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“Snow Mist” At Portage Bridge Park, Ottawa. Photo by @DMacOttawa via Twitter. Ottawans woke up on Monday not only to a chilly temperature, but some snow as well. Not unusually, as Rolf Campbell at Ottawa Weather Records notes. Late October is a normal time for first snowfall in Ottawa — although it always catches us offguard nonetheless. ...

Three local writers were honoured with the prestigious Ottawa Book Awards at a recent virtual ceremony, hosted by Mayor Jim Watson. Each were awarded a prize of $7,500. Henry Beissel received the Ottawa Book Award in the English fiction category for his collection of poems Footprints of Dark Energy (Guernica Editions Inc. ...

(Via the Centretown BUZZ) Ottawa’s most central community paper, The Centretown BUZZ, celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. In its honour, the City of Ottawa has proclaimed October 19 “Centretown BUZZ Day”. The BUZZ published its first issue in October 1995 and has continued to cover the Centretown neighbourhood (downtown, Ottawa River to the Queensway, Rideau Canal to LRT line 2) ever since. ...

(Via the Province of Ontario) In consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Public Health Measures Table, and local medical officers of health and other health experts, the Ontario government is introducing additional targeted public health measures in the Ottawa, Peel, and Toronto public health unit regions. ...

“New Flyer” Photo by Justin S. Campbell, via Flickr. (Used under a Creative Commons License.) OC Transpo will carry out “Operation Mask Up” from October 9 to 23 to help change the behavior of the small number of customers failing to comply with OC Transpo’s mandatory mask policy. ...

(Via Ottawa Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Vera Etches on October 2, 2020) I have something really important I need you to hear. Our health system is in crisis because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am thankful for all you are doing to prevent COVID from spreading in our city. ...

Photo: A look at how the second stage of LRT will traverse the west end. Politicians held a socially-distanced groundbreaking late last week on the cut-and-cover LRT tunnel for the Line 1 expansion west. Here’s some more info via the city: ...

(Via Province of Ontario) As part of its fall preparedness plan, Keeping Ontarians Safe: Preparing for Future Waves of COVID-19, the Ontario government is partnering with pharmacies to expand access to COVID-19 testing to track, trace and isolate cases. Starting Friday, September 25, 2020, the pharmacy locations below will be offering free testing by appointment only to individuals with no symptoms of COVID-19. ...

(Via City of Ottawa news release.) To help address housing affordability in Ottawa, the City’s Planning Committee today approved a zoning amendment to encourage new eight-to-12-unit low-rise apartments in established inner-urban neighbourhoods like Centretown, Sandy Hill, Vanier, Overbrook, Hintonburg and Westboro. ...

“The White Bridge”, photo of the Bank Street Bridge by Alain Villeneuve, via the OttawaStart Flickr Group. (Via Bike Ottawa) Today City Council voted in favour of improving the Bank Street Bridge for people who ride bikes, walk, and roll. Council voted in favour of reducing the number of car lanes from four to three, and widening and converting the sidewalks into two-way multi-use paths on either side of the bridge. ...