College Football Playoff shifts to straight seeding model, no automatic byes for top league champs

The College Football Playoff will go to a more straightforward way of filling the bracket next season, announcing Thursday that it will place teams strictly on where they are ranked instead of moving pieces around to reward conference champions.

Ten conference commissioners and Notre Dame’s athletic director came to the unanimous agreement they needed to shift the model that drew complaints last season.

The new format will no longer guarantee an opening bye week for the four highest-ranked league champions, reserving that benefit for the four top-ranked teams in general. The change was widely expected after last season’s jumbled bracket gave byes to Big 12 champion Arizona State and Mountain West champion Boise State, even though they were ranked 12th and ninth, respectively, by the playoff selection committee.

That system made the rankings and the seedings in the tournament two different things and resulted in some matchups — for instance, the quarterfinal between top-ranked Oregon and eventual national champion Ohio State — that came earlier than they otherwise might have.

Increase in sextortion cases prompts call for legislation to combat predators

The spike in online sextortion cases in Winnipeg has alarmed police and augmented advocates’ calls for Canada to begin regulating social media platforms to help protect children from predators.

Little pictures, big ears, and bad examples

One of the pillars of a thriving democratic society is exemplified through the civil conduct of our elected political leaders. The ethos of honesty, humility, and empathy are becoming increasingly relinquished in lieu of posturing public vitriol and moral indifference.

Increasingly sophisticated deepfake AI-generated political ads threaten to unravel Canada’s social order

Increasingly sophisticated deepfake AI-generated internet political ads threaten to unravel Canada’s social order, experts warn, pointing to the successful war on truth U.S. President Donald Trump is waging south of the border.

Global extremism, as close as your keyboard

An arrest in Winnipeg has provided yet another reminder of just how much extremist attitudes have spread across the world.

Winnipeg TV content delivery firm Taiv acquires potential Ontario rival Local Reach

A Winnipeg advertising technology company is one step closer to launching its product in Canada after acquiring a startup based in Kingston, Ont.

Taiv Inc. purchased Local Reach in a deal that closed last month. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Local Reach co-founders Evan Ferreira and Joseph Liao, who created the startup while studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, will move to Winnipeg and join Taiv’s staff. Taiv acquired some of the startup’s tech as part of the cash-and-stock transaction.

It’s Taiv’s first acquisition and a big milestone for the six-year-old company, according to co-founder and CEO Noah Palansky.

Lawyer, philanthropist had a fierce sense of social justice

A luminary in human rights advocacy, Canadian lawyer Yude Henteleff was a natural explorer both in his travels and in his daily life. Henteleff lived 97 years with passion and dynamism.

He died Dec. 8, 2024.

Henteleff’s accomplishments and list of awards and accolades began at age 16 when he was elected president of the Jewish Youth Council and then to the youth division of the Canadian Jewish Congress. His activities in the Jewish community were extensive and lifelong.

The father, grandfather and partner lived life to the fullest, propelled by a fierce sense of social justice and belief in “tikkun olam,” a Hebrew phrase meaning “to repair the world.”

Conservative MPs beat Liberals, NDP on online engagement, study finds

OTTAWA - A new study from McGill University says Conservative MPs far outpace their Liberal and NDP counterparts in online engagement, partly due to the their voices being amplified on X.

The report from McGill’s Media Ecosystem Observatory found in 2024, online posts from federal Conservative MPs garnered 61 per cent more engagement — likes, shares and comments — than those from Liberal and NDP MPs combined.

It found that engagement with Conservative politicians on X has increased 52 per cent since Elon Musk, a key ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, took over the platform previously known as Twitter in 2022.

The report looked at online posts from all members of Parliament on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok between January 2022 and November 2024.

Study shows importance of local news

A new study shows the importance of local news to community knowledge, connections and democracy in small and mid-sized Canadian communities.

Paleontologist makes strides toward understanding the way mosasaurs behaved

Maximilian Scott is a vertebrate paleontologist who focuses on extinct animal behaviour and behavioural evolution. Scott, 27, from Ovid, Mich., is in the last year of his master’s degree at the University of Manitoba studying mosasaurs, an ancient marine lizard that lived in Manitoba during the late-Cretaceous period.

He also offers tutoring in geology, biology, animal behaviour and conservation to people of all ages. You can find him on Instagram.

Our story doesn’t start with the first book that was written, our story starts a long time before that, a long time before the first humans. It’s all one long story.

