The Mandalorian and Grogu

George Lucas once said that Star Wars was aimed at 12 year olds when it came out in 1977. That so happened to be my age at the time. Perhaps he meant the 12 year old in all of us. That summer I saw the movie 13 times in various theatres in Winnipeg. I bought the books, has the stickers and bought the soundtrack. But I was also able to laugh at it. In junior high, we were ever parodying it. A classmate had written something where the hero was named Puke Groundjogger.

In the time of no Internet, the Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. was the kickoff to a season of horror, sci-fi and fantasy leaving the serious film worthy of Oscar consideration in November and December. Jaws, a horror, film in 1975 was the first of this May long weekend blockbusters. The following summer it was The Omen. The 1970s had a number of studios who were still experimenting with a number of hotshot young directors like Spielberg and Lucas.

Star Wars didn't invent the sequel. Hollywood had been doing that already for decades. Even serious films like the The Godfather warranted a sequel two years after the first one. It is not surprising that the overwhelming popularity of Star Wars saw sequels produced. The first was a movie for CBS called Holiday Special, a universally derided show. However, the Christmas special in 1978 did introduce one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe: Boba Fett. He was the original Mandalorian and was featured as a cartoon segment made by Canada's Nelvana Studios.

The Holiday Special, which I did see, was broadcast only once and has become legendary for how poorly it was received. It was not just dreck and but complete sewage. You can only really see in poor quality uploads. Still, it was from this awful piece of TV trash that a character emerged that formed the base of a race called the Mandalorians.

One of the things I learned very early on as a TV and film viewer was sometimes studios would pander. Someone who was 12 didn't want the writing or characters to insult our intelligence. Holiday Special insulted everyone despite some jewels in it. Boba Fett, begat Mando, the Mandalorian. So that part of the equation was good. And the look, feel and voice of Mandalorians in their armour owes a lot to Nelvana of Canada.

The chaos in the movie studio business of acquisition, firings, strikes and general effort to monetize every aspect of a production often leaves very little effort in original material being made. It is no wonder why some creative people, actors, writers and directors, have moved to streaming series so that longer form stories can be done and where budgets are large. And so, it was an attractive move for Jon Favreau who was pitching a Star Wars series. He was partnered with Dave Filoni who had been carrying the water for the franchise in animation with the Clone Wars on cable. The animated series were by far the more clever and original of the Star Wars material.

Still, animated series still have at their hearts a younger audience even though they attract kids of all ages. Some of the easy humour of droids or Ewoks in animation has to be measured when done as a live action show. There is no substitute for good writing and good characters. Make no mistake, The Mandalorian through three season was good writing and good story. And the producers had a fourth season all lined up when the actors and writers strike took place.

Even now, Hollywood is having to come to terms with the strike and the change around the world of streaming and mega-corporations controlling everything. Disney is a mega-corporation. However, even they are up against a world economy that is in flux. And pushback from unions, inflation, toxic fans and fear of new ideas can make any attempt to create something subject to pressure to conform to certain lobbies. Because of the backlog at Disney, they believed the Mandalorian would make for a good feature film.

This meant the planned villain for the fourth season, Admiral Thrawn, was off the table. No one has said whether a fourth season is off the table forever. Presumably, it successful, Mandalorian and Grogu stays in film. Regardless, this meant a new villain had to be created. For whatever reason, it was decided it should be the Hutts. Since Jabba was dead, it was thought that maybe the Jabba's relatives, the Hutt Twins might make good villains. This was a mistake. At best, they were minor and the quest to find Rotta, Jabba's son in exchange for information seemed like thin soup.

However, first Colonel Ward, played by Sigourney Weaver in an underwritten role, sends Mando on a mission to hunt Imperial Remnants. We are dropped into one of these missions just like a James Bond teaser minus the hit single credits. The terrible bonifides of the bad guy are established as he bullies and kills and then Mando and Grogu come save the day. Various storm troopers and walkers are blown up in set action pieces as we see Grogu and Mando work together. The fact that most reviews don't even mention the beginning shows it literally was about starting with a bang and showing Mando take out Imperials.

The reward for Mando by Colonel Ward was a replacement ship for the lost Razor Crest from the series. One can only imagine the fandom swooning. While there is nothing wrong with the parade of ships, equipment and blasters, the service to the fans can derail storytelling. Much like the push for characters having romantic relationship has proven tricky in Star Wars. Sometimes the fanbase will call you woke, some will disagree with matches and will literally send hate mail to actors who have nothing to do with the writing of the story. It is a bit interesting to see Weaver and Pascal portray characters about parenthood. Weaver with Alien and Pascal with The Mandalorian.

Rotta, voiced by Jeremy Allen White, is not a typical Hutt. He is one forged by the fighting pits and seems to revel as a fan favourite. His cousins, a brother and sister known only as The Twins have featured in both Boba Fett series and The Mandalorian have offered intelligence for the rescue of their nephew whom they have not seen since he was a child. Even Mando expresses doubt but Colonel Ward says they need the information to go after one of her game cards of former Imperials. The comparison to the Iraq War is plain to see. As mentioned, the Hutts seem small potatoes even in the streaming series. And even with CGI, the old puppetry feels more real that what we see on screen.

The story moves swiftly along and the Hutts relay only the flimsiest of clues but it leads to a planet outside the old empire. The strength of the series is always Mando and Grogu but it bubbles along with featured players. In the case of the planet our heroes go to, it is a four armed cook at the street vendor voiced by a nervous Martin Scorsese. Through him we learn of where Rotta is and what he is doing in the fighting pits. It is how Mando finds out about Lord Janu who runs the pits and specifically, Rotta.

The special effects are pretty impressive throughout but the musical score really carries the film in a way we have not seen in some time. I think what could have used some work is some characters floating in and out, sometimes involved in the mission and then other times on the sidelines. One specific character is Garazeb "Zeb" Orellios is in and then out helping Mando and Grogu but he always seems to be on call.

The animated series of Star Wars Rebels has been ripe material for use on The Mandalorian. For Star Wars fans, not all might be familiar with the storylines from the animated series. And for younger fans, they might not know all the Star Wars history and characters. Each story in film still has to have one coherent story.

I think I can't reveal too much more of the storyline without giving everything away. A lot of is riding on this movie for Disney and trying to appeal to as big an audience without peeving those off looking for woke moments to criticize, or lack of X-wing fighter or no romance moments. Tick off every box or don't and the accusations of pandering will come or not paying enough attention to Star Wars main touchstones.

Some movies I have to see again to properly assess just as a restaurant review based on a single visit might not capture everything about what you can get. I liked a lot of the movie to see it again and enjoy it once more. Unlike Star Wars in 1977 which I saw 13 times, I think I might be able to enjoy this a few more times. I don't know that I will be buying all the merchandise as I did back in the 1970s. For Disney, that sales of toys for this movie might outmatch the box office. And for that alone, it will get a sequel.

Two More 7-Elevens Immediately Close, Four or Five on the Bubble

Two More 7-Elevens have closed immediately and have been emptied out and boarded up. The locations are Notre Dame and Arlington and Keeewatin and Logan. The rumour is all 7-Elevens east of the Red River are next and at least two others could go as well. The security and thefts have gotten so bad that the company felt they had no choice but to close. It pretty much mean everything in the northern part of the city is closed.

The news gets worse. It appears some Dolloramas, Shoppers and other pharmacy and grocery stores are hanging on by their finger nails in those same areas. By the end of 2026, it is possible that every convenience store, grocery, pharmacy and gas station in certain areas could be closed. The issue is spreading from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

After suggesting there would be an uptick in 7-Elevens for the city, the company is abandoning certain areas because it is a struggle every day. Some councillors are suggesting it is because 7-Eleven prices are too high. They are convenience stores, not Walmart. However, no store no matter the low price, can withstand removal of products from their shelves at this scale and the level of violence that can often happen.

The city and the province have a real problem on their hands. If the burnt out and empty buildings are not making it clear, the lack of banks, grocery stores, convenience stores and other businesses makes it plain to see. And the problem just extends down every major road as those looking places where they can take things with seemingly no consequence.

A lot of sympathy can be given for people who are suffering. That won't stop the problem now. Addiction is so prevalent now that what is in stores is used as currency. As any family who has tried to support a family member with addiction, it can be impossible at times for them to take whatever they can in the house to support that need. If no family can sustain that indefinitely, neither can a business.

