Guelph Politico: September 2016

Friday, September 30, 2016

GUELPH POLITICAST #52 - Jeremy Luke Hill, Vocamus Press

Once, there was an idea that the proliferation of computers and the internet would mean the end of the printed word. The prophecy is slowly coming true for newspapers and magazines, but it seems as though books have a resistance to the printing press killing powers of digital that those other things do not. In fact, like in other things, digital has made making books easier. Ask Jeremy Luke Hill.

October is about more than turkey and pumpkins, at least it is if you're following the Politico calendar when you're looking for stuff do next month.

Horwath Hears Concerns About Local Water Taking

On the third floor of 10 Carden Street this afternoon, Guelph's water advocates continued the push to protect area aquifers from water bottlers by meeting with Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath. For Horwath, the goal of the closed door meeting was to work with community members to draft a "broad water strategy" as opposed to a "knee jerk reaction."

Monday is city council's second Committee-of-the-Whole meeting, and observers are hoping that all the kinks were worked out in September. This month, the committee will tackle issues from Public Services and Corporate Services.

Loss of Ridership, Revenue During Summer Means No Free Rides for Storm Fans

The Guelph Storm celebrated their home opener this past Friday, and fans are hoping for a better season of hockey than they got last year. Some fans were also probably hoping to take advantage of Free Ride Fridays, a promotion by Guelph Transit to give free rides on game nights to ticket holders, but those fans likely got a rude surprise because Transit is no longer taking hockey tickets as currency when the Storm are in town.

VIDEOS: Hundreds Support Gordon Motion, Outside and In City Hall

It was standing room only at city council last night as council debated a motion by Ward 2 Councillor James Gordon asking his fellow councillors on taking a stand against Nestle and their continued water taking at their Aberfoyle bottling plant. Now city council is often compared to a carnival, but there was no denying the carnival atmosphere prior to the meeting as hundreds of people gathered in front of City Hall to sing, speak and make noise, all to push council to support Gordon and his motion.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for September 26, 2016

Tonight's city council meeting will be proceeding by some additional action, and I don't just mean the closed meeting that starts at 5 pm. Nope, also starting at 5 pm Rally to Protect Water, so stay tuned for updates from that as well. As for when the meeting starts, you can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here to read Politico's preview of tonight's meeting. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

GUELPH POLITICAST #51 - Fred Dahms, Author of 'Conflict and Compromise'

Political books are nothing new, but a book about Guelph politics? That has the Guelph Polticast written all over it! Conflict and Compromise: Politics and Planning in Guelph 2000-2015 is the new book from Dr. Fred Dahms, and if you're looking for a good primer on how the City got from there to here on a wide variety of different issues, then you can't do much better.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the September 26 Meeting?

The normal politics of your end-of-the-month council meeting will be preceded this coming Monday by the Rally to Protect Water in front of City Hall, but there's still a lot of non-water matters for council's consideration and debate next week.

Make Guelph Great Again?!?!

Here in Canada, we like to look at the Presidential Election circus south of the border with a degree of smug self-satisfaction, but you never know, maybe people in Canada like what Trump's standing for, whatever it is. Some of them, may even go to the University of Guelph.

Celebrate the Freedom of the City Parade this Saturday

Postcard from the Guelph Public Library Archives

The Canadian Forces 11th Field Regiment has a storied history in the Royal City, 150 years of history to be precise. Yes, the regiment turns 150 years old this year, and this calls for a parade and an open house. This Saturday!

Last week, you might have read about how Jean-Pierre Kingsley, former chief electoral officer of Elections Canada, will be at the Kitchener Library next Wednesday to talk about electoral reform. Well, if you don't want to drive 30 minutes up the road, good news! Kingsley will be in Guelph, one day earlier.

When Terry Passed Through Town

From the Guelph Mercury Archives

Sandwiched between an article announcing that the new MacDonald-Stewart Art Centre would be opening in November, and pictures of the visiting Canadian Hearing Society's mobile van on page 3 of the July 17 edition of The Daily Mercury was a notice. A young man named Terry Fox was running his way across Canada in a "Marathon of Hope" in order to raise money and awareness for cancer research, and his long journey was to bring him to Guelph that coming Tuesday.

This Week in Press Releases - September 12-16, 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.

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for September 1-15, 2016

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.

First Week of Safe Semester (Mostly) an Improvement Over Last

The Guelph Police Service has released the statistics from the first weekend of this year's Safe Semester program. By and large they show an improvement over last, but some of you just can't stop yourselves from parking where you shouldn't, or peeing where you shouldn't.

Three Local Political Events; One Big Night

If you're looking for something to do on Wednesday September 28, then you're in luck! You will have your pick of three major political events in the Guelph area to check out.

Do You Miss a Daily Newspaper? Tell This Lady About It

Hard to believe, but it's been going on nearly a year now that Guelph has gone without a local paper. The Guelph Mercury-Tribune, Guelph Today, myself, and a few others have tried to fill the void of the old Guelph Mercury, but can anything really replace that hole left behind by a local daily newspaper, and how are we all coping with that? Well, I now know at least one lady who would like an answer to that, and she'd like your feedback as well. ‎

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for September 12, 2016

Council is back in session tonight at the special time of 6:30 pm. Planning issues are up for discussion, and as usual you can follow along here. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here to read Politico's preview of tonight's meeting. For the complete blow-by-blow of tonight's council meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

GUELPH POLITICAST #50 - Susan Ratcliffe, Eden Mills Writers Festival

Way back in 1989, Governor General Award winner, and Eden Mills, ON resident, Leon Rooke was releasing a new book. The proprietors of the Eden Mills General Store suggested that Leon hold his book launch on their lovely front steps, but for such an ostentatious venue, Rooke felt his own literary presence wasn't enough. So he invited other literary icons Rohinton Mistry, Michael Ondaatje, Jane Urquhart, and Linda Spalding to join him. It was, in effect, the first Eden Mills Writers Festival, and it's still going strong.

Citizens Brainstorm the Path to Good Growth in Guelph

On Thursday night, a group of about 50 people took part in the Good Growth Guelph town hall at City Hall. The event, which was really more a working group, drew many different types of people including activists, teachers, architects, developers, various business people and a even couple of city councillors. The intent: to collaborate on the ways and types of growth they want to see in the Royal City before a council meeting at the end of the month on the subject, and before public comment is due at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs by the end of October.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the September 12 Meeting?

It's back to business as usual at City Hall this coming Monday with the first full city council meeting since July. This first council meeting of the month is, of course, a planning meeting, but there are a variety of different issues on the table including food trucks, the budget, and a special resolution about a particularly controversial issue just south of the city.

GUELPH POLITICAST #49 - Live (ish) From the Labour Day Picnic

Scotty Hertz entertains at the Labour Day Picnic

This past Monday was Labour Day, and let's face it, sometimes in the rush to enjoy the last long weekend of summer, we forget that there's a story behind it, a long history of workers standing up for their rights, often with an organized union having their backs. These aren't the best of times for unions, but as you'll learn from this Guelph Politicast, they're are also far from the worst. Yet.

Guelph Transit Expands to Match Expansion of GO Train Service

Starting Tuesday, GO Transit takes another step to offering all day, two-way commuter service from Toronto to Guelph by offering two additional trains in the morning and two in the afternoon. In order to keep up with that expanded early morning service, Guelph Transit will be expanding its own service with an earlier start time for its shuttle.

Back to School Tips - Renting, Transit and Safe Semester

It's Back to School time here in Guelph and other places, but for the Royal City there are a couple of important changes to make note of, and some new rules to keep in mind as we start the real new year, post-Labour Day.