Humans have only existed for 200,000 years. The Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years. Life has been around for three billion years, and complex life has been around for 542 million years.

Forgotten Flavours Artisan Bakery fills Pennyloaf void on Corydon

After nearly a year, the smell of fresh bread will once again fill a Corydon Avenue bakery.

The sign out front no longer reads “Pennyloaf Bakery,” and the staff inside are no longer employed by former clothing mogul and entrepreneur Pepper Foster.

Instead, an emblem for Forgotten Flavours Artisan Bakery faces passersby. Owners Chris and Maria Holbrow busy themselves inside 858 Corydon Ave., preparing for the Winnipeg shop’s first day open Tuesday.

“We’re trying to complement the space and ensure that we can fill a void that was very sad to see go,” Chris Holbrow said. “We have a great product to offer.”

Psychologist sues Shared Health, U of M

A psychologist recruited to care for sick youths claims she was “pressured to engage in misconduct and other violations of professional standards” and then fired without cause when she complained to the provincial regulator.

The allegations are detailed in a lawsuit filed this week against Shared Health and the University of Manitoba in Court of King’s Bench.

According to the lawsuit, Dr. Michelle Keiski lodged a complaint with the Psychological Association of Manitoba in September 2022 to raise the alarm over issues inside the Max Rady College of Medicine, including the misreporting of studies and data, and staff providing services they are not qualified to deliver.

Keiski, a clinical psychologist, was placed on administrative leave one month after filing the complaint and later terminated without cause, the lawsuit said.

Woody’s Barbershop opens doors, fulfils personal dream

For his birthday this year, Adam Woodbury treated himself to a business.

On June 30, the Red Seal hairstylist celebrated turning 32. The next day, he got the keys to 558 Academy Rd.; after almost two months of renovations, he opened Woody’s Barbershop late last month.

“I’m so happy,” Woodbury said Tuesday during some downtime between clients. “My life has changed forever and it’s going to be so exciting.”

A barber’s pole spins in the front window of the 850-square-foot shop, located near Lanark Street.

U of M expands clinical psychology program to address Manitoba shortage

The University of Manitoba is expanding its clinical psychology program this fall in an effort to boost the number practising in the province, where the per capita rate is among the lowest in Canada.

The number of seats in the U of M’s masters and doctoral clinical psychology program has been increased to 12 for September, up from eight in previous years, with a plan to expand to 16 seats next fall.

“It’s going to mean better access to psychological care for Manitobans. It doesn’t seem like a big number … but really, we’re doubling our program,” said Kristin Reynolds, associate professor and clinical training director in the U of M’s psychology department.

“Where we now have 50 students in the program, from the first year of the masters to more senior years in doctoral studies, in the years to come, we’ll have more like 100.”

Four-week program injects staff into city’s home-care ranks

Efforts to bolster the roster of professionals who work in the city’s home-care sector are paying off as the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority celebrates the addition of hundreds of new employees.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said Monday that 256 health-care aides have been hired by WRHA since February, when the city had a 24 per cent vacancy rate among home care workers.

“Home care is about providing dignified, compassionate services to the folks who need it most,” Asagwara said in a news release.

“The WRHA has put in a huge effort to recruit home-care workers and it’s paying off. It’s all good news: fewer vacancies, more visits and less frustrating cancellations for people.”

Spending on private health-care aides skyrockets

While the province tries to rein in the soaring costs of private agency nurses, spending on private health-care aides has also skyrocketed.

Freedom of information requests show spending on private agency health-care aides is way up in at least two Manitoba health regions.

The Interlake-Eastern Health region spent $8.7 million on private health-care aides in 2023-24, more than double the $3.4 million spent in 2021-22. The Prairie Mountain Health region spent almost $14.8 million for the first nine months of the 2022-23 fiscal year, nearly triple the $4.8 million spent in 2021-22.

Nearly half of what the Prairie Mountain region spent on agencies went toward travel costs, said Kyle Ross, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union that filed the freedom of information requests.

Classrooms don’t have to be smartphone-free zones, tech-fluent educators tell province

A group of tech-savvy teachers is calling on the province to create guidelines on cellphone use in schools and offering to help get it done.

The Manitoba Association of Education Technology Leaders has taken a firm stance against introducing a sweeping ban of personal wireless devices in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 buildings.

Manitoba Education has no policy in place. School divisions create their own appropriate use policies, while most buildings allow teachers to make rules for their own classrooms.