Tom Broadbeck at the Free Press says businesses might have to control who comes into stores like the liquor stores do. Already drastic security measures such as rolling door and window covers are in place like Beirut. This doesn't help if your place is set on fire. While the police have caught many arsonists, protection rackets and repeat offenders, it hasn't been enough to stop what may be the worst of summer. The huge drug bust by police might see addicted people act more desperately. Still, the trafficking of Mexican cartel and bikers gangs can't continue to bring worse and worse drugs into Manitoba. It seems shortsighted to let them continue just because addicted people will seek out other stimulants.

It is unclear if a safe injection center or a sobering centre with a 72 hour hold will work or help the way the government thinks it might. Most charities are struggling right now to keep up. Some might criticize that they are religious and they screw it up. Still, they the ones who donate. Some are saying we need a collectivist society where housing, food and transport are all free. That may well be helpful. But will all those things overcome addiction? So many people who have homes with supports still reject them in favour of substances. It is heartbreaking.

This is a crisis at this point. The election is in the fall. Crime will be an issue. The loss of stores, housing, safety will be issues. And yet no prominent left or right of center candidate are stepping forward so far and no councillor will ever give up their seat because they have to resign from council to run. Talk is cheap. We have a lot of people who seem to want to bypass other elected areas straight to mayor. There are some who have sought other offices but turning up every four years just for mayor seems to happen often. Unless your name was the late Nick Ternette who was an urban activist all his life, it seems a vanity project.

The campaign is likely to be about crime. Mayor Gillingham will be on the defensive if an entire area of the city collapses from businesses fleeing. Blaming the businesses is going to not stop them from closing.

Osborne Village 2026

There is always a lamenting for the great old days of an area. Osborne Village has been called Canada's greatest neighbourhoods pre-pandemic. Honestly, the entire area has gone in cycles of ups and downs. I'm sure someone would say the best era was when it was the Osborne Barracks and housing was free...for the soldiers. And it was mostly horses. For some the 1980s and 90s with various clubs and Papa Georgie's open till 4 AM. Plus rents from $400 to $600 a month. If you back into the 1970s, rooming houses were $100 or less.

The days of rooming houses and fraternity houses are over. With many of the houses way over a 100 years old, they simply either had to be upgraded and demolished. Much of the older housing stock has to face this. Even Wellington Crescent houses have to be constantly cared for of they fall apart.

In Osborne there are still two and three story houses. Some are owned by one family but others are now condos inside houses. This was the story of the 1980s as house after house made way for something new. Oddly, density went down in part of the neighbourhood but that is true of many areas like River Heights and Wolseley. Fewer kids under the roof of a mom and dad. Still, in the highrise areas, the density is still high by Canadian standards.

There are good bones in Osborne. Grocery, pharmacy and some restaurants are resilient. Nearly 300 units of housing built since 2020 have helped. Regular police and support foot patrols have been helpful. The city still is coping with massive drug use, encampments and theft. It could get very bad again this summer. It seems no matter how fast supportive housing takes in new people, more are on the street. This might be the year to see if all of Canada can turn things around.

There is also lots of housing all over the city going up. The rule of thumb still applies that the housing built now becomes the affordable housing of 20 years from now. However, there does seem to be a focus on geared to income housing and affordable that is slowly starting to materialize including in the Osborne area. 

We have had an enormous growth in population but did nothing to improve housing starts or twenty years prior to 2020. In fact, we dragged our feet even when the obvious benefits were plain to see. It is still painful to get approvals for a lot of space even when consultations drag out years. And any vacant place now faces arson for even short periods where no one is there. One after the other 7-Elevens are closing all over the city. We need to get a handle on this city-wide problem.

But, as mentioned, Osborne as good bones. It doesn't have to look for things that other neighbourhoods don't to make them walkable. River Heights doesn't have a large grocer that is easily a walk away. The larger density and various commercial space makes for more opportunities in Osborne. The connectivity is both a strength and a weakness. More people are coming through Osborne than live there. It can be traffic chaos. There are frequent suggestions to divert it elsewhere but it is like putting a finger in a dike. The problem materializes elsewhere.

If a neighbourhood becomes too popular, people want to come and will ask: Where do I park or how do I drive there? If neighbourhood becomes too unpopular it can whither on the vine. What is the perfect mix? Somehow, you try to make sure people leave their cars and walk more in a neighbourhood. Osborne lost 24 businesses last year and it is just starting to recover. Each business that fills a gap creates foot traffic. Every empty part of the street is a difficult gap for people to commit to, especially if they are accosted for money or abused simply for being each step.

There is safety in crowds. Perhaps this is the moment where the tide is turning. Still, it will probably feel like sliding backwards from time to time with desperate addictions problems. The big police arrests of Hell's Angels drugs might make for a supply problem on streets where some resort to ever more aggressive moves to make money and more toxic options for getting high. The province is kicking in millions for street patrols downtown. It might have to be extended elsewhere. It might not be enough even at that.

Osborne will only be reclaimed one building at a time, one street at a time. I think video security and sadly, facial recognition, will be used to crackdown on those who abuse people and target stores over and over. If there are no consequences, the bad acts will continue. Osborne Village will probably never have as old and cheap housing as once before. The dream of $400 may only be achievable through geared to income supports and mixed developments. 

 There is sadness about the closure of the Osborne Village Inn and the end of music and meeting halls. Not to mention the loss of a beer vendor. However, the apartment that went up is likely to bring new life to a large space. The first commercial tenants on the first floor could breath life on the street. It could be transformative. Some of the larger spaces owned by previous long term owners have been sub-divided. The days of very large restaurants is over. Likewise, shops don't need as big a space.

We should be seeing if this summer things start to change back to a time when the neighbourhood was getting recognition from across Canada.

David Byrne - Burning Down the House 2026 Goodbye Colbert

U.S. Pulls Out of Canada/Defence Group

The U.S. has suspended activities in a defence board set up by Franklin D. Roosevelt and William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1940 in WWII. Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby blames the Davos speech by Mark Carney as the reason for the move although the speech never mentioned the U.S. or North American defence.

In addition to blaming the speech, it says Canada has not met it's obligations to the U.S. but doesn't specifically say what those area. The 2% GDP of defence spending has been met and moves are being made to take it to 3.5% and beyond. Is he referring to that? Is he referring to the F-35s being re-assessed by Canada? There have 16 bought so far of the 88 and down payments made on the next batch. Canadian pilots begin training on the planes very shortly. Canada has already committed to purchase other aircraft fully from American contractors. However, is it enough for our American blowhard is defence?

He should sit down in front of a reporter and explain his thuggish behaviour and what he truly means. It could be all about trade which is not really in the remit of an underlying in Pete Hegseth's department. It is just more vague gangster bullying until they pout up what they actually want. For all we know this is the response to Canada not graciously taking the U.S. up on 51st state.

The Canadian government has long learned not to overreact. It commented but the fact that has largely been ignored by U.S. and world media is noteworthy. Carney rightfully pointed out that there are other areas of cooperation in defence. Unless this Colby is hinting the U.S. is about to pull out of NORAD because of the relationship, he is probably just trying to be a thug.

The National Post as it is wont to do says this is all Carney's fault and says if he would just sign a trade deal and commit to buying all 88 F-35s. Seriously. The conservative media and Poilievre seem to think that only if they were in charge, the chaos would end. Ask the countries that have signed deals how they feel. Nothing but instability. The endless tributes of money and flattery earn nothing except more requests for same.

Given the lack of publicity in the U.S., let's assume this gangland threat wasn't exactly approved by the capo. However, it is broader policy of transactional bullying where the States gets what they want and we are allowed to buy their products instead of making our own. No one in Canada should be hoping for a quick fix or deal to get back to normal. Colby was part of a group that wrote the policy of how to be a brute.

Should Victoria Day End?

Should Victoria Day end?

Well, not as a holiday but Victoria Day? That is to say, change the name and expand what it celebrates. Keep the first Monday of the third as a statutory day between May 18 and May 24 but why should be Queen Victoria be honoured in perpetuity? 

I don'ts think she should have been pushed down and had her head cut off on the north lawn of the Legislature. You go down that route and maybe you are climbing up the walls to cut the head off the Golden Boy to make a point.

Queen Victoria is a historically important figure in Canada becoming a nation. However, even in Manitoba, she was long gone by the time the Legislature went up. Manitoba is slow to change though. Our flag still has the Union Jack on it and is barely recognizable compared to Ontario's. 

