WINNIPEG - February 29, 2008 - Bill Larkin, Director of Public Works, announced the Snow Route Overnight Parking Ban has been lifted effective 06:01 a.m. this morning.

The ban had prohibited parking between the hours of 02:00 a.m. and 06:00 a.m. on all streets designated as Snow Routes.

Larkin thanked Winnipeggers for their cooperation in observing the ban. He said, “the absence of parked cars allows snow crews to effectively maintain our priority routes during the winter.”

The Snow Route Overnight Parking Ban runs annually from December 1st to March 1st and is undertaken pursuant to the terms of By-law No. 6288/93.

WINNIPEG - February 29, 2008 - In an effort to bring attention to the plight of the world’s 6000 species of amphibians (frogs and salamanders), the Assiniboine Park Zoo and the Zoological Society of Manitoba are hosting an event on Friday, February 29, 2008, to highlight the Year of the Frog.

Up to half of the world’s 6000 species of amphibians are now threatened with extinction, and several hundred have already been lost forever. While the reasons for this mounting natural disaster have been habitat loss, pollution, over-harvesting and climate change, the newest and greatest threat is the worldwide, human-caused spread of a deadly chytrid fungus from Africa, for which amphibians have little or no resistance. Researchers are trying to find a cure, but currently the disease is untreatable. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has therefore declared 2008 as the Year of the Frog, and has called upon zoos and aquariums to spearhead rescue efforts, in both the field and laboratory.

In response to this crisis, members of the Canadian Association Zoos and Aquariums have launched ambitious programs of public education to profile this major extinction event, and to breed and maintain assurance or captive populations of endangered amphibian species in the hope that they can someday be re-introduced back into their natural habitats. Originating from lob-finned fishes, amphibians have thrived for over 360 million years, and continue to play important roles in the ecology of most ecosystems around the world. These fascinating wetland animals are in fact our distant ancestors, and recent research on them is discovering new products beneficial in combating human disease.

WINNIPEG - February 29, 2008 - The Century Arena, at 1377 Clarence Avenue, is closed for the rest of the day due to an unexpected building maintenance issue. All programming activities have been cancelled.

While arena staff anticipate the facility to reopen early next week, patrons are encouraged to check with the arena at 311 to see if everything is back to normal.