Winnipeg Free Press back issues from December 2007:
Man walks away from kidnapping charge
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Mike McIntyre A Winnipeg man was acquitted of a gunpoint kidnapping Friday after a judge said he couldn't believe the victim's identification of the accused. Christopher Hastings was all smiles after learning he'd be released from custody immediately. A co-accused, Joshua ...
Dion's Liberals won't prop up Tories in 2008
Dec 01, 2007; ... OTTAWA -- A tough-talking Stéphane Dion appears to be setting the stage for a spring election, warning that his Liberals won't prop up the Conservative government for much longer. Throughout the fall, Liberals have abstained on key confidence votes to avoid toppling the minority ...
Extradition put on back burner
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Tories want Schreiber gone, his lawyer saysface=-Bold; By Gregory Bonnell TORONTO -- Powerful people in Ottawa are intent on kicking Karlheinz Schreiber out of Canada and are manoeuvring to derail any public inquiry into his business dealings with former prime ...
Pickton: Serial killer or simpleton?
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Jury weighs fate of B.C. pig farmer accused of killing six womenface=-Bold; By Stephanie Levitz NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. -- Jurors in the Robert Pickton trial began deliberating Friday to determine whether the pig farmer is a methodical, calculating serial killer or a ...
Poetry-quoting computing exec to head U of M
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Nick Martin THE University of Manitoba's 11th president is a computer scientist who wrote a biblical novel and likes to quote poetry. David Barnard was introduced Friday morning in a low-key ceremony at University Centre, after being hired by the board of governors at a ...
It's crunch time
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Would more plowing mean fewer fender-benders?face=-Bold; By Geoff Kirbyson VEHICLES fishtailing through snow squalls as if their tires were made of Saran-Wrap -- that's the sign a Winnipeg winter has settled in for the long haul. With the return of winter's ...
Harvey-Zenk feels the heat in Brandon
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Police watch him like a hawkface=-Bold; 'He won't be treated any differently than anyone else' Sgt. Rick Semler of Brandon Police Service By Mike McIntyre BRANDON -- A former Winnipeg police officer at the centre of a controversial deadly driving case ...
Manitoba sting nabs B.C. killers
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Virden suspect faces trial next yearface=-Bold; By Mike McIntyre Two British Columbia residents have admitted their roles in a 1998 West Coast killing after they were caught last year in an elaborate RCMP sting operation based in Manitoba. Trevor Thomas, 49, ...
Anatomy of a mammoth crime scene
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; A tip launched the probe into B.C.'s most grisly murder caseface=-Bold; By Greg Joyce VANCOUVER -- Try to imagine a crime scene the size of 17 football fields, littered with abandoned vehicles, trucks, machinery, outbuildings, massive dirt piles. And junk, ...
Fire, police chiefs' accounts of Taser case differ
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Jonathan Woodward VANCOUVER -- RCMP officers refused to take handcuffs off Robert Dziekanski, despite a request from firefighters who said the Polish immigrant was not breathing and didn't have a pulse, according to a Richmond Fire-Rescue report. It wasn't until paramedics ...
Around Canada
Dec 01, 2007; ... Terror threat 'at doorstep' OTTAWA -- Canadian law restricts the flow of information between the Mounties and Canada's spy agency, putting Canadians at greater risk of another terrorist attack, says former commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli. And with the threat "at Canada's ...
Hostage-taking at Clinton office ends peacefully
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Man surrenders to SWAT teamface=-Bold; By Beverley Wang ROCHESTER, N.H. -- A distraught man wearing what appeared to be a bomb walked into a Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office Friday and demanded to speak to the candidate during a hostage drama that dragged on ...
Around the World
Dec 01, 2007; ... Iran, EU talks hit impasse LONDON -- Talks between Iran and the European Union broke up Friday without compromise on Tehran's refusal to freeze uranium enrichment. "I expected more and therefore I am disappointed," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said. The failure of the ...
Cities need new tax
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Infrastructure deficits have reached the breaking pointface=-Bold; Gord Steeves The Federation of Canadian Municipalities last week published its report, Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada's Municipal Infrastructure, which set the cost of eliminating the ...
No good reason to slander Walding
Dec 01, 2007; ... Sid Green The law of defamation of character is unique. Under normal circumstances, at common law, if a person is slandered and starts a law suit, he had better not die before his case is decided. Defamation, unlike other civil actions, dies with the defamed party. Likewise a deceased ...
Are we getting what we pay for?
Dec 01, 2007; ... Peter Holle Municipal governments are the silent partners in Canadian citizens' lives. The services they provide underpin our way of life, but too often their performance is falling short of international best practices. The Local Government Performance Index, an analysis by the ...
Lottery Numbers
Dec 01, 2007; ... LOTTERIES In the event of a discrepancy between this list and the official winning numbers, the latter shall prevail. PICK 3 Winning number Friday was ...
Facebook offer makes me LOL, I'll do it ALAP
Dec 01, 2007; ... Charlene Adam MY brother-in-law works for Microsoft. He helped create the new Vista program. If I had a clue what it did, I'm sure I'd be very proud. You see, he's a technology fanatic and I'm still mastering taking a call from my cellphone. This means we speak two different ...
Teddy bear's name deserves death: mob
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Jailed teacher ' holding up well'face=-Bold; By Mohamed Osman KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and swords and beating drums, burned pictures of a British teacher Friday and demanded her execution for insulting Islam by letting her ...
Editorial - Deciphering cyber tips
Dec 01, 2007; ... For decades, any Manitoban who knows a child is being abused has been compelled to report that to the police. No one has been charged under the section of the Child and Family Services Act for not doing so. It is terribly difficult to prove someone saw something, sometime and suspected abuse ....
Editorial - Cut the crepe
Dec 01, 2007; ... When you have to go behind closed doors to talk about hamburgers and les chiens chaud (hot dogs), you know you don't have enough work to do. Unless, of course, you work at city hall, where huge volumes of time can be invested on matters of minor detail, while important issues go begging for an ...
Letters to the Editor
Dec 01, 2007; ... Letter of the Day Vile actions based on grief Re: Killer's supporters curse girlfriend (Nov. 29) Wednesday's verbal attack on my daughter on the steps of the Law Courts by the mother and friends of convicted killer Cory Spence was inappropriate, vile and disturbing. Yet ...
Death Notices
Dec 01, 2007; ... DEATHS AKER, Victor Austin. ALLAN, Thomas. ANDERSON (née VIVIER), Louise May. APOSTOLOPOULOS, Anastasios. ATKINSON, Edith Marie. BACKMAN, Emil William (Bill). BOBBIE, Nettie. BOSMA, Feikje (Freda). BOSWELL, ...
Thieves loot Justice office-- twice!
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Mia Rabson SEVEN computers, two BlackBerrys and a power point projector were stolen from Manitoba Justice offices in the Woodsworth Building during two separate break-ins in October and November. The provincial government says the break-ins appear to be only related to a ...
Abuse victim turned to child porn for therapy
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Mike McIntyre A childhood victim of sexual abuse took no pleasure in viewing images of child pornography and was trying to confront his own troubled past, a Winnipeg court heard Friday. Michael Curtis, 23, pleaded guilty to possessing several pictures and was handed a ...
Mine blast leaves hope intact
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Gabrielle Giroday IN some ways, she is like any 16-year-old in this crowd, with twinkly blue jeans she wears that shine with rhinestones to wow other Canadian teenagers. In other ways, Cambodian landmine survivor Vanna Min is one of a kind. The new pants of the ...
Province creates positions, can't find people to fill them
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Mia Rabson MANITOBA'S nursing shortage jumped 27 per cent between 2004 and 2006, after several years of decreases. There were 1,022 vacancies for registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses and licensed practical nurses in Manitoba in 2006. In 2004 that number was ...
Tough times weigh on hog producers
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Cattle operations have greater flexibilityface=-Bold; Laura Rance - Rural Revival TIMES are pretty tough for cattle and hog producers. Tight grain supplies have increased feed prices and a Canadian dollar achieving par or better with the U.S. has depressed market ...
Billion-dollar war
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; MTS fighting to become next national cellphone carrierface=-Bold; Martin Cash MTS Allstream is girding itself for the battle of its life, preparing to spend up to $1 billion to build a national wireless network. But first MTS has got to figure out how to ...
Russell Breweries' Q1 costs offset revenue
Dec 01, 2007; ... VANCOUVER -- Russell Breweries Inc., a growing producer of craft beer in Western Canada, says its first-quarter loss widened to $671,068, from a year-earlier $158,858, as costs offset sharply higher revenue. The loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30 amounted to three cents per share, ...
Go-getters persuade Mulroney to drop in
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Ex-PM to schmooze at book-flogging lunchface=-Bold; Gordon Sinclair jr. THE word is out that Brian Mulroney will be in the city later this month for a shmoozy if not necessarily newsy book-flogging lunch at The Winnipeg Fairmont. What isn't as well known is ...
Tims drive-thru proposal hits a wall -- again
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Bartley Kives IF city council is any indication, Winnipeg really does have no time for Tim Hortons. For the second time this year, council's appeals committee has poured cold water on a new Winnipeg drive-thru for the coffee chain, which already sports 2,758 locations in ...
