Perfect crust, delicious toppings, quality ingredients — what’s not to love at pizza joint?

Buckled concrete gives drivers the heave-ho

Highways, local roads and sidewalks have buckled and broken thanks to extreme heat in recent days, wreaking havoc with travel.

Garth Thomson was driving on the Perimeter Highway, just north of Assiniboia Downs, around 4 p.m. Sunday when he suddenly came upon a major gap in the road.

“There was a big break in the highway, which was the heaving. I had about four seconds to decide what I was going to do. So, I kind of hit my brakes and drove more towards the centre, where the big chunks weren’t (located),” said Thomson. “It happened so fast … there were big chunks (of concrete), probably a foot (per) square, sticking up.”

His convertible had bumper damage and a hole in its gas tank, he said.

Sheriff who died in train collision ‘loved everybody’

Brett Matheson-Maytwayashing was a loving father, hard-working sheriff and proud First Nations man who helped lead traditional ceremonies for a decade before he died in a collision with a train near Portage la Prairie.

Matheson-Maytwayashing, 27, died in the Tuesday morning crash, which occurred on a rural road west of Portage while he and another member of the sheriff’s service were on their way to attend court in Amaranth, his mother, Alissa Matheson-Maytwayashing, told the Free Press.

It was Matheson-Maytwayashing’s first day back at work after taking time off to participate in a sun dance ceremony in northern Saskatchewan last week, his mother said.

“Brett didn’t judge anybody, he would give people chances,” she said, her voice breaking. “He didn’t care what colour you were, he didn’t care your nationality — Brett just loved everybody.”

PCs cleared of election violation for ‘intimacy coach’ invoice

The Progressive Conservatives have been cleared of wrongdoing by Manitoba’s elections commissioner after a $3,800 expense for a car rental appeared on an invoice from a company offering “intimacy coach” services.

The findings from the commissioner bring an end to a complaint raised by the NDP in October 2024, when it was alleged the PCs violated the Election Financing Act by forging financial documents related to the previous year’s election campaign.

“I am satisfied that the expense was indeed for a car rental, as the invoice described,” Bill Bowles wrote in a letter addressed to both parties Wednesday.

Concerns over the invoice to Lucid Vitality were first raised by a former PC staffer, whose internal emails with party officials were leaked to the Winnipeg Sun.

Man armed with ‘edged weapon’ dies after dispute in Linden Woods home

The family of a 42-year-old Winnipeg man shot and killed by police in Linden Woods on Monday night says the incident raises troubling questions about how officers respond to people in mental-health crisis.

“Their reaction to mental health is my concern,” said the man’s sister-in-law, Erica Smith, who spoke outside her brother-in-law’s Avon Gate home on Tuesday. She said her brother-in-law struggled with his mental health.

“It didn’t have to end like this,” she said, fighting back tears. “It could have ended differently.”

Police said officers encountered the man armed with an “edged weapon” at the home when they arrived shortly before 10:30 p.m.

That's amore!

I'm no maven on authentic Neapolitan pizza. My only truly authentic experience was a slice, bought from a street vendor in Naples, and I've had nothing like it since. It was strewn with tiny fish -- wee silvery things, I remember -- barely brined (if at all) and delicious; if they were anchovies they certainly weren't the kind we get here.

Vera Pizzeria's crust is how I remember the one in Naples, but only some of the toppings (none of which include tiny, silvery fish) could be called Neapolitan. But whether classic or creative innovations, they are delicious.

There's not much one could call decor, but it's a tidy and welcoming little room, its plain white walls adorned by a group of interesting prints. There are only 20 seats, so it's a pity they don't take reservations -- Vera opens at 5 p.m.; by 5:30 p.m. on my visit every one of those seats was taken, and by 6 p.m. there was a lineup right to the door. To be sure of a table, get there when the doors open, or, possibly, much later in the evening (it closes at 11 p.m.).

Obviously the word has spread and local pizza lovers know a good thing when they hear about it. And what they've probably heard is that this appealing little place is doing everything right.

Jets mailbag: Breaking down the club’s off-season moves

One player seemingly can’t wait to get here. The other is looking for an exit route. Not surprisingly, these two Winnipeg Jets were featured prominently this month in our Free Press mailbag.