I suppose no one moves slower than Ontario. They finally allowed shopping on Victoria Day. One tradition they have still is fireworks. In Manitoba, or at least Winnipeg, zero fireworks at all. For anything.

While people appreciate the holiday, there is no significant meaning of Victoria Day for today's Canadian. None. It is frequently just another shopping day.

The day needs to be re-claimed and that probably means expanding the honours given to those important in the last and in the present. 

It is worth noting that the U.S. has Memorial Day on the following weekend. It has evolved over the years too from Decoration Day for the Civil War to Memorial Day for all veterans. The traditional kick off to summer in U.S.

Canada's Remembrance is not a national statutory day off all over Canada. It is a holiday in Manitoba but in say, Ontario. The U.S. has Veterans Day on the same day. Ceremonies take place on November 11 in Canada and the U.S. but in most of the Canada, it is a regular day except at 11 AM.

It may be time to consider a national Memorial Day that is a statutory day. There are no more WWI veterans and if a few more years there will not be any WWII veterans. However, we should maybe have a debate what Victoria Day might change to.

Just honours for veterans? How about first responders too. Police, fire, paramedics, fire fighters? One thing is certain: Victoria Day means less and less. Canadian holidays are evolving. Or they should. Even New Year's Day is barely celebrated. 

At least Canada Day keeps evolving. Except in Manitoba where nothing happens on the Eve anymore and the day is a snoozefest.

Uniqlo Opens in Polo Park

When I lived in Japan, Uniqlo was just a few years open and only really known by Japanese or foreigners who lived in the country. While a lot of people were focused on international stores opening in the country such as Virgin Records, not as much attention was paid to a number stores opening in Japan that would take the world by storm. In 1984, the first store in Hiroshima was called Unique Clothing Warehouse. By 1988, because of an error in registration for brand name in Hong Kong, someone slipped a Q in and by 1989 Uniqlo was the official name. This is when I arrived in Japan.

People said the company was fast fashion but the reputation even then was for durable and enjoyable clothing. Affordable, which Japanese had not seen much of, during a steady luxury brands and stores entering the market. Living there as long as I did, I appreciated goods that fit and were not insanely priced. As Japan's economy went through a prolonged stagnation in the 1990s, Uniqlo grew in popularity as a staple of men and women's closets.

The first store in Canada was Eaton Centre in Toronto in 2016. Last years there was a flurry of stores in places in places like Vancouver and Calgary. Now Polo Park and later this year, St. Vital Centre get their Uniqlos.

How important is Uniqlo to the malls of Winnipeg? Very important. Generation Z is very much into a return to the mall. Unlike some Millennials who only order online, only text and don't like social settings, Generation Z is into experiences and socializing. It has been this generation that lined up for the store opening and showed a general enthusiasm for the event. Other generations also went but Uniqlo and Zara are among a few stores that have helped malls in Winnipeg find their mojo.

We are not nearly as over-malled as the U.S. nor have some of the long contracts that crippled some malls such as Mall of America. Sears, which has been closed for a very long time, has a 99 year lease at the mall so the space remains unoccupied. Columbia Mall is nearly abandoned in Grand Forks, North Dakota. At one time, the mall in Grand Forks led the way of what people in Winnipeg hoped to see in their malls. Overall, most cities seems to be absorbing the lost space left by retailers like Sears and The Bay.

Uniqlo had some of the best marketing we have seen in some time. They hired local as many times as they could in entertainment and food and product. The brought in influencers, They bought ads, And they invited media. It was a masterclass of how to make a grand entrance. And their target audience came even though it was a school day. I don't think this is the last retailer we see that draws a crowd but it might be harder to find leasable space since Polo Park and St. Vital seem to have a plan to attract stores people want.

How Bad A Summer Will It Be?

More and more businesses are saying problems along Portage and into Wolseley are exploding. Rampant drug use, aggressive behaviour and fires set are out of control. The Free Press interviewed people about the new security rebate from the province and emerged with a scary story of how fast things are deteriorating. 

How bad is it? It is so bad that the block around north Portage by Sherbrook narrowly avoided being burned down. There are a number of businesses there begging for help from the government. They are not reactionary types with a hate for low income people. They are desperate not not be hurt through violence. They don't want their customers to be driven away. And they don't want to clean up people using their doorways as washrooms, sleeping stalls or spots to launch attacks.

These are not corporate tycoons. They are small businesses and ordinary people. Some have opened convenience stores and no one should feel they might subject to assault, fire or outright neglect. Blaming the people who are trying to make sure the area is not without bakeries, restaurants and stores is so unfair.

There are so many NDP MLAs and cabinet ministers in Winnipeg. Double the amount of councillors. They seem to be content fighting in the Legislature. Wab Kinew and Obby Khan just call each other names in Question Period. The NDP government is saying they are doing something but one building after another burns down. The NDP MLAs are invisible.

This is an election year in Winnipeg. They councillors and mayor could be vulnerable to defeat but the voter turnout is very low. No sitting mayor has been defeated since the 1950s. Very rarely does a sitting councillor get defeated. Unless a new system like ballot selection is chosen, there may be no fix for the same people in office. Ditto the MLAs who are just not visible.

This is not to say that some areas of improvement are helpful. The downtown safety patrols that are in part funded by True North are being trusted enough to get people on the path to some care routine. The spike in HIV and other diseases is an indication of some of the accelerated breakdown in health, especially in preventable diseases. Drug addiction, mental health are running rampant. Hepatitis A is running out of control. This suggests a complete failure in care. People are only being revived by paramedics just to suffer treatable diseases the rest of their lives.

It is clear that some on the streets have no impulse control and even placing them in homes is not enough support for the toxicity of the drugs. In fact, seniors who have had drug addiction folks placed in their buildings are saying they are under siege. Where are the wraparound supports? What we've been hearing is support staff won't go in buildings because it is too dangerous. This is outrageous. 

Every citizen will have the misfortune to use a hospital for their own use or family and friends in the next years and one by one, they are all being listed as unsafe by the very nurses who have to work there. This is considered acceptable? The amount of assaults on staff inside and outside hospitals is at critical levels.

Gordon Bell High School is in the middle of meth and fentanyl overdoses in the middle of the day as student walk through discarded needles. Security guards specializing in hard reduction are planned for next school term but the problem grows every day until then.

The fire department is reporting ever rising cases of places being brought down by arson. The city can barely keep up with vacant buildings and demolished buildings. A building that is closes could face arson only days after being boarded up. Fire services can be out multiple times a night. Paramedics are out at even great rates.

As far as Transit goes, the new route system sometimes leaves people feeling vulnerable during transfers. Many shelters might be filled with needles and occupied permanently. Inside the buses, the drivers want to shut off from the passengers. This may help the drivers while the passengers don't have any protections. 

An interesting story about San Francisco Democratic mayor Daniel Lurie appeared in the the Washington Post in the past days. He has done been cited even by Donald Trump about his crime fighting in the city. Using both public and private partnerships, he has made progress in the city that went through a terrible downtown following Covid and crime that seemed to have little regard for enforcement. Using technology and backfilling shortages of police has helped as well as various strategies to help people from falling into harmful behaviour.

So the question remains, how bad could it get for Winnipeg and Manitoba? While we may not have police shortages in Winnipeg, the RCMP is short very many officers. This does not help in terms of drug and human trafficking or episodes of school violence where response time is terrible. It seems unbelievable we have rising unemployment with a shortage of thousands of RCMP. Why are these positions unfilled?

Things have been moving so quickly that something terrible is going to happen and then it will be all reactive. It is hard to say what that might be. Homicide, arson, encampments along Portage Avenue, major city parks, multiple deaths from Hep A, overdoses and deaths? I don't know but things are moving painfully slow and the government and opposition seem only interested in calling each other names in the Legislature. City Hall seems overwhelmed and more focused on road construction and trying to get the Feds to pay for their sewer.

The election is in November and the situation with crime and drugs isn't going to go away. If it is a horrific summer, it will surely goad various governments to act. Finger pointing won't cut it although we are likely to see a lot of it. Winnipeg will need to surge all out. Simply swapping out needles and testing drugs won't cut it if violence and property crime escalate beyond the pale. If even the support workers fear going to work, you have already lost the battle.

Summer is when a lot of politicians in Manitoba like to take time off but it is unlikely that they will be able to escape scrutiny. Last years the province was on fire and there was no break. This year the drug and crime issue will do the same. There will be no hiding from it.

