Guelph Politico: December 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016

EDITORIAL: Don't Lament the Things We Lost, Protect What Remains

As far back as I could remember, I always wanted to work in a video store. Quentin Tarantino worked in a video store and he turned out okay. Randy, the movie geek in Scream movies, did as well, but that turned out less well. Be Kind, Rewind, a personal favourite of mine, was a movie about a couple of ne'er-do-wells trying to save their local street corner video store, but no amount of "Sueded" movies was going to save Thomas Video this year from the fate of so many other video stores. 2016 was a hard year for loss, but some losses, here in Guelph anyway, hurt more than others.

GUELPH POLITICAST #62 - Bradley Breedon, Substitute Politico

In my time using my Twitter account to cover local political events and council meetings live, I have been the one posting words next to the Twitter handle with my name and my picture. By necessity, that all changed this past November when the 2017 budget process unfolded on consecutive Wednesdays. I needed someone to step in and fill the void, and a desperate call out out to Guelph Redditors delivered me the man who kept Politico in the game. His name is Bradley Breedon, and he is the guest on this week's Guelph Politicast.

The Politico Calendar for January 2017

This Sunday is the start of a new year, so why not start 2017 by trying something new? Like attending one of the plethora of Guelph political and cultural events that are being put on through the month of January...

75 Dublin: They Hate It. They Really, Really Hate it

If the way to measure a good decision is to make sure nobody's happy with it, city council did a heckuva job last month when they passed the bylaw allowing for the construction of a four-storey condo tower on Catholic Hill. The bad news? All parties have a recourse for their dissatisfaction. We're off to the Ontario Municipal Board, folks!

GUELPH POLITICAST #61 - Randalin Ellery, Guelph and Wellington Task Force for the Elimination of Poverty

A couple of years ago, I dedicated a December episode of the Guelph Politicast to the Guelph Food Bank. It seemed wise, and it still does, to dedicate some time at this point in the year to remembering that no matter how lucky we are, there's always someone less lucky. The thought occurred to me again this Christmas season, and that's where we get this episode of the Guelph Politicast, remembering Guelphites in need.

Council and Committee-of-the-Whole Schedule for 2017

This week saw the last council meeting of the year, and the beginning of an extended break. Do you miss it yet? Well, if you're looking to mark your calendar for all the council meetings in 2017, you need look no further than below...

Changes Coming to Politico in 2017

It's been quite a year for Guelph Politico! Thank you to everyone that engages with the site be it monetarily, through support and sharing on social media, or by sampling making Politico you're destination for political news in the City of Guelph. 2016 was a tremendous year, tremendously busy and tremendously accomplished, but as the holiday break begins, I'm also taking this time to announce some changes for Guelph Politico in the new year. Check them out and let me know what you think.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for December 19, 2016

Just one more meeting tonight before council breaks for the year. 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 #60 - Mike Spicer, Guelph Transit General Manager

One-hour holiday service, no peak service in the summer, the cancellation of Free Ride Fridays with the Storm without notice, no service expansion for 2017, the firing of manager Phil Meagher, no restoration of 2015 service... This was not a good year for transit in Guelph, and probably not the plate you want set for you when you sit down at the desk as Guelph Transit's new General Manager.

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for December 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.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the December 19 Meeting?

After a long year, the final council meeting of 2016 will tackle reports from the Committee-of-the-Whole earlier this month, along with committee appointments and an update on the Guelph Innovation District.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for December 12, 2016

Moving forward with plans for the IMACo site, and the review of the province's plans for updating the Ontario Municipal Board are on the table for this final planning meeting of the year. 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.

MacKinnon Still Considers Cost to Stream Council Meets Reasonable

On budget night, there was an unusual request amongst the potential expenditures presented by the councillors. The honour went to Ward 6's Mark MacKinnon who proposed that the City spend $20,000 to live stream the city council meetings on the City of Guelph website, and though the motion got voted down by the rest of council, MacKinnon still thinks that it was potentially $20,000 that would have been well spent considering the return on investment in enhancing our democracy.

2 Dates Lloyd Longfield Wants You to Know About, and 1 He Maybe Doesn't

It's that time of year to get together again with old friends, and our local Member of Parliament is looking to get together with you. Lloyd Longfield sent out notice of a couple of important dates coming up where he's inviting Guelphites to see him and talk in person. Meanwhile, a local advocacy group wants to talk to Longfield en masse about a promise maybe he and the Liberals aren't keep...

GUELPH POLITICAST #59 - Bill Hulet, Guelph Back-Grounder

Hard to believe, but it's been almost a year since the Guelph Mercury went out of business, and it's a void that has still yet to be completely filled, even in spite of the best efforts of some people. But forget breaking news, and forget about the play-by-play at city council meetings just for a minute. News doesn't happen in a void, and not every story - even most stories - is self-contained with a beginning, middle and end. Context. News is useless without it, but where can we now get it?

#GuelphBudget Follow-Up: The State of Transit and Levy Timeline

So you might have followed along last night with the Guelph Politico live-blog of the council meeting, or you may have watched it on Rogers, or read some of the articles online this morning. For me, I wanted clarity on a couple of issues, so I reached out to James Krauter, Acting City Treasurer and General Manager of Finance, for his expertise.

Allt-ernative Budget Thoughts

As you may know, Ward 3 Councillor Phil Allt will be absent from today's #GuelphBudget meeting because he'd rather be selfish and go to the hospital and donate a kidney to his ailing brother. (Just kidding, of course.) So while Allt takes care of some family business, he leaves these thoughts about the City's business, and what he thinks the priorities for the 2017 budget should be.

This is it! The #GuelphBudget for 2017 comes down to the decisions that council makes today starting at 2 pm. 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.

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

The final planning meeting of city council for 2016 will deal with a couple of big issues including a certain blighted site in Ward 1, and one of the most controversial agencies in the province.

LIVE BLOG: Committee of the Whole for December 5, 2016

Money matters, mother nature and the city's pets are all hot topics for the last Committee-of-the-Whole meeting of the year. You can click here for the amended agenda from City Hall, and you can click here to read Politico's preview of today's meeting. For the complete blow-by-blow of today's committee meeting, you can follow me on Twitter, or follow along below via Storify.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the December 7 Meeting?

It's D-Day at council on Wednesday as all the weeks and months of money matters come down to how the 13 people around the horseshoe vote as they build the 2017 #GuelphBudget.

GUELPH POLITICAST #58 - Real Estate in Guelph

It's been big news in Canada the last couple of years, the record high housing prices in Vancouver and Toronto that have people concerned that home ownership is becoming increasingly out of reach for more and more Canadians. Those trends seem to be coming our way now, and people are literally lining up for whatever deal they can find, so it seems the time is right to take a closer look at the state or our real estate.

Committee of the Whole Preview - What's on the Agenda for the December 5 Meeting?

The final Committee-of-the-Whole meeting of the year doesn't have anything too terribly controversial, but it looks to be a busy one with audit discussions, budget variances, and suggestions to update bylaws pertaining to Guelph's beloved domesticated animals and pets.

Last year, Open Sources Guelph hosted Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie for a full-hour of discussion after only just six months since his 2014 election to head of the Royal City’s government. It was a tremendous success, and it was thanks i to you, our beloved audience, who gave us such great questions to ask the mayor live on air. So in the grand Hollywood tradition of doing things so right the first time that we have to do it again for a second, get ready for #AskMayorCam Part 2: Electric Boogaloo!