June 2010
8 posts
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You can't make this stuff up.
It is bad enough potentially having the house you’ve lived in for 51 years expropriated - it is far worse finding out via a general notice in the mail for a public meeting. It is kind of like finding out that you’ve lost your job because the nameplate changer arrives at your office the day before your pink slip.
As reported by the Toronto Star, several families may have their...
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Challenge to Municipal Candidates: proactively...
First off, thanks for putting your name on the ballot. I really mean it. Second, how about you disclose your donors before election day?
Yes, yes you need to disclose names of donors who give over $100 once the whole messy election is over. Those disclosures are available to members of the public if they go into City Hall and ask for the information. But I’d really like to know...
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Call me insane, but I think the Leafs have a shot...
Einstein once opined that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” If he is to believed, that means I’m probably insane - me, and most of my family and a good chunk of the GTA, Golden Horseshoe, South-Western Ontario, and pockets of Sweden. About this time, usually coinciding with NHL Draft Weekend, it is like...
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London's mayoral race just got a wee bit hotter
Word is out today the London District Building & Construction Trades Council has thrown their 10,000 strong membership behind Joe Fontana. Now I’m not one to believe that union members blindly follow their leadership - despite popular mythology, to be in a union is not to be a mindless follower of the mothership - but this endorsement is still nothing to shrug at. I wouldn’t...
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Bureaucracy-speak and the English Language: City...
I have an admission to make: I read most Board of Control, Standing Committee, and Council meeting agendas, and I also read any attached reports that spark my interest. I do it partly for my job, but also because I enjoy it. I view it as recreational because I partly read the reports through the lens of my favourite essay of all time, George Orwell’s “Politics and the English...
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Building a 21st century Council Chambers
Once upon a time I, along with a group of other citizens and members of Council, thought long and hard about how our city should be governed. We made a whole whack of recommendations, and the Council has actually been pretty diligent at implementing many of them, albeit more slowly than some of us would have liked.
The Task Force was really overshadowed by the issue of Board of Control -...
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ChangeCamp London
I’m very energized after attending ChangeCamp London yesterday at Museum London. First off, the fact that about 100 people were willing to give up a Saturday in June to share their gripes, dreams, and plans about London is evidence that people care about this city, and want to be a part of making it a better place. This fact alone gave me goosebumps - it is very heartening to see so many...
In the beginning...
I was born and raised here in London, Ontario. After graduating from Oakridge Secondary School, I moved east down the 401 to attend Queen’s University at Kingston. I met my lovely partner in life, Megan, at Queen’s. We convocated in 2002 and moved to Toronto, and lived a big adventure for a little over five years. I first worked for a little non-profit called Meal Exchange, which...