Lands Around Polo Park Being Sold Off

 

Shindico has indicated that Cadillac Fairview's priority surrounding Polo Park has been downgraded. The blame has been put on the City of Winnipeg slow walking zoning, the rising costs of construction and fewer multi-unit housing starts planned. Some of this is true but it is also true that Polo Park has had continuous upgrades from Sears to Zellers and has still has The Bay to deal with. Each projects takes time and millions.

There was a mad rush to get the arena and the stadium down and street improvements made. An urgency was presented for the speed of the work. The airport zoning was changed years ago. If we are to believe the news now, there was only a tiny window about 10 years ago or so and now it is gone. 

The truth is probably more in the middle. The two developers had amassed a huge 84 acres but the so-called delay they describe around 2020 was already in the middle of Covid. The site has already lost to the Seasons of Tuxedo site a huge amount of retail, hotels, commercial buildings and entertainment. In the race to develop, Seasons was way ahead. And there was not much room for a whole new outlet mall.

Now, it may be the Kapyong Barracks time although is likely to be piece by piece. Hoarding an 84 acre site when both Shindico and Cadillac Fairview have their own projects and competitors nipping at their heels. Holding onto land another decade probably seems like a costly thing to keep on the balance sheet. What they originally thought was that was the whole site would be built in steady phases and that they would be collecting ever rising rent over the years. 

There is no doubt that some other businesses would build in a red hot minutes if they could both own and operate the near Polo Park. Hence, the word hoarding is used in this case. No one was buying what these two companies were selling. They were trying to build luxury, high end rental property thinking it would sell like a hotcakes. It wasn't. The endless empty parking lots with shiny new roads all around is an indication of that. And like so many projects, bait a switch. A rush to approve demolition and then no start to construction.

Hopefully, the sale will reveal who is serious about getting stuff built. The city can help get stuff built with the shovel ready program. The luxury stuff can be handled by the developers themselves. The government can focus on support for lower income units and residents who need support directly.  Helping to pay for shopping centers isn't needed.

It isn't likely we see anything soon on Polo Park. Cadillac Fairview and Shindico have a lot of projects on the go. Other companies can carry the football over the line now. It's time for big corporations and government to get out of the way. And in some circumstances, the public who can make outrageous demands on height restrictions, density or design even when buildings are outside their area. The desire to control things reminds me of the time Linden Woods had a petition against The Keg building across Waverley many years ago because the smell of steaks might drive dogs nuts. The citizens won.

There is no doubt that several different restaurant groups might be interested in having an establishment at Polo Park. Cactus Club, Milestone's and others have considered expanding into Winnipeg but a site next to a major attraction like the arena or Polo Park has been considered key. Several American companies like Shake Shack have been looking to expand to Winnipeg.

As far as apartments, there are several assisted living companies looking for space and Polo Park would seem to fit the bill. However, they might not have had room with the large developers who often want to do the work in-house or whose cut was just too big to make viable. Land hoarding is done by both private and public organizations. And the land around Polo Park has been hoarded for a long time with no results. Waiting for the maximum sales value has meant empty parking lots.

It seems the mad rush to clear out the stadium and arena for something better will take more time. It won't be the first time or the last that the city has been told by a developer to demolish things only to slick back into the sidelines and blame the city for not moving even faster. In the end, the sale off could a very good thing. What once was a warehousing area and manufacturing sector is being populated by hotels and specialized retail. And now more people might actually be able to live in the area.

Polo Park isn't about to become a declining area. Millions are being spent on the mall and surrounding areas. I expect security and policing to be a major issue this year so expect a big boost in those areas. If Polo Park declines then the whole city is likely in crisis. That doesn't seem likely. The prospect and new enthusiastic developers for the site will be welcome.

Sunrise Records Kildonan Place to Close

Kildonan has been on a relentless transformation over the last 15 years as major anchors have closed and they try to find new ones and upgrade to new attractions. After grocery and theatre upgrades, the last area is the food court. And with that has come a lot of moves and closures to accommodate the change.

By all rights, record stores should be dead. But they refuse to be in Canada. Sunrise Records is the descendent of HMV Records and seems to be doing well even in 2026. It can be a tough time for legacy stores of 30 or 40 years vintage. Warehouse, based in Winnipeg and across the country is being liquidated along with sister company Bootlegger. It seems unlikely they survive in any form but who knows. Toys R Us is also in final stages of closure. 

Sunrise Records will be around but the days of a record store at Kildonan Place appear to be over for now. It has had a number of record stores in it since its founding. And there could be one day in the future where one might return.

The overall health of the malls in Winnipeg appears to be good despite the closure of The Bay which still leave space to filled at Polo Park and St. Vital. There have been a few incidents at Kildonan and other major malls but overall security is responsive and there are no large vacancy rates that can be seen all over the U.S.

Generation Z seems to be helping a revival of malls but it isn't entirely clear if they are buying old fashioned records. If they are, then maybe see a return of a record store in the future at Kildonan.

Another 7-Eleven in Winnipeg Closes 2026

After an indication that 7-Eleven was looking to expand in Winnipeg, another store at 1871 Main Street has closed. It has opened a huge debate in the city. Some are arguing this is just corporate downsizing the company is doing all over North America. It is true. The 7-Eleven owners in Japan fended off Circle K's takeover bid and now shareholders are looking for profitability in the shares.

Circle K has easily been more valuable as a stock whatever people's feeling are on where it it ranks as a convenience store. 7-Eleven in Canada is often in the same locations it has been since the 1970s. Some of these locations are small, in need of physical updates, owned by third parties who sometimes have other plans for the site and some have parking spaces that are too few when shared with other tenants. Not every store closure is about retail theft.

Having said that, store theft is out of control and not just at convenience stores. It is everywhere. It is becoming more brazen and sometimes includes violence. To most citizens it seems to happen with impunity. Someone picked up by the police is often released and back at it again. It is like to repeated drunk drive who is released and even when their license is taken away, does it again and again till someone if hurt.

The rate of theft post pandemic has risen dramatically. It is concurrent with poverty levels, addictions and mental health issues and homelessness. It is likely that those areas will take time and effort and many years to overcome. Only disaster or war comes close to the devastation wrought on so many over a widespread area. And like post-WWII, only a national plan focused on the displaced will come close to ending it.

Some crime numbers have dropped over the years, even in cities. In some rural areas, they have dropped to historic lows. Hard as it is to believe, there was more violence years past. What has really taken off is property crime and store theft. Even 7-Eleven with industry leading security has not been able to withstand the theft in their stores. No store can really. Despite claims by some that this is just corporate chicanery, most realistic observers have seen the helplessness of clerks and cashiers as people walk out laden with loot. Whatever sympathy for those who might by doing this is lost when yet another store closes or a clerk hurt by those in a rush to get out. 

Those who believe that any and all business is bad will not care about a 7-Eleven closing. Some seemed to think it impeded small independent stores. This, however, ignore the fact that 7-Eleven innovated in Manitoba by being open 24 hours, seven days a week against forces that wanted them closed before 11, on Sundays and holidays. No store that was family owned was challenging that. Only those who have never had a need overnight or holiday thinks stores closed when you need a tin a cat food for a cat who is in full hunger yowl think this was great times.

Convenience stores have continued to be under full assault. In some neighbourhoods, it has only gotten worse. If 7-Eleven intends on expanding via franchising in Winnipeg, it is likely not going to do it in areas that they abandoned unless there was a dramatic turn in shoplifting. While the police have made some key arrests, the proliferation of crime has been only overcome when with drastic security measures such as ID entry only for  entrance.  The most we have seen from grocery stores is the closure of second entrances all over Winnipeg starting around Covid.

It is unlikely that 7-Eleven would only allow entry via being buzzed in. That would entail a whole bunch of people who are banned from entering a whole bunch a businesses. In many parts of the U.S., 24 hour stores lock their doors and only serve through a slot in the front. In the past, they used to have the cashier locked in a booth but that doesn't protect the items in the store. In fact the booth sometimes didn't protect the occupant inside.

Some point to the hands off approach inside stores that was adopted to stop employees or customers from being hurt and liability. In Winnipeg, there have been a number of court cases where employees and owners and have tried to stop theft resulting in injury. On the side of the ledger, there have been employees injured and sexually assaulted even when they did nothing. Just this week a worker at a cannabis store was not only robbed but sexually assaulted.

Despite all that has been happening, there have been a number of convenience stores opening in the city, including downtown. Property crime has been around as long as human have been around. There is a reason keys and locks were invented so very long ago. 

