The Politico Calendar for February 2016

Looking for something to do, or a way to engage or get engaged in the shortest month of the year? Here's the events, meetings, and information nights to keep an eye out for this February.

This Week in Press Releases - January 23-29, 2016

Every week, the City of Guelph and other groups send out notices to announce new events, imperatives, and information that you need to know. Here is this week in press releases.

GUELPH POLITICAST #28 - Sian Matwey, Community Organizer

The City of Guelph is full of wonderful, talented and inspired people that constantly strive to make the Royal City a better place, and Sian Matwey is one of them. In this episode of the Guelph Politicast, I talk to Sian Matwey about her efforts as a community organizer, working to develop projects like Murals of Hope, and the annual "Tie One On" campaign.

Open Letter to the Guelph Community

***This is an email I've sent out to numerous members of the Guelph community in an effort to bolster community confidence that there's still a media source in town dedicated to covering Guelph (even if it is just Guelph Politico). 

Mercury Website May Not Be Saved

In yesterday's news about the imminent closure of the Guelph Mercury, the press release from Metroland carefully explained that it will "cease publishing the print edition" this Friday. That makes it sound like the Mercury will continue on as a digital only presence, but Merc staffers past and present have come out and said that this is not the case. More than that though, there's cause for concern that when the print Mercury ceases to exist on Friday, so will the website.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for Monday January 25, 2016

Guelph City Council will get back around the horseshoe tonight to handle the business of the City of Guelph. There are two major pieces to tackle in the public meeting, which begins at 7 pm, the major one being an application for provincial money to fix a stretch of York Rd. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify. 

SHOCKER! The Guelph Mercury Will Cease Print Operations on Friday

It began operation the same year as Canada, but sadly the Guelph Mercury will not be around to see its 150th birthday next year. In shocking, but not unsurprising news especially given the last couple of weeks, the Guelph Mercury will print its final edition this Friday, January 29.

This Week in Press Releases - January 18-22, 2016

Every week, the City of Guelph and other groups send out notices to announce new events, imperatives, and information that you need to know. Here is this week in press releases. 

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for Next Monday's Meeting?

The full city council will meet for the first time publicly in 2016 next Monday. It looks like there will be nothing nearly as contentious as the annual city budget, but there are still two major pieces of business on the docket including a pending application for provincial funds to improve a section of Guelph road. 

Fair Vote Waterloo Hits the Ground Running on Electoral Reform

Repeated in the Throne Speech last month was the Liberal government's dedication to reforming Canada's electoral system, and ensuring that 2015 is the last election using "First Past the Post." Some are sceptical of the government's intentions, others doubt it's doing to be a done deal by the government's own 18 month deadline, but the grassroots support that made electoral reform an election priority isn't about to let those in government forget that promise.

PRESS RELEASE - Guthrie Gets a Promotion (Sort Of)

Now hold on, you might be saying, Cam Guthrie is the Mayor of Guelph, how can he get promoted any higher than that? How about by being elected to a leadership role in a new consortium of mayors representing cities and towns from across Southwestern Ontario?

VIDEO: Infrastructure and Environment at Top of Mind at New Year's Levee

When everyone got to the Italian Canadian Club Sunday for the annual New Year's Levee with the Member of Parliament and the Member of Provincial Parliament it was pouring down rain, but as they left there was already a substantial amount of snow on the ground. It almost seemed like a metaphor, perhaps a statement about how quickly change can come. As for the levee itself, change was definitely a theme as Lloyd Longfield and Liz Sandals have a lot of work to get done on some pretty big issues if those in attendance have any say.

Crash Stats for 2015 Show Small Improvement, More Concerns

The Guelph Police Service has released it's annual year end report of local collision statistics, and while there's some cause for optimism in the fact that the number of total reported collisions went down as compared to this time last year, in taking a closer look at the statistics, there's still a lot to be concerned about.

The Unofficial List of Guelph-based Podcasts

It was an idle thought that passed my mind earlier this week, but I put it to Twitter: is there a list of podcasts made in Guelph, and/or by Guelphites. As it turned out, it looks like there's not. Until now. Thanks to the suggestions of others, and my own brief research on Google, I've compiled here an unofficial, ongoing list of Guelph podcasts. Listen and learn, and if you know about something that isn't on here, feel free to let me know. 

Galatianos Fights City Hall and Wins.. Ish

If Jim Galatianos can take pride in one thing, it's that he managed to subvert the old adage, "You can't beat city hall." But that surely comes as cold comfort to the former city council candidate who spent nearly six years and thousands of dollars to get City of Guelph staff to admit that they overstepped their authority when they removed what they called "debris," and added a charge to his tax bill for the privilege.

The Politico Calendar for January 2016

If you come to Guelph Politico looking for dates and times and locations for various political events  and going on in the city - Good News! - I have initiated a new monthly feature to be called (for the lack of creativity) the "Politico Calendar."

New Year's Directions for 2016

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. If you want to make a change in your life don't wait for an arbitrary date on the calendar to start making those changes just because it's the first day of a New Year. Having said that though, it seems appropriate to take this time to set goals for the coming year, and this year for Politico I have some big goals. To my mind, nothing makes you working harder to achieve goals than making it known publicly that you have a plan, and in the interest of full disclosure, here are five things you can look forward to changing this year on Guelph Politico.