Peruvian shamans perform a blessing ritual ahead of a presidential runoff

Time to revamp Hydro’s water licence

On Sept. 1, Manitoba Hydro’s 50-year licence to divert 85 per cent of the flow of the second largest river in the province and flood the fourth largest lake expired. How different will the next 50 years of the Churchill River Diversion look?

South Winnipeg neighbourhood will be first to go geothermal

A new neighbourhood in south Winnipeg will be Manitoba’s first to use a shared, large-scale geothermal system to heat and cool hundreds of homes over coming decades.

The province is giving up to $4 million to the developers of Southwood Circle, just north of the University of Manitoba’s Fort Garry campus, for a district geothermal system as part of the NDP’s goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“It means a whole neighbourhood can tap into geothermal, which means low-carbon heating and cooling for at least 1,000 homes,” Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference Wednesday.

Geothermal systems, equipped with pumps and pipes, use underground temperatures to heat and cool one or more buildings. Proponents point to long-term energy and cost savings compared with conventional heating and cooling systems.

Supportive housing operator sued after man with dementia walks away

The Public Guardian and Trustee of Manitoba is suing a health services company after a man with dementia under its care allegedly wandered away from an apartment it operates for vulnerable people and was later found face down in a puddle — unresponsive, hypothermic and severely injured.

The public trustee — a provincial government agency that, among other duties, makes financial and personal care decisions for vulnerable adults who cannot do so themselves — filed the lawsuit against Cambridge Health Inc. and a related numbered company in the Court of King’s Bench earlier this month.

The agency did so on behalf of a now-38-year-old man, who has been under its care since 2018, as a result of his frontotemporal dementia. The disease often starts in mid-life, rather than old age, as is the case with most other forms of dementia.

The lawsuit alleges the man, who resided at a Henderson Highway apartment complex where Cambridge Health operated a supportive residence for people with complex behavioural health issues, was in a common area of the home at about 4:30 p.m. on April 3 last year.

U of M students call for ban on far-right group

Some University of Manitoba students are calling on their school to ban a far-right group from campus after posters promoting mass deportations were found during the summer break.

More than 50 people rallied on Wednesday, the first day of classes, to make known their concerns about a group called the Dominion Society of Canada.

The protest was organized after a supporter of the self-described nationalist group posted a video over the Labour Day weekend that shows him putting up flyers in Fort Garry.

“Canada is a really beautiful country and I have been welcomed here by a lot of beautiful people and it’s been amazing, but when I see harmful rhetoric online and now, on campus, it gives me a lot of anxiety,” said Ela Ancheta, an arts major at U of M.

Theatre by the River’s latest production draws wisdom from Ovid

The seed of Sap — the production debuting tonight by Winnipeg indie company Theatre by the River — was planted during the reign of Augustus Caesar.

Published four years ago by British playwright Rafaella Marcus, Sap is a fable that shines light on the epic first-century poetry of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, intertwining the story of Daphne — who wills herself to be transformed into a tree when pursued by an overzealous suitor — as a modern reminder of the universal need for peer-led queer sanctuary amid an increasingly violent political landscape for members of the LGBTTQ+ community.

When director Elio Zarrillo encountered the poetic script, it seemed an obvious match for Theatre by the River, a roving company founded in 2006 to produce work that builds compassion and respect for underserved narrative.

After getting initial interest, Zarrillo — a Winnipeg-raised playwright and performer who’s been onstage in recent years at Winnipeg Jewish Theatre (Narrow Bridge) and Prairie Theatre Exchange (The Outside Inn) — chose an appropriate location for a readthrough with Theatre by the River’s production team.