It is unknown whether any retail will ever go in the 7-Elevens that are closed around the city. At least not for a while. I'm sure the owners would gladly sell to a convenience store if they dared to open there. The truth is between break and entering and store theft, it could be some neighbourhoods just won't have any commercial businesses willing to move into the area.

The trend of store theft is world-wide. Winnipeg isn't just the special case. Having said that, the only way to reduce the issue is to keep focusing on making it difficult for break and enters, store thefts and the like to happen. Some states are making an aggregate of $5000 over 180 days the marker for jail time. That alone won't do it but a few measures to avoid the non-stop revolving door would be meaningful. Meanwhile, 7-Elevens and other stores will close.

Royce Koop Seeking Conservative Nomination in Winnipeg South Centre

 

University of Manitoba professor and Winnipeg Sun columnist has indicated he will be seeking the nomination for the Conservatives for Winnipeg South Centre. The riding is presently held by the Liberal under Ben Carr, son of the last Jim Carr, former MLA and MP from the area. Carr was recently re-elected in 2025. The riding has been one of the most consistent federal Liberal riding for nearly five decades. The next election is, at best, three years away now the Mark Carney has a majority.

By all accounts, Koop has been a well liked professor at University of Manitoba. He has degrees from all over Canada and has taught at many Canadian  universities. When he wrote at the Free Press, there was insightful analysis. His columns in The Sun and sometimes National Post are all opinion pieces. His focus pretty much all the time is the Liberal party and why it is bad for Canada. He also writes for the conservative digital news service call The Hub. Just this week, Conrad Black, a frequent contributor said Trump is a good president and his name in the Epstein Files is irrelevant.

Koop is known as a fairly partisan conservative. His Sun columns and podcasts with Kevin Klein have been focused against the NDP in Manitoba and the Liberals in Ottawa. As an academic he is well aware of the micro and macro of the political economy. He knows how the Westminster system works. He is well aware of the ideology of every political party in the country. Knowing all this, his political opinion of things overlooks the failures of his own party and focuses on the failures of the other guys.

It it is unclear if there is competition for the nomination for the federal riding. The last candidate for the Conservatives in the riding was Royden Brosseau, an engineer and businessman, who hasn't indicated that they will run again. Joyce Bateman won for the Tories in 2011 but lost to Jim Carr the following election. It has been a very Liberal since the 1980s even through many Conservative governments.

The Conservatives have felt this riding, with a mix of wealth and high education, has been ripe for the plucking for decades but have continually come up short. And by a long ways most of the time. And some of the right who campaigned in the riding have often shown a level of racism and anti-Semitism dating back to the Reform party. Given the  Jewish strength in the riding, conservatives often think they take the the seat. But that assumes a monolithic viewpoint of Jewish Canadian votes. It dismisses Jewish roots in a spectrum of views rather than single issue politics.

Royce Koop will likely face challengers for the nomination which is might might fight off being more right of center. He will then have to show the riding he can represent all the people that live there. There are many government workers, artists and small business people who live in the riding. Many will be ever alert to threats to health, education and and areas they feel passionate about.

The lesson learned from Pierre Poilievre's defeat in his own riding is that many people in the Ottawa area were afraid of slash and burn policies that could affect their jobs and workplaces. It is possible that if Trudeau had still been in power in 2025 in the election, even Winnipeg South Centre would have turned blue. However, the Liberals turned to Carney and the Trump changed the election into an existential threat. That threat still hangs over Canada.

I suppose the benefit of Koop getting the nomination early is that he can get a feel of the riding. You can bet they will be reading his columns, watching podcasts and so will his opposition. If Carney nose dives in the polls, it is possible this seat can turn over. But it is likely it will only be a narrow window and the community will be watching like hawks the whole time.

Loudmouth Lutnick

Howard Lutnick is a billionaire who routinely mouths off about Canada in his Trump role as Commerce Secretary. He and Jamieson Greer, the trade representative are sold on tariffs and manufacturing in the U.S. and this approach has been for every country in the world. Some countries rushed to make deals only to find Trump changes the deals.

Both Lutnick and Greerson have pretty much said the deal Canada must accept is that their auto manufacturing must move to the U.S. and that we buy cars from America and no where else. This, and pretty much every other industry, are to move to the U.S. and we buy from them or risk punishment. There is absolute fury in the administration that Canada went to China and made a deal to end the ban canola and other ag products and quota for EV automobiles in Canada. Strangely enough, Trump is going to China soon. How will his deal be different than Canada's?

Lutnick might be trying to impress Trump now so he can get a pardon later for behavior kinked to Epstein. This isn't just an idle observation. He seems to only disclose when under oath and Congress is about to question him again. It often seems that most of the cabinet and political appointees perform for an audience of one. It is all about Trump.

Canada had not risen to the debate as it might once have done. The U.S, seems to want to scare Canada into a deal while stripping out our tech and manufacturing industry at the same. The U.S. negotiating team seems bewildered why we don't jump at such a bad deal. Or ask to become a state in the U.S.

The mid-term elections in the U.S. this November likely mean change is coming for both elected officials and administration. The loss of the House of Representatives, and possibly, the Senate. It is the Congress that makes trade deals. It seems very likely that Canada just has to wait till January 2027 for when the newly elected members are sworn in.

There is usually changes in cabinet and other appointees as well. We have seen Trump fire a few cabinet secretaries and more may be on the way. Some will quit before getting fired while others will quit to get media jobs, lobbyist jobs or to run for office themselves. The last two years of a presidency is called the lame duck part of the term. It is when even the President's party is not likely to pass the agenda if it means a possibility of them not winning or moving on to another office in the next election.

The possibility of the president running a third term is remote because of two term limits. Any attempt to bypass that is likely to be struck down at every level of the courts. The Supreme Court knows that if they strike down term limits for Trump, it could result in multiple terms for other presidents, including Democrats.

The term limits work to Canada's advantage because tariffs are not likely to be as much on the agenda of any future U.S. president. It could be why the U.S. negotiating team is putting a rush on talks. They want to lock in terms favourable to them. The U.S. is particularly focused on pharmaceutical and online companies. They may have dropped bringing up supply management in things like dairy. It is possible that they fear Canada might bring up U.S. subsidies in ag and manufacturing.

Pierre Poilievre has been needling Carney that he has done nothing to make a deal and insists it is achievable if he was the prime minister. Interestingly, he doesn't reveal what compromises he would make that would be a win-win for both countries. He simply won't be PM if he throws supply management or pharmaceuticals to the Americans. And that is just to start.

Some of the U.S. demands are just being revealed. They want Canada to accept tariffs but also any attempt to diversify our economy from the U.S. or any regulation of our own economy. The fact that free trade exists at a level that is near complete in North America is not acceptable. They want free trade for U.S. into Canada while Canada pay high tariffs.

Lutnick says Canada delaying sucks and won't work but the truth is that he will likely not have his job soon enough. He will either quit or be fired soon. His appearance in future Congressional Epstein hearings in next days. The rush to submit to the U.S. in the negotiations is just not in Canada's interest. And despite what Poilievre says, Canada is not delaying. We just won't pay upfront costs anymore when the U.S. never gives anything back. Not will we accept the insults and threats of annxation.

Lowering Gas Tax

The continuing war has led to the new majority government of Mark Carney to lower the excise tax on gas 10 cents. For diesel and aviation fuel the drop is 4 cents In the next days and week, summer fuel comes on the market and it costs an additional fivc cents a litre.  And there is no telling how long the war continues. Even if oil begins to flow, resumption of pre-war prices is forecast not to happen this year and maybe never.

There is a lot of cynicism. Some are saying that the money should be used for other things to make life affordable. It is about $2.5 billion that is out of government coffers. The suggestion is that the money could be used to pay for 10,000 nurse for an entire year. If only that would end the nurse shortages. As with most things, it is very complicated.

With gas 40 cents higher than a year ago, some people asked to comment on media were begging government to somehow get it lowered back to that. Covid, global recessions and market manipulations have dropped gas prices way low from time to time. But what have we learned? Not much. It is when people buy the biggest vehicles. However, they can run into sticker shock if gas goes high which happens fairly often. Unlike the housing market, there are no guardrails against gas shooting through the roof. 

The war in the Middle East is outside Canada's control. What Canada can control is access to some critical supplies like helium where 30% is supplied by Qatar. Even before this there has been a shortage of this element that is central in things like MRI machines. Perhaps the private sector will take up the cause and invest here. There is a role for government in this.

