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On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Humane Society turned away 30 animals, a number that’s unfortunately becoming normal, according to CEO Jessica Miller. But the WHS isn’t alone. All Winnipeg and Manitoba rescues and shelters have too many animals and not enough money. Manitoba Mutts Dog Rescue was on my radio show earlier this month to sound the alarm over $50,000 in veterinarian bills. Miller says they’re all working together to try to save as many of our furry friends as possible but they’re not even treading water at this point. The WHS takes in a whopping 4,400 cats on an annual basis…and that’s just cats! This problem isn’t new but it did get worse after the pandemic and it continues to be a serious situation. Please help if you’re able to! Donate, adopt, foster and as Bob Barker used to say at the end of The Price Is Right, “have your pets spayed or neutered.”
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RAILYARD RELOCATION
I’m excited to see what Lloyd Axworthy comes up with after being tapped to study railyard relocation. I’m usually the first person to roll my eyes at yet another study but I think we need to look at this one final time and then get going on whatever makes sense for Winnipeg in 2024. It’s worked well in the past. The Forks is a great example of what an oily old railyard can be.
EMOTIONAL JETS FANS
Have you ever shed a tear for the Winnipeg Jets? If you have, they’ve probably been tears of sadness at playoff time. It turns out Jets fans are among the most emotional in the NHL. A new survey by sports platform wetten.com says 60% of Jets fans admit to occasionally crying for their team. That compares to 50% across the entire league. The only teams that have caused more crying than the Jets are the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings. Go Jets!!!
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LEAVE THE LEAVES
Thanks to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, I’ve got my annual excuse not to rake the leaves on my lawn. The organization says you’re better to leave the leaves where they fall for three good reasons. It helps biodiversity, as many insects and critters like to hibernate under the leaves over the winter. The leaves also serve as food for birds. And the leaves break down into a natural mulch which benefits the soil.
I’VE NEVER HEARD THAT!
Alex Van Halen, during an interview with Rolling Stone to promote his new memoir Brothers, has revealed who they looked at over the years to front VH. He says Ozzy Osbourne and Chris Cornell were both considered after the Gary Cherone experiment ended in 1999. According to Alex, Ozzy was out after the launch of The Osbournes on MTV. Ozzy confirmed the story, saying “had it come to fruition, it would have been phenomenal.” And then in 2017, Chris got their attention during a jam session just before his tragic death. I love it when stories like this surface after a long period of time.
C’MON, HOLLYWOOD!
Are there no new ideas in Hollywood?! After the success of Barbie ($1.4 billion), Mattel is now looking at a series of films based on some of its most popular toys. A live-action Viewfinder movie is in the works. Also in the pipeline, a Barney project with Daniel Kaluuya, Vin Diesel as one of the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and rapper Lil Yachty in an Uno-based movie. Oh brother…
— Hal has written columns for years. He’s also the host of Connecting Winnipeg weekday mornings from 10 to noon on 680 CJOB. You can email him at Hal@HalAnderson.ca.
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