I have lived "here" for almost 20yrs and I am happy to say it has changed for the better over this time, and continues to get better every year from what I am seeing, I see more and more resident involvement and participation when local events are happening, this not only helps you to know more about the area, your neighbours and keeps you abreast of where the area is heading, by so doing we have a shared vision becoming an even better community,
I see the JT area as one of the best areas in west TO, we have all the good that the "popular" areas have and some undiscovered yet to be realized hidden gems, the only way we can realize this is through better community participation.
Children activities namely in the northern part of the area (where you are) is ok - good, still room for improvement and as said will be improved once made a focus and holding our "public reps & organizations" accountable.
Overall safety, is better, as with other areas of the city, once again we can get more involvement from community policing presence & resident involvement
The train matter, you will need to look into, we have a battle going on and need all hands on deck, because perhaps TODAY the noise / pollution is not bad, but when looking into the plans for the future usage of those rail lands, the earlier usage could / will change drastically, which is not entirely a bad thing, because of increase use of rail traffic should / will decrease the amount of cars on the road as we embrace more & better public transport...etc
However the challenge remains in what types of trains should we embrace considering the future increased usage of area rails, namely the old diesel vs clean modern - electric trains, read more about this on CleanTrain website ( ctc.ca )
Our area now that a larger percentage of young families call home (older demograph. before) , must become involved with public education choices / formats, common areas / community centres including activities, parkland and green space for livability, embracing area beautification initiatives through arts, more festivals, finding healthy choices within urban spaces etc
These are my observations for our Nabe, and by the way, I personally include southern Davenport in JT, I see the park on the north side of Davenport as the southern border of Carleton Village, so to me, Davenport Village area is a part of the JT
I hope I do not rock the boat by saying that, I always saw them as one and the same, maybe 'cause I lived on Wiltshire just north of the tracks.....
We have a thread for the townes on Lansdowne and Davenport. I bought a towne last year in Phase 3 and I have talked to a few current residents there and the train noise is not an issue. Also, I have a friend whose sister has lived there for about 3 years and she is very happy with the area. She has 3 very young children and she feels the area to be safe enough.
You can add: Councillor all-candidates forum for residents of Doversquare October 6
Organized by residents of Doversquare Wednesday, October 6, 2010 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Salvation Army (basement hall) 789 Dovercourt Road Contact: Gilleen Witkowski gilleen@gmail.com Notice may also appear InsideToronto Villager. Will be open questions from audience but also this: Questions from moderator
1. What will be your approach to building consensus with the new mayor of the city and the rest of council to further your agenda during your term?
2. Community-driven programs in Dufferin Grove Park have been an example of how local residents can partner with municipal government. Would you like these sorts of initiatives to continue or even be expanded?
3. Do you think that long-term residents of Toronto should be able to vote in municipal elections?
My response to TCAT is now there after I pointed out they had not contacted me and they sent me the survey.
It seems there are often events and election related things that not everyone gets notified of. May be because many candidates never fill out forms to have their info listed on the official city site - or that they look at different sources. Uneven reporting by media has a domino effect of leading others to think there are only 6 or or 8 etc candidates.
Tonights Artsvote Mayors debate had 400 people at the AGO, 250 overflow at OCAD and a minimum of 1700 watching the feed live on computers. Those are pretty good numbers. For those that were watching the Rogers Ward 18 debate I am hoping that the Arts debate will be put online (like Rogers) to watch.
FINALLY, we are giving you what you asked for.... Brunch begins this Sunday at June Harlowe's 11 am - 3 pm!! We will have Johnny from Port Credit playing guitar singing his heart out, football on the big screen, and our rep from Mill Street handing out samples of cold beer!! We will also be serving $5.00 Caesar's with our homemade rim, $5.00 Sapporo Tall Boys, and $5.00 Mimosa's!!! It's our first day serving brunch, so come sit back enjoy the music and sip on cocktails at your new Sunday hangout!
This will probably be the last public event at this church as they will be moving in November to a former car dealership on the 427 that will become their new home. With plans to turn the building into condos the use of the building as a place of worship, started in 1913, will be over.
