london

Municipal Politicians Need to Open Up

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Dear London-area politicians, You need to open up more. WAY more. The lack of communication we get at the municipal level is abysmal. Compare yourselves to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin, MP Tony Clement, former Toronto Mayor David Miller, or MP Glen Pearson, and you’ll see the difference between your approach and … Read more

Joe Fontana’s NOT Twitter Account

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I was interviewed this morning by Deb Van Brenk at the London Free Press after a short online spat with the City of London’s Communications Dept on Twitter. Basically, here’s the gist of what happened: Yesterday afternoon several people, including myself, noticed that @londonsmayor had been re-registered by someone after former Mayor Anne-Marie DeCicco-Best had changed her … Read more

‘Ignite London’ Goes Tonight

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I’ll be doing an Ignite Talk at Ignite London tonight. It’s happening a Gigs’ Grillhouse – doors open at 6:30pm, things really start up at 8:00pm. If you’re coming, I hope to see you there and I really hope my talk on MuniFibre gets you thinking about the possibilities!

St. Joseph's "Catholic Values"

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Disclaimer: I was “born” and raised Catholic. Baptized at about 1 month of age, have been through four of the seven holy sacraments, “lost the faith” at around 15 years of age and never looked back. Best decision I ever made.

I know this story is several months old now, but it isn’t too late to talk about it. St. Joseph’s Hospital and London Health Sciences Centre embarked on restructuring the hospital system here a long time ago and both hospitals say they are very well “integrated” now. Cliff Nordal, the current CEO of both hospitals, had a significant role in this restructuring.

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Exactly how ass backwards is London?

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Please forgive the slightly crude blog title, but there really isn’t a better way to ask that question when I’m feeling the way I am.

The classic car on my street
Photo by plousia

London implemented a pilot project last summer that supposedly cost $140,000. The project? Letting people park overnight on city streets. The $140K cost comes from the apparent revenue loss of parking tickets that are normally issued to the poor saps caught leaving their vehicles on the road in the middle of summer.

A lot of people loved being able to leave their cars on the street. House parties, people too drunk to drive home or hail/call a cab (admit it, you’ve been there!), or a simple lack of parking in your driveway or on the lawn. The reasons you may need to leave your car on the street are numerous.

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