THE BUZZ Having fun with the last of winter, page 3 Multicultural party at Cambridge St. P.S., page 6 MARCH 15, 2013 VOL. 18 NO. 3 At the heart of Ottawa since 1995 CENTRETOWNBUZZ.COM Where’s the food in Centretown? UZZ B For Nutrition Month, we look at where to get fresh food in your neighbourhood: ENTRETOWNpp. 4-5 C 2 CENTRETOWNBUZZ.COM MARCH 15, 2013 March 15, 2013 — Vol. 18, No. 3 Letters to the editor THE Re: Somerset House saga from the blue bins. This in- tawa. If we look at another Should the LCBO start CEN T RE T OWN appears almost over cludes not only the larger category, theft from vehi- taking back their own emp- bins on wheels seen behind cles, there are more than 30 ties? Should we have a cen- Dear Editor, apartment buildings of six or instances, which means that tral depot like Calgary and As a Centretown resident more units, but also smaller 60 or so vehicles were ei- other western cities? We BUZZ I’d like to applaud Jeff Mor- bins. The miscreants are of- ther stolen or tampered with need to start looking at solu- At the heart of Ottawa since 1995. rison for his efforts in finding ten bold enough to walk up in a two-week period. The tions. a solution to the Somerset to people’s front porches or stats indicate that between I believe that we are cre- 101-210 Gloucester St. House saga. into their garages, or even 2010 and 2011 there was ating and tacitly accepting a Ottawa, ON I was one of the more to open gates and enter back a 54.5 percent increase in culture of lawlessness, and K2P 2K4 than 370 signatories on the yards to root through indi- property theft. (http://www. suffering the consequences. I Phone: 613-565-6012 petition he started to bring vidual family bins. ottawapolice.ca/en/Crime- wonder if you would like to the City and property owner And while they are trawl- Files/CrimeMaps_Reports/ do some research and pub- together to find a resolution ing our lanes, alleys and back crimestats.aspx) lish your findings in an ar- www.centretownbuzz.com to the ongoing problem of the yards, they are sussing out Who is perpetrating ticle...before we succumb to twitter.com/centretownbuzz derelict building. I’m excited what’s there and, I suspect, these crimes, and can a cor- criminal activity. facebook.com/centretownbuzz to hear how Mr. Morrison’s returning to help themselves. relation be drawn between leadership gave the commu- They use the excuse that the the number of aimless, Shannon Lee Mannion nity an effective voice, and people they steal from have substance-abusing men on Florence Street also excited about plans for insurance and will recoup the street, and the amount Centretown BUZZ Staff the site moving forward. their losses. This is not so in of crime which areas such Editor’s note: I miss the Lockmas- many cases. I had my locked as Centretown, Lowertown Ottawa police have re- Managing editor ter Tavern and the Duke of van stolen a week ago from and Vanier endure? Orleans ported that a rash of van Kathryn Hunt | [email protected] Somerset Pub, formerly on my garage behind my house. and Barrhaven are not expe- thefts is likely tied to a crime the site, but am optimistic As it was an older vehicle, riencing this trend, but then ring stealing vehicles to Associate editor the community will embrace I did not have fire or theft again, these suburbs do not break down for scrap met- Eleanor Sawyer their replacement. insurance. Even if I did, the have soup kitchens, rooming al. Older vans are targeted high deductible would have houses and shelters. because they are easier to City editor Christine LeBlanc rendered it useless. Additionally, why aren’t steal, and because they con- David Gladstone | [email protected] Centretown resident If police statistics are people returning their emp- tain more metal. examined for the past two ties? Is it because The Beer Distribution managers weeks, three other vehicles Store is the only place to do Below: posters put up Archie Campbell & David Seaborn Crime on the rise? were stolen in Centretown so, and people who drink around Centretown by Shan- [email protected] that week and 30 vehicles wine/spirits might not be pa- non Lee Mannion after the Hello Centretown BUZZ, overall were stolen in Ot- trons of The Beer Store? theft of her van. Centretown is experienc- ing a tremendous problem with theft. Advertising This is something we hear nothing about in the main- The BUZZ is proud to offer an effective advertising medium that reaches 10,000 Centretown homes and stream media and it appears businesses each month. Our competitive advertising that it is up to us to be aware, rates