Do masks with antiviral coating offer more protection?

Designer building following making models of everyone from celebs to ordinary Winnipeggers

Kevin Takatch was getting groceries in Los Angeles when he stumbled into an art sale celebrating 25 years of Jackass.

The Winnipeg designer behind BeLove suddenly found himself surrounded by famous faces, carrying one of his own jackets and wondering who he could get to wear it.

Then he spotted comedian Eric André, who appears as himself in the reality stunt/prank franchise, and asked him to model the jacket.

“I knew I couldn’t (wimp) out, like I did with the first celebrity I saw,” says Takatch, who declined to give his age.

Provencher Park eyed for new aquatic centre

Provencher Park may be the next site for a new aquatic centre.

Red River Polytechnic looks to expand after MITT takeover

Red River College Polytechnic is celebrating an enrolment bump and eyeing new high school partnerships as part of its merger with a longtime competitor.

For the first time, nearly 400 students attended their first day of RRC Polytech in Winnipeg’s south end on Tuesday.

The new campus is outfitted with two school logos — a new red one and a blue design belonging to the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology.

“It feels great to be a part of history,” said Dom McLaren, an 18-year-old who is enrolled in RRC Polytech’s network and systems administration program. “I’m definitely going to enjoy my time.”

QDoc patients in tight spot over billing dispute

Manitobans have been pulled into a dispute between QDoc — a Winnipeg-based virtual health-care platform — and the NDP government over fees billed to the province for patient care.

An Aug. 24 email from QDoc to its users prompted concern or calls for clarity from Manitobans who use the 24-7 platform to see a physician or nurse practitioner through encrypted video calls.

“When I first read it, like many others, I assumed they were going to be nixing the service altogether because that’s the way it was presented,” Tyndall resident Stephanie Pituley said.

“Upon further research, obviously that’s not the case, but I am still concerned to be honest. How many people did that research, I don’t know.”

More residential units subject to rent control: minister

The province is expanding the number of residential units that are subject to rent control.

Starting next year, units with monthly rent as high as $2,000 will be regulated under the Residential Tenancies Act. Currently, the threshold is $1,670 per month.

“This is a good thing,” Right to Housing Coalition spokesperson Yutaka Dirks said Thursday. “For those people who weren’t covered but will now be covered, that’s certainly a positive. It’s something that we called for,” the advocate said.

The change is intended to protect affordable housing for more Manitobans by expanding the number of units subject to rent-regulation rules, a news release said Thursday.