PtboPics: Family Day At Ontario Speed Skating Oval In Lakefield

There was a great crowd out today for Family Day at the Oval in Lakefield. Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal was out with his family (see his picture below), and the ice conditions were pretty good considering the warm weather we've had of late, so kudos to the ice crew. People were able to try speed skates which were made available, and there were hot dogs and hot chocolate being served. It was fun in the sun.

[Ontario Speed Skating Oval]

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10 Security Cameras Could Be Coming To Downtown Peterborough

[chextvDOTcom]

Thoughts? Good idea? Pros and cons?

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Video: An Interview With The Mayor's Wife Jewell Bennett

And yes, she is asked about her "signature piece"—her hair.

[chextvDOTcom]

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What You Would Do With Peterborough Square

Photo: Evan HoltSo we recently posed the question on Twitter, "Peterborough Square. If someone handed you the building, clean slate, what would you do with it?" We received a range of interesting answers. Among them:

-- "Demolish it, build a public square & park around Market Hall with ice rink, outdoor stage, greenspace. Parking underground." —Candace Shaw

-- "Peterborough Square: Casino!" —David Feeley

-- "Dr offices. Professional buiding." —Paul Laing

-- "Ptbo Square partly demolished. Keep the theatre and leave the lower level for offices. Above should be a conference centre!" —Justin Beaudoin

-- "Convention centre, arboretum w/ space for farmer's market, town square." —Bill Juby

-- "PTBO Square should be an international flea market." —Catherine Hanrahan

Several people on Twitter really liked Candace Shaw's idea above, with Alana Callan remarking, "It would really put the focus back on downtown as a communal place, the 'heart' of the city."

So what do you think? Perfect world, what would you do with Peterborough Square? Leave it as is? Tweak? Radical change? Comment below, or elaborate on some of the thoughts above. 

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The Wheels On The Bus Will Continue To Go Round And Round, All Through The Town!

After Peterborough citizens stood up to the proposed transit cuts in an amazing show of force—exhibit A, exhibit B—city council last night reversed their decision to cut Peterborough transit, realizing, yes, it is an essential service.

"People were mobilized and they participated in democracy and they lit a fire under us…. I think that's fantastic," Coun. Dean Pappas told the Examiner. "It restores the service and that's the message that was clearly heard by all of us over the past two weeks."

[Peterborough Transit spared from service cuts after public outcry; Facebook Page Launched To Raise Awareness About Proposed Cuts To Peterborough Public Transit; Video: Amazing Turnout At City Hall To Oppose Transit Cuts]

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Video: Amazing Turnout At City Hall Last Night To Oppose Transit Cuts

Many people are pissed about the proposed transit cuts in the Patch. And they showed it loud and clear during a city council meeting last night in a great show of democracy in action.

The next meeting on the proposed cuts is tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Evinrude Centre, a bigger venue to fit everyone in.

[CHEX TV]

[Related: Facebook Page Launched To Raise Awareness About Proposed Cuts To Peterborough Public Transit]

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"I Love CBC" Rally This Thursday In The Patch

In light of MP Dean Del Mastro's recent comments, this Thursday (January 27th) at 11:30 a.m. there will be a press conference and rally in support of the CBC held at the entrance to the Peterborough Public Library.

For more information, visit here and/or follow @ilovecbcptbo on Twitter.

[ilovecbc's posterous]

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Julie Morris]

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Apparently Dean Del Mastro Brought Back The "Electric City" Moniker To Peterborough

We didn't know it was Dean. But in this recent speech he delivered at the Rotary Club all about Peterborough past and present, and what his vision has been for it, that's what he says, starting at about the 1:10 mark: "I brought back the title 'Electric City'. I hadn't heard that in years, but I did see it on a few things historically that related to Peterborough, as a moniker that related to it."

[YouTube]

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Facebook Page Launched To Raise Awareness About Proposed Cuts To Peterborough Public Transit

City Council has endorsed cutting $422,000 from the city's $9.8-million budget for public transit, and the implications of these service cuts to bus service if approved are significant. According to a new Facebook page launched to raise awareness about the proposed cuts, the cuts to bus service would include:

-stop at 6:40 pm rather than 11:20 pm on Saturdays
-run between 8:40-5:20 pm on Sundays rather than 8:00 am-7:20 pm
-the Major Bennett bus route on Sundays will be eliminated
-Technology Drive service will be reduced from 6 to 4 trips on weekdays

"Cutting funding to public transit is a regressive action and will affect those who do not have access to private transportation or have disabilities," the Facebook page states. "It is okay to examine routes that are underused but please keep the money in the system to keep it strong."

The Facebook page is encouraging those who care about the future of public transit in Peterborough to come out to council chambers next Tuesday (January 25th, 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.) for a public meeting and have their say. The draft budget goes to city council January 31.

What do you think about the proposed cuts?

[photo via Speak up for Peterborough Public Transit Facebook page]

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Update on 2011-01-23 19:15 by PTBOCANADA

Councillor Lesley Parnell -- "Now that I have the facts on ridership, we will need to make sure both Saturday night and Sunday night ( convension and handivan) are NOT cut."  See our Reader Comments section on post for her full letter.

Band to Watch: Peterborough's Elvyn Playing The MoHo January 28th

Peterborough's Elvyn (pictured above) have a mini-tour upcoming later this month, including a gig at The Montreal House January 28th with Toronto's The Ethers and Ottawa's Still Winter Hills. Elvyn's latest record, The Decline, has been getting praise from college radio stations and music publications for their "rootsy power-pop and heartfelt imagery," and they were also recently featured on The Wolf's "5 Minutes of New Rock".

Take a listen to their stuff in the music player on the homepage of their website Elvyn.com. The band will be touring throughout this year, and are also in studio working on their follow-up to The Decline.

You can also follow Elvyn on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and on their blog.

[Elvyn]

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