Observing a polar bear in the wild is like watching a grand mythology unfold before your eyes: the backdrop of the Canadian arctic, the vast stretches of barren tundra and sea ice, the frigid, crisp winds howling and this incredibly wise and majestic creature surviving in a frozen and unforgiving land.

As they have for thousands of years, these massive creatures are now gathered along the Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada waiting for the water to freeze over....        ...To mark this ancient ritual of the most dominant mammal trekking across this hemisphere, we at explore.org have partnered with Polar Bears International, Frontiers North Adventures and Parks Canada to stream the polar bear migration live in HD, from multiple locations....       ...We also are pleased to partner with Huffington Post and others to turn this annual migration event into Polar Bear Week. Here on Huffington Post, you will find a new perspective every day from leading scientists and the top tourism experts in the area.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-annenberg-weingarten/polar-bear-week_b_2117247.html

As a tribute to the thousands of members of the Royal Canadian Air Force who lost their lives in the Second World War, an elaborate memorial is being developed.

Spanning 91 metres and shaped like the wings on an airplane, the black granite wall will contain 19,000 names, etched in stone.

"It is a phenomenal project and there’s been hours and hours of planning that have gone into this already," said Reg Atkinson, memorial project fundraising chair.

The memorial project committee of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum began the ambitious project in 2010. The RCAF WWII Memorial will be located on the grounds of the museum. It will also pay tribute to Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and New Zealand Air Force personnel who lost their lives in or near Canada during this period.

Plans for the memorial also include a larger-than-life statue, representing the fallen.

"I think it will be a worldwide attraction, because it’s not just an ordinary cenotaph," Atkinson said, adding the project is one that is close to his heart.

"I had an uncle killed in the war … at 20 years old," he said.

"That’s one reason I was very interested in the project. I know how real it was in our family, having somebody involved like that."

The committee is currently fundraising for the project, which is estimated to cost $1.25 million.

"We’re hoping for contributions for this thing right across Canada," Atkinson said.

Organizers hope to call on municipal, provincial and federal governments as well as business and private sectors for funding.

Atkinson said it’s important to keep the memory alive of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

"Each generation, it kind of gets removed a little more," he said. "So I’m hoping something like this will trigger new thoughts, like when my grandsons come I will take them to show them this. I think quite often, we don’t know what to show our visitors … but particularly the next generation, I think they’ll be impressed by this."

The goal is to unveil the RCAF WWII Memorial in August 2014, in conjunction with events to mark the 75th anniversary of the start of the Second World War.

http://www.brandonsun.com/local/museum-aims-to-unveil-rcaf-memorial-in-2014-178292951.html?thx=y

Complete: The town of Emerson completed repairs to its concrete boat launch facility this fall.

Mayor Wayne Arseny says the project was done in two phases, thanks in large part to the low level of the Red River this year. "The River hasn't been this low since 1979, and while we repaired the upper section in concrete, we had no idea what was below the water line."

However, over the summer, as drought like conditions set in, the river level continued to drop about 8 feet allowing the town to repair damage to the concrete section that has been under water for a number of years. "We found out that the swirling water had eroded the concrete completely, so we stabilized that with new concrete and dropped in some rip rap."

Arseny says Emerson is now one of the few communities along the Red River that offer boat access. He adds, the boat launch can also be used by anglers who need access to the river in winter to set up their ice shacks

http://www.pembinavalleyonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29819&Itemid=338

Polar bears are coming to the Assiniboine Park Zoo, but don't expect Shamu the killer whale here, even though there's a new partnership with SeaWorld.

The Assiniboine Park Conservancy and Florida-based SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment have signed a memorandum of understanding to share information on research projects, wildlife conservation and public education programs as part of the international effort to conserve polar bears.

Don Peterkin, the conservancy's chief operating officer, said on Friday it's a great step as the zoo continues construction of its Journey to Churchill exhibit. It is scheduled to open in spring 2014, but earlier this year, the zoo opened the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre with Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/zoo-seaworld-form-partnership-179061391.html

TORONTO - The Canadian dollar was slightly lower Tuesday morning amid wrangling over dealing with more bailout money for Greece and worries about the approaching "fiscal cliff" in the United States.

The loonie was down 0.02 of a cent from Friday's close to 99.85 cents US. The loonie wasn't traded in Canada on Monday as banks were closed for the Remembrance Day holiday.

