Couple enjoying a relaxing evening at Ireland park.
Smaller on flickr.

I went to check out Kid Koala and iNSiDEaMiND on Saturday night at The Boiler House, in the Distillery District. I was amazed with how lively and busy it was there at 10pm. The Boiler House (also known as Building 46) is gorgeous inside with its warm red brick walls, and huge timber supports. The room seems cavernous and industrial, but is actually very cozy when it starts to fill with patrons.

The DJ booth was at least ten feet off the ground and set left of the main bar. There were four or five turntables set up for the opening act iNSiDEaMiND. These two Torontonians played a theatrical set, engaging the crowd while showing off their amazing skills.

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In this edition of "10 things" we talk with jazz bassist extraordinare Victor Wooten about working with his idols (Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller), Christmas with The Flecktones and early childhood education:

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The Queen West Antique Centre is a massive antique, vintage, retro flea market, just down at the bottom of Roncesvalles Village. Theare are Milo Baughman chairs - 6 for $2495. Science classroom themed pieces as well as vintage U of T filing cabinets.

Read my review of the Queen West Antique Centre in the design section.

GTA Resale Housing Remains Stable in August

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) resale housing market remained stable throughout the first half of this month, Toronto Real Estate Board President (TREB) Maureen O'Neill announced today. "We're continuing to see consistent levels with respect to sales volumes and prices," said Ms. O'Neill. "While the numbers are more conservative than those in recent years, the stability we're experiencing should help sustain consumer confidence as we move into the fall market."

With 3,019 transactions in the GTA during the first half of the month, sales were down 13 per cent compared to the 3,480 sales recorded at mid-August last year, and off eight per cent compared to the 3,290 sales recorded during the same period in 2006.

In the City of Toronto, 1,192 transactions were recorded, down 15 per cent from the 1,411 sales that took place in the first half of August 2007, and off six per cent compared to the 1,269 sales that occurred in the same timeframe two years ago.

"While 2007 was a record year, it is still worthwhile to note that sales in the City of Toronto increased 11 per cent between mid-August 2006 and mid-August 2007, before the Toronto Land Transfer Tax went into effect," said Ms. O'Neill.

In the 905 Region there were 1,827 sales to mid-month, down 12 per cent from the 2,069 transactions that took place in the same period a year ago, and off 10 per cent from the 2,021 sales recorded in the first two weeks of August 2006.

Prices meanwhile, increased compared to the same timeframe last year. The current average price in the GTA is $373,844, up five per cent from the mid-August 2007 figure of $354,088.

In the City of Toronto the average price is currently $394,563, up seven per cent from the $370,037 figure recorded a year ago.

In the 905 Region the average price is $360,325, up five per cent from the $343,210 recorded at mid-August 2007.

There are currently 26,128 active listings, up 28 per cent from the 20,365 properties available for sale a year ago. This has resulted in homes remaining on the market for a slightly longer period of 35 days compared to 32 days last August.

Several GTA neighbourhoods however, experienced brisk sales throughout the first half of this month.

In Whitby (E15) transactions increased 12 per cent compared to the same period a year ago as a result of strong detached home sales.

Detached home sales also led Aurora (N06) to a 21 per cent increase in transactions.

Streetsville (W19) saw eight per cent more transactions driven by a significant increase in the sale of attached row houses.

In Downtown Toronto (C01) transactions increased six per cent compared to mid-August 2007 as a result of strong sales in all housing types.

"It's encouraging to see strong activity levels in pockets throughout all four corners of the GTA", Ms. O'Neill said.

Writing and photos by guest contributor Mary Edwards.

I don't think that even at the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art would a visitor experience Iain Baxter, Kelly Mark, BGL, Douglas Coupland, Shari Boyle and Terrence Koh all in one show. And this was just one corner of the new show by Adam Matak (previously interviewed on blogTO), entitled Signs of Culture: Contemporary Canadian Surrogates that opened Saturday, August 16th at the historic Great Hall Gallery (1087 Queen St.W).

It seems that every few months I stumble across a show by Matak on Toronto's Queen Street West. I had spotted him at Propeller, then a few months later at the now disbanded Walnut Gallery, and now with his latest series of paintings at the Great Hall.

From the street, the show nearly looked like a collection of shoe logos - his creamy-white images hover over a slick, black background. Think Jordan-Jump-logo-meets-Rorschach-inkblots - a bit of a leap from his typical candy-coloured works.

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PROPANE FIRE
• Propane blast puts the heat on City Hall [ Toronto Star ]
• City going after Sunrise for cleanup cash [ Toronto Sun ]
• Propane plant wanted to expand [ CBC.ca ]
• Province to look at safety agency [ Toronto Star ]
• Claims against propane firm total $900-million [ Globe and Mail ]
• Five more blast-area homes deemed safe [ National Post ]
• Identifying blast victim could take months [ Toronto Star ]
• Tag adds to gas pain [ Toronto Sun ]

TRANSIT
• Driver’s won’t call bus stops [ National Post ]
• Woman accused of hitting bus driver with hammer [ Globe and Mail ]
• Mother, daughter step up to stop hammer attack on bus [ National Post ]
• Bus driver hit with hammer [ Toronto Sun ]
• Police impounded hundreds of vehicles for street racing [ National Post ]
• 505 lose cars since racing laws passed [ Toronto Sun ]

CNE
• Wondrous awe at the Ex [ Toronto Star ]
• A day at the Ex [ Toronto Sun ]

NEIGHBOURHOODS
• Condo-tower ruling sends ’strong message’ [ Toronto Star ]
• Harper mocks Dion, woos GTA [ Toronto Star ]
• Anti-beggars on patrol [ Toronto Sun ]
• Crime, punishment at the Market [ National Post ]

MISCELLANEOUS
• A language without limits [ Toronto Star ]
• Ramped up for 2010 [ Toronto Sun ]
• New park ‘wipes away sadness’ [ Toronto Sun ]

Photo: "Monument to Multiculturalism by Francesco Perilli" by Shaun Merritt, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Tuesday August 19th, 2008:

Toronto's Chinatown BIA has hired a security guard company to patrol the streets and crack down on petty crime in the neighbourhood. It'll be a 3-week trial run at first, and if all goes well there will be less drug dealing and durian stealing.

A crazed woman wielding a hammer boarded a TTC bus yesterday and attacked and bloodied the female driver before being restrained by a couple of intervening tough and assertive female passengers. Police arrived within minutes, and made the arrest. Men on the bus sat on their hands and wondered "what the heck is up with chicks these days."

The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has said no to a 21-storey condo development at Mississauga's lake front. Apparently tall buildings can only be erected in areas where other tall buildings already exist. But the previously approved and erected 16-storey building just 500m from the proposed site isn't tall?

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PSP player on Toronto Islands ferry.

The Pirates have moved from their first home “across from the Beer Store” on Bathurst (above) to their new home at 1292 Bloor Street just east of Lansdowne Avenue.

If you want to help the Pirates settle into their new digs with a lovely housewarming gift here’s the wish list:

#1 A toilet.

#2 Some sinks (bathroom, kitchen, laundry tub…)

#3 Countertop.

Yep. They really need a toilet.

Finally, most welcome and most needed are more Pirates! Everyone can be a Pirate. Even Lance. Argh!

The Pirates could also use some wood screws (Robertson heads) and 1/2 inch copper tubing. The new storefront doorway is pictured above. Facebook group here.

Eglinton Hill might not be on most foodies' radars, but the hilly neighbourhood nestled in and around Keele has some Caribbean restaurants worth navigating. One of these is Irie Veggie where I stopped for a quick lunch last week.

Read my review of Irie Veggie in the restaurants section.

Each Monday, Spacing will bring you some of the popular posts from our sister blog, Spacing Montréal. We’ll keep an eye open for topics and discussions that are pertinent to current public space issues in Toronto.

• White paint and good intentions are not enough to guarantee cyclists’ safety on the roads, but often times that is all brave riders have to rely on to get around the city. Alanah Heffez looks at the state of bike symbols on a section of De Maisonneuve where many cyclists commute on their way downtown, frustrated by the disconnect between the symbols of safe bike routes, and the often dangerous reality.

• Although clotheslines have several advantages over mechanical dryers, including energy efficiency and being much gentler on natural fibres, many North American municipalities have banned clotheslines from being hung. Hampstead, a town on the Island of Montréal, is one of those municipalities, enforcing fines of up to $300 for people caught using the device. Hampstead believes that clothesline are unsightly, but for all their benefits, isn’t there some inherent beauty in this old fashioned way of drying clothes?

• The rioting in Montreal North reveals deep problems in the city’s community-police relations, not to mention issues of urban poverty, racial discrimination, and political exclusion. Christopher DeWolf looks at some of the tensions boiling over in Montreal North, sparking thought and debate about equity and justice in the city.

Photo by Alanah Heffez

Friday night's Kate Bush tribute night at Hugh's Room was a treat. Not just for the audience, but the performers as well.

Some of the talented local performers had previously learned Kate Bush songs, being longtime fans of her music. Others admitted to learning the songs expressly for the show and were still putting the finishing touches on the arrangements at intermission in between the two sets. Either way, it made for some fresh and exciting interpretations of this woman's work.

The resulting evening of music was much more diverse and just as enjoyable as the original songs. There were some unusual arrangements, which included DJ Lexifer of Legion of Green Men doing a sampled mishmash (don't call it a mashup), accompanied on stage by a hula hoop dancer.

And the a capella group of seven singing Cloudbusting, as previously mentioned in my review of Retrocity's show last Tuesday, got a tremendous reception at this show as well.

Continue reading for more photos and the full review....

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While most of you have been enjoying the summer, Spacing editors have been sweating it out in our office putting the final touches on our upcoming issue. We are happy to announce that the first week of September will see our summer-fall 2008 issue hit the newsstands and/or arrive in your mailbox.

This issue sees our writers focus on the extraordinary Torontonians who are shaping the city’s public spaces: the man who is saving the Humber River turtles, an illegal billboard watchdog, an activist working to allow chickens to be grown in backyards, students and community members coming together to create a mobile kitchen, and many more unique stories and profiles. The issue is packed with wonderful photography and charming tidbits about Toronto and its urban landscape.

If you do not subscribe to Spacing, now is the best time to get with the program! Anyone who subscribes this week will receive a discount: $25 instead of our regular price of $29. That gets you 6 issues over the next 2 years. All you have to do is use your credit card with PayPal (our super-secure online merchant) and you should get a copy of Spacing within the next 3 weeks.

Details for our release party will be announced int he next few days.

cover photos by Adam Krawesky

The City-wide roll out of the new garbage bins is now just about complete but that is not the end of changes to our collection system.

A recent article has drawn attention to a call for "welfare for waste" to create better ways to eliminate special waste items. Apparently as of November 1, the city is set to implement a unique recycling program for the bulky items no one is quite sure what do with, save putting them out for local treasure hunters or otherwise going in with the garbage. City solid waste manager Geoff Rathbone is quoted as saying even though for many of these types of items the City has no idea how exactly they will be recycled, they are going to "just jump in" and figure it out as they go along. We're talking about big items such as mattresses, carpets, and furniture.

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Unlike New York and London that have woven intricate subway systems through the heart of their cities, Toronto's transit system is still relatively young and has a lot of growing to do. Having a strong and speedy transit system is an important part of creating a better Toronto, which is less reliant on the car and more focused around public transportation.

Currently, more than 200 of our subways are over 30 years old: tattered, worn and in need of replacing. But with the extension of the Yonge-Spadina line to Vaughan and the introduction of the city's new Red Rocket, at a cost of a $499-million, the TTC is taking great strides in providing public transit to an average of 1.5 million daily commuters.

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Jonathan Hirsh and Ryan Seeley have created Toronto's newest theatre company Remain in Light (RIL), and their aim is to bring classic theatrical pieces to new light in an edgy, exciting, and engaging way. They've debuted with two plays that are currently running on an alternating schedule at the Paper Mill Theatre, one of which is Daniel MacIvor's House.

RIL's rendition of House is a solo performance by Ryan Seeley, and tells the laugh-filled story of a man losing his grip on reality and having a very bad day.

blogTO has two pairs of tickets to pass on to Toronto theatre-loving readers. Continue reading for full contest and event details.

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PROPANE FIRE
• Propane suit forges ahead [ Toronto Star ]
• More residents allowed to return home [ Toronto Sun ]
• Residents focus on recovery from propane blast [ Toronto Star ]
• In a crisis, city needs its mayor [ Toronto Star ]
• City cannot run on empty [ Toronto Sun ]

TRANSIT
• In search of the unstealable bicycle [ Toronto Star ]
• Musical ride on subway [ Toronto Sun ]

POLITICS
• PM calls Sept. 22 by-election in Toronto [ Toronto Star ]
• Harper calls a 4th federal byelection, sets stage for possible fall general election [ CBC.ca ]
• Premier makes Pan Am pitch for Toronto [ Toronto Star ]

CHURCH ST.
• Pair of fires fail to extinguish church [ National Post ]
• Toronto’s fetishists come out to play [ Toronto Star ]
• Fun goes over the top at Fetish Fair [ Toronto Sun ]

MISCELLANEOUS
• A home of their own [ Globe and Mail ]
• Californians see Toronto the Good [ National Post ]
• Security guards to patrol Chinatown in pilot project [ CBC.ca ]

Photo: "CNE - swing ride" by Phil Marion, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

Your Toronto morning news roundup for Monday August 18th, 2008:

Wacky weather is the story of the summer. We've seen near daily sun showers, thunderstorms, funnel clouds, hail, and now sunsetning (that's sunset plus lightning, and Sam Javanrouh captured it well).

With the looming potential for a federal election in the near future, Prime Minister Harper has announced a September 22nd by-election in Toronto's Don Valley West riding. It's been a Liberal stronghold for 15 years, and could be an interesting test of the waters for the Conservatives.

Will the Canadian version of the ongoing and elusive "war on terror" be a major platform issue in the next federal election? A newly revealed open letter from the Taliban to the Canadian people states: "The Canadian people have to realize if their sisters, their brothers and their children are being killed in Afghanistan, it is because of the wrong policy of the government of Canada and their falling under the influence of [America] when they sent occupation soldiers to Afghanistan."

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Shot at Toronto's Centre Island. A great example of being in the right place at the right time. My sister and I went to the Island after work for some photos and this amazing sunset started to form, so I quickly put the camera on a tripod and started shooting intervals (using the Pclix) for about an hour hoping to capture the lightning. I have 5 lightning shots out of around 600 photos and this is the best one.
For a bigger size suitable for desktop wallpaper, check out the flickr post.

A closer crop for lightning detail.

Kensington Market's The Rage is determined to bring Toronto up to par on the world-stage of streetwear style. A top pick in our recent Best Places to Find Stuff Made by Local Designers, the store has been a local favourite since owner Sarah Campbell opened its doors about three years ago.

But can their sasstastic, eco-friendly pieces compete? Decide for yourself after reading my profile of The Rage in the fashion section.

In the aftermath of Toronto’s brief transit strike earlier this year, the idea of a transit riders’ union gained some support with commenters on a few local blogs. But blogging didn’t lead to action so Toronto remains rider union-free.

Given the angry place from which many who proposed a riders’ union were coming, it doesn’t disappoint me that the talk was empty. If a union had been launched at that time, the major focus would have been on TTC employees. That debate has raged time and again online and in print but, to me, focusing on workers is a red herring. What we need, in the briefest terms, is well-funded capital and operating budgets for our transit system and, from there, we need rider-focused service improvements.

These aren’t revolutionary ideas but it seems like it could take a revolution to bring them to life.

In Edmonton, there is a transit revolution of sorts underway.

As the City of Edmonton embarked on a review of its public transit system with the goal of expansion, residents formed the Transit Riders’ Union of Edmonton (TRUE) in the spring of 2007 to lobby in the interest of transit riders. In an interview last year with Edmonton radio station CJSR FM, one of the unions’ earliest members, Brian Gould, listed off TRUE’s initial mandate.

“Building a transit-friendly city and curbing urban sprawl, keeping the system affordable for those who need it most, planning more efficient routes, extending late night service, reducing pollution from vehicles, ensuring transit police are accountable and in touch with the needs of transit riders, and supporting increased promotional materials to increase transit ridership.”

Judging by the more than three dozen media clippings on the TRUE web site, the group has filled a major void in Edmonton’s civic consciousness with that ambitious agenda.

TRUE’s largest undertaking to date has been a “shadow report” that was released at the same time as a major consultant’s report on how the Edmonton Transit System (ETS) could expand its operations. According to TRUE, the report commissioned by the ETS was focused on building a fiscally efficient model, even if that came at the expense and inconvenience of existing and future transit riders.

The shadow report, in contrast, engaged a panel of 24 transit riders who range from high school student to low income senior. Tied together by a team of three editors with varying degrees of transit and planning knowledge, the 24 panelists represent the diverse needs and expectations of transit riders, and their unique comments are cited throughout the report to maintain the rider-focused perspective.

The outcome of the shadow report is a compelling read. It strikes me as similar to the work done by Toronto transit activists on the Queen streetcar route earlier this year, though somewhat more populist in its approach.

While it isn’t clear exactly what impact the TRUE report will have on Edmonton city council, this initiative is an inspiring example of a transit riders’ union that leverages the knowledge of transit activists while harnessing the power of the grassroots. It’s the kind of riders’ union I could get behind.

Photograph by THBL.

Toronto in the distance seen from Centre Island.