Best not to insert yourself into dwelling drama

Olympics overnight: Synchro divers spring to silver, while Penny Oleksiak powers relay team to Canada’s first medal in Tokyo

Here’s what you missed overnight and need to know about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this morning.

Design engineer repeatedly told city officials police behind HQ’s rising costs, delays

A key player in the construction of Winnipeg’s downtown police headquarters repeatedly raised concerns with senior city administration about design changes pushed by the police service causing significant cost overruns and schedule delays.

Internal project correspondence newly obtained by the Free Press reveals the degree of frustration that was mounting for Peter Chang and the design firm Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Ltd., on the construction project.

On at least two occasions, Chang threatened to walk away from the job, complaining his firm had been mistreated by the city and police service. On another occasion, he accused the city of instructing him to censor a progress report critical of the Winnipeg Police Service.

The correspondence sheds new light on steps taken by city hall to limit the exposure of the police service in the controversial capital project.

Four decades of passion for folk fest

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is recognizing a rock-music-lover-turned-folkie’s four-plus decades of volunteer work with its highest honour.

Candice Masters is one of two recipients of this year’s Glass Banjo Award, which recognizes volunteers, supporters, partners and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to making the long-running festival what it is. The Asper Foundation will also receive the award.

“I’m very, very humbled,” says Masters, 65. “Every single volunteer is integral to the running of the festival, so to be singled out is a very big honour.”

Masters’ sister recruited her to volunteer at the festival sometime in the 1970s (she can’t remember the exact year) in a bid to get her mind off a recent breakup. A self-described “rock chick” who enjoyed listening to Led Zeppelin and Queen, Masters became hooked on folk fest as soon as she got involved.

Despite outbreaks, Winnipeg care-home residents allowed to leave, visit families

When an email from the personal care home where Marie Tremblay’s mother lives landed in her inbox with the subject line “holiday season visitation,” her mind started racing.

Tremblay’s mom is a resident at Park Manor Personal Care Home in Transcona, where an outbreak of COVID-19 has infected 73 residents and 37 staff. Twenty-two residents have died due to the disease.

“They’ve asked families not to go in there during COVID; it’s bad enough with staff getting it. So, I haven’t gone in to visit her since the lockdown,” Tremblay said Friday.

In a follow-up email to Tremblay, the chief executive officer explained he was obligated to inform families that the regional health authority has set guidelines for out-of-home visits, or a “social pass,” despite the home strongly discouraging such visits.

No timeline to reopen city-owned fitness facility in North Kildonan after mould discovery

A city-run fitness centre that suddenly closed for repairs last October lacks a set date to reopen, while an investigation on how best to fix it is underway.

Peguis Trail Health and Fitness Centre in North Kildonan was first expected to welcome visitors back within a few weeks when it shut down due to plumbing problems on Oct. 28.

But in February, the city’s website noted a much later reopening date of Oct. 2 after mould was discovered when crews attempted to upgrade the floors.

The city has since hired a consultant to assess the site’s condition, determine what repairs must be done and estimate how much the work would cost, including mould abatement.

Pair of banks abandoning Brandon’s downtown

BRANDON — Two of Canada’s major banks are set to relocate from their longstanding downtown Brandon locations in October.

BMO will close its branch on Rosser Avenue and move to a new location on Park Avenue while Royal Bank of Canada’s Rosser branch will be consolidated with the existing RBC branch on 18th Street.

Neither bank owns its downtown property or could say what will happen to the buildings after they vacate.

BMO spokesperson Jeff Roman described the bank’s move to Park Avenue as an investment in the Brandon community.