The looming end-of-year deadline over the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts and the automatic launch of massive spending cuts at the end of the year continued to cast a pall over markets. Economists reckon that such a scenario, the so-called fiscal cliff, would take a big chunk out of economic growth, likely pushing the U.S. back into recession and taking other economies down with it.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/canadian-dollar-down-amid-greek-bailout-fiscal-cliff-worries-lower-commodities-179096201.html

NEW ORLEANS - Bed and breakfast operations in New Orleans tout their old-fashion charm as an enticement to visitors, but face a threat from a new, technology-driven competitor that apparently is flouting city law.

Airbnb.com, a travel website that lets homeowners advertise rooms for short-term rental, has become increasingly popular in recent years, expanding to 31,275 cities worldwide. The site recently listed 385 rooms for rent in New Orleans. The website is often described as a cheap, convenient and relatively safe way to book travel accommodations.

In New Orleans, it's also apparently illegal. A city ordinance prohibits unlicensed property owners from renting accommodations to anyone for less than 60 days in the French Quarter and less than 30 days elsewhere in the city.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/bb-owners-participating-in-online-campaign-poking-fun-at-cut-rate-room-rental-websites-178445971.html

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. -- Google and its street-view cameras already have taken users to narrow cobblestone alleys in Spain using a tricycle, inside the Smithsonian with a push cart and to British Columbia's snow-covered slopes by snowmobile.

The search giant now has brought its all-seeing eyes -- mounted for the first time on a backpack -- down into the Grand Canyon, showcasing the attraction's most popular hiking trails on the South Rim and other walkways.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/google-captures-the-grand-canyon-178325561.html

NEW ORLEANS - With the Super Bowl less than three months away, New Orleans is rushing to lay streetcar tracks through one of its busiest corridors to connect by trolley the Louisiana Superdome and the French Quarter.

The Big Easy — which will be the site of the big game Feb. 3 — is no stranger to Super Bowls. In the 47 years of game's history, this will be the 10th time for New Orleans to play host.

But this will be the city's first Super Bowl since Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005, killing hundreds and leaving 80 per cent of the city under water....      ..."If the priorities are directed to the local resident and the local economy and not the tourist economy, then you strengthen your real city, and you keep it strong for tourism, versus creating a downtown that is increasingly like Disneyland," said Roberta Brandes Gratz, a New York writer and urban critic who recently bought a house in New Orleans. "If tourism is your most important economic driver, you have a bankruptcy of ideas."

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/new-orleans-is-building-a-new-streetcar-line-in-time-to-host-the-super-bowl-in-february-178888941.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Nov.  '74)

OTTAWA — Supply Minister Jean Pierre Coyer met with representatives of eight Canadian airlines Tuesday to hold "exploratory talks" on the repair, overhaul and maintenance services available across Canada. "We exchanged views. It was merely exploratory and we wanted to obtain information as to what facilities existed today and if they were satisfactory," said the minister. He said the meeting was in line with the policy of the present federal government to be "open" with the private sector. Asked, if he had outlined his department's new concept for establishing overhaul and maintenance bases across the country capable of repairing all types of aircraft from the big jets down to the small aircraft, Mr. Coyer said the talk were not at that stage. He explained that the meeting Tues day was primarily to obtain information and the attitudes the various airlines concerning overhaul and repair facilities hat are now available to them. The supply and services department has under study its new concept setting up a chain if such bases, probably one at Vancouver, another at Winnipeg, a third in Montreal and possibly one in Toronto or further east. They might be operated with government subsidies. Mr. Goyer stressed that such a concept was only in the early planning stages. At the meeting Tuesday was Ralph Vaughan, president of Air Canada and Ian Gray executive vice-president technical services of CP-Air. They represented the Iwo national airlines. There were representatives also from the five regional airlines and from the major charter airline in Canada Wardair. The new concept being developed by the government stems f r o m the political promise made to Winnipeg during the Federal election campaign by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Defence Minister James Richardson. They promised that Air Canada would erect a multi-million dollar overhaul hangar in Winnipeg. Estimated cost of the hangar is around $ 12,000,000 to $15,000,000. However the government to date has not specified just what overhaul jobs the controversial Winnipeg base would undertake. Air Canada is reluctant to become involved in any shift of overhaul work from its Dorval base outside of Montreal to Winnipeg.