St. Paul’s byelection debate Sept 10

Tonight’s the night to hear from candidates
Byelection a week from today
By Kris Scheuer

The Town Crier paper is hosting a St. Paul’s all-candidates debate this evening and it should be a barn burner.
The seat in midtown Toronto is vacant as former MPP Michael Bryant stepped down in May to work for the city. He has since resigned that post while he awaits trail for an incident involving the death of cyclist Darcy Sheppard on Aug. 31. But that is another story.
Back to the debate on Sept. 10. It will be at the First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto at 175 St Clair Ave. West near Avenue Rd. Start time 7:30 pm although the candidates will be there at 7 pm to mingle with people.
Town Crier Editor-In-Chief Eric McMillan will be moderating and directing questions to the candidates and then there will be questions from the floor.

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Trash audit shows too much waste

Results of a waste audit show I need help
By Kris Scheuer
(Originally published Sept. 4 in Town Crier)
Column

I want to reduce my waste output.
It’s not currently realistic for me to produce zero garbage, but I wanted to examine what I’m throwing out to determine how I can lessen my contribution to landfill.
After the 39-day garbage strike, I promised to do my own waste audit and here’s what I found.
At home
I produced one-and-a-half grocery-size bags worth of trash between Aug. 3 to Sept. 3. This includes all trash in my bathroom, bedroom and kitchen garbage bins. But it doesn’t include anything tossed in the blue bin for recycling or organics placed in my green bin.
Bathroom waste
There was about a cantaloupe-sized amount of waste consisting of about 20 cotton swabs, dental floss, sanitary products and packaging, lots of tissues and a plastic foundation makeup tube.
How can I do better? If I had two garbage bins or a bin divided in two, I could use one side for non-organic waste like dental floss and the other for sanitary products (minus the packaging) and tissues that can go in the green bin.

Bryant cyclist case a lesson for all

What we can learn from fatal incident that left Darcy Sheppard dead
We need to slow down as we share the road
By Kris Scheuer
(Column originally published in Town Crier Sept. 8)

The recent collision on Bloor St. that resulted in the death of cyclist
Darcy Allan Sheppard has me thinking more about safety for everyone on our roads.
I’m not focusing on the high profile nature of this fatal crash that resulted in former midtown politician Michael Bryant being charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death. My colleague Brian Baker is covering that news story for the Town Crier.
But I feel it’s important to look at how we share the streets.
If you left your home today, you used the road to get where you were going. Whether you travelled by bike, transit, car or crossed the street on your feet. You had to navigate streets to get from point A to B.
My perspective is mainly as a pedestrian, daily transit user and occasional summertime cyclist. I have driven less than 40 times in my life when I took driving lessons, but never took a road test to get my licence.
I have witnessed many cyclists without a helmets travelling at night with no lights on their bike. They may not realize how hard it is for drivers to see them.

1 Bloor condo buyers move on

Condo buyers will get deposits back with interest
Purchashers deciding where to buy next
By Kris Scheuer
(Originally published Sept. 8 for Town Crier)

Silvio Arone wanted to move from Woodbridge to downtown Toronto at 1 Bloor St. East.
He paid a deposit of about $100,000 for his piece of the pie in the sky that was to be an 80-storey tower at Yonge and Bloor Sts.
The proposed 500-unit project by Bazis International is now defunct and law firm Robins Appleby and Taub is in the process of refunding depositors money.
“I made my way to the law office to hand in my form to recover my deposit a few hours ago,” Arone said Sept. 3. “I’ll get my cheque a week or so later.”
He works as a project manager for a builder, so he never panicked over his money.
“I wasn’t concerned,” Arone said. “I trust the Condo Act.”
The Act states a lawyer for the property owner must hold deposits, plus interest, in a trust account just in case a project doesn’t get built.
For Arone it was more a question of having his money tied up.
“Our initial deposit was made in November, 2007 almost two years ago,” he said. “I was in limbo.”
Now he’s looking to move into a condo that’s already built. He’s currently considering Islington and Bloor or midtown.