Due to the increase in traffic seen during Orientation Week around the Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo (UW) campuses, the City of Waterloo is redirecting traffic around high-volume areas.

This redirection will occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 5, Monday, Sept. 6, Saturday, Sept. 11 and Sunday, Sept. 12.

The City of Waterloo will be ensuring the ease of traffic by having additional police and bylaw officers on patrol in these...

More details pending, investigation underway

Sometime during the night or early Friday morning there was a break and enter in a student house on Hickory St. West, just north of campus at the intersection of Hickory and Hemlock. “We have detectives investigating,” said Olaf Heinzel, Public Affairs Coordinator for the...

A number of local politicians lend a hand at the new building site

Member of Parliament (MP) Diane Finley, minister of human resources and skills development and minister responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) was one of 30 volunteers that helped construct houses for Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region in Kitchener on Aug. 19.

Working on...

Ethel's Lounge along with 26 other bars and restaurants fundraise for the Multiple Sclerosis Society

Local servers were put to the test on Aug. 16, as Ethel’s Lounge held their annual relay race and fundraiser. Serving teams from 26 local bars and restaurants ran up and down the Ethel’s parking lot with trays of water bottles to raise money for...

A third candidate has entered the race for mayor in this fall's Waterloo municipal election. Dale Ross, retired business executive and Laurier alumnus, announced his candidacy against Brenda Halloran, current mayor, and Jan d’Ailly, current councilor for Ward 6.

According to the Waterloo Region Record, Ross is running for mayor because he wants to correct the city’s unhealthy financial situation. Ross is against the city’s current policy of tying municipal taxes to a special rate of municipal inflation and believes...

A fire broke out in the early morning of Aug. 2 at 66 Rankin St. in Waterloo, destroying one unit in a 12-unit commercial plaza.

Waterloo Fire Rescue responded to the blaze just after 4 a.m. and had the fire under control by 6:30 a.m.

Not unlike last April's Campus Court Plaza fire on University Ave. which destroyed businesses such as Mel's Diner, it is believed that this plaza also did not have a sprinkler system installed.

Although they are...

“Bathtub girl” to attend UW

According to the Toronto Star, come Fall 2010, one of the infamous “Bathtub girls” will start classes at the University of Waterloo (UW). In 2005, the 24-year-old freshman-to-be was convicted of drowning her mother in the bathtub of the family’s Brampton home. The Canadian sister duo were the first ever convicted of killing their mother.

Graffiti damage in Uptown Waterloo

Over the weekend, 570 News reported that Uptown Waterloo was the victim of extensive graffiti....

Peace and love was the message on July 10 for the sixth annual Non-Violence Festival in Victoria Park.

The event, held on the island in the park, featured local musicians, speakers and a small market. Attendees enjoyed the events at a leisurely pace, playing frisbee or lounging on the grass.

Matt Albrecht, an organizer of the event was happy with the turnout, saying the festival’s attendance is growing larger every year.

“We're interested in raising awareness about the power of...

After serving seven years as a Waterloo city councillor, Mark Whaley has yet to have his fill of Ward 5.

In a statement released on July 23, Whaley officially announced that he would be running for re-election in the ward. Success in the city’s 2010 election would mark the lifetime Waterloo resident’s third term as a city councillor.

As for the Ward 5 race, Whaley’s declaration also gave Zdravko Gunjevic, a newcomer to the political game, his first dose of...

“When you make me feel that I belong, when you make me feel that I matter and that I’m important, I believe that you see a change of attitude and that will be my approach to students” were the words of Edwin Laryea just days after officially declaring his candidacy for Waterloo’s Uptown – Ward 7 councilor post.

Laryea is no stranger to the political game. In fact, the longtime Waterloo resident has dabbled in both federal and municipal politics....

Calling for the release of political prisoners, crowd delivers Charter of Rights and Freedoms to MP Peter Braid

On July 7, over 70 protesters marched up King Street in an effort to raise awareness regarding political prisoners. Carrying signs and banners with numerous slogans, the group made their way from the UpTown Square, circling around to the police station on Erb Street.

With...

Speaking before a capacity crowd at Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced two major government-supported science initiatives.

The Banting postdoctoral fellowship program is a $45 million, five-year commitment offering 70 grants to researchers in all fields of the sciences each year. The grants, which will provide successful applicants with $70,000 per year, are targeted at Canadian scientists as well as in an effort to draw international talent to research in Canada.

“We want to attract,...

RIM, business leaders and local politicians welcome the British monarch

For a brief time this morning, the residents of Waterloo Region had royalty in their midst. One of only five stops on the nine-day Royal Tour, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip’s stopover in Waterloo brought the pair to Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the...

For a number of years, the area bordered by King, Columbia, University and Lester streets, known as Northdale, has been a controversial talking point for area residents.

However, a June 7 committee of the whole meeting, an evening devoted entirely to the neighbourhood, was expected to end the stalemate.

While the evening's agenda featured presentations from over 20 stakeholder delegations, the city council’s eventual decision did little to quell angst for those who call Northdale home.

Before a packed council...

On June 28, the province announced that it would be contributing $300 million towards the foundation of rapid transit in the Region of Waterloo. This initiative will include light rail transit (LRT) in Kitchener and Waterloo as well as a bus rapid transit (BRT) system stretching to Cambridge.

“It means first of all, it will help us put in place our intensification plans to try and stop rural sprawl,” said regional chair Ken Seiling, further discussing the environmental benefits.

The...