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Hunting Wabbits in the Byward Market

Written
by
apartment613
on Thursday, September 2, 2010
.
titlecard

Photo courtesy of Jessy Borutski

Post By Andrea Grant

I always sleep through Saturday morning cartoons. In fact, I haven’t seen a good one since the Ottawa Animation Festival last year. Damn adulthood, damn late night parties, damn breakfast smoothies and wheat germ and all that replaced Fruit Loops… zzzzzzz…..

WAKE UP OTTAWA!!! This Saturday September 4, our favourite obscure contemporary art gallery in the Market will be hosting an authentic Saturday morning cartoon experience… at BEDTIME. Backwards but beautiful, La Petite Mort Gallery will host the premiere of Jessica Borutski’s second short animated film entitled “The Good Little Bunny with The Big Bad Teeth.”

I’m sure many of you may have heard about the controversy surrounding Borutski’s work for Warner Bros. An Ottawa animation celebrity of sorts, Borutski has re-invented our beloved Looney Tunes characters – dearest Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety Bird, and the Road Runner to name a few – for “The New Looney Tunes Show,” set to premiere on the Cartoon Network this Fall. Changes include less violence overall (for today’s more PC audiences) and a purple Bugs Bunny.

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Election Snippets from the Weekly News Review

Written
by
Francois
on Tuesday, August 31, 2010
.

August 30, 2010

Several mayoral candidates were out and about and participating in a number of pride events this weekend. While Alex Cullen seemed to be enjoying himself, he’s on record as seriously considering his position in the mayoral race. Money woes have made it hard for Mr. Cullen to launch a solid campaign. Cullen hopes to raise $100,000 plus in an early September fundraiser to keep his campaign alive.

August 23, 2010

Sad news for an eventual Concert Hall, good news for the Arts Court. City council has ok’d the transfer of $12 million that had been set aside for an eventual Concert Hall to renovate the Arts Court and move the Ottawa Art Gallery to Lansdowne Park. While those pushing for a new Concert Hall were obviously disappointed, some councillors like Diane Deane admitted is the city “shouldn’t be sitting on money in the bank when we have cultural priorities and we have cultural money to spend.”

Over the next weeks, Randall Denley has promised to profile some of the better new candidates in this fall’s election - a great idea. His first profile is of someone Denley obviously has in high regard: Ugandan born Lily Obina, who’s running against Councillor Diane Deans in Gloucester-Southgate.

August 16, 2010

If elected, Jim Watson is considering a borough system to ease the conflict continually simmering between urban and rural areas. Watson says: “Amalgamation has been an arranged marriage, and bumpy over last decade. If there are some things we can do to make the decision-making and process of governing more amenable to the people of rural Ottawa, we should keep an open mind.” Is he on to something or is he “rurally wrong” as The Citizen’s Ken Gray believes?

August 9, 2010

We’re getting closer and closer to the October municipal elections and Apartment613 is working on something big (more on that later). The Citizen’s Joanne Chianello has written an article on who’s running for mayor and why. Will it help you make up your mind on October 25th?

As a number of news outlets reported last week, construction along Slater St. created havoc for a number of transit users who, in the end, preferred walking rather than staying stuck in traffic… Will this reflect badly on Bay Councillor and chairman of the transit committee, Alex Cullen or on mayor Larry O’Brien. Will the other incumbents be able to capitalize on this faux pas? Is this proof we ultimately need a downtown tunnel?

August 3, 2010

The City of Ottawa is planning to evaluate one of the more contentious outcomes of last year’s transit strike, as it looks for some help to audit the new OC Transpo scheduling system.

July 12, 2010

There’s now enough mayoral candidates to field a soccer team with a couple of spares to boot.  Clive Doucet, councillor for Capital Ward, is the latest entrant to the race, bringing the total number of candidates up to 14. The long serving councillor has often acted as a bit of a gadfly up at city hall, most recently for his opposition of the Landsdowne project. It is expected that his entry will split the left of center vote, although given that mayoral candidate and fellow leftist councillor Alex Cullen was only polling at 16% this May, there may not be much to share.

