Dirty Sodas Girls Opening Downtown

Hiring a clean service shouldn’t feel like something else you have to manage.

My sister and I built Cascade to be easy, so you can forget about cleaning.

No more negotiating with yourself about how much you get to sleep in this weekend. No more doing one room at a time and never feeling like the house is actually done. No more mental inventory of what got missed.

At Cascade, you book once, set your schedule, and we handle everything from there. Same checklist every visit. A reminder the day before. Flat-rate pricing so nothing changes without your knowledge. If your regular cleaner isn't available, we send someone trained to the same standard, so your appointment is never missed.

Book now and get cleaning off your to-do list for good.

— Ruth Massey, Founder, Cascade Cleaning Company

Dirty Soda Girls is opening a Downtown Burlington location this summer, bringing a fast-growing drink trend to the hometown of its founders. The women-founded, family-run Ontario brand announced that after 10 months of searching for the right spot, it will be opening in Burlington, where the team lives and first built many of its local roots.

Dirty soda started gaining popularity in Utah, where shops turned regular pop into customized specialty drinks by adding syrups, cream, fruit, coconut cream, and other sweet mix-ins. At first, the idea can sound unusual, especially the part about mixing soda with dairy, but the trend’s quick rise shows that you need to try it to understand.

Dirty Soda Girls has brought its own Ontario version to life through pop-ups, trailers, and a downtown Guelph shop, serving drinks with fresh cans of pop, nugget ice, Canadian-made syrups, local cream, fruit, and vanilla cold foam. Now Burlington gets to see what the hype is about.

Burlington local Chris McGregor, known on Instagram as bigsnizzbone, has set out on an ambitious journey to backpack from his own front door right here in Burlington, to Victoria, B.C. The route stretches roughly 5,000 km, and he expects the trip to take about six months (yes you heard that correctly).

He only started about a week ago, but his story is already gaining major attention on social media. Chris has been documenting each day, sharing the sights, small-town stops, memorable moments, and people he meets along the way. His videos have been reaching up to 100,000 views with thousands of shares, drawing support from Burlington and communities along his route.

As the momentum keeps building, this is on pace to become a pretty remarkable story by the time he reaches the West Coast.

Burlington council has approved five new financial incentive programs aimed at increasing housing development across the city's urban area, capped at $5 million this year. The programs focus on rental units, missing middle low-rise housing, and ownership condos, all funded through federal Housing Accelerator Fund grants.

The largest incentives cover up to 100 per cent of development charges for purpose-built rental projects and ownership condos that meet minimum bedroom-count requirements. A separate program waives up to $40,000 in municipal permit fees for buildings up to four storeys.

The West End Home Builders Association called it a positive step but a missed opportunity, arguing the targeted approach won't reach enough projects. Council approved the package on May 26.

⚖️ Who is Running for Office in Burlington?

Local father and advocate Greg McPherson is once again turning heartbreak into action, planning 10 long walks across southern Ontario to raise money and awareness for mental health supports and the opioid crisis. Through On the Road 4 Mental Health, he has walked every year since 2022 in memory of his son, Aric, who died in 2019 after struggling with addiction.

This year, each walk will cover about 44 km, roughly 55,000 steps, one for every Canadian lost to the opioid crisis over the past decade. McPherson’s route includes a Hamilton-to-Burlington walk on Friday, Aug. 14, ending at the Burlington Pier, and he invites residents to join for any distance they can.

He will also carry fabric banners where people can write messages to loved ones, with hopes of bringing them to Ottawa for International Overdose Awareness Day. Every step carries a name, a family, and a reason to keep pushing for better support.

Monday, June 1
☀️ Mostly sunny
High: 17°C | Low: 13°C

Tuesday, June 2
☀️ Sunny periods
High: 23°C | Low: 13°C

Wednesday, June 3
☀️ Mostly sunny
High: 24°C | Low: 15°C