Black Rod

It is always fun to read the Black Rod. Where else do you get to read with such flare the amazing victories and progress about the Canadian military in Afghanistan and complain about the media not covering it? This is done while using media reports to back up your point of view, of course.

The other amusing read is the railing against inquiries into convictions. It seems in his view, the convicted remains guilty despite the police themselves identifying a more likely guilty party.

The latest laugh riot is the railing against the Taman inquiry.

I'm surprised he hasn't blamed Taman for the accident.

The East Saint Paul Police and the municipality have been struggling for years to operate professionally. On the night in question, they treated Zenk differently than another suspect. The Black Rod breezes past how Bakema told another officer that Zenk was pissed. Bakema had such faulty memory that he couldn't even remember calls he made to a auto dealership at the scene. The lack of notes sure looks bad. The rules of the East Saint Paul Police clearly state that notes are needed at any crime scene.

The Winnipeg Police Service should have been more vigilant in retrieving the bill from the restaurant. The steady stream of officers who could not remember a single drink or anyone else drinking that night defies credibility.

The Black Rod suggests that Zenk might not have been drunk at all. Nice. He breezes past the refusal on the breathalyzer with the "advice of lawyer" argument. An officer convinced of his sobriety doesn't need a reason not to take the test.

The whole scene raised questions and it wasn't just because the media was covering the story. The way Zenk was investigated by police and how he was dealt with in the court was different than other people might have been treated. At the very least, it looked like more could have been done to prosecute the case.

Even without media coverage, people would have sound reason to wonder if everything was done to seek justice for Crystal Taman.



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Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Part 1

Picture taken by transformerryan of Eli Bornstein's Structurist Relief in Fifteen Parts.



Whew. When you say it aloud, it's a mouthful. I suppose after a while people will just say Richardson International if they're not already.

I think what is surprising to many people is that Winnipeg's airport is Canada's first international airport. Northwest Airlines began their first international flights to Winnipeg in that same year, two years after its start-up. It will be sad to see the Northwest name vanish this year pending their merger with Delta Airlines.

The airport was founded in 1928 and was named Stevenson field. The name came from noted bush pilot Captain Fred J. Stevenson, who flew cargo to remote areas of the province. In 1958, the name was dropped at the behest of the federal government and became Winnipeg International Airport.

The building that everyone is familiar with today is the main terminal which was built in 1964. It was designed by local architects GBR in the International Style and took four years to build.

Of note in the building are two immense pieces of artwork on either end of the terminal. One of the pieces was done artist John Graham. It is an aluminum and Plexiglas mosaic that goes by the name of Northern Lights and is located on the north wall.

(picture from Winnipeg Free Press of John Graham's Northern Lights)



The second piece of art is on the south wall. It is Eli Bornstein's Structurist Relief in Fifteen Parts. It covers 60 sqaure metres and consists of 15 white panels covered in enameled metal cubes.

Neither of these pieces is small enough or for that matter wanted in the new terminal. A few previous pieces of art were moved to the Western Canadian Aviation Museum after the last major renovation of the terminal in the 1980s.

Those pieces consisted of a sculpture originally made for the airport as well as a painting The sculpture was an Anne Kahane's carved wood panel of Frederick Stevenson walking across the field to his plan. The painting was an Alfred Pellan's pieces called The Prairie.

(to be continued)


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First Taser Incident in Winnipeg

Well, it was bound to happen soon than later. Winnipeg has had its first Taser related death.

The Manitoba Metis Federation wants an inquiry. The father of the boy wants an inquiry too but he seems more apt to believe that the boy might have been threatening police.

An investigation is standard in such a case. Unfortunately, the ability of the police to investigate their own has taken a hit due to the Taman inquiry. Even if it is found that the police had no choice but to fire in self defence, the doubts might linger.

It is hard to hear cops say they can't recall if a colleague was drunk or had been drinking the night someone was killed. It is hard to hear about how no notes were taken by various police forces, how no one seemed to ask a cop if he had been drinking and the special treatment a cop received afterwards both by the police and the courts. These are the things that the Taman inquiry has shown in its many weeks of testimony.

Police should not investigate police. It hurts their credibility. And credibility is what police need to do their job.

The Taman incident has shaken faith in the police and the justice system in a big way.

In terms of Tasers, I think it is clear that Tasers can be lethal. The RCMP and manufacturer of the Taser have tried to say that the Taser doesn't kill but there seems to be a growing consensus that it can lead to heart failure in some people. A 17 year old died from a weapon that is supposed to be non-lethal. That should raise eyebrows right there.

The problem as I see it is that if police believe the weapon is non-lethal, they are more apt to use it than a gun. Tougher guidelines are needed on use.

An inquiry is needed in regards to this death. It should be open and forthcoming as it can be and make recommendations in regards to the Taser at the very least.

In terms of the police and investigating its own, I believe that for its own good, the police should advocate for an independent body.

As for the issue of race, a frank discussion needs to continue.



