The City of Ottawa presented its draft budget for 2011 last Wednesday. It held little in terms of surprises; tax hikes were set at 2.45%, respecting Jim Watson’s pledge of no more than 2.5% in total tax increase a year. Draft budget documents are available for review on the City’s website. Library and Archives is usually a pretty calm and quiet place but it wasn’t so last Tuesday when a series of threats canceled the much publicized screening of Iranium. After pressure from Heritage Minister James Moore, the library has... | Continue reading article

I have a favourite quote. It’s awesome. I’ve been trying to live my life by it… wanna read it? “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.” Daniel H. Burnham With that in mind, I had the pleasure of meeting Eric Darwin at a presentation by some very talented Urban Planning Students from McGill University. Eric is a really... | Continue reading article

Post by Stephan Telka Those of you living or working in Ottawa Centretown will likely have experienced the “joy” that is Bronson Avenue. During rush hour, cars, trucks and buses inch along the stretch from Albert Street all the way into the Glebe. The pedestrian experience is far from ideal, with narrow sidewalks, little greenery, and long waits at limited pedestrian crossings (up to 10 minutes at Bronson and Christie). Cyclists know the street should be avoided. The Plans As part of an ongoing infrastructure renewal process, the City of... | Continue reading article

You may have heard that the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. has been recently embroiled in controversy over their decision to give in to demands from Republican congressmen and the Catholic League and remove the film A Fire in My Belly. The film, which is said to depict a cross covered in ants – and thus has conservative religious groups in a tizzy – was to appear in the exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery. Local free speech advocates and censorship-haters should not fret,... | Continue reading article

Just in time for the Queen’s Birthday, we are pleased to present the fourth and final (cue single tear) Airport Security webisode from the talented team at Gruppo Rubato. You can now look forward to getting the live Airport Security experience starting June 4th when the show opens at the Irving Greenberg Theatre.  You can get the details on the show online here.

After the self-proclaimed success of the Apartment613 Blog Walk for last year’s Jane’s Walk festival, we decided to take a group down Bank Street to some of the more interesting stops along our favourite slice of Bank Street. About 20 walkers braved the threat of rain, collected some local lore and learned a bit about the people who make Bank Street the home for their business. Here’s a taste of what we saw…

Post by guest writer Jeremy Dumont, who has been blogging since 2003 about politics and Ottawa-area stories, events and initiatives. He helped found the old Manufacturing Dissent from Carleton University about a decade ago and has worked for the Carleton’s Charlatan, IndyMedia, and OPIRG. Here he writes about Jim Watson’s campaign launch and his own views on the upcoming campaign. On April 18th, Jim Watson launched his campaign at the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral Hall on Byron St. to once again become mayor of Ottawa. An impressive display of major forces... | Continue reading article

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR. While Apartment613 normally focus on city issues, from time to time the fact that Ottawa is the national capital just can’t be ignored. This weekend, as many as 3,500 people gathered on Parliament Hill to protest the closing down of parliament until March. The Ottawans were joined by at least 7,000 people in Toronto and 500 in Halifax, as well as a number of other groups around the country. The  protests were organized by the people behind the Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament facebook group, which now... | Continue reading article

If there is one thing that the blogging community is known for, it is speaking their minds. Leading into the City of Ottawa’s 2010 budget process, the editorial team at Apartment613 is working to compile a list of concerns, ideas and suggestions for Ottawa’s budget from local blog readers-extraordinaire. Send us your thoughts by email to editors@apt613.ca with Ottawa Budget as subject and we’ll create a master list of recommendations from our online community.

This was announced Tuesday, which in blog-time is pretty much the 18th century, but it’s still important: Ottawa-West Nepean MPP Jim Watson is bidding farewell to provincial politics in exchange for a shot at Ottawa’s top job. Blog readers over 30 (what, they exist – and I’m going to be one in just under four months, so start shopping now for sympathy cards) might remember Watson’s pre-amalgamation stint as the city’s mayor, from 1997 to 2000. He resigned after one term to become president and CEO of the Canadian Tourism... | Continue reading article