Hello Ottawa
In Today’s Edition
→ Some Presto card holders have been getting free trips on O Train
→ If you want to know how misbehaving snakes wreak havoc on a small California town, watch the 1976 horror film Rattlers at tomorrow’s Bad Night at the Movies
→ The Deal of the Day: courses at Hintonburg Pottery
– Martha and Darren
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OTTAWAN OF THE DAY
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Hoda Elatawi
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The producer has a new series for kids, which launches July 11.
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I Love Being Me, a ‘kid-ified docuseries’ featuring Ottawa kids that celebrates and normalizes the differences children may have, will premier on YouTube’s MarbleKids channel.
– Marissa Galko in the Ottawa Business Journal
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QUOTE
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We’re asking for a modern workplace, we’re asking for proper staffing, we’re asking for the right tools and evidence-based decision making, because we serve Canadians
– Canadian Association of Professional Employees president Nathan Prier, upon presenting the Federal government with a $40 billion invoice at a rally in front of Parliament yesterday. The invoice represents what the union says is ‘for the cost of forced [return to office] to workers, taxpayers, and public services’.
The Association also says the Federal government is ‘eliminating a lot of the focus rooms and the sensitivity rooms that a lot of neurodivergent folks, or folks with allergies, or folks with migraines rely on in order to support their in-office presence’.
– Matteo Cimellaro in the Ottawa Citizen
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SPORTS
⚾ FRONTIER Ottawa Titans vs New Jersey Jackals
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WHAT’S GOING ON AT CITY HALL
Planning and Housing Committee
Wednesday, July 8 at 9:30 am
- Rental Renovation Licence By-law Review
- Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment - 287, 299 Loretta Avenue South and 153, 157 Hickory Street
- 267 O’Connor Street – Public Notification
- Official Plan Amendment – Stittsville West Urban Boundary Expansion for 6437 Flewellyn Road and 6435 Fernbank Road
- S-1 Barrhaven South Future Neighbourhood
- Zoning By-law Amendment – 444 CitiGate Drive
- Secondary Plan Update
- Omnibus Zoning By-law amendments and updates on motions and directions concerning the new Zoning By-law
- Urban Design Guidelines for Buildings – Low-rise Infill Housing and Mid-Rise
- Area-Specific Development Charges Amendment - Millenium Park
- Area-Specific Stormwater Development Charges Amendment – Monahan
Agenda
Plus you can’t hold back the Committe of Adjustment, get ready for its 1:00 pm meeting.
Whose flag is flying at City Hall today? Solomon Islands
City Hall flies the flag of embassies and high commissions on their national days.
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WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT
💲 Gatineau police warn that someone is issuing fake parking tickets as part of a scam. The goal seems to be collecting personal information to be used to defraud a person in future. Gatineau police discovered the scam when someone came to pay their ticket in person. – CBC
📻 Fans of University of Ottawa radio station CHUO 89.1 are having a town hall tomorrow in a bid to save it. A student referendum last year removed funding for the non-profit station, which went dark earlier this year. But the license still exists and the Restore CHUO group invites anyone who is interested to come to Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St K1N 6E2 at 7:00 pm tomorrow. – Restore CHUO 89.1
🚊 Some Presto card holders have been getting free trips on O Train. The problem is mysterious to OC Transpo: tapping the card shows a charge of $0, looking at the card online shows the correct fare, but ultimately the money is not taken from the passenger’s account. Presto cards are run by the Provincial transit agency Metrolinx. – Ted Raymond at CTV
🏒 The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Sen Daniel Alfredsson as assistant coach. Alfredsson, who is currently the Sens’ assistant coach, holds the team’s records for goals, assists, and points after 18 years as a player. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022. – Ted Raymond at CTV
🛫 Air Canada is pushing the start of its Ottawa to Fort Lauderdale service to December from October. The reduced seasonal service is one of eight routes that have been cut back or cancelled. Blame is placed on higher fuel prices and reduced demand to US cities. For example, the Toronto - JFK and Montréal - JFK routes have been cancelled completely. – Jack McGarity at Simple Flying
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THE DAILY POLL
Do you listen to any of these community radio stations?
▪️ “I actually enjoy going to work and meeting face-to-face with colleagues. Can get a lot more work done with informal meetings.”
▪️ “Homemaker here. Used to be in-office 5d and other jobs hybrid or completely wfh. It just doesn’t make sense to RTO if people can do the same work at home.”
▪️ “Enjoying my ‘Summer of George’ while deciding what to do next.”
▪️ “I have been back at the office since COVID was over and so should the Federal government employees. They were not hired to work from home and they have had a really long run of staying at home, extra coffee runs and multiple dog walks etc.”
▪️ “I like being in the office — I think it’s unfortunate that so many public servants complain publicly about something that was very normal before the pandemic!”
▪️ “For appropriate roles working from home is at least equally efficient. It reduces stress, commuting, and overhead cost. It increases flexibility, job satisfaction, and loyalty. RTO is a lose-lose, but feeds narcissism, ego, and the illusion of control.”
▪️ “Worked 5 days a week for 35 years.”
▪️ “HAPPILY RETIRED!!!!!”
▪️ “I always work from home. (Not mostly).”
▪️ “It’s a complete shit show. Instead of focusing on delivering for Canadians, all departments are scrambling to bring in workers in offices that are sub-par... Make it make sense.”
▪️ “5 days a week in the office. Why is that lumped in with retirement? It’s pretty much the opposite.”
▪️ “Going back to the office full time to sit at a different desk every week that I’m not allowed to personalize while taking meetings on Teams is soul-killing. It feels so stupid.”