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Taman Inquiry

The entire Taman affair is a tragic one. It is all the more tragic when the East Saint Paul Police seem to have completely botched a case. Moreover, the Winnipeg Police Service officers who spent the evening with Derek Harvey-Zenk seem to have no memory of what Zenk drank, if he drank or if anyone else was drinking at the restaurant or afterwards. It defies credibility.

Some of the police have said they feel disappointed by the media in their coverage of the whole thing. I don't think they should be surprised. Their responses to inquiry questions have been evasive to say the least. Some officers are accusing others of lying or not remembering correctly. It doesn't muster a lot of faith in either the Winnipeg Police or the East Saint Paul Police.

The scary thing about this is that it could easily happen again. Zenk was treated differently than any other suspect in a driving related incident.

The Taman family is likely to be disappointed in the end result of the inquiry. It won't bring justice in their particular case.

The one hope is that inquiry makes recommendations so that this doesn't happen again.




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Roblin Boulevard Part 1

Corydon Avenue becomes Roblin Boulevard as it passes the Assinibone Park entrance at Shaftesbury Boulevard.

Charleswood begins immediately west of Assiniboine Park which includes the Winnipeg Park Zoo, the Assiniboine Forest and the Tuxedo Golf Course.

A sign marks the entrance to Charleswood.

The first street that westbound travellers cross as they head into Charleswood is Chalfont. Anyone interested in seeing deer should turn south at this point. Early evening is the best time to see deer come out of the forest. The houses on the west side of Chalfont often put up mesh over their flowerbeds to keep hungry deer from eating everything.

On the north side of Roblin is a home that borders Assiniboine Park. It is the residence of Bill Taylor who is famous for the Assiniboine Park Railway, a miniature rail line that runs over his property and that offers rides on days when the sign is out on the street. During the Christmas season, the Taylor's have lights lining the long path to their home and the rail. It has become a tradition in December for many to walk down that path and ride the train while looking at the lights.

On the north side of Roblin, the commercial buildings begin between Wexford and Cathcart. For many years, the Robin's Doughnuts, Subway Restaurants and KFC occupied a strip mall there.

The Robin's shutdown in 2005. There was no drivethru and with Tim Horton's in the Charleswood Mall along Grant, it probably was losing commuters progressively over the years.

In 2007/2008, the owners of the strip mall did a makeover of the building. The telltale signature brick of the Robin's was covered up in favour of the same bland design found on most strip malls in the city. KFC/Pizza Hut Express closed during this process. Like Robin's, it had no drivethru.

A number of the KFCs have closed in Winnipeg recently. The common denominator seems to be the lack of a drivethru. For Charleswood residents, it means the closest KFC is now at the former Unicity Mall location.

The only restaurant to remain following the reconstruction has been Subway. In the old Robin's location, a Starbucks Coffee has opened. At one time Starbucks had sniffed at opening in cities like Winnipeg. Now they are everywhere.

In the old KFC location, there is paper over the windows. The sign says Asahi restaurant coming soon. It would appear to be an offshoot of the Asahi on Broadway.

I indicated a short time ago what a welcome addition Sushi Park has been to the Charleswood area in their Charleswood mall location. This makes things doubly good.

There is some indication that the Starbucks has been a hit. With a little sidewalk face section, the parking lot seems to be filled far more often than in the Robin's days.

The New Stadium Part 1

I have been pondering the question about the new stadium plans for Winnipeg. The latest twist in all this is David Asper's plan.

I think the first thing is for there to be honesty in the debate about a stadium. In the past, we have seen a lot of dishonesty in regards to sports and entertainment facilities. The MTS battle comes to mind. I changed my vote with Glen Murray based on what I thought was dishonesty regarding funding for the new arena.

I supported a downtown arena as a worthwhile replacement for the Eaton's building. Unlike some of the dreamers out there, I saw no viable private tenant who would take it over. I also didn't think much of the condo and commercial plans that some people proposed that would have gutted the building and required even more tri-government support than an arena required.

Picture of the old Eaton's building. Picture taken by skinlovr



It seems that when it comes to public facilities, the first casualty is complete openness in the process.

David Asper is a rich man who has had a passion for Blue Bombers for many years. He has wanted to buy the community owned team for some time and has indicated he is willing to pay a lot of money to do it as well as build a stadium. Leo Ledohowski is also a rich man who wants to build a stadium. Both men want a lot of government money to achieve their stadium dreams.

Apparently, the Blue Bombers wished to stay in their present Polo Park location. However, if they want a new facility, they are at the mercy of politicians and business people who have their own agendas.

The stadium site at Polo Park has become a valuable piece of land in the ever expanding retail sector. In some ways, the stadium has become more of an inconvenience than a draw in terms of retail.

Vic Toews, the Harper minister in charge of Manitoba affairs indicated early on that he was not going to be able to sell a deal to help build a new stadium at the present location to the cabinet.

For political reasons, eyes started to cast about towards the downtown.

Almost as an afterthought, Asper's Creswin real estate company added a stadium to a waterpark proposal that it was thinking about selling the city on. Once that stadium was tossed into the mix, excitement at various levels of government jumped immediately.

