Mark Buzan has a fun post breaking down some of the myths / misconceptions / stereotypes about living in Gatineau : ** ** You can imagine the reaction of many of my anglophone friends and colleagues who, residents of Ontario, ask me “WHY WOULD YOU LIVE IN GATINEAU”? ...

CTV is the latest local media outlet to make cutbacks to its newscasts. The Ottawa Citizen [ reports ](http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Business/cuts+local+insert+from+Canada/1387014/story.html) : ** ** CTV Television has discontinued the local news inserts that were part of the Canada AM morning show, but the move will not result in any lost jobs in Ottawa. ...

CBC is reporting that “A” (formely A-Channel, and before that The New RO, and before that CHRO) has cancelled the 6:00pm and 11:00pm newscasts. (The morning show, however, will continue.) Employees were called to a meeting this morning, and were told that the newscasts - and their jobs - were gone effective today. ...

Our rant of the day today comes from Alec Saunders, who’s upset about not being able to buy tickets for the Leonard Cohen show at the National Arts Centre: ** ** That TicketMaster has a monopoly on the sale of event tickets in North America is not in dispute. ...

A few recommended links on today’s Obama visit in Ottawa: ** ** * John W. MacDonald's collection of photos: " [ What does this day mean to you? ](http://www.johnwmacdonald.com/blog/2009/02/obama-what-does-this-day-mean-to-you.html) " * Scott Feschuk's [ running diary of Obama's visit, as seen from his sofa ](http://blog. ...

Ottawa’s new baseball team has a name: ** The Ottawa Voyageurs. ** Here’s the press release . First they asked the public to vote on the name, and now they’re asking fans to submit ideas for a team logo. (via The unofficial Ottawa Voyageurs blog ) ...

** It’s Barack Obama Eve in Ottawa. Here’s what people are talking about today online: ** * Bruce Ward [ invites Obama to make a public appearance ](http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Bruce+Ward+presidential+appeal+Give+some+face+time/1300301/story.html) : "So please, Mr. President, give us some face time when you get here tomorrow. ...

Looks like Ottawa has caught Obama fever. Here’s a round up of blogs and news from around the web today, in advance of his visit to Ottawa on Thursday, February 19. We’re just waiting for Mayor Larry to proclaim Thursday “Obama Day” in Ottawa. ...

Here’s a cool Ottawa-based site that lets you estimate the cab fare between two locations. It’s called Taxi Me . For example, the cab fare from City Hall on Lisgar Street out to Scotiabank Place is about $55.77. ** ...

** The Globe and Mail has an article today about the preparations for Barack Obama’s visit to Ottawa this Thursday, February 15. Here’s an excerpt: ** The advance team — having followed the pre-advance team and joined by a massive security detail — will even now be racing around the nation's capital, finalizing scripts and scenic touches like a movie crew. ...