Politicians are often loved more after they leave office, but few politicians enjoyed decades of popularity, both in office and out of it, the way that Norm Jary did. On Friday night, the former mayor, city councillor, radio man, and all-around good guy Jary passed away at the age of 91. He now belongs to the ages you might say, but for many Guelphites he will always belong in their hearts. Continue reading “Guelph Says Goodbye to Their Favourite Mayor, Norm Jary”
Normally, the second Tuesday of the month is reserved for the monthly planning meeting of city council, but this month, the second Tuesday will feature a workshop that should hopefully help council make better planning decisions. This week, council will hear about the planning processes and the potential impacts in a couple of key areas that frequently come up in the course of planning meetings. Continue reading “City Council Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 18 Meeting?”
Back in November, Guelph City Council reached the conclusion that they need to get more feedback about the future of council composition. Fortunately, there was a second phase of input for the project, and it’s finally here: the ward boundary review. City of Guelph staff are now looking for feedback on where the new wards should be, and they’re also hoping that there might now be consensus on how many councillors that those wards should have. Continue reading “City Staff Starting Ward Boundary Review (Plus Feedback for Procedural Bylaw)”
This is the first city council meeting of 2021, and it will feature a look into the future, a look into the present, and a look into the past. On the agenda is the work plan from council’s one employee, a handful of sign variances, and a delayed look at a plan for Guelph’s heritage. Plus, there’s a new group that council wants Guelph to be a member of. Continue reading “Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the January 11 Meeting?”
When you woke up this morning, it was two days till Christmas and three days till the start of a province-wide lockdown, and on this morning there was some good news and some concerning news. While the Government of Canada has approved the second vaccine for widespread distribution, there’s still no news about when our region might start getting the vaccine, but Public Health says they’re prepared when it happens. Continue reading “Countdown to Lockdown: The State of COVID in Guelph on December 23”
Looking back at 2020, one recalls the loft aspirations for the year that Mayor Cam Guthrie articulated at his annual State of the City speech. That was the first week of February. Less than six weeks later, the world was closed and Guthrie had to lead the city through what might be the most complicated and multifaceted crisis that Guelph has ever faced in its 193-year history. So how did it go? Continue reading “GUELPH POLITICAST #252 – Christmas With Cam”
January 31 is the end of the calendar year, and the end of the City of Guelph fiscal year, but it will also mark the end of more thing, the end of the memorandum of understanding between the City and other parties for 200 Beverly Street, aka: the former IMICo Site. This big empty brownfield in the middle of the Ward has been the subject of much concern and interest for over 20 years, but there will be progress in 2021. Continue reading “The Next Phase of Reclaiming IMICo Site Coming in 2021”
After weeks of speculation, the Government of Ontario formally announced on Monday that the province will be going back into lockdown on Boxing Day this Saturday. The province-wide increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases has prompted the Provincial government to give the gift of staying at home the day after Christmas even as new areas in the GTA entered grey-level lockdowns on Monday. Continue reading “Ontario Locking Down on Boxing Day, City of Guelph Responding with New Measures”
Before we literally and figuratively blow up 2020 (as depicted above), let us take a minute to remember some of the major news stories in Guelph over the last 12 months. Leaving behind the pandemic and the renewed call for social equality (both of which will be covered separately in their own pieces), let us consider the news that made this year one for the eternal annals of the City of Guelph. Continue reading “Top 10 (Non-COVID, Non-Social Justice) Guelph News Stories of 2020”
The City of Guelph puts 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: Rinks Open, Artists Wanted, and Holiday Hours”
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