As for reserves that other countries have such as the U.S., Canada has never needed since we are a net exporter. The price though is set worldwide. It doesn't matter if we have enough supply for ourselves. And we are not Venezuela or Saudi Arabia that subsidize fuel prices for locals. And where countries have subsidized, it hasn't helped their economies.

Reducing tax as a inflation relief strategy has to be measured against how much government revenue is lost versus how much costs of living. And once you reduce tax, the very act of doing show can in itself cause inflation. It is a balancing act. Most industries will all beg for tax relief while as the same time say the roads are terrible. Well, government revenue is required for infrastructure. 

The war has been a shock to the system so a temporary measure to help is understandable. The excise tax of 10 cents has been frozen since 1995. Adjusted for inflation, it should be 17 cents now. An argument for tax reform can be made, especially transparency and fairness. But some people, often richer, think taxes are only for the poor. No one likes taxes but they are a dense collection of fees that are confusing even to accountants.

The ceasefires in the Middle East usually have the same result every time. Civilians rush back to the smashed homes and re-build as do belligerents for the next wave of attacks. The incentive to actually resolve the problems is never really there. It seems for some, the war is a chance to shore up political support every few months. In some places like Lebanon, the state seems paralyzed to do anything as a nation.

For many Canadians, they will take the relief for now. They will wait till Monday to fill their cars. Some provinces might follow suit. Canada does not control the war. It might be involved somehow in a peace agreement but we seem far off from that scenario yet. The now majority government of Mark Carney will have to move fast to juice the economy and bring affordability to the market. If the world will stop fighting.

Starfleet Academy Cancelled After One More Season

In the many decades after the original series, I heard numerous times that they were musing about a Star Fleet Academy based show. It was all for naught though. Until 2026, when they 12th series based of Gene Roddenberry's concept was launched. For quite some time the idea was this to be a movie where Kirk and Spock meet. The re-launch of the Kelvin timeline in 2009 had an origin story for Kirk that had him go to the Academy but it was all sped along to where he was acting Captain of the Enterprise. Quite a bit for one movie but it was exciting.

The truth is that there are so many producers, writers and actors proposing stuff in the Star Trek universe that it just dies in development. The best chance anyone ever gets to see a Star Trek TV series or movie is when someone has a development deal and they let them run with the ball. It can still end up being tanked by new executives at CBS Studios or Paramount. Even today that studio has more problems than the average bear.

As a rule, I watch all Star Trek series and movies. I don't love all the series. And I don't love every season of the series I do love. And I don't love every character of every series. I often find series that incorporate kids in a drama series do terrible jobs of it. For Next Generation, I think Wesley was a weak a character and annoying. This is a reflection of the writing as Will Wheaton and Levar Burton were the best knows in the case when the show came on the air. Likewise DS9 had two young actor and I felt their storylines were weak. 

Shows that run as long as Star Trek have different versions and timelines. The animated series is not considered canon. It was darn entertaining through. The reboot movie in 2009 led to a different timeline. It shared enough Trek lore as to win fans. The TV series changes often makes it difficult when creative choices are abandoned along the way. Ask Star Wars about that.

The problem with trying to to keep decades long running franchises going is that you have to satisfy old fan while building a base with new fans who have never seen the series before. The original series had a diverse cast with women in senior positions on the crew. However, the network pushed back and did not want a women as second in command. They also pushed back on Spock's ears which they called demonic. The battle on Spock's ears was won, senior officer as a woman lost.

Science Fiction was an allegory of real world issues in the 1960s. And while the FCC and network censors might not allow certain drama in a police or medical show, they let things slide in Star Trek. Hence, the Klingons were Russians, the Romulans were Chinese, issues on black and white American discourse were raised in an alien species in dispute because one side of their face was while and one side of their face was black. And let's not forget the first back and white kiss on TV with Kirk and Uhura.

Gene Roddenberry was trying to push a positive outlook on the future even if was one where war, slavery, political interference and violence happened fairly regularly. Beware if you have to wear a red shirt on Star Trek. You're toast! The criticism on some of the later Star Trek iterations is that they were too to negative. However, if all was well after, it struck many as overly optimistic. For example, Voyager was always back to a clean, well run ship after every awful encounter. Many called it "the re-set" because there were never any long lasting effects from the battle to get home. It was the introduction of Seven of Nine that helped define the series in later years.

Starfleet Academy had quite a backlash from MAGA conservatives for too many characters and storylines they thought were woke. Some of these conservatives professed to be fans of the old Star Trek. It seems some forget how the show has always been progressive. William Shatner, Captain Kirk, dismissed those criticisms even though he wasn't part of this iteration of the series. Just another example of him defending the show's long history. If anyone knows the fans of the series, it is him.

The corporate takeover of Paramount/CBS Studios by Skydance and subsequent purchase of Warner Brothers has meant and will probably mean lots of layoffs. Old deals with the studio are not necessarily being renewed. And television and cable are thought to be dead mediums. The focus is on streaming. And now just by Paramount. By all of them. Star Trek is just another asset purchased. However, for now, debt has to be paid and producer deals will change or end. By 2027, there will be no Star Trek anywhere in film or TV unless the studio orders something soon. Even hot producer Taylor Sheridan of Yellowstone fame didn't get a new deal.

As for what I thought of Starfleet Academy? I liked the idea of a ship and earth-based school. However, I thought the idea of it landing and taking off excessive and a logistical nightmare. Gene Roddenberry invented the transporters because the cost of landing and taking off a ship as a physical effect was a lot. I'm assuming the producers got a budget for various sets and wanted to make sure they had a ship that could function like this. This was a cost issue for the show. Visual effects seem to have a huge budget.

To be sure the series is as glossy as you are going to see. Bursting with colour and graced with designs that are as posh as you can imagine. Costuming and make-up are amazing. They still struggle to provide pockets for anything. This is something Babylon 5 managed to do. Garibaldi shrugging his shoulders with hands in his pockets was a thing. Star Trek has never been exactly practical on these things. Of course, I did notice pockets on the Artemins crew so maybe they still have a function in space?

I have no problems with the characters per se. However, there is a lot to go through and speeding along as they do, it is too superficial. Teleporting aboard a ship and it puts you in a uniform and cuts your hair seems over the top again. It is jarring. You would think writers and producers would think these things over. A teleport device that could undress you and cuts your hair without consent is not funny. It also raises questions of consistency in technology. Even the Star Trek movies have had to address some of their outrageous tech plot points. The 2009 movie has Scottie and Kirk teleport aboard the Enterprise halfway across the galaxy. The next movie explained that Section 31, took the tech away from Scottie. Still, why travel by starship at all if the teleporter could place you anywhere in the world?

Star Trek has at least tried to keep technical aspects consistent but it would appear that some of those people who are historians and tech writers on the show, are not present. Or perhaps the producers think we'll fall into the technobabble and not see that it can wreck the show just as any continuity error in film and TV does. Nothing more obvious that characters who go from wet to dry in by next scene. This would be the original Star Wars and the garbage chute scene. In terms of tech questions on Star Wars, the Han Solo Kessel Run measured in parsecs as if it was a speed drove some people nuts.

For some, this inside baseball knowledge is not important. What is more important is story and character. Old Star Trek has fewer characters and more episodes. It must seem shocking now but series in the 1960s could have as many as 30 or more episodes a season. And with fewer characters, you would get to see a lot of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. New Star Trek is lucky if they get 10 episodes and you have more that a dozen regulars in the cast. The budgets are insane for new TV which means Starfleet Academy, like previous recent Treks, is filmed in Canada. The tax credits and just better costs has made it necessary. And the skill level of the crews is amazing. This isn't early Degrassi level of TV crews.

The result is a that all the new Treks, Starfleet Academy included, look absolutely slick and have some of the best effects seen on TV. Picture, sound, editing, costuming are top notch. Casting attracting top flight performers like Holly Hunter and Paul Giamatti drew everyone's attention. A suitably diverse young cast made up the cadets. There were also some familiar faces of Trek series such as The Doctor in the cast. But with ten episodes how does any actor get enough to work with? And add action, I had a hard time telling who was who in the show and why I should care.

