Home › Weekly digest › Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2026
This week in Windsor News
Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, 2026. 28 stories from the week, newest first, each with a one-line summary. Every story links its sources.
News
- Connected Windsor: Pasquach cycling plan gets Bike Windsor Essex backing
Bike Windsor Essex backs Kat Pasquach's Connected Windsor: work with all 9 BIAs on cycling, transit, walking and tourism links between districts, building on the Gordie Howe Bridge connection. No map or cost yet.
- Lancers football crushed York 51-2 on Alumni Weekend
Lancers football crushed York 51-2 on Alumni Weekend. Spits beat Owen Sound 4-1. Today at Alumni: women's soccer vs Brock 1 PM, men's 3:15 PM.
- Sandpoint Beach: closed to swimming since June 2025, now a campaign pledge
Council endorsed a $15 million plan to move the beach east in January 2025. No construction date is set. Here is the record, the votes and the sources.
- EMS strike clock: no deal, deadline now Oct. 8
The County of Essex says CUPE Local 2974.2 moved its strike deadline to Oct. 8. The union told CBC a strike is likely Oct. 9. Keep calling 911.
- City Hall sweep: police say it cost them $0
The OPP says Windsor Police requested the City Hall technology sweep. Who paid, and how much, is still unanswered.
- Ward 2 Coun. Frazier Fathers proposes a 1% property-tax increase for housing
Campaign pledge, not City policy. Fathers says the levy would raise about $5 million a year once phased in.
- Downtown Windsor: what the mayoral candidates propose
Side by side: downtown positions of the three candidates invited to the Chamber debate. Campaign pledges, not City policy.
- Former Chief Bellaire: what the record shows
CBC reported an investigation substantiated that Jason Bellaire made comments breaching WPS directives. A human rights complaint is unproven.
- Chamber mayoral debate: Dilkens, Francis and Pasquach at the Chrysler Theatre
Stability, change and ignored voices: what the three invited candidates pitched. The full recording is free on YouTube.
- City's $1.5M for the Downtown Mission: tax-levy share still Unclear
The City cites about $1.5 million, close to the $1.48 million in Ontario and federal grants in the Mission's audit. A freedom-of-information request is pending.
- One $2,626,537 budget item, two descriptions in City documents
Item 2026-0097 was listed in camera as "Labour Relations." The approved budget book calls it "Homelessness and Supportive Housing Reduction."
- Police crisis teams answered 4,300 calls since January, 1,896 downtown
Windsor Police's Nurse Police Team and Crisis Response Team pair officers with hospital staff, police say.
- Soup Shack has an Amazon wish list: items ship straight to the kitchen
Urgent needs include emergency blankets and dog and cat food. In-person drop-offs at 636 Goyeau St., 4 to 9 p.m.
- City of Windsor responds in writing on its $24,000 sole-source contract with GT & Co
The City says the City Hall procedures review is within the Council-approved budget. Several questions remain unanswered.
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: what's closed and open in Windsor on Sept. 30
City offices, 311 and library branches closed. Garbage pickup not delayed, buses on a regular weekday schedule.
- Ontario takes on the federal gun ban at the Supreme Court
Appeals of the 2020 firearms ban are set for Nov. 9. Windsor Police opted out of the federal buyback in January.
- How Mayor Dilkens has used strong mayor powers
The City has posted 94 written mayoral decisions since the powers took effect July 1, 2023. Key ones, from the City's own records.
- Chamber mayoral debate Tuesday at the Chrysler Theatre
The Windsor Essex Chamber of Commerce invited Drew Dilkens, Fred Francis and Kat Pasquach, three of 11 registered candidates.
- Public-board trustee candidates' open house at Kennedy Collegiate
The Windsor Council of Home and School Associations hosted GECDSB trustee candidates on Sept. 28.
- Tecumseh asks Transit Windsor for a cost estimate; no price public yet
Tecumseh council directed staff to request a Transit Windsor estimate for a Tecumseh Road corridor link, local media reported.
- Voter cards mail the week of Sept. 28, and you don't need one to vote
Cards should arrive the first week of October. Without one, bring accepted ID to a polling place in your ward.
Things to do
- Windsor's week ahead looks like a postcard: sunny Monday and Tuesday at 18°
Windsor's week ahead looks like a postcard: sunny Monday and Tuesday at 18°, then 22° Wednesday. One catch: Environment Canada flags a risk of frost Monday night, low of 3°. Bring in the tomatoes and patio plants.
- BIG Motorcity Show rolls into Fogolar this Sunday
The BIG Motorcity car, motorcycle and truck show is at the Fogolar Furlan Club on Sunday, Oct. 4, from 10 AM to 2 PM. It is free to attend and raises money for Big Brothers Big Sisters Windsor Essex.
- Windsor’s Zombie Walk is back
Saturday downtown: Windsor’s Zombie Walk is back, free & family-friendly, with donations for Downtown Mission. Zombies gather 4 to 6 PM at Ouellette & Elliott; horde leaves about 6:30 down Ouellette. BIA + ScareHouse.
- Bert Kreischer at The Colosseum on Thursday
Bert Kreischer brings his Permission to Party tour to The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 8 PM.
- Free orchestra night in a downtown garage
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra plays a free concert on the main level of the Pelissier Street parking garage on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 6 to 7 PM. Registration is required.
Witching Hour
- The Dragging Ghost of Mackenzie Hall
Staff and visitors have long told of the "Dragging Ghost" of Mackenzie Hall, Windsor's 1855 courthouse and jail: a custodian alone at night heard his ladder scrape across the floor. Three times.
Site news
- Windsor News is now on the web
Windsor News now has a home on the web. Full stories, the documents behind them, and an FOI tracker so you can check our work yourself. windsornewsdesk.ca Tips: windsornewsdesk@gmail.com
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