The 519 Podcast

As our real estate market continues to sees prices climb to historic heights, the 519 Podcast is looking at the impact on first time home buyers.

In a recent episode, we heard from economist Mike Moffatt about why prices have gone up this way they have.
We also talked to a realtor who pointed to the lack of supply and how it's making it very hard for buyers to find what they're looking for in their price range. 
In this episode, we hear from first time home buyers Alex and Tristan - who were successful in finding a home.. 

What was their house searching experience like? Was it discouraging to see houses they loved sell for hundreds of thousands over the list price? And what advice do they have for other first time home buyers?

This episode is hosted by Craig Needles. 

If we had to take a close look at things that we, as humans, probably don’t deserve, dogs would likely be at or near the top of the list. They ask only for shelter, food, water, and someone to rub their bellies.

And they give so much. But it’s not just companionship and unconditional love that dogs give us. 

Some dogs contribute in a much different way. They help solve crimes and find missing people. 

That’s the focus of this episode of the 519 Podcast. Host Craig Needles speaks with Constable Kristopher Black, K9 unit officer and dog handler with Lambton OPP, about police dogs Blitz and Celeana.

If you’re looking to buy a home, or you know someone who is, then you certainly know about the drastic changes that the housing market in Southwestern and Midwestern Ontario has experienced in what seems to be a very short amount of time. 

Prices at an all time high, bidding wars, and properties selling for hundreds of thousand dollars over the asking price. The real estate market in our region has been breaking records in the past year. 

Are these numbers here to stay, or is this a bubble that will inevitably burst?

We hope, by the end of this episode, we will answer some of your questions and leave you feeling a little more hopeful about buying a home. 

Environmental concerns will likely mean a change to our food supply. Does that mean crickets are on the menu? 519 Podcast host Hayley Cheng explores the idea.

Mike VanNetten spent more than 80 days in the hospital battling COVID-19. He and his wife Sarah joined the podcast to talk about his fight with COVID and their hope that everyone gets vaccinated.

It's not unusual for things to be stolen from people's front porches in cities across our region. 

It happens all the time. We've even coined a term for the people who do it. We call them porch pirates. 

But that's usually for the thefts of things like Amazon packages. 

There are other times when thefts from front porches hit like a punch to the gut. Like the recent theft of a special wheelchair from the home of a 9-year-old girl in London. 

The story has a happy ending of sorts, as the public came together to raise money for a replacement. 

But it shouldn't have to come to that. 

And that's the focus of this episode of the Blackburn News Podcast, hosted by Craig Needles. 

If you wanted one way to gauge the excitement people have for our lockdowns and stay-at-home orders coming to an end, there’s really only one stop you need to make: your local restaurant’s patio.

It's where you can find people doing what they have waited so long to do. That is, gather with others with a semblance of normalcy. 

This is what we’ve been waiting for., and it’s a good time to take a look back to the restaurant struggles we’ve had and have a look forward to where outdoor and indoor dining is headed in the future.

This is Patio Mania, a Blackburn News podcast looking into one of this summer’s most anticipated social gathering places, and where we’re at with the bar and restaurant industry. It's hosted by Craig Needles

You can ask just about anyone and they'll tell you that we've come a long way in this country when it comes to the rights of the LGBTQ2S+ community. 

But many of those same people that you ask will also say we have a long way to go. 

June is Pride Month in Canada. 

And where things stand is the focus of this edition of the Blackburn News Podcast. 

This episode is hosted by Hayley Cheng. 

In this 5th and final episode of our series, Ghost Town, hosts Hayley Cheng and Craig Needles look at the reports of hauntings at the Huron County jail in Goderich. 

It was a crime that has left many people in our region reeling, and one that is making us take a closer look at the kind of society in which we live. 

On a quiet Sunday night in northwest London, Salman Afzaal, his wife Madiha, their daughter Yunma, son Fayez, and Talat, the grandmother and pillar of the family, went for an evening walk. 

But instead of coming home from that walk, Salman, Madiha, Yunma, and Talat were murdered, while Fayez was left in hospital with serious injuries.

In this episode of the Blackburn News Podcast, hosted by Craig Needles, we learn more about the family. We also hear from some prominent Muslim voices in the London community who say we should not be surprised or shocked that something like this would happen in Canada, .a country that many would argue has long deluded itself into believing that racism and Islamaphobia are problems that exist elsewhere, but not here.