Paramount+ put in so much money (estimated between $10 to $15 million) and looked to the series to be a reason to subscribe to the streamer. In Canada, Starflect is first broadcast on CTV Sci-Fi Network. With so much riding on the series, it not difficult to imagine the pressure. It is a soup where everyone is putting something in which is sometimes just too much. And without, the show was trying to attract teenagers and young people in general. A lot of series often get cut even when ratings are solid but corporate is not happy with the demographic. 

So, how did they do? It appears the ratings were around 2 million per episode. And the demographic was all wrong. Too many older audience members and not enough Gen Z and Alpha. Which raises the question? Can any TV show attract teenagers. The answer is yes and the show would surprise you. It is ABC's The Rookie. It is getting great TV ratings and streaming ratings for episodes after. Many kids watch Hulu when they want to watch a show. The ratings are younger and higher than they have ever been. The show is also far more affordable for ABC than Starfleet Academy.

How is this possible? It would appear that The Rookie has one of the most watched social media platforms out there bar none. Other shows have tried to copy a bit but have paled in comparison. If you haven't seen any of their stuff, do look. It isn't promotional stuff of The Rookie. It is mostly of them on set, in costume goofing around, dancing and enjoying themselves. And the teens are there for it. As a result, they are watching the show in big numbers. Recurring characters, guest stars from shows the kids love and a general mission to just put it out there is winning fans. I'm talking about your Rookie Zombie episode.

Now there was some social media from Starfleet Academy but you have a young cast, they should have been there every day letting people get to know them. The media push in general was flat. Meanwhile, you have Nathan Fillion, a middle aged guy with a podcast find a show that hits with the kids. Do better Paramount.

As for the cost of the show, both The Rookie and Starfleet Academy get production tax credits. The Rookie gets them from Los Angeles and California. Starfleet uses Canadian tax credits. The Canadian tax credits are more but how a show does it's budgets really matters. Special effects really can take up a lot of money. But it is possible to do sci-fi that is good and not break the bank? The Canadian movie Cube is an example. A small set with character development can go a long way. The original Star Trek kept getting their budgets trashed and still managed to stay entertaining

I personally enjoyed the show but I figured it needed far more than ten episodes to hit its stride. So I don't judge too harshly. It took ER at least ten episodes to become the show it eventually grew to be. Strange New Worlds needed some time before they could do a musical show and hit it out of the ballpark. That series was able to find their way and it shows.

Paramount has brought to an end both Strange New Worlds and Starfleet Academy. I will watch both as as I always do and hope that both have great final seasons. As for Paramount and producers for their shows, they will have to figure how to appeal to the demographic they want without being asses about it. The Rookie has figured it out. And they still do an entertaining show. I expect Strange New Worlds will leave people wanting more. The question is whether Starfleet Academy does that as well.

Lastly, beware of toxic fan bases. Or as a producer cater to fanbases overly so. Let some of the humour, tension and character development grow even if it is only a limited ten episodes. And for gosh sakes, leave a little bit of mystery there.

Artemis Moon Mission

Going to space changes how astronauts think about the earth. They advocate for the well being of the planet and the people on it. It is hard not to feel the awesomeness of seeing everyone and every thing from space. The picture above is from the Artemis mission.

The Artemis rocket is transporting three Americans and one Canadian to the farthest point behind the moon that any human has gone before. The figure eight trip around the Earth and the Moon is a test run. If all goes well, the same astronauts will be in line to be the first humans on the moon since 1972. The twelve Americans from the Apollo missions 1969 to 1972 are the only astronauts to walk on the moon surface. Since that time, all human activity in space has been confined to low earth orbit.

Canada and the U.S. have been long time friends and allies in space. Even the Apollo mission relied on landing gear and communications as well as numerous engineers for its success. Canada was the third country in the world to put satellites in orbit.

To get our seat on Artemis, Canada was to build Canadarm3 for the station that was to orbit the moon. The cost was about $1 billion. However, the Lunar Gateway Mission has now been cancelled so Canada gets the seats to the moon and no Canadarm3 will be built. The adaptation to moon use is already being contemplated and certainly the future Mars mission is expected to include a robotic arm. Trudeau was able to get the agreement back in Trump's first term and Carney has committed to the space program in Trump's second term.

As with all things on a spaceflight, you sometimes have a "Houston, we have a problem moment." In this case, it is the toilet. Hope they figure this one out. It wasn't built in Canada.

Some say the excitement of the mission is blunted by the U.S. fighting in Iran. The criticism is not wrong. Thankfully, the joy and enthusiasm of the astronauts is infectious. As they approach home, the excitement will grow but for those on board, it will be to get down safely and then to go over all the knowledge they've gotten on how to make trips to the moon a regular and safer activity.

We are getting closer to the completion of the moon trip. However, it has captured the imaginations of so many with the amazing pictures of earth and the moon that will be treasured. Saving landing, crew of Artemis!

Conrad Black Sings Trump's Praises

As the founder of the National Post, Conrad Black gets to prattle on about the man who gave the convicted felon a pardon for crimes committed in the United States. Black would probably laugh at the charges were it not for the prison time he did as a result. Surprising to some, Black was the son of a prominent Winnipeg family and had connections to some of the families associated with the city. The family moved to Montreal where Black was born. Most of his education was in Ontario and Quebec where, when he was not being ejected for things he had done, was either a failure or an exceptional academic. Money was always available to him thorough his family and he bought small newspapers as early as 1966 as investment vehicles. In 1976, everything changed when he and his brother inherited the family fortune upon the death of their father. By 1978, Black was stripping the wealth out of various shareholdings, pension funds and the like to create his media company. On occasion, there was pushback by the courts but companies like Dominion Stores were pillaged.

As the industrial assets were dismantled, Black invested more and more in newspapers in Canada and beyond and eventually his company Hollinger because the third largest in the world with assets such as The Telegraph, Jerusalem Post and the Chicago Sun-Times. It was the U.S. paper that caused him later trouble as it was listed on the stock exchange and that brought scrutiny that he rarely faced before. During this period of growth, Black started up the National Post as news counterpart to his purchase of the Financial Post in 1998.

There was a time that my family subscribed to Free Press, The Sun, the Globe and Mail and yes, the National Post. No Internet meant a lot more reading. And a lot more viewpoints. Back then the National Post was full of columnists and it wasn't the full on political paper it is now with light reporting on news. While the Post may have had lots of resources, it came at the expense of other papers owned by Black. Large cuts at the Calgary Herald left it reeling.

As mentioned, the purchase of the Chicago Sun-Times brought scrutiny from Securities Exchange Commission because outside investors didn't like the non-compete fees Black and his partners took on newspapers sales. This led to civil and criminal charges that eventually led to Hollinger and the entire newspaper empire being dismantled and Black serving time. While some of the charges were dropped, some remained. After serving time, he was to be deported to Canada but had to re-claim his citizenship from the Canadian government after denouncing it to take a Lordship in Britain from Queen Elizabeth for owning the Telegraph.

Black was particularly bitter about Chretien who denied his peerage in Britain as Canadian. He had to take British citizenship and renounce Canadian citizenship to become a lord. This was the path that Roy Thomson had to take when he became a Lord through his ownership of the Times and Sunday Times. His grandson David Thomson is one of the Winnipeg Jets owners and a Canadian citizenship but retains the lordship which is hereditary.

Chretien was not prepared to give Black a pass on being a Canadian Lord when Thomson was not allowed to in the past. Canada was trying to create and support and honours system itself with the Order of Canada. It wasn't a good look for Canada and Jean Chretien was despised by Black for it. None of his court challenges on the subject worked. 

Black has sought out a pardon ever since Trump was elected. He must have thought his time was passed when Biden was elected. However, when Trump got back in, he ingratiated himself, wrote a book about Trump and continues to write favourably. The pardon in 2023 finally allows Black to travel back to the U.S. again.

The regular columns in the National Post have pretty much been all about Trump. He has called Canadian reactions to the man as overwrought. He routinely downplays the incoherence of Trump on policy and ignores unintended consequences. The tariff harm on U.S. farmers is of particular note on both exports and imports. Farmers need Canada's potash and they need China's purchase of soybeans. If the policy is to gain something from Canada and China, it doesn't seem obvious.

In his most recent column on April 3, Black suggests Trump has Iran right when he wants them and this will also bring China and Russia to heel. To do this he has suggested that Trump will destroy Iran's power grid. 

"This can only mean that he will, if necessary use amphibious or airborne forces to take over the distribution of Iran’s oil, while destroying its power grid and closing its ports as tightly as its airspace."

Destroying civilian infrastructure is a war crime in case Black has forgotten. It isn't a weapons site. 

