See the 8 day forecast at the ottawan weather

HELLO OTTAWA

Heritage Ottawa is holding its first ever online auction to raise money for its walking tours and public lectures.

There are dozens of weird and wonderful items on the block: from an Overnight stay at Lord Elgin Hotel to a garden shed built by Algonquin College Heritage Carpentry and Joinery Students to four vintage silver Canadian Provinces Coat of Arms brooches and one stick pin.

All bids must be in by Saturday. 

Coming in tomorrow's newsletter: What to do this Family Day Weekend. 

– Martha and Darren

TODAY’S LINE UP

•  Food + Drink Update
•  Ottawa Stats
•  City Hall Agenda
•  What Ottawa is Talking About
•  Events
•  Deals of the Day

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FOOD + DRINK UPDATE

•  Hot Cross Buns are back, and True Loaf Bread Company has them until April 13 (repeat: Hot Cross Buns are back!)
•  Camp Fortune’s nameless new pub opens Friday. Suggest a bilingual name for the space and you could win a prize.
•  Snow Day returns to Dominion City Brewing this Saturday, an event that brings a host of outdoor games and activities, bonfires, great beer (and cider, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks) and food by Meat Press, Cheslock’s Sugar Bush, Top Shelf Preserves, and Almanac to the brewery. 11:00 am to 5:00 pm on February 17.
•   Peter Hum at the Ottawa Citizen went to vegan outpost St Elsewhere in Chinatown and was not quite sold on it. ‘St. Elsewhere made us some good plant-free dishes, others needed work — or cheaper prices.’
  
  As part of a thing by Postmedia to round-up old articles and present them as new, the Ottawa Citizen has collected everything Hum has written on ramen and pubished it as the search engine friendly ‘Where to eat ramen in Ottawa?’. Over the past few years, Hum reviewed Kinton Ramen, Kimonos Ramen & Poke, Jinsei Ramen, Ramen Isshin, Paper Tiger Noodle Bar, J:unique Kitchen, and Sansotei.
•  Ameya Charnalia at Eat the Strip makes Darren so happy with news that Mellos Coffee Shop is still in business. Darren dropped by for breakfast at the 60 year-old institution a few years back – and found it shut up tight. Chalking it up as another business felled by COVID-19, he never went back. Charnalia paid $10 for his coffee and omelette.
•  In Ottawa Life, Jordan Pizzuti found ‘bliss’ at Korean cuisine Table Sodam on Bank Street but was initially taken aback by the purple rice.

OTTAWA STATS

Ottawans of the Day

• Mya Sharpe, Isabella McLean, Aila Thompson, Ava Acres, and coach Gord Butler
• – Team Acres took home the bronze at the Canadian Under-18 Curling Championships against Nova Scotia last Saturday. Québec took the gold. (Dan Plouffe in Ottawa Sport Pages)

Quote

• “

• Not the other three in Ottawa

• – The retort of Member of Provincial Parliament for Carleton, Goldie Ghamari, to Ottawa Carleton District School Board Chair Lynn Scott’s complaint that ‘there are many school boards in the same situation that we are’ at a fractious pre-budge consultation meeting. 
  
  Ghamari had pointed out that Ottawa’s Catholic School Board received funding for a new school six months after the Ottawa Carleton District School Board did, and that the aforementioned school has already opened. Ghamari also mentioned that the Ottawa Carleton District School Board has a trustee taking it to the human rights tribunal, and that the former school bus head is also suing for wrongful dismissal.
  
  (Barrhaven Independent)
  
  ➕ Related Students have launched a $200 million class action lawsuit against the Ottawa Catholic School Board over the handling of a teacher convicted of sexual assault.

Sports

• 🏒 NHL Ottawa Senators 6 – Columbus Blue Jackets 3 last night

CITY HALL AGENDA

What’s going on at City Hall

Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee
Thursday, February 15 at 9:30 am

• Presentation – Emergency Management program update
• Employee status of rural firefighters
• Enhanced false fire alarm strategy
• Status update on towing and storage regulations and provincial regime
• Status update – Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee inquiries and motions for the period ending February 6, 2024

📋 Agenda

WHAT OTTAWA IS TALKING ABOUT

📻 Bell Media Layoffs

•  Stuntman Stu, Angie Poirier, and Janel Steeper have all been laid off as Bell Media cancels the Move 100.3 FM morning show. The lay offs are part of a massive cut back by Bell Media across its hundreds of stations. All DJs on the station – excluding Katherine Dines from 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm – are now syndicated from Toronto or Los Angeles.  (Ken Warren in the Ottawa Citizen)
  
  ➕ Related A commenter on Ottawa Bulldog says ‘Stuntman Stu should apply for the Ottawa Night Commissioner gig’. 

