Happy Friday, everyone! Welcome to London Ontario Online News, and the weekly local news ROUNDUP, your free collection of good-to-knows that support engaged London Leaders. Thanks for signing up and following along!
And this is London, Ontario, where feelings are running high and much of the city seems to be grumpy. It’s clear the municipal election is on many minds, and it’s been an increasingly fractious affair in the last couple of weeks as various folks wonder what might happen on Monday. We live in challenging times and this election has reflected that at every stage.
Here at The Loon, we’re committed to sharing good information and battling misinformation and disinformation - all in the public interest. So we’ll suppress any inherent grumpiness and continue to equip subscribers to make strong decisions that benefit our City and the people here. And we’ll share some storytelling that will help, we think.
Soundtrack of the week
First, a little background music. Thanks to Cedric for stepping in to handle last week’s ROUNDUP, and for sharing a Metric song that stuck with me much of the week. Very good Cancon there, and let’s have more from as-Canadian-as-it-gets band The Tragically Hip.
That’s a nice noise to keep in our ears as we stay calm and measured on this fabulous Friday. Thanks and all that.
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Let’s take a look at what’s been hoppin’ and poppin’ in London this week.
Election 2026 latest
If we can bear any more of it.
So very wearying, the municipal election is almost over and done with, and let’s give thanks to any deity that may be of comfort right now. The various characters in this huge, complicated drama continue to push hard, with one weekend left before voting day on Monday, October 26 and clearly an unshakeable feeling that every vote will count. T-minus three days and all that.
The Loon will be there at the big moments, of course. Look out for us popping up in election coverage in partnership with some of those bigger media orgs, and you know you can expect plenty from us on the outcome next week.
For now, let’s see what we can do about the confusion. We can’t tell you what will happen next, but we can probably provide some clarity as you think about it. And, in this, we have the enormous local benefit of a CBC newsroom in our community.
CBC London has made a simply wonderful guide to the election here, in a neat package organized by mayoral, ward races and so on. As you know, Cedric and I enjoyed a summer touring wards and writing/podcasting about them, but this CBC content is a great, up-to-date snapshot of now, far exceeding what our resources will allow. My hat is off to them - what a great service.
If you click one link before you vote, it’s that CBC guide. That’s public interest journalism right there.
And there’s more
Yes of course there is. We know I could share story after story and all kinds of resources, and we also know we all have a problem we call TOO MUCH INFORMATION. As others have commented, it’s quite late in the day for new information; most voters are processing what they have, or are already in a spot to make a decision.
But the campaigns keep making announcements. Some are gaining more traction than others, but I suspect few of them are doing anything more than confirming decisions that voters have already made.
Try this:
Garbage collections back in the news
Josh Morgan challenges Susan Stevenson on her garbage proposals. That’s a hard sentence to write; these are proposals about garbage collection. Reporting from Jack Moulton at the Free Press. Somebody buy that hard-working man a pint.
Or this:
Soccer, hotel and Swiss Chalet
CTV News’ Daryl Newcombe has this report on plans for White Oaks Mall in south London.
Is this a City Hall issue or an election issue? It’s tough to tell the difference these days, and I had a good ponder about whether I should add it under an ‘election’ heading. It’s definitely a good news story for the local economy and business community, and a really big deal for the mall, directly tied to the revamped bus facility and BRT, a massive public project.
And, it’s worth noting the development community making an announcement alongside Josh Morgan at this stage of the election campaign. He has support there. That story names Iyman Meddoui, President of Westdell Development Corporation, the mall’s owner and developer. Also involved are incumbent councillors Elizabeth Peloza, whose ward includes White Oaks Mall, and Corrine Rahman.
Here’s what’s coming, we’re told:
FOOTLAB: Soccer training and entertainment facility.
Marriott: Planned hotel.
Splitsville: Planned entertainment centre.
Swiss Chalet and Wingstop: Incoming restaurants.
And just one more
Craig Needles’ series of interviews with candidates continues with Ward 13’s Stephen D’Amelio: LINK This has been great work and I’ve enjoyed sharing Craig’s links all through the campaign.
But do you see what I mean about TMI? And this is me resisting. In These Times, we are swamped by information and must choose well. I hope The Loon feels like a good choice.
EDITED TO ADD THIS:
Oh the humanity
I just can’t stop. More and more. Sorry not sorry, but I’m also adding this great Daryl story about Kirsten Krose and her plan for the first 100 days, if elected mayor.
I could revisit this again in an hour and I’d want to add even more. I’ll stop now.
EDIT OVER
Let’s take a break.
Mmmmm… candy…
We absolutely deserve to have some fun. Want some candy? I certainly do, and this Sunday we get some pre-Halloween fun with the Downtown London Candy Crawl. Downtown London are Loon sponsors, but I’m highlighting this because I like candy and basically live in Heroes, who shared this:
…and that looks like marvellous fun. Next week: ghosties and ghoulies and long-legetty beasties and things that go bump in the night…
I mean Halloween1, not the election.
And here’s a poster that made me smile.
And let’s move on with some newsy issues that tend to pop up, so we highlight them. Let’s run through three now.
Housing
London’s developers are busy creating new housing all over town, and here are a couple of examples of recent announcements.
Shuttered retirement home Maple View Terrace is to become more than 100 apartments, the London Free Press reports. That’s a promising project with rents starting at $990 including utilities. That’s at 279 Horton Street.
And here’s a CTV News story about housing on Sarnia Road. That’s 120 apartments, again with rents starting at $990 for some units.
Education
It’s an awful shame that the elections for school board trustees haven’t managed more attention this election cycle, and I feel like it was ever thus. Regardless, here’s a share from CBC:
What you need to know about Ontario school trustees before casting your vote
That has some good background on the issue in general.
One other education story, also from CBC:
Healthcare
And another good issue for our news-sharing. The healthcare sector touches us all, in one way or another.
There’s a new board at LHSC, and here’s wishing them well in their work to recover from recent challenges, including that legal case. We should all form hugs around hospitals. LINK
Troubling news, however, from our local top doc, Alex Summers. Our region has an increase in opioid deaths. LINK
Two more shares
Movies…
I enjoyed this Norman DeBono story in the London Free Press, highlighting local filmmaker (and son of a councillor) Sylvester Pribil, whose name looks like it would be a good Scrabble score but is in fact only 25 points.
Anyway, the Forest City Film Festival continues this weekend and I’m hearing all kinds of buzz about it. Find out more here.
And a good cause to support…
Ark Aid Street Mission has launched its BE WARM winter campaign, inviting London schools, churches, businesses and residents to organize fundraisers and collect winter essentials for people experiencing homelessness.
Donations will support emergency shelter, meals, warm clothing and outreach. The campaign includes Holiday Big Give: An Evening of Warmth, with dinner and live entertainment at Top of the Fair on November 24, from 5 to 9 p.m. Find out how to participate or buy tickets.
From The Loon
This week we’ve had Matt talking with Paul Hubert about Strong Mayor Powers on Monday, Cedric exploring Citi Plaza on Tuesday, and Diana getting Halloweeny yesterday. Steve is back with another post this afternoon, and you know we’ll be busy and visible and all the other things next week.
Buckle the heck up.
Enough
And there’s a roundup. How does it look to you? We enjoy hearing constructive feedback and have been hearing from readers more and more, as we grow. We remain part-time and will keep doing what we can, as far as resources allow, and stay grateful for all of your support. Thanks for subscribing, sponsoring, sharing and more.
As for the election, let’s just be glad it’ll be over soon, one way or another, or another, or another, or another and now my brain hurts again.
wait
Hey, did you really think I’d use the phrase “sanity clause” and miss sharing this absolute treasure of comedy?
Of course not. A Night At The Opera is 92 years old and still laugh-out-loud funny, if a little unkind in its terminology about mental health.
That’s really enough now.
Thanks for voting if you can, and for being a London Leader. This is what it’s all about: good decisions, based on real information, to benefit us all. We’ve been working hard to keep you informed, and now it’s up to you.
No pressure, eh?
- Mike
The Loon (London Ontario Online News) lineup
Local independent journalism bringing you new content every day.
Find our editorial standards and policies here.
Meet the Londoners who team up to send you a new feature every weekday:
Monday - Buckle Up - podcast with Matt Brown
SPONSORED BY HAMILTON ROAD BIATuesday - City Tours with Cedric Richards
SPONSORED BY LONDON BICYCLE CAFÉWednesday - City Hall Notes by Mike Donachie
SPONSORED BY SPERO LAWThursday - the Forest City Arts and Culture Roundup by Diana Tamblyn
SPONSORED BY DOWNTOWN LONDONFriday - Reflections with Steve Cordes
SPONSORED BY OLD EAST VILLAGE BIA
Also on Fridays: the local news ROUNDUP.
Every other Saturday: The Matt Brown Podcast. It’s the show about all things local, and maybe some other stuff too. SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE.
Still adjusting to spelling this without an apostrophe. Hello, I’m one thousand years old.