The wheels on the bus: Black History Ottawa’s educational tour connects families and community
Black History Ottawa is educating the city about local history with an interactive History in the Streets Bus Tour, every Saturday this summer. The tour showcases the contributions of Black Canadians in Ottawa’s rich history, from athletes to politicians to activists and medical professionals. Names mentioned include Rawlson King, the first Black Canadian city councillor in Ottawa in 2019, Wangari...
Review: Nicole Presentey and John Dapaah dazzle Chamberfest audience with piano duet
Delicacy, precision, power. These words come to mind when Nicole Presentey and John Kofi Dapaah make music together. The Ottawa pianists performed “1 Piano, 4 Hands” in the NAC’s Thorsteinson Staircase, part of the Midday Matinées series at Chamberfest. The pair met at Carleton University, where Dapaah studied with Presentey. Soon after, they began playing duets together at Chamberfest and...
Transit advocates in Ottawa alarmed by OC Transpo’s pattern of “cutting services”
Community organizations, workers and residents are raising concerns over a pattern of service cuts after OC Transpo announced its plan to reduce LRT frequency during off-peak hours and accusing the city of ruining Ottawa’s public transit system. OC Transpo says, starting Aug. 26, Line 1 will run every 10 minutes at stations between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays...
In wake of changes to alcohol market, Ottawa brewers urge province to consider dedicated shelves for their beer, incentives and tax cuts
In the wake of the LCBO strike settlement, Ottawa breweries say they welcome Ontario’s plan to allow grocery and convenience stores to sell beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails, saying it is an encouraging, but long orverdue move for the local market. But without financial incentives for small breweries, dedicated shelves for local products in sales outlets and a re-evaluation of...
Review: The Art of Time Ensemble kicks off Chamberfest with heartwarming Beatles tribute
The energy was high in the Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre Thursday night as the Art of Time Ensemble warmed up ahead of their performance of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, kicking off Chamberfest’s 30th anniversary. The group, led by concert pianist Andrew Burashko, offered a classical and jazz inspired arrangement of the iconic Beatles album, hailed as one of...
Faculty for Palestine urges uOttawa to respect ruling by International Court of Justice
The uOttawa chapter of Faculty for Palestine (F4P) is urging the school to honour the recently released advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that found Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories violates international law. In a statement, F4P uOttawa called on the university to divest from all corporations directly involved in the occupation and cut ties with...
Convenience store owner praises liberalizing alcohol market in Ontario
When Premier Doug Ford announced plans to allow Ontario convenience stores to sell beer, wine and ready-to-drink cocktails, Biruk G. Medhin received the news with enthusiasm and optimism. For 30 years, Medhin has run the A&M Confectionary in Ottawa’s Heron Park neighbourhood. He told Capital Current he had worked closely with community members in the past to sign a petition...
WHO says low vaccination rate driving measles outbreaks
Global childhood immunization against deadly diseases such as measles declined in 2023, leaving millions of children at risk, according to data published this week by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. The data shows low vaccination rate against measles last year left nearly 35 million children with no or partial protection. About 83 per cent of children worldwide received their...
Ottawa police using force against black and Middle Eastern individuals in disproportionately high rate: report
Black and Middle Eastern people were more likely to be subjected to use of force by Ottawa police officers in 2023, with no improvement over numbers from 2022, according to a report by the police made public by the Ottawa Police Services Board. The report revealed that police used force against 310 individuals last year, including 81 perceived as Black and...
A Capital Current profile: Nicole Presentey’s musical journey has deep roots in Ottawa
Nicole Presentey is an Ottawa native and while she is certainly one of the most talented pianists and music educators to come from this place, she has remained in the region even though the world beckons. One of her deep local connections as a supporter and as a performer is Ottawa Chamberfest, one of the city’s best known classical music...
Neo-Nazi organization run by Canadian teens promotes racial violence, watchdog group says
In a recent report, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network is drawing attention to a small, but growing neo-Nazi group in Canada that has emerged onto social media platforms and is apparently run by teenagers. The group is an offshoot of an organization founded in the U.S. in 2013 as the Atomwaffen Division. There are now active cells in Canada, the United...
Safe injection site reopens in Sandy Hill after five-month hiatus
The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre’s safe injection site reopened on July 15 after closing in February.The opening day saw about 50 per cent capacity while word about the reopening gets around, but staff expects to see an increase in the next few weeks.