How does yesterday’s snow fall stack up to blizzards from years gone by? We sent the question to the Ottawa Public Library’s " Ask A Librarian " service. Here’s their reply: 1 - According to Environment Canada's "National Climate Data and Information Archive" ...

Environment Canada issued a Winter Storm Warning today for a massive snow storm that’s about to hit our city. Somebody at the weather office must have had a thesaurus handy … the warning is below, and we’ve emphasized some of the great descriptions they’ve used to describe the storm: ** ...

Check this out: Stadium Snow Tubing . ** Related: ** Ottawa Toboggan Guide

Several local bloggers are complaining today about city council’s decision to hike bus fares by 7.5% in each of the next three years. Blake Batson writes: I’m mad, disappointed and discouraged at 16 Councillors who feel that solving budget problems should be done on the backs of those who can least afford it. ...

Two press releases caught our eye last week: * First, from the City of Ottawa: [ City’s approved sledding hills open ](http://www.ottawastart.com/story/7080.php) * Second, from the National Capital Commission: [ NCC’S TOBOGGAN HILLS IN THE GREENBELT ARE NOW OPEN ](http://www. ...

[ ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/0004468122454_215X215.jpg) Here’s a something a little bit different today - we wanted to tell you about some trouble we’ve been having with the car seat that our 2-year-old uses. Or should we say, “used to use” , until cold weather and snow arrived. ...

[ ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/freepress.jpg) Nice work by Robin Kelsey - he’s posted a photo essay on the mural on Somerset House , the doomed building at Bank and Somerset that could be demolished soon. Check it out here… ** Related: ** Ottawa History Guide

Okay, not really a rant - but a fun post from David Scrimshaw, following a visit to the Adult High School to get a flu shot. Read it here… ** Related: ** Ottawa Health Guide

David Reevely writes about a song he heard over the outdoor speakers on Rideau Street: And then, after some sort of Kenny-G-ish jazzy version of a standard I can't remember because I was trying to block it out, comes a fresh horror. ...

From Knitnut.net : ** ** So now that we’ve increased the police budget and hired more cops, what are we going to do with them? ... Well, how about that fiasco at Somerset and Bank? The intersection has been closed in four directions for four weeks, ever since the interior of the old Ritz Hotel caved in. ...