Happy Friday, Londoners - it’s time for your ROUNDUP! We’re closing out a week of local news with this FREE briefing that gathers the stories you need to be an informed community leader. Thanks for being one of the good guys1.
Welcome to London Ontario Online News, where somehow - in the blink of an eye - this has become a team of five committed Londoners providing you with new content every day. This week, like your ROUNDUP, it’s all free, and on Monday we expect to find a toggle somewhere in the background and turn on the Canuckibucks. Stick with us because we think it’s good stuff and worth a wee bit of money, even in These Times.
First, a personal note. Massive thanks to:
Matt Brown, with the Buckle Up podcast on Mondays to wake us all up
Cedric Richards, unstoppable cyclist and storyteller, here on Tuesdays
Diana Tamblyn, determined to promote our best in arts and culture on Thursdays, and among them in her own right
And Steve Cordes, respected community leader with reflective thoughts on Fridays. Steve’s first post is coming this afternoon2, and it’s about homelessness and public services.
You can find more about our lineup at the end of this post. These people agree that London deserves more voices and they share my values. I could not be more proud to be a co-owner of the Loon with these four.
Please be ready to support us next week. We are so grateful to everyone pledging - this is your moment to make sure local independent journalists have the resources to tell stories in our community.
And, getting down to business, this remains London, Ontario, where there is still a great deal going on but - fear not - because here’s a consumable, skimmable guide that will make you look sharp in a bar tonight3. I’m Mike, and this was all my idea, which still astonishes even me.
Let’s go.
Soundtrack of the week
This week I’ve been glaring at a patchy lawn that needs to grow, and that made me sing this song to myself a lot. It features Scotland’s own Shirley Manson4 and is your soundtrack of the week. In a fairly Scottish twist, we did get some rain and there’s more due next week5.
Gimme some of that World Cup fever
And, of course we are hoping for good weather and the best success for Canada in the opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina this afternoon as the World Cup begins. (That is definitely my focus, and not the tie between Scotland and Haiti on Saturday6.) It’s an exciting time, and you can find the full World Cup schedule here.
There are so many World Cup stories around! Two local media outlets felt the need to provide Where To Watch stories - LFP and CBC - on top of this story about the economic benefits of local World Cup fever and even a World Cup ticket scam warning from the cops.
(Having seen the ticket prices, I suspect the biggest scam is the actual event, but ok.)
Anyway, there’s lots to digest and, if you read one story about FIFA and the World Cup this tournament, I suggest it should be this one. That’s The Guardian’s chief sports writer, Barney Ronay, whose thoughtful and important column includes the following:
“Here we go again, still drooling at the spectacle as the clock ticks closer to midnight, dazzled by intrigue and drama, out there worrying about Djed Spence’s defensive capacities while the world burns.”
Let’s move on to some news that doesn’t involve futba7.
Road safety
There’s another concerning incident of a car crashing into a building in London. With multiple casualties and events moving quickly, we are following along. Here are the first hits from LFP and CBC, which should keep you in the loop. Those affected are in our thoughts.
In a separate incident, a two-vehicle collision left a pickup truck crashed into a home in south London. Here’s reporting by CTV London. We know from this CBC reporting in January that vehicles hit buildings in London, on average, five times per month.
More community mailboxes coming to London
I want to share a little bit of news I picked up, but doesn’t seem to be reported anywhere in detail. This CBC story talks about Canada Post’s ongoing Community Mailbox Program, in which more folks will no longer have front-door delivery and will instead have to walk down the street to a community mailbox.
That story has a list of codes, which I fed into my A.I. assistant, Uncle Philip. He replied:
The postal code areas included in London cover parts of the city’s south, southwest, and southeast. This includes neighbourhoods such as Old South (N6C), White Oaks and surrounding communities (N6E), Lambeth and nearby southwest London areas (N6L), and Westminster and the southeast edge of the city (N6N).
It’s worth looking into this, if your postal code is on the list. And I suppose you should keep a close eye on your mail, too. Bound to be something from Canada Post in there soon.
Moving on.
Support for drug users
Drug consumption sites will close this weekend. Not sure what to say about this. It’s really clear this will have human consequences. I’ll keep reporting on it.
Local government - Downtown in the spotlight
Updating your local government media service, which of course includes the fulsome City Hall Notes post I delivered on Wednesday. That’s the one with the Triffids.
