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Re “Bike lane plan up for debate” (January 2016): As someone who has actively chased better Bloor Street biking for over a decade, I should be very happy that bike safety changes may finally occur, but I’m not fully pleased. By only doing a part of Bloor Street in the already well-served Annex area (where […]

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Bill 165 offers consumer protection, unifies industry [pullquote]“If passed, Bill 165 will regulate the home inspection industry by licensing home inspectors.”[/pullquote] By Han Dong On March 3, 2016, Bill 165, Licensed Home Inspectors Act, 2016, my private member’s bill, received unanimous consent in the Ontario Legislature, and was referred to the committee on regulations and […]

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Transforming neighbourhoods into open air galleries By Annemarie Brissenden The 416 Project, an ambitious city-wide guerrilla art installation, is set to hit the Annex in the coming weeks. Canadian artist Jorge Molina is installing 416 six inch by six inch canvases on wooden utility poles in 35 neighbourhoods across Toronto. Each canvas depicts what Molina […]

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Relentless OMB stifles creative green projects [pullquote]“I’ve come to the conclusion that the overriding factor in municipalities getting nice things is sheer willpower.”[/pullquote] By Terri Chu Every time someone mentions a great municipal infrastructure project on the other side of the pond (usually in a really progressive nation like Germany or Sweden), I mutter some […]

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Time to break up with your large garbage bin By Mike Layton Despite a higher cost and growing list of recyclable and compostable items that you can put in the blue and green bins, some households are holding onto their super-sized garbage bins and continue to throw away stuff they could recycle, reuse, compost, and […]

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Specialized facility meets urgent need By Summer Reid Homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirited (LGBTQ2S) youth finally have a place to sleep without intimidation and harassment. YMCA Sprott House (21 Walmer Rd.) this month began providing transitional housing for 25 homeless LGBTQ2S youth, aged 16 to 24. “It’s another step forward for us […]

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Razor Management Inc., which operates the existing athletic facility at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute and is installing a similar field at Central Technical School, announced this month that it had received an unexpected retroactive municipal tax bill of $505,000 relating to the Monarch Park facility. It has also been informed that it will face similar […]

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Cancelled car tax could have made up difference for Toronto By Annemarie Brissenden The City of Toronto’s proposed tax-supported operating budget for 2016 rings in at just over $10 billion, but what’s remarkable is what it doesn’t include. Among the things it doesn’t include are much-needed Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) money, $25 per capita […]

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The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has signed a deal with a developer, Razor Management, which contemplates applying an artificial surface and winter dome over the Central Tech playing field. The current slate of school board trustees is at the end of their term of office. The newly elected trustees, together with the two city […]

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By Julia Hennessey After two years of development, Wellbeing Toronto website launched this summer and received close to 20,000 hits on its first day. The City of Toronto, along with partners that include the United Way and Toronto’s school boards, have contributed to the development of the online application that allows users to view and […]

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By Katie O’Connor In a city of small spaces like Toronto, loud and obtrusive neighbours can become more than just a mere annoyance. Conflicts rise as the weather heats up, which is why making nice with them has never been more important. St. Stephen’s Community House (260 Augusta Ave.) offers a free mediation program for […]

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