Forks, They have at least moved to charge for parking that they do have including their own parkade which for the longest time was free. They have also started renewing leases at more market set rates. Local innovation in food, retail and recreation has differentiated it from a regular mall. Returning revenue into improving the area marks it differently as well since the money isn't sent to investors in Toronto.

The recent offer from True North to buy the land lease and parkade along with the mall at Portage Place looks to net The Forks $34.5 million. They have publicly stated that they would put it in savings and use the interest to fund things. Do the government parties have a say on this windfall? That is a lot of unassigned money.

Sustainability is important because after the last sections are developed, it is unrealistic to think that cash injections from three levels of government will come. There are indications that revenue to support the site and the programming therein is a priority.  That comes from charging for parking they have on site, lease money as landlord of the area and site rentals for festivals. Mandate creep could see The Forks tasked to develop other land but we have see what happen from the North Portage experience. The Forks diverts the money to themselves. In a lot of ways, North Portage would have better staying as a separate entity as revenue would have stayed in the area. The Forks, on the other hand, would have gone bankrupt in 1994.

Winnipeg downtown is not the only place trying to pivot during the pandemic for downtown areas. Toronto has found it very painful and the closure of Nordstrom's in Eaton Centre and many other retailer has hit hard. And like a lot of North America, people are slow to return to the office. Nevertheless it is growing and plans are for 100 new condo towers a year for the next ten years. But will people be working in offices or from home? And what will become of downtown office towers and attractions? Or old neighbourhoods? Below is Toronto in 1989.

In the 1980s through 1990s Toronto was like Winnipeg in that it had football fields of parking space and industrial land/rail yards open. Above from Toronto Archives in 1989 is what Toronto looked like. The area in red was the railyards. In 2023, the entire area is filled with offices, condos/apartments and the like. However, the 1990s were marked by a real estate collapse was pretty widespread across Canada including Toronto and Winnipeg. It really is the last years that Toronto residential towers have exploded so that they literally dwarf the five big banks downtown.

Both Toronto and Winnipeg developed their rail yards and in the case of Toronto, their port. It can be argued which did better. I think Winnipeg did better at creating public space and a sense of centrality to the city that Portage and Main lost or never had, Toronto certainly created big sport and convention centre facilities but in all that rail land, where is the great public space? It is all condos now.

Sometimes being about 20 years behind has helped Winnipeg avoid mistakes other urban areas have committed before us. For example, Calgary demolished its warehouse district. Toronto in a rush to fill waterfront area with condos had insiders grab units and the buildings created a wall of glass and concrete from the shore. At The Forks, development has been slow and thoughtful and each piece has been well considered. Once again, it was money from Portage Place that made it possible not too just fill it with condos.

Developers would love to build in The Forks. There are really only two spaces left but is unlikely a large tower or two that will be built because of the scale. Public and political pressures will limit the height and frown on restricted public access. It will more clear what comes soon enough. Presently, the parking lots are revenue generators so The Forks are not in a rush to see them closed for development that could take two to three years. The question of having public parkades below the new development and/or public transit/active transportation is still being discussed. 

The above picture sourced from The Forks. The Human Rights Museum is a national museum next to a national park. The expectation is that the area will always have school buses, public transit and active transportation to it. Accessible parking, loading zones, tourist parking need to be accounted for. When Railside and Parcel 4 are removed, will they have a public component for a tourist/visitor to park, walk through, get a meal and access The Forks attractions be part of the equation?

Picture from Forks documents. The rail line makes for a walled area for the The Forks and Goldeyes Park. The shaded red area is where announcements will be made in due course of what will go up on the surface parking lots. There is certainly enough parking just outside the rail wall. However, it is beyond the mandate of The Forks so matters of security, accessibility and availability end at Main Street. Why this matters is that should be of high concern to The Forks of how people come to The Forks. Do they avoid it because it is too far away, too unsafe, hard for for those with mobility issues? Is it too expensive? No place to bring a tour bus in? A school bus. No place to have buses waiting? The very long term success of The Forks turns on these questions.

Ironically, the other charge in the North Portage Forks mandate, Portage Place might have a more solid future once it is sold and have more opportunities for future public and private investment. The above picture from Forks documents shows the huge area it covers. And yet other parts of downtown are in need of some sort of planning to help with sustainability.  It is a little bit like whack-a-mole. One area of downtown gets attention only for another are to collapse. Recent example, the closure of the The Bay.