And we have a few more hits this week, especially the MA-HOOSIVE story about the Downtown Plan and what’s next for our city’s core. We’ve done this dance a few times with mixed effects, but there’s no denying this is a crucial moment for London’s downtown. Reporting from LFP and CTV London.
As expressed by Daryl Newcombe at CTV:
The report recommends four “big moves” that will be the focus of the 58 part action plan:
Developing a ‘River District’ at the Heart of the City
Elevating Downtown London’s Key Public Spaces
City of Music Canada
Establishing a Nimble Downtown Governance Structure
Opinion alert: I’m delighted to see a mention of culture in there. Art for art’s sake, and it’s also really good business, done right. Let’s have a party8.
And more on our changing city.
Berkshire Village redevelopment
A somewhat alarming story in which tenants seem to believe their homes will be torn down. It’s here from CTV London.
Municipal election
I owe an update to the MEGAPOST, with candidates just trickling in now. And I note this big story about a former LTC chair running for city council. That’s quite a turnup - I’m sure she will have lots to say about the state of transit in Canada’s London.
Fire Station 15 opens in southeast London
This was a happy event, with a few dignitaries from City Hall. Here’s a CTV London report.
Blessed, blessed rain
Education
Fanshawe College, amid many cuts, retains its truck driver training program. This story notes difficulties in that sector and promotes Fanshawe, which is fair enough.
And there will be cuts at TVDSB. Story is here. That’s 31 roles in early childhood education and newcomer support. The union has some comments worth a look.
Healthcare
Nearly at the end now. Remember you can jump to headings of interest.
All positive stories in this area this week:
And Kristylee Varley at CTV London has this story about a new scanner, the first of its kind in Canada.
And the Lightning round
Community Living strike latest: the strikers helped a man who was overdosing, according to this story.
From CBC London, a compelling story by Kendra Seguin. This is about daycare provision.
We had another sinkhole, this time at Wellington and Central.
Charges laid after an alleged robbery at Masonville Mall involving bear spray. Story from LFP is here. I see a few versions of the alleged alleged details alleged alleged and have gone with Dale Curruthers, who seems confident it was bear spray. All details to be proved in court, as usual, and allegedly allegedly9.
And they’re ready to welcome corporate jets at London International Airport, according to this CTV story. Lmk if you see any on the scanner app.
Enough
How long have you been following this nonsense? Welcome, to all our fast-arriving new followers, and special thanks to anyone who’s been with me for the long haul. I hope you’re enjoying some good change.
I’m astonished to realize I’ve been doing this for about five months and now other people are joining in. I couldn’t be more excited to get involved in a project, because this is making a real impact on the community (and I can do it part-time while I seek other work).
Thank you again, both to those who are helping now and to those who are ready to jump in. We’re figuring out column sponsorships and happy to hear from you on that, too. More info coming soon.
And that’s quite enough from me. Time to let Friday happen. I have a pile of books and a World Cup on the telly, so I plan to set my problems aside for a few days and decompress. See you next week for further shenanigans.
Remember: an umbrella can go up a chimney down but it can’t come down a chimney up10.
Stay dry.
- Mike
The London Ontario Online News lineup
New content every day
We’re teaming up to send you a new feature every weekday:
Monday - Buckle Up - podcast with Matt Brown
Former mayor Matt Brown and a special co-host will set up your week every Monday.
Tuesday - 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.
Confident in my own authority there. Happy to write you a note if you need one.
RECUSAL: Here, I find myself in an ethical conflict because Steve’s first post mentions London Cares, an organization I recently supported through my main job. This is awkward - we expected something like this to happen, and have been developing procedures for it, but didn’t expect to use them on the first week. Thank you to Matt Brown for stepping up to provide editorial oversight while I have recused myself. Our team of five will continue to support each other in this way.
Not like that, weirdo.
Here’s the Shirley Manson deep cut. Shirley’s earlier band, Goodbye Mister Mackenzie, absolutely rocked. Here are the songs Goodbye Mister Mackenzie and The Rattler. Warning: earworms.
“If all the books in human history were laid end-to-end, it would still be raining in Glasgow.” - Billy Connolly
Our group includes Brazil. Again. We have a saying: “home before the postcards”.
In the west of Scotland it’s fitbaw. Bizarre people there. I don’t know what to tell you.
It’s just really important that I can sit quietly in the corner. Also no hugs.
This word is magical.
My kingdom for a copy editor.
Look at you grow!