Evies honour best in Winnipeg theatre

A mission to make hearing care easier to access

Armando Di Lello was four years old when he was diagnosed with hearing loss in both ears and received his first hearing aids. He doesn’t remember that moment, but he recalls moments that followed.

“Going through elementary, middle school, high school — it was definitely something that was not a positive experience for me,” he said.

Di Lello’s hearing aids were big, bulky and noisy, and he chose not to wear them much of the time.

“I didn’t perceive the benefit as a kid,” he said. “No kid wants to appear different.”

As the world watches, Haiti’s hopes continue to fade

I wish that I had something uplifting and positive to say about the circumstances in Haiti today.

Frustrated owners won’t rebuild demolished Boujee

The co-owner of a former Main Street restaurant vows he will not rebuild in Winnipeg’s downtown, owing to constant crime and vandalism in the area.

Kanish Sood, who is one of three partners of the now-demolished Boujee Restaurant and Bar, said he did everything he could to keep the building safe from vandals after it was hit by arson last October.

“After that (fire), there is about already 15, 20 times there has been break-in in the property,” Sood said Monday. “We have been informing police continuously that there is continuously break-ins. People are trying to go inside the building and stealing things, but there was no action.”

After Boujee was torched, Sood and his partners locked the building and boarded it up. They also hired private security to monitor it. The break-ins continued.

Manitoba-made technology earns faith of investors across Canada

Blue light flashed as a robotic arm welded the metal in front of it.

Unlike other robots of its kind, this one uses artificial intelligence. It’s supposed to see and adjust its movements if a part it’s working on doesn’t match the standard piece.

It’s Manitoba-made technology that investors across Canada are betting on. TetraGen Robotics, the technology’s creator, announced it had raised $1.8 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round.

It announced the funding Monday afternoon. Jim Richardson, from the family behind Richardson International, is among the investors listed online.

Evies honour best in Winnipeg theatre

In its third year, the Winnipeg Theatre Awards — a.k.a. the Evies, in honour of the late and legendary Winnipeg actor Evelyne Anderson — were handed out Monday night at the West End Cultural Centre to 10 recipients who represented a cross-section of theatre professionals in the city and beyond.

Of the 10 juried categories, a couple of Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre productions won three awards apiece, a Prairie Theatre Exchange show picked up two, and two smaller companies picked up two others. Five previously announced awards were handed out to Brian Perchaluk (Career Contribution Award), Melinda Tallin (Behind The Scenes Award), Charles Huband (Theatre Champion Award), Kayla Gordon (Theatre Educator Award) and Doreen Brownstone (the inaugural Chair’s Commendation Award).

And the winners were:

Outstanding Lead Actor: Daniel MacIvor, New Magic Valley Fun Town, Prairie Theatre Exchange.