The 2023 comeback for The Forks will have to focus on safety with the large numbers of people that come through. This is not just limited to crime but in terms of crowd control, traffic control, water safety and events that are celebrations of community. It would be a shame if the Forks has to shut out mid-evening for events because of noise concerns. As mentioned, fireworks will just continue somewhere else...like Assiniboia Downs. They just won't be accessible to those without a car.

Sometimes your success causes you to cancel things because of neighbourhood rejection. Things like Days of Wine on Roses were cancelled on Corydon and New Year's celebrations in Osborne Village because business and residents reject them. And so the concern at The Forks is that someone says: no more parades. And maybe that happens as people push to make the area less friendly to those outside their region.

There seems some certainty that in 2023/2024/2025, The Forks will have tens of millions from Portage Place sale. And even without much of a coordinated development plan for downtown, there are a number of projects that will all likely be coming on stream at the same time. Expanded hotels, apartment buildings and office towers are going up within blocks of The Forks. This contributes to more people living and working close to the largest green space by the Red River. Moreover, more traffic on riverwalks/sidewalks, skating paths and biking lanes are a reflection of how close some people are to the area. It doesn't make sense if you live in an apartment in St. Boniface a baseball throw away from a festival in The Forks to drive your car less than several minutes away.

If safety and public access to The Forks remain a priority, it can succeed in attracting people and unique stores, restaurants and festivals. The success of the area going forward should trigger further exciting development in nearby opening spaces. Surface parking lots are a poor use of downtown space. This is why True North chose to develop the former Eaton's parking lot into buildings and a square to enhance the value of their entertainment district. There are 200 parking spaces underground which is about the amount that the same amount occupied by the surface lot.

Winnipeg remains a car city but certain neighbourhoods like Osborne, St. Boniface, parts of Henderson and others make it possible to actually walk to a grocer, bank or pharmacy. That is to say, they are closer and easier to step out of your door and walk to than to get in your car and drive. Even in Brightwater, there are plenty of people who are in walking distance of the grocery store and other amenities.

The Forks is many things but it isn't that neighbourhood described above. If people live across from the Human Rights Museum, The Forks Market nearby is not a full grocery, nor pharmacy or local bank. More of the empty spaces near The Forks will have to be filled with such things or residents will have to head out of the area to patronize them. It isn't likely that a large national grocer will be built on the site but numbers of residents spreading out along Waterfront and two apartments built on Main in the last year means means a place like Winnipeg Square might service nearby residents longer hours and offer more grocery items at their Shoppers Drug Mart.

The real test this year for The Forks will be how they handle summer starting in June. There will be many assessing the safety of large festivals, how Canada Day will be celebrated and if protests and rallies become increasingly part of the public space as a substitute for the Legislature. And most importantly, will attractions becomes less public or require a charge, Will their hours be reduced? Will attractions be pushed out? All eyes will be watching on this. The comeback will only become permanent if the vast majority of people believe we all have ownership in the area.

True North Puts Bid in for Portage Place

Well, here we are again. Portage Place has received an offer locally this time from Jets ownership and the True North partnership.  The price had dropped like a stone. Starlight had offered just under $70 million that included the mall, parkade and skywalks. The mall owned by B.C. developer Spruceland Mall Limited Partnership (formerly Peterson Group and Peter Young) was valued around $22.5 million. The parkade and land lease which is owned by Forks North Portage Partnership around $47 million.

True North has bid $34.5 million for parkade and land lease. A separate deal has to be struck for the mall. It appears a number of groups have already signed off on the deal including The Forks, the province and the feds. A number of social agencies have said the deal should be rejected and the negotiations with First Nations and Metis should be begin. However, in two years no one (and that means no one) has actually stepped forward with any type of proposal till now. There have been wish lists but no actual plan.

The True North Real Estate Development is the lead on the proposal and consultations are allotted a 12 month window. Jim Ludlow, president of the company, has talked about deconstructing the mall, opening it up  and have housing as a component.  He says it won't be a mall anymore. Beyond that, I suppose it is anyone's guess what it will all turn out as. The one thing they have managed thus far is offering money and a timetable. The Forks North Portage agency has said there has be a re-evaluation of the monetary value of the site but they haven't released anything.

Social agencies have said the space should be open 24 hours and have laundry, showers and community space. Others have said affordable housing. A group of interested parties listed a number of things they wanted but no budget was given. It is likely they believed the three levels of government were going to hand over $400 million that Starlight wanted. However, if some of the governments balked at supporting that, they're not likely to going to hand two blocks to someone else with no plan in place or organization behind it.