▪️ “Never worked for the Feds but I agree that MOST of the work they do can be done from home. Happier workers too. If our transit system was top notch it wouldn’t be nearly as bad but it's not. All this will do is gum up the highway and the core.”
▪️ “I’m really tired of all of the whining and complaining about returning to the workplace. I appreciate it will take time to ramp up the office space, but the commuting excuses are just that, excuses — need to think about that when you choose.”
▪️ “I’m retired but if not, it would be great to be back and having coffee and lunch and gossiping with friends again.”
▪️ “I’ve worked from home for 25 years and you can pry it from my cold, dead hands. RTO is for bad managers and people on power trips, period.”
▪️ “Going in 4 days a week to sit in a teams meeting and work on systems that I can access from home is incredibly inefficient.”
▪️ “Most PS workers were hired pre pandemic and worked in an office. Be thankful you have good pay and benefits. In other words, stop whining.”
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HISTORIC OTTAWA LOGO T-SHIRTS
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Ottawa Valley Ale T-Shirt
Long forgotten, but Ottawa’s first craft brewery was Ottawa Valley Ale, incorporated in 1985.
Help support the ottawan by buying one of our historic logo t-shirts.
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THE ROLLING THREE DAY CALENDAR
Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form
✳️ Means change from previous edition
TUESDAY
Cinema
Gigs
WEDNESDAY
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Music and Beyond Festival continues its celebration of Ottawa’s birthday with Music From Bytown: Sounds of a New Settlement at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre. (Centretown)
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🆓 Killabeatmaker combines beatbox, rap and vocals with drums, vocals, and percussion at the NAC. Bring your lunch. (Downtown)
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A Bad Night at the Movies is screening the 1976 horror film Rattlers, in which misbehaving snakes wreak havoc on a small California town. OPL Main Branch (Downtown)
Cinema
Gigs
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Restless Endangerment, Sir Kingfish, Static. House of TARG
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Free Happy Hour Show: Dave Plays Elton! The Robo Lounge
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Northcote, Thea May. The 27 Club
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Bluegrass Wednesdays with Bank and Fourth Bluegrass. Red Bird
THURSDAY
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Explore 200 Years of Music in Ottawa at 2:00 pm this afternoon as Music and Beyond Festival continues (Centretown). At 7:30 pm, Ottawa’s gifted and definitely going places violinist Kerson Leong plays works by Arvo Pärt, Johann Sebastian Bach, and others. Also at 7:30pm, Ottawa cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne performs a program of his own works.
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Create a seasonal bouquet of locally grown blooms while quaffing fine beer by Manor Park Brewing. (Manor Park)
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There’s a Canada Day do-over at the Orléans Legion, where Mark Mulligan will continue where the rain forced his show to end prematurely on July 1. (Orléans)
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Stride on down to ByWard Market Square after work, where you’ll find the Barrow Gang Buskers, food vendors, and serious good times from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.
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🆓 Come and watch comedians go out on a limb by pulling random topics out of a bucket, then riffing on them. It's all part of the four day Just For Laughs event at Pour Boy Pub. (Centretown)
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Gather your puzzle loving crew for the Speed Puzzle Competition at Royal Oak Barrhaven. You'll be racing against the clock to complete a 500 piece puzzle.
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Jody Johnson headlines opening night of Ottawa Bluesfest.
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🆓 Spies in Disguise launches the Lansdowne Park season of movie nights at 9:00 pm. Note that if it's threatening to pour down like it did on Canada Day, the event will be canceled. Check the Facebook page for updates.
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🆓 The Metcalfe Plaza comes alive with Afrobeats, Hip hop, and R&B courtesy of Ttrills, Spexialkay, and Xannie. 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. (Downtown)
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🆓 Hintonburg Night Market is all about Comics and Geeks this week. Check it out. (Hintonburg)
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Come in out of the scorching heat (or torrential downpour, depending) and settle into the air conditioned comfort of the National Arts Centre for the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl movie in concert. The Hans Zimmer score will be played by the NAC orchestra. Additional screenings tomorrow and Saturday.(Downtown)
Cinema
Gigs
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Edra Silva. Beyond the Pale ByWard Taproom
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Blues Double Bill: the Joel Depuis Band and the Justin Saladino Band. Rainbow Bistro
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Free happy hour show with Dave Draves. The Robo Lounge
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Woodshed Jazz. Motel Chelsea
JUST ANNOUNCED / NOW BOOKING
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The U-pick flowers season at Green Corners Farm opens Sunday, July 12. The farm has more than 25 varieties of flowers from which to create your bouquet masterpiece.(Edwards, Ontario)
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We were going to tell you about the Introduction to Blacksmithing course this Thursday night at Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, because who wouldn't want to learn something as cool as blacksmithing? However, it's sold out. Since several other Thursdays are also sold out, we thought we would give you a link to the session on July 18.
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🆓 VegOttawa Fest is coming back to town on July 25. Whether you're a happy vegan or considering the lifestyle, you're invited to hear the speakers, shop the vendors, and connect with local organizations. Plus: samples. (Overbrook)
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BUT, ONE MORE THING ...
Watertown Public Broadcasting System station WPBS and Algonquin’s Film and Media Production program have long had a partnership to present a collection of student films.
This year’s collection of 12 films is now on YouTube. We found out about it because The Mayfair Theatre is the subject of the final film and they mentioned it.
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RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL
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THE END
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THE OTTAWAN is written and edited every working weekday by Martha and Darren.
Is there something that Ottawa should know about? Email to us at hello@theottawan.com. We read every single comment.
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