Tuxedo’s Laidlaw School, Collège Béliveau in Windsor Park and West Kildonan Collegiate are among Winnipeg facilities that have imposed stricter measures this year.

Manitoba auto repair shops in high gear amid lengthy MPI strike

Despite bumps in the road, Manitoba auto repair shops are chugging along as strike action at Manitoba Public Insurance drags into its seventh week.

“There are some delays, but we are hoping the (MPI) people can get back to work. We miss them. We miss the adjusters, but there is not much we can do about it,” said John Vernaus, owner of Vernaus Autobody in Winnipeg.

“Can you ask for more when (MPI is) operating with maybe one-10th of the staff?”

Around 1,700 walked off the job Aug. 28, after the Manitoba Government General Employees’ Union and the Crown auto insurer failed to reach a contract agreement. Many services have been halted, delayed or limited in the weeks since, as MPI works to maintain operations with reduced staff.

Flour & Flower plants roots with Waterloo Street location as demand for unique cakes, cookies decorated with edible flowers grows

Rachel Nedelec’s baking has reached the Grammys and Australia, an international fashion house and at least one yoga studio.

Next week, Flour & Flower will have a permanent home — its first brick-and-mortar bakery.

“I said, ‘I want it, I need it, this is my space,’” Nedelec recounted, laughing.

She and her real estate agent had heard the spot at 530 Waterloo St. was coming available. It was déjà vu: Nedelec first toured the site in early 2020, when her business was not yet half a year old.

Crave introduces ad tiers, including $9.99 plan

TORONTO - Crave is introducing two ad-supported tiers that each shave $5 or $10 off the monthly subscription fee.

Bell Media says its new Crave Basic with Ads costs $9.99/month, while Crave Standard with Ads costs $14.99/month. An unchanged ad-free option remains at $19.99/month, and is renamed Crave Premium Ad-Free.

Viewers can watch most shows and movies, including HBO and Max originals, on the ad-supported plans. About one per cent of titles won't be available due to licensing restrictions.

Ads will be 15 or 30 seconds long, totalling about five minutes per hour, and appear before and during some episodes and films.

Pandemic isolation impacted our relationship with food, self-image

Food has been a global preoccupation during the pandemic. Home cooking became a necessary lockdown pastime and sourdough bread became shorthand for the many food trends that tore through social media. At the same time, one Winnipeg dietitian has seen a rise in emotional and disordered eating over the last year and a half.

“A lot of the things that people use to cope have changed,” says Raschelle Sabourin, a registered dietitian who runs a virtual nutrition counselling practice locally. “People were more isolated and there’s a lack of routine… and people’s relationships changed, so that caused more stress and people are sometimes using food to fill that void.”

Sabourin says that while using food as a coping mechanism can be a quick fix for quelling difficult emotions, the comfort of binge eating doesn’t last.

“For the short term, they might feel really good, but in the long term they’re not feeling good after emotional eating,” she says.

Auto detail shop poised to fight pandemic

Since COVID-19 has taught us to continually wash our hands, and many of us have already cleaned every corner of our homes, it's a sure bet a few of us have also turned our efforts to sanitizing our vehicles.

Your usual Saturday morning ritual of washing your car on the driveway with the garden hose and vacuuming the interior and wiping down hard surfaces with car cleaning products is likely all you'll need to keep your vehicle shiny and safe — but if you know or suspect your vehicle has come into contact with coronavirus, or just want to increase your peace of mind, it may be time to call in a professional.

The majority of auto detail shops, which fall under the same essential services category as automobile repair shops, have remained open during the pandemic.

Tom Segal, 45, the owner of Blue Ocean Auto Detailing in Headingley, has seen it all in the more than 25 years he's been cleaning cars, including dirty diapers, rotten food crammed between seats and rodent infestations, but this is his first pandemic.

Former mechanic gives a face to Rainbow Stage's Beast

It’s not exactly a tale as old as time.

About 20 years ago, Christian Hadley was an auto mechanic dissatisfied with the grind of machining auto parts and deflated at the prospect of repairing another tire.

He needed a change, and not the kind involving 5W30 motor oil.

His career pivot was, quite literally, dramatic. At the age of 25, he went to the University of Winnipeg to study theatre arts. He emerged with skills in both set-building and makeup design. And he brings those skills to fruition in the Rainbow Stage production of Beauty and the Beast.