The last time that Dr. Nicola Mercer appeared on this podcast it was July, and things seemed to be going pretty good. Much of the province had been under a Stage 2 re-opening for weeks, and we were on the cusp of Stage 3. The virus wasn’t gone, but the number of new and active cases was on the right trajectory, but there were at the time rumblings about what would happen in the fall. Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #245 – Still COVID [Fall Edition] with Dr. Mercer”
The fact that COVID-19 cases are increasing again is forcing the Government of Ontario to come up with a new and easy way of making sure Ontarians know where the danger lies, and the answer seems to be colour. On Tuesday, Premier Doug Ford and select members of his cabinet introduced the Keeping Ontario Safe and Open Framework, which will colour grade all 34 of the province’s health units from green to grey. Continue reading “Ontario Government Unveils New Colour-Coded Re-Opening Framework”
Remember before COVID when the biggest issue in front of council was the removal or the retaining of two leash-free, fenced-in dog parks in the city? At the time, council asked staff to look at other sites that might serve as future dog parks outside of residential areas, and they have delivered a report that should come as no surprise to anyone. The best candidate? Eastview Park. Continue reading “Eastview Park the First Choice for New Fenced-In Dog Park”
The City of Guelph is floating the possibility of using “microtransit” options to fund a new transit route that would service the Hanlon Creek Business Park. Council approved the new route last fall, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of it’s implementation, and if it does ever start now, City staff are suggesting a user system that looks more like ride hailing than a traditional bus route. Continue reading “City Staff Floats Microtransit as Option for Hanlon Business Park Route”
This month’s Committee of the Whole meeting has something for almost everybody. 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 November 2, 2020”
Twice-monthly 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 October 1-31, 2020”
November’s planning meeting will be a relatively straightforward affair with only two items on the agenda this month. On the one hand, there’s a decision to be made on a fairly well-known piece of property in the north end, and on the other there’s some very important work that’s set to formally begin to update the document on which all planning decisions are based. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the November 9 Meeting?”
Halloween this year is going to be different, but how? What Halloween looks like, and what activities people will be able to take part in, might depend on where you live, and what the COVID-19 outbreak situation is, but there’s been no shortage of advice from all our various levels of government. The devil’s (heh) is in the details, but if there’s one thing everyone can agree on it’s no Halloween house parties! Here’s the rest of the advice… Continue reading “Advice from Federal, Provincial and Local Public Health Officials for Halloween”
There’s been a lot of discussion around Guelph lately about the safety of the city, the need for more police, and the newly instigated debate about how much is too much policing. Perhaps this will help the conversation. The Crime Severity Index numbers for 2019 have been released, and although Guelph hasn’t reclaimed a top spot as one of Canada’s safest communities, we have seen a decrease for the first time in six years. Continue reading “Guelph Crime Severity Numbers Head Down for the First Time Since 2013”
It was a very busy October at City Council, and front loaded with one of the biggest, most controversial debates of our time: the approval of the new main library. That took a lot of time and energy around the virtual horseshoe, but there was also a lot of ground covered on updating the City’s growth projections, setting aside funds for supportive housing, and, as always, a couple of controversial zoning amendments. Continue reading “This Month at Council: A Growth Workshop, Supportive Housing, and a New Library”
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