Governments are more likely to back things like the Mclaren's Hotel's $12 million housing project to covert all the hotel's rooms in to 150 tiny homes with more modern amenities and and supports for under $550. Now that is a real project, with real management with real costs and timetable. It saves an old building and puts home pride behind it.

The Bay has a redevelopment plan coming and affordable housing is being supported there. And that truly is indigenous-led. The Metis have their Portage and Main development, a hotel planned and just finished social housing on Main Street. Treaty 1 has major work on the Kayong site. Is there an indigenous group ready to take over Portage Place with so much on the go already? If there are interested parties, maybe we will hear a counteroffer. However, nothing yet.

Criticism of True North simply to dismiss them does not solve the issue of Portage Place. Not at all. It remains for sale. Put up a workable plan. That is the benchmark for anyone and everyone out there. Don't ask for $400 million and not have any idea what you would do with it. Don't think you won't pay the mall owner and the parkade owner and get Portage Place for a $1. Unlike The Bay, the building is not nearly as distressed as the department store was. There is value there and saying it is worthless is dishonest.

A few critics blamed the Jets for gentrifying the area making the downtown too expensive. Some are still upset the Eaton's building was torn down. Some blame capitalism, colonialism and and a host of other things. This all might be true. But it doesn't offer solutions. Making up a shopping list of fixes if the goals are not achievable or sustainable is an exercise in frustration. Asking for housing where there are units with washers/dryers, dishwashers, two bedrooms+, pet friendly with utilities included for $600 a month may not support the maintenance of the building in the future. Just ask Lion's Place. A real plan is needed.

Truth is we need tens of thousands of units built every year for years to come. The best strategy might be to support renters and buyers directly rather than getting into building government structures. We have already seen the University of Winnipeg develop several buildings with market rate and below market rate rents. It has formed a cluster of apartments all around the art gallery and more are coming.

Speed is of the essence. It can take years upon years to get something approved. And people can be very contrarian. Many say they support more housing but not near them. This was from a 2023 poll in Toronto and is reflective of the whole country. Almost every housing project seems to draw a long zoning debate even if it is adding space to your own home. In recent months, density has been considered a threat. Thirty years ago most older neighbourhoods had more people living in them now and were considered good places to live.

Portage Place mall has been in place for 36 years and has had pads atop east and west and no apartments ever built. They money siphoned off to The Forks since 1994 could have made a difference. But then maybe we would be talking about how The Forks went under. Our large downtown has meant focus on developments is ever shifting. A crisis happens in a new place every decade. The development on north Portage had quite a lot of housing built but those final two spaces remained empty. And cash spent on the parking never went to anything else on north Portage. It is easy to see why disdain for the area grew as nothing was ever re-invested.

From the perspective of True North Real Estate, Portage Place represents a distressed asset across from all of of their developments. The most important part of the mall is the 1000 car parkade. Without it, no deal can be made. The parkade is the jewel in the crown. It makes money. It has always made money. It just doesn't have money go to mall owners. That changes if all of Portage Place is owned by one entity instead of several. I have lots of questions about the $34.5 million of the parkade and land rights sale going to The Forks but will save for another post.

The mall itself has little value but it will have to be paid something to the tune of under $20 million. Portage Place has been for sale for years but it does have some fine tenants like Prairie Theatre Exchange and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, dental offices, phone companies, university offices and Expo Live. But there are too many retail vacancies and the food court is considered is struggling as well.

Some people have said they think True North is nuts to buy Portage Place but the money spent can be made back on the parkade alone. Taken from hints from what Jim Ludlow has said, it is very likely the mall will be broken up with Edmonton Street once again passing through to the other side. It won't be a motorway in the traditional sense. Likely, it will be one lane only with wide sidewalks connecting to the Promenade on the other side. A second floor enclosed skywalk will fulfill the government's request to maintain connectivity all the way to The Bay. However, it also is an important link for the True North's arena to have direct connection to the 1000 indoor parking spaces of Portage Place.

The interesting part will be the west portion of Portage Place. It is the widest section, also has a pad for a tower on it and has the walkway that goes all the way to The Bay which should have a plan announced soon. Is that west section big enough for a future arena? Now I know you are saying...hold on, we have an arena. Yes, we do but we also have two hockey teams. And Winnipeg Ice are looking for a new home. Do we also get a lacrosse team? A basketball team? A women's hockey team? Could we be looking at two arenas? Don't rule it out. 

