Tentative agreements have been reached with striking inside and outside workers and the city Monday. While it has been a roller coaster ride at least both sides were not “forced” into a decision by an outside arbitrator that would have caused more whining. It took a long time but it will be nice to know this is all settled and everyone is back to work. (The details will not be disclosed until they are ratified by council so one can only speculate about the end result of hot issues like sick days).

Perhaps Torontonians can learn from this, much as we did during the big blackout. Will we produce less garbage and stop taking our parks for granted???!!!

With all the doom and gloom being reported it’s nice to contemplate something good for a change. Friday March 6, 2009 marked Toronto’s 175th Anniversary.

It’s easy to get caught up in winter’s blahs and take for granted what we have. The St. Lawrence Market, Pedestrian Sundays, Kensington Market, High Park, The Beach, Cabbagetown, to name but a few and there are many other reminders.

Spacing’s contributing city photographers have donated 175 photographs to the City of Toronto’s Archives and Spacing has created some great historical buttons. Toronto Star Columnist Christopher Hume has a great interactive map of Toronto architecture. You should pick up Toronto’s Visual Legacy Official City Photography from 1856 to the Present by Steve MacKinnon & Karen Teeple & Michele Dale as it’s a fascinating book. It details Toronto’s progress from the building of The Bloor Street Viaduct, old and new city hall, to street life through the eras.

You’ve come a long way Toronto. Hoping we can continue to build a better city together.

Spacing launched December 3rd, 2003. Tonight they will be celebrating the release of their latest issue (and their output of 13 issues over five years!)

Pick up a copy of the latest issue at the event, around Toronto at Pages or direct from their webstore.

Here’s to another 5 years for one of Toronto’s and Canada’s great magazines.

Spacing’s fifth anniversary party and new issue!
The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West at Dovercourt
December 10th, 7pm-1am
$5 for subscribers or $10 (includes mag)
(RSVP: please note that, in accordance with Spacing’s liquor license, you need to RSVP to this event by email to rsvp@spacing.ca)

Photo by Points North

It’s hard to believe that this large geographical feature in the east end of Toronto was built by a long line of trucks dumping clean rubble from various construction sites around the city. Since it was just a pile of fill, nature has slowly but tenaciously taken over and created a green space at the bottom of our city.

It has become a favourite place for birders, and remarkably, one can find exotic plant life there as well, plants such as cacti. In the cold days of winter, it seems hard to believe that this bleak place harbours so much life. But even when the wind blows snow across this headland, colloquially called the “Leslie Street Spit,” birds gather to sing and feed. And birders and photographers gather to watch and shoot.