Heatwave settles on the city

Good morning,

Some sad news to start off with this week. Last Friday, my step mother Nancy died surrounded by family. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer two and a half years ago. Unfortunately, the disease finally progressed too far, and we had to say goodbye to her.

She fought hard, for as long as she could. But when it was clear there was nothing more that could be done, she faced the end with grace and dignity. The honesty, good humour, and openness with which she spent her final weeks was a sight to behold. Perhaps the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.

Nancy’s loss leaves a gaping hole in our family. We’ll miss her deeply.

Just as we did last year, the family will be raising money for Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope. Last year, with your help, we were able to raise more than $10,000 to fund research and advocacy. Someday, maybe, no other families will ever have to walk in someone’s memory for an event like this.

If you’d like to help support us, you can donate here. (All of the money goes directly to Ovarian Cancer Canada.)

Now, let’s get to the newsletter.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Wednesday: 32 🌡️ 20 | 🌦/⛈️

Thursday: 33 🌡️ 20 | ☀️

Friday: 26 🌡️ 14 | 🌧

CLIMATE

Hot, hot heat

What happened: Hot, humid weather settled on the city Tuesday and is expected to stick around until at least Thursday. Environment Canada issued a heat warning, with the humidex expected to settle between 37 and 42 over the coming days.

• Looking to cool off? Ottawa Public Health has an interactive map to show you public facilities that are open for use.

Be careful: As always during the heat, it’s best to stay cool. If you can stay in an air-conditioned space, that’s best. Try to limit outdoor activity, and be sure to drink lots of water. For information on the signs of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, see this guide from Ottawa Public Health.

Not the highest: Despite the high humidity, don’t expect any daily records to be broken. Highs are only expected to be between 30C and 32C. The records for early July are all about 34C, CTV reported.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🥁 21: The number of big festivals in the region this summer. [CTV]

🌞 6: The number of weather records Ottawa broke in June, including most days with smoke (nine days) and highest maximum temperature on June 1 (35.1C). [Ottawa Weather Records]

OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN

🐴 A woman in the rural west end has retired her Clydesdale horse who once pulled a carriage at weddings. Drivers along March Road are speeding too much and have become too aggressive for her to take her horse to nearby dirt roads to practice pulling the carriage. [CBC]

🍔 The local favourite Jean Burger along Route 105 in Wakefield has reopened under new ownership after closing in 2021. [CBC]

🚒 A woman in Blackburn Hamlet was saved by the fire service’s rope rescue team, after she fell about 7.5 metres down a rocky embankment. The woman suffered serious injuries in the fall. [CTV]

🏛️ Only four candidates signed up for the byelection to fill the empty Kanata-Carleton seat in the provincial legislature. [CBC]

🍫 A local chocolate maker in Aylmer said with the 20 to 30 percent rise in price of cocoa beans, she’s had to change her business focus and raise prices. [CBC]

🐷 A hog on the lam was adopted by an OPP officer after some of the officer’s colleagues found the runaway pig on Highway 401 near Maitland, Ont. [CTV]

HEALTHCARE

Carleton Place ER forced to close overnight again

What happened: The emergency room was closed overnight at the Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital again Monday because of a nursing shortage, the Ottawa Citizen reported. Patients were forced to go to hospitals in the surrounding area in the event of an emergency.

Small shifts: The department runs with shifts of only two nurses, CTV reported. The hospital told the broadcaster that if one nurse could not come in, the hospital doesn’t have a large enough pool of staff with the proper training to open the ER safely.

Pressure wave: The closure of one ER ripples outward, putting pressure on other facilities nearby. Wait times at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, one of the suggested alternate ERs, were higher than usual.

Fixes? The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians is calling on governments at multiple levels to step up to make sure rural hospitals have enough resources to manage during the summer, typically their busy season. Among other things, Canada has some of the lowest rates of hospital beds per capita in the industrialized world.

Ottawa Public Health launches vaccine push

What happened: The city’s health authority is running a series of childhood vaccine clinics this summer to get kids up to date on their shots, the Ottawa Citizen reported. Ottawa Public Health is running the clinics because vaccine-preventable illnesses, like measles and whooping cough, are rising in the country among children.

The problem: Many children in the city missed some of their regular immunizations during the pandemic. Some shots given during school were postponed a year, and family doctors have become harder to come by. Vaccine hesitancy, often fuelled by online misinformation, has also led to a global dip in vaccination rates.

