Scouts Canada – Loyalist Area is organizing a Bike Swap and fund raising event at the Constantine Arena at CFB Kingston, across from Fort Henry on Saturday, 30 April 2011 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

It may be hard to start thinking about spring when the thermometer is still hovering around –12oC, but for some folks the beginning of March is planting time.

“We’ve already got our tomatoes in pots in the greenhouse, with peppers starting next week”, says ThiênAn Gillespie, one of the staff from Living Cities, a community business in its third year of operations in Kingston. “For us, spring starts early March.”

Spring is finally in the air and students have returned to their studies after the March Break, ready to undertake new and exciting challenges.

La Salle rugby, soccer and track teams are starting up and students soon will be practicing out on the fields.

I love hockey. It is pure artistry when it’s played well and pure joy when another generation takes to the frozen ponds and laces up. It’s part of who we are up here in the Great White North.

Why, then, are we letting a few thugs, some greedy team owners and some overzealous coaches and parents ruin our game?

In the last month I’ve shushed my 12 year old son more than ever before. This same boy who would never reveal a birthday surprise no matter how much his sister begs can’t contain himself when it comes to revealing the plot of a book. That’s because I’ve been reading his books, the absolutely enthralling trilogy, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. And he loves to ask me questions that go like this, “Did you get to the part where…” and then he reveals some critical information.

Credit scores, otherwise known as FICO scores or Beacon scores, are a snapshot of your current credit usage and are predictive of how you will perform with your credit in the next 24 months. The two most popular companies who rate credit in Canada are Equifax (www.equifax.ca) and Transunion (www.transunion.ca). Credit scores are derived from statistical equations, over the life of an individuals’ credit profile.

A citizens’ group has formed to raise concerns about the Department of National Defence proposal to build a massive soccer dome on the eastern edge of Kingston’s historic downtown. The proposed dome will be one of the largest in North America – 120m long by 85m wide by 25m high, almost 1.5 times the footprint of the K-Rock Centre, as high as the top of City Hall, and reaching as high as Main Street in Barriefield Village.

On May 7th between 11am and 2pm, the merchants of the Rideau Town Centre are hosting “The largest Yoga class in Kingston.” The event is in memory of Jennifer Leeder, Life Yoga’s founder, who took her own life earlier this year. All proceeds will go to The Kingston Mental Health Association.

Our first Town Hall Meeting on Monday March 28th at the ANAF Hall on Gore Road drew a small crowd, but was declared a successful evening. I updated residents on the taxation contribution by the different sectors, which led in to our discussion on City Councils’ upcoming strategic planning sessions in April.
When I provided the tax structure by category, there was a definite moment of quiet realization that took place.

One of Brian Reitzel’s election campaign promises was to invite Kingston East residents to join him in a meeting each quarter. On March 28th he lived up to his promise and hosted the first Kingston East “Town Hall” meeting. He discussed the background information on topics like the third crossing, taxes, the City budget and Grass Creek Park. He also listened to comments and concerns from Kingston East residents.