Toronto’s mayoral candidates will be in Scarborough tonight for a Q & A session with local residents at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School on Kennedy Rd. The event marks the first time the six leading candidates — George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi, Giorgio Mammoliti, Joe Pantalone, Sarah Thomson and Rob Ford — will be together to debate the issues and sell their platforms. Organizers have expressed hope that the candidates won’t stack the crowd with supporters drawn from outside of Scarborough, which would defeat the purpose of the proceedings. I’m interested to see if anyone will distinguish him or herself in this early “battle.”
Speaking of “battles,” candidates Joe Pantalone and Giorgio Mammoliti appear willing to take on the provincial government in order to bring . While other candidates were non-committal, Rob Ford agreed that any event that can bring 50, 000 or more people to the city would be good for local business. Premier Dalton McGuinty maintains that the UFC is not a priority for his government.
Sticking with the mayoral race, George Smitherman is promising that “he’ll revitalize and beautify 15 ‘signature parks’ across Toronto by giving citizen advisory councils a big role in running them.” The parks would ultimately be selected by City council after citizens propose what they’d like to see improved about their local green spaces. It’s a good idea in theory. Why not, after all, let those who use the parks decide what to do with them? But funding remains the big issue. According to the Star, “Toronto’s auditor general warned that the 3 million backlog in park maintenance and repairs could grow to 0 million by 2018.”
Toronto’s mayoral candidates will be in Scarborough tonight for a Q & A session with local residents at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School on Kennedy Rd. The event marks the first time the six leading candidates — George Smitherman, Rocco Rossi, Giorgio Mammoliti, Joe Pantalone, Sarah Thomson and Rob Ford — will be together to debate the issues and sell their platforms. Organizers have expressed hope that the candidates won’t stack the crowd with supporters drawn from outside of Scarborough, which would defeat the purpose of the proceedings. I’m interested to see if anyone will distinguish him or herself in this early “battle.”
Speaking of “battles,” candidates Joe Pantalone and Giorgio Mammoliti appear willing to take on the provincial government in order to bring . While other candidates were non-committal, Rob Ford agreed that any event that can bring 50, 000 or more people to the city would be good for local business. Premier Dalton McGuinty maintains that the UFC is not a priority for his government.
Sticking with the mayoral race, George Smitherman is promising that “he’ll revitalize and beautify 15 ‘signature parks’ across Toronto by giving citizen advisory councils a big role in running them.” The parks would ultimately be selected by City council after citizens propose what they’d like to see improved about their local green spaces. It’s a good idea in theory. Why not, after all, let those who use the parks decide what to do with them? But funding remains the big issue. According to the Star, “Toronto’s auditor general warned that the 3 million backlog in park maintenance and repairs could grow to 0 million by 2018.”
I’ve already reported on how, despite some people’s wishes, the Entertainment District continues to reach skyward. On the west side of Spadina, however, there’s a more sedate form of development occurring: mid-rise, focused on design, and potentially more in-tune with the surrounding buildings and city council’s plans. Is the King-Bathurst area getting development right? Not necessarily — and its problems highlight the difficulties that even the most well-meaning developers have in bringing quality projects to Toronto.
At 639 Queen St. West sits a building which has at various times over the years amazed me, confused me, and until only very recently, been completely inaccessible to me. Most of us will remember it as , abandoned in 2002, with its newspapered windows and imposing gates, but when it was originally built in 1907, it was the .
The seven-storey building narrowly escaped a a few years back, which enveloped several of its neighbours. Since then, it has thankfully seen better days, recently being fitted with new windows and innards, awaiting prospective businesses and tenants.
Visits to the Toronto Zoo, unlimited use of the TTC, CNE entry, city parking, conservation area visits, membership in the Toronto Board of Trade, sightseeing, and golf course passes are all some of the perks that Toronto city councilors receive.
, in the video embedded below, shows us all of his special passes and member cards, and claims that this all adds up to a minimum of somewhere between -30 million in taxpayer money that could be saved (although it’s unclear in what time frame he’s referring to).