are as low as $28 per issue. to do our own research and to take precautions. View our rate card and publishing dates at Here is what I believe is centretownbuzz.com. For more information, email happening. It matters little if [email protected] or call 613-565-6012. there is security lighting and No Trespassing signs posted. Next Issue There is a constant stream of vagrants at all hours of the The next issue of The BUZZ will be published day and night in our com- April 19. Contact the managing editor munity, who think that it is for submission deadlines. their due to take returnable wine/spirit bottles and cans Mail Subscriptions Erratum: In the February issue, the last words of the article “Ottawa’s future is car-free—or car-light” were Annual subscriptions to The BUZZ are available at cut off. The last sentence should have been “This kind of policy design nudges out cars and encourages a cost of $25. Please send cash or cheques to the people to walk or take transit.” The full article can be seen online at www.centretownbuzz.com/2013/02/15/ address above. ottawas-future-is-car-free-or-car-light/. Thank you to our carriers Archie Campbell, Audrey Brewster, Bayne Pearen, Bill Filleter, Bill Hingston, Brian Gilligan, Carol Sis- sons, Catherine Boucher, Charles Akben-Marchand, Charles Gregory, Chris Edwards, Craig Haynes, Craig Layng, David Gladstone, David Perkins, David Seaborn, Drina Wethey, Eleanor Sawyer, Erin Sallie, Gabrielle Yensen, Georgia Lay, Glynda Newton, Gor- don Harding, Jennifer Bedwell, Joan Spice, Jordan Charbonneau, Kim Malcolm, Maija Kagis, Martha Musgrove, Michael Hatfield, Michael Powell, Michelle Kirkham, Murray Shaw, Pat Shaulis, Patrick Garcia, Rob Byrne, Sean Darcy, Shelley Pearen, Sue Stefko, Tim Young, Wendy Bennett, Matthew Young, Will Murray, Zsofia Orosz. To join our distribution team, please call 613-565-6012 or email [email protected] The Centretown BUZZ is published by the Centretown BUZZ Board of Directors, a group consisting of community members representing all residents of Centretown. The Centretown BUZZ operates under the guidelines of the Canadian Copyright Act. © 2013 Centretown BUZZ MARCH 15, 2013 CENTRETOWNBUZZ.COM 3 Presto card system finishes up test phase, still has some glitches by Samantha Lem delayed its launch. This be presented in April, along IN STORE PROMOTION rollout was intended to test with a recommendation on C Transpo’s latest how well the system handles whether the city should go test rollout for the heavier usage and different forward with the system. White Base O Presto card system fare payment options. Ultimately, the city has Velvet Finish is going well, even though Despite numerous ob- until June 1 to decide if it only half of these cards are stacles, OC Transpo remains will fully deploy the Presto Interior Latex Paint in use, according to Otta- optimistic that the Presto system. wa’s transit manager John system is vastly improving. The provincial agency ON SALE Manconi. Their customer service line Metrolinx said the costs for At a transit commission has logged 144 complaints, the delay are expected to be $ 00 Reg. $35.99 meeting on February 20, but this does not refl ect se- between $4 million to $7 25 Manconi said 13,507 free rious problems within the million. Metrolinx and its Can be tinted Presto cards were distributed system. contracted vendor, Accen- in January. But, as of Febru- Since its test rollout, the ture, have agreed to reim- Long lasting durability ary 9, only 7,225 cards were system has performed over burse OC Transpo for the de- Excellent scrubbability registered, of which 6,825 110,000 transactions and is lays. In addition, Metrolinx ON SALE UNTIL APRIL 30, 2013, were in use. working at a 98 percent suc- will provide the city with a #1854-498 WHILE QUANTITIES LAST. Initially, city offi cials cess rate. $3 million rebate. planned on handing out However, the smart card Although the tap-and-go STORE HOURS: 10,000 Presto cards but de- system still has a few glitches system runs on all OC Trans- cided to increase distribution to solve. Its latest issue is de- po busses, Para Transpo rid- MON - WED 8:30 am to 6:00 pm after seeing heavy demand bugging the system’s hand- ers will have to continue to THURS & FRI 8:30 am to 9:00 pm from customers. held fare inspection readers. rely on paper tickets and SAT 8:30 am to 6:00 pm Instead of using monthly The software causes the de- cash. OC Transpo offi cials SUN 10:00 am to 5:00 pm passes, most card owners vices to regularly freeze and said the system would be are choosing the “e-purse” shut down.