Wines of the week

Council candidates call out vandalism after campaign signs defaced in Waverley West

A council candidate in Waverley West said she will not be intimidated after 16 of her campaign signs were vandalized this week — some with apparent gang symbols.

Nafiya Naso is the second candidate in the ward whose signs were defaced this month. Jasmine Brar, who is also running for the council seat, had some of her signs broken on Friday along Kenaston Boulevard and signs near Naso’s that were also defaced on Saturday.

Earlier this month, Eaglewood Park in the nearby Prairie Pointe neighbourhood was also vandalized with graffiti that included homophobic slurs, anti-India messages and repeated references to “3LK” — a symbol Naso believes is associated with a gang.

Naso’s signs, located along Waverley Street near Tim Sale Drive and across from École South Pointe School in southwest Winnipeg, were spray-painted with apparent gang signs, crude drawings and other messages, including “loser” and “Ur not winning” written across her name and photograph.

Impact of Winnipeg hoops giant Laping went well beyond coaching

In life, few connected with others like Jeff Laping.

A legendary high school basketball coach and influential educator for more than 30 years, he was a figurative giant in Winnipeg’s hoops community with an innate ability to resonate with anyone he met.

Laping was a best friend to many, a confidant to others, and a mentor to even more.

He died on Monday, one week after suffering from cardiac arrest.

Of frogs, roses, kings and a Great Lake

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, as the saying goes. Basically, if you change something’s name, you don’t actually change the nature of the thing.

That being said, if even 15 years ago an American president had called an entire news conference to announce he was renaming one of the Great Lakes by writing on a map with a red pen and issuing an executive order purporting to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” all and sundry would question his mental health.

Maybe, after witnessing so much from Donald Trump, we’ve all just been hardened off and the foolish is now expected daily. Perhaps it’s the political equivalent of the fable of the boiling frog.

As the fable goes, drop a frog into a pot of boiling water and it will jump right out. But put the frog in room temperature water and bring the pot to a boil, the frog will stay until its death. (It’s unlikely the frog would actually wait.)

New businesses start to creep up in former Winnipeg Slurpee shops

The remnants of 7-Eleven can still be seen as new businesses move into spaces where Slurpee machines and taquitos once ruled.

As fresh paint dries on several new ventures — such as a pizza place and a convenience store with a name that might make a customer do a double-take — holes across Winnipeg once occupied by the international convenience chain are slowly being filled.

Business at a Domino’s Pizza in Elmwood, formerly a 7-Eleven, has been booming since it opened June 1, the store manager said.

“The issues that 7-Eleven would have had might be different than what we would have. They were dealing with a lot of theft where people can just walk in and out, but Domino’s isn’t set up that way,” said Paul Hemmerling.

Owners, agents reviewing bids to purchase Fort Garry Hotel

Downtown Winnipeg’s Fort Garry Hotel is a step closer to a potential sale.

Jets’ Hellebuyck trade request marks pivotal moment for the franchise

Connor Hellebuyck has broken his silence in an effort to expedite his departure from the Winnipeg Jets.

In a statement released by agent Ray Petkau on Thursday afternoon, Hellebuyck confirmed he has asked to be moved by the team that chose him in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL draft.

“I have never forgotten June 23, 2012. That’s the day the Winnipeg Jets took a chance on a goalie playing in Odessa, Texas. I gave everything I had from that moment to prove the Jets made the right decision,” Hellebuyck said in the statement.

“Several months ago, I privately requested a trade. I have tried to handle the situation quietly and respectfully, while giving the organization time to explore its options. With training camp approaching, I felt it was important to publicly confirm my request. My position has not changed and I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family.”