Open Sources Guelph #320 - April 1, 2021

The original April Fools are back this week with another episode of Open Sources Guelph. We would love to spend the hour making jokes and pulling pranks, but there's some serious stuff to talk about. We will look at the ever changing pandemic response provincially, and the growing trend of Anti-Asian hate that's even affected our community. After the break, it's back to the patio with another Guelph city councillor.

This Thursday, April 1, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:

It's Still a Pandemic. A confluence of COVID-related crises afflict us heading into the Easter long weekend. New cases are increasing and about half of those new cases are variants, vaccines are slowly rolling out and there's some confusion about who's to blame, AstroZeneca's got issues again or this may just be more extreme cautiousness, and March April Break might be cancelled all together! We'll try and sort it out.

Racism Stripes. From the streets of Guelph and one woman out walking her dog, to the streets of New York City were a senior was shoved down and repeatedly kicked in the head while people stood by and watched, Anti-Asian racism is real, and it's getting nastier. Is this really about frustration with the pandemic, or is that just a convenient excuse? Can we stop this new racist violence before someone is killed under boot?

Party Downer. This week, Guelph City Council made the decision to allow for street closures for downtown patios on weekends only this summer. It's a decision that will likely please no one, which means it's probably the right kind of compromise, but it was not a compromise that was easily reached. Ward 5 Councillor Cathy Downer will join us to talk about her vote, her concerns, and her definition of success for this year's patio program.

Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.