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Miss Vicky's got a lot on her mind - so much she just needs to share it. You'll find assorted political observations, personal reflections and the occasional tidbit of gossip here. These are offhand remarks, after all!

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Feeling Entrepreneurish?

Miss Vicky Tue Aug 31, 2010

It's always enlightening to review the commercial listings for the neighbourhood. We were on the way to Fairmont Park the other day and noticed a big For Sale sign on the corner store at Fairmont and Gladstone. Apparently the owners are ready for retirement and they don't have anyone to pass it on to.

I sure would hate to lose another neighbourhood convenience store - with Sherbrooke gone and the Jaguar convenience on Parkdale vacant, they are becoming a rarity in the neighbourhood. If it is going to go, I hope it is replaced with something useful, and not just a block of townhomes, as the listing suggests

Restauranteurs take note: also up for grabs is Cozy's. This makes me sad. When they go (and I hope it's not too soon), we will really miss their breakfast combo number 2.

And for deep pockets: The block that includes the Indian Express is up for sale . It seems like a lot for a property that has had vacant retail space and sketchy tenants for quite some time.
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Comings and Goings

Miss Vicky Sat Aug 21, 2010

By now, you've probably all tried the Hintonburger. If you haven't, well... what are you waiting for? The burgers are excellent - probably the best Miss Vicky has had locally. Miss Vicky has not yet tried the hand-dipped corn dog, but is told they are quite fine. As for the fries... while tasty, the consistency needs some work (they tend to be on the soggy side and at least once they have been soggy and slightly undercooked- perhaps a temperature issue in the frying process?) We're assuming they'll improve as they work out the kinks. Anyway, did I mention the burgers were awesome? All in all, a fine addition to the 'hood.

Marshall's gym had their grand opening today - did anyone check it out? They offer personal training and a number of other services.

The Hintonburg residents who own Global Pet Foods Kanata have been looking for a place on Wellington West for quite some time - they've finally secured space next to Ravensara and renovations are underway.

Another long-vacant property, the former House of Staples, has paper on the windows, so something is going in there. If anyone has anything to share, please do!

UPDATE: according to @kaitli on twitter, Dalhousie's Workshop boutique is opening a second location. Interesting!

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Playground Raising at Rochester Heights!

Miss Vicky Fri Aug 13, 2010

I've been fortunate, through my involvement with the Somerset West Community Health Centre, to chair a community table for the city's Community Development Framework. We started this new process by targeting one neighbourhood, Rochester Heights - it's an Ottawa Community Housing project with a lot of diversity and a lot of challenges. The idea is to engage the community in discussing how best to meet those challenges, to work with them to build capacity and to connect them with the resources they need to take on the projects they identify as priorities.

One of those projects was a new playground. The previous equipment was decades old, worn and probably quite unsafe. With some hard work and excellent advocacy by community members, they were able to secure funding for a new structure from Let them Be Kids (more info about that process and their fundaising campaign in this post.

The play-structure-raising is coming soon and they need some help making it happen. Here's the callout Miss Vicky received today:

Greetings friends and partners of Rochester Heights,

As most of you know, we are about 2 weeks away from the big build day in Rochester Heights where two play structures will be completed in one day!

We have just been informed that we need a few extra hands leading up to the Build Day, and I am sending this information to all our contacts in hopes that you may be able to help us out or connect us to someone who can.

We are in need of a WELDER on site on Thursday, August 26th from about 10am-4pm, and potentially for a short period of time on Friday, August 27th. Ideally, we are looking for someone who will donate their time, or provide a discounted rate on their services. If you know of a welder who may be able to help, please contact me ASAP!

We are in need of 4-6 volunteers on Thursday, August 26th and Friday, August 27th from about 9am-5pm. These volunteers need to be able to lift about 100 pounds to help set up the frames for the play structures. No experience is needed – just people who are willing to work hard and follow direction. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please pass this on to friends, family, and networks and ask people to get in touch with me ASAP!


We are still looking for volunteers for the Build Day on August 28th. Volunteers can help from 8am-12pm, 12-4pm, or all day. Food and drinks will be provided, multiple volunteer roles are available, and no experience is necessary. Anyone planning on volunteering MUST register at http://www.rh.ltbk.ca. Please spread the word far and wide.

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New Spacing Blog: Gender and the City

Miss Vicky Thu Jul 29, 2010

Miss Vicky is blogging about the 2010 Municipal Election over at Spacing Ottawa. Here's the latest City Vote column:

Apparently there are a record number of candidates running for municipal council this year. For those looking for some alternatives to the status quo, this is good news. Only one candidate is running unopposed, and several incumbents are retiring – so no matter what, we'll see new faces on council this year. And it's good for our local democracy to have a lot of people show their interest in serving their community.

