One More Before the Holidays!
Five more sleeps till Christmas.
Welcome to the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet, a thrice-a-week newsletter meant to “tip” you off about some of the important stuff going on in the Royal City. It arrives directly in your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The family of two people who died in a fatal house fire on Edinbugh South back in March are now suing the landlord for $11.5 million.
Predictably, Mayor Cam Guthrie wants to hit pause on bike lane development.
Centre Wellington council likes what they’ve seen so far in terms of their draft short-term rental bylaw, but they’re still concerned that there’s no real impact on parking.
The Alzheimer Society of Waterloo Wellington is about $35,000 short of their fundraising goal.
The Government of Ontario is now performing a review of the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board after trustees spent bigly on religious art during a trip to Italy this summer.
Toronto city council is looking at how they get gig workers like Skip and Uber drivers in the city better pay.
Canada’s border plan includes around the clock aerial surveillance and more drug testing capacity and analysis.
Justin Trudeau will be announcing a cabinet shuffle later today which will definitely solve all his problems.
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There will be a free skate at the Exhibition Park Arena if you bring a food bank donation on Monday December 23 at 6 pm.
Police say beware of phishing scams over the holidays.
The GCVI choir was centre stage at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan.
Adorable: Residents in Guelph/Eramosa Township think that their proposed 3.5 per cent tax levy increase is too big for 2025.
Snowmobiling in the Mount Forest area got a little easier with a new deal to expand trail connectivity.
Smash and grabs at two different jewelry stores this week are believed to be connected, according to police.
Kitchener council wants to look at installing some Indigenous art in Victoria Park, home to a much vandalized statue of Queen Victoria.
Three men from the United Kingdom have been charged for the assault of an Owen Sound restaurant owner who died after getting into a dispute with the men over an unpaid tab.
Unsurprisingly, the opening of the new Ontario Science Centre location has already been delayed.
Danielle Smith has asked Doug Ford to walk back his threats about blocking energy exports to the U.S. because she has no intention of doing that.
The murder hornets have been, well, murdered. The invasive Asian inspect no longer has a home in B.C. according to officials.
Air Canada has now partnered with Apple to track luggage with AirTags; some see convenience, others see a privacy breach.
The Theodore Too replica tugboat is feeling much better after some emergency repairs to stop his sinking.
Committee of the Whole Meeting – Tuesday January 14, 2025 at 2 pm.
The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday January 2.
Planning Meeting of City Council – Tuesday January 21, 2024 at 6 pm.
The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday January 9.
Regular Meeting of City Council – Tuesday January 28, 2024 at 6 pm.
The agenda for this meeting will be posted on the City’s website on Thursday January 16.
For more information on Guelph City Council meetings, from agendas to live-tweets to recaps, you can visit that page on Guelph Politico here.
HOLIDAY BREAK REMINDERS:
- These are the Christmas holiday week hours for the City of Guelph, Guelph Transit, Wellington County, the University of Guelph, WDG Public Health, the Guelph Public Library, and the CMHA Waterloo Wellington.
- There’s free two-hour parking downtown in the West, East, and Market Parkades and Macdonell, Fountain, and East Surface lots until January 4.
- Sparkles in the Park will run this year at Riverside Park until December 31.
- The 8th annual Chanukah celebration in Market Square will take place on Thursday December 26 at 4:30 pm. Yes, meaning Boxing Day.
- There will be free rides on Guelph Transit on New Year’s Eve starting at 7 pm, and there will be special service between 12:45 an 2:15 am.
- The Waste Resource Innovation Centre will no longer be offering the self-service paper shredder as of January 1 due to changes in responsibility for recycling collection.
- You can sign up now for Trees for Tots and donate your Christmas tree to a good cause after the holidays.
With cold weather coming back this weekend, here are the cold weather response plans for Guelph and Wellington County.
What are the most popular baby names for 2023? Here’s the list.
Over 42,700 Smile Cookies sold have resulted in over $64,000 raised for The Grove Youth Wellness Hubs.
The Upper Grand District School Board’s kindergarten registration for the 2025-26 school year opens January 7.
Speaking of the UGDSB, there’s an app for that.
The City of Guelph is planning its first integrated water management strategy, called The Blueprint: Guelph’s One Water Plan. Stay tuned for updates.
There will be a virtual open house about the Community Planning Permit System for the Stone Road/Edinburgh Road Strategic Growth Area on January 14 at 6 pm.
Wellington County’s Experimental Acres programme has been selected as a finalist for an Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Award of Excellence in Rural Economic Development.
The date’s been changed again for the January 2025 meetings for the Economic Development and Administration committee, and the Finance and Human Resources committee. They will take place now on Monday January 27.
Current “Have Your Say” opportunities: Downtown Infrastructure Renewal, Downtown Height Study, Guelph’s Bicentennial, Housing Accelerator Funding, Housing Affordability Strategy, and Waste Reduction Strategies.
Transit Detours/Notices:
Detours for the Routes #1 Edinburgh College, #2 College Edinburgh, #4 York, #8 Janefield and #50U Stone should all be ended on Saturday.
See the full list of stops affected by detours here.
Upcoming Construction:
At publication time, Dumbarton Street was closed between Vermont Street and Waverley Drive for a water main break repair.
This is the last official Tip Sheet of 2024! There will be some special editions over the next couple of weeks including some new Space Invaders, but we will get back to a regular schedule on January 5. Merry Christmas, happy holidays and all the best for 2025!!
#Standards
Finally, feel free to reach out to me by email at adamadonaldson [at] gmail [dot] com, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, GuelphPolitico.ca!