Winnipeg jewelry maker sparkles on Paris runways

What’s Up: Usama Siddiquee, Cory Doctorow and Petunia and the Vipers

Usama SiddiqueeWest End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Ave.Tonight, 8 p.m.Tickets are $46.75 at wecc.caUsama Siddiquee is everywhere right now.

The Bengali-American standup comedian/writer/actor was recently the runner-up on Kevin Hart’s Funny AF, a standup comedy competition reality series that debuted on Netflix earlier this year, where his high-energy delivery quickly established him as a fan favourite. He’s also in Best of the Best, the Netflix dance comedy that arrived on the streamer last month starring Priyanka Kedia, Hasan Minhaj and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.

But Siddiquee’s no stranger to the small screen as an actor, appearing in Inventing Anna, And Just Like That…, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and Better Things.

He probably won’t play in such an intimate room as the WECC for long, so say you saw him when. Doors are at 7 p.m., and this show is all ages.

Jets goaltender quickly taking on folk hero status with hot start

Stuart Skinner is giving the hometown crowd plenty to cheer about.

The Winnipeg Jets new No. 1 netminder came up with another brilliant performance, making 32 saves — including several of the highlight-reel variety — to propel his team to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre.

With each save he makes and each win he records, Skinner is doing what he can to help turn the page on the Connor Hellebuyck era.

“I would say that they are big shoes to fill 100 per cent, but I’m not looking into the scenario of filling his shoes,” said Skinner, who lowered his goals-against average to 2.62 and raised his save percentage to .920 through three starts. “My job’s the same job as any other goalie in this league. So it’s a little bit of a difficult question for me to truly answer.”

Province takes aim at ER wait times by adding community-care capacity to free up hospital beds

The province is aiming to free up hospital beds and cut wait times by adding 103 community-based care spaces in Winnipeg for patients who need shelter or specialized supports in order to be discharged.

New beds fill gaps, won’t fix health-care woes

The NDP government is finally putting more money into one of the most important solutions to Manitoba’s emergency-room crisis: getting patients who no longer require acute-care treatment out of hospitals and into more appropriate care.

The province is adding 103 new community-based spaces in Winnipeg for patients who no longer need to be in hospital but still need somewhere safe to go.

That’s a good investment. It’s also an acknowledgement of a problem that has been clogging Manitoba’s hospitals for years.

About 600 patients are occupying hospital beds on an average day even though they no longer require acute care treatment. They are waiting for personal-care-home beds, housing, home supports, mental-health services or other community-based options.

Booze sales down, gaming and cannabis up in Manitoba

MANITOBA Liquor and Lotteries delivered $724.1 million in profits to the province in 2025-26, with the lion’s share coming from alcohol, even as booze sales continue to shrink.

The Crown corporation’s contribution to Manitoba’s general revenues decreased by $6 million or 0.8 per cent from last year’s allocation of $730.1 million, its annual report shows.

That indicates stable overall performance “despite a changing operating environment,” the recently-released report said.

Those changes include the order from Premier Wab Kinew last year to remove U.S. alcohol from Liquor Mart store shelves after President Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada as well as Manitobans’ changing tastes.

Widespread fraud among ride-service drivers: MPI

Ride-service drivers have been defrauding Manitoba Public Insurance by improperly insuring their vehicles as for personal use.

The public insurer and the City of Winnipeg, which regulates ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, discovered the widespread fraud after MPI conducted a review in December last year, the Crown corporation announced at a news conference Thursday.

MPI’s review looked at a random sample of 408 ride-hailing vehicles and found 108 were operating without the proper vehicle-for-hire insurance coverage. In order to register with the city as a ride-service driver, a vehicle must have such insurance and proof must be provided to the ride-booking company.

After being approved to work as Uber or Lyft drivers with proof of the proper insurance, the drivers would change their coverage to personal all-purpose or pleasure use policies, which are as much as 50 per cent cheaper. Officials said it was intentional fraud.