During a contentious debate over a proposed 30 floor residential high rise York Developments wants to build at the corner of Richmond and Kent Streets, there was talk of campaign donations from York employees potentially greasing the wheel for members of the planning committee to vote in favour of the plan.

This was ruled out of order during the meeting - but should it be?

Craig discusses the development plan (a rare downtown intensification proposal he doesn't like) and campaign donation rules with Ward 6 councillor Sam Trosow on this edition of the podcast - which is brought to you by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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The Thames Valley District School Board remains in a time of transition.

Trustees are sidelined, the province has put supervision in place, budgets under scrutiny and a director of education who plans on leaving his job.

Lots happening!

TVDSB Education Director Bill Tucker joins Craig on the podcast to talk about the board's future, his time back in the director's office, why education assistants are angry with the board, and more.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.

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Six months after controversial research involving dogs was snuffed out by Premier Doug Ford - St. Joseph's Heath Care and Lawson Research have released reports looking at what happened and what needs to change.

The reports say the research was within medical guidelines and rules - but the communication within the institution and with the public was lacking in some cases.

Roy Butler, President and CEO of St. Joseph's Healthcare, joined the podcast to discuss the findings - and some questions Craig had that weren't addressed in the reports - which leads to an abrupt finish to the conversation.

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Craig's podcast exploring this issue with Dr. Brendon Samuels from August can be found here.

A brand new Friday Round Table, as Craig is joined at the Covent Garden Market studio by Ward 13 city councillor David Ferreria, political insider Scott Collyer and consultant Mojdeh Azad.

They look at job losses in the London region and the potential challenges for those looking or work on the horizon. Also, how can we create jobs in the downtown core?

Then, a conversation about winter shelter challenges the city has and whether it's time to not only increase the amount of time when warming centres are open, but how many warming centres there actually are.

Also, the cost of tuition at postsecondary institution is on the rise - after seven years of being frozen. What will that mean for students at Western and Fanshawe?

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The micro-modular shelter in south London is open!

What impact ill it have? Is it in the right spot? How can we get more of them?

Craig was joined in the studio by London Abused Women's Centre Executive Director Jennifer Dunn and community advocate Jeremy McCall to break down that story and some education matters.

First, should high school students get LTC passes? It won't be easy to work out, but Craig says the juice is worth the squeeze. 

Also, more cuts are coming at TVDSB. Craig asks the panel if they're concerned about what that means for kids.

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There's no way around it, the federal government's gun buyback program isn't working.

Police services say they don't have the resources - or even the desire -to participate, so, where does that leave this?

Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton - who worked with Craig for years - joins him on the podcast to break it all down, plus a conversation about bail reform. Is the federal government going to finally get something done on this lightning rod file?

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Two former London City Councillors - Roger Caranci and Cheryl Miller - joined Craig in the studio for this week's round table.

First, they breakdown a CBC story about a man who was sent to London by health officials in Huron County because he was homeless.

Are Ontario municipalities selling each other out in the fight against homelessness? Shouldn't the province act on this?

Then, a look at Mayor Josh Morgan's State of the City address this week.

Did it seem like a pre-election speech? Will the new homeownership program actually help those trying to get into the market?

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There multiple several big discussions about London's homelessness crisis at city hall this week - and Ward 4 councillor Susan Stevenson helped bring two of them to the table. She joined Craig on the 434th episode of the podcast to break them all down.

One was about when warming centres open and how cold it needs to be for that to happen. Stevenson explains how changing one word could mean the centres are open more frequently and she and Craig talk about how many warming centres the city should have.

Then, they talk about shifting funding from outreach towards longer hours at homelessness providers and the good neighbour clause - which Craig still doesn't understand.

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The 2016 Instagram trend seems to have made its way to London City Hall.

Bus rapid transit is back!

Council is asking the province for cash to put a bus rapid transit route on Wharncliffe Road that runs by Western and to Masonville Mall.

Good idea? Or have we gone down this road before?

Craig looks at that story with London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, United Way Elgin Middlesex CEO Kelly Ziegner and former Green Party candidate Carol Dyck on a brand new Friday Round Table.

On the 433rd episode of the podcast, the panel also looks at council's upcoming debate over the winter response to homelessness, and a new ranking that says London has the 11th best quality of life in Canada (we did it!).

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Flu season has been especially brutal this year with the Middlesex-London Health Unit tracking some large case counts.

Why have so many people been getting sick?

Dr. Jennifer Guthrie, a professor at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, joined Craig on the podcast to explain why this year seems to be worse than flu seasons past - and what you can do to avoid getting ill.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by Downtown London and the Covent Garden Market.