One problem: No one had asked Point Douglas residents what they thought...





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University of Winnipeg Part 1

The University of Winnipeg has been on a bit of a roll as of late. It is a bit of a change since 2003 when Constance Rooke, the fifth president of the university was fired. The university was crippled by cutbacks, faculty unhappiness and administrative problems. The future didn't look bright.

Through three presidents from Robin Farquhar (1981 to 1989), Marsha Hanen (1989-1999) and Constance Cooke (1999-2003), the U of W has had its funding chipped away at and yet still somehow managed to stay fairly well rated in Maclean's annual survey.

There were few triumphs in regards to campus life aside from the Athletic Center ( later named the Duckworth Center).

Constance Rooke tried to be creative with financing but ended up alienating faculty and the powers that be above her. One of her creative adventures was to buy some of the houses in and around Spence Street for student housing. While this may have been good for some of the students, it was probably the last straw when it came to her job.

Lloyd Axworthy left politics in 2000 and took a job with the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues in British Columbia. In 2004, he accepted the job of president of the University of Winnipeg. It was the return of the prodigal son in many ways. Axworthy had taught at the university many years earlier before and it seemed a natural fit once he was out of office.

While there must have been great hopes that a man of Axworthy's stature would enhance the reputation of the University of Winnipeg, I don't think anyone realized that he would embark on some of the most exciting changes the university has seen in decades.

Since 2004, the university has not only initiated one of the largest brick and mortar repair and expansion projects but has created new faculties and enhanced others.

For some time, the front of the university facing on to Portage Avenue was a dangerous place to be. Not only did someone risk being assaulted by people seeking money or worse, there was also a danger of getting conked on the head by a piece of masonry from the Collegiate.

Axworthy was able to get increased funding for a three pronged attack that repaired the masonry, revamped the green space in the front of the university and increased security. For many years mesh held back falling rock atop the Collegiate. It was a constant reminder of the sad sack state of affairs in terms of infrastructure at the campus.

The frontage out to Portage Avenue has been rejuvenated completely and now with the addition of the closure of Spence Street, we are seeing a more pedestrian friendly campus.

It remains to be seen whether the green space at the front of the university is going to be a place for students to hang out and sit in the sun as they once did prior to the makeover. This fall should give a pretty clear indication of whether the improvements are being utilized as they were intended.

(continued in Part 2)




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Charleswood Shopping Centre Plaza

The Charleswood Shopping Centre Plaza is a community shopping centre on Grant Avenue. At one time, it was an enclosed mall and went by the name Forest Park Mall. It was built around 1978 by my recollection. In 2004, the owners of the mall announced that they were going to do a convert the mall to a big box strip mall. This was precipitated by fact that one of the anchors of the mall left to occupy Wal-Mart's old location at the Grant Park Shopping Mall. Zellers had not been the original department store tenant. That distinction went to Kmart which died a slow death in Canada and was bought over by Zellers in 1998. The departure of Zellers caused a re-think of what the mall should look like to ensure success in the future. The problem with enclosed community shopping centers as time went on was that many of the smaller businesses had difficulty staying economically viable. The initial attractiveness of an small enclosed mall supported by anchor stores was starting to wain. Zellers wasn't exactly the draw it used to be (if it ever was) and the mall, like so many in the suburbs, was starting to look dowdy and unappealing. For anyone driving past the Charleswood mall, it was easy to see that the place had no street presence. Aside from Safeway, McDonald's and the Zellers, no one was sure what the mall offered unless they parked and went inside. With the departure of it major anchor, it seemed the wisest choice was to turn the mall inside out. It has been a long process with renovations continuing well into the fall of 2007 and with new tenants taking a very long time to occupy the new space. In the spring of 2008, there are only three smaller units still left to lease out. The latest tenants to move in are major additions at least in terms of unique and attractive businesses to draw shoppers in the Charleswood area. One first is Sushi Park, a family owned sushi restaurant tucked in close to the Safeway. It is an attractive place with good food and an excellent addition to the area. The other new business to move in this spring is Blockbuster. For a number of years now, Charleswood has been underserved by the presence of a video store. Between Assiniboine Park and beyond the Charleswood Parkway and from the Assiniboine River to Wilkes, there hasn't been a video store of any sort for some time. While some people say that video stores are becoming less relevant with the Internet, Video on Demand, cable and satellite movie channels, there are still many people who like to rent videos and games. This can be witnessed by observing the Rogers Video store at the Kenaston Village Mall. It is filled with people; some no doubt from video store-starved Charleswood. Safeway continues to be the main anchor on the west side of the mall along with McDonald's which sits out on the corner of the lot. On the east side of the mall, the new anchor is Shoppers Drug Mart. Many of the small pharmacies have fallen due to competition from the grocery chains. Shoppers has emerged as a formidable challenger to that trend. The east corner of the mall opposite Royal School is reserved as park and ride lot for Winnipeg Transit. Beside that is a Tim Horton's to cater to the commuters travelling down Grant Avenue. A Liquor Mart and a Dollarama round out some of the larger retailers to rent space in the mall. One unique entry to the mall is City Looks Spa and Salon. The salon business has really taken off and several regional shopping centers have benefited from this type of business moving in. The 2007 revamp of Safeway has given the store a much better deli selection as well as a Starbucks. The outside of Safeway still looks boring but the inside is clean and generally an improvement. A Quiznos, a Pet Valu a Bank of Montreal branch and a local insurance office round out the services at the mall. So as the mall nears full occupancy, what is the verdict? I'd have to say as far as community malls go, it has found the right formula and the right mix of stores to appeal to its residential core and to the commuters along Grant. The mall's street appeal has improved and the selection of stores has improved. All in all, it is a welcome re-development in the Charleswood neighborhood.

