April 25, 2011

Video: Graham Hart Interviews The Peterborough Riding Candidates

April 25, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

[2011 Election Special]

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April 20, 2011

Roller Derby Makes Their Pitch To City Of Peterborough

April 20, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

Cindy Moffitt discusses Roller Derby with the committee, with team members there for support.

Last night, the new Peterborough Roller Derby league sat down with the Peterborough City Arenas, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee in a meeting to give them a sense of what their sport brings to the community, and to try and secure a local venue to play at. Roller Derby founder Cindy Moffitt (aka "Lucid Lou") says the games would bring revenue to the city not only in ticket sales, but from opposing teams who would need lodging and food. Plus, "girls like to shop!", adds Moffitt. Even though it is considered an "extreme sport", the current style of Flat Track Roller Derby isn't as aggressive or related to the poor image of Roller Derby of old, Moffitt conveys.

Ken Doherty, Director of Community Services, was very interested in the dimensions of the playing field as he had a few potential places in mind in the city. The main issue, however, is that Peterborough's arenas are 97 percent booked during peak hours (3 p.m. to 11 p.m.). There is potential to secure a venue down the road as the City assesses whether to add a second pad at the Memorial Centre or when future arenas are built. But that might not happen for a long time.

The committee will now convene and review the findings from the meeting and see what they can do.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

April 11, 2011

PtboPic: This Household Is Voting Liberal.. And NDP... And Green Party

April 11, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

[photo courtesy Chris Smith]

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April 07, 2011

Why Peterborough Roller Derby Can't Find A Venue To Play In City (And More News On This Growing Sport)

April 07, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

The Peterborough Roller Derby, run by Lucid Lou, has two teams, a logo (and website in development), a trailer, and the momentum of many in the city behind it. It is an empowering sport for women.

What the Peterborough Roller Derby still doesn't have is a place to play in Peterborough. We inquired with Mayor Bennett about this matter recently, and the mayor, who is aware of this new league, put us on to Ken Doherty, who is Director, Community Services Department. We asked Ken why this league is having so much trouble securing a venue to play in Peterborough, and his response was this: "Staff have advised that there just is no time available in our arenas during peak times. They're at 97% occupancy. We have encouraged Lucid to see if the Knights of Columbus Bowl on Park could meet her short term need. We have also invited her to present to the next Arenas Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee."

So for now, there is still no home for the Peterborough Roller Derby in the city—Lucid told us recently that they will play out of Douro/Dummer arena on Hwy 28. But she does still hope to find a place to play in the city. In Toronto, she is in the final stages of setting up a Junior Roller Derby program through the City of Toronto, which will be creating a space for girls 9 to 18 to learn about Roller Derby and "sportswomenship". Lucid would love to work with the City of Peterborough to set up a similar program here for this growing sport, and has now advised them as such.

Also, Peterborough Roller Derby has a fundraiser on May 7 at the Red Dog, starting at 8 pm, where they will have prizes, an auction and bands—though Lucid tells us they are looking for another band for the fundraiser. We will "pay in beer and pizza!" she says. For more info, contact her here.

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April 05, 2011

PtboPic: PCVS Students March Down George Street Today To Bring More Awareness To Saving Their School

April 05, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

[photos via PtboCanada contributor Desiree Fawn]

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March 28, 2011

Election Peterborough: How Social Media Will Have An Impact (And How To Interact With Local Candidates)

March 28, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

In the past, it was much easier for politicians to avoid any meaningful dialogue with constituents while they were out on the campaign trail: to hide behind attack ads or to stick to carefully prepared key messages written by party spin doctors.

That is beginning to change, thanks to social media.

We, the citizens of Peterborough, can now do the following:

• engage with the political candidates on Twitter and on Facebook, asking that they run a campaign that is about issues and that they steer clear of personal attacks, half-truths, and hyperbole;

• insist that they provide factual, verifiable answers about their political record and that they spell out their plans for our riding in as much detail as possible;

• attend public events featuring the candidates and share audio and video footage of those presentations with our fellow voters via social media;

• write to the candidates about issues that matter to us and share their responses so that everyone can benefit from what we learn.

I intend to monitor the Facebook pages and Twitter feeds for Dean Del Mastro (CPC), Betsy McGregor (Lib), Dave Nickle (NDP), and the Green Party candidate (when that person is declared). I hope you will, too.

I hope you'll ask them questions and engage them in conversation so that, come voting day, you'll have a clear sense of which candidate will do the best job of representing the interests of the citizens of Peterborough Riding.

HOW TO CONNECT WITH THE CANDIDATES ONLINE:

Dean Del Mastro
web: TheDeanTeam.ca
facebook: Facebook.com/deandelmastro
twitter: @votedelmastro

Betsy McGregor
web: Betsymcgregor.liberal.ca
facebook: Facebook.com/betsymcgregor
twitter: @betsymcgregor

Dave Nickle
web: Davenickle.ca
facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Dave-Nickle/133285860052348
twitter: @davenickle

[written by PtboCanada contributor Ann Douglas]

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March 28, 2011

PCVS Continues To Do Everything In Its Power To Keep Its School Alive

March 28, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

PCVS, which has been by far the most aggressive and vocal school in launching various public awareness campaigns to keep its school afloat (one of Adam Scott, Kenner, TASSS or PCVS will likely be closing), has now added a new poster campaign to the mix.

The posters—"Closed Doors At PCVS Means Closed Doors At Downtown Businesses"—are showing up in windows of stores downtown in support of keeping PCVS open.

PCVS's Peterborough Needs PCVS Facebook page now has more than 2,000 fans.

[Peterborough Needs PCVS]

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March 26, 2011

Election Race Has Begun In Peterborough (And Jabs Already Starting To Fly)

March 26, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

[chextvDOTcom]

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March 21, 2011

World Water Day Event Includes Speech On "The History of Drinking Water In Peterborough"

March 21, 2011/ PTBOCANADA

On Tuesday (March 22nd), it's World Water Day 2011, and to mark this special day there is a free event at the Peterborough Public Library from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in their auditorium that includes a keynote speech on "The History of Drinking Water in Peterborough". Should be interesting.