By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen, January 23, 2014
OTTAWA — There will be a public presentation on the Eastern wolf, the type of wolf native to this region, in Ottawa on Monday.
Biologist Linda Rutledge of Trent University will give the presentation at 7 p.m. at Mac Hall in the Bronson Centre (211 Bronson Ave.) Admission is free but the organizers will ask for donations.
By Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen, January 23, 2014
OTTAWA — What do you “do” with a river?
Clean it up, green it up and let it flow: Such has been the modest ambition of the many players with a paddle in the Ottawa, one of the country’s great rivers, for the last 50 years.
But we can, obviously, be more creative. The National Capital Commission is wisely going to the private sector for ideas on how to make life along the river less sleepy and dry.
By Neco Cockburn, Ottawa Citizen, January 23, 2014
OTTAWA — All public schools should be safe, inspiring, healthy, green, accessible and “community-based,” say staff working on a way to avoid fights over lists of capital projects that are submitted to the province for funding.
Staff with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board are still developing criteria to determine the order of projects on each year’s list but have a set of general “prioritization principles” as they work to increase transparency of the capital planning process.
By Joanne Chianello, Ottawa Citizen, January 22, 2014
Mayor Jim Watson christened 2014 as the “Year of Progress” in the annual State of the City address, but don’t get too excited. Any “progress” seen in Ottawa this year will be incremental at best.
Take away Ottawa’s Big Three infrastructure projects — light rail, Lansdowne Park and the Ottawa River Action Plan, all files began in the previous term of council — and the progress report reads more like the to-do list for a smaller city than our G8 capital. Consider that the most exciting new move in Watson’s Wednesday morning speech is a scheme to paint murals on the walls of Hwy. 417 overpasses. Cool idea, but hardly earth-shattering.
By Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen, January 22, 2014
OTTAWA — Members of the National Capital Commission’s board vented their frustration Wednesday over the City of Ottawa’s failure to provide more information about how it plans to meet NCC conditions for approval of a key section of the western leg of the light rail line.After a presentation by deputy city manager Nancy Schepers, board members took turns criticizing the city, accusing it of being reluctant to share information with NCC staff.
One board member even suggested that Schepers was using “bait-and-switch tactics.”
By Michelle Nash, Ottawa Community News, January 16, 2014
A new program in Old Ottawa East is encouraging new Canadians to lace up some skates and get out on the ice.
The New Canadian Learn to Skate is a free program offered through the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, encouraging new Canadians age five and up to learn how to skate.
By Alison Sandor, CFRA News, January 21, 2014
Algonquin College has signed a long-term deal with Siemens Canada that will not only save the college millions in water and energy bills, but will also give students new learning opportunities.
The 20-year multi-million dollar contract will see Siemens retrofit some of the older buildings on campus to reduce energy and water bills by up to $3.7-million per year.
