Hot classrooms make back to school hard for both students and teachers

Elementary school students in the region felt the heat this past week, as classrooms reopened for the new school year. Many of the school buildings are old and do not have air conditioning. This puts students in classrooms that are often as hot as 30 degrees Celsius before they even go in.

Ontario promises electricity bill rebates in throne speech

The Ontario government promised in a throne speech today that it will provide rebates to urban and rural residents and small businesses to help offset high electricity rates.

Replay: Garden chat Monday, September 12 at 12:30 p.m.

Are you ready to have the best garden on your block? Here's how: ask an expert. Be part of our award-winning live chat with expert gardeners. Also listen to the call-in show with Ontario Today's Ed Lawrence. Call in by dialling 1-888-817-8995 on Monday, September 12, 2016.

Scotiabank, Royal drop Woodstock pot seller's ability to accept Visa

Scotiabank and the Royal Bank of Canada say they aren't providing accounts to companies associated with the marijuana industry, leaving some business owners scrambling to find alternate arrangements.

Brett Kissel wins Country Music honours Sunday in London. Ont.

Brett Kissel's no-holds-barred campaign to woo country enthusiasts pays off as the Alberta singer is named fan favourite as well as top male artist of the year at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards.

Ontario legislature returns Monday with throne speech to lay out Premier Kathleen Wynne's priorities

by Keith Leslie

The Liberal government hopes to reset its agenda when the Ontario legislature resumes Monday, but the opposition parties will be on the attack over electricity rates, the privatization of Hydro One and the record $300-billion debt.

'Cuteness culture' in space: Why we turn inanimate spacecraft into lovable explorers

by Laura Wright

They have names and personalities, they go on exciting journeys, and we're sad when they die. Our tendency to give spacecraft human characteristics can be beneficial for science outreach, but it can distract us from ethical questions around space exploration.

Anti-racism community meeting set for October 24

Waterloo Region will be part of a nine-city series of community meetings led by the province of Ontario's anti-racism directive.

New rules for curling nix broom moves that were changing the game

by John Weidlich

Curling Canada has endorsed new rules that effectively outlaw recent innovations — new sweeping techniques and broom technology — that had radically altered the game.

World Suicide Prevention Day marked in Waterloo Region

by Joe Pavia

Waterloo Region will participate in World Suicide Prevention Day with an 18-hour classical music concert, dialogue and the release of 500 butterflies.

'Food From Thought' funds university rethink of what we eat

by Andrew Coppolino

The human food chain from field to fork will get a rethink and redesign as the University of Guelph implements a $76 million federal grant to fund its Food From Thought initiative, writes Andrew Coppolino.

Kitchener Rangers to pilot sexual assault program this fall

by Joe Pavia

The Ontario Hockey League is partnering with the sexual assault centre in Kitchener to pilot what’s called a respect for women program with two teams: the Peterborough Petes and the Kitchener Rangers.

School boards must provide before and after school care starting Sept. 2017

by Kate Bueckert

Starting next September, school boards across the province will have to provide before and after school care to children up to the age of 12.

Undiagnosed and misunderstood, students with dyslexia face stigma and shame

by Kas Roussy

A coalition of parents with dyslexic children is demanding national guidelines in Canadian schools, including mandatory training for teachers and compulsory assessment for dyslexia in kindergarten.

New, larger Haven House women's shelter opens in Cambridge

by Joe Pavia

Haven House is a new women's shelter opening Thursday in Cambridge. The new location at 10 Acorn Way will provide shelter for 45 women.

Canada adds 26,000 jobs in August, beating estimates

Canada's economy added 26,000 new jobs in August, but the jobless rate inched up to seven per cent because more people were looking for work.

Andrea's Five Fun Things To Do This Weekend - Sept 10-11

by Andrea Bellemare

Bring your dog to a waterpark, watch a butterfly release, learn new skills at Maker Expo or catch a one-act play in Waterloo region this weekend.

Ontario education minister touts full-day kindergarten's success

Ontario Education Minister Mitzie Hunter announced on Friday that Ontario's full-day kindergarten program has enrolled more than one million students since its inception in 2010.

WW II home front stories from Jewish-Canadian women sought

by Adetayo Bero

Although we know a lot about the role women in general played during the Second World War, a researcher at Western University says individual stories, particularly of Jewish-Canadian women, are far less known.

New Gord Downie work devoted to First Nations boy who died running away from residential school

by Jody Porter

A 12-year-old Ojibway boy who died from hunger and exposure after trying to find his way home from a residential school is the inspiration behind a new project from Gord Downie.

Grand River Hospital declares gastro outbreak at Freeport campus

Grand River Hospital has declared an outbreak of gastro-intestinal virus at the mental health unit at its Freeport site.

Guelph police made the cutest arrest ever

by Colin Butler

In this kitten caper, the long arm of the law wasn't quite long enough to reach a fugitive feline hiding in a car's engine compartment.

OutFest shines spotlight on Waterloo Region's LGBTQ stories

by Max Leighton

Kitchener's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community is taking centre stage this week at OutFest, an annual festival, which celebrates the local LGBT community through film, live music, dance, poetry and other performances.

University of Windsor tells NCAA to keep hands off our athletes

by Alex Brockman

The athletic director at a Canadian university has a message for his counterparts in the United States — stop stealing our athletes.

