By James Morgan, The Review, February 4, 2019
Property-owners in Hawkesbury will be paying a little more for municipal water, sewer, and waste collection services this year.
Council approved the increases as part of the 2019 budget.
The flat rate for water service, which property owners pay four times per year is now $37.50, a 75-cent increase from last year.
By Jeff Leiper, Kitchissippi Times, February 7, 2019
We’re deep into winter here in Kitchissippi, but that hasn’t slowed things down out in the ward or at City Hall. Read on to find out what’s coming up!
On January 20 I submitted a letter written on behalf of myself and our community associations to the consultation process for Bill 66 – Open for Business, introduced recently to Queen’s Park. We’re concerned that if Bill 66 moves forward it will give politicians in Ontario municipalities a tool to fast-track development applications where major job-creators are proposed. The good news is that Schedule 10, which would have removed important community protections in the planning process, has been dropped from the Bill. We’re happy to see this positive outcome as the result of public consultation.
By Ted Raymond, CTV News Ottawa and CFRA, February 7, 2019
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says 2019 will be a “transition year” when it comes to the city’s transit system.
Many city councillors have spent this week participating in a transit challenge to use OC Transpo for all of their transportation outside of emergencies. Some have had to admit there are gaps in the service that couldn’t accommodate their duties as councillors.
Speaking on CTV Morning Live, Watson admitted that the system needs to be improved.
“There’s no question we’ve had one of the worst winters in terms of weather and flooding and so on and we’ve had a lot of detours as a result of building the LRT,” Watson said. “So, as a result of that a lot of the bus system has become unreliable.”
By Tom Spears, Ottawa Sun, February 6, 2019
When Denise Smith spotted a songbird on her backyard feeder, she wasn’t prepared for how rare it would turn out to be, or for having her home staked out by enthusiastic birders.
The lazuli bunting is a little fluffball from the southwestern United States. It is the eleventh time the species has been spotted in Ontario, and its first time in winter anywhere in Canada. It should be in Mexico now.
By Giacomo Panico, CBC News Ottawa, February 7, 2019
It has witnessed decades of Canada Day celebrations and cabinet shuffles and even survived the devastating Dutch elm disease, but the major renovation of Centre Block will likely mean the demise of a historic elm tree on Parliament Hill.
Though no one can be sure of its exact age, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) estimates the tree is about 100 years old, during which time it has grown as high as the offices on the fifth storey of Centre Block, from its base next to a statue of Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.
"It frames almost any shot of Centre Block. It's part of the picture, it's part of the scene, it's part of our heritage," said Paul Johanis, chair of the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital.
By Joanne Chianello, CBC News Ottawa, February 7, 2019
Less than three weeks before city council is set to award its largest single contract ever, Ottawa officials still don't know if the provincial government will ante up its third of the bill for the $3-billion LRT expansion.
The previous Liberal government committed $1.2 billion for Phase 2 of light rail in a letter to Mayor Jim Watson in May 2018 to help pay to extend the O-Train system to Trim Road in the east, Moodie Drive in the west, the Riverside South town centre near Limebank Road in the south, as well as connections to Algonquin College and the airport.
By CTV News Ottawa, February 6, 2019
From public transit to property taxes, Ottawa residents will be paying more if the city budget is approved.
The draft budget unveiled at City Hall on Wednesday includes a 3 per cent tax hike.
The tax hike, the police tax increase, the transit tax increase and $2 more in garbage collection means the average urban homeowner would pay $113 more a year. Rural homeowners will be paying about $93 more a year.
By Vito Pilieci, Ottawa Citizen, February 6, 2019
The closure of the Rideau Canal Skateway for weather reasons has prompted the Ottawa Riverkeeper to postpone its planned cleanup of blue plastic bristles left behind by NCC ice cleaning machines.
The event was supposed to take place on Thursday.
However, Riverkeeper noted the skateway would likely remain closed through Thursday following Tuesday’s warm snap.
Volunteers were to walk or skate the length of the canal and pick up any plastic bristles that might have broke off. The event was rescheduled for Feb. 15 at 12:30 near Dow’s Lake.
By James Morgan, The Review, February 4, 2019
Property-owners in Hawkesbury will be paying a little more for municipal water, sewer, and waste collection services this year.
Council approved the increases as part of the 2019 budget.
There is also an increase in the cubic metre rate for sewage that property owners pay along with the flat rate. In 2018 it was $1.02 per cubic metre. It has been set at $1.05 per cubic metre for 2019.
The flat rate for water service, which property owners pay four times per year is now $37.50, a 75-cent increase from last year.
By Jenn Pritchard, 1310 News, February 5, 2019
The every day challenge for commuters in Ottawa include waiting for buses that never show, buses that show up late and buses with no room.
This week, 17 city councillors are experiencing these issues first hand.
"What the councillors are running into are full buses, late buses, missing buses where GPS says the bus is coming, nothing comes," said Sam Boswell, co-founder of Ottawa Transit Riders.
She explained to 1310 NEWS that she's impressed with how many stepped up to take part.
By Joanne Chianello and Kate Porter, CBC News Ottawa, February 5, 2019
In 2017, the city's infrastructure gap sat at about $70 million. In other words, if the city actually fixed everything that needed fixing, from roads to community centres to tennis courts, it should have been spending an additional $70 million a year.
By Ananya Vaghela, Ottawa Citizen, February 5, 2019
Seventeen city councillors are choosing to only use public transit this week, but the mayor is not one of them.
The remaining five councillors have either declined or have not acknowledged the challenge.
An email from Mayor Jim Watson’s office said his busy schedule “makes it hard for the Mayor to frequently use public transit.”
Jenna Sudds, councillor for Kanata North, is taking the bus this week to understand the problems first-hand.
“The most frustrating experience is the unreliability and/or the crowding of the buses on the way home,” said Sudds.