Hello, fellow Forest City folks, and here’s the warmest of welcomes to London Ontario Online News, the tiniest and most fun news outlet here in Canada’s London.
Please encounter your weekly local news ROUNDUP, offered by me as a public service and consumed by you, I hope, to your benefit as leaders of this tremendous city. And, well, it’s a big Friday, with mere hours to go before we know the final list of candidates for mayor, council and our school boards. It’s Deadline Day at City Hall and we are watching closely. If Ryan Gosling rocks up at 300 Dufferin with a sheaf of papers in his hand, we will let you know.
And this remains London, Ontario, with a river so good they named it the same way twice, and where the City wants to dub part of Downtown the River District, per this thoughtful piece by Kendra Seguin at CBC London. I’m in.
Anyone for tea on the lawn?1 May I press you to a cucumber sandwich?
Oh dear.
Let’s move along with a selection of the news that equips you to lead.
Starting with your background noise:
Soundtrack of the week
We must remain calm. It’s tempting, in our excitement about major events, to report them breathlessly, and here at The Loon we seek a responsible, sober2 approach. So, as we experience Friday together, let’s turn to one of my favourite songs to establish a vibe.
The embed should soothe you with quirky Irish indie pop until you click on something else. Remember the ROUNDUP is designed for skimming, and best read more than once. At least, that’s what I want you to do…
And please tell your network about this free weekly service.
Community Living London
Here’s a quickie3 that feels positive: the Community Living London strike, which went to mediation this week, is confirmed as over.
It’s been three long months and a sometimes-bitter dispute, so I hope everyone can feel good about the outcome and move on. Here’s a story from CBC London, with more details.
Election 2026 - tick tock tick tock
And here’s the big news of the day - it’s the deadline for candidates to file. There will be SO MUCH REPORTING around this, so look out for a simplified guide to it all, likely coming your way on Wednesday and currently taking shape in my half-poached-egg of a brain.
Right now, much of the freshest reporting takes the form of holding pieces - something that will be superseded later, such as this from CTV. Most of the content will emerge after the deadline at 2 p.m. today, Friday, and your local government news service (this) will scoop & serve4 it for you later.
If you just decided to run for mayor, you have about two hours to gather 25 signatures and $200. Good luck!
Anyway, here’s a great Ward 1 guide from Andrew Lupton at CBC. He’s been working his way around the city with these and it’s informative stuff.
And, a major City Hall-related story from Daryl Newcombe of CTV London today:
This important piece of reporting will have an impact on our city for some time, I suspect, noting the involvement there of very strong candidate and incumbent councillor Skylar Franke, who has been leading the conversation on this issue.
Let’s look at other important local news now.
London International Airport in the news
I’m happy to have an opportunity to highlight our local airport twice this week. Keep watching the skies this weekend and you will know there’s an air show on! Also here’s the air show website with lots of details.
The London Free Press, who had a successful week that shows the value of having a local daily newspaper, offers this excellent guide, with photos.
And, also at the airport, Rock the Runway has made some changes. The successful music festival is limiting audience numbers, among other issues. The only reporting on this was from the London Free Press.
Commercial break
Why was I not informed about the official 980 CFPL ice cream? Somehow I missed this, though it was all over the radio - blame my lack of an actual commute now.
Anyway, I was at Merla Mae and saw their sign for this incredible thing, so I asked my pal Devon Peacock5 about it. He explained the idea is to replicate the buzz of a morning coffee, which I am open to.
But, wow, this is more complicated than the background to a Marvel movie:
Some strong pun work from Devon’s Instagram there. And isn’t that awesome? Gotta love local ice cream places and Merla Mae has been part of London for a long time. I’m so happy to see it partnering with local media in a fun way.
But I’m not eating that.
Back to work now.
Housing
This is an important issue, and Norman De Bono of the LFP has a great story about a Downtown housing project in which the Wyatt Building, at 300 Dundas Street, is to be converted to housing.
Traffic and neighbourhoods
Again, it’s the Free Press, talking about traffic calming here. There’s a grabby headline about motorsport but the basic idea is to change a road layout to slow down traffic.
Jobs and the WSIB in London
Here’s one worth noting, because, although it seems to be good for London, it’s having a negative effect on other communities, including in the North. It seems the WSIB is centralizing jobs in London, which means cuts in other locations.
London’s reporting takes a regional view, in the London Free Press here:
Union warns of over 400 job cuts as WSIB moves to close regional offices
Affected workers are being offered relocation, including to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s London headquarters.
Education
The lights went out at Western University and that’s not a good look at this time of year, when people are choosing their next steps in education. Here’s that local paper again, this time with words from Allison Young.
And this story is kind of almost education... It asks the most London Ontario question it is possible to ask: what high school did you go to? From CBC London, a local history project6 is gathering yearbooks, with the story here.
This fairly warms the cockles - I love it.
Healthcare
Jane Sims at that LFP, among others, has been providing an update on the LHSC difficulties, which now involve the OPP. Again, showing the value of a local paper (even if it is owned by big biz), this selection is based on who wrote the best story with the material.
You can read Jane’s story here.
Lightning round
And it’s our alligator sandwich of news bites:
Shake Shack coming to town. LINK
The Forest City Film Festival will welcome Jay Baruchel to its opener. LINK
Andrew Lawton MP wants to hear from you on bad cell reception. LINK
And this tariffs story, which trended high on the BBC this week, quotes some Londoners. This London, not that London. LINK
Local storytelling
Don’t miss Larry Cornies’ latest audio blog post, Missing Monuments, which is embedded below. It talks about public art in London, telling the story behind People and the City, which is near One London Place. Cedric also shared this on Tuesday and it’s worth a second share. Thanks for your understanding.
Enough
For reasons I still don’t understand, my family celebrated National Potato Day this week. This clearly American “Hallmark holiday” would normally irritate me but this one involved potatoes7, which made it good. I always say you have to find the little pleasures in life, and these tatties were not little.
So, whatever days you may celebrate, I hope your week was well-supplied with carbohydrates and you get the weekend you deserve. I’m off to look for Ryan Gosling at City Hall or, failing that, to take some photos of the flowers, which are lovely.
We’ll be back with more from The Loon next week, always celebrating our community and the best of its local journalism.
Have a fab Friday!
- Mike
EDITED TO ADD THIS PS: Steve Cordes is incoming later today with his Reflections and a special guest star - not to be missed!
Wow, you kept reading really far.
The Loon (London Ontario Online News) lineup
New content every day!
We’ve teamed up to send you a new feature every weekday:
Monday - Buckle Up - podcast with Matt Brown - SPONSORED BY HAMILTON ROAD BIA
Tuesday - Ward Tours with Cedric Richards - SPONSORED BY LONDON BICYCLE CAFÉ
Wednesday - City Hall Notes by Mike Donachie - SPONSORED BY SPERO LAW
Thursday - the Forest City Arts and Culture Roundup by Diana Tamblyn - SPONSORED BY DOWNTOWN LONDON
Friday - Reflecting, with Steve Cordes - SPONSORED BY OLD EAST VILLAGE BIA
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.
I’m proud to be a member of the Board of Directors of Eldon House, which you should totally visit again soon.
sssshhhh
Often, when a double entendre sneaks into my writing, somebody will message me to ask if I know what this or that means, actually, because it’s a bit rude. I can confirm I am quite aware whenever a big one pops up, thanks.
I have ice cream on the brain.
Feel old now? Yeah, fair.
Boil ‘em mash ‘em stick ‘em in a stew