When Brenda met Sherri… Giving, receiving, belonging: The Buy Nothing spirit in Old Ottawa East DIANNE WING Sorel boots, roof-top mounted bicycle carrier, mint green hoodie, kitchen calculator, utility sink with faucet, books, large globe ice-cube maker, wooden kitchen canisters, doll seat, projector, paint-by-number kits, candles, Bunnykins plates, red tablecloth, garden tools, vintage sewing machine….
JOHN DANCE PHOTO The Mainstreeter takes the pulse of the neighbourhood… Local residents are pleased but not fully satisfied with outcomes of the Greenfield/Main/Hawthorne project As the five-year $46.5M rebuild winds to a close, those living in the area cite major improvements in infrastructure – but traffic and design irritants remain a cause for concern…
JOHN DANCE PHOTO Citizens from across Ottawa rallied to protest the Lansdowne 2.0 plan but to no avail as the controversial project was given the green light by City Council. Pro-Lansdowne Mayor, Councillors unfazed by risk factors, debt load in approving Lansdowne 2.0 project JOHN DANCE The massive Lansdowne 2.0 (L2.0) plan is proceeding despite…
OUR OLD OTTAWA EAST NEIGHBOURS Cold comforts and warm welcomes… OOE resident John Goldsmith cruises the Northwest Passage from Nunavut to Greenland JOHN GOLDSMITH As a last-minute spousal replacement, I joined a 17-day voyage from Kugluktuk, Nunavut through the Northwest Passage to Greenland aboard the Ocean Endeavour, an Adventure Canada expedition that promised to be…
Provincial funding finally secured to finish the Au Coeur d’Ottawa school expansion Funding delays have reshaped the plans for Au Coeur School’s enrolment will more than double the student body from 224 to 489 children, but construction of new housing adjacent to the Deschâtelets Building could complicate completion of the school site JOHN DANCE…
Are they the foulest of fowl? Canada Geese thrive along Rideau River and Canal to the dismay of park users JOHN DANCE Large, remarkable and adaptable Canada Geese are becoming increasingly numerous along the Rideau River and Canal in Ottawa. Park and pathway users must dodge and step carefully when they approach the massive birds…
Former city manager calls recent support for Lansdowne 2.0 ‘over-the-top hyperbole’ Ottawa Unlimited’s open letter to the Mayor and Council cited as “…the extreme limit of exaggerated local boosterism.” DAN STANKOVIC If there was one document published so far this year that earns my award for the most over-the-top hyperbole, it would have to…
Ottawa’s Golden Age of baking – the lost bakeries of Old Ottawa East How Old Ottawa East’s three bakeries – Morrison Lamothe, Walker’s, and Ideal Cake – turned our community into Ottawa’s breadbasket for much of the 20th century. LEFT: This 1943 newspaper ad from the Ottawa Journal promotes Walker’s Bread as deliciously fresh and…
City proposes 50 percent increase in height along OOE’s major streets From the June 2025 Issue JOHN DANCE The City of Ottawa proposes to increase allowable building heights on Main Street, and Hawthorne and Lees avenues by 50 percent by amending Old Ottawa East’s secondary plan. The proposed changes would increase heights on Main Street…