Smart contact lens for diabetics developed by Waterloo engineers wins James Dyson Award

by Jackie Sharkey, Kate Bueckert

A contact lens developed by a team at the University of Waterloo can monitor the blood sugar levels of diabetics and transmit that data to a person's smartphone in real time.

Mother bear killed, 2 cubs captured after entering northern Ontario restaurant

Provincial police killed a female black bear on Wednesday, after the sow and her two cubs entered the Station Two restaurant at lunch time in Terrace Bay, about 220 kilometres east of Thunder Bay, Ont.

Fall fitness: Tips to get you back in shape after a lazy summer

September often means a return to routine after a summer of lounging on patios or beaches. One local fitness centre co-owner offers some tips to becoming active again.

Death and dying: shrines, urns, requiems highlight Wellington exhibit

Shelley Carter has co-ordinated an exhibit at the Wellington County Museum called Death Perceptions. She hopes it will get people talking about death and dying.

University of Waterloo grads develop nano ink to help identify counterfeit goods

A group of University of Waterloo grads have developed a nano ink that will help consumers identify counterfeit goods.

Ontario minor hockey leagues implement new transgender policies

​Transgender inclusiveness in Ontario minor hockey dressing rooms will go into wide effect this season.

Elmira's Katie Harnock ready for Rio Paralympics

by Kate Bueckert

This will be the third Paralympic Games for Katie Harnock of Elmira, but she says it's far from old hat and she still gets butterflies before competing.

Inquest into construction site death starts this fall in Kitchener

An inquest into the death of a man at a construction site in Kitchener will be held this fall.

School boards must provide before and after school care starting Sept. 2017

by Kate Bueckert

Starting next September, school boards across the province will have to provide before and after school care to children up to the age of 12.

Website with 1916 recipes from 'Berlin' recall early days of Kitchener, Ont.

by Max Leighton

A Kitchener-based food writer is documenting the city's culinary history with a site dedicated to recipes from 1916, the year the town of Berlin officially changed its name to Kitchener.

Tackling the triathlon: visually-impaired athlete ready to race in Rio

by Kate Bueckert

Christine Robbins of Abbotsford, B.C., will compete at the Paralympics in Rio with University of Guelph student Sasha Boulton serving as her guide.

University of Waterloo gets $76 million for quantum research

The University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing is receiving $76.3 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. As well, a water research project involving several Canadian universities - including UW and Wilfrid Laurier University - received $77 million.

Cambridge community garden grows produce for local food bank

by Joe Pavia

Rare food bank garden is one of the biggest community gardens in the Region of Waterloo which supplies produce directly to the food bank.

Replay: Garden chat Tuesday, September 6 at 12:30 p.m.

Are you ready to have the best garden on your block? Here's how: ask an expert. Be part of our award-winning live chat with expert gardeners. Also listen to the call-in show with Ontario Today's Ed Lawrence. Call in by dialling 1-888-817-8995 on Tuesday, September 6, 2016.

'You're not alone,' Woodstock teens promise as school starts after 5 suicides

Last school year, five suicides in the Woodstock area highlighted the profound effects of mental illness, particularly among youth.

Hundreds of dollars worth of energy drinks stolen from Guelph business

Thieves made off with energy drinks from the Canadian Tire gas bar at Scottsdale Drive and Stone Road.

Vehicle fire at Guelph storage facility under investigation

The cause of a vehicle explosion at a storage facility in Guelph is under investigation. A truck used to mix and spray foam insulation caught fire Monday just before noon. No one was injured.

Gourmet dog food a rising trend

by Linda Nguyen

Gourmet food... for dogs is a rising trend that treats the family pooch to meals fit for anyone.

Meet the 12-year-old frosh at the University of Waterloo

by Andrea Bellemare

Diki Suryaatmadja is 12 years old, and the youngest student to attend the University of Waterloo. He'll be studying honours physics this year, as well as math, chemistry and economics.

Back to school: How young is too young for a cellphone?

by Justin Li

Millions of Canadian kids are heading back to school, raising the questions of what age is too young to have a cellphone and how owning one helps or harms kids.

Waterloo Region records hottest, wettest August in decades

by Colin Butler

Despite having the wettest August since 1985, Waterloo Region still shows signs of drought according to conservation officials.

'Stop encouraging one another to speed up' writes sister of Kitchener man killed in rollover

Ontario Provincial Police have identified the 32-year-old Kitchener man who died in a single-vehicle rollover crash on Sunday afternoon on Wellington Road 21 as Cameron Henrich.

'Huge' puffball found near Listowel

by Colin Butler

A 16-year-old boy from the Listowel area says he stumbled upon a 'huge' giant puffball mushroom that tips the scales at 19-pounds.

Ditching the bristle brush for onions: Alternatives for cleaning your BBQ

by Haydn Watters

Butchers, chefs and barbecue aficionados give their bristle-free suggestions for cleaning your grill, from tinfoil to robots.

KW youth football looks to reassure parents about concussions

Once miles apart, youth football officials in Kitchener-Waterloo say football and concussion prevention are now as inseparable as autumn and apple picking.

Waterloo Region's fall food fairs: Here are 6 you shouldn't miss

by Andrew Coppolino

September brings local agricultural fairs and food celebrations that showcase the late-summer and fall harvest and build community connections. Here's Andrew Coppolino's list.