"A reduced number of tankers is still moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and there are clearly back-channel communications between the Americans..."

There have been ships moving that have been approved by Iran and supposedly paying a fee to travel inside an island close to the country. This is likely to bring quite a lot of cash to Iran. The communications that Black says must be going on are not self evident.

"Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran, are all being detached from their Russo-Chinese sponsors. The United States is about to take over as much as half of Chinese sources for oil and will be substantially replaced by Russia while Western Europe becomes predominantly dependent upon America and its clients for oil and gas and ceases to finance the Russian aggression in Ukraine with oil and gas purchases from Russia while beseeching America to do the heavy lifting in preventing the Russian takeover of Ukraine."

I'm not sure what information Black has to make this conclusion. If he tried to publish this comment in the Wall Street Journal or the Telegraph, the editors would tell him he was speculating to the point of wish fulfilment. 

"With the return of President Trump, the U.S. led discussions that produced a delicate ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, and Israel eliminated approximately 80 per cent of the Hamas trigger pullers. It remains to disarm Hamas and to reconstruct Gaza."

Black seems to forget that Trump has supported removing all Palestinians from Gaza, presumably to Somaliland. Black also doesn't take into account how October 7 was a catastrophic failure of Netanyahu on military preparedness and an intelligence failure in protecting Israelis. Their policy of "mowing the grass" was one of just periodically attacking Gaza while expanding settlements in the West Bank. In Netanyahu's cabinet, expansionist cabinet ministers look to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq for their next targets. Netanyahu has been talking nuclear weapons are two weeks away from completion in Iran since 1996.

"In one long lifetime, the remarkable American presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Nixon, Reagan, and Trump will have transformed the war-ravaged world of Hitler and Stalin into comparative peace and prosperity."

Black would have a hard time getting his opinion published in any American, British or Australian paper with this conclusion. The National Post, American owned, seems to be a cheerleader paper too much of the time, full of grievance and as delusional as some of the so-called leftist media they criticize.

The American public never wanted this war and their reactions reflect that. Congress has given Trump the rope to go forward but the time to conclude this so that the economic impact doesn't hit right when the mid-terms are in November is being overly hopeful. It could be that in January Trump himself might be in retreat and seeking a pardon.

Conrad Black has always been a observer of history but increasingly, he is becoming yesterday's man. It is unlikely young conservatives are looking to him for direction for the future.

Garwood Grill for Sale (Update...not for sale)

Update, talking to Anna. No sale, no agent and no offers per se. They are still around to serve the community.

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It came up in a Facebook post on real estate agent Brad Gross's page that the Garwood Grill on Pembina Highway was for sale. It was also posted on Reddit as well. It has been decades that it has been run by a Greek family but it looks like they've reached a time where there is no one left to run it in the future. And so it is with Greek family owned places. They have a first and often a second generation to run and operate things. There is often not a third. In many cases, the third generation is established in very different industries...at the encouragement of their parents. If there are children at all. In many cases, Greek families have gotten smaller and smaller to the point that no one left in the family is there to take over.

It is unknown what circumstances are there for Garwood Grill. Anna and her parents ran it successfully all these years. It was in the 1980s that my family first went to the restaurant. At first it was just occasional weekends or birthdays or general celebrations. My parents then went for breakfast every weekend and had a warm relationship with Anna and the serving staff. When I left for Japan, it was part of their routine to go to breakfast and write letters to me while there.

For working people for the city especially, Garwood was the place for a hearty breakfast or lunch. The variety of the menu items meant you could find something for everyone from pizza to steak and from breakfast to dinner. Prices and portions are what you might expect from a Greek family restaurant. They're great.

Winnipeg owes a lot to our Greek community. And Winnipeg Greeks gave a lot back to the world from Nia Vardalas with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Family restaurants are absolutely needed to counterbalance franchises. Nothing wrong with franchises but many don't do all day menus or variety or have servers who have been doing the jobs for years.

Garwood Grill has been known to rent their facility too to groups that often get overlooked. This is not something you might get from a chain restaurant. I don't think any community lasts without gathering places. The more personal connection, the better.

Garwood Grill included all the kitchen and items for operations. However, it also included the property, an additional property as well as a four bedroom apartment above. It can be sure there will be a high level of interest in owning this. With luck, it will retain much of what made it a treasured Greek restaurant. On at least a few occasions new owners didn't get that aspect and the restaurant failed. 

As for Anna and your family, you have been the best.

Fargo Forum Fires Three Columnists

I have commented on the Fargo Forum which is the largest newspaper in North Dakota and paper of of record in Fargo-Moorhead. It is a Pulitzer Prize winning paper with a sister prize winner in the Grand Fork Herald. WDAY in Fargo is part of the same company. Together, they are part of the Marcil family's media group in the state. The private company is its fifth generation. How much money does the family have? Hard to say but it would be within the realm that they are among the richest in the state. It is a Conservative newspaper but back in 2016, they did not endorse Trump. Like a lot of newspapers across North America, they began a withdrawal from endorsing in general. The Winnipeg Free Press also stopped political endorsements a few decades ago.

The Marcil family are associated with old school Republicans. At the moment the MAGA movement is trying to strip other Republicans of party status. It is as ugly as it comes. There are national and state level reverberations. The Forum columnists didn't shrink from them. They called out the cowardice of the North Dakota representatives on issues like trade that deeply hurt agriculture in the state. Senators, cabinet and the lone House of Representative were called out on this. The response in March was to tell columnists to stay away from national issues and politics and only comment on state stuff, There was even a call to do more people related stories that had less politics.

The columnists largely continued as they have and this week was the response: Three of them were fired and the paper is limiting opinion page material to two days a week instead of every day of publication. They will also limit national editorials. The reason that is given is that it will help curate a better balance. The changes will affect the whole of the operation of print publication for the Forum news including the Grand Forks Herald. 

The reaction in Fargo has been one of surprise, mostly negative. Some Republicans are happy that a thorn in the side of the party is gone. However, as mentioned, there is a battle going on among MAGA and the party. The most recent convention was poorly attended because MAGA is trying to kick out non Trump loyalists. Even the Republican governor is incredulous. These battles are happening among Republicans in every state. However, the reaction in the editorial offices is to back into the bushes like Home Simpson. Has this been an owner dictate or something the editorial department has decided after countless letters and digital feedback fighting tooth and claw over left and right, but mostly left?

Now, don't get me wrong. I have credited Forum Communications with having amazing local news and sports coverage. Together, with their ABC affiliate WDAY in Fargo, they have fabulous coverage of local news, weather and top tier sports coverage. The WDAY station has six meteorologists! We don't have any based on TV or radio networks in Winnipeg. Both Fargo Forum and WDAY have healthy sized newsrooms. Their sports reporting on local school and university sports is better than the entire province of Manitoba. Hockey, football, basketball in both girls and boys sports is off the charts. In Winnipeg, we are an utter failure at it. I have noticed more school and junior sports coverage from Shaw/Rogers on their public access. It doesn't come close to North Dakota.

The Free Press in Winnipeg has been excellent in photo journalists working. The pro sports coverage for Jets and Bombers is well done. Business has dedicated writers. As far as arts coverage goes, the Free Press is superior and perhaps on CBC radio competes in that area. However, the Free Press is by far the most extensive for opinion coverage locally. The Sun, by contrast, has relied to heavily on Postmedia opinion although they have invested locally in recent years.

The Fargo Forum has had continuous and diverse opinion till now. They are limited it now to a few days a week. Their reasoning is not known. The result is though that Jim Shaw, Joan Bricker and Jack Zaleski all wrote their final opinion columns on Sunday. Some columnist remain but their platform has been shortened and their ability to write about national politicians even in their own state clipped. This shocking result has led to about 60 people of Fargo protesting outside the doors. I'd be surprised if that has ever happened in the paper's history.

The letters have been mostly negative with some saying that conservative columnists kept their jobs. Since there is only one newspaper in Fargo, the opinion pages tried, in the past, to have a variety of coverage. The amount of protests shows that not everyone will go gently into the night. The High Plains Reader is a monthly progressive publication but a publication that size can't possibly make up for the loss of weekly columns.

I hope we never see this happen in Winnipeg. Still, it is AI and search engines that is not paying for content that is the biggest issue that all content providers worry about more. Fargo is at a turning point for their new and opinion content. Winnipeg, by contrast, as two local owned news papers with s much opinin to chse from.