The Winnipeg Tribune

City Blackout

(Staff - Apr. 22/01) At roughly 11 o'clock last night Winnipeg, experienced a city wide black out. Police and Winnipeg Hydro Officials were put on full alert.

It took Hydro officials over fours to restore power to the city completely. In a statement released by them the following day the black was blamed on some poorly installed shielding, that caused a chain reaction through out the cities transformers.

During that time Winnipeg's Police officers were far from bored. Looting broke out within an hour of the black out happen; Traffic lights were out all over the city

Estimation of the price tag of the four hours with out power including the damage and theft are close to 2 million dollars. This figure does not take in to account the damage to research projects, and the lose of man-hours, while people were unable to work.

Prairie Sky Burns

(Staff - May 2/01) A small jar of incense burns in the outside doorway of Prairie Sky Books to affirm that it and the building it's in weren't snuffed out by an arsonist's handiwork.

"It's to keep the spirit alive," bookstore owner Doug Pastuck said yesterday. "Despite what's happened, the spirit of Prairie Sky is still in there and we want to keep it alive."

The bookstore at 895 Westminster Ave. is a dark, dank, burnt-out shell. Its shelves of books are blackened by smoke or soaked with water. Its tile ceiling was ripped out by firefighters when they extinguished the blaze.

Building owner Max Reich of Astroid Management said work to repair the store and the rest of the three-storey, eight-suite apartment building should begin in two weeks. Prairie Sky will be fixed first.

Reich said damage to the Wolseley-area building is estimated to be about $825,000. That includes fire damage as well as damage caused by firefighters. They had to rip out some ceilings and walls to get at the flames. The 10 residents have found alternative apartments while the work is being done.

Arson investigators are still looking in to who set fire to a pile of cardboard boxes stacked underneath a wooden fire escape behind the building, that lead to the blaze.

"It's very important for the people in the neighborhood that the building stays," Werby said. "Once it gets all fixed up, it will look perfect again."

Pastuck said he's looking forward to moving back into his store, which he's owned for 23 years.

"The response from people everywhere has been amazing," he said. "Every day it looks a little better."

He added he's already doing special orders for customers and is handling some institutional accounts. Soon, he'll be open for daily retail business. "I can't say enough for the support we've got," he said. "It's a great neighbourhood."

May Day Protests Spark Violence

(Wire/San Francisco - May 1/01) Violence has flared across the globe as anti-globalization protesters clashed with police at May Day rallies. Demonstrators in San Francisco marched down the Castro before occupying Mission Street Police Station. The protest started at midday, with protesters playing music and dancing in the streets. But after hours of peaceful protest, the mood turned ugly. Police used rubber bullets on demonstrators, forcing them back only for the protesters to counter-charge as makeshift weapons rained down on police lines and masked demonstrators wrecked traffic lights.

The protestors broke through police lines and marched into the police station. They remained there for three hours, singing and spraying graffiti. CNN's Paul Sussman said from the scene of the clashes. "The tactics used by police inflamed the violence. The rubber bullets turned a peaceful protest into an angry mob. People were driven to the floor as police charged the crowds. Several protesters lay with blood pouring from wounds."

Drums pounded, whistles were blown and shouts of 'bash them' rose from the crowd around the city, as the mood became increasingly angry. Then suddenly the police lines broke apart and the protestors made their way into the police station. Chief of Police Duncan Washburn has yet to respond to the allegations of poor police tactics. The San Francisco protest was one of many protests across the globe. In Berlin, Germany, police had turned water cannon on demonstrators before dawn on Tuesday in a prelude to feared May Day mayhem.

In Greece, flights were curtailed and shipping and rail services disrupted as public transport workers joined in May Day protests against government plans for pension changes.

Tens of thousands of protesters, many carrying banners and shouting slogans, turned the traditional May Day march through the streets of Athens into a strong assault on the government's proposed reforms of the pension system.

Bloody Paw Prints

(Staff - May 3/01) Winnipeg Police, and the Animal Control office received a strange call during Thursdays the early morning hours.

A lady who was out taking her dog for a walk, down River Ave found a number of bloody paw prints on the south sidewalk. The tracks lead towards Fort Rouge Park.

When Police and Animal control officers arrived on the scene they searched the area for any signs of the wounded animals. They found none, so the public is warned to be careful while in that area, and if they come across any strange animals to just back away very slowly, and not to make any quick movements.

During the search of the area the police were shocked to discover shot gun shell casings, in a dumpster behind an apartment less then a block away from the scene.

Net Terrorism

(Staff - Apr. 28/01) At approximately 11:00 PM the web sites of every major American online network (ABC, CNN, NBC, FOX, etc) crashed for about one hour. The reason behind this act of net terrorism is unclear, however the source of the outage has been traced to Sydney Australia.

Information regarding this net crime can be reported to the FBI or other relevant organization.