July 13, 2026
Good morning, London. I’m Matt Brown and this is Buckle Up. Your weekly update about all things London brought to you by London Ontario Online News, That’s The LOON for short.
Listen to this week’s Episode:
Buckle Up, Monday July 13:
If you’ve listened before, you know that every Monday morning, I co-host this program with a member from our team, or a special guest, to give you the information you need to prepare for the week ahead. Speaking of special guests, Today it's Susan Toth, one of the partners over at Spero Law, and so much more.
On this podcast, Susan and I discuss:
The mayor of London is asking his colleagues to explore a 2 year pilot project that would see The City of London, not London Police Service, hire and supervise 11 Special Constables at the cost of $2 million per year.
(Daryl Newcombe from CTV London covered this here.)
A new, $5.8 million, winter response program that city staff is asking council to consider. Interesting fact, the proposed strategy come in $2.8 million higher than council approved during their most recent budget update.
(Daryl Newcombe from CTV London covered this here.)
City Staff are recommending against a planning application that, if approved, would bring a large amount of office space to Westmount Mall, potentially counter to the plans council has for London’s downtown.
(Norm Debono wrote about this in the London Free Press.
Construction, what’s happening around London - including Rock the Park - and more.
Congratulations on your decision to subscribe to The Loon, whether that be paid or unpaid at this point - thank you for; Listening, Reading and Watching. Haven’t subscribed just yet? You can, by clicking here:
By being a part of this you are investing your time, and in growing numbers your treasure, to support this local news start up because you see the value of the work that our small but mighty team is doing to keep you, and other community leaders, up to date. Thank you for that. You can also help us grow by sharing this with your family, friends and colleagues.
I’d like to extend my gratitude and offer a big thank you to our 3, brand new, show sponsors who have joined our 3 month pilot sponsorship program.
You might recall from last week that Spero Law came on board to support Mike’s City Hall Notes and, the week before, Downtown London signed up to support Diana’s Forest City London Arts & Culture Round Up.
Late last week, London Bicycle Café made the decision to support Cedric’s 14 Ward Tour across London. That means, only Monday and Friday remain available - drop us a line at: LondonOntarioOnlineNews@gmail.com if you’d like to learn more. As always, you will know what’s editorial and what’s an ad, and we will be clear about these relationships.
And, remember: every dollar strengthens independent local journalism. We’re grateful to every sponsor, subscriber, sharer, and everyone else.
Many thanks!
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
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
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 Loon Sponsors:
