April 16, 2009, 4 e-mails

P. F. wrote:

As a followup to L.'s earlier email, please be sure to attend the Metrolinx open house on Tuesday April 21 at Lithuanian House, 1573 Bloor Street West, near Dundas Street West. This is critically important to our neighbourhood which is so close to the rail line being developed.

A number of folks in the neighbourhood have come together under the name Clean Train Coalition, which involves community groups all up and down the line. One of our main issues is the rejection by Metrolinx of immediate electrification of the line, and the omission of this option in the scope of the Environmental Assessment currently underway.

We are trying to get a large number of people out to the open house from 5:30-7:30 so that Metrolinx can understand the scope of the opposition. Please try to come then if you can, or earlier in the day, and tell your neighbours, bring your kids, ask questions, be heard!

L. D. wrote:

We had a great turn out for the meeting yesterday and there's a lot of information to be digested. There will be more updates coming soon but I just wanted to send out the time and location of the metrolinx open house coming up.

When: Tuesday April 21st, 3:00-8:00PM
Where: Lithuanian House, 1573 Bloor St. West, near Dundas and Bloor

This is part of their official Environmental Assessment and it is a chance to register your concerns about the project with them. You can also go online to metrolinx.com. If you live close to the tracks and didn't get an official notice about the EA- ask them where it is!

A. O. wrote:

I was unable to attend the Wednesday meeting, and I am wondering what was said or decided there. Is there any follow-up to it? I heard that there was some kind of sign-up happening at that meeting, is this open to people who could not attend? Can someone who attended give a summary of the meeting?

Also, I know that there are folks in the neighbourhood who do not have computers or internet access (yes I know you can get on at the library, but some people do not have the knowledge to just hop on any old computer and set up email, group lists, etc) but are interested in this issue, is there any thinking around how those people might be able to get involved?

Samuel Leite

Constituency Assistant to:
Adam Giambrone
Toronto City Councillor

My colleague Chris Gallop asked that I send to you an electronic version of the Davenport Diamond Meeting flyer. Hope this is helpful.

From: Eli Malinsky

Hi everyone,

(please read in full….grab a coffee if you need it!)

APRIL 21 MEETING – LOCATION CHANGE

We have changed the location of the April 21 meeting so that we are closer to the Open House. Our new location is Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School, 1515 Bloor Street West, at Dundas Street West (http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Toronto&state=ON&address=1515+Bloor+Street+West). This is a short walk from the Open House. Thanks to Brett and Marjolein for helping us find a new location!

So that’s: April 21, 7:00pm (sharp) to 9:00pm (less sharp?), 1515 Bloor Street West. We’re in the staff room and will do our best to have signage posted so you can easily find the right place.

Remember – this meeting is not for ‘as many people as possible’. It is for you – the people receiving this email, who are folks who can act as representatives/connectors to their neighbourhoods and issue groups, or who have some expertise and energy to contribute to the coordination of this movement. If you know someone super-excellent who needs to be a part of this, just let me know. **

APRIL 21 OPEN HOUSE

We are trying to get as many people as possible to the Open House on Tuesday, April 21. Please tell everyone in the world!! This is our first opportunity to have our presence felt and we need numbers. We’re going to have as many people as possible show up for 5:30-6:30pm (before the group of us heads over to the other meeting). We’ll be handing out our new flyers, website url, and possibly buttons. Hooray!

The Open House is at Lithuanian House, 1573 Bloor Street West, at Dundas West
(http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Toronto&state=ON&address=1515+Bloor+Street+West).

APRIL 21 MEETING – WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?

A movement is a messy thing, so we’re breaking this thing down into “action groups” that will focus on specific areas of interest and expertise (e.g., political strategy, media strategy, legal strategy, campaigns, outreach, website, etc.). A coordinating committee will take overall responsibility.

On Tuesday we are going to bring everyone up to speed on what the coordinating group has achieved so far. We’re then going to have tables based on action groups, each with two hosts. If you aren’t a host (you will know if you are!) you will be asked to circulate among the tables that interest you and contribute your thoughts. This will give you a chance to pitch in on what matters most to you – or where you have expertise.

We’ll also do some recruiting. Hopefully some of you will be so enthused (of course you will!) that you will agree to be part of the action group to carry the ideas further and help make them happen.

Finally, we are going to have F-U-N. Happy fun times indeed!

APRIL 21 MEETING – WHAT ARE WE NOT GOING TO DO?

We are not going to go over the details of the Metrolinx project. We can answer some questions but we are assuming some familiarity with what’s happening. If you need a quick tutorial, have a look at the attached notes. You should also check out the Weston Community Coalition website, which has a ton of great background on the project (http://westoncommunitycoalition.ca/).

This way our meeting can focus on action – moving this puppy forward!

$5.00

Several coordinators are out-of-pocket for refreshments, website development, flyer printing, etc. You are under no obligation but, if you can swing it, a contribution of $5.00 would be gratefully appreciated.

QUESTIONS?

Send me a note and I will reply as quickly as I can…

NOTES RE METROLINX PLANS – GEORGETOWN/RAIL LINK