🎥 Updated With Interview - Chalk, Cops, and City Hall: A Costly Council Committee Circus
Geraldine…presented a case from 2020 about Ottawa police detaining people three separate times for writing messages in chalk on public sidewalks. In June of that year, a woman was detained for writing "Black Lives Matter" in chalk. Police threatened to charge her with mischief because she did not have permission. The very next day, Ottawa's mayor Jim Watson tweeted that his permission was not needed to chalk on the sidewalk.
AHS Lifts Water Quality Advisory For Golden Sheaf Park
Effective immediately, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has lifted the water quality advisory that was issued July 24, 2026, for the water at the Golden Sheaf Park beach.
Disgraced City Appointee Resigns from MPC and HRWG
The Owl reached out to the city for comment on the recent comments by local Black Hat Gang member Ian Parkinson - we received this response.
New Council, More Closed Doors: The Numbers Tell The Story
The city's own rules say that any item not dealt with in a closed session must go to the next closed session unless they hold a vote in open council to defer it to another date. However, items are being deferred with no return date. They are falling off the radar.
Medicine Hat Set to Modernize 30-Year-Old Appeal Board Rules
Under the current rules, the answer has been "it depends on who's in the chair." In at least one instance, a journalist who pressed record was promptly escorted out by police and trespassed from City Hall for the day. Under a proposed update coming before City Council on September 8, that scene would be impossible. The City would be required (sort of) to record the hearing and upload it to YouTube within three days.