The changes in Wolseley/West Broadway area Part 1

Northern Crown Bank, Portage Avenue and Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, circa 1979, now demolished. Note Carter Motors next door. The site now occupied by McDonald's. Source.

The area I am talking about specifically is the Sherbrook/Maryland corridor between Portage Avenue and the Assiniboine River.

This particular strip is a mixture of houses, retail and other businesses and services.

On the south of Portage Avenue, Carter Motors occupied a choice spot for nearly 60 years. The company was eventually taken over by Murray Chev Olds and remained there until 1999 when it moved to the suburbs and Bishop Grandin.

The departure of the dealership opened up a large chunk of land on Portage. It seemed that this would be a rare opportunity to do something unique on a grand scale. Instead, the development plan was a page right out of suburbia. The focus became one that targeted commuters and had little curbside appeal for the pedestrians or people who actually lived in the neighborhood.

In short, the land was divvied up amongst big box stores.

The old Carter Motors site, which during it heyday had cars lined up facing Portage with streamers blowing across its open space, was one of a few car dealers on the southside.

So what eventually went up on the Carter Motors site?

Well, presently the old lot has a Pharma Plus built on it. This store replaces a smaller pharmacy nearer to Misercordia Hospital. The new store on Portage has a post office as well as a doctor's office attached to it. It represents an improvement in service to the area not withstanding the large parking lot which acts like a wind tunnel in around the building.

McDonald's Restaurants moved west from their location near the University of Winnipeg in favour of a smaller restaurant on the corner at Sherbrook and Portage. Behind it, a Winnipeg-based restaurant Palatal Express also along Sherbrook. A Tim Horton's occupied a space behind the Pharma Plus along Maryland.

The parking lot by all accounts is not easy to get in and out of. Many Tim Horton's customers cause traffic disruptions trying to access the drive-throughs. It probably doesn't help either that there seems to be a steady flow of student traffic jaywalking across the street from Gordon Bell School.

Gordon Bell is the main high school in the area and has a daycare center with students with children. There are numerous immigrant and aboriginal children who attend the school. The school has occupied the location on Borrowman street alongside Maryland since 1958. Older Winnipeg residents will know that the site is the former location of Mulvey school. Gordon Bell extends all the way back to Broadway.

Along the northside of Broadway is city office and police sub-station. The sub-station used to be a Salisbury House, The city office used to distribute social assistance checks. Heading back up Sherbrook on the west side was a few businesses. At one time, a gay social club occupied an unmarked building. A travel agency shared the same site. The east side of Sherbrook has had Thomson Funeral Chapel as its anchor for decades. Just north of that is West Region Child and Family Service offices.

So, has there been an improvement in this block with some of the recent changes?

The short answer is yes and no. For the commuter, another Tim Horton's on the way to and from work is a happy addition. Likewise, the new location for McDonald's is easier for cars to get in and out of as opposed to the one closer to the University of Winnipeg.

It is more a sideways move getting rid of a car lot for a big box paradise.

One again local people and pedestrians get the short stick.

Safeway Leaving Polo Park

Sorry for the length of time between posts.

I have written extensively on Polo Park in this blog. One of the consistent tenants has been a grocery store. In fact, at one point there were two grocery stores faced off against one another: Loblaw's and Dominion.

Safeway moved in during the 1980s during the renovation that put a second floor on the mall. It was one of the main anchors since that time.

Well, no more. I don't know if caught Polo Park by surprise but a newspaper story revealed that Safeway was in negotiation to move in to Madison Square off of Ness adjacent to Polo Park. The Hooters restaurant that has been at Madison Square is relocating elsewhere in the Polo Park area while some other stores like Scholastic Choice are relocating within the square itself.

Madison Square was formerly a mixed used business and area near Polo Park. It is difficult to remember what was there prior to 1988 but there were a number of houses and small businesses. The only business that still exists from that time is the Sportsman, a marine retail store specializing in canoes and wakeboards. Somehow, they defied the purchase by the mall operator and continue to sit on Madison in front of Office Depot. I can still remember security trying to harass people as they went into the store if they parked on mall property.

Safeway will be a great addition to the mall that has seen its fair share of business failures including A & A Records, Bonanza and a Golf store.