🏎️ Wellington Street

•  The Director of Traffic Services has released his report on Wellington Street in front of Parliament and comes out in favour of traffic. Philippe Landry was directed by City Council to report on Wellington Street options after the City reopened it to cars last year. The study finds that removing parking spaces would result in fewer spaces to park as well as finding that transit that uses Wellington would not be able to use Wellington. Pedestrians would be at risk due to an increase in conflicts with motorists who have to drive somewhere other than Wellington. (David Fraser at CBC) (Executive Summary of the report) (Report to the Transportation Committee by Philippe Landry)

🏒 The Sens

•  Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly has been suspended for five games after cross checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig in the head Saturday. Grieg had slapshotted a goal into the empty Leaf’s net with only seconds on the clock when the Sens were already winning. Hockey culture considers showboating as a breach of decorum that can be remedied only by violence. (Canadian Press)

☀️ Climate Change

•  The Weather Network has bad news on two fronts. First, it says that the warmer winters are not just because of El Niño but of longer trends. Five out of seven of Ottawa’s warmest Decembers have been been since 2001, with last December coming in fourth. It expects Ottawa winters to be 2° to 6° warmer by 2100. Secondly, warmer winters mean multiplying mosquitoes. Cold temperatures kill off many mosquito – and tick – eggs over the winter. Warmer weather means more will survive until summer. (Weather Network)

🚒 Ottawa Fire Services

•  A report from Ottawa Fire Services recommends that its 473 volunteer fire fighters be upgraded to ‘casual’ city employment. Volunteer firefighters – who work in rural Ottawa, while urban areas get full time staff – are paid $18.93 per hour for around 10 hours per week. Making them staff would give them employment insurance, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and vacation pay. The change would cost the City around $500,000 per year.
  
  Incidentally, the City is currently recruiting volunteer fire fighters at stations all around the City. And after you picture yourself in a heroic pose and consider applying, checking out the physical ability preparation guide hopefully won’t douse your passion.
  
  (Joanne Laucius in the Ottawa Citizen) 

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EVENTS

Is there an event we should know about?
Please use our easy event submission form
 

❤️  Today

•  Registration closes tonight at 11:59 pm for the Gatineau Park Loppet this coming Family Day Weekend.
   
•  Haven’t made a Valentine’s Day reservation yet? Biagio’s just might save your day. There are limited tables available for the late seating at 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm.
   
•  Filmmaker Cheryl Foggo’s film John Ware Reclaimed screens at the Ottawa Public Library Main branch at 2:00 pm. John Ware was the Black cowboy who settled in Alberta, Canada at the end of the 19th Century.
   
•  There’s a sweet Pop-up happening at Top Shelf Preserves today (526 Gladstone Ave). Find lovely treats and florals by Little Jo Berry’s, Baroque Blooms, and Top Shelf Preserves.
   
•  The NAC Orchestra has compiled a live Valentine’s Playlist of romantic music. The program includes selections from Felix Mendelssohn, Gustav Mahler, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Messo-soprano Wallis Giunta sings three songs from Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus.
   
•  Overflow Brewing’s Beer Lover’s Dinner coincides with Valentine’s Day, in a six course meal n and beer pairings extravaganza. $84.75 per person.
   
•  Kanata Theatre’s production of the suspenseful drama Mauritius continues at the Ron Maslin Playhouse until February 17.
   
•  Tickets are available for the romantic comedy It Had To Be You tonight through February 17. Gladstone Theatre.
   
