By Elise Von Scheel, CBC News Ottawa, December 2, 2017
When the city gets a complaint about a suspected leaky underground pipe, employees with the environmental services department pack up a van loaded with cutting-edge radar technology and head to the scene.
Every once in a while, however, their high-tech gadgetry lets them down and they resort to a pair of thin metal poles — divining rods.
By Vito Pilieci, Ottawa Citizen, December 2, 2017
BLIND RIVER, Ont. — Sitting on the northern shores of Lake Huron is a small, sun-soaked town called Blind River.
There isn’t anything particularly remarkable about the town. It was mentioned in Neil Young’s Long May You Run, after the singer’s car died while passing through in 1966. But the mention didn’t do much for its fortunes.
Its long sandy shoreline looks like dozens of others found in communities across the province. It has a gas station, a hospital and a grocery store. There’s a marina where you can tie up your boat, a handful of run-down motels and an old bar that still has separate entrances marked for men and women, though they aren’t used anymore.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, December 1, 2017
Ottawa transit riders could get better access to Presto cards if the agency in charge of the Presto system uses Shoppers Drug Mart as a sales vehicle.
A report published on Friday for the board of directors of Metrolinx, the Ontario Crown corporation that runs Presto, says the agency is planning to extend the availability of the cards at Shoppers, including making them available at Ottawa stores.
The agency is expected to have more information on a rollout plan early in 2018.
By StittsvilleCentral, November 30, 2017
New OC Transpo winter schedules take effect on most routes on Christmas Eve. Use the Travel Planner to find the best options for your travels this winter.
New routes and route extensions will add service to growing communities, including Stittsville.
By Josh Pringle, CTV News Ottawa, December 1, 2017
Ottawa residents are being told to expect a balmy winter, with normal snowfall.
Environment Canada issued its winter forecast for Canada this morning.
The three month outlook for December, January and February predicts Ottawa and eastern Ontario will see milder than normal temperatures.
Environment Canada says rain and snowfall levels in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario are expected to be “normal” over the next three months. Southern Ontario, including Toronto, will see “above normal” precipitation levels this winter.
By Karen Graham, Digital Journal, November 28, 2017
Solar farms are sprouting up everywhere, and large utility-scale solar projects can take up a lot of space. This can present a problem in densely populated countries where the loss of farmland in favor of solar panels means less food is grown.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Sun, November 30, 2017
(...)No gaps in LRT regulatory frameworks
Auditors don’t have many complaints about how the city’s regulations govern the safety and security of LRT construction.
They wanted to make sure the city has a regulatory framework that satisfies the requirements of Transport Canada.
Auditors didn’t find any gaps in the safety or security regulatory frameworks. They only made three recommendations to improve process tracking.
The audit didn’t investigate boots-on-the-ground safety and security at LRT construction sites.
By Elise Von Scheel, CBC News Ottawa, November 30, 2017
People in the National Capital Region are more educated and spending more time getting to work than the average Canadian, according to newly released census data.
Statistics Canada has released employment and education data for 2016 for the country, including the Ottawa-Gatineau census metropolitan area — which includes Ottawa, Gatineau and surrounding municipalities like Cantley, Chelsea and Clarence-Rockland.
In Ottawa-Gatineau it takes workers about 42 minutes by public transit or 25 minutes by car, on average. If you walk or cycle, you're looking at 18 minutes.
By Amanda Pfeffer, CBC News Ottawa, December 1, 2017
It all started with too many tomatoes.
When the Ottawa Food Bank received seven pallets of the ripe fruit all at once late last summer, executive director Michael Maidment knew he had a problem.
"The warehouse was full of tomatoes, so the question then became, can we get these tomatoes to everyone in time before they spoil, or could we do something with these tomatoes?" Maidment recalled.By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen, November 28, 2017
You have two weeks left to tell city council what you think of the plans for Ottawa’s 2018 budget, if you see any point in it.
Committees are holding their annual pretend hearings on the most important thing council does each year, before a final council vote due Dec. 13.
Councillors are wearing the handcuffs they snapped on themselves a couple of days after they were sworn in back in 2014. Back then they approved a 268-page report on how council should work for the next four years that included this sentence: “Each standing committee will work within the budgetary funding envelope allocated to the city departments under their mandate and any increases to the budget will be funded by offsetting reductions.”
By CTV News Ottawa, November 29, 2017
Ottawa loves to commute by transit and the capital has one of the highest rates of cycling in Canada.
That's the story about commute times in the 2016 Census released today by Statistics Canada.
In Canada, the number of commuters using public transit spiked by almost 50 per cent in the last two decades.
Among Canada's biggest cities, Ottawa-Gatineau had the highest proportion of workers using public transit at just over 18 per cent of the population.
By Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen, November 29, 2017
More people want money from Ottawa City Hall as compensation for their dinged-up vehicles.
The number of pothole-related vehicle damage claims received by the city has increased by 411 so far in 2017 compared to 2016, according to the city.
The statistics are in a written response published Wednesday as part of a transportation committee agenda. Coun. Diane Deans asked the city solicitor’s office about the claims in light of the harsh winter at the beginning of the year.