GUELPH POLITICAST #439 – Guelph Stuff (feat. Scotty Hertz)

Here, at the end of October, there’s a lot going on from new budgets to potential strikes to changes to our recycling, so it seems like a good time to pause and talk about some recent events before the news gets even crazier. This week, we’re going to catch up with a friend from a different show, and we’re all going to catch up with all the important issues going on in the news. The Guelph Stuff! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #439 – Guelph Stuff (feat. Scotty Hertz)”

MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Public Library Board for October 28, 2024

Nothing spooky ahead of this month’s meeting of the Guelph Public Library Board of Directors, but there may be some tricks and treats for anyone interested in attending. In terms of presentations, you will be treated to the update of the strategic plan and the library’s future, plus there will be updates about how best to recognise the people that make the library’s work possible, the donors. To learn more, check out the preview below. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Guelph Public Library Board for October 28, 2024”

MEETING PREVIEW: Grand River Conservation Membership Meeting for October 25, 2024

October’s meeting of the Grand River Conservation Authority is the usual mixed bag, and the bag will come with a price tag. Budget season is in full bloom (so to speak) with the presentation of the draft budget for 2025, plus there will be follow-ups on the Conservation Areas Strategy and ticketing processes for the Elora Quarry Conservation Area. And since winter is coming, let’s also talk about ice management. Continue reading “MEETING PREVIEW: Grand River Conservation Membership Meeting for October 25, 2024”

POLICE NOTES: Missing Person, Forklift Joyride, and Drunk Driving Disaster

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: Missing Person, Forklift Joyride, and Drunk Driving Disaster”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 29, 2024 Meeting?

It’s time again for the regular council meeting of the month, a chance to revisit all your favourite reports from Committee of the Whole, and there’s definitely one report this October that’s going to get a thorough revisiting. Oh yes, there will be fireworks again. Literally and figuratively. There’s also going to be a pretty epic meeting in closed, and then council will hold a little class election to shake-up Committee of the Whole meetings for the rest of the term. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 29, 2024 Meeting?”

City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 30, 2024 Meeting?

It’s the most wonderful time of year for the Excel spreadsheet and fiscal discipline crowd: Budget Time! As with last year, this is the mayor’s budget, and his fingerprints are all over it after a directive earlier this year to shave the 2025 increase down to something around four per cent. Did City of Guelph staff do it, and what all ended up shaved in the end. Your budget season begins with this council preview! Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the October 30, 2024 Meeting?”

RECAP: Transit Committee Stays the Course as Job Action Looms

It was a relatively brief meeting of the Transit Advisory Committee this month, and that’s in-spite of the rather long shadow being cast by the potential for job action in the next few weeks. There was also some rather sad news about one member of the committee but otherwise it seemed like business as usual as Transit, like every other city department, heads into budget season. To get those and other details, check out the recap below…

Continue reading “RECAP: Transit Committee Stays the Course as Job Action Looms”

RECAP: The AAC Tells Staff – Respectfully – That They’re the Captain Now!

This month’s Accessibility Advisory Committee was delayed by two days, and if you think that wasn’t a topic of conversation, you are wrong! Still stinging from the lack of engagement before the passage of the Public Space Use Bylaw almost two months ago, the AAC had some notes about their relationship with staff, and they also had notes about the bylaw. For that, and all the rest of the agenda, check out the recap below… Continue reading “RECAP: The AAC Tells Staff – Respectfully – That They’re the Captain Now!”

RECAP: Constituents Push Schreiner to Fix… Ontario at Town Hall

Now less than a week before the end of the Ontario Legislature’s 20-week “summer” break, Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner held a town hall with a small group of constituents to hear about their priorities. It turns out though that everything is on the front burner. From housing to affordability, from healthcare to community living, and from hospitals to national urban parks, see what Mike had to say about these issues below… Continue reading “RECAP: Constituents Push Schreiner to Fix… Ontario at Town Hall”

GUELPH POLITICAST #438 – The Fireworks Lobby (feat. Aleem Kanji)

A number of Ontario municipalities including Brampton, Woodstock, Milton, and Halton Hills have banned fireworks outright, and several others including Kitchener are looking at new regulations. Here in Guelph, a new permitting system is on the table; City staff and some councillors think that this may be the best of both worlds, but others think it’s the worst, including members of the fireworks lobby! Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #438 – The Fireworks Lobby (feat. Aleem Kanji)”