Rolly's Garage Needs Help and Ossington Residents Need Sleep

Posted by Debbie Pacheco
Filed in City
November 11, 2009
Rolly's GarageNeighbours of Rolly's Garage, the mechanic shop turned arts venue on Lower Ossington, are in a bit of a quagmire. They like sleep. They also like art and the creative use of buildings.

"I think what's happening in the building is great... but sometimes the noise was totally unbearable," says one of Rolly's residential neighbours, who preferred to remain anonymous. "I called the police a few times because of it."

Another neighbour called a building inspector. The visit recently shut Rolly's bay door. Now Robin Lacambra is struggling to raise $100,000 to renovate the garage before it can open as a venue again. One of the renos includes soundproofing the building.

Mark This as a Fail For DineSafe as Toronto's Restaurant Inspection Program Yet to Offer Non-English Guidelines

Posted by Debbie Pacheco
Filed in City
October 22, 2009
Dinesafe GuidelinesNews this week spread of Ruby's final closure thanks to bankruptcy. The popular Chinese restaurant also made headlines earlier this month for shutting its doors after failing two consecutive health inspections.

But would Ruby's have been closed in the first place if Toronto's DineSafe program offered its guidelines in other languages?

Are Robarts Library Fees an Unfair Financial Burden on Graduate Students?

Posted by Debbie Pacheco
Filed in City
October 13, 2009
robarts library feesThe public should have access to publicly funded institutions. It's a novel idea, I know.

Too bad the University of Toronto is slow on the uptake. Instead of expanding who can use the third largest academic library in North America, the university went and shrunk the pool.

The 411 on Toronto's New 311 Info Hotline

Posted by Debbie Pacheco
Filed in City
September 25, 2009
Angry Phone UserToronto's bureaucracy is now easier to handle thanks to yesterday's 311 launch. In theory, I'll no longer feel like this guy looks after trying to get info from the City of Toronto.

Instead of navigating through the city's approximately 300 phone numbers, we now only need to remember one.

Public Urination Stirs Tensions on Dundas West

Posted by Debbie Pacheco
Filed in City
September 15, 2009
Public UrinationFung Lee moved into her storefront home on Dundas West near Brock Avenue with her husband five years ago. "We liked the rawness of the neighbourhood," she told me. But Lee didn't realize just how raw the area could get.

"We'll be eating outside [in the backyard] and all of a sudden we'll see someone going in the corner on the other side of the fence. It's kind of gross... and the smell!" said Lee, whose yard is connected to a laneway near one of the local sports bars.

Toronto's New Dog Poop Program Kinda Stinks

Posted by Debbie Pacheco
Filed in Environment
August 28, 2009
Dog poopWhether it's the never-ending poop or running out of bags, every dog owner has a dog doo-doo story. My story could be called "The Turds That Almost Got Away" thanks to Toronto's new dog waste pilot project.

The program consists of green bins dedicated to dog waste in a few popular Toronto parks. The aim is to keep dog waste from landfills since about a quarter of park garbage is pooch poop.