Suspend judgment over big bro’s homecoming

August in the kitchen garden

Lynne Hermiston is passionate about growing her own food. Her backyard food garden in south Winnipeg is an amazing example of the abundance and diversity of food that can be grown in a relatively small space. But it’s also a prime example of how a zest for learning innovative methods can make food gardening more fun.

Hermiston’s backyard is approximately 10 metres wide and 15 metres deep. The growing area consisting of raised beds and a couple of in-ground beds between her deck and back fence is about nine metres deep. There is not a single blade of turf grass in sight. The design for this attractive and productive space was created by Classic Landscaping four years ago. A series of raised wooden beds mulched with straw are neatly arranged on a light grey, slate-like surface. An inviting centre arbor acts as a focal point and supports climbing plants. The square-shaped raised-bed area receives eight to nine hours of sun daily. It is flanked on one side by a long, linear-shaped bed, planted with flowering perennials that attract and support pollinators.

The food plants Hermiston is growing this summer include tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, beets, chickpeas, beans, onions, sweet potatoes, horseradish, garlic, peppers, carrots, pumpkin and cauliflower. She is growing Chinese Pink celery, an heirloom variety with bubblegum-pink stems, for the first time, as well as eggplant.

She also grows salad greens and herbs, which have made delicious additions to her summer recipes this year. Only a few harvests remain of the spinach she planted. But, compared to last year’s growing season, some food plants are taking their time, Hermiston says.

City Lego seller continues to build up its business

Brick by brick, a Winnipeg Lego seller is building its third expansion — in less than two years.

Wyatt vows to ‘absolutely’ continue serving as city councillor despite latest sex-crime charges

Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt vowed Thursday to continue doing his job after more criminal charges were laid against him this week, while the mayor called for “better tools” to address elected officials who face serious allegations.

Wyatt, 56, was charged Monday with sexual assault and administering a noxious substance in an October 2023 incident. He was previously charged with sexual assault and administering a noxious substance in March, based on allegations tied to a 2025 gathering.

On Thursday, Wyatt arrived at city hall and quickly walked to his office at 10:20 a.m., nearly an hour after the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee meeting he planned to attend was scheduled to begin.

He answered few questions from reporters.

Impaired driving victim honoured

Ten years after he was killed in a collision involving an impaired driver in 2016, Robbie Anderson’s name has been added to MADD Canada’s Manitoba Memorial honouring those killed in drunk and drug-impaired-related crashes.

His older brother Chris Anderson, was one of two dozen people who gathered at the Glen Eden Funeral Home and Cemetery in West St. Paul Saturday to remember their loved ones, 86 victims whose names are etched into the granite monument near the heart of the graveyard.

“It’s heavy,” said Anderson when asked what it was like to be part of the ceremony and see his brother’s name added. “It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while.”

Grateful for MADD’s work and its efforts to honour Robbie, who was 27 when he died, Anderson said his brother, represented the “absolute best of us.”

Manitoba supports MAID delay: Asagwara

The number of Manitobans receiving medical assistance in dying in 2026 is on track with previous years while the plan to extend it to those suffering from mental illness is delayed indefinitely by the federal government — a move Manitoba’s health minister supports.

“There’s so much more work that needs to be done,” Uzoma Asagwara said.

The parliamentary committee that issued its recommendation in June was the third special committee of Parliament struck to assess the eligibility of people with mental illness since 2021, when MAID eligibility was expanded to include people who were not at the end of their lives.

A key condition for MAID eligibility is that a patient must be suffering from a grievous and irremediable medical condition.

Nola chef earns national award

Celebrated Winnipeg chef Emily Butcher has another feather to add to her toque. The executive chef and owner of Nola and Bar Accanto in St. Boniface has received the Culinary Award of Excellence from Restaurants Canada, a national foodservice advocacy organization.