Guelph Politico: May 2017

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Garden of Grace: A Soft Open With Hard Opinions

Jakki Jeffs was sweeping grass and dirt off the stone path in the Garden of Grace. Alone. Today was supposed to be the official unveiling of the Garden of Grace, a memorial park on the lands of the Basilica of Our Lady meant for people mourning the loss of a child to abortion or miscarriage, but with a group of over a dozen people demonstrating on the street below, Jeffs cancelled the opening event. Why? The matter's gotten too political.

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.

The Politico Calendar for June 2017

June marks the official beginning of summer, but this June it also seems to mark the beginning of Canada 150 celebrations being held by numerous organizations and groups throughout the month. All that, plus the usual meetings, committees and gatherings in this month's Politico Calendar.

Committee of the Whole Preview - What's on the Agenda for the June 6 Meeting?

In spite of the unintentional best efforts of city council this week, Committee-of-the-Whole will proceed with its June meeting with a jam-packed agenda including updates on audits and budgets, moving to a low carbon City Hall, and the official presentation of the proposed realignment of Transit routes to council this September.

GUELPH POLITICAST #80 - Danna Evans, General Manager of Culture, Tourism & Community Investment

Is Guelph a tourism destination? That's debatable. Certainly many Guelphites would argue that there are reasons that people who don't live in Guelph should visit Guelph. Great festivals, a cool downtown, a big church you can see from everywhere... the Royal City is where it's at, and this week, I talk to the person in charge of making sure you know all about it.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for May 23, 2017

A short meeting to follow the long weekend. 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.

CSA Makes International News for Its Musical Selection

Normally, the distribution of the student bus pass is not controversial for the University of Guelph's Central Student Association, but then they did the unthinkable by including a top hit from 1972 in their music playlist while handing out the stickers to summer students. A walk on the wild side, indeed.

High Speed Rail Coming to Guelph, and Heading on to Windsor

Toronto to Windsor in under two hours? That's the promise in this morning's announcement that high speed rail is coming to southern Ontario and the Golden Horseshoe by 2031 at a cost of just over $20 billion. But can it be done in the timeline proposed and for the amount of money suggested, or is the Province of Ontario reaching beyond its grasp?

Rogers Update: They're Not Going Anywhere

Last week, I posted about some concerning social media posts concerning Rogers Guelph, that a program that promotes many events and programs in the City was cancelled and that the Rogers studio on Silvercreek Pkwy was closing. In what will surely be a relief to many, I got an official word from Rogers that our Guelph facilities aren't going anywhere.

GUELPH POLITICAST #79 - Hans Zegerius, Petrie Photographer

Underneath that big green tarp near the corner of Wyndham and Macdonell is a world of mystery. The Petrie Building has been a subject of intrigue, speculation and regret for years, if not decades, and it's facelift is opening up that world as the Trycathlen partners proceed with the renovation and restoration of the Petrie, and one man has been there to capture the transformation as it's unfolded.

MANGEZ! Dine Safe Guide for May 1-15, 2017

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the May 23 Meeting?

The agenda for the regular council meeting this month seems kind of light, which is good because in May it's taking place after the long weekend.

GUELPH POLITICAST #78 - Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis

Premier Kathleen Wynne meets with advocates at Women in Crisis in Sept. 2015

May is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Ontario. Isn't it sad that sexual assault is still such a scourge in society at this point in our history that we have to have a while month to raise awareness about it? I think we can all agree on that, but so long as the need is there in our area, there will be the Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, now helping women in our area for over 40 years.

What's Going On With Guelph's Rogers Channel?

What's going on with Guelph's Rogers Channel? That's a question I started asking myself yesterday when I found a tweet from Inside Guelph, a talk show that airs weekdays on Rogers Cable 20. Or rather it did. The mysterious tweet, which has since been deleted, implied that not only was the Royal City's local human interest show been cancelled, but that the entire Rogers community access operation was closing.

GUELPH POLITICAST #77 - The 2Rivers Festival

Water is very important to Guelph, and to prove it we have a two-month long festival dedicated to the awesomeness of our city being here at the intersection of two rivers. Hence, the 2Rivers Festival, which is now running through the rest of the month and on into June, and will now be discussed on this week's edition of the Guelph Politicast.

LIVE BLOG: City Council Meeting for May 8, 2017

A heritage update, street reconstruction, affordable housing, and building standards are all on the docket for the agenda of this planning meeting. 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.

Niki Ashton Promotes Pride for Being Left in Guelph

Niki Ashton came to Guelph Sunday evening. The Churchill—Keewatinook Aski became the latest NDP Member of Parliament to pass through Guelph lately, and the second NDP leadership candidate to visit the Royal City in the last couple of weeks. Ashton's message Sunday evening at the Red Papaya in Old Quebec Street was that the best way forward for the national New Democrats was to be themselves.

Sometimes It Floods in Guelph

"Speed River Flood Termed Worst in 20 Years." screamed the headline on the front of the Mercury on Saturday March 20, 1948. The last great flood of its kind happened in the Spring of 1929, but between the floods there was a World War and a Great Depression, so when the water under the Allan's Dam reached the six-foot level, there was definitely a sense of deja vu.

City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the May 8 Meeting?

Monday's planning meeting will be a fantastic four issues long with discussion about heritage buildings, reconstruction of an east end road, affordable housing, and design standards.

VIDEO: Mayor and Council Reclaim History with Time Capsule Opening

You don't normally get dozens of people at a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting, let alone an hour before hand, but that's the power of the time capsule. Discovered by construction crews working on the renovations of the Victoria Road Recreation Centre, city staff, with the help of Mayor Cam Guthrie and members of council, opened the capsule today and reclaimed the treasures buried in 1974.

If it's the first Monday of the month, then it's time for Committee-of-the-Whole. 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.