MacDonald

When Sudbury city council voted 12-1 to fire Ontario Ombudsman André Marin a little more than a year ago, no doubt, they felt certain that no matter how much bad press they would have to endure, at least they would be rid of him.

It seems like forever since the Feb. 25 city council meeting, and nothing is on the schedule this week or last. But there's still plenty of drama at Tom Davies Square.

Debate this week on a proposal for a $4.7 million therapeutic pool in Azilda’s Lionel E. Lalonde Centre was a perfect illustration of why residents may want to take a hard look at how our local government operates.

Justin Trudeau brought his star power to Gloria's Restaurant in Sudbury on Friday, chatting with diners excited to see Canada's most popular politician, a man whose personal fame dates back long before he was elected to the House of Commons in 2008.

It’s easy to understand why someone who owns hundreds of acres of rural land would want to split it up and sell it to someone looking to build a house. Or why residents on a busy street want four-way stops to interrupt traffic.

If you live long enough, the Irish saying goes, this world will break your heart.

If anyone thought the acrimony between city council and Mayor Marianne Matichuk was going away, a testy exchange at the May 28 meeting proved otherwise.

Most anyone who has lived in Sudbury for any length of time has good memories of Sudbury Arena. I remember watching a young Randy Carlyle and, later, Mike Foligno play for the Sudbury Wolves.

In hindsight, the fact city councillors decided to drop Ontario Ombudsman André Marin as their closed-door meeting investigator shouldn’t surprise anyone.

The day I interviewed city staff about the city’s snow plowing network just happened to be the same day we were hit with the first major snowstorm of the winter.