Zocalo opened in June in the Junction Triangle, the still-ungentrified strip of Bloor St. W. between Dundas West and Lansdowne subway stations. It offers good cheer and strong coffee. Owners Paul Hardy and Heather Braaten installed reclaimed wooden counters and church pews in the somewhat barren dining room, and chef Joel MacMillan in the kitchen.
At $10 a person, the “broken-bread sandwiches” are built around St. John’s Bakery’s nutty multigrain and toasted baguette slices. MacMillan, who credits his “honest, healthy” food to time spent cooking under Anne Yarymowich at the Art Gallery of Ontario, heaps the bread and fillings on to a silver platter lined with butcher paper. The idea is to share the abundance, so I invite a guest.
“We enjoy eating this way. You experience the same food at the same time as somebody else and have a conversation,” says Braaten.
The reason it was not taken down is that the premise is so preposterous that most people would see it as a rant rather than a thoughtful rating of candidates.
The criteria for judging Kevin is different than the criteria you used to judge the others.
Being progressive is bad if it's Kevin but great if it's Ana?
Its ok to judge Kevin based on what his councillor boss Giambrone did but not judge Ana on what her councillor boss Silva did?
Being an "NDP seal" is bad but being a "connected Liberal woman" is good. The Liberal and NDP leaning members of council tend to vote together anyway so in theory either would be good.
The lack of diversity is not any one candidate's fault and find referring to a credible candidate as "sister" as somewhat demeaning.
In terms of fresh air, Ana is one of the stalest choices as she worked for Mario Silva and has run once, raising more money than all the other candidates combined (almost exclusively by the construction/development industry Just like her old boss).
Hema, who I like but am not voting for, is without doubt the freshest, as if our candidates were loaves of bread, by far. : )
I received a phone call last night telling me I should go to the SJT website and see the posting of S Godfrey.
First of all S. Godrey, Ana is not all that fresh as you claim she is. Ana was at City Hall as the EA under the absent MP Mario Silva, when he was the City Councillor for w18, oh yah, he did attend the Bloor festival.
Picking and choosing which Mayor she might want to work with, might not be an opition, first of all with Smitherman's record, when he can't manage the Min of Health office, we all seen 1 billion dollars going out the window under his watch. How in god's green earth willl he manage Toronto. Plus by the looks of it, Ford is leading the votes and polls, so who ever is the next councillor might have to work with him.
The other thing we don't know which of the 12 Councillors might win, to early to tell. There is still many strong candidates out there like Kirk Russell who is coming up very strong in popularity. Joe Mcdonald another smart person. You just never know, Frank is also very popular in w18. Ken Wood he said himself he might not win, but at least he is keeping the other 11 candidates on their toes and giving them a good fight. J
I can only say as a candidate that the moment I was registered I waqs inundated with two sales pitches: Howard Moscoe trying to sell me election signs and a variety of business promising they could phone on my behalf like this one:
"Dear Ken, The Election Day is just 4 weeks away. Would you consider using automated phone campaign service to deliver your campaign message to your thousands of contacts? If so, call now at 416-221-7042 ext.113 or email to terrence.wong@itsp-inc.com for more information. Terrence Wong Director, Product Development"
Since I abhor such badgering techniques I would never employ such methods.
On the other hand, maybe its one of my competitor candidates doing strategic research? Or even maybe Rob Ford trying to see what councillors he may have to deal with? I really wish I knew.
Just got an automated call for a Ward 18 election poll. Touchtone choices for Bailao, Beaulieu, de Jong, Russell, Wood, "other" or "undecided". I wonder if the results will be made public, or if this is for someone's campaign. Don't remember which company was identified as doing the polling.
RANKING THE CANDIDATES:
Hema: my favourite candidate, but not a chance - love you sister!
De Jong: your party's too scary - you don't know whether your going left (green) or right (immigration), how are we supposed to know?
