Staying open all night would probably not generate enough revenue for most places. Economic laws can't be broken.
Staying open until 4am would suit many cabaret owners, on weeekends at least.
Posted 07 May 2007 - 12:49 PM
Staying open all night would probably not generate enough revenue for most places. Economic laws can't be broken.
Posted 07 May 2007 - 01:01 PM
Posted 07 May 2007 - 01:27 PM
Posted 07 May 2007 - 02:59 PM
If a restaraunt is closing it's washroom, then perhaps VIHA should spend the overtime to send it's inspectors out on a Friday night and shut them down for it, instead of coming up with a new law.
Posted 07 May 2007 - 03:53 PM
Part of the problem I've been hearing has been frequent closure of the restaurant's washrooms, which causes public urination problems for Regents Hotel and other neighbours. Also, huge piles of garbage late at night. It's really bad by 4:00 am a neighbouring business owner has told me.
Posted 02 June 2007 - 06:23 AM
Yeah, lighting is good, but more cameras? It hasn't worked in the UK, which is probably the most ueber-surveillanced land in the world, and still full of yobbos. My guess is that cameras are just another technology that's supposed to make us behave, but technology can't replace real human interface... In that sense, shining a brighter light on idiots might be more effective.
Posted 02 June 2007 - 07:14 AM
Posted 07 June 2007 - 04:39 PM
Posted 12 June 2007 - 09:34 AM
If we had an outdoor sculpture park and people started vandalizing the works by spray-painting them, would we say, "oh, bad, let's move all the sculptures inside -- and punish the art gallery for making the sculptures available in the first place by restricting its operating hours" -- or would we try to enforce existing laws that forbid vandalizing public or private property?
On the Food & Dining page, where Vic Hockey Fan first posted the newspaper article, he prefaced it with this:Am I missing something here? Some councillors say its the restaurants fault, Fortin says its the bars fault... doesn't anyone think the fault lies with the rowdies or the drunks or the guys pissing on the street?
Well, that's the question, isn't it -- and no, he's not the only one who thinks the fault lies with the rowdies or the drunks or the guys pissing on the street. He's right, it is their fault, not the places of business.
So why should the eateries be punished because we (collectively?) have failed to ensure that there are consequences for illegal behaviour?
It's as though we'll all get collectively punished -- no more fun, no late night bars, no late night eateries, no public amenities worth having because someone "might vandalize them," and on and on -- while the yahoos continue to wreck it for everyone.
Way to go.
Web developer & Internet Marketer
Posted 15 June 2007 - 04:04 PM
Know it all.
Citified.ca is Victoria's most comprehensive research resource for new-build homes and commercial spaces.
Posted 15 June 2007 - 05:01 PM
Posted 15 June 2007 - 08:26 PM
Posted 15 June 2007 - 08:32 PM
Oh brother, A-Channel's top story today is how seniors are complaining about the monster truck shows at SOFA. So in went the city with their decibel meters to appease the complainers, but the promoter claims this is the first time in 20 years they've had complaints of this sort (and other venues are also located in downtowns).
Posted 15 June 2007 - 09:25 PM
Posted 16 June 2007 - 06:52 AM
Holy crap, I didn't know truck shows were that much. I thought they'd be $20 or some ****. What was the attendance like?
Posted 16 June 2007 - 08:29 AM
Posted 16 June 2007 - 09:14 AM
Where is the mud and dirt?
Posted 20 June 2007 - 12:51 PM
No dancing, this is Victoria
Times Colonist
Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Coun. Pam Madoff is right. We do think Victoria's city councillors are "a bunch of boring old you-know-whats," just as she predicted.
Worse, council's rigid caution, highlighted by this week's decision on a request to use a park for a dance performance, is hurting the city.
Ingrid Hansen, director of a small city dance company, asked council to allow a few performances in Stadacona Park as part of this year's Fringe Festival. No big crowds or noisy bands; just a performance that consists of "a slow meditative walk" with three acoustic musicians. The company would limit the audience to 50. (Experimental dance rarely draws a big crowds anyway.)
No, said council. The rules say parks can't be used for any activity if people have to pay, as they would to attend the performance. Request denied. Madoff, who opposed the request, predicted councillors would be seen as boring and fusty. She's right.
The park rule probably reflects a good policy principle. But what happened to common sense and good judgment?
The performance won't disturb neighbours. The park, near Oak Bay junction, isn't over-used. There's no special environmental issues. In short, no real reasons to say no, except a rather stuffy adherence to "policy."
And there are lots of reasons to say yes.
A local arts group would get a boost. The park would gain new users.
Perhaps most importantly, the city -- which has lost an alarming number of events this summer without an effective municipal response -- would signal its support for the end-of-summer Fringe Festival.
From Edmonton to Edinburgh, fringe festivals are wonderful cultural celebrations and tourist attractions. (And yes, in Edinburgh city parks are used for performances.) Local and visiting performers, interesting venues and big crowds add great vitality and life to the cities. Victoria is no exception.
Council had a chance to signal its support by finding a way to allow dance in the park. Perhaps with limits on the times of performances or the size of the audience, and a careful warning that this was a a one-time experiment.
