Mentors for homeless will connect street people with resources

The Manitoba government has committed $357,000 in funding to seven outreach mentors in Winnipeg, Thompson, The Pas and Brandon. They will work collaboratively to connect homeless individuals with support and resources in the community. Local partners include the Spence Neighbourhood Association, Resource Assistance for Youth (RaY), Main Street Project and the Salvation Army. Housing and community development minister Kerri Irvin-Ross hopes this will help move hundreds of people off the streets and into transitional or long-term housing. “By partnering with community resources, we can have a real impact on the daily lives of Manitobans struggling with homelessness,” she said in a release.

Car thieves foiled by stick-shift

Two potential car thieves in Winnipeg had their recent attempts foiled not once, but twice in one night, according to CBC News. In their first attempt, they approached a 39-year-old woman, threatening her with a gun. When she warned them that her car was standard, however, they became frustrated and threw the car keys back at the woman. The two approached another woman 20 minutes later. This time they were scared away by two men coming out of a nearby house. Both incidents took place in Winnipeg’s North End. The would-be thieves are still at large.

Fake cash circulating in Winnipeg

Winnipeg police are warning merchants and consumers around the city of a recent trend in counterfeit cash. As CBC News reported, the police have noticed an increase in fake currency in the past few months, particularly $100 bills. Merchants and consumers are being urged to check their banknotes before accepting them. The police advise to be on the lookout for common security features, including raised printing that can be felt to the touch and watermark portraits visible when held to light.

Anyone who thinks they have received a counterfeit note is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 786-TIPS.

New gadget to make parking meters obsolete

The Winnipeg Parking Authority has begun testing a new line of devices that can be placed in Winnipeggers’ vehicles to track their parking times, according to a report by CBC News. These devices, called Skymeters, can be powered by plugging it into a vehicle’s cigarette lighter outlet and will report parking times to Skymeter Corp., who will bill drivers based on their parking habits in paid areas. The tracker will be placed on dashboards to be visible to parking officials. The Skymeter could be ready for use by fall 2010.

A dramatic proposal

At a recent Prairie Theatre Exchange performance, audience member Kris Robinson purposely left his phone on as the show began, despite the typical theatre warning. As CBC News reported, he was then called by PTE artistic director Bob Metcalfe from onstage as part of a pre-arranged plan and dragged up with his girlfriend for “punishment.” Once on stage, he got down on one knee and proposed to her, prompting her to reply with “Yes!” as the audience applauded. “Let that be a lesson to you all. If you leave your cellphone on, you’ll end up married,” Metcalfe warned the audience.

Published in Volume 64, Number 14 of The Uniter (December 3, 2009)