Kevin: three fatal flaws - one, while the whole ward is not pissed, let's face it, significant chunks are, starting w Bloor and lansdowne and definitely Dundas. Today it's them, tomorrow it's me. You either represent your ward or you don't. Can't trust you. Two, as someone mentioned in this thread, c'mon how many white guys do we need in council? I like Adam and Gord next door - but let's get some diversity people! Three, you're an NDP seal. Arf! Arf! here's your sardine. The ward should run the agenda, not the whims of Jack Layton and the anointed son-king candidate for Ward 19 (hey, look, another white dude downtown! Where does the NDP find so many white guys???)
Ana: progressive, knows the community and and would be a breath of fresh air which is exactly what we need in this divided ward. re Ford: This is one connected Liberal woman - there's no way that she'll serve the Ford agenda. And if Smitherman wins, can't think of a better way to get shit done in the ward.
Check out this video on Youtube for interviews with some of the mayoral candidates, speaking about Bloordale (the strip of Bloor St. just east of the JT, between Lansdowne and Dufferin). The candidates provide some opinions and ideas about this section of Ward 18.
The video was put together by Andrew Prosser, along with the Bloordale BIA, Bloor Magazine, and Civic Bloor.
as someone who looks forward to checking into this site often to hear the word on the street, i find it somewhat amusing/frustrating/annoying that when certain posters post their opinions or thoughts, other certain posters completely over-react/throw stones/become entitled. i don't think this site was intended as a p***ing contest to see who's more in love with the neighbourhood, or who knows more about the issues that are affecting all of us. let's all be respectful of others opinions, even though they may directly conflict with your own. seriously, everyone is entitled to be here and express their thoughts without being jumped on, insulted or ridiculed. it's tiresome and boring.
welcome to the "Nabe"
I have lived "here" for almost 20yrs and I am happy to say it has changed for the better over this time, and continues to get better every year from what I am seeing, I see more and more resident involvement and participation when local events are happening, this not only helps you to know more about the area, your neighbours and keeps you abreast of where the area is heading, by so doing we have a shared vision becoming an even better community,
I see the JT area as one of the best areas in west TO, we have all the good that the "popular" areas have and some undiscovered yet to be realized hidden gems, the only way we can realize this is through better community participation.
Children activities namely in the northern part of the area (where you are) is ok - good, still room for improvement and as said will be improved once made a focus and holding our "public reps & organizations" accountable.
Overall safety, is better, as with other areas of the city, once again we can get more involvement from community policing presence & resident involvement
The train matter, you will need to look into, we have a battle going on and need all hands on deck, because perhaps TODAY the noise / pollution is not bad, but when looking into the plans for the future usage of those rail lands, the earlier usage could / will change drastically, which is not entirely a bad thing, because of increase use of rail traffic should / will decrease the amount of cars on the road as we embrace more & better public transport...etc
However the challenge remains in what types of trains should we embrace considering the future increased usage of area rails, namely the old diesel vs clean modern - electric trains, read more about this on CleanTrain website ( ctc.ca )
Our area now that a larger percentage of young families call home (older demograph. before) , must become involved with public education choices / formats, common areas / community centres including activities, parkland and green space for livability, embracing area beautification initiatives through arts, more festivals, finding healthy choices within urban spaces etc
These are my observations for our Nabe, and by the way, I personally include southern Davenport in JT, I see the park on the north side of Davenport as the southern border of Carleton Village, so to me, Davenport Village area is a part of the JT
I hope I do not rock the boat by saying that, I always saw them as one and the same, maybe 'cause I lived on Wiltshire just north of the tracks.....
Once again welcome to the AREA
Kori
https://www.junctiontriangle.ca/BrownstonesOnTheParkForum
We have a thread for the townes on Lansdowne and Davenport. I bought a towne last year in Phase 3 and I have talked to a few current residents there and the train noise is not an issue. Also, I have a friend whose sister has lived there for about 3 years and she is very happy with the area. She has 3 very young children and she feels the area to be safe enough.
Good luck with your decision making.
You can add: Councillor all-candidates forum for residents of Doversquare October 6
Organized by residents of Doversquare Wednesday, October 6, 2010 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Salvation Army (basement hall) 789 Dovercourt Road Contact: Gilleen Witkowski gilleen@gmail.com Notice may also appear InsideToronto Villager. Will be open questions from audience but also this: Questions from moderator
1. What will be your approach to building consensus with the new mayor of the city and the rest of council to further your agenda during your term?
