Winnipeg taxis are one step closer to being permitted to wait for fares at fire hydrants.

The city’s executive policy committee voted Wednesday to lobby for the practice, provided stopped cab drivers remain in their vehicles.

The vote supports sending a request to the province to clear the way for the new rules.

The change would require amendments to the provincial Highway Traffic Act and a city bylaw.

The move is expected to help prevent illegal parking by other vehicles in front of hydrants while providing greater access to taxis. A similar pilot program is underway in Calgary.

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/01/23/cabbies-may-get-to-stop-in-front-of-fire-hydrants

PLANS to open a gaming centre in Cityplace have more to do with a long-standing agreement on downtown development than with supporting an NHL hockey team, a senior minister says.

Steve Ashton, the minister responsible for Manitoba Lotteries, said the 5,000-square-foot facility, scheduled to open this spring, is merely the execution of a deal put in place before the MTS Centre opened in 2004.

"We had an initial gaming agreement (with True North Sports & Entertainment). We've had 50 (video lottery terminals) in place since Day 1, which provided a source of revenue on an annual basis to maintain our business plan. Now (the MTS Centre) is one of the most successful arenas in North America," he said.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/gaming-centre-more-about-downtown-than-jets-ashton-188173601.html

Complete: As downtown Winnipeg prepares to welcome a new gaming centre this spring, Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst said she hopes the province will extend a similar option to the Wheat City.

"I think it’s a model that could certainly work very well in Brandon," Decter Hirst said. "If you want to think about it as an enhancement to existing entertainment options with the MTS Centre, we certainly could look at that kind of enhancement in our city."

Winnipeg’s new facility will be located on the second floor of Cityplace, near the MTS Centre. The 5,000-square-foot gaming centre will feature 140 slot machines, two poker tables and four blackjack tables.

It will be operated by Manitoba Lotteries but owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Winnipeg Jets.

Susan Olynik, vice-president of corporate communications and social responsibility for Manitoba Lotteries, said they are branding it a "gaming centre" because of its unique scope and setting. To put it in perspective, casinos in Winnipeg, such as Club Regent, span roughly 170,000 square feet.

"It’s not a casino, I know some people are calling it that … it’s not a casino," Olynik said. "It’s an amenity that will be attached to the sports bar."

Olynik said Manitoba Lotteries has been supporting True North and the MTS Centre since 2004, and the gaming centre is viewed as an "extension" of their support.

Once it opens, 50 video lottery terminals currently in operation at the Tavern United pub and restaurant, which is adjacent to the MTS Centre, will be removed and become part of the gaming centre. True North receives gaming revenue from these VLTs currently.

Meanwhile, the idea of developing a casino in Brandon dates back many years. The city held plebiscites in both 2002 and 2008 on the casino question, which were both rejected.

More than a dozen years ago, the provincial NDP tasked a group called the First Nations Casino Project Selection Committee with the selection of up to five First Nations casino proposals in keeping with the findings of the Bostrom Report, which recommended casino and VLT developments as an economic development opportunity for Manitoba aboriginal bands.

In May, the city announced it had partnered with the Tribal Councils Investment Group, the business arm of seven tribal council groups representing 55 of Manitoba’s 61 First Nation bands, with the intent of securing the right to build a casino on city-owned land.

However, following months of discussion and outreach with the AMC and the province, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak publicly backed a scaled-down Spirit Sands Casino project south of Carberry in November after the organization’s gaming chiefs signed a management agreement with Hemisphere Gaming Inc.

Decter Hirst said the new gaming centre model may be a new avenue for Brandon to look into.

"It’s also a solid signal that the province is open to looking at different models besides aboriginal-controlled casinos," she said. "The leverage that True North, the MTS Centre and the Jets have with the province for getting them to consider new options, I would like to see extended to the City of Brandon."

Decter Hirst said if Brandon were to develop a gaming centre, downtown would be a natural location, depending on the size and scope.

"A hotel/entertainment complex has always been on the radar," she said.

Renaissance Brandon chair Shaun Cameron called the gaming centre an "interesting option."

