By Alan Gillmor, Jeff Spooner, Gary Scott and Marilyn Comeau
, Ottawa Citizen Letters to the Editor, April 30, 2016
Avoid a cocoon of cacophony
Re: Micro-parks, patios on the way, April 27.
I was delighted to read that there are plans to create a series of small parks and patios in Ottawa “public spaces,” in the words of Matthew Pearson, “that will contain everything from seating and greenery to games tables and music.”
By Mohamed Adam, Ottawa Citizen, April 29, 2016
After half a century of failure and disappointment, LeBreton Flats is primed for the “memorable capital landmark development” that has long eluded the National Capital Commission and the city.
On paper, it is safe to say the NCC is on the verge of creating something transformational in the capital with the RendezVous LeBreton plan. Yes, the centrepiece is nothing more extraordinary than a hockey arena, the kind of which you’ll find in any major Canadian city. Big deal, you say. True enough.
By Matthew Pearson, Ottawa Citizen, April 29, 2016
OC Transpo says the introduction of a low-income transit pass in Ottawa would cost either $1.3 or $3.3 million per year depending on how deep the discount is.
Giving a discount similar to that of the student monthly pass, at 24 per cent, to low-income customers would cost $1.3 million per year.
By Emma Jackson, Ottawa Metro News, April 27, 2016
Give William Street back to pedestrians, a New York transit guru suggested Wednesday.
Janette Sadik-Khan, former transportation commissioner for New York City, was in Ottawa promoting her book Streetfight, which chronicles her years transforming the Big Apple’s city streets.
She’s credited with creating thriving pedestrian spaces where there once were cars, while improving gridlock and the bottom lines of local businesses – including, most famously, at Times Square.
By Kristie Cameron, CFRA News, April 27, 2016
New York City's former Transportation Commissioner says Ottawa should consider banning cars from the ByWard Market.
Janette Sadik-Khan took a tour of the Market on Tuesday, alongside politicians from all levels of government, including environment minister Catherine McKenna and Mayor Jim Watson.
As Transportation Commissioner, Sadik-Khan banned traffic from Times Square and now she suggests doing the same in the ByWard Market."Try it, you'll like it," says Sadik-Khan. "Better streets are better for business."
By Michelle Nash, Ottawa Community News, April 27, 2016
The Overbrook Community Association is encouraging residents to clean up this spring, both inside and outside their homes, on May 14.
The organization’s 6th annual Community Garage Sale will take place throughout the community as well as a community sale will be set up from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Overbrook Community Centre.
By Michelle Nash, Ottawa Community News, April 27, 2016
Opinionated residents living in Pineview will soon have another outlet to let their views be known.
The Pineview Community Association is planning on launching a three-year strategic plan for its organization and the planning starts first and foremost with it’s residents, the organization said at its annual general meeting on April 25.
The association plans to launch its second online survey — the first was released to residents in October 2015 — to get a feel for what residents care about when it comes to their community.
By Tom Spears, Ottawa Sun, April 27, 2016
The little ticks that carry Lyme disease are becoming more common in Eastern Ontario, a national expert says, and they’re already emerging this year.
Of the 40 or so tick species in Canada, the ones that worry most people, are called deer ticks. These transmit Lyme disease when they bite animals and humans. Though named for deer, they may be more common as parasites on mice and other rodents.
By Tom Spears, Ottawa Sun, April 27, 2016
Put another candle on the cake for the sequoia seedling that Sarah Hatton planted four years ago in Chelsea.
The tree, a redwood native to California’s mountains, has just survived another Quebec winter outdoors, and stands nearly half a metre high.
By CBC News Ottawa, April 27, 2016
An Ottawa drone enthusiast has posted drone footage of light rail construction along what's going to be the eastern leg of the Confederation Line.
The east end of the line starts at the University of Ottawa and will end at the Blair Transitway station. Footage of the construction was shot earlier this month.
Construction of the Blair, Cyrville, St-Laurent, Tremblay and Hurdman LRT stations are underway, but work hasn't yet started at the uOttawa or Lees stations.
By Toby Nussbaum, Ottawa Citizen, April 27, 2016
Along with legends, fairy tales and fables, myths are a great way to teach and learn values. But the other kind of myths – beliefs not grounded in fact – can be politically treacherous, especially when widely held by many or deeply felt by a vocal few. Yet dispelling myths that frustrate the public interest is a necessary aspect of political leadership, which is about to be tested by two proposals coming soon to City Hall.
The first proposal is a motion requesting the province permit the use of traffic speed cameras, put forward by my colleague Riley Brockington. The negative reaction to this motion has largely echoed the battle over the use of these cameras (known as photo radar) on Ontario highways 25 years ago.
By Sylvain Charlebois and Evan Fraser, Ottawa Citizen, April 28, 2016
Over the next generation, population growth, climate change and water scarcity will put huge pressures on global food systems. Farmers and consumers will have to change management practices and diets. In particular, the methods we use to produce protein, and the types of protein we consume, will be at the forefront of this transition.
Our protein systems are likely to change for two reasons. First, current methods of producing protein are extremely resource-intensive. While the world’s agricultural and forestry sectors produced 24 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, 75 per cent of these originated from livestock. Similarly, livestock production is responsible for approximately 80 per cent of North American antibiotic use, and many reports have suggested this is partly to blame for the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria that now plague health-care systems.