Mild November Wednesday — get out before the sun slips away

Morning, Ottawa. Thirteen degrees and mainly clear, which is about as kind as November gets, so take advantage of it. Leave the heavy parka at the hook and grab a light layer; the UV is only a 3, so sunscreen is optional today, but your face will thank you for it on the walk to the bus stop. The sun goes down at 4:46, so if you're planning anything after work, know that the light will be gone by the time you're heading home. Plan your errands and your walks for the afternoon, and save the evening for indoor plans.

For the commute, the big news is the warmth, not the roads. There are no alerts in the material I have this morning, so drive or ride the way you normally would and let the mild air make the trip easier. If you're on OC Transpo or the O-Train, the same advice holds: dress for a mild day, and you'll be comfortable the whole way.

A few stories are worth knowing before you hit the office. The city cleared a homeless man's shelter at Mud Lake, and the fallout from that is still being talked about. The Senators recalled Sammy Blais and sent Xavier Bourgault back down to Belleville, which is the kind of roster shuffle that gets the hockey crowd talking over coffee. Gastops is moving its aircraft diagnostics operation into a 50,000-square-foot facility at Riverside South, a solid bit of news for the south end. Over at Aqueduct District, the NCC is looking for developers as it eyes a 16,000-seat events centre, which could reshape a corner of town. And Lucia Vaccaro's family is racing to find a treatment for Rett syndrome, a story that's easy to read and hard to forget.

If you're looking for something to eat, the news from the food scene is mixed. Chahaya Malaysia, the Glebe institution that has served southeast Asian food for 41 years, closes for good this Sunday, so if you've been meaning to go, this is the week. Goldie's and Bakery Burger are both asking $25 for a sandwich, and they have their reasons, if you're curious about where the price is coming from. For something new, Zen Bowl has opened in Centretown with Shanghai soup dumplings and pan-fried buns, a good lunch or early dinner if you're in the neighbourhood. And Kat Ferries, one of the city's top chefs, has traded the grind of the kitchen for steadier work at a butcher shop, which is a story that will make you want to support the local meat counter.

Tonight, you have options. Owen Riegling is playing with Dalton Davis at History Ottawa at 7:00 PM, and Dirty Bingo: November 2026 kicks off at the Observatory at the same time, so pick your flavour of Wednesday night. Hockey fans can catch the Kingston Frontenacs at the Ottawa 67s at The Arena at TD Place, though that's a 10:30 AM puck drop, so it's a morning game, not an evening one. The weekend is shaping up with comedy lineups on Friday and Saturday, and a soccer semifinal Sunday, if you're planning ahead.

Have a good one, and enjoy the mild air while it lasts. See you on the other side of the workday.