Safeway reports that they will be designing the store along the lines of what we have seen in Osborne Village.

As for Polo Park, the mall says that there is a waiting list to get into the mall. The Safeway spot is an awkward one. It seems a re-design will be necessary to be attractive to customers who may not want to be down a long corridor and out of sight.

End of September

After a long delay the decision on where Manitoba Hydro will constructs its transmission line from the north has been decided. It will go down the west side of the province rather than the east side. The fate for where the lines would go was probably decided during the election where Gary Doer said he would not run the line down the east side.

The decision to run the line down the west side will cost $400 million and be 50% longer in terms of the line. This will also bring added costs in terms of lost power to the tune of millions.

The east side can now only be reached by air or winter roads. In the past few years, those winter roads have not been around long enough to bring in supplies.

Some of the east side First Nations didn't want the transmission lines. Other First Nations wanted the lines but they also wanted part ownership of them. Hydro refused. Understandably, while some might be celebrating Hydro's decision to go the west, others are feeling bitter.

The issue of economic development on the easy side won't go away. A few winters of bad ice roads could put the communities there in a crisis situation. The Manitoba government could be on the hook for re-supplying by air for decades to come.




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Banjo Bowl, murder and policing

Today is the infamous Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It will be the fifth consecutive sell-out for the team as they watch records being broken by Steagall and Roberts.

The Banjo Bowl name came from the flamboyant kicker Troy Westwood (my brother;s former roommate) who once said that it was wrong to think that everyone in Saskatchewan was a banjo picking inbred. He said that not everyone in Saskatchewan could play the banjo.

This stinging rebuke of Saskatchewan was embraced by both teams as a way of filling seats on both the Labour Day Classic and the follow-up game a week later. And thus, the Banjo Bowl was born.

Numerous Saskatchewan fans travel to Winnipeg to support their team in the game. It is a time of good cheer between blue and gold and Saskatchewan green.

The one snag: tailgating won't be allowed. The police have said they will crack down on any alcohol they see in non-unlicensed areas such as parking lots.

Can you imagine if American police tried to crack down on American fans? There would be a revolution.

I have no problem with the police trying to stop drinking and driving as well as belligerent behaviour but this crack down is an over aggressive stance that seems geared to protecting booze sales at licensed establishments.

---

The Winnipeg Police Service has consistently poo-poohed the idea of a serial killer stalking prostitutes. That was the standard response by the police in Vancouver and again by the police in Edmonton until...they arrested a serial killer.

I don't know that the police in Winnipeg are simply dismissing the idea as an investigation strategy or because they really believe there is no serial killer. Certainly, one expert in geographic profiling seems to think so.

The province has allocated more resources to finding the killer or killers of prostitutes in Winnipeg. The bodies keep piling up though and the dumping ground for some seems to be concentrated in one area.

A little more openness about the problem could help but the cops keep everything close to the vest.




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What happened to summer?

School is back after the Labour Day long weekend. I can well imagine that the streets are going to be choked with parents, students and teachers. This problem is likely to be compounded by delayed road construction this year. The wet months early in the summer saw quite a few days of cancelled infrastructure repair.

City councillor Scott Fielding has been championing longer hours for the workers involved in construction but has run into resistance at City Hall. It seems Calgary can do it but Winnipeg can't for whatever reason.

It seems there is a lack of imagination at city hall.

---

Winnipeg is to have the first 24 Wal-Mart in Canada. The big retailer has been experimenting with the concept over the last two years in Canada over Christmas holidays. I'm not surprised they picked Winnipeg as the first city to try it and it has always been something of a test market for new concepts.

There are only a few 24 places in the city. There are a couple of restaurants, a Shoppers Drug Mart or two but to date, no major retailer has taken the plunge. By contrast, travellers to North Dakota will find a number of 24 hour Wal-Marts.

Some will say this is a bad thing for people. I don't. Stores like Superstore and Wal-Mart already stock shelves all night. Now, they can simply open the doors and let people shop at the same time.

There are thousands of shift workers in Winnipeg. They are ones who will benefit most from this.




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Thoughts in Passing

I don't think anyone can not help notice that Winnipeg Sun boxes that have sprouted up all over town. For many weeks now, the Sun has been distributed as complementary papers from these boxes. When newspaper companies distribute free papers, it usually is a harbinger of bad times.

If I was a retailer, I'd be wondering why the heck I was giving up valuable space on my shelves to the Sun. If I was a subscriber, I'd stop the paper now.

***

Steven Truscott was acquitted to day. It has taken almost 50 years for this to happen. He wasn't exonerated though and to this day, the Crown believes it has the right man.

There are 15 cases in Manitoba that could be wrongful convictions. Hopefully, the investigation into the merits of those cases doesn't take 50 years.

***

Senator Craig of the U.S. Senate pleaded guilty to lewd contact in a Minneapolis airport washroom. Several months ago, there was a report of gay men using an Assiniboine Park washroom as a rendezvous point.

This type of behahviour in public spaces such as washrooms is unacceptable.

