Lava affair

Israel: the new political divide?

Abdul won and Avi is thrilled.

Federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis emerged from electoral hiding to tell us how it is “exhilarating to witness” a “wave of progressive populism” in the United States. He was referring to the upset winner of Tuesday’s heavily-watched Michigan Senate primary race, Abdul El-Sayed, who barely prevailed over his establishment opponent for the Democratic nomination.

Premier Wab Kinew’s favourite New Democrat (after himself) steadfastly hesitates to take a risk and run for a House of Commons seat in a byelection to kickstart Canada’s version of progressive populism. No hesitation, though, in Lewis immediately basking in the reflected glory of those international comrades and fellow travellers who do.

Writing about the state of Canada’s New Democrats feels like a hate crime — you hate wasting your time — and this is no exception. A better story is what’s driving this modest but undeniable political movement in U.S. politics and whether it might gain traction here in Canada.

The true costs of your pet — for everyone

Pets are a problem, but few will discuss the downsides of pet ownership.

New sci-fi/fantasy bookstore a welcome addition

A new chapter has begun in Winnipeg’s literary landscape with the opening of science fiction and fantasy bookstore Other Places Books.

Located at 436 Graham Ave., the queer-owned and operated shop is the latest in a host of genre bookstores to have opened in the city over the last few years. In addition to longtime mainstay Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore (163 Lilac St.), the local scene now also features a horror bookstore (Raven’s End Books, which opened at 1859 Portage Ave. in 2024) and a shop focused on romance (Bound to Please, which opened at 995 McPhillips St. earlier this year).

The 900 titles currently in stock at Other Places, which opened Tuesday, span a range of sci-fi and fantasy sub-genres, with a particular focus on queer writers and storylines. The bookstore is the brainchild of Didi Chanoch, who moved to Winnipeg from Israel in 2025 after the Canadian federal government began offering work permits to those in Israel and Palestine looking to leave the area due to the conflict.

Winnipeg ended up on Chanoch’s radar in large part due to a more reasonable cost of living than other Canadian cities.

Champion curler Meleschuk never lost his passion for the game

At the height of his curling career, Orest Meleschuk balanced ferocity and finesse like almost no one else.

The Winnipeg product was a fierce competitor skilful enough to thread a rock through a window and find the button.

Known as “The Big O,” he curled competitively for over six decades, finding success at the local, provincial, national and global level, and his longevity on the pebble was notable before lengthy careers became the norm.

Meleschuk is still tied with his good friend John Usackis for the most appearances in the Manitoba men’s provincial playdowns, at 30.

Survival guide offers a frightening perspective on life in U.S. prisons

Canadian criminal sentencing guidelines identify “three traditional utilitarian goals — deterrence … incapacitation and rehabilitation.”

In spite of lofty intentions, fiction and film have identified North American incarceration in general as largely negative, incapacitating most inmates only while they are actually behind bars. Prison often leads to more crime, teaching criminal behaviour.

Tom Nelson spent more than 17 years in medium and maximum security facilities in the U.S. for such pasttimes as auto theft, armed robbery and drug dealing. Then he turned that life of crime around and became a successful physical trainer and gym owner in Los Angeles.

Nelson met and formed a friendship with Taylor Sheridan, creator and writer of such series as Yellowstone, Landman and the prequels 1883 and 1923. When COVID devastated the gym business and Nelson’s health was failing, Sheridan suggested turning Nelson’s attempt at a screenplay about prison life into a book.

Vibrant Norwood apartment garden a labour of love to honour green thumb’s late partner

St. Vital resident Rob Duncan can’t pinpoint when he first noticed an award-winning garden blanketing the grounds of a two-storey St. Mary’s Road apartment block, near Coniston Street.

Perhaps he was on his way home from work and caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye. Or maybe he was running errands in the Norwood Flats area and paused to admire the array of annuals, perennials and potted plants that extends from the block’s doorway to the front curb.

What Duncan does know for certain is that after spying the urban oasis, twice fêted in Take Pride Winnipeg’s annual Winnipeg in Bloom competition, he couldn’t unsee it.

“First of all, the pink building really stands out,” Duncan says, referring to the brightly painted California Apartments complex at 268 St. Mary’s Rd. “But then you have the pergola, the rock garden, the flowers and trees… a sea of colour on a very busy street.”