A new project attempts to extract young gang members from their criminal entourage by giving them other alternatives, but it has to be done intensively, one by one.
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Dr. Gilles Julien talks about how his social pediatrics clinics fail to fit into the Quebec government’s categories, which makes it tricky to get grants, but he says he wants the government and the public to understand what he does because he’s seen a need they do not.
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A glimpse of the Mexican farm workers who come to make minimum wage on Quebec farms.
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All of a sudden disillusion with Bixi: Emile Thomas on Spacing complains of shortages of bikes, decline in the bikes’ condition and dodginess in Bixi’s environmental calculations. In the Globe & Mail, Mike Finnerty, observing the launch of London’s Bixi equivalent, observes that the service is the preserve of the middle class in Montreal; he also wonders how they will survive London’s dense traffic snarls.
Journalists tend to exaggerate to make a point. I use Bixi and I don’t think the system is in as parlous a condition as Mr. Thomas suggests. I do have my doubts about the calculations of greenhouse gas saved because I suspect they’re not taking into account the large trucks zooming around town with trailers full of bicycles, redistributing them throughout the system – but I know those gas numbers are a very, very rough guess anyway, and just a PR lagniappe.
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The Lachine woman accused of having tried to murder her own daughter in what’s being described as an attempted honour killing has been denied bail and must stay behind bars till her trial at the end of August.
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Martin Patriquin samples a dessert poutine at Paul Patates; a Toronto writer tries to suss out Mile End.
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The Ahuntsic pastor accused of defrauding his flock is denying their claims he asked for loans and has failed to pay them back. But court cases against him are piling up.
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Here’s a big surprise: the federal government’s guidelines for automobile design are having zero effect on the greenhouse gases emitted by Canada’s vehicles and never will.
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As London launches its version of the Bixi, a Guardian writer comes here to check out how it works (with a link to Da Gryptions’ immortal anthem). The Gazette notices that London has 6000 bikes, 1000 more than in Montreal – but it’s a much bigger and more populous city, so that’s not unreasonable. (BBC says it has 5,000 bikes now and plans to ramp up to 6,000 later. Either way, all the bikes were made in Canada.)
It’s also a nice irony that our lack of a helmet law is one of the things that has contributed to Bixi’s popularity: in Melbourne, you’re fined if you aren’t wearing one, no matter what you’re riding, so their Bixi-type system isn’t thriving. It’s the sort of thing that flourishes on spontaneity.
It’s less of a nice irony that we end up paying more for our Bixi because we can’t benefit from it five months a year. Also, users want more Bixis.
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Now the city is saying work on Place d’Armes will be completed by fall 2011: people working nearby miss the square and the trees that used to be there. Good for tourism to have the square in devastated condition for two summers in a row?
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Marc
I still really think they should have revived those mothballed washrooms. Same for Philips Square. Would make life much more bareable for no shortage of people including those like me with chronic medical conditions.
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Tux
Maybe the problem of the criminal element could be mitigated by making them pay toilets that self-clean, like in Paris?
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Cédric Sam has a piece about the evolution of Plaza Swatow in Chinatown, which is set to open on Sunday, and points out that its name in Chinese has nothing to do with Swatow, a city name more usually transliterated now as Shantou, 汕頭. I’m assuming its ground floor is something like a small mall, or else the “plaza” part of the name will be equally misleading.
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Archives de Montréal compares a 1914 view of lower Saint-Denis with a Google Streetview of the same view. It seems likely that it’s some of the same basic houses on the left which have been brutally pared down to become the commercial façades we know now.
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Folks trying to save tiny Parc Oxygène in Milton Park are holding a festival to get more people interested in supporting them.
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A number of wooden hydro poles have fallen down but the CBC finds the utility is pretty blasé about others leaning off kilter in various parts of town.
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Isabel of Montreal
I’ve heard that Hydro says these incidents are “rare”, but I think, so what? Does that mean it’s okay to ignore residents’ warnings? Hydro says they’ll inspect them, but that lady on Hingston in NDG said the inspector found her pole to be “fine” two months before it fell!
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Grego
The poles on my street are totally leaning. I live right near where the three fell. Hopefully, this will make Hydro-Québec at least somewhat aware. Who knows, howver, when and if they’ll take action? Thank you for posting this, by the way. I won’t be standing under any poles anytime soon!
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Police trouser a fair chunk of change from answering unfounded burglar alarms around town.
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Nice little profile of the Village’s famous bicycle repair and hairdressing business.
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P.C.
This shop may be gay-friendly but it’s unfortunately not very franco-friendly. I’d like to like this place but… having been there a few times because it’s close to where I live, I’d say it’s hipster/gay/anglo friendly. A little extension of that Mile End/lesbian/vegan vibe. Dommage.
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The contractor who rebuilt Pine Avenue’s Théâtre Quat’Sous last year has not yet been paid and is threatening to seize the theatre and auction it off.
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Details are a bit scant, but there’s sign that Bixi will be coming to more neighbourhoods outside the current core area. Lasalle is the only one mentioned, but a more detailed announcement is heralded for next week.
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Sketches of what Dr. Gilles Julien does for the kids of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and why health minister Bolduc is now promising to support his clinic.
Interestingly, the health ministry is planning to reduce the number of medical specialists in Montreal by shipping doctors out to the regions. I wonder how this tallies with chronic promises to shorten waiting times for treatment – and I’d like someone to inquire into how much members of this government have personally invested in private medical clinics in Montreal.
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A man delivering a brand new pothole-filling machine had both his machine and his truck stolen in an operation that sounds like the thieves knew a lot about his property and his plans.
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The SQ has opened a file on the dubious pastor of Ahuntsic who turns out to have had fingers in a number of dodgy pies unconnected with his religion business.
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A car hit a train hauling propane last night, but the driver and passenger walked away and no serious damage was done except the driver was charged with drunk driving.
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The Plateau is banning new ad billboards, although existing ones are grandfathered in.
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The embiggened Molson Stadium is annoying some local residents and heritage folks with its noise and its sightline obstruction, but I’m afraid it’s a fait accompli and they’re not going to succeed in having it removed now.
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Not too surprising to read that many schools in Montreal are near fast food restaurants, especially in poorer parts of town.
naftee 19:18 on 2010/07/30 Permalink
i’m not sure why he decides to start out his article with a visit to a sketchy sandwich place? A dive’s a dive, and there are plenty in Toronto and Montreal.
admin 09:00 on 2010/07/31 Permalink
Wilensky’s is kind of a famous joint, and a survival of the past, but nobody goes there expecting an epicurean epiphany. It isn’t Schwartz’s.