Regent Park is Canada’s oldest and largest social housing project. The former slum of Cabbagetown was razed in the 1950s to create what its creators hoped would be a more modern and livable neighbourhood for low-income families. However, as with much much modernist social housing built during the period — like the Cabrini-Green project in Chicago — such housing projects have witnessed escalating crime and vandalism ever since.
Having shared my first set of old Toronto postcards under a “then and now” theme, I decided to go with a little less structure this time around. As interesting as it is to compare the old city with its contemporary counterpart, the literalism of the exercise tends to diminish the intrigue that surrounds these historical materials.
So there will be no Google Street View today. Instead, I’ve confined myself to imagining what these buildings and street-scapes look like now, if indeed, they exist at all.
is my absolute favourite station on the entire TTC subway network. Designed by Dunlop-Farrow Architects and built in 1978, the station is simply beautiful. Its unique orange colour palette, gorgeous floral-themed mosaic tile work by James Sutherland, and many rounded surfaces and finishes (including benches that blend seamlessly into the walls, rounded wall corners, and bubble-like light fixtures) make it a truly special underground design marvel.
But things have gotten a little worse for wear of late, with tiles crumbling, and countless light fixtures either missing covers or having bulbs blown out or both.
After ascending roughly 50 floors of an unfinished condo on Toronto’s , we found ourselves facing a spectacular 360-degree view of the city. Far enough away from the downtown core, and yet close enough to see its entire breadth, we were blown away, once again, by the fruits of our rooftopping adventure.
Many Torontonians view the sprawl of vertical living space stretching toward the lake as a blight on the landscape. As a hobby photographer, I tend to take a slightly different stance, viewing the construction of these buildings as massive metal and glass . For me, these buildings don’t obfuscate my view so much as they allow for more intriguing perspectives from which to gaze at my city…
threw an elaborate slumber party in forts made of blankets at a 2,000 square-foot private loft Saturday night.
Newmindspace are known for their jovial, creative and free events they hold in Toronto. Things like the giant, urban , , and . The blanket fort slumber party was a fundraiser ( entry fee) that will support the creation of their free events planned for this summer that reflect the Toronto movement.
I ventured out to a remote warehouse space near Bloor and Lansdowne to take a peek at the playful shenanigans that ensued…
I’ve already 
At 639 Queen St. West sits a building which has at various times over the years amazed me, confused me, and until only very recently, been completely inaccessible to me. Most of us will remember it as , abandoned in 2002, with its newspapered windows and imposing gates, but when it was originally built in 1907, it was the .
Visits to the Toronto Zoo, unlimited use of the TTC, CNE entry, city parking, conservation area visits, membership in the Toronto Board of Trade, sightseeing, and golf course passes are all some of the perks that Toronto city councilors receive. 
Regent Park is Canada’s oldest and largest social housing project. The former slum of Cabbagetown was razed in the 1950s to create what its creators hoped would be a more modern and livable neighbourhood for low-income families. However, as with much much modernist social housing built during the period — like the Cabrini-Green project in Chicago — such housing projects have witnessed escalating crime and vandalism ever since. 
Having shared my 
is my absolute favourite station on the entire TTC subway network. Designed by Dunlop-Farrow Architects and built in 1978, the station is simply beautiful. Its unique orange colour palette, gorgeous floral-themed mosaic tile work by James Sutherland, and many rounded surfaces and finishes (including benches that blend seamlessly into the walls, rounded wall corners, and bubble-like light fixtures) make it a truly special underground design marvel.
After ascending roughly 50 floors of an unfinished condo on Toronto’s , we found ourselves facing a spectacular 360-degree view of the city. Far enough away from the downtown core, and yet close enough to see its entire breadth, we were blown away, once again, by the fruits of our rooftopping adventure.
threw an elaborate slumber party in forts made of blankets at a 2,000 square-foot private loft Saturday night.