The entire length of Portage Avenue is important to the vitality of downtown. The entire reason for Portage Place's development was that while south Portage Avenue was vital with stores, north Portage was seeing more vacancies and in some cases, one building burned down and wasn't replaced. There were some bright spots to be sure such as Kennedy Street and some specialty shops but no new investments and a few hotels that were particularly rough.

By 1980, Manitoba was in a deep recession. Huge businesses had shut down. The first of tens of thousands of people were leaving the province, moving headquarters, closing factories and production. It was awful. In 1981, the Core Area Initiative was formed as a three levels of government program to cover a huge amount the inner city with a budget of $196 million over ten years. That is $600 million in today's dollars. Led by Lloyd Axworthy from the federal side, this was the creative force behind housing renewal all over the inner city, The Forks, Portage Place, social programming and private investments from Air Canada, Investor's Group, Cadillac Fairview, small businesses everywhere, The program ended in 1991 and by 1994, The Forks was almost bankrupt. 

A new Winnipeg Development Agreement was made from 1996 to 2001 but it was city-wide and did not carry on with nearly as much money. At $75 million, it went fast and when support ended, some projects began to whither just like The Forks did in 1994 without money from some other revenue sources. From 2001 on most city councillors have been focused on massive infrastructure further and further away from centre of the city. 

Places like Portage Place and North Portage have been stuck. The mall owner doesn't want to invest too much because they can't make the margins that other malls make. And since they didn't own the land, there was far fewer reason to change the building to another function. True North has worked on several building projects both north and south of Portage Avenue. They have been working on indigenous partnerships as a business longer than many companies. They have also been able to leverage money from governments for projects and other private businesses have joined in on the efforts.

The last time North Portage was shown some love tens of millions was spent by other businesses and organization. The criticism of the mall ignores the hundreds of housing units built. It ignores the hotel built, Investors Group moving its headquarters there, the Free Press building being restored to government offices, IBM building offices, Winnipeg's first IMAX, Prairie Theatre Exchange and Air Canada offices. 

It is unlikely that True North will abandon if they take the reins. And they certainly won't transfer future revenue to The Forks like what has been happening since 1994. It will be interesting to see what happens from here but these are no carpetbaggers like the last bunch who came to town to fleece the taxpayers. The Chipmans and True North have added considerably to the employment, tax base and downtown since 2011.

Another Fire on Main Street

At 7 in the morning another building burned to the ground on Main Street. The apartment at 813 Main Street containing eight fully leased suites caught fire and one person was hospitalized. It is the fourth fire in two weeks around the area. The wreckage of Surplus Direct, Top Pro Flooring and Lord Selkirk Furniture is still seen in the next block over.

The fire could have been so much worse with a social housing tower next door. Smoke damage was limited but it had to be scary both for residents and for firefighters. The fire department and emergency workers were good at containing the fire but the total loss of yet another building is alarming. If it was arson like some other fires have been, we have to stop those who are doing it. Past experience has revealed that it is often now as isolated event. If the fire was something faulty, it also shows how dangerous some places are for containing and suppressing fires.

Local residents and firefighters lamented as more and more buildings that had apartments or working businesses are been burned down.  It could reach a point where land is empty for blocks and no one re-builds. In some cases, it already is. If business fear they can't rebuild lest they get burned down, the city and the province will have a worse crisis than they ever thought imaginable.

Manitoba Esports Presents - Canadian Esports Championship Series CECS Live!

Coming back for a second year but a new location, Manitoba Esports Presents - The Canadian Championship Series CECS Live! It will be the at the West End Cultural Centre on Ellice March 18 and 19, 2023. It will open at 11 AM Saturday and be a best of five Valorant series. It ends on Sunday with the championship game.

Sponsored by Encore Global, Shaw Spotlight and Red Bull and our artist and food vendors, CECS is the largest online and Large Area Network event in Manitoba and one of the biggest in Canada.

Tickets are available at manitobaesports.com and at the door starting at $15. Last event saw a lot of kids watching and playing Rocket League and other games on Switch.

Many volunteers will be present to assist players and young people both inside and outside the building and many parents will be present as usual.

Expect that the West End Cultural Centre to be a go to place in the future for computer and console gaming.
 