As far as the political implications for the Idaho Senator, it doesn't bode well for him with his defence of "I'm not gay" being the lasting memory of his time as a legislator.




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A Few Points

The recent announcement that the Manitoba government will allow 300 more slots at the South Beach Casino in exchange for the casino going non-smoking. It was probably the only leverage the government had on the native run facility.

The casino on Highway 59 just south of the beaches of Lake Winnipeg is modeled on South Beach Florida replete with a fake palm tree out front. Why couldn't they do something with an actual aboriginal theme? The building is an eyesore with a huge parking lot. Their website is not much better.

At the moment, they are expanding to include a hotel and a conference center. The expansions will now have to include room for 300 slot machines.

Confusingly, the profits from the casino will be shared with 13 northern First Nations who do not have the benefit of living on a major highway near Winnipeg. The details of the deal remain somewhat of a mystery. It is unknown why some reserves were included and why some were not.

***

In other aboriginal news, former Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations and now head of Grand Rapids First Nation is opposed to a national park called Manitoba Lowlands National Park.

Mercredi says that a park would not protect hunting, trapping and fishing rights of natives.

Some people on the reserve seemed to welcome the idea of a new park when interviewed on the CBC.

Perhaps they will turf Mercredi if the best he can do is oppose an idea rather than offering something more concrete for his people.

***




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Highway 75 Part 1

Highway 75 is the main link between Winnipeg and the border and the crossing at Emerson, Manitoba. It is the eighth busiest crossing in Canada to the U.S. and for many years it was the most neglected.

It took decades to double the amount of lanes despite it being the most important route for international trade in the province. After the road was doubled, it sat neglected and deteriorating until the NDP found out in a poll that revealed people were dissatisfied with the roads in the province.

Dozens of announcements were made thereafter on road construction and the NDP were able to nip the anger many people in Manitoba felt about shoddy roads and bridges. I guess it just became too much to hear the same announcement year after year that the final 20 or so kilometres from Austin to the Saskatchewan border were going to be paved and see nothing happening. This year, to save from the embarrassment of Saskatchewan finishing off their portion the Trans-Canada, there is actual work being done to complete the stretch before the snow flies.

In that same vein, you can see sections of road like the Perimeter Highway finally being worked on after years of promises.

In terms of provincial highways, Highway 75 probably ranks near the top (if not the top) in importance. It has been woefully neglected after many years. Flood damage had made the surface a ripple of bumps that sent loads inside trucks flying. The concrete and asphalt in many sections was crumbling and in such poor shape that traffic had no choice but to slow down to safely traverse it according to media reports in 2006.

In 2007, construction all along Highway 75 is evident. It would appear that it isn't just an asphalt overlay either. In one stretch that I drove on a few weeks ago, there was both a paved shoulder and median paved section. At the moment, that type of style is the exception, not the rule. Most of the shoulder is made of gravel (unlike U.S. Interstates).

One year of construction is not going to solve all the problems of Highway 75 over night. The NDP shouldn't let their recent electoral win be a sign they should go back to sleep on infrastructure. I think that the length of time it took to double the lanes in the past by NDP governments was a result of anti-American attitudes coupled with an unwillingness to do infrastructure work on relatively safe Tory ridings. I think some NDPers had no wish to improve a highway for what they thought were shoppers heading towards Grand Forks and Fargo.

There are several remaining areas of concern when it comes to Highway 75. One of them is Morris, Manitoba. The highway passes right through this small town and traffic has to slow down as it rumbles over some of the worst stretch of road in many kilometres.

A by-pass around this town should be undertaken as soon as possible. For a highway as busy as Highway 75, it isn't safe nor serve an economic purpose having traffic slow down and even stop there at traffic lights.

Morris has never really taken advantage of the highway coming through. Unlike Steinbach, Winkler and Altona, the town has not shown any particular entrepreneurial spirit. It's main attraction is the Manitoba Stampede. It isn't a bad attraction but for years the town has done little to do anything to take advantage of being on a major highway. In the last years, only a motel and a service station have been built. With apologies to Morris, the town seems stagnant. One can well imagine what Steinbach would have done given the same geographic location on the same highway.

There are other instances all along Highway 75 where the lack of controlled access is an invitation to an accident. The government, at the very least, should begin to identify these problem areas and set a timetable for building overpasses. Highway 75 should be an almost seamless connection to Interstate 29 in North Dakota. The economic vitality of Manitoba depends on moving people and products along this highway swiftly and safely.

In terms of tourism, I have no complaints about the Manitoba Tourist office at Emerson. It carries everything someone would need for travel to Canada. It could probably do with some added attractions and longer hours but it is an huge improvement on what existed before which was nothing.

Similarly, the Duty Free store in Emerson serves a need and is done well.

