Hello, leading citizens of Canada’s London, this smoky city where - I think - grey skies are gonna clear up, put on a happy face, and meanwhile we absolutely will pay attention to what the hell is going on. Hi.
This is your local news ROUNDUP, provided free, gratis and without charge to the community by me1 and by London Ontario Online News, our little media startup that now actually exists as a company and is powering ahead in a number of terribly grown-up ways2. See below for an exciting update on sponsorships and stability, and otherwise I’ll continue burbling as usual.
And this is London, Ontario, the place where we exist together, along with the squirrels, geese, racoons, coyotes and other humans3. There are half a million of us, incredibly, and we’re sharing the experience. It’s my belief that a group of well-informed leaders can change that experience for the better. Here’s a shilling. Stick with me - glad to have you aboard.
Soundtrack of the week
We could do with easing into the weekend gently, I think, so here’s some background music from New Order. It’s got some energy but should keep us nice and level as we read on.
Five sponsors - one for every day
And, before we go any further, let’s celebrate a milestone for The Loon - a complete lineup of sponsors! Today, we are thrilled to announce that all five days of our content have local sponsors supporting them.
Monday - Buckle Up - podcast with Matt Brown, SPONSORED BY HAMILTON ROAD BIA
Tuesday - Tour 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
These sponsors are supporting The Loon because they recognize that, as local news becomes harder and harder to find, staying informed about the issues that affect our community has never been more important. We are grateful for their support. It is allowing us to build the foundations we need to build to make the work that we do sustainable.
London Ontario Online News brings together London voices to deliver fresh content each weekday. Through podcasts, articles, video features, and in-depth analysis, we cover the civic decisions, local issues, arts and culture, and community stories that matter most.
You can help too. A subscription to The Loon gives you more than news - it gives you the insight to understand your city better while helping sustain independent local journalism for the future.
Support local news. Stay informed. Subscribe to The Loon.
Wildfire smoke
Let’s get to this week’s big news. It’s unmissable and everybody’s talking about it: the smoke from wildfires up north has been filling the air. As with big events - look at my recent pith about weather stories, for example - I’ll highlight some important aspects with a list of links and resources.
And, let’s start here: this is destroying communities and causing pain across the North. Here’s a CTV story about evacuations and more.
Climate change and current events
Going with our national broadcaster for some basic information with good context. Here, from CBC, are recent stories about:
High temperatures across the region - 37.3 in downtown Toronto
And, a wider story about El Nino and its expected effects - ‘no joke’
And, for a discussion about climate change with local expert Dr. Carol Dyck, we offered our EXTRA yesterday:
Effects on life in London
Aside from the air being horrible, the current environment and concerns about health risks have disrupted local life, especially in relation to outdoor events. I saw bars take to socials to say they had closed their patios and would bring patrons inside.
The most high-profile effect was closing down Rock The Park. Here’s the music press on that. And here’s a local report from CTV. Hopefully the sky will clear and allow the rest of the show to go ahead.
And there are more difficulties mentioned in that same local CBC story above, including the City of London suspending recreational programs and a local ban on open-air fires.
BREAKING: here’s an update from the City - cancelling more programs.
Carney’s London announcement - armoured cars
Another major story worth highlighting: Prime Minister Mark Carney was in London this week to announce a $2B defence contract. This will see Canada buy 190 armoured vehicles from London company General Dynamics Land Systems and will bolster those well-paid local jobs.
Here’s a CTV report that uses content from the Canadian Press (which will have been available to media across Canada, showing the reach of this story).
And here’s how it was covered by CBC and the Free Press.
Backyard Chickens
Updating your City Hall news, as begun in some depth with Wednesday’s regular City Hall Notes column (sponsored by Spero Law) here.
And I chatted about one of those issues on CPFL 980’s Morning Show with Devon Peacock, which has already been converted into this podcast:
That’s the full hour with more issues; Spotify gives you chapters if you click through. We’re talking about the Carfax move - ostensibly to Westmount Mall - and also we get into it about Daylight Savings Time, which was fun.
And let’s not miss my fave story of the year so far: pet poop recycling! It does indeed look like we’re going ahead with this 1,900-household pilot, collecting pet waste in green bins, and here’s reporting from the London Free Press and CTV. It’s possible this could be the apex of local news reporting: the perfect issue. I’ll keep an eye on it.
Oh my.
One other City Hall story: Daryl Newcombe at CTV London has talked with Ward 12 candidate Ribal Zebian, who’s an engineer solving problems. In this one, he’s pitching an A.I.-powered City Hall4. The story can be found hereabouts.
Lightning round
STUH-ruck:
United Way Elgin Middlesex has new leadership. Here’s a London Free Press story with Executive Director Kim Tetley saying they will target poverty and housing instability.
Ron Sapsford is the new board chair at London Health Sciences Centre, a local institution with recent troubles, where new leadership is working to lead change. CTV story here.
House of Hope latest: London Cares Executive Director Chris Moss and Mayor Josh Morgan were on the Craig Needles podcast to discuss homelessness services. Episode is here.
Enough
That should bring you up-to-date5 pretty well.
When we’re providing services at The Loon, we like to think of the notional commuter - the person living and working in London, seeking to lead well. Whether you’re at home with your cats6 or chatting at the IRL watercooler, we feel it’s important for you to be well-informed about your city and life in it. So there’s a ROUNDUP. Goodness me.
Here’s what you can do: support us. If you feel there’s value in an independent local news source, please consider subscribing, sponsoring or otherwise helping us. Because we are ruled by evil algorithms in these times, any interaction with our posts is useful. Please consider sharing with your networks, especially if you have a newsletter or something similar. We’re not led by clicks but every eyeball7 helps. Thank you!
That’s us. More news will emerge as Friday continues to Friday in our direction. We’ll stick with it at The Loon and keep bringing you the briefings you need.
- Mike
And now our full lineup - with a sponsor for each and every day. Thank you, all!
The Loon (London Ontario Online News) lineup
New content every day
Monday - Buckle Up - podcast with Matt Brown, SPONSORED BY HAMILTON ROAD BIA
Tuesday - Tour 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 should do this more often, but you can find out about me and my main job, a consultancy called Kenmore Communications, at my website here. The Loon is a side biz we’re building, designed to be a community resource. Ask me - I can talk about this stuff for hours!
Adulting is tough. This week I renewed my drivers licence and health card and I swear it was my biggest victory all week. Celebrate the wins.
I now have you generating your own wry comments, don’t I?
Once, I would have fired a sub-editor for this type of hyphen crime. Ochone, ochone
This is me. You wouldn’t believe how rarely I have to tie shoelaces.
The eyeballs are merely metaphorical, Dr. Lecter.