"It’s something that could be an interesting opportunity," he said. "It’s something we’d obviously need to explore, the ramifications on a bigger scale ... but definitely anything that’s going to be an opportunity for us to enhance the downtown, we’re at least going to take a look at."

Brandon East NDP MLA Drew Caldwell said the city first needs to address the two previous plebiscites before it pursues a gaming centre or casino.

"The City of Brandon is on record through two public referendums that they do not want to have a casino," he said. "That’s the first thing that needs to be cleared up moving forward."

Caldwell said he personally is in support of a casino in Brandon, and if the city wants to engage the provincial government on this matter, "our doors are open."

"I’m very interested in advancing opportunities for economic development in Brandon," he said. "The top priority for me is to bring provincial resources to Brandon, to make our community a more vibrant, economically prosperous community."

Steve Ashton, the provincial minister responsible for Manitoba Lotteries, said the Winnipeg gaming centre is a "unique situation," and couldn’t say if it would be an option for Brandon down the road.

"Our main concern is two-fold, one is to respect the decision made by Brandon twice already in terms of the specific casino proposals that were put forward," Ashton said. "Our key issue as well would be to respect and be sure it didn’t have an impact at all on the new aboriginal casino in southwest Manitoba."

http://www.brandonsun.com/breaking-news/mayor-eyes-gaming-centre-option-188188111.html

Winnipeg museums and the Sherbrook Pool are set to get more funding.

This morning, council's executive policy committee approved several amendments to Winnipeg's 2013 budget, which calls for a 3.87 per cent property tax increase.

Finance chairman Coun. Russ Wyatt introduced a motion to reduce funds for a policy and communications office for EPC from $722,000 to $579,136 and devote an additional $56,147 towards city museums so their budgets will only be cut by five per cent instead of 10 per cent.

Remaining funds -- along with savings from the amount earmarked towards hiring new permit staff and pro-rating term staff -- will go towards spending an additional $340,000 on the Assiniboine Park Conservancy to meet increasing labour and utility costs.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Sherbrook-Pool-museums-eyed-for-more-funding-188060671.html

Complete: About 11 wolves that were recently caught on camera at Riding Mountain National Park have caught the attention of hundreds of people online.

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers are getting a new downtown arena.

The NHL team and city councillors agreed Wednesday to resurrect a previous deal that collapsed three months ago when Oilers owner Daryl Katz demanded $6 million more a year from taxpayers.

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel says the new deal is airtight.

"It's 100 per cent. A deal is done. Council has approved it. All the other stuff is just going through some steps," Mandel told reporters after the 10-3 decision by councillors.

"I'm absolutely confident that we will go ahead, and at some point in time all of us will go to a new arena with great pride.

"It will be the nicest, most dynamic arena you've ever been to."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/oil-getting-fancy-new-downtown-arena-188173571.html

OTTAWA — Parks Canada’s revised fee proposals for the Rideau Canal appear to have mollified some users, but mayors along the Rideau corridor aren’t satisfied yet.

They’re still seeking a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to raise their concerns, even as Parks Canada signalled that it might be about to announce another climbdown — this time on mooring fees.

Parks Canada ignited a storm of protest this month when it proposed triple-digit fee increases for boaters on its historic canals, including the Rideau, effective in 2014.

Barely a week later, it withdrew its original proposals for lockage fees and restored lower-cost six-day and seasonal passes.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Rideau+corridor+mayors+satisfied+with+Parks+Canada+changes/7862226/story.html

National tourism leaders and senior government officials convened in Vancouver last Thursday (Jan. 17) to tackle some of the biggest issues facing the industry, with the focus on finding ways to improve international tourist access to Canada.

The roundtable meeting, which was arranged by Tourism Whistler (TW) president Barrett Fisher, Grouse Mountain president Stuart McLaughlin and West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast Sea-to-Sky Country MP John Weston, identified four major points for discussion: improving international air access to Canada, streamlining the tax rebate process for visitors, loosening visa requirements for certain countries and looking at funding options for the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC).