Rotten house sale reviewed
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Selinger says mouldy home shouldn't have been soldface=-Bold; By Mia Rabson FINANCE Minister Greg Selinger has ordered a partial review of real estate disclosure laws after a couple unwittingly bought a house that was so badly damaged from the 1997 flood that it had ...
Cameras help picture life with HIV
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Project aims to identify need for servicesface=-Bold; By Carol Sanders RESEARCHERS are getting a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of people with HIV/AIDS thanks to a new assessment tool -- the disposable camera. Later this month, 40 or so clients of Nine ...
Importing U.S. vehicles to get easier
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Ottawa to add immobilizersface=-Bold; By Steve Rennie OTTAWA -- Ottawa wants to add more U.S. anti-theft devices to its list of vehicle immobilizers that meet Canadian standards, a move designed to make it easier for Canadians to import U.S. vehicles, said Transport ...
Google to go after mobile services
Dec 01, 2007; ... SAN FRANCISCO -- Google Inc. confirmed its plans to bid for a prized piece of the airwaves in a forthcoming U.S. government auction, further underscoring the Internet search leader's determination to shake up the wireless market and plumb more profits from mobile phones. Friday's ...
Tiny pipeline leak caused deadly Minnesota blaze
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Dave Kolpack CLEARBROOK, Minn. -- An oil pipeline fire that killed two workers and caused a spike in oil prices can be traced to a pinhole leak first repaired three weeks ago, the Canadian pipeline operator said. The fire was extinguished Thursday morning and oil prices ended ...
Mining gains boost TSX
Dec 01, 2007; ... TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market closed higher Friday, led by gains in mining and financial stocks. But Royal Bank (TSX:RY) shares were a drag after its quarterly earnings disappointed investors. New York markets closed mainly higher amid disappointing U.S. economic data ...
Subprime crunch cuts into RBC profit
Dec 01, 2007; ... By David Friend TORONTO -- Royal Bank of Canada profits decelerated to their slowest growth rate in two years as fourth-quarter gains were reeled in by writedowns linked to the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market. Canada's biggest bank said Friday that net income edged ...
Minister revives continental barley market
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Larry Kusch THE Harper government is hopeful Prairie farmers will be able to sell barley on the open market next Aug. 1, barring the "spectre of a spring election," federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Friday in Winnipeg. Ritz also suggested he was looking at reviving ...
Pennies could keep my angel from hunger
Dec 01, 2007; ... Kevin Rollason I'VE never known hunger. I've been hungry, yes, but that's not hunger. Back in university days I can remember being on an extremely limited budget in the food department. I couldn't afford Kraft Dinner, so I went for the generic brand. For the first ...
Winnipeg rescue crew pulls 3 from wreckage
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Joe Paraskevas A Winnipeg-based Canadian Forces search and rescue crew Friday saved three people who survived the crash of their small plane, about 150 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. Three members of the 435 "Chinthe" transport and rescue squadron parachuted from an ...
Steam-plant cleanup to precede condo project
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Bartley Kives THE city is digging up 42,000 tonnes of polluted property on Waterfront Drive to make way for the $30-million Sky Waterfront Condominiums project. Construction on the 109-unit condo complex is slated to begin at the corner of Waterfront Drive and Pacific Avenue ...
7 days
Dec 01, 2007; ... Margie Gillis Canadian dance legend at the Gas Station Theatre, 8 p.m. TODAY Name Your Price Silent art auction of works by Manitoba artists, Forum Art Institute, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. SUNDAY John Paskievich Filmmaker signs copies of The North ...
Philanthropists honoured
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Kevin Rollason FRANK and Jeanne Plett may not have begun their marriage with too many coins to rub together but now that they have more they share with the community. During National Philanthropy Day on Friday, the Pletts were honoured as Outstanding Philanthropists by the ...
Learning to love all things green
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Conservatory friends hosting Family Dayface=-Bold; By Erin Madden HORTICULTURE was something that grew on her at an early age and now Jan Seaman is working to nurture that same love of all things green in today's youngsters. A volunteer with the Friends of ...
Volunteers needed
Dec 01, 2007; ... The following is a list of volunteer opportunities advertised in the Winnipeg area. For more information about these listings, please contact the person/organization directly; you may call Volunteer Manitoba at 477-5180, ext. 225, e-mail vmreferral@mts.net, or visit ...
Chrysler in for heavy loss, turnaround, says exec
Dec 01, 2007; ... DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC is likely to lose US$1 billion this year as its new leadership tries to cut costs and streamline the automaker's model lineup, but it's poised to break even next year and make money in 2009 and 2010, according to a top sales executive. Steven Landry, executive ...
