It’s a snowy January, and we’re back to stressing about who clears the sidewalk while sliding sideways in an SUV, and everybody’s arguing about public oversight again. Here are some stories I was interested to encounter this week.
King Street, London, on January 12, 2026. Credit: Gogerr, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Art for art’s sake, or cash in the attic?
The CBC’s Colin Butler is clearly on to something with this report saying 30 grand of art is hanging on the walls of local schools. Good story, but look at the school board - that’s Thames Valley, the public board. I bet the dashing Mr. Butler is awaiting a Freedom of Information reply from the Catholic Board, too.
Remember this one? When some trustees from the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board popped over to Italy with $100,000 to buy art, it caused a fuss. I’d love to know what’s hanging around London. God, Mammon, etc.
Banging on about books at Beal
Did you read the reporting about “censorship” at H.B. Beal Secondary School? The first one was this, from the Freeps, which includes this line:
He wrote, in part, that the board’s move “has the net outcome of censorship.”
In part. Net outcome of. Sidling up to the word there… and suddenly it’s all over the news.
Now, it breaks my heart to see a book lost, and I appreciated this story from CBC that showed there are alternatives. But that initial Free Press report, from Heather Rivers Davey, is balanced and refers only to a “censorship debate”; later the same writer follows up with another good piece adding context from an expert that makes it clear this isn’t a bonfire of banned books. This was not before it had become London’s latest fuss, though, with the Minister stepping in, a now-sidelined trustee saying, somewhat redundantly, that they didn’t know, and even a live Q&A.
This is Very London Ontario - a nine-day wonder driving clicks to media outlets and making little-to-no difference in the end. Somebody does their job well and everybody else follows, because clicks and eyeballs keep the news biz alive. For me, there’s also a public interest test - what does our community need? It probably wasn’t all this. Here’s CTV reporting that small businesses are establishing their own recycling collection because the City is not. Good use of bold type here, I think. See also my post yesterday about garbage in the snow.
And this week at City Hall
The folks on Dufferin work on a five-week meeting cycle, kind of, and this week it landed on the the snappily-named Infrastructure and Corporate Services and Strategic Priorities and Policy committees, phew. I was there for two items: the Cross Cultural Learners Centre development fees discussion and the Hamilton Road BIA fraud, and here’s what I wrote.
Elsewhere, you can find an update on the plan to put homeless people in sheds in a field, somewhere far, far away. I’m unsure how our unhoused neighbours are surviving the current weather, but soon they will be able to move to (checks notes) Cheese Factory Road. To be clear, I’m uncomfortable with the plan (scroll down for words from Christina Rossetti) but at least there is a plan. Let’s keep watching.
The Great Reptile War is over. I don’t really understand the legal stuff but it seems to suggest you can go to Westmount Mall to touch reptiles and, ew, no. People like what they like but… no. Have fun without me.
And former mayor Matt Brown, on his podcast, talked about downtown and ec dev and related issues with London Chamber of Commerce’s Graham Henderson ahead of the other big meeting around the council horseshoe. I didn’t see further coverage of that meeting, but will add any I find - I’m sure I saw footage of Graham speaking. This is an important issue without not much noise, and there’s our reporting gap at City Hall, in my professional opinion. Let me know what you think.
And there’s a roundup. Is it a waste of time? Might continue, might not, but I would love to hear any feedback folks may have. I know I’m missing some reporting - lmk.
Happy weekend!
- Mike
Thanks to the awesome Diana Tamblyn for picking up my mis-spelling of Beal. In my defence, I grew up watching Ian Beale on Eastenders.
I already can’t wait for the next roundup
Excellent update! More round up than a port Huron wal mart