The Craig Needles Podcast

11/05/2024

Downtown is changing. What does that mean for the future of Covent Garden Market Canada?

GM and CEO Amy Shackleton joins Craig on the podcast to talk about how they're getting feedback from market customers and vendors.

The Craig Needles Podcast is powered by the market and Downtown London.

After celebrating their 25th anniversary in their King Street building, the what’s the future look like for the Covent Garden Market? Does the changing downtown landscape (fewer office workers, more people living nearby) mean the market needs to change hours? Or vendors? General manager and CEO Am...

11/04/2024

ICYMI over the weekend: Friday Round Table podcast with Elizabeth Peloza - Ward 12 Councillor & City of London Budget Chair, Cheryl Miller and Scott Collyer.

Craig and the panel broke down the latest at LHSC, where London Police are investigating "past financial practices", then they look at whether London boards and commissions should be able to spend money on outside PR help and then debate the city's upcoming budget update.

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

A busy week to breakdown on the Friday Round Table as Craig is joined by a panel of City of London Budget Chair Elizabeth Peloza, former city councillor Cheryl Miller and political insider Scott Collyer. They examine the news that police are investigating “past financial practices” at London Hea...

10/31/2024

Late night episode!

The police are investigating at LHSC and Craig shares the very latest information about the look at "past financial practices" at the hospital.

Then lawyer Kevin Egan joins Craig to discuss the latest tragic death at EMDC what the various legal proceedings surrounding the overcrowded jail.

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

Classic Rock 98.1

Two big stories on this episode, as Craig breaks down what we know about the ongoing London Police investigation into “past financial practices” at London Health Sciences Centre. What does this mean for the scandal plagued hospital? Then, (8:36) Craig interviews lawyer Kevin Egan about Elgin-Mid...

10/22/2024

It's been just over a year since the homeless hubs debate at city hall.

So, what's happening with homelessness in London? What's going on with hubs? Can the province put a HART hub in London?

Josh Morgan joined the podcast to talk about those stories and more.

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

Classic Rock 98.1

Homelessness continues to be the key issue in the City of London – so what’s happening on that file right now? London Mayor Josh Morgan joined Craig on the podcast to talk about hubs in the city, the province’s HART hubs plan, addictions treatment, affordable housing and more. The Craig Needle...

10/21/2024

Some Monday listening if you missed it:

Frances Moore, Jeff Preston and John Fyfe-Millar stopped by the Covent Garden Market Canada studio for the round table!

They discussed homelessness and the idea from London Police to arrest (but not charge) people using drugs in public spaces.

Then, conversations about sexual assaults in hockey, whether a provincial election is around the corner and child welfare for Indigenous kids.

The Craig Needles Podcast is brought to you by the Covent Garden Market and Downtown London.

London Police say they’ll be arresting – but not charging – people using drugs in public. Is this the right policy for the city? The Friday Round Table dives into that story with Indigenous activist Frances Moore, disability advocate Dr. Jeff Preston and former city councillor John Fyfe-Millar...

10/15/2024

Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one for the Trudeau government - including an attempt by some MPs to get the Prime Minister to resign.

Peter Fragiskatos joins Craig on the podcast to discuss that story and more!

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

Classic Rock 98.1

Is there internal pressure for Justin Trudeau to resign? CTV says some MPs – mostly based in southwestern Ontario and Atlantic Canada – have signed a letter asking for new Liberal leadership. Peter Fragiskatos, the MP for London North-Centre joins Craig to discuss that story, as well as housing,...

10/11/2024

Friday Round Table!

Craig welcomed organizational consultant and community activist Mojdeh Cox, former council candidate Jeremy McCall and Blackburn Media News Manager Scott Kitching to the Covent Garden Market Canada studio.

They broke down London Police Chief Thai Truong's recent visit to City Hall, whether the BRT construction pain will be worth the long term gain and the latest problems at the Thames Valley District School Board.

Classic Rock 98.1

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

On this week’s Friday Round Table, Craig welcomes organizational consultant and community actvist Mojdeh Cox, former council candidate Jeremy McCall and Blackburn Media News Manager Scott Kitching to the Covent Garden Market studio. They talk about London Police sharing some stats at council and w...

10/09/2024

London's population will eclipse 800,000 by in 2051!

Are we ready for it? Will we have enough housing?

Dr. Mike P. Moffatt joined Craig on the podcast to share his thoughts and look at the federal government's change in approach to the housing crisis - for good and bad.

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

Classic Rock 98.1

Projections from the province of Ontario show they believe London’s population could be 880,000 by 2051 – while the region could be home to 2.63-million people. Are we ready for it? What do we need to do? Economist Mike Moffatt – a founding director of the Place Centre and co-host of the Missi...

10/04/2024

Friday Round Table!

Shawn Lewis, London Politics joined former city councillors Cheryl Miller and Roger Caranci in the Covent Garden Market Canada studio to talk about the top stories of the week.

They discussed the latest changes at the executive level at the Thames Valley District School Board, London leading the nation in downtown commercial vacancy rate, the somewhat controversial ArkAid funding proposal at city hall, and whether it’s time to pull the plug on virtual London City Council meetings in the wake of a councillor possibly having a beer during a debate.

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

Classic Rock 98.1

A busy week in news! Craig is joined in the studio by London Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, and two former city councillors – Cheryl Miller and Roger Caranci. They talk about the latest changes at the executive level at the Thames Valley District School Board, London leading the nation in downtown comm...

10/04/2024

From this week:

Craig's thoughts on the latest shakeup at TVDSB as they work through the fallout from the Blue Jays trip.

Then, a conversation with a woman who had the front of her car smashed up by a City of London garbage truck.

What happened after the viral video?

The changes at the Thames Valley District School Board continue, as three more high level executives are either on leave or no longer with the board. Craig shares his thoughts on what’s next for the board. Then, did you see that video of a City of London garbage truck backing into a car? Rebekkah ...

09/27/2024

Friday Round Table!

The panel had some big issues to tackle this week, as Craig was joined by disability advocate Dr. Jeff Preston, police researcher Dr. Lesley Bikos and London Home Builders Association CEO Jared Zaifman.

They talked about the LHSC board flat lining, the latest with the London Police Services Board spending $104,000 on PR help from Navigator, the changes to the London Plan (stacked townhouses!) passed at London City Hall, and Doug Ford's comments on ODSP.

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

Classic Rock 98.1

On this week’s Friday Round Table, Craig is joined by disability advocate Dr. Jeff Preston, police researcher Dr. Lesley Bikos and London Home Builders Association CEO Jared Zaifman. They talk about the latest at London Health Sciences Centre, where the board has been axed an replaced by David Mus...

09/19/2024

On the latest episode of the podcast, Craig talks with London Mayor Josh Morgan about the London Police Services Board spending $104,000 to get help from the PR firm Navigator at budget time.

Why did they make this decision?

Will this pressure the London Transit Commission to do the same thing during the next budget cycle? What about the London Public Library Board?

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

The London Police Services Board is standing by the decision to spend $104,000 on Navigator – a PR firm who has worked with lots of high profile clients. A member of that board – Mayor Josh Morgan – joins Craig on the podcast to talk about the broader implications of that spending. Will the Lo...

09/17/2024

On the latest edition of the podcast, TVDSB chair of the board of trustees Beth Mai joined Craig to talk about the TVDSB Skydome Hotel scandal.

The Minister of Education audit, the reaction of the TVDSB community, when trustees found out about the trip and more.

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

So, how did that TVDSB executive trip to Toronto happen, anyway? Beth Mai, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, joins Craig on the podcast to share her side of that story, and talk about the reaction parents and teachers have had to the cost of the jaunt 17 executives took to the SkyDome Hotel

09/16/2024

The surprise episodes keep coming!

Here's a Sunday night look at the latest story surrounding questionable public money being spent in London:

As per the London Free Press, the police services board spent $104,000 to hire the communications firm Navigator - as they tried to push through their historic $672-million budget ask.