Instead, councillors just said no. However well-meaning their intent, the message is that this is a city not much interested in promoting the arts, tourism and even fun.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
The Crescent
Plan calls for city's historic core to be marketed as cultural centre
David Hutton, The StarPhoenix
Published: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A development plan for a cultural corridor, dubbed "The Crescent," calls for the transformation of Saskatoon's historic core by marketing it as a creative hub, redeveloping older buildings, bringing in more riverfront events and improving ties with the university.
"Culture is very real," said Terry Scaddan, executive director of the Partnership, a downtown business group. "The only real branding we've had in the past was, 'We've been here a long time,' but people want something real, they want to experience festivals, events, galleries and theatres."
A $200,000 development strategy, which is a working draft in its final stages, was carried out by three consultants with backgrounds in city planning, retail and economic development on behalf of the three business improvement districts: Broadway, Riversdale and downtown. Funding was provided by the federal government's cultural capitals program.
The document will be used as a guide.
The three districts are now marketing themselves collectively as the Crescent, with the hope they can work together to bring in more commerce, tourism and development, create more traffic among the areas and fight off competition from big-box development in the city.
Together, the main roads of the three areas loosely form a crescent-shaped "C" on the map, which led to the name, Scaddan said. While the areas are working together on this project they will still maintain their distinctiveness.
"We want to promote the area as a whole while still keeping the identity of each area at the forefront," said Tammi Campbell, project co-ordinator for the Crescent.
The development plan includes six key strategies and a collection of ideas to attract people to the areas. The consultants visited Saskatoon for three days in February to take an inventory of what was here and brainstorm suggestions for change.
One of the marketing ideas outlined in the plan has the districts purchasing unclaimed bicycles from the annual police sale, painting them the colour designated for their area and allowing people to ride them for free between the three districts.
"It's worked in many other places," said Dan Carmody, the lead consultant. "It's about reducing that perceptual distance because in real terms to go across the river isn't that far. That psychological chasm that is the river valley needs to be closed."
The theme of the document is that Saskatoon will thrive by providing more opportunities for arts, culture and creativity. While resource-based economic booms have a history of busting, the consultants argue a creative corridor such as the Crescent would act as a sustainable resource.
To succeed the districts need to further capitalize on their thriving arts and cultural centres, they say.
The consultants point out that many of the cutting-edge centres are currently housed downtown and in Riversdale, where artists can afford space to work. These artist-run centres and non-profit organizations need to be promoted, they say.
"The centre of the city is a rich under-utilized gem," Scaddan said. "We want to bring back the local tourist who maybe hasn't been to the areas in awhile."
The consultants argue the new Farmers' Market will form the heart of the crescent, bringing people from across the city to an area they wouldn't regularly visit and creating more opportunities for commerce. They also call for more Jazz Festival stages in the Broadway and Riversdale areas and a signature annual event to "put skin on the bones of the Crescent skeleton."
One of the keys to becoming a creative hub is further integrating the "isolated" University of Saskatchewan with the rest of the city, the consultants argue. They call for a proposed university arts centre to be located in River Landing to help bridge the "town/gown" gap.
The plan also calls for "imaginative redevelopment" of "white elephant structures" such as the Barry Hotel, as well as the Adilman building, and the expansion of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company in Riversdale. They suggest an architectural firm could work with artists to renovate the Barry Hotel.
The consultants argue the Broadway area needs to initiate a planning process that looks at stricter design standards and a parking plan. They also note higher rents and a changing demographic may push Broadway to evolve from a "raucous drinking destination" into a more mature area with higher-end businesses. Attracting trendy stores such as those found on Calgary's 17th Avenue or Edmonton's Whyte Avenue is also recommended.
"It's definitely a concept and there are a lot of good ideas there," Scaddan said. "With a little luck it will take on a life of its own and become real."
mailto:dhutton@sp.canwest.com
AT A GLANCE:
Keys to Building "The Crescent"
- More events along the river, including an annual event put on by the business districts.
- A stronger marketing strategy that focuses on the arts and cultural centres in the areas.
- More building around the Farmers' Market, the project with the greatest ability to transform the crescent.
- Stronger relationship between the U of S and the downtown area.
- More cultural leadership in the form of a crescent council that includes government, university and business people.
- A community-based development entity that would come up with creative development ideas.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
In other words, culture clods on city councils in Canada seem to be as common as ...well, fill in your own favourite common thing......about to begin is Evergreen at the Brick Works, a spectacular $55 million rebuilding of the 16-hectare industrial site in the Don Valley. Promoters say it will be the "greenest facility in North America." Included will be a food market, restaurants, performance spaces, demonstration gardens, trails, marshes and more.
"These are not razzle-dazzle iconic buildings," Jones says. "The first round of the cultural renaissance was about putting creativity on display; the next will be about putting it to work."
Given the recent debacle in which the city-owned Roundhouse, a national historic site, was leased to a furniture chain, it's obvious creativity has yet to be fully understood at the civic level. As the renaissance and its ripples make clear, these days the only leadership in this city is coming from the cultural sector.
Posted 21 June 2007 - 07:55 AM
Posted 21 June 2007 - 12:11 PM
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