An environmental hearing into Manitoba Hydro's new Bipole III transmission line resumes Monday, but a northern Manitoba outfitter wonders if it's too late to save his 14-year-old business.

The route for the new line, which will deliver more power to southern Manitoba, cuts through the hunting area the province allocated to Cory Grant.

Grant is one of two outfitters who want to be compensated by Hydro for the potential loss of business -- just as Hydro is compensating trappers who have registered trap lines in the path of the new line. Hydro has already agreed to pay trappers up to five years for lost revenue.

"Am I going to be taking my clients through a construction zone?" Grant said. "My clients pay for the remoteness of the area. They want to get away from people. They won't come. What happens to my business because of the line?"

Grant, whose All Terrain Bear Hunts in Thompson employs six people during the bear-hunting season, said he also fears the new line will open up the wilderness area to more people, because Hydro will have to build access roads for its machinery to clear the route and erect transmission towers.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/bipole-iii-worries-northern-outfitter-194455201.html

If the new polar bear Hudson is not enough to attract visitors to the Assiniboine Park Zoo, penguins might add to the draw.

The zoo will host penguins for the first time, it announced Friday. Visitors will be able to see a group of four African black-footed penguins on a temporary basis this spring and summer, with an anticipated opening goal of early May.

The opportunity to get the penguins came at a zoo conference in Phoenix, said Tim Sinclair-Smith, director of zoological operations at Assiniboine Park Zoo.

"I met up with one of my colleagues and he was telling me about one of his penguin exhibits which book up very quickly -- they're very popular. And fortunately, I was able to secure the penguin exhibit and bring it up here," he said.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/penguins-waddle-to-winnipeg-194455341.html

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Casino operators and local officials in Canada say business is already hurting and worry that if New York approves casinos upstate, both sides of the border could face economic struggles.

The Buffalo News reports that competition, a weaker dollar and a more restrictive border since the Sept. 11 terror attacks have already cut into profits at Canadian casinos.

Profits from Canadian gambling facilities close to the U.S. border have dropped from $800 million to $100 million over the last decade.

New York is considering adding up to seven casinos off Indian land to go with those already operated by the Oneidas, Senecas and Mohawks. Western New York and Niagara Falls in particular, are seen as desirable destinations for some of the casinos.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP379a980807224afaa47d102fa63bd160.html

Some New Brunswick tourism operators are concerned about the impact federal changes to the Employment Insurance system will have on seasonal workers.

Right now Kathy Weir’s ranch in Hopewell Hill resembles a ghost town. But starting in the spring, the ranch will have a stampede of about 50,000 customers for the tourism season.

Each year, Weir hires about 30 people to work on the food service side of the ranch and counsellors with early childhood development skills to work on the adventure programs.

The owner of the Moncton-area business, however, said she may not be able to find enough workers for the upcoming season.

"In the summer time with the horseback riding and the adventure camps that we do, a lot of group functions, wagon rides that kind of thing would be considered seasonal," Weir said.

She said some people are not sure if they are coming back to work at the ranch this spring because they fear they may not be able to draw EI at the end of the season.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/03/04/nb-ei-tourism-impact-744.html

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Las Vegas tourists may have a harder time getting to their hotel room after a night of clubbing if drivers with the city's second-largest taxi company follow through with their plan to strike this weekend.

Drivers at Yellow-Checker-Star Transportation announced plans to walk off the job starting at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, saying the company didn't provide them enough information related to collective bargaining and unilaterally implemented a contract rejected by 70 per cent of union members.

"Together, we have a refusal to provide relevant information and an imposed contract," Dennis Arrington, president of Industrial Technical Professional Employees Union Local 4873, said in a statement. "The drivers were left with no choice but to move forward with the strike."

The cab company's chief operating officer, Bill Shranko, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/drivers-with-major-vegas-taxi-company-call-for-strike-starting-sunday-could-stymie-tourists-194359461.html

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland - Primed as the favourite to host the 2022 Winter Olympics at ritzy St. Moritz and Davos, Switzerland won't even bid after the project was rejected in a state referendum Sunday.

Voters in Graubuenden canton (state) voted 52.66 per cent to 47.34 per cent to decide against approving funding.

The "no" voters rejected bid organizers' claims that Olympic hosting would invigorate tourism and the local economy around the well-heeled Alpine resorts.

"The vote of the electors is a big disappointment," the bid team said in a statement.

St. Moritz and Davos residents also voted Sunday, and returned "yes" votes by 61 and 56.2 per cent, respectively.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/olympics/voters-in-switzerland-reject-proposed-bid-for-2022-winter-olympics-194692491.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Mar.  '61)

St James's Mayor Thomas Findlay has cabled Transport Minister Leon Balcer calling for action on the construction of Winnipeg's new "jet-age" airport terminal.

The mayor's request was made Wednesday in a wire to Ottawa which said:

"The citizens of St James, and in fact all citizens of Metropolitan Winnipeg, are concerned over what they consider to be undue delay in confirming the successful contractor for the International Airport

"It is now three months since tenders closed and we need the psychological effect of the public announcement of a firm contract being consummated.

"Thousands of people, directly and indirectly, hope to derive employment on this undertaking and I respectfully suggest you take steps to award contracts immediately - and, at a later stage, work out details regarding minor changes."

Award of the general contract had been expected by the end of this month.  But an effort by the government's treasury board to trim $1 million from estimated construction costs is apparently holding up final approval of the project.

When the bids were opened nearly three months ago it was expected that the contract would be awarded before Christmas.

Commonwealth Construction Co. Ltd., of Winnipeg was the lowest bidder of nine competing companies from Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, St. Boniface, and Winnipeg.

The new terminal is expected to cost $10,000,000.  The federal government in its 1961-1962 spending estimates set aside $5,690,000 for construction.