editorial strategist – educator – creative solutions
The city of Ottawa could be forced to open supervised drug injection clinics if the province says to — much like it did back in 2007 with the safe inhalation program for crack addicts. “City council voted to end the crack pipe program and it was ended. And then the province stepped in and forced […]
MoreSupervised injection sites enable addicts and will bring more drugs into the city via ‘no-go’ zones where drug laws won’t be enforced, says the co-founder of Safer Ottawa. Chris Grinham, who helps clean up spent drug paraphernalia cleanup in Lowertown, predicts a five-block radius will be filled with dealers, who’ll start carrying a low supply. […]
MoreThe sister of Ottawa’s latest murder victim feared for Leeanne Lawson’s life on Ottawa’s Lowertown streets. “The area that she was living in, I’ve been there,” Melissa Sauder told the Sun, adding she’s visited Lowertown twice in the last three years. “It was scary. I came in there with my fairly nice car,” she said. […]
MoreLeeanne Lawson usually wrote letters to her sister. When four months went by without one, her sister knew something was up. “This summer I was so worried, because it never goes that long,” Melissa Sauder said. “Something wasn’t right.” Her worst fears were confirmed around 7 p.m. Friday when police told their mother her sister’s […]
MoreA two-day prostitution sweep netted 18 arrests in Lowertown and Vanier, but Ottawa Police say it’s not an issue specific to downtown neighbourhoods. “We find prostitution across the city,” said Insp. Uday Jaswal. “A lot of it is driven by poverty, addiction.” Police arrested 18 women Wednesday and Thursday, laying 44 charges. Prostitution isn’t illegal, […]
MoreA Lowertown resident wasn’t surprised to hear gunshots ringing out in her neighbourhood Sunday night. “There was a good six or seven (shots) the first time we heard them,” said resident Melyssa Rondhuis. Ottawa police received several calls around 11 p.m. from Beausoleil Dr. and York St., just east of King Edward Ave. Rondhuis said […]
MoreSEE VIDEO http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2011/01/11/16849516.html Ottawa Public Health is getting two million dollars from the province’s Healthy Smiles program. That means up to 10,000 local children from low-income families can access free dental care at public clinics. And that’s good news to people who consider visiting the dentist a luxury. “I really need to clean my teeth […]
MoreSEE VIDEO http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/12/07/16464231.html King Edward Avenue is a graveyard for drivers and pedestrians, according to a group of Lowertown residents. “Every year for the last five years there’s been somebody killed on King Edward Avenue or near it,” said Marc Aubin, chair of the King Edward task force . And now, they’re launching an anti-speeding […]
MoreJerry Pool spends just two hours a night sleeping. Anymore than that and he might miss something. “We have a lot of problems with drugs, prostitution, a lot of unwanted people that come into the building,” he said. As head of his building’s neighbourhood watch, Pool patrols the halls of Lepage Manor in the city’s […]
More
Kelly Roche - Storyteller 