* Audio of our interview with veteran CJOB sports and talk guy Geoff Currier, who gave us the very first broadcast interview about why he left the world of commercial radio and what he thinks are the issues to the voters in River Heights - Fort Garry, where he aspires to replace the late Brenda Leipsic in the March 17th civic by-election:
http://www.kick.fm/2009/01/geoff-currier-on-kick-fm.html
(Note that the page linked to, includes another good interview Currier did on our Monday night staple The Download with Kick FM News director Dan Vadeboncouer and co-host Conor Lloyd.)
* Speaking of City Council, Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) made an in-studio visit last Thursday and we covered, well, everything but Waterfront Drive:
http://www.kick.fm/2009/01/jeff-browaty-on-great-canadian-talk.html
* The best friend of crystal meth addict and habitual criminal DJ Van Den Bosch, who committed suicide when cornered on Simcoe Street by the K9 Unit, provided the most intense call in the history of TGCTS last Monday when she talked about her own struggle with meth addiction:
http://www.kick.fm/2009/01/glimpse-into-world-of-meth-addiction.html
* and for good measure, a link to the archive of the last two weeks worth of episodes:
http://www.kick.fm/2009/01/catch-up-with-great-canadian-talk-show.html
Already this week,
* we broke the eyewitness story of the African Mafia inner city street gang that crashed a teen birthday party at the Event Exchange Centre last Saturday night, and asked why CBC-TV refused to identify what kind of "gang" was behind the mayhem;
* noted the disturbing pattern of public health officials concealing communicable disease outbreaks in Winnipeg, including flesh-eating disease last fall and the belated Superbug-forced shutdown of an entire ward at Seven Oaks Hospital last winter that may have killed a senior citizen;
* and explained how the Free Press outdid itself in a story about CFRW Classic rock-jock Raccoon Carney, with the story having 3 factual mistakes in a single, 2 sentence paragraph.
Today, while everyone else yakked endlessly about all things Obama, we alone:
- broadcast information about massive layoffs at Clear Channel in the US and layoffs at Global TV Toronto, and asked the true impact of cancelling Morning and Noon news casts in the country's biggest market;
- found out about the Public Utilities Board being forced to hold public hearings next month into the business application of Wpg Airport Authority-owned Avion to crack the city ground transportation/taxi market, the release date of the government study into Taxi demand in Winnipeg, and the fight for more downtown cab stands and taxi access to Diamond Lanes;
- asked why the special prosecutor agreed to a plea bargain with a man charged for attempting a home invasion on a Crown Attorney's home with 3 other men, (one had charges stayed, another's charges were dismissed, and a third accused awaits trial).
Even though the special prosecutor could not link the home invasion to a threat made against the Crown Attorney by a convicted gangster, place the accused at the scene or even present a positive ID to the judge, Alphonse Traverse made a deal and got an additional 12 months and a total equivalent sentence of 56 months. And, we read how he got off easy, because there was no weapon, the house wasn't actually entered, and the targets were not injured in any way.
We compared that decision to the recent sentence meted out to a Native Syndicate juvenile who at age 15, led a 3 man wrecking of an Alexander St. home last March and viciously stabbed a 59 year old tenant 3 times, in a misguided revenge against the home's landlord who had evicted the punk's sister. In this case, there was proof of identity, forced entry and destructive rampage through the home, brandishing of a knife and the near-death of the innocent victim.
Judge Judith Elliot decided the young gangster deserved only 27 months of custody and community supervision.
We asked, is this proof of two-tier justice ?
* Not to mention our blog round-up, including Policy Frog (by-election and CJOB), Progressive Winnipeg (city's IKEA 'smart planning' sucks), and Rob Galston at Rise and Sprawl (more on IKEA, and the financial failure of Senator Rod Zimmer's redevelopment proposal for Alexander Docks).
These stories are some of the good reasons why more and more listeners are turning to our alternative media broadcasts every afternoon at 4 PM - to get the news and analysis they can't get anywhere else on the dial.
**********************
There's a lot of talented people who make the show possible.
A sampling of their work that deserves broader recognition:
- Part 1 and 2 of the audio reports by Spirited Kenny into the 5-1-1/CanAlert warning system and the runaround Kenny got in chasing down the story, and the first Ken-O-Rama podcast with great music and features, is on his blog, Spirited Kenny the Blog
- Frequent control room commander Dave "I'm A Comic "Shorr did a not-safe-for-work turn at the Comedy Loser competition at the King's Head Tavern and it's up on youtube , debuting the ad campaign for his new fragrance Le Dave
- The misadventures of former sidekick/foil Silent Mitch as he trains for a career as a professional wrestler - in other words, ' How I got stretched by Lance Storm in Calgary, Alberta, Canada ' is at his new blog
- The new sound of the commercial and promo spots is largely the work of our own Shannah-Lee, who voiced some -- and mixed all -- of the lively new break content, including picking out the themes - banjo music, anyone?
She is now a published fiction writer: look for her work in this months Rhubarb Magazine, available at McNally-Robinson bookstores.
- Don't forget to enter our SuperBowl 43 contest, where a lucky Kick-FM supporter can win $50 in free taxi rides to get to and from their party courtesy of Unicity Taxi, and Hey!, Frank the Italian Barber is throwing in a free trim (retail value $8.00).
Enter by emailing talk@kick.fm with the subject line Superbowl.
* JUST CONFIRMED FOR WEDNESDAY, KELLY HOLMES OF RESOURCE ASSISTANCE FOR YOUTH, THE ORGANIZATION LAUDED IN THE 'METH CALL' LAST WEEK, WILL UPDATE US ON THE CURENT STATE OF THE METH TRADE IN WINNIPEG.
MAKE SURE TO LISTEN AT 5.10 PM WHEN SHE TELLS US WHAT IS HAPPENING ON THE SOCIAL SERVICE FRONT LINES.
* And on Thursday at 5.10 PM, an interview with former Ring of Honor World Champion and The Wrestling Observer Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2006 and 2007, Bryan Danielson ! He's facing off against The Amazing Mentallo in the main event of the inaugural Canadian Wrestling Elite (CWE) event at the Maples Community Centre, Friday night at 7.30 PM.