•  Undercurrents Festival shows: Blood Offering, Keep Mars Red
   

•  ByTowne Cinema: Sometimes I Think About Dying, Amélie - 4K restoration, My Bloody Valentine

•  Mayfair Theatre: The Braid (aka La Tresse), Casablanca, Moonstruck

  Gigs

•  Valentine Jazz Night with Edra Silva. Queen St. Fare

•  Taproom Trivia. Stray Dog Brewing

•  Lynn Miles & Band. Irene’s Pub Restaurant

•  Craig Cardiff. Rainbow Bistro (limited free tickets at the door)

Tomorrow

•  Burlesque, Drag, and Comedy. Check, check, and check. Club SAW welcomes the Sequins & Soul cabaret of Black burlesque.
   
•  The OPL Nepean Centrepointe branch’s Teen Anime and Manga Club is for kids aged 13-18 who love to discuss their favourite games. 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
   
•  Tonight’s presentation of French Movie Night / films en français at the OPL Main Branch is the 2015 dark comedy Lolo.
   
•  Ottawa Art Gallery’s regular Thursday Happy Hour gets an update with Winterlude-themed cocktails, mocktails and bites from the culinary experts from Le Germain Hotel. 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
   
•  Love on the Rocks musical theatre cabaret settles in for three nights at LIVE on Elgin.
•  Undercurrents Festival shows: Malunderstood, I Don’t Even Miss You, Chasse au Trésor
   
•  ByTowne Cinema: Four Daughters, Ciné-Club d’Ottawa: L’Innocent
   
•  Mayfair Theatre: The Braid (aka La Tresse), Once Within A Time
  
  Gigs
   
•  Chris Murphy of Sloan, Fanclub Wallet, Chemical Club. Rainbow Bistro (limited free tickets at the door)
   

•  Lonesome Ace Stringband. Red Bird

•  The You & Mes, FORX, 86 It. House of TARG

•  Comedy Night. Pour Boy

Friday

•  Muslimfest presents Soul Flame, a theatrical production of stories from Palestine and Sudan. Canadian Museum of History, Laurier St, Gatineau.
   
•  Meet new friends or reconnect with your besties at Queers and Beers at Lowertown Brewery.
   
•  If you just can’t get enough of Taylor Swift, Overflow Brewing is the place to be, with the Swift Me Away Dance Party.
   
•  Love on the Rocks musical theatre cabaret continues at LIVE on Elgin.
   
•  Undercurrents Festival shows: I Don’t Even Miss You, Malunderstood, Keep Mars Red, Chasse au Trésor
   
•  ByTowne Cinema: The Promised Land, The Zone of Interest
   
•  Mayfair Theatre: Ru, How to Have Sex, Big Shark

  
  Gigs

•  Blingo Night. Pour Boy

•  The Barrow Gang. Atomic Rooster

•  Serpent Corpse, Fractured, Barrow Wight. House of TARG

•  Born Ruffians, Neon Ghosthouse, Dunner. Rainbow Bistro

•  The Playlist. Montgomery Scotch Lounge

•  Brutal Play, Altoona, Summit Drop, Sprout, The Lackeys. Dominion Tavern

Just Announced / Now Booking

• Laugh for a good cause this Saturday (February 17) at the Citadel Canine Society Comedy Show, starring Rick Currie and Bobby Knauf. The Society provides PTSD service dogs to Military Veterans and First Responders at no cost to them. Advance tickets $25 hduchess@rogers.com or pay at the door. Bridge Public House, 1 Donald St. 

•  Time is running out to purchase a ticket to the Community Breakfast for Volunteer Ottawa (8:00 am to 10:00 am on Thursday February 22). You have until this Friday (February 16) to secure your place at the event, which offers the opportunity to enjoy a light breakfast, mix and mingle with others who love volunteers as much as you do and learn how Volunteer Ottawa's programs and services support the community.

•  Art and music festival Pique is back with a multi-day Spring edition, bringing groundbreaking international and Canadian artists to the Arts Court in downtown Ottawa from March 8–10, 2024. Pique is a seasonal showcase of underground and avant-garde performance, visual art, and more. All ages are welcome.

DEALS OF THE DAY

BUT, ONE MORE THING ...

Sarah Psaradelis at A to Zed Animals has a great list of the creatures who live in the Ottawa River. There are 85 species of fish, the largest North American frog, the American bullfrog, 17 species of freshwater mussels, and mudpuppies. For some unfathomable reason, Psardadelis did not list them in alphabetical order.

RAPID RESPONSE QUALITY CONTROL