From a purely cosmetic and safety perspective, the entire highway should have a consistent billboard policy. There are still the occasional trailer sign backed up into a farmer's field with multi-coloured letters on it. They look awful and are difficult to read. Several other billboards are tattered and not in use. A smart government would rid the highway and sight lines around it of these battered billboards and only authorize billboards in certain areas. I always wonder how it is the state like North Dakota are able to do this and even light their signs and yet in Manitoba, we have ramshackle, unlit signs strewn about. It really comes down to a lack of caring about appearances and a lack of effort in proper promotion.

The entire stretch of Highway 75 should be thought of as a portal. For those entering Manitoba, it should be a swift, safe and smart looking highway that builds excitement for the driver about coming to Winnipeg or heading to other destinations. For those leaving the city and heading south, it should be the ideal road to send goods or to travel to southern Manitoba and beyond.

The province can't afford to ignore this key highway the way it has over the last several years. Hopefully, construction started this year will continue into the next years.




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Bits and Bites

I don't think anyone can be unmoved by the woman who discovered her dog sitting on a counter months after it was supposed to have been buried. The crematorium has been closed but questions of how the industry is regulated by officials and users of these facilities needs to be examined. Veterinarians need to be more aware of where the animals are going to be disposed of. The Winnipeg Humane Society only stopped using this company two months ago when they failed to pick up animals consistently. Obviously, not enough people seemed concerned about what happened to pets once they were removed from vet clinics and the Humane Society until now. That has to change.

***

Speaking of The Humane Society , they are few months from moving to their new facility off of Waverley. The Kent Road premises are not big enough to handle the amount of animals processed each year. The building had become long in the tooth and was not good for housing animals, displaying animals for adoption and not great for walking dogs.

I guess some of the major concerns about the move are:

How will it affect the volunteer base?

People in the east end of the city will find it not as convenient to get to the new facility. Having said that, perhaps the volunteer base will grow because they are more centrally located.

Is the Humane Society close to public transit?

Waverley has regular bus service heading towards the university. The problem is that the bus stop is some distance from the actual Humane Society building. The section of Waverley is a pretty windy section because of the railroad tracks. These tracks were the same ones that overturned a woman's scooter as she crossed. That whole crossing is not very people friendly for those wanting to walk or bike to the new building.

Is it is easy to drive to the Humane Society?

Well, there is a turning lane but getting on and off Waverley isn't a piece of cake. It may be a problem for many people.

In any event, the new building is totally needed and with any luck, some of the problems mentioned will work themselves out.

Assiniboine Park Zoo

It is time for the Winnipeg Zoo to go.

The city of Winnipeg shouldn't be in the zoo business. It should either shut it down or the city should sell it but there is no way it should continue funding it. By some accounts, the city pumps in $2 million a year into the facility. Anyone who has visited the zoo or Assiniboine Park for that matter has probably noticed the decay.

The last polar bear Debbie is in a compound that will not see another bear set foot in it. The compound is now too small to allow the zoo to take possession of another bear according to new guidelines.

And so goes.

The zoo needs $125 million in improvements. This is according to the city and the Zoological Society. I have no idea where that money is supposed to come from. The city doesn't have it. In fact, the rest of Assiniboine Park is as needy as the zoo is for refurbishment.

There has been an attempt to turn over the whole park to a non-profit organization but there has been little explanation of how this would work. It may be an attempt to do something like what New York did with Central Park. In the case of New York, 85% of the budget for the park comes from non-profit organization. Similarly, the Central Park Zoo is run by a group separate from the city of New York.

I don't know that the zoo in Winnipeg can be run that way but the opportunity should be presented to non-profit and profit groups alike to take over the zoo and remove it from the city payroll. If there are no takers, the city has to honestly look at closing the zoo.

There is no doubt that there are amazing workers taking care of the animals at the zoo but the deterioration of the facility is a reflection of a lack of resources in city coffers. Some might say that zoos should be retired in principle. I won't go that far but I do think that they should not be run by city governments. Certainly, Winnipeg doesn't want to be the focus of public attention like another city zoo in Canada has been. The Calgary Zoo has had a number of deaths in its gorilla population.

The big complaint of many people who flee to rural areas outside of Winnipeg is that taxes are too high. The $2 million going to the zoo would be a good start on trimming the budget.




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Polo Park Part 4

After location, the next important decision a mall manager can make is content.

In Polo Park's case the first thought was the anchor stores that were to be the main draw. Initially, those stores were Eaton's and Sears and in the grocery department, it was Loblaw's and Dominion which in a unique match-up stood across from one another within the mall. In the center of the mall were the jewelery stores facing off against one another.

Dominion stores went out of business and this became the impetus for many malls across Canada to do the renovations that they did in the 1980s. Loblaw's eventually became Real Canadian Superstar.

After the 1986 renovation of Polo Park, the anchor stores were Sears, Eaton's, Zellers and Safeway. There was a Coles and a WHSmith in the book department. There was a barber and hairstylist, a record store, some banks, a Boots store from Britain, shoe stores and men and women's fashion stores. Some of the youth oriented stores were Roots and Club Monaco on the second floor.

The food court was an important addition for the mall to remain competitive with developments in St. Vital Centre and elsewhere in the city.

