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.