Hello again, Londoners! How’s your week? You must be sick of hearing from me by now, but nevertheless here we go with CITY HALL NOTES, my weekly guide to all the important issues from London City Hall in particular and our local government in general, which forms the Wednesday1 column for London Ontario Online News.
My name is Mike and I am very tired because wow, what a week. I hope our five days of FREE offerings from the new team are tickling your fancy in ways you enjoy, and you are ready to give us cash money on Monday. We make no apology for this, for the children must eat, lest they eat each other. At this little media startup, nobody’s getting rich but we want everybody to get paid, even if it’s just a little bit. We’re probably asking for $10 a month, for content every day.
Enough vulgarity. We are led by the public interest, guiding more than 200 community leaders through the issues that matter. This is journalism written as a strategic communications briefing, which means we’re all on the same team and nobody’s here to farm you for hate-clicks. In this age of A.I., misinformation and outright lies, a trusted voice matters. And, as inhumanity surrounds us, we will tweak the nose above the jaws of death and remain human in our approach2. There is no alternative.
The Day of the Triffids
While we remain positive and avoid gloominess, I have to let my inner Gen X show on this one. This week, local media reporting from City Hall has been screaming INVASION as everybody talks about the plants we do not want. Yes, we have a problem with incomers, and it’s not just the Scottish people3.
You might start with this story from Jack Moulton at the Free Press, which features the excellent idea to start licensing businesses that sell invasive plants. That’s just a study for now, and was suggested by a citizen advisory committee. That’s local government working well. Props to frequent City Hall presenter Dr. Brendon Samuels, who popped up again this week with great comments at committee.
Want to know more? Here’s a good explainer, again from the Freeps.
Meanwhile, separately, there is a warning about the horrible giant hogweed. (The gist: stay away from it, it burns, it’s a bit like a Triffid4.)
Also, there are the rats. Here’s 10 minutes of chat between CFPL’s Mike Stubbs and Councillor Hadleigh McAlister, about the ongoing attempts to deal with that particular Biblical plague.
Wow, what a place. Let’s move on.
Housing developments
One notable feature in this week’s media is the spotlight falling on a couple of London developments that should do something for the housing problem.
Reimagine Southdale, where new public housing is being created, attracted dignitaries including Mayor Josh Morgan for an event reported by CBC here and CTV here.
And the Society of St. Vincent de Paul London gave tours of its 73-unit development. Here’s a report from the London Free Press and another from CTV.
Planning and Environment Committee
We’re still picking up all the reporting after the Planning and Environment Committee on Tuesday, which ran long and had a break in the middle for a confidential discussion among councillors. However, the theme remains infill developments and the stories that are already emerging show the usual narrative: communities are showing up to object, or at least to try to mitigate the effects of a development.
There was a bit of that this week, notably with a proposal for 17 houses replacing a former church on Richmond Street, near Western University. Local councillor Sam Trosow spoke against it at the committee. Jack Moulton of the London Free Press has written it up well here.
For me, the telling piece was the community voice. There were many contributions from residents, seemingly frustrated at having fought a similar fight in 2013, and with legitimate concerns about details such as access. One presenter said he had documents on the issue dating from 1943, while another actually said the words “I rest my case” at the end of his comments. This was a passionate crowd, and they’ll be watching when Full Council makes its final decision on June 23.
And that’s not all. Here’s another Jack-of-the-Freeps story, this time about an eight-storey apartment plan in the northeast of London. This had an amazing 16 presenters line up to attack, and local councillor Peter Cuddy was against it, along with everyone else, including the mayor. This will also have to pass through council.
And there were more. Send me any reporting you see, and I’ll keep picking up what I can, as time allows. There are some biggies on that planning agenda where we need closure, I think.
One further story - Ward 7 Councillor Corinne Rahman has opinions about residents’ voices on developments, and makes a pitch here for a better process. That’s an interesting story, and a good one for a councillor effectively switching wards (as mentioned, she’s now a Ward 5 resident due to boundary changes, and she’s running there).
The Municipal Lightning Round
Let’s try a striking new thing, and gather some local government stories this way:
Don’t miss this story about massive investment in local sewerage capacity. That’s CTV London.
Over at the Craig Needles Podcast, they’re talking about failure on homelessness.
And Councillor David Ferreira is welcoming changes to safer supply. LFP story is here.
At CBC London, Kendra Seguin has this story about night-time street cleanups coming back.
And Councillor Peter Cuddy had a ridealong with bylaw officers and it’s featured in this LFP story. That’s also a public housing story.
Enough
Goodness me, that’s a lot. I still see holes in it, and of course I have the ROUNDUP on Friday to add anything else that comes along.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading any of this. The whole team is on tenterhooks to see how our launch goes, and we will report back. Honestly: I have no idea how this will go, because it’s never been done before.
The only answer is to do it.
That’s it from me. I’ll sign off with our offering, below, and be back on Friday with a ROUNDUP.
Look out for Triffids.
- Mike
The London Ontario Online News lineup
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Monday - Buckle Up - podcast with Matt Brown and Mike Donachie
The weekly podcast to set you up for the week ahead. News – construction – weather – nonsense. Former mayor Matt Brown, our Executive Editor, leads this and will bring in more guests over time.
Tuesday - Cedric in the City - tour with Cedric Richards
Join City Editor Cedric Richards on a tour of London’s 14 wards by bicycle, beginning with Ward 1. Supported by Mike Donachie.
Wednesday - City Hall Notes - news and more - by Mike Donachie
Your Executive Briefing For Informed Citizens, looking at the issues, decisions and discussions shaping local government.
Thursday - the Forest City Arts and Culture Roundup - by Diana Tamblyn
Our Culture Editor shares news, perspectives and stories from London’s creative community.
Friday - Reflecting - with Steve Cordes
Opinions Editor Steve, retired non-profit leader and video blogger, offers views - his and others - on the week we’ve had.
And free on Fridays: the ROUNDUP, briefing you on the stories you need to know, gathered in one place. Regular analysis of the issues affecting London and the region.
The official soundtrack to this column is Wednesday Week, by the Undertones.
This is me trying to justify the piss-taking, but I’m not sure if I’m sticking the landing.
Only I can make this joke. If you do it, it’s racism. Fun!