• If you’d like to find a pop-up clinic near you, regional health units for Ottawa and surrounding areas have teamed up with a website here.

HOUSE OF THE WEEK

This one is a little outside of town — about 95 km — but we think it’s worth it. It’s not often you get the chance to own your very own island. This one in Quebec has some major upsides — solar power, a separate sleeping cabin for guests — but also some down sides, like a composting toilet. But, it could be your very own island.

Check the listing here to see if you can afford it.

THE AGENDA

⚠️ OC Transpo said Pimisi Station was closed down during Canada Day because other levels of government didn’t want it open for safety reasons. Turns out those safety reasons were the basically brand-new station isn’t built to handle crowds, according to Ottawa Police. (Your newsletter writer wondered if this was why the mayor keeps suggesting other sites for a new Sens arena.) Mayor Mark Sutcliffe tweeted walking from Lyon Station to LeBreton was a “great way to get around.” [CTV]

🚍 …Struggling to keep buses or trains running on time, OC Transpo is restarting its fare enforcement program, which had been shut down since the start of COVID. Officers will be out demanding riders show proof of payment and issuing fines of $150. [CTV]

🚂 Fear not Bluesfesters, Pimisi Station will stay open during this summer’s music festival. [CBC]

🚨 Cornerstone Shelter for Women has had to turn away 360 people looking for shelter this year because it doesn’t have the capacity to deal with a large spike in domestic violence in the city. Intimate partner violence charges were up 10 percent last year in the city, and related charges were up 13 percent. [Ottawa Citizen]

⚖️ Three police officers who shot and injured a man were cleared of wrongdoing. The provincial Special Investigations Unit said their use of firearms was justified because the suspect fired first. [CBC]

🦖 A piece of dinosaur street art stolen from Somerset in Chinatown was returned Tuesday morning after being stolen overnight Friday. [Ottawa Citizen]

🥕 This week, city council committees will look at expanding zoning rules to allow for grocers to open stores in more parts of the city. [CTV]

💰 Today, a GST rebate will roll out from the federal government as part of its measures to lessen the blow of inflation. How much you might get depends on the size of your household and your income. [CTV]

🩺 Tick-borne illnesses are on the rise in the region, thanks to climate change. As the region warms, more and more ticks are making eastern Ontario their home. [CTV]

🔍 The cold case of a woman found dead in 1975 has finally led to the woman being identified and a man charged in her murder. [CBC]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• If you’ve got leftover, unused fireworks from the weekend, please don’t throw them in the garbage. The city said you should contact police for proper disposal. (Used fireworks should be soaked in water for a day, then can be thrown out normally.) [Twitter]

• Until September, Colonel By Drive northbound will be closed between Clegg and Hawthorne for construction work. [NCC]

• This probably isn’t how OC Transpo strategy meetings go, but maybe… [Reddit]

• Sad news, the Mastermind Toys on St. Laurent is closing, it does offer the opportunity for some deals, though. [Reddit]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Contact our partnership team for more info.

CAPITAL EATS

Beloved bar still serving up a great burger

Capital Eats is written by our food editor Ralf Joneikies.

To all burger lovers out there, you just knew I had to get around to talking about this beloved ByWard Market local.

It had been years since I’d eaten there and what a welcome return it was. The burgers and fries are as good as ever and the fact that your meal comes with a side salad and a bright, uplifting dressing, is an unexpected bonus.

At first I was unsure that I’d finish the plate. There must have been a third of a pound of beef in that burger and with slabs of cream cheese and bacon as toppings, it felt a little overwhelming.

The meat was seared to my perfect done-ness which meant it was pink. Not bloody, just pink and this allowed for a bigger beef flavour to dominate. The fries were the thinner Belgian style and it suited me to the ground. Perfectly fried, they provided that satisfying crunch while still giving up their sweet, potato marrow.

Read the rest of the article.

SPORTS

🏈 The Redblacks expect quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will return Saturday after a year out with a broken leg. [Ottawa Sun]

🏒 The Ottawa Senators are still trying to move Alex DeBrincat, but the winger’s demands seem to be holding up any deals. [Ottawa Sun]

🥅 Defenceman Travis Hamonic has resigned with the Sens on a two-year, $2.2-million deal. [Ottawa Sun]

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to everyone who got last week’s Ottawa Wordle. The answer was SMOKE, which you can probably guess why (all the smoke).

For today’s Ottawa Guesser, do you know where this is? The first five people to respond get their names mentioned in the newsletter.