“The important thing is that we were identifying areas of upside where Canada can expand the economy, provide more jobs and provide more revenues for tourism operators,” said Weston. “We have identified areas where we don’t understand why certain impediments exist, and I think there’s some pretty clear steps forward on what can be done to address those.”

On the agenda was the government’s Open Skies initiative, which is aimed at easing some of the restrictions on international airlines looking to fly to Canada.

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/article/20130124/WHISTLER01/301249956/-1/whistler/tourism-leaders-look-at-improving-visitor-access-to-canada

Here is a bit of wisdom you won't find in Mao's Little Red Book: The embalmed bodies of former communist leaders make great tourist attractions, bringing in the the big money carried by capitalist running dogs. Lenin's body is still a Red Square attraction despite the fall of the Soviet Union and Mao's brittle carapace brings in Tianeman hordes. The newest member of this fraternity of relics is Kim Jong-Il, North Korea's dictator and champion golfer who has been laid out in a state mausoleum.

Last week, the first group of western tourists entered Kim's unliving room and the Times of London wrangled an interview with one of the tourists, who said the North Korean's had "done a good job" preserving their now definitely fearless leader.

Unfortunately, the opening of this peculiar attraction -- certainly intended as a tribute despite being a geo-political rubbernecker's dream -- doesn't mean that travel to North Korea is likely to get any easier any time soon. Though several tour companies, including Koryo Tours, offer trips into the country, independent travel doesn't appear to be a looming possibility. The issue appears to be the desire of the North Korean government to keep its citizens from interacting with the outside world.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/24/kim-jong-ils-body-becomes_n_2536646.html

This week's revelations that Hong Kong officials favored a rebuilt nunnery over the city’s famous Victoria Harbour for UNESCO World Heritage nomination have sparked indignation among heritage conservation experts.

The decision made Chi Lin nunnery the first and only site in Hong Kong to advance to China’s “tentative list.” An annual maximum of two sites on the list can be nominated for World Heritage certification. 

As Hong Kong is part of China’s national territory, the State Administration for Cultural Heritage reviews site applications. The group announced in November that the nunnery had been added to its tentative list and updated the version on its website...   ...While the World Heritage initiative was intended to protect unique examples of natural and cultural heritage, it's widely acknowledged that participating countries often view the accolade as a means to draw visitors. 

However, a UNESCO stamp of approval may not necessarily lead to a boost in tourists, say tourism experts.

“The general rule of thumb is if the site was famous before it got World Heritage designation, it will become more famous," says McKercher. "If it was unknown, the designation is really not going to mean much in visitor numbers.” 

http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong-world-heritage-site-020521

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Jan.  '53)

Rotary International Fellowship has raised $825 for a new entrance to the Assiniboine park flower garden, T. R. Hodgson, parks board superintendent, said Saturday.

The garden will be dedicated as the International Fellowship garden, probably in June.

Landscaping of the new garden approach was completed last year but requires some finishing touches this spring.  The International Fellowship group will provide $100 a year for its maintenance.

Centre of the approach is a rockery where "the boy with the boot" dribbles water into a pool.  The four-foot bonze statue was moved over from the park duck pond last year.

According to one connoisseur, the statue is "almost priceless."  Little is known of its origin, but here's the best story Mr. Hodgson can give.

Around the beginning of this century the Christian Endeavor Society began collecting nickels for a statue to go in front of the city hall.  They collected 30,000 nickels ($1,500) and acquired the "boy with the boot" - no one seems to know where or how.

An identical figure stands in a garden at Cleethorpe, England Mr. Hodgson intends to find out where it came from.

Winnipeg's boy stood in front of city hall until the present statue of Victoria was erected.  Then he was put in storage for a few years.

Later, he was pulled out, washed behind the ears and made to grace the city duck pond where one night he scared a snowshoeing citizen, badly.

Stories of how the unknown artist got his idea for the statue vary.  One states he represents a city newsboy who long ago got lost and died in the marshes north of Winnipeg.

At any rate, the Free Press carriers a few years ago used a picture of the boy with the boot for their Christmas cards.