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."

MEETING PREVIEW: County Social Services Meeting for July 26, 2023

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Surprise! You cannot escape July without one last meeting, and it’s the Wellington County Social Services Meeting. It’s fitting that just a week after that Grace Gardens officially opened that we get a meeting with the one item that’s on this agenda, and having said that you can probably guess what it is. If you’re concerned about the progress on social housing here in Guelph and Wellington County, you may be about to hear some good news. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: County Social Services Meeting for July 26, 2023” →

This Week at Council: D.C. Comments

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This week at city council was all about the development charges. First, council heard the story of D.C.s, what they pay for and why they’re collected, and then they looked to the future. The DC Background Study, the means by which the new DCs are determined, got thrown a curveball with all the recent legislative changes, but the work still got done and the second part of this week’s meeting was the direct result of that. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “This Week at Council: D.C. Comments” →

CITY PAGES: A.I. Money for U of G, New Have Your Say, Lots of Construction

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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: A.I. Money for U of G, New Have Your Say, Lots of Construction” →

POLICE NOTES: Gun Warning, Stolen SUVs and 84 Refunds

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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: Gun Warning, Stolen SUVs and 84 Refunds” →

Guelph is Splitting Up… Into Two Different Federal Ridings

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For years, Guelph has been its own thing when it comes to our political identity. We’re a single-tier municipality, and as a federal and provincial riding out city limits have also been our electoral boundaries. But now Guelph has to learn to share. The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario is recommending that among the changes to the electoral map, Guelph must now be split along the south end. Continue reading “Guelph is Splitting Up… Into Two Different Federal Ridings” →

RECAP: Police Board Talks About Capital Budget and Noisy Cars Before Summer Break

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The July meeting of the Guelph Police Services Board might have taken place in summer, but it was already thinking about fall. The big item at this month’s meeting was about the capital budget for the next four-year multi-year budget and the capital forecast for the next decade. You’ll have to wait for the fall to get the final numbers, but for now you can also get the latest about downtown officers, and the noisy vehicle paradox. Here’s the recap… Continue reading “RECAP: Police Board Talks About Capital Budget and Noisy Cars Before Summer Break” →

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meetings for July 19, 2023

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Tonight, it’s back-to-back meetings about development charges! You can click here and here for the amended agendas 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: City Council Meetings for July 19, 2023” →

GUELPH POLITICAST #382 – સમાચાર (The News)

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Dhwani, which in the Gujarati-language means “The Voice” or “The Sound”, launched back in March and it immediately tested a few assumptions. Could you successfully start a newspaper in the year 2023? Is there an audience for a community paper that’s specifically pitched to an ethnic community? It turns out the answer to both questions is “yes”, but how big can it get? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #382 – સમાચાર (The News)” →

MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Police Services Board for July 20, 2023

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The Guelph Police Services Board is still meeting, for July anyway, and there are a couple of different pieces of business that they need to dispatched before summer vacation begins. Along with the usual monthly matters like the Chief’s report and new appointments, there’s a follow-up report to last month’s delegation about loud cars, and, despite the timing, we’re about to catch budget fever. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Police Services Board for July 20, 2023” →

After Almost Three Years of Work, Grace Gardens is Now Open

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Nearly three years after the project was first brought up as a council delegation, the ribbon was finally cut on Grace Gardens. What was once the Parkview Motel and an occasional emergency shelter used by Wellington County and Stepping Stone, is now 32-units of permanent supportive housing with wrap-around supports. On Tuesday, the official opening was celebrated as the latest step in Guelph’s action on homelessness. Continue reading “After Almost Three Years of Work, Grace Gardens is Now Open” →