Author: Adam A. Donaldson

When he’s not the main/only contributor to Guelph Politico, Adam A. Donaldson also contributes to GuelphToday.com as their city hall columnist and co-hosts a political and current affairs show on CFRU 93.3 fm called “Open Sources Guelph" as well as the movie review show "End Credits."

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 18 Meeting?

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This month’s planning meeting, again delayed a week because of a special occasion, will be a pretty big one. It’s not because of the heritage designation or the request for a sign bylaw variance, but because after four years of work the Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw is finally ready for approval. It’s been nearly 30 years since this piece of regulation has been formally updated, and this month, we have arrived at the end. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the April 18 Meeting?” →

RECAP: Ward 5 Town Hall Talks Trees and Answers Housing Questions

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There was an experiment in pre-post-pandemic constituent engagement with a hybrid town hall hosted by Ward 5 Councillors Leanne Caron and Cathy Downer. Much of the town hall was focused on the Private Tree Bylaw Review and the ways we can encourage the development of Guelph’s tree canopy. There was also some talk about housing issues around the University of Guelph and the appeal of a high-rise on Gordon Street. Let’s dig into the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Ward 5 Town Hall Talks Trees and Answers Housing Questions” →

RECAP: This Month, Board of Health Looks at Sex, Drugs and Rabies

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April’s meeting of the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Board of Health was an occasion because it was the first meeting that took place largely in-person since before the start of the pandemic. Appropriately, vaccination was a big point of discussion in the meeting and so were programs to fight sexually transmitted infections, the opioid crisis and why spring means more awareness of rabies and the avian flu. Let’s recap! Continue reading “RECAP: This Month, Board of Health Looks at Sex, Drugs and Rabies” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #367 – The Pickleball Revolution Begins

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Pickleball is huge. Don’t believe it? Consider this line from a recent CNN Business story: “The number of people playing pickleball [in the U.S.] grew by 159 per cent over three years to 8.9 million in 2022.” Here in Canada, a survey by Pickleball Canada last year showed that eight per cent of Canadian households have one pickleball player who plays the game at least once a month. This is a growing trend too. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #367 – The Pickleball Revolution Begins” →

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for April 4, 2023

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April is the cruellest month, but will it be a cruel committee meeting? You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here for the Politico preview. For the complete blow-by-blow of today’s council meeting, you can follow along on Twitter, or follow the tweets below. You can also watch the City’s own live-stream of the meeting here. Continue reading “LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole Meeting for April 4, 2023” →

This Week at Council: Parking Master Plan and Short-Term Rental Licences Approved

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This week at council marked this last two meetings of the month. The first one was the surprisingly straightforward regular council meeting that was all about affirming the decisions from Committee of the Whole plus some GMHI business. The other meeting was more interesting, the opening of feedback from council about the new Downtown Parking Master Plan. Let’s cover it all in this week’s recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: Parking Master Plan and Short-Term Rental Licences Approved” →

CITY PAGES: Feedback Wanted, Photo Contest, and New Deputy Chief

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The City of Guelph, and it’s various partners and agencies, put out a lot of information on a weekly basis, and while it all ends up on the City’s website somewhere, wouldn’t it be easier to just scroll through it all on one easy-to-read article on Guelph Politico here…? Continue reading “CITY PAGES: Feedback Wanted, Photo Contest, and New Deputy Chief” →

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for March 16-31, 2023

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Every month, Guelph Politico posts the latest inspection results from the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health Unit inspection of local restaurants, hotels, cafes, grocery stores and other businesses that handle food. We call it “Mangez!”, and this column highlights the latest inspections done by WDGPH, and the results they’ve posted. Continue reading “MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for March 16-31, 2023” →

POLICE NOTES: Roommate Fight, DNA Busts, Third Arrest is the Charm

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There are 145,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot going on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days. Continue reading “POLICE NOTES: Roommate Fight, DNA Busts, Third Arrest is the Charm” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for April 11, 2023

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April’s Heritage Guelph committee meeting will see work continue on key heritage protections, but there are also some matters where heritage protections might be removed. If you’re interested in the OR Lands or old barns in random places around the city, then this might be a good meeting for you to tune in to, or if your interested in the future of 65 Delhi Street, then there might be something for you too. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Heritage Guelph Meeting for April 11, 2023” →