ST JOHN'S - If you have ever walked down Solomon's Lane in St. John's, past the illustrious Ship Pub, you would have seen a massive blank wall to the office building, on the other side of a parking lot. The area has high traffic, being located in betwen Water Street and Duckworth Street, in the heart of downtown. You may have thought, as I did "that would be a great place for a mural".

The Nickle Independent Film Festival has done us one better. They are projecting films onto the wall! For the four Monday nights in July people can come down and enjoy a variety of different types of film, for FREE!

So far we have seen the finale of the much-beloved Republic of Doyle series and 8 movie shorts from Newfoundland artists. Tonight will be the Bingo Robbers, a film directed by Lois Brown and Barry Newhook and produced by Dana Warren. The series will conclude July 26th with My Ancestors were Rouges and Murderers, a documentary by Anne Troake.

The whole idea is brilliant to me, and is a fantastic way to bring people together to enjoy the beautiful…

Photo by Andrew Harvey

Anyone who has visited Newfoundland will tell you that it is the people that make Newfoundland as amazing as it is. When it comes to cycling in St. John’s, the folks at ordinary spokes are part of what makes cycling in Newfoundland as amazing as it is.

Ordinary Spokes is a volunteer operated community cycling organization based in St. John’s. The started operating in November 2009, and opened the doors to their bike repair shop in January 2010. Ordinary Spokes is a great example of a dedicated group of volunteers who care dearly about something, and are willing to work tirelessly towards it.

What sets Ordinary Spokes apart from many organizations is the simple, clear goal they have: building a biking community in St. John’s. As an organization, they have positioned themselves well to do this. They rely on the great strength of the biking community we currently have to build and develop into something larger and greater. Education and the DIY ethic are central to Ordinary Spokes’ method of promoting community by informing and empowering individuals. They host monthly workshops on everything from road safety to how to stud your bike tires…

Bikes on Water St.

In Newfoundland people have always managed to flourish despite a harsh climate and rough terrain. Cyclists in St. John’s especially so. St. John’s is a city perched on the side of a hill, founded hundreds of years ago, with modern streets usually evolving from cart paths. Luxurious wide paved shoulders which can safely accommodate bikers or bike lanes are confined to newer peripheries of the city, or the planned streets of neighbors such as Mount Pearl. Cyclists also combat (quite literally some times) drivers with little knowledge of bike safety who often refuse to acknowledge their shared right to the roads.

Luckily, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. That light may not be quite as bright as the one we may have seen back in November of 2007, when the original bike system map came out, but it is a light. After a drastic scaling-back of the proposed system, citing everything from narrow streets to unsafe speeds of cars, the bike system currently stands at two spokes (if you will), connecting to the downtown centre of town.

I have been assured by Robin King, Transportation…

ST. JOHN'S - This past weekend, I had the good fortune of attending Landmarked. When I first heard about the event, I was intrigued. It was described as:

Part choose your own adventure, part conceptual art tour and part choreographic documentary. Landmarked is a site-specific interdisciplinary project that honors the past, is alive in the present and awakens the senses, transforming undiscovered, unused or undervalued environments into fully animated dance-scapes. Landmarked addresses the value of urban space by looking at personal, shared or historical associations to the geography of the city while exploring the interdependence of people and place.

After reading this description, I still did not have an very clear idea of what I was in for, but I was excited, and ready.

Sally Morgan, artistic director and choreographer for Landmarked said the the idea came from a conversation she had with Sarah Stoker (one of the dancers in Book of Hours) on the topic of city planning and development. Morgan says that here in St. John’s, they “haven’t thought about it [planning and development] here”, and hopes Landmarked will encourage people to be more aware of the surroundings, and to find new meaning in the spaces, and sites…

ST. JOHN'S - This weekend in St. John's, a unique combination of performance and art installation will occur. The format of the happening will be individually determined, allowing each individual to choose their own pace as they work their way through multiple sites in downtown St. John's.

Sally Morgan will be in charge of artistic direction and choreography, while collaborating with Craig Francis Power for visuals, multimedia and design, Chris Driedzic for sound, and Jessee Walker for design. Landmarked will feature performances and collaboration from: Mark Bath, Tammy MacLeod, Sarah Joy Stoker, Andrea Tucker, Mark Edward, Quinn White and Catherine Wright.

This is what the organizers have to say about Landmarked:

Part choose your own adventure, part conceptual art tour and part choreographic documentary. Landmarked is a site-specific interdisciplinary project that honors the past, is alive in the present and awakens the senses, transforming undiscovered, unused or undervalued environments into fully animated dance-scapes. Landmarked addresses the value of urban space by looking at personal, shared or historical associations to the geography of the city while exploring the interdependence of people and place.

Following a map as a guide for an interactive journey through downtown

…

ST JOHN'S - Ever wonder how much money goes into a municipal campaign? In St. John’s municipal election last September the 32 candidates vying for 11 positions claimed a combined total of $303,098 in campaign contributions.

Candidates had until Dec 31^st 2009 to submit a campaign contribution and expenses disclosure form. On this form, each candidate must claim the total amount they received in donations, and list the names of all contributors over $250.

As an inquisitive mind, and a former candidate in the election, I was curious how much my competitors raised in donations during the campaign. After calling the City, and waiting several weeks, I received a package including the photocopied original campaign contribution and expense forms from each candidate. This was awful nice of the City, especially considering it was free, but photocopies are not the most useable forms of information. I spent several hours plugging all of the information into excel, so that it could be manipulated to find out something more interesting then who has the worst handwriting (which, if I had to choose, would be current Mayor Dennis O’Keefe).

After plugging in all of the information it became much easier to sort through, to find…

ST. JOHN'S - This should be a great opportunity for the community to gather, and discuss issues surrounding development in St. John's. The expert panel should give everyone a useful insight into ways we can ensure St. John's grows into the vibrant city we all want it to.

This event is being organized by the good people at HappyCity.ca, who also organized a public forum on smart growth and urban sprawl last April. They have an online forum on their website to promote discussion regarding growth, and development in St. John's as well (just in case you can't make the meeting).

Also, be sure to contact your members of council to let them know how you feel about development in St. John's. Hope to see you all at the forum on Monday. If you can't make it, fear not. I, Andrew Harvey, will be reporting back here, on Spacing Atlantic about all the goings-on.

Guest Speaker: Elena Patarini, Architect
Panel: Bill Mahoney, Strat Canning, and Dave Hopley
Moderated by Keith Storey

The panelists will discuss urban planning; the economic incentive to follow a municipal plan; and the…

The three buildings that would be demolished under the Fortis proposal

ST. JOHN'S - Newfoundland and Labrador has seen great economic benefit from offshore oil and gas developments in recent years. For the first time (since Confederation), Newfoundland is a 'have' province. With the province awash in oil money, Premier Danny Williams assures us that investments will be made with a vision for the future, and that we will come out of the oil boom stronger then ever before.

In St. John's, the hub of the province's oil driven economy, the lasting legacy of oil will come from the development which occurs during the boom. Long after the jobs and prosperity brought by oil leave, the buildings they helped construct will remain.

Fortis Properties, one of the largest companies in Newfoundland, has recently made a proposal for a redevelopment in downtown St. John’s. Fortis currently owns a 12-story building on the corner of Water street and Harbour drive (pictured below). The proposal includes plans to demolish the three buildings next to their exiting building to construct a 15-story tower. The proposed site for this new tower is in the closest block to the harbour, which makes many worry about…