My Scooter in Japan

I lived in Japan from 1989 to 1992 in Tsuru City in Yamanashi prefecture west of Tokyo. Mt. Fuji stood between my prefecture and Tokyo. 

It was not a scooter drive from my home to Tokyo. By train, it was around two hours as distance from Fuji to Tokyo was 100 kilometers. Neither of the two scooters I owned could really go over 45 kms an hour. And you never knew which weather conditions you might ride in. It could easily rain on any given day. And the early sunset by 7 every day could mean a colder ride later on.

I used to take the train for two hours on Chuo Line from Shinjuku to Otsuki, Yamanashi and transfer to the expensive Fuji-kyu Line. My home in Tsuru was about 30 minutes from Otsuki. All of 1989 I walked or took train or bus. But my 1990, I felt the walk to my closest train station which was 30 minutes from my apartment just didn't cut it. The above picture shows Shinjuku which is a major downtown for the city and the highway and railways extend west to Mt. Fuji and around the right of it to Yamanashi prefecture. 

The main school I taught at was 20 or so minutes away from my apartment. I taught at another school in another town which entailed walking 30 minutes away to Yamura train station, travelling for 30 minutes by train to Kitafuji at the base of Mt. Fuji and walking 20 minutes to work. Luckily, a teacher drove me home any day I worked out of town. However, that did not happen immediately. So a commute twice a week could be over 2 hours long.

I didn't mind walking as it is a good way to get to know your area but two hours commuting for work is tough. Part of the problem was that my apartment was on the mountain beside Tsuru University. Brand new and with amenities, I really did well with it. And location-wise beside the university and full furnished was great. But it was 30 minutes walking to either rail station. The university was halfway between them. In 2004, they actually built a station five minutes from my apartment. Would have loved that.

Above, in Kofu with fellow travellers from around the world. Me in the middle. Think this is an instant of where I drove to Otsuki with the scooter and then train on JR line.

For those of you who ask what I didn't have a bike. The answer is I did. I was donated a bike which was functional and had poor brakes that I had to fix. This was after I soared down a mountain and into a rice patty. Once the brakes were fixed, I gave it another try and a few days later, while I stopped on a sidewalk with no curbs, I was hit by a young driver who was not looking and tossed over the car and my my bike was wiped out. My fellow teachers were convinced I must have been in the wrong because "you don't know Japanese roads."

There was some mumbled apologies from staff when a huge gift basket of various coffees arrived at the school along with a confession that the driver was on the wrong side of the road, had been stopped at a shop and drove off without looking and hit me. One teacher said they are probably grateful that as scraped up as I was and with a damaged bike, I didn't file a police report. I didn't even think to do so. However, it was last time I ever road a bike in Japan. It could be that the bike was just jinxed as I never again had a road issue save for a speeding ticket on my scooter returning from Kofu. It was quashed from a faulty reading. My scooter was not able to do the speed they said I was doing. I was told most Japanese would pay the ticket but I went in and made my argument and it turned out the machine was wrong.

By 1990, despite discouragement from my school, I went and got my Japanese driver's licence and purchased a 1984 Honda scooter. I didn't get an International driver's licence. Always managed to go the hard way but I got a Japanese one. No one said I couldn't so I did it. I bought my used scooter from a Tsuru dealership. Lots of students would have a scooter for three or four years at the university and would sell them so there was always a supply. I bought a helmet as well. The helmet was blue, the scooter was red. I loved that scooter.

No longer did I take the train to work twice a week. I drove my scooter which took about 30 minutes from home. I still walked quite a bit as I went to Tokyo nearly every other weekend and going to Shinjuku or Rappongi and other places could amount to 20,000 steps and lots of stairs. What I did differently though was to take my scooter to Otsuki on the main Japan Rail line thereby avoiding the expensive private Fuji-Kyu line that took me home.

Least you think that theft doesn't happen in Japan, I returned home from a trip to Tokyo and got off the train in Otsuki and went to the bike and scooter parking area and my scooter was stolen. I had to take last train home. I reported the theft to the police and my staff said I would likely never see again. I waited a week and no report so I went shopping for a new scooter and got myself a Yamaha Champ, a 1989 scooter. It has storage inside the seat for helmet. My last scooter had a place to lock my helmet to but since the scooter was stolen, I lost both. I bought a new helmet.

I was pretty pleased because I was fairly dependent on the scooter for work and social life. I was teaching businessmen and tutoring university students as well as my regular job. It entailed at least travelling a half hour to work and then socializing as you see in the picture above. The business owner wished more of his staff was conservational in English for customers. My Champ was was was maybe only a few kilometers faster but I loved it.

