BEIJING SNAPSHOT: As Olympics ebb, smartphone synchronicity

Colson Whitehead’s trilogy capper bids farewell to criminal character

For 10 years, Colson Whitehead has lived with a small-time crook-turned-Harlem furniture store owner who moonlights as a fence (laundering stolen goods). But with Cool Machine, the third book in his Harlem trilogy, the author is ready to say goodbye to Ray Carney.

Whitehead, 56, will be in Winnipeg on Tuesday to launch Cool Machine, his 11th novel, at WAG-Qaumajuq, where he’ll be joined in conversation by local author David A. Robertson.

The New York City author’s rise to literary prominence skyrocketed when two of his consecutive novels — 2016’s The Nickel Boys and 2019’s The Underground Railroad — each won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He’s also the recipient of both MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships and the U.S. National Humanities Medal, among numerous other accolades.

While Carney’s first appearance on the page was in Whitehead’s 2021 novel Harlem Shuffle, a story that takes place in 1960s New York, the character had been keeping the author company long before that. And in the process of writing Harlem Shuffle, Whitehead realized he wanted to explore Carney in more depth than what one novel would allow.

Downtown Keg closes… to reopen nearby

Downtown Winnipeg is without a Keg restaurant — for a couple of months, anyways.

The Keg Steakhouse and Bar vacated 115 Garry St. on Wednesday, after more than five decades at the location. It will open in a new Donald Street apartment tower this fall.

Its move comes after years of waiting. The DSM, at 185 Donald St., sat as a partially started apartment block after its developer stopped operating and sought creditor protection in April 2023. The developer began the project in 2019.

Carrington Real Estate took over in 2024. Part of the 14-storey site’s initial plans — pre-Carrington — was for the Keg to occupy the main floor.

South Osborne residents fail in bid to prevent construction of 131-unit apartment tower

A proposed 10-storey highrise on an empty south Osborne lot will move forward despite concerns from residents about the impact the building will have on nearby parking and traffic.

The city-owned lot at 425 Osborne St., which previously served as a gas station but has long sat vacant, will be developed into a mixed-use residential building with 131 units, 39 of which would be affordable, along with additional office space for the adjacent Winnipeg Transit garage and the Transit customer service centre across the street, along with a two-level parkade for tenants and Transit employees.

The property is being developed by the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corp. 2.0, and designed by Prairie Architects Inc.

At a meeting held by city council’s appeal committee Wednesday, several residents said while they supported the idea of more housing in the Lord Roberts neighbourhood, they had lingering concerns about the impact the development will have on the already-busy area.

Girl pleads guilty to assaulting fellow student

A high school student who admitted to attacking another girl in the hallway says she is taking responsibility for her wrongdoing.

Rollins becomes fifth councillor to bow out of fall election

Sherri Rollins says she’s withdrawing her bid to keep her city hall seat after eight years, citing her concerns about the “gradual erosion of the role played by council” and the struggle to work co-operatively with the mayor’s office.

The bountiful harvest: Thousands of visitors flock to St. Norbert Farmers’ Market every Saturday

While most of Winnipeg is still sleeping, or perhaps just starting to think about making the morning coffee, a patch of shade and sun just south of the Perimeter Highway is already humming with life.