2. Community-driven programs in Dufferin Grove Park have been an example of how local residents can partner with municipal government. Would you like these sorts of initiatives to continue or even be expanded?
3. Do you think that long-term residents of Toronto should be able to vote in municipal elections?
My response to TCAT is now there after I pointed out they had not contacted me and they sent me the survey.
It seems there are often events and election related things that not everyone gets notified of. May be because many candidates never fill out forms to have their info listed on the official city site - or that they look at different sources. Uneven reporting by media has a domino effect of leading others to think there are only 6 or or 8 etc candidates.
List of lobby groups that have contacted me are here:
http://davenportdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/09/everybody-wants-endorseme...
Great Mural, Joel - and for letting my kids paint a little between the lines, too!
I might be able to find some time on Sunday with the teardown, if that is when it is happening. Any ideas as to when that would be happening?
Tonights Artsvote Mayors debate had 400 people at the AGO, 250 overflow at OCAD and a minimum of 1700 watching the feed live on computers. Those are pretty good numbers. For those that were watching the Rogers Ward 18 debate I am hoping that the Arts debate will be put online (like Rogers) to watch.
Another great review for a super place! Great couple, inviting decor, and lovely food! Check it out - loved it!
Your neighbour,
Sandy
Dear Neighbours,
FINALLY, we are giving you what you asked for.... Brunch begins this Sunday at June Harlowe's 11 am - 3 pm!! We will have Johnny from Port Credit playing guitar singing his heart out, football on the big screen, and our rep from Mill Street handing out samples of cold beer!! We will also be serving $5.00 Caesar's with our homemade rim, $5.00 Sapporo Tall Boys, and $5.00 Mimosa's!!! It's our first day serving brunch, so come sit back enjoy the music and sip on cocktails at your new Sunday hangout!
Sincerely,
June Harlowe's
Looks great Joel, congratutlations!!!
The Toronto Coalition for Active Transportation (TCAT) has released the results of their 2010 Municipal Candidate Election Surveys. Have a look if you want to get a an idea where some of the Ward 18 candidates, mayoral candidates, and trustee candidates stand on walking and cycling issues.
Of the Ward 18 council candidates, the following answered the survey: Kevin Beaulieu, Joe MacDonald, Hema Vyas.
You can also see the mayoral survey results here.
This will probably be the last public event at this church as they will be moving in November to a former car dealership on the 427 that will become their new home. With plans to turn the building into condos the use of the building as a place of worship, started in 1913, will be over.
BlogTO chose the building at the south west corner of Bloor and Dundas as one of the ugliest in the city. No argument from me.
http://www.blogto.com/toronto/lists/the_10_ugliest_buildings_in_toronto/
Zocalo sure has been getting lots of attention. Great review in NOW, and also the Toronto Star, just posted tonight:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/restaurants/article/867132--breakin...
Read the whole review over on The Star's website.
Jeff Hayward wrote an article about this in The Villager / Inside Toronto:
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/877084--iconic-structure...
reply stands, just not directed at you Scott. Thanks :)
The reason it was not taken down is that the premise is so preposterous that most people would see it as a rant rather than a thoughtful rating of candidates.
The criteria for judging Kevin is different than the criteria you used to judge the others.
Being progressive is bad if it's Kevin but great if it's Ana?
Its ok to judge Kevin based on what his councillor boss Giambrone did but not judge Ana on what her councillor boss Silva did?
Being an "NDP seal" is bad but being a "connected Liberal woman" is good. The Liberal and NDP leaning members of council tend to vote together anyway so in theory either would be good.
The lack of diversity is not any one candidate's fault and find referring to a credible candidate as "sister" as somewhat demeaning.
In terms of fresh air, Ana is one of the stalest choices as she worked for Mario Silva and has run once, raising more money than all the other candidates combined (almost exclusively by the construction/development industry Just like her old boss).
