Without fear of flavour
The “Weston & Mount Dennis Community Renaissance Project” will be hosting two meetings on community benefit frameworks tomorrow, January 15. One begins at 1:30 and the other starts at 6:30.
Community Benefit Agreements are programs to benefit local groups and individuals when major infrastructure projects are planned.
Weston’s groups for youth haven’t let a little thing like a lockdown slow them down.
UrbanArts has a session of “It’s a Girl Thing” coming up starting January 28.
Frontlines is continuing to offer online after-school tutoring, and they’re looking for tutors.
The Globe and Mail has an article on the development at the Weston Park Baptist Church.
While many church congregations are shrinking or struggling financially, Weston Park Baptist Church is placing its faith in development plans that aim to revitalize its property in the west-end Toronto neighbourhood.
“Our vision formulated [in] 2005,” says church deacon John Frogley-Rawson. “It’s a nice piece of land, and we have developed [a plan] for the property and the community.”
It’s worth reading, because it shows how a development should be done: with community consultation and assent. It also includes much on the fate of churches, and how they will be reused and redeveloped in a secular age.
Cityline built a new lounge space and homework area at Frontlines—and as you’d expect, they look really great.
Martelli foods also donate a truckful of food for the culinary program.
The Weston Park Baptist Church has raised more than $10,000 for Weston Area Emergency Support, the local food bank.
Castlepoint Numa, who plan to build on some of the church’s property, donated more than $5,000 to help the church meet their goal.
Happy Sunday 🎄 Please join us to help sponsor the #FoodDrive #WAES #TORONTO @cityoftoronto #WestonParkBaptistChurch https://t.co/epVXLYArOU @blogTO WAES is profoundly impacted by #COVID19. We lost over 90% of our volunteers & to move our food distribution outside pic.twitter.com/eksObCTJFQ
— Castlepoint Numa (@CastlepointNuma) December 13, 2020
The food bank has seen a huge increase in need since the beginning of the pandemic, with visits almost quadrupling.
The Weston Clean Team is an awesome group of volunteers who regularly beautify parts of our neighbourhood. WCT has transformed many corners of Weston in the past and they will be in action this weekend, assembling Sunday at 1:30 on John Street south of the pedestrian bridge.
From their Facebook post:
1) We ask you to join us in the capacity that suits you best.**** Independently for 1- 2 hours at an area you want to change -or-**** Join the physically scattered group 1:30 -3:30 meeting on John, between Weston and the bottom of the pedestrian bridge.
2) If you find a shopping cart, place your garbage in it and text Mel Hamelin where it is.
3) Councillor Frances Nunziata has expressed gratitude for our efforts and will also be joining.
4) Please pick up one thing at a time to refrain from injury and contact of unseen items.
5) At the impromptu clean up last weekend, we brought our own bags and gloves. While we are organizing this in response to the request to join, we are not an organization and so do not have the supplies. Councillor Frances Nunziata Ward 5 indicated she will bring bags to the 1:30 meeting location
6) We are doing this simply because. Because we are a community, because we care.
7) If you yelled, ‘Thank you’ to us last weekend; if you liked our clean up post, please show your gratitude by joining us on this impromptu clean up.
Having been part of WCT clean-ups in the past, I can vouch that joining the group is a great way to meet some awesome neighbours while doing something positive for our community.
Here’s a little taste of what WestonWeb was covering a decade ago.
In September 2010, crime was a big issue with a rash of muggings and a double murder. Eighty people met in support of Olympic Variety in Weston Village. Have we settled down since then? I’d like to think so.
A Weston retirement home was coming under scrutiny – beginning a long saga that (we think) ended last year.
John Tory was about to referee a local mayoral debate for the 2010 civic election. Rob Ford, endorsed by then and current councillor Frances Nunziata was the surprise winner of that race. No doubt Tory foresaw his own 2014 candidacy at that meeting.
Lions Park’s soccer field was undergoing extensive preparations before being covered in artificial turf – it has proved to be an incredibly popular year-round attraction.
Urban Arts had completed a new mural and Toronto Council looked as if it would do something for Weston cyclists. Sadly a golden opportunity to build a path along the rail tracks was lost and ten years later the dangerous ‘Supercentre’ gap in the trail is still there.
Finally, speaking of rail tracks, the Clean Train Coalition (who successfully lobbied for an airport express station in Weston) was rallying in support of electric locomotives for the then unbuilt and unnamed UP Express. That dream is still a few years away although GO electrification plans will allegedly be developed by next year.
