This story has been updated to include (at the end) further responses from the Ottawa Public Library which did not arrive by press time for the printed edition of the BUZZ.
Centretowner on the wrong side of the Ottawa Public Library’s digital divide
Category: April 2021
Cambridge Street Public School needs to find more students
Alayne McGregor With the increased preference of parents for French immersion, a Centretown elementary school is losing students and could be in danger of closing – despite the fact more students are likely to move nearby in the next few…
FoodWorks gives chef new direction
Jack Hanna You would expect FoodWorks, a non-profit business teaching job skills to youth, to change the lives of street kids. After all, that’s the whole point. But the Centretown social enterprise has also given a senior Ottawa chef a…
Heritage Skyline: What’s behind St-Marc’s teetering tower?
Robert Smythe A catastrophic structural failure is threatening the Eglise Unie St-Marc’s stone tower. After cracks began to appear last year, an investigation revealed that it was in imminent danger of collapse. Heritage work orders were issued by the city…
HighJinx helps their neighbours practically and directly, skipping the bureaucracy
Alayne McGregor HighJinx celebrated its 10th anniversary this March, providing non-bureaucratic, practical help to people in need, supported in part by selling vintage collectibles to those who can afford them. The Centretown social enterprise is located at 290 Kent Street,…
Bank Street closure helped hard-hit local restaurants
Alayne McGregor This story is slightly expanded from the version in the printed BUZZ. Closing Bank Street on Saturdays last summer was a success, says Downtown Bank BIA executive director Christine Leadman. “It supported those businesses that were the hardest-hit,…
Somerset Ward: Vaccines, town hall on long-term care, and more space to walk
Catherine McKenney It has now been just over one year since we have been apart from our loved ones and from each other. We need to keep this up a while longer until we are vaccinated. But the warm weather…
Broken street mural to be replaced by BIA
Part of the “We gon’ be alright” street mural at Bank and Lisgar blew down March 12. The Downtown Bank BIA, which had commissioned the mural, said the base of the hoarding was rotten in several areas and the high…
New ideas for Rideau Canal? Can it reach its full potential as an outdoor paradise?
Alayne McGregor How can the Rideau Canal reach its full potential as an “outdoor paradise”? That’s the question Parks Canada is asking Canadians. It’s released a draft management plan for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, including the section in Centretown,…
Ottawa Women’s March goes virtual – and local – May 1 to 8
Alayne McGregor The Ottawa Women’s March moved the 2021 march up by two months to try to beat the pandemic. But it wasn’t enough. The group’s event, May 1 to 8, will be online, highlighting a diverse range of issues…
Comment: Child care is not a labour of love
Amanda Quance I have a dirty secret to tell you. It’s a lie that has been told over and over and so often that I sometimes thought it was true. Child care is not a labour of love. It is…
Centretown Community Association report
Jack Hanna Help a local business Here are some concrete things you can do right now to help a shop or restaurant make it through the pandemic and give them a boost. First, write a Google review. “Google reviews are…
Dalhousie Community Association elects new board, learns of new potential neighbours
Archie Campbell The Dalhousie Community Association (DCA) held its first Annual General Meeting in nearly two years on April 7 by Zoom call. More than 70 persons joined the meeting. The highlight of the evening was two presentations about the…
Living within your 15-minute neighbourhood
Stephen Thirlwall Making a conscious effort to get to know your community better is always good. In the future, it may become a necessity. The current pandemic has shown us that sometimes we may have to rely heavily on nearby…
MPP report: Community solidarity and evidence-based decisions are needed to stop the spread of COVID-19
Joel Harden Like many of you, I was shaken by CBC’s interview with Dr. Michael Warner, head of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Michael Garron Hospital during the Easter long weekend. “Four floors below me,” he said, “Patients in…
Corso Italia LRT station starting to take shape
The new Corso Italia LRT station is currently under construction in the LRT Line 2 trench just north of Gladstone Avenue. Here, a worker applies anti-erosion spray.
The Good, the Bad, and the Bumpy: shouldn’t disabled people get priority?
Ryan Lythall By now, most of us have heard about the ongoing issues in trying to book an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Although I’ve tried, I haven’t yet been able to book an appointment. As a person who…