News roundup, 9 Feb 2026

- A bill before the New York state legislature would impose a moratorium on new data centres in the state for three years, making the state the largest to impose such restrictions. The moratorium will hopefully give them the chance to look seriously at what kind of effect those data centres have on things like grid stability. 

- This year's Ag Days, an annual agricultural trade show in Brandon, could turn out to be Plague Days, as it was an exposure site for measles. Anyone who attended the event or visited hotels, restaurants, or shops in the city that weekend is being asked to monitor for symptoms. That means much of the city's population could be at risk.

- A Manitoba Court of King's Bench judge has certified a class action lawsuit against Revera, the former owner of the Maples Personal Care Home, as well as against the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, regarding a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility that killed 56 people.

- Elon Musk is calling Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez a "tyrant" after his government introduced strict regulations on social media, which not only follow Australia's lead by prohibiting those under 16 from using it but which can hold executives criminally liable for illegal content published on their platforms.

- King Cobras are turning up in parts of India where they don't occur naturally. Researchers believe the snakes may be catching rides on trains.

- The woman who was abducted in Pimicikimak Cree Nation on Thursday has been rescued, having sustained only minor injuries. The suspect was also captured alive and is in custody. I have to say, I wasn't expecting a happy ending to this story.

Organic waste collection comes to Manitoba

Centralized composting is quite common in Ontario (including much of the GTA as well as Hamilton and Guelph) but it hasn't taken hold in Manitoba until now. Happily, though, a pilot project has started in Brandon, with the help of the provincial government. Funny thing is, Brandon is much more progressive on environmental issues than Winnipeg. I wonder why that is?

The convention

As noted previously, I spent the weekend at Provincial Convention in Brandon. The general vibe was positive, and it was pretty productive as far as getting resolutions past goes. In fact, virtually all of the resolutions regarding the environment were debated (on Friday night), and most of them passed. Some highlights included support for centralized composting programs like those found in many cities in Ontario (using the methane produced to generate electricity), a resolution urging the government to legalize low speed electric vehicles like the ZENN, and support for First Nation partnerships for Hydro projects. One rather curious resolution was one advocating an active program to reintroduce species extirpated from Manitoba; while I sympathize with the idea, it seems to me that the cost would be high for the environmental benefit (as compared with, say, putting more natural areas under protection).

Many other subjects were dealt with too of course, though not quite as efficiently as environmental issues were. The most interesting and contentious debate centred around whether or not to continue the tuition freeze that has been in place since 2000 (it was eventually decided that continuing the freeze would be unrealistic, something the government has already accepted anyhow). Nothing else was as controversial as that; some standouts, though, include support for a civilian police commission (something this province badly needs) and a resolution advocating free dental care for children under 18 (ambitious, but also badly needed). Of course, resolutions at Convention are not actually binding on the government, but I'm optimistic that a fair amount of this will become government policy (actually, much of it already is).

Of course there were also the obligatory speeches. Doer and Layton both spoke on Saturday afternoon; curiously both speeches were introduced with a Damhnait Doyle song.

All told, the most important effect of the convention was to rally the troops (not that there's anything wrong with that). Everyone I talked to came away with a positive feeling about things (and with byelections around the corner, that's a good thing).