In the coming months, we'll have a chance to look at the ward races in detail. Folks are still launching campaigns, so the field is shifting. I'm reluctant to step in and start analyzing each race at this point.

But as someone who has a keen interest in seeing more women in elected office, I couldn't resist doing a little calculation. According to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, women make up 13.9 per cent of mayors and 23 per cent of councilors – pretty much on par with other levels of government, and contributing to Canada's dismal international rating for women's participation in politics. FCM wants to raise Canada's average to 30%, and have been running campaign schools and workshops across the country for a few years now. Local councilors Marianne Wilkinson and Jan Harder held a campaign school for women here, which from all reports was well attended.

There are currently 7 women serving on Ottawa's council – that's 30%. Above the national average and right at the FCM's target. One of these women – Kanata's Peggy Feltmate – is retiring. Unfortunately, no woman has registered to run in her ward, so if we are to maintain (or – dare I dream – improve on) these numbers, at least one new woman needs to be re-elected.

So how is the current race shaping up?

Not so well, I'm afraid.

Of the 86 candidates registered or expected to run*, 14 are women. That's 16 per cent overall. There are women running in 10 wards – that's less than half of Ottawa's 23 wards. In the 6 wards where incumbents are not seeking re-election, only two have female candidates, and in both those races they are the only women running. Three of the six female incumbents face challenges from other women. There's only one female candidate for mayor (out of 13 candidates so far).

I'm not sure why many of the women running have chosen the uphill battle of challenging incumbents, and why more women have not decided to enter the races which are wide open. But I'm guessing we won't see a huge shift in the gender makeup of the next council.

If all the female incumbents are re-elected (not to discount the campaigns of their female challengers, but Ottawa does like its incumbents. We'll assess the challengers' chances in future posts), we need at least one other women to be elected to maintain 30 per cent. The two women who are trying to replace retiring councilors - Isabel Metcalfe and Oni “The Haitan Sensation” Joseph – probably stand the best chance, but a lot of people are running in those wards, and there are some very strong male candidates to beat.

The numbers are a bit of a disappointment, especially given the various workshops and campaigns to attract new faces to municipal politics. It's also a little surprising that the excellent work of theCity for All Women Initiative has not yielded more women interested in taking the plunge – CAWI does amazing political engagement work with very diverse women. I've been to a few of their events and have been so impressed by the strong, articulate and creative women I've met there. Why aren't more of them running for council?

It's a question we need to start asking ourselves. I suspect it's going to take more than workshops to encourage more women to put their names on the ballot. It can be quite isolating, being a candidate – especially in the early days, when few people are paying attention to municipal politics and it's hard to get folks to commit to spending time on your campaign. There are the inevitable sexist comments and attitudes to face. Family obligations, employment... so many things can make women second-guess themselves. It takes money, a good team and a great support network to mount a winning campaign. Anyone who'd like municipal government to reflect Ottawa's population might consider seeking out a candidate that reflects their values and offering more than just a vote on election day.

The female candidates thus far:

Mayor: Jane Scharf

Ward 1 – Orleans: Jennifer Robitaille

Ward 3 – Barrhaven: Jan Harder (incumbent)

Ward 4 – Kanata North: Marianne Wilkinson (incumbent)

Ward 7 – Bay: Oni Joseph

Ward 8 – College: Lynn Hamilton , Julia Ringma

Ward 10 – Gloucester-Southgate: Diane Deans (incumbent) Lilly Obina

Ward 14 – Somerset: Diane Holmes (incumbent)

Ward 15 – Kitchissippi: Christine Leadman, Katherine Hobbs

Ward 16 – River: Maria McRae (incumbent) Nadia Willard

Ward 17 – Capital: Isabel Metcalfe

*a few incumbents and challengers have announced their intention to run but have not yet filed their papers. I included them in the tally. A recent news report cited 95 candidates, but as they were not yet posted on the website, I couldn't identify their gender. I'll do an update on the numbers in a later post.
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4Cats Kids Art Studio

Miss Vicky Sat Jul 17, 2010

There's a new art studio coming to the 'burg - for kids! 4Cats is opening at the former location of Salon M (next to Fabgear 64, on Wellington near Stirling) in August. They're having an open house on August 14, with refreshments and fun paint-splattery activities.

4Cats is a franchised art studio which started in Vancouver but has spread to other BC locations and now is making inroads into Ontario. Kids learn about art history but also get messy and cultivate their own inner artist with fun activities. It seems to take a montessori-inspired approach to teaching art, and from the pics in their magazine (which you can get from a drop box on their window), it looks like a lot of fun.

They are kicking things off with some summer camps in August - so if you haven'it completely programmed your kids' holidays, consider giving them a try!

We'll definitely be checking out their open house and welcoming 4Cats to the 'hood.
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