In 2007, prior to the mall renovation some of the stores and services have changed with the changes in technology. There are now a few cell phone and electronic companies hawking their wares such as Telus and The Source. An old standbys like RadioShack is no longer in the mall.

Polo Park has reinforced its reputation as being the number one spot for jewellers in the province with nine of some of the most prominent names in the field facing off against one another in the mall, many near the center of it.

As one walks around the mall though, aside from the food court in one place and jewellers near the center of the mall, it is hard to get a sense of theme. Children's clothing is spread out all over the mall over different floors. Men and women's apparel is spread out with some popular stores placed in odd places where traffic is lighter.

It isn't like this in other malls where conglomerations of certain stores create an energy that attracts people.

How is that Lululemon or Billabong end up way out on the second floor surrounded by stores that create no synergy between them?

Perhaps the mall management will try to remedy the situation once the renovations are complete but some of the stores have been where they've been for some time.

One of the unfortunate oversights in the mall has been the lack of any bookstore for some time. That will soon be corrected with the addition of McNally Robinson in the spot soon to be vacated by SportCheck. This is a huge plus for the mall and big improvement on the old Coles and will be about the size of their main store at the Grant Park Shopping Centre.

Aside from a general re-organization of stores in the mall to play to certain themes, mall management ought to go after certain stores that would be unique to the Winnipeg market such as Aéropostale and Hollister.

I'll reserve further judgment on Polo Park until renovations are done. It is quite clear though that mall improvements have been needed for quite some time. That goes for the entire surrounding area in terms of traffic flow, parking and overall visuals.




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Polo Park Part 3

Polo Park is going through it third major expansion since its inception. This does not include development in its parking lot of restaurants such as Earls and Joeys but rather expansion and renovation to the mall proper.

As an aide before I get too far, it should be mentioned that the Polo Park website is so far behind the times that they don't even have Joeys listed as being located on Polo Park property. I'm sure Joeys is impressed after being there for some time now and are probably why they are paying for Polo Park management in the first place.

At ant rate, this post will talk about the inside of the mall and the lay-out of the mall.

First, let me say that if people thought the outside of the mall was ugly, the inside doesn't get much better. The 1986 expansion that put a second floor on the mall was so fraught with problems as to defy belief. The entrances in any location in the mall do little to show off the mall or to give someone direction as to where to go. One of the the worst sections is the north entrance by Sears. For decades, it has been a wind tunnel for people. For this reason and for the waste of space it represents, renovations are taking place at this portal. A large Sportchek is being built at this entrance.

It remains to be seen what sort of improvement this will make because once inside the mall, a visitor still has to pass by the blank wall of Sears for some distance until well inside the mall.

The 1986 expansion placed three escalators in the mall and one glass elevator. Other elevators exist in the Bay and Sears but if you are in a wheelchair, it can't be easy to get the second floor unless that is where you entered in the first place via the second floor parking deck.

There is a glassed roof in a few places but its use of natural light is done so poorly as to make it almost useless.

The center of the mall, where a set of escalators and the glass elevator is located, has a small open space that serves a variety of needs. One of the main things the space is used for it the Santa display for several weeks before Christmas. The space is underutilized thereafter and doesn't serve a role as a either a spot for people watching or where people might meet a friend before going shopping together.

One of the main problems in Polo Park is the food court. Hemmed in as it is beside Sears on the second floor, it is not pretty not is it easy to get in and out of. Originally built with 500 seats, there are often no seats to be found. It is that busy at times. Only a few of the restaurants, Moxie's and A&W have seats of their own away from the maddening crowds. Anyone hoping to have a dining experience where they can relax and chat in the mall would find it extremely difficult to do so. Moxie's is probably the only choice but for years that has meant fighting past the crowds in the food court to get to its entrance.

No doubt mall management have known about the problems of its food court for some time and this is why renovations are taking place in this area now. I'll reserve further judgment until I see what they have done.

I don't know how much of the present renovations on the inside can or will address the things mentioned here. At the moment, there appears to an attempt to beautify the inside by ripping out tired facades and flooring. Some mall stores are all also taking advantage of the time to do renovations or change their location in the mall altogether.

It has been 21 years since the last major upgrade and Polo Park simply was not keeping up with the latest models in look and substance.

Malls in North America have become destination spots. Many of the news malls in the U.S. have all manner of entertainment in them including dining, shopping, theatre and recreation . In the last several years, Polo Park has been concerned about getting income from the large parking space around the mall. The construction of Earls, Joeys, the Silver City movie theatre and Pier 1 Imports all took precedence over what was happening in the mall itself.

The synergy between the mall and a stand alone restaurant or movie theatre is difficult to see. Good for mall management in terms of rent but not so good for retailers inside the mall. Someone going to Silver City is not necessarily going to Polo Park.

In the U.S., many malls build movie theatres right inside the mall. Polo Park used to have a theater in the basement on the west side but they treated it as an afterthought. I'm sure St. Vital Centre benefits more from Silver City inside the mall than Polo Park does from its stand alone Silver City.

More in Part 4.



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