Hema, who I like but am not voting for, is without doubt the freshest, as if our candidates were loaves of bread, by far. : )
I received the same telephone poll, and it was an anonymous poll (e.g. the company/agency undertaking it was not mentioned). Forgot to star 69 it.
I received a phone call last night telling me I should go to the SJT website and see the posting of S Godfrey.
First of all S. Godrey, Ana is not all that fresh as you claim she is. Ana was at City Hall as the EA under the absent MP Mario Silva, when he was the City Councillor for w18, oh yah, he did attend the Bloor festival.
Picking and choosing which Mayor she might want to work with, might not be an opition, first of all with Smitherman's record, when he can't manage the Min of Health office, we all seen 1 billion dollars going out the window under his watch. How in god's green earth willl he manage Toronto. Plus by the looks of it, Ford is leading the votes and polls, so who ever is the next councillor might have to work with him.
The other thing we don't know which of the 12 Councillors might win, to early to tell. There is still many strong candidates out there like Kirk Russell who is coming up very strong in popularity. Joe Mcdonald another smart person. You just never know, Frank is also very popular in w18. Ken Wood he said himself he might not win, but at least he is keeping the other 11 candidates on their toes and giving them a good fight. J
http://davenportdemocracy.blogspot.com/2010/09/its-arts-stupid.html
I can only say as a candidate that the moment I was registered I waqs inundated with two sales pitches: Howard Moscoe trying to sell me election signs and a variety of business promising they could phone on my behalf like this one:
"Dear Ken, The Election Day is just 4 weeks away. Would you consider using automated phone campaign service to deliver your campaign message to your thousands of contacts? If so, call now at 416-221-7042 ext.113 or email to terrence.wong@itsp-inc.com for more information. Terrence Wong Director, Product Development"
Since I abhor such badgering techniques I would never employ such methods.
On the other hand, maybe its one of my competitor candidates doing strategic research? Or even maybe Rob Ford trying to see what councillors he may have to deal with? I really wish I knew.
Just got an automated call for a Ward 18 election poll. Touchtone choices for Bailao, Beaulieu, de Jong, Russell, Wood, "other" or "undecided". I wonder if the results will be made public, or if this is for someone's campaign. Don't remember which company was identified as doing the polling.
RANKING THE CANDIDATES:
Hema: my favourite candidate, but not a chance - love you sister!
De Jong: your party's too scary - you don't know whether your going left (green) or right (immigration), how are we supposed to know?
Kevin: three fatal flaws - one, while the whole ward is not pissed, let's face it, significant chunks are, starting w Bloor and lansdowne and definitely Dundas. Today it's them, tomorrow it's me. You either represent your ward or you don't. Can't trust you. Two, as someone mentioned in this thread, c'mon how many white guys do we need in council? I like Adam and Gord next door - but let's get some diversity people! Three, you're an NDP seal. Arf! Arf! here's your sardine. The ward should run the agenda, not the whims of Jack Layton and the anointed son-king candidate for Ward 19 (hey, look, another white dude downtown! Where does the NDP find so many white guys???)
Ana: progressive, knows the community and and would be a breath of fresh air which is exactly what we need in this divided ward. re Ford: This is one connected Liberal woman - there's no way that she'll serve the Ford agenda. And if Smitherman wins, can't think of a better way to get shit done in the ward.
No contest.
Check out this video on Youtube for interviews with some of the mayoral candidates, speaking about Bloordale (the strip of Bloor St. just east of the JT, between Lansdowne and Dufferin). The candidates provide some opinions and ideas about this section of Ward 18.
The video was put together by Andrew Prosser, along with the Bloordale BIA, Bloor Magazine, and Civic Bloor.
as someone who looks forward to checking into this site often to hear the word on the street, i find it somewhat amusing/frustrating/annoying that when certain posters post their opinions or thoughts, other certain posters completely over-react/throw stones/become entitled. i don't think this site was intended as a p***ing contest to see who's more in love with the neighbourhood, or who knows more about the issues that are affecting all of us. let's all be respectful of others opinions, even though they may directly conflict with your own. seriously, everyone is entitled to be here and express their thoughts without being jumped on, insulted or ridiculed. it's tiresome and boring.
sharon