July 5, 2010

As we reported last week, city council voted 15-9 in favor of the Lansdowne redevelopment. Clive Doucet wants to bring the process to court, others just want to move forward. Councillor Diane Deans, who voted against the plan last Monday, said she thinks “unfortunately, there’s a divided community left in the wake of this decision.” But she added that now that council has made a decision, people need to move on.

All signs pointed to it (this, for example) and now it’s confirmed: Mayor Larry O’Brien is seeking re-election. In a press conference held on Wednesday outside his downtown condo building, the mayor stated he felt he was the best placed to get things done at city hall. With O’Brien, there are now eleven candidates vying to become mayor of Ottawa.
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The Ottawa River Summit: Local Leaders Dive In

Written
by
Katie
on Monday, August 30, 2010
.
Courtesy of Wagboy on flickr

Courtesy of Wagboy on flickr

Post by Andrea Grant

Despite this city’s conservative reputation, we at Apt613 know that many of you love the occasional skinny dip and seadoo ride. Heck, we’ve even seen the more riotous ones among you out on the water riding stand-up paddleboards or cruising on inflatable “Capri islands.” But amidst all this wild and wonderful wetness, few of us are aware of the serious risks facing the freshwater fun we hold so dear – specifically, the health of the Ottawa River watershed.

This past Friday, local leaders gathered in Gatineau to discuss just that: the risks facing the Ottawa River watershed and how we can work together to protect it. Government leaders, first nations representatives, and water experts shared information about the challenges they saw facing the watershed, from sewage overflow to wetland destruction to 62 pound Asian Carp invading and destroying local ecosystems. At risk is not only our leisurely loveliness, but also wildlife health, drinking water quality, and our local tourism industries.

Whoa, back up, you say. What’s a watershed? 62 pound carp?! And why wasn’t I invited to the Summit? Chill, dear readers. Apt613 attended the Ottawa River Summit and collected all the tools you need to learn about what’s going on, and how you can get involved, right in this post.

Click to continue reading “The Ottawa River Summit: Local Leaders Dive In”

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Weekly News Review: Terrorism, Women’s World, cycling improvements and lots more!

Written
by
Francois
on Monday, August 30, 2010
.
Photo courtesy of Jane in Ottawa in the Apartment613 Flickr pool.

Photo courtesy of jane in ottawa in the Apartment613 Flickr pool.

Lots of news this week! Everyone knows Ottawa was outed as a terrorist target last week so let’s not dwell on that.

It appears like the city of Ottawa and its surroundings are serious about making cycling safer and more convenient. Not only is the city polling cyclists, the National Capital Commission (NCC), the City of Ottawa and Ville de Gatineau recently announced they have agreed to combine efforts to improve cycling infrastructure and services throughout Ottawa, Gatineau and Canada’s Capital Region.Lots of interesting meetings and potential measures. I’m looking forward to seeing what concrete measures are put in place.

Several mayoral candidates were out and about and participating in a number of pride events this weekend. While Alex Cullen seemed to be enjoying himself, he’s on record as seriously considering his position in the mayoral race. Money woes have made it hard for Mr. Cullen to launch a solid campaign. Cullen hopes to raise $100,000 plus in an early September fundraiser to keep his campaign alive.

Art news 1: The city of Ottawa recently enlisted established artists like David Cation in its war on graffiti, spending $50,000 so artists can supervise young people painting large murals throughout the city. Head of Crime Prevention Ottawa, Nancy Worsfold, believes “murals have a proven track record of graffiti prevention.” Aside from preventing graffiti, the project hopes to engage at-risk youth and ultimately beautify the community.

Click to continue reading “Weekly News Review: Terrorism, Women’s World, cycling improvements and lots more!”

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Ottawa’s wild island: The endangered South March Highlands

Written
by
Katie
on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
.
YouTube Preview Image

We have all heard about Ottawa’s greenbelt, but what do we know about the city’s wild side? “Ottawa is unique in the world as a city that has a forest of old growth trees and species at risk and a diverse habitat in this small area.” The small area in question is the South March Highlands, a conservation area that consists of 457 hectares of municipally owned land near the north of Kanata. The quote reproduced above is from a video produced by a group of citizens - Paul Renau, Gord Stephen, Sherry Leavitt and Steven Hula - that states that if action is not taken, a unique ecological treasure will be lost to development.

The video argues that the construction of the Terry Fox road and accompanied developed is leading to the destruction of this ecologically significant area. The highlands are part of an corridor that provide protection to a number of plant and animal species, rids the city air of greenhouse gases and offers a bulwark against invasive species. Renau and his team cite scientific studies (anyone know the source) which claim that 440 plant species, 164 species of bird and 75 species of mammal, fish and reptile live in the area. Without even counting insects, this makes it one of the most ecologically diverse parts of the city.

Click to continue reading “Ottawa’s wild island: The endangered South March Highlands”

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Weekly News Review: Arts Court boost, Bye Bye Ex, Canada going green and more!

Written
by
Francois
on Monday, August 23, 2010
.
Photo courtesy of spotmaticfanatic in the Apt613 Flickr pool.

Photo courtesy of spotmaticfanatic in the Apt613 Flickr pool.

Sad news for an eventual Concert Hall, good news for the Arts Court. City council has ok’d the transfer of $12 million that had been set aside for an eventual Concert Hall to renovate the Arts Court and move the Ottawa Art Gallery to Lansdowne Park. While those pushing for a new Concert Hall were obviously disappointed, some councillors like Diane Deane admitted is the city “shouldn’t be sitting on money in the bank when we have cultural priorities and we have cultural money to spend.”

After 122 years, the Super Ex is taking place at Lansdowne Park for the last time. In many ways, the Ex represents the Ottawa of yore - at least the Ottawa of the 1970s. But as the Ex came under pressure from other venues and from a changing society, it failed to re-focus, to re-invent itself, to change with the times. That last couple of decades have not been financially kind the the Super Ex and the Central Canada Exhibition Association that runs the Ex. Despite this, there is still hope and the CCEA is currently working out a business plan with help from city staff that is to be presented to council this fall.

Over the next weeks, Randall Denley has promised to profile some of the better new candidates in this fall’s election - a great idea. His first profile is of someone Denley obviously has in high regard: Ugandan born Lily Obina, who’s running against Councillor Diane Deans in Gloucester-Southgate.
Sad but true, this year’s Reggae Fest was another gong show. Low tickets sales, acts not showing up, cash being seized at the gate by court order and the outright cancellation of all shows on Sunday. I can’t see this Festival coming back next year…
The NCC’s looking to make Canada Day a little greener. It says that 439 tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted during last year’s Canada Day celebration, the equivalent of the emissions of 80 cars over a year. The agency said it encouraged the estimated 300,000 revellers to take their bicycles to Parliament Hill this year to help cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. But it hopes to do more - perhaps it can learn a thing or two from the Ottawa Folk Festival who prides itself on being green.
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Apartment613 Municipal Election Coverage

Written
by
Katie
on Sunday, August 22, 2010
.
Photo couretsy of abdallah on flickr

Photo couretsy of abdallah on flickr

People of Ottawa, the fate of the city is in your hands. Whether your vision for the city is more bike lanes, lower taxes or more things to do, voting in the upcoming election is an important step towards making Ottawa the city we know it can be. Below are some resources to help you make your choice this October. You’ll find information about our upcoming election debate, interviews with the candidates, some of our past coverage of election issues and a list of our favorite resources for municipal politics. We’ll update regularity as we get more stuff!

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ELECTION 2.0: MAYORAL CANDIDATE’S DEBATE

4 candidates to duke it outApartment613 has partnered up with the Institute On Governance, the National Arts Centre and RogersTV to organize a mayoral candidates’ debate, set to take place on Sunday, September 12th at the National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage. The debate will be a live, in-person and bilingual event featuring current mayor Larry O’Brien and candidates Alex Cullen, Jim Watson AND Clive Doucet. We’ll be soliciting questions from you via multiple Web 2.0 platforms: YouTube, Twitter or just leave a comment on the site. Click here for more information.

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Today’s feature YouTube question

YouTube Preview Image

APARTMENT613 CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS

We’re hoping to profile all the mayoral candidates before October 25. To start, here’s a few blasts from the past.

Courtesy of www.ottawa.ca Clive Doucet

An interview we did with Councillor Doucet in October of 2009.

 Photo courtesy of www.jimwatson.ca Jim Watson

An interview by Kym Shumsky, blogger at Relishing.ca, as part of her 100 strangers series.

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SNIPPETS FROM THE WEEKLY NEWS REVIEW

August 30, 2010

Several mayoral candidates were out and about and participating in a number of pride events this weekend. While Alex Cullen seemed to be enjoying himself, he’s on record as seriously considering his position in the mayoral race. Money woes have made it hard for Mr. Cullen to launch a solid campaign. Cullen hopes to raise $100,000 plus in an early September fundraiser to keep his campaign alive.

August 23, 2010

Sad news for an eventual Concert Hall, good news for the Arts Court. City council has ok’d the transfer of $12 million that had been set aside for an eventual Concert Hall to renovate the Arts Court and move the Ottawa Art Gallery to Lansdowne Park. While those pushing for a new Concert Hall were obviously disappointed, some councillors like Diane Deane admitted is the city “shouldn’t be sitting on money in the bank when we have cultural priorities and we have cultural money to spend.”

Over the next weeks, Randall Denley has promised to profile some of the better new candidates in this fall’s election - a great idea. His first profile is of someone Denley obviously has in high regard: Ugandan born Lily Obina, who’s running against Councillor Diane Deans in Gloucester-Southgate.

Click here for more.

ELECTION ISSUES

Below is some of our past coverage of issues that will likely feature in the upcoming election.

Image courtesy of the City of Ottawa.

The Lansdowne Redevelopment

Lansdowne is a go…what next?

Lansdowne Park’s ‘Plan B’

Your feedback’s needed for Lansdowne!

Ian Lee Slams Lansdowne Live on YouTube

Just The Facts: What’s the deal with the Lansdowne vote?

Just the Facts: What’s the deal with Lansdowne?
Photo courtesy of transferpoint on Flickr
Public Transit

Let’s talk transit: comparing the old and new transit plans

Guest Post: Transit Tunnel Drama Unfolds in Ottawa

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RESOURCES

Here’s some of our favorite resources for knowing what’s going on in city politics. If you know of any other good blogs or sources of information, please let us know in the comments and we’ll be sure to add them!

General information and news

  • Greater Ottawa - A blog from the Ottawa Citizen’s David Reevely that covers municipal politics, urban planning, art, architecture, biking and more.
  • Ottawa Election News - Ottawa Election News is an online source for news, gossip and information about the 2010 municipal election. A great place to get up-to-date information on what’s happening. Check them out on facebook as well.
  • Ottawa Start - a comprehensive online guide to the city, is keeping track of all the debates going on leading up to the election.
  • Spacing Ottawa - covers urban development issues in general, and is a good place to find out new ideas for how to make our city even better.
  • The Bulldog - The Bulldog is a blog of news and commentary by Ottawa Citizen journalist Ken Gray. It focuses on city of Ottawa news but branches out other areas from time to time.
    		•
    Environment
  • Ecology Ottawa - Founded in 2006, Ecology Ottawa has grown into one of the largest organizations in the city focused on local environmental issues. The NGO produces a number of reports and fact sheet on local environmental issues. In partnership with the Sierra Club they also put out the Ottawa Council Watch, a report card on the environmental performance of city councilors and the mayor.
  • Ottawa Riverkeeper - Founded in 2001, Ottawa Riverkeeper is a grassroots charity formed to protect, promote and improve the health and future of the Ottawa River and its tributaries. Their site has some background information on a number of issues related to the protection of the city’s watersheds.
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    Public Transit
  • Public Transit in Ottawa - This blog provides indepth coverage of the issues relating to public transit, particularly light rail. They are also planning on sitting down with all of the candidates over the next few weeks. The blog also produces the Journal of Public Transit in Ottawa (JPTO), which provides some useful background information on a number on light rail, cycling and other transit issues.
  • Ottawa Biking Problems - A site that gathers and consolidates information on sites that pose problems for city cyclists.
    		•
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    It’s on! Apt613 partners up to host mayoral candidates’ debate - Update

    Written
    by
    Francois
    on Wednesday, August 18, 2010
    .

    4 candidates to duke it out

    Une version française suit.

    In this town, municipal politics often takes a back seat to federal affairs. However, some of the most pressing issues of our day play out on city streets. If you’re most concerned about mother earth, you should care about the city’s waste management policies and efforts to control urban sprawl. Arts and culture more your thing? Cast a vote for more arts funding from City Hall. Your walk to work, the water you drink and parks you play in are all affected by the municipality. Paying attention to the goings-on at 110 Laurier Avenue West, at least once every four years, is a small price to pay.

    Apartment613 and the Institute On Governance are doing their small part to put the municipality to the forefront by organizing a mayoral candidates’ debate, set to take place on Sunday, September 12th at the National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage. A collaboration between the blog, the Institute On Governance, the National Arts Centre and RogersTV, the debate will be a live, in-person and bilingual event featuring current mayor Larry O’Brien and candidates Alex Cullen,  Jim Watson AND Clive Doucet. If you can’t make it in person, the action will be televised on Channel 22 and streamed live on the web.

    The two themes that will run throughout the debate are youth and social media. In fact, from now until September 12 we’ll be soliciting questions from you via multiple Web 2.0 platforms:

    1. Twitter - At any time, Tweet your question using the hashtag #ott2010. We’ll be pulling questions directly from Twitter during the debate.

    2. YouTube -  Record yourself and upload your questions on our YouTube group, or send us the link to your Youtube of Vimeo video at editors@apt613.ca and we’ll add it for you.

    3. Apartment613 - Leave a comment on this post or any of our election coverage from now until September 12.

    We’re defining ‘youth’ rather broadly and hope that folks from first time voters to young professionals will attend and engage with the candidates. Even if you’re just young at heart, please feel free to record your rant.

    More details to follow soon so stay tuned!

    A big thank you to seamesse, Jim Watson for Mayor, mbpowell and Garth Gullekson for letting us use their respective photo.

    Click to continue reading “It’s on! Apt613 partners up to host mayoral candidates’ debate - Update”

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    Weekly News Review: Rural boroughs, locally produced hops, Arcade Fire and obits

    Written
    by
    Francois
    on Monday, August 16, 2010
    .
    Photo courtesy of mariana islands in the Apt613 Flickr pool.

    Photo courtesy of mariana islands in the Apt613 Flickr pool.

    If elected, Jim Watson is considering a borough system to ease the conflict continually simmering between urban and rural areas. Watson says: “Amalgamation has been an arranged marriage, and bumpy over last decade. If there are some things we can do to make the decision-making and process of governing more amenable to the people of rural Ottawa, we should keep an open mind.” Is he on to something or is he “rurally wrong” as The Citizen’s Ken Gray believes?

    Click to continue reading “Weekly News Review: Rural boroughs, locally produced hops, Arcade Fire and obits”

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    Folk is better served wet

    Written
    by
    saxby
    on Sunday, August 15, 2010
    .
    Photo courtesy of Blurasis from the Apartment613 Flickr group

    Photo courtesy of Blurasis from the Apartment613 Flickr group

    UPDATE: Organizers have released a new schedule for this evening online here. We’re trying to get confirmation that there are still tickets available. The Ottawa Citizen previously reporter that no new tickets were being sold, but contradicts information on the festival website.

    Organizers at the Ottawa Folk Festival tell us that things will go on at tonight’s evening concerts although the shows may move inside to Bowie Hall (still at Britannia Park). Some limited daytime programming is also taking place inside. Updates will be posted to www.ottawafolk.org.

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