Vaughan and Toronto’s Mayoral Race

Campaigns for change carried two of Ontario’s mayoral candidates to political peaks in municipal elections that pulled more people to debate floors and polls in years. The riveting races of Toronto and Vaughan’s mayoralties are perhaps two of the most captivating political dramas of this decade.

VAUGHAN
On Oct. 25th, 2010, Canada’s fastest growing city saw Linda Jackson’s controversial reign come to a heavy halt when she lost her mayoral spot by a landslide to Maurizio Bevilacqua, former Liberal MP.

Bevilacqua, who gave up his parliamentary seat after two decades to dive into Vaughan’s mayoral race late last August, is confident that his transition process, along with a mostly fresh-faced Read more

Vaughan Municipal Election: Will Mayor Jackson Beat it?

Question marks float like buoys in Vaughan’s political waters, where six mayoral candidates tread towards a distant City Hall. Whether or not Mayor Linda Jackson’s campaign bid will be able to transcend a trail of controversy is becoming the crux of conversation. The early stages of the municipal election leave many residents wading in a murky reservoir, probing for a channel of transparency.

“It’s been entertaining, engaging and bewildering. It will be interesting to see if there is a higher turnout in this municipal election,” says Nelson Wiseman, an associate political science professor at the University of Toronto. “What’s gone on is quite unusual, quite out of the ordinary, quite wild in terms of the city and the legal cases and the intensity,” he adds, mentioning that he’s received more calls about Vaughan’s election than any other municipality, Read more

Web Design Store: Surfing for Success

By 2009, there were an estimated 234 million websites. Translation: there is a lot of tough competition out there. So how can a budding entrepreneur or established but out-of-date businessperson compete with their opposition? Enter Web Design Store, a Toronto web development firm with a premise – and promise – to solve all your web design woes with industry expertise and experience. Established by Dolce Publishing Inc. co-founder Fernando Zerillo, Web Design Store is a one-stop shop that makes it simple for business owners and professionals to connect to untapped target groups with the latest technology. “Everyone is using the Internet to gain information, communicate, socialize and purchase,” says web developer Steve Bruno. The question is, which of the 1.73 billion worldwide Internet users are logging on to your website? Read more

The Law of the Land

“I didn’t know if I was going to live – I was almost killed. I was beaten to a pulp. On my face, on my shoulders, I had nothing but scars. I was afraid that I was dying because I was bleeding inside,” says Torontonian Trisha Smith.

Every year, thousands of Canadians travel outside our borders in the hopes of some much-needed rest and relaxation. For the most part, stories about these foreign adventures are filled with sunny skies, blissful scenery and cultural enlightenment. Yet there are rare tales so terrible they resemble a Hollywood drama – stories of detainment, abuse and blatant disregard for personal rights. These horrific circumstances often result from a simple lack of knowledge about local laws and customs. The idea of the law of the land is a very real and powerful concept that still holds true today. Understanding your rights and responsibilities when traveling to Read more

The Party Closet

While your child’s birthday is a special day, it can be one of the most stressful days for you.

That’s why Silvia Persechini and Julie Russo created The Party Closet, a fun-filled birthday venue where every detail is taken care of. “There’s a lack of venues for birthday parties in Vaughan where parents can go and enjoy themselves. There was a need for something fresh and more creative,” says Russo, mother of two.

The Party Closet provides the ultimate girly, personalized birthday party where little ladies aged 2 to 13 can experience a fantasy day brimming with excitement.

The party starts with each little girl putting on crystal rhinestone-adorned flip-flops and going into the magnificent Read more

Beyond Charity: The Philosophy of Elio Madonia

As much as we enjoy all the comforts and luxuries of Western society, there is still ample strife and chaos that afflict people across the globe. It’s easy to ignore the problems within our own country, and even easier to ignore the problems outside it. We may say we care, but we really don’t, else we would do something about it. Indeed, there are very few people willing to step up and really make a difference. Elio Madonia is one of those few.

Madonia is head of The Samaritan Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to building homes for the poor – and I mean very poor – in the Dominican Republic. While vacationing in the Dominican in 1988, Madonia and his wife Lena took a wrong turn and stumbled upon the slums of the small village Charamicos – a terrible and unbearable sight. Maybe it was the right turn. Compelled to act, Madonia knew something had to be done Read more

Night at the Movies

The Social Network – October 1
Ever wonder how the phenomenon of the social networking site Facebook all started? This film gives you the chance to see into the lives of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg); Napster co-founder Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake), who became Facebook’s founding president; and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield), who had a serious fall-out with Zuckerberg over money. Watch how an online social network created on Harvard University’s campus gains popularity and drastically transforms Read more

Autumn Reads

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest
By Stieg Larsson
Wrapping up Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest saves the best for last in this electrifying finale.  An international bestseller, this series constantly keeps readers off balance with unexpected twists and revelations, as Lisbeth Salander plots her revenge against the corrupt government that almost demolished her life. Read more

BP Oil Spill: A Crude Conundrum

A manmade disaster of catastrophic proportions gushed through the Gulf of Mexico two days before Earth Day this year. Millions of gallons of poison surged from the seafloor, swimming throughout the world’s ninth largest body of water. The Gulf laps onto the shores of Florida, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana – states still fragile from the destructive aftermaths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

As flames licked the BP oil rig, a haunting déjà vu unfolded, eclipsing the Exxon Valdez disaster in size and depth and bringing a 40-year-old environmental movement to its trembling knees.

“The world should raise its eyebrows and say, ‘enough of this,’” says Dave Rauschkolb, who believes that many of the world’s problems are tied to our dependence on oil and prehistoric energy policies. A regular Joe and environmental prophet, if you will Read more

Are Smartphones making us smarter?

Your day begins early, and whether early is early, or early is afternoon, on the way to work or to play something begins to worry you, something is missing. Presumptions lead to paranoia and, after checking each pocket, portfolio, and underneath each car seat, your paranoia becomes an unwanted reality. You’ve forgotten the device that was created to help you remember all your important dates, numbers, and notes and without it you are nearly useless. You’ll now be forced to use the outdated, bacteria-infested box that for many people entails embarrassment as much as the opportunity to make a phone call – the dreaded public phone.

The smartphone is indeed a very smart phone, much smarter than phones from the past, but placing our social and professional lives in its microchips doesn’t leave you with much to do when you accidentally leave it at home. Not having it can Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »