Without fear of flavour
Weston is holding its third annual Buskerfest and this year promises to be the biggest and best so far. As usual, the performers will occupy Weston Road on either side of Lawrence and this year, there will be a sidewalk sale held on the Royal Bank corner that will include food from local restaurants. Old favourites such as the Ostrich Guy will return while many new acts will be joining the fun.
Saturday July 20 from 2:00pm – 6:00pm
Go here for more details.
Back in 2011, Weston Web reported that the old Weston Station on John Street used to see about 450 trips daily (weekdays only). That would translate into about 225 people using the station.
Metrolinx published Weston’s passenger numbers for UP Ex and GO last April and they were up sharply thanks to a $1.50 subsidy for people making one journey using both the GO and TTC (courtesy of the Kathleen Wynne government). This was possible only for passengers using the much loved Presto Card.
The latest figures from April show that between April 2018 and January 2019, GO passenger numbers increased by 21% while UP Ex numbers were up 15.8%. Weston station sees about 1100 GO trips daily while UP Ex has about 940. That’s about 1000 people daily going through Weston Station which is a huge increase from the 225 in 2011.
With the recent announcement that the Ford government will drop the subsidy, there is concern that people will get back in their cars and drive.
Metrolinx claims it is willing to throw in 75¢ of the rebate if the city of Toronto will throw in the other half of the rebate but as usual, Toronto, in its 227th year of austerity, is pleading poverty.
Over to you Councillors Nunziata and Holyday.
Weston’s resident theatre company, Shakespeare in Action will begin performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream next week for a two-week run in Little Avenue Park. The show will preview on Tuesday July 16 and Wednesday July 17. During these two nights, the company will rehearse, fine-tune and block the show using the unique features of the park.
For many in Weston, this will be the first chance to see SIA perform. Seven actors will play the various roles – this is a comedy and one of Shakespeare’s more accessible plays so it should be entertaining for all ages. Expect some interactivity and not all of the performance will be on stage.
Admission is free and seating is on the park’s grassy area, or bring a lawn chair. A limited number of rental chairs will be available each night. Some people are planning to picnic beforehand or purchase take out food from one of our many local restaurants. Just remember to put all litter in the trash cans.
SIA’s Community Outreach Coordinator Catriona Leger says that performances will be cancelled if it looks like bad weather will persist through the evening. A decision will be made by 6:00 pm each night and broadcast on social media.
The company requests that people refrain from taking photos or videos during performances for copyright reasons.
The play will last for 75 minutes and Catriona suggests that it will be great for audiences of all ages as well as a pre-bedtime treat for young children.
Performance Schedule: Starting time is 7:00 pm for all performances.
Artscape Weston is hiring an assistant manager for community outreach and events. The position is a 12-month, full-time contract, managing “outreach strategies and event services for Artscape Weston Common, with a particular focus on supporting event logistics for community groups, non profits and local arts organizations ensuring they have access to performance, event and meeting spaces in Artscape Weston Common”.
Police are asking for the public’s help finding a man wanted for an assault at Jane and Lawrence.
Anthony McBean, 37, is wanted for assault, possession of a weapon, and failing to abide by his probation. The assault happened on June 17.
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh visited York South-Weston today and heard from local residents about flooding issues in the riding. Accompanying Mr. Singh were many well known NDP faces in the area including MPP, Faisal Hassan, upcoming federal election candidate Yafet Tewelde and local organizer Chiara Padovani who conducted the tour. Mr Singh, an affable and attentive man spent a couple of hours in the area.
The leader walked from Rockcliffe Court to Hilldale Road to hear some of the issues that have not been dealt with despite years of local flooding. The recent sale of 8 acres of city owned flood plain land at 200 Rockcliffe Court exposed some of the less savoury aspects of decision making in our fair city.
The land was sold off to a meat packing plant in spite of residents’ objections. This is an area that routinely floods after a storm and where nearby, in a recent event, two men almost drowned in an elevator as water flooded the building they were in. Read more in this excellent article here.
At Hilldale Road, local resident Franco Ruffolo opened his home to show the extent of flooding he and his neighbours have faced in the past few years. Franco showed some video of the water levels and damage that his property sustained and outlined the inadequate settlements from insurance companies. Residents in the area worry that insurance companies will no longer issue policies on their homes.
Jagmeet Sing is proposing that instead of matching funds with the city and province, an NDP government would pay the whole cost of flood remediation work so that homeowners in flood prone areas are better protected and don’t need to wait for all three levels of government to agree. He is promising $2.5 billion to respond to disasters and support communities like York South – Weston to adapt their infrastructure to withstand floods and other extreme weather events.
The tour went off well and made some strong points. Mr. Singh delivered some concluding remarks at the end of his visit and then spoke live to the media.
Local candidate Yafet Tewelde added some remarks.
