I saw a monarch butterfly along Erb Street last week.

Liz wrote an article in The Rec about visible minorities in the municipal election. It features Raj Gill who is running in Ward 6 (Victoria Park-West).

Gill said immigrant issues such as housing, employment and race relations are her passion, but other issues are important as well, including the environment and neighbourhood concerns such as recreation, traffic calming and bike trails.

“I don’t put on my diversity hat,” she said of her campaign. “I bring it to everything.”

As a first-generation Canadian, she said she understands immigrant issues and wants council to address them.

But Gill [...] said immigrant issues should not be compartmentalized into “silos,” since they affect everyone, regardless of race. If ethnicity affects decisions by voters, it’s just one of many factors. “Hopefully, they will vote for me because I can bring their issues to the table.”

On occasion, while knocking on doors, some potential voters have spoken to Gill in Hindi or Punjab. She understands some of the language but can’t speak it well. French, her second language, came in handy when she spoke to a Congolese voter at the door recently.

[...]

But Bob Williams, a political scientist at the University of Waterloo with a specialty in municipal affairs, said turnout in municipal elections is low in general. Income and education levels, along with home ownership, play heavily on whether constituents become informed voters, he said.

Visible minorities and the election The Rec 26 Oct 2006

Jason Hammond is running in Kitchener for regional council.

From Campaign Blog Introduction jasonhammond.ca:

Ideally, democracy is practiced as a conversation. In my campaign, as a candidate to represent the citizens of Kitchener to the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, I plan to keep that conversation open. Welcome to our blog, a shared space for the ideas that shape our vision for Waterloo Region.

[...]

By bringing together the bright ideas from our own community and beyond, we can forge a new movement towards a truly sustainable community. What I’ve learned from my work across our country and around the world, is that Canada needs a community to set an example. We in Waterloo Region are uniquely positioned to take on that leadership role.

[...]

So, I ask you to stay tuned to this website, participate fully in this election and the council term that follows it, and elect me as a Regional Councillor for Kitchener. I thank you, and look forward to working with you.

Barb wrote a story on sexy hallowe’en costumes in the weekend Rec.

Nelson is the author of a study called The Pink Dragon Is Female: Halloween Costumes and Gender Markers, published in The Psychology of Women Quarterly in 2000.

She was quoted recently in a New York Times article discussing what’s behind increasingly sexual women’s Halloween costumes.

[...]

Bunce said there’s cause for optimism, however. Left to their own devices, many young girls will choose to wear scary outfits — costumes that make them ugly, green-faced witches or skeletons or ghosts.

They’re saying: “I don’t want to be cute or sexy,” Bunce said. “Young girls are putting their foot down and saying ‘We want to intimidate people too.’ “

Princess is one thing, French maid quite another | UW prof questions trend toward turning girls into sex objects The Rec 28 Oct 2006