As of this morning, Kitchener is the city with the second-worst air quality in Canada, according to iqair.com Yellowknife has forest fires very close by.

1401 River Rd E, Kitchener. All the time I pass by this place I see long que in front of it, even late evenings are busy. Does anyone know why this such a popular ice cream shop? Thanks

Anyone still going with the air Quality still at 10+? Or will the event be cancelled? I read the CTV interview with the owner, and he says it’s still a go but he also says he’s in it for over six figures, so of course he’d want the event to still happen regardless of weather or safety concerns. I really enjoyed last years event, it was pricy but the beer sampling, live music and bbq food was good fun for the day. Hopefully even one of the days this weekend the smoke clears.

I wanted to share what happened to us in case it helps someone else avoid a similar situation.

My brother was selling his car through Facebook Marketplace in Kitchener. A buyer came to look at it with another person. One of them claimed to be a mechanic. During the inspection, he asked my brother to go get some napkins, leaving the two of them alone with the car for a short time. Terrible mistake to leave them unattended for less than 2 minutes.

When we went for a test drive, the buyer started accelerating the car quite hard and then pointed out that there was a burning smell and a little smoke coming from the engine. The check engine light also came on, even though it wasn’t on before they inspected the car.

They immediately claimed the car had serious issues and tried to negotiate the price down by about $1,500. They even had a tow truck ready, saying they could take the car right away.

Thankfully, my brother didn’t give in. He told them he’d rather have the car checked by his own mechanic before making any decisions.

We took the car to our trusted mechanic, who found that one of the engine sensors had been disconnected. They also found a small amount of oil in the coolant and signs that something had been sprayed onto the top of the engine, which could explain the burning smell and smoke during the test drive. The mechanic is now flushing the cooling system and performing a thorough inspection to make sure nothing else was tampered with.

Another red flag: the Facebook account that originally contacted my brother is no longer active.

I can’t say exactly what happened while they were alone with the vehicle, but the timing of everything was extremely suspicious. It felt like the entire situation was coordinated from one person claiming to be a mechanic, to distracting my brother, to suddenly pointing out “major problems,” then trying to pressure him into accepting $1,500 less while a tow truck was already waiting.

Both men appeared to have thick Eastern European (possibly Romanian) accents. Just want to share this with everybody so this does not happen to anyone! Please be careful.

If you send your children to day camp at Bingemans, know that they feed your kids food cooked in oil that does not get changed for months.

It’s a shame that Rogers pulled the plug on KW’s only remaining AM station which otherwise provided an additional news source for the people who listen in their homes, cars, phones, tablets and computers. The only AMs left nearby aside from Toronto & Buffalo is 2 Hamilton stations owned by CINA Radio Group which once owned by Bell following the Corus closure of 900 CHML, Guelph’s 1490 CJOY, London’s 980 CFPL following Bell’s closure of 1290 CJBK and finally 2 Niagara Falls stations both 610 CKTB (also once owned by Bell) and 1220 CFAJ. We must protect our remaining AM’s as we can even if we stream it online.

I swear Kitchener has THE WORST drivers. As soon as I pull out of my driveway, and as soon as I get back in the city limits from elsewhere, it's painfully obvious where I am.

Edit for brevity: can we please go back to actually STOPPING when the light turns red?

Like, leave earlier? Is it really that difficult?

Are there any groups that are organizing against data centres in Kitchener or the Waterloo region? We have had to freeze housing developments but there is a massive Data Centre planned in Wilmot. Seems like something we shouldn't support.

Edit: Acknowledging typo in heading

Replacing all 17 original single-pane wood windows in a 1936 house. Had three salespeople come out, measure, and quote — we specifically requested the same window configuration from each. Quotes came back at $9,500, $15,000, $24,000.

Since we controlled for configuration, what's likely driving a gap this big — brand/product line, glass package, installation method (full-frame vs. insert), or just markup? Is the low quote likely cutting corners somewhere, or is the high one paying for something real? For an old house, are there hidden costs (rot, non-standard sizing, lead paint) a cheap quote might be skipping?

And is there another way we should approach this, or any tips?

Location: East Ward, Kitchener

Would love input from anyone who's dealt with a spread like this. Thanks!

Until there's big policy changes I'm thinking might be worth investing in an N95 mask since these fires affecting the air quality have been consistently happening for the last 4 years

Anyone have a review of the La Loma residences units in Kitchener on Gravel Ridge Trail?

This was around noon

Taken at 8am, 10am, 11am and 12.
No filters, though I wish I had an N95.

it was rated “unhealthy” last night - this morning it’s “hazardous“ according to iqair.com

How exactly is one supposed to pick a company when every company trash talks the others, and reddit has good and bad stories about all of them!?

Joking aside, hoping for suggestions to help me decide on a company.

Currently have talked to Reliance, Able and Aire. Leaning towards Able, are there any horror stories to beware of about them?

Looking to install a water softener please advise the best option for LONG TERM when you are on a budget! Rent it or own it?

Ball hockey team looking for a goalie for the upcoming Fall and Winter CARL seasons. More info here: https://www.waterloo.ca/recreation-and-sports/sport-programs-drop-ins-and-leagues/play-ball-hockey/

Competitive league with some really great players. Games are on Thursday evenings at 9:15pm, at RIM Park.

Curious if anyone in a KW high-rise (Civic, Charlie West, DTK, whatever) actually knows their building's setup. Did management ever tell you what filtration is on the intake? Anyone run a portable purifier as a workaround on bad smoke days, and did it actually make a noticeable difference?

Went to work yesterday and was irritated and had a headache all day, checked the weather app and it's at Index 11 again, thinking about just calling in to be safe will today be worse?

Absolutely disgusting out there. Neighbour had his toddler out on his tricycle. The stupidity is endless.

I'm genuinely shocked at how many people I've seen post on here and other cities Reddits along with all the people I've spoken to today that seem completely blindsided by the smokey conditions we're dealing with today.

This is like the fourth year in a row that the country has been on fire in the summer resulting in us having terrible air quality for like a month.

Every single year there's a new "hottest temperature on record" recorded and for the last month we've been dealing with consistently over 30 degree temperatures.

I mean this in the nicest and most respectful way possible, but get your heads out of your asses and recognize that this is the new norm because your ignorance has allowed it to happen and continue to happen.

Going forward, this is going to happen again and again every year until there's nothing left to burn, unless we do something about it.

Our provincial and federal government's are either not doing enough to mitigate the causes or are actively inflaming (pun intended) the causes with their policies.

DOUG FORD AND DANIELLE SMITH WANT TO BUILD A PIPELINE FROM ALBERTA TO SOUTHERN ONTARIO TO REFINE MORE OF THE SHIT THAT IS ACTIVELY MAJORLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE LITERAL HEAT DEATH OF CANADA.

TLDR: The country is literally on fire. This is like the fourth year in a row this has happened. This is the new norm and it will just get worse every year until there's nothing left to burn.