Board Chair Ali Chahbar joined Craig to answer key questions like why they needed PR help, why they chose Navigator and what Navigator actually did for the campaign.

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

The London Police Services Board is under fire after, as per a story in the London Free Press, they spent more than $100,000 on Navigator to do communications surrounding their massive ask during the most recent budget cycle at city hall. Why did they do it? Why choose Navigator, a rather infamous P...

09/14/2024

Surprise!

Saturday Podcast!

Craig had a conversation with Thames Valley District School Board interim education director Bill Tucker about the $38,000 trip, rebuilding trust with parents, students and staff, what his priorities are for his new job and more.

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

(Note: the podcast was recorded before the Ministry of Education announced they were investigating the trip 18 TVDSB executives took to the Skydome Hotel last month)

We got the receipts for the TVDSB jaunt to Toronto, and the numbers aren’t good. $38,444.22 for 18 executives to meet at the SkyDome hotel and maybe watch a few ballgames – all while the board is facing a multi-million dollar deficit. Not great! Bill Tucker, who retired as Education Director in ...

09/13/2024

Friday Round Table!

Craig was joined in the studio by London city councillor Hadleigh McAlister, political insider Ryan Gauss and London Abused Women’s Centre executive Director Jennifer Dunn to breakdown a busy news week.

The hit the TVDSB spending scandal ($38,000?!), food bank usage riding, affordable housing downtown, the Budweiser Gardens name change, another weird week for Jagmeet Singh and the Taylor Swift endorsement of Kamala Harris.

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

Busy week in the news! Craig is joined by London city councillor Hadleigh McAlister, political insider Ryan Gauss and London Abused Women’s Centre executive Director Jennifer Dunn for the Friday Round Table as they break it all down. They start with the mess over at the Thames Valley District Scho...

09/12/2024

If you're looking for the latest on the spending scandal/education director change at TVDSB, check out the most recent episode of the podcast.

Craig Smith, President of ETFO Thames Valley, explains what the turbulent first week back at school has been like and where he hopes Bill Tucker - the old/new education director - can make changes.

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

Mark Fisher (apparently) out. Bill Tucker in. Big changes at the Thames Valley District School Board in the wake of the Blue Jays trip spending scandal. What’s next for the board? What’s happening in the classroom? EFTO Thames Valley President Craig Smith joins Craig on the podcast to discuss. T...

09/06/2024

We hit 300 episodes of the podcast today.

Pretty cool milestone.

It makes me realize how lucky I am to be doing this job and be doing it at a place that believes in me and what I can do.

The podcast, the Covent Garden Market Canada studio, the afternoon show on Classic Rock 98.1 - these things all happened because people at Blackburn Media were willing to say "let's do it" when I had the idea.

That is so, so meaningful.

When things went down the way they did at my previous stop (side note on that, my side of the disagreements I had with the people at that company is aging very well), I really wasn't sure what the future held for me in the opinion space.

Was I ever going to be able to do something like the talk show again?

Well, I am. I couldn't have imaged such a positive outcome, to be honest. This is so much fun.

Again, I'm a lucky guy.

Thanks to the team at Blackburn Media for making it that way.

I can't even describe how thankful I am to the regular guests on the podcast, who help make this what it is. People are willing to chat with me about the important things in London, and I think our community is better for it.

The next thank you goes to the people who download and listen to the podcast. I'm very fortunate that people have followed me around to a few places now, and I'm so glad that people enjoy what we're doing on this podcast. I never take it for granted.

Last thank you goes to the three most important people in the world:

My wife and my children.

For starters, they put up with my busy job which I'm sure isn't always easy. I have lots to do, but they're always willing to be part of it and work around it.

Secondly, when things when the way they did at the other station (it got ugly), it would have been easy for Stacey to say "you know what, let's find something more solid than the radio thing," in the wake of that mess.

She never did. Not once. She believes in me, too.

I like to think I'm proving her right.

So, here's to 300 episodes.

We have even bigger and better things to come. Glad you're part of the ride.

- Craig