Three weeks later I got a call from the police. They had found my scooter and helmet. I expected it to be trashed but when I arrived the thieves had only peeled back some plastic and hotwired it. So now I had two scooters. Luckily, I was able to sell me older scooter to a student at  the university for a shade lower than what I bought it for and she loved it.

So I was back in business and able to commute to work, tutor and save time and money by going to the main rail line when going to Kofu or Tokyo. There was maybe only a handful of days where snow fell that I could not ride the scooter. And I had raincoat for the rainy season and a heavier leather jacket for when it was colder.

One thing to point out is that Japanese drive on opposite side of the road like the British. They have steering wheels on cars and trucks on right. The acceleration for motorbikes is the opposite side handlebar as well. I got used to pretty quickly but when travelling home and tired, I had to get used to North American left hand drive.

A very few of my colleagues who were in multiple schools had to have cars and an international driver's licence. I was the only one who got a Japanese licence and a scooter. One of the teacher colleagues from Britain had this tiny four seat car and we took a road trip to Osaka and stayed in a capsule hotel and had a blast.

I drove to Kofu a few times which was about an hour away and maybe 50 kms. Tokyo at 100 kms was possible but it would be 2 or 3 hours one on windy roads and tunnels. Even to Kofu was through tunnels. And they are scary and loud. I once walked back from Kofu because the trains stopped running. It can take 9 hours walking and that didn't scare me. The tunnels scared me. I actually had police pick me up in the tunnel and take me to Otsuki where I caught a taxi the rest of the way home. I never did that again. In more recent years there is now an alternative and safer walking route that avoids those tunnel for both walking and scooters. Would have loved that when I was there.

I have thought about a scooter in Winnipeg. The prices for buying them are higher, insurance is not terrible but shorter season of use and it is dangerous sharing roads with cars. Still, I'd love to have one again.

Windsor Hotel Evicts Residents

One of the major causes of homelessness in Winnipeg was the closure of so many hotels that were affordable to many. While those in the city called a large part of Main Street skid row and reviled the violence and alcoholism, most people had a place to stay and there were no encampments of people on the streets. There were also several temporary job offices up and down Main. Now there are only social agencies or parking lots of displaced people with no where to go.

One recent report said that Winnipeg has lost over 45,000 units of housing the last few years that were $750 and under. The province itself has closed social housing and sold off buildings and has watched landlords convert huge amount of housing into condos. The cumulative effect is a loss of the affordable spaces. Older housing stock is reaching a point where there needs to be massive renovations or outright replacement. A lot of times now, it is simply being abandoned, sold off or demolished.

City and provincial officials know there is a massive problem on housing and while it seems self evident, the best way to way to end homelessness is to make sure people don't lose their homes. The sale of the Windsor Hotel and the eviction of 20 people from the 46 units building makes it clear that new owners have something in mind for the site. It is quite possible that whatever is coming surpasses what is there now. But there is no way to know as no plan has been presented. It could be that the building is slated for a parking lot although the city would resist that.

The Windsor Hotel has a quite a history and for a while during the 1990s was enjoying a good second life. Built in 1903 at 187 Garry Street, it soon was converted to a hotel called La Claire Hotel in 1910. A gentlemen's club was established. Men's only licensed establishments were common. The only women allowed being staff. This existed till the 1980s in some older hotels, often with veterans of the war, I still remember the TV story on the last one going co-ed and the old guys looked fragile, even scared, but resigned that there were fewer of them around each year.

In 1930, the hotel went through extensive renovations and became The Windsor Hotel. And that is how it remained till 2023. In the 1990s, the bar attached had a renaissance and jazz was the tonic. As a popular jazz joint more renovations and an expansion was done to accommodate the influx of fans. It is uncertain what led to that decline. The closure of Lo Pub and the Royal Albert left the Windsor as a music mecca in 2013. Ten years later, it was a place where the police regularly visited for major crimes and the music died.

It is hard enough for artists to survive in the marketplace with how expensive it is to tour and costs of venues. A less expensive venue is awesome. An unsafe one will hurt as surely as an expensive one, Perhaps literally. And now it is too late for The Windsor Hotel. The evictions certainly look like the building will not survive. What will come of it is extremely important. A sad time for the place where Charlie Chaplin once stayed at back in Winnipeg's heyday.