Tinsel on the tube
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Check our handy clip-out calendar to plan your Christmas-season TV viewingface=-Bold; IT'S beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you flip ... Just like those department stores and assorted shopping-mall outlets that start decorating for the festive season ...
Celebrity auctions sell fame, raise cash for charity
Dec 01, 2007; ... By John Rogers LOS ANGELES -- From Cher's used Hummer to Wayne Gretzky's old hockey sticks to Ozzy Osbourne's guitar, anybody can have a piece of celebrity -- for a price. If you were flush with cash and wanted to sit on a throne fit for a rock star, for example, you could have ...
Golden Compass angers religious, secular factions
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Eric Gorski THE plot sounds familiar -- movie takes on religion, angers some faction of believers. But the furor surrounding The Golden Compass, a US$180-million fantasy epic coming to theatres next Friday, is more complex than that. Based on the first volume in the ...
Putting colours on global warming
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Impressionist art used to study how volcanoes cooled climateface=-Bold; By Kate Schuman LONDON -- The vivid sunsets painted by J.M.W. Turner are revered for their use of colour and light and for their influence on the Impressionists. But could they also help ...
Showbits
Dec 01, 2007; ... Today in music history In 1957, The Ed Sullivan Show featured the national TV debut of three acts -- Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke and the Silhouettes. Born this day * Lou Rawls, 1933 * Woody Allen, 1935 * Richard Pryor, 1940 * Bette Midler, ...
That beer fridge gives you an expensive hangover
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Kathryn Young YET another threat to the environment: Canadian beer drinkers. A government-commissioned study has confirmed that older, energy-inefficient beer fridges found in Canadian basements suck back the electricity faster than a bunch of guys can suck back a two-four ...
Wine's benefits, without the booze
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Alcohol-free vino growing in popularityface=-Bold; By Janet Cromley TAKING too much fun from the fun bank during the holidays? With more revelry coming up, we have three little words: alcohol-free wine. The notion of tinkering with vino makes true wine ...
Strange things are afoot in the Legislative bathroom
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Randall King THE men's washroom in the Manitoba Legislative Building appears to be the place to go if you're anybody who's anybody in the film industry. That would seem to be the case with some of the stars of The Hessen Affair, the period heist movie currently filming in ...
the Scene
Dec 01, 2007; ... Hulk Hogan says his wife can support herself, help support son, after divorce CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Hulk Hogan said in a court filing that his wife, who has filed for divorce, can support herself and can help support their 17-year-old son Nick. Hogan's petition, filed Wednesday ...
New Music
Dec 01, 2007; ... Kylie Minogue X (EMI) YOU might think that after surviving a battle with breast cancer, Australian pop star Kylie Minogue would relieve herself of some emotional baggage by filling her 10th album with inspirational stories or autobiographical tidbits. You would be wrong ....
Get this comatose thriller an injection of sense, stat!
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Alison Gillmor THIS dopey thriller hinges on "anaesthetic awareness," the experience of being awake and aware of pain but unable to move during surgery. I find that concept very scary. At least I did until I saw Hayden Christensen acting it out with such cloth-headed ...
Motorcycle daredevil lived large
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Mitch Stacy CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69. Knievel's death was confirmed by his ...
Backyardigans hang out in our own backyard
Dec 01, 2007; ... Demetra Hajidiacos - Parents and the City IF you're one of those water-cooler parents who can't stop talking about how excited your pre-schoolers are that The Backyardigans are coming to town, you might want to brush up on your Treehouse facts. First, Janice Burgess's hit ...
Let's kick it into high gear after a slow start
Dec 01, 2007; ... By Julian Rachey Sports Editor AFTER all these years, you would think a veteran supporter of the Christmas Cheer Board would know better. But after 17 years at the helm of the Spirit of Christmas, I am getting a few lessons on raising cash for a worthwhile cause from a ...
Crusaders march into final
Dec 01, 2007; ... face=+Bold; Voth the coach, Voth the player lead St. Paul's over River Eastface=-Bold; By Allan Besson JUST about everything good in Lloyd Voth's life centres around volleyball. He met his wife Valorie while playing beach volleyball. His daughter Ashley starred at St ....
Bargnani's career night powers Raps
Dec 01, 2007; ... TORONTO -- Andrea Bargnani poured in a career-best 26 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 91-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Carlos Delfino added 24 points, also a career high, while Jose Calderon had 11 points and 10 assists for the Raptors (9-7), who were missing ...
Thank you, thank you, 10,000 thank yous
Dec 01, 2007; ... The following good folks have ignored our slow start to fundraising this year and sent along a donation in support of the Christmas Cheer Board. You can do your part by sending a donation to: Spirit of Christmas, c/o Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6. They have ...