This is an ongoing list of comments and opinions received in response to the “PICKERING NEWSPAPER” idea:
From BRS: $$$
I hear what you are saying but like it or not newspapers started a slow death years ago. Even the largest can’t keep their costs down. This means a lot of advertising to keep costs minimized – annoying in a small paper. Even Metroland/News Advertiser has gone digital. It’s not just production and delivery costs (huge) but it would require legitimate journalists to do the research and the writing and editing. If you are thinking of your blog as a substitute I wish you all the best but it would require a lot more than one person could do to be timely.
R responds:
The idea of this newspaper would not be to make money. It is a communication tool to give the residents of the community information. Everyone knows that newspapers are today’s “dodos,” It would be a pragmatic package of information about the City, not a money-making venture but an annual expense shared by all Pickering residents. If they want access to ‘hands-on’ information rather than a computer-driven website, they have to accept there will be a price for it.
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From OR a very comprehensive and thoughtful response
What is particularly gratifying about this response from OR is that it offers alternatives to the newspaper idea. It presents a superb analysis against the newspaper idea but does not stop there. Instead, it concisely suggest plausible alternatives. This was the whole point behind the proposal of the newspaper project, to open the door to other ideas, other considerations. This is what OR does…he not only argues against the newspaper but he offers alternatives for the community to consider. A marvellous response…kudos to this responder.
The “old” ways worked for us but they are no longer viewed as having practical value.
I think its like flogging a dead horse; people don’t give a shit about fixing the ills of society till it’s too late; technology has moved forward (not always for the better) and everything is driven by electronic communications. This is where efforts should be targeted. Mike Borie puts out more information about local and provincial politics than any statements from our City. He copies it off the newsfeeds. How can we improve this system to serve us?
Very true, technology spreads its communication tentacles but older people arent adapting to it. Your last line is dead on target….the City should be responding to the need for better communication methods in constructive and meaningful ways. At the moment, it feels like the City is just sitting on the problem.
I suggest that people sign up for the City of Pickering newsletters and calendar of events. If subscribed, you will receive daily and weekly updates of all and any events that are happening in the community and within council.
Commenter NG is on target with the suggestion of subscribing to the City communication. However, this still assumes the use of electronic devices which is not the case for many Pickering residents. The City still needs to discuss alternatives to electronic devices. However, I think the City may have to accept the situation and begin a massive push to help non-users become users. Technology use is becoming increasingly unavoidable in our society and non-users may need constructive help to convince them to join. Until our world changes again to ‘a world beyond technology,’ electronic device use is unavoidable.
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Local Newspaper. A local news paper is good idea but many are not profitable. If the Government goes ahead funds these there will always be the thought with many that the newspaper promotes government point of view. This is a challenging issue.
The Charter of Rights is the one document that was supposed to protect us citizens but in fact it’s a document used to remove some of the things, than maintain control within our society: parents can’t discipline their kids; teachers are not allowed to use control to manage rowdy/bad/kids; criminals don’t receive or are to be made accountable for their crimes. And whenever anyone attempts to take action, the courts rule they over reached.
Commenter SM has valid point about users being omitted in our criticisms. We apologize for the omission.
On his additional points, SM’s lamentations about our society are very valid points. We seem to be so busy trying to ensure equity and equal treatment in our society we eschew the good that we should be maintaining. Again, the roots of this dissolution of the good in our society stem from the ever-increasing use of social media. As well, social media’s anonymity means people can post demeaning material without accountability which seems to broaden the problem.
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Budget issues are easy…put the onus on the resident through a small annual fee…say $50/year. I know they will balk at the fee/tax increase, but the public whines about everything. Just put it through, FULL STOP….that is if the idea of a city newspaper ever sees the light of day at all.
Oshawa school board trustee ban has relative connection with Pickering representatives
Oshawa trustee banned for 6 months for “hate speech”
Source: Glen Hendry, inDurham news
Linda Stone, DDSB Trustee
Oshawa school board trustee Linda Stone finds herself on the carpet once again, with the Durham School Board’s Integrity Commissioner recommending she be barred from three board meetings and all committee meetings for the next six months.
Emma Cunningham, DCSB Trustee
Stone, as well as fellow trustees Deb Oldfield and Emma Cunningham, were all subject to public complaints – mostly arising from a contentious board meeting (and the subsequent fallout on social media) from last May that attracted a full house of parents concerned with gender identity being taught in schools, the flying of the Pride flag and gender-neutral washrooms.
The meeting also attracted the attention of Pickering Councillor Linda (sic) (Lisa) Robinson, who was named in Integrity Commissioner Michael Maynard’s report as allying with Stone in harassing a resident and member of the Pflag Durham organization. Robinson was later admonished by Pickering Council for her actions.
Maynard recommended just censure against Oldfield and Cunningham, who were both flagged for their own social media comments in support of the LGBQT+ community after the May 2023 meeting.
Oldfield was cited for “accusing parents of spreading hate to their children,” according to the complainant, and “one sided religious posts,” including re-posting a political cartoon picturing Jesus Christ holding a rainbow flag saying, ‘I’ll forgive you’ as he walks past an apparently Christian protester who is waving a bible and holding a sign that asks, ‘What would Jesus Do?’
“Certainly, there are neo-Nazis and other hate groups in Canada who, among other goals, may seek actual violence against the 2SLGBTQIA+ community,” Maynard said in his report. “Parents and the other people that I saw on the DDSB recording, who spoke at the May 15 meeting, do not appear to be those groups and should not be talked about with the same labels as those spreading hate, unless it can be demonstrably proven otherwise.”
The complaint alleges that three of Cunningham’s social media posts and associated threads on X were “dangerous and highly offensive,” while the trustee said the complaint was “retaliatory” on behalf of her comments regarding Robinson’s words and actions after the meeting.
Cunningham also accused Stone of “hate speech” and told Maynard of a “veiled threat” from Stone following sanctions against Robinson at Pickering Council.
“The morning after the Pickering City Council meeting where Councillor Robinson was sanctioned, Trustee Stone wrote a post on her now-deleted Facebook page saying, “Hey councillors and trustees, what goes around comes around.”
The complainant in the case against Stone also cited hate speech from the Oshawa trustee. “Linda has made numerous posts on Facebook that are dangerous, unprofessional, hate speech and definitely has made me lack confidence in her as a trustee. She has made numerous posts on Facebook and Twitter promoting hate speech against mainly the trans community. On Orange Shirt Day while the schools were learning about truth and reconciliation, Linda Stone was sharing a story that [denies] the treatment of Indigenous people in residential schools.”
Other social media posts in the complaint were about unusual comments Stone made on puberty blockers:
“Puberty blockers can worsen the mental health of children, premature menopause, osteoporosis, children who did not attempt suicide before attempt it after being on them, decrease bone density, FDA issued a black box warning, possible brain swelling, loss of vision, mood changes, anxiety, insomnia, sexual dysfunction, delusions, depression, genital atrophy, and many other possible side effects.”
Stone also promoted a tweet about “eliminating ‘woke’ school boards and posted in opposition to gender identity and trans students’ rights.
“De-trans day is March 12. Lets make it detrans education week in schools.”
Stone is also accused of posted cartoon-like depiction of various naked bodies with the following comment: “I wonder if this book is in DDSB libraries. Warning…graphic”. Stone admitted she was not aware if a book containing this depiction is, in fact, in any DDSB school libraries.
The complainant accused Stone of harassment on multiple occasions that caused “personal harm” to him and his family to the point where he had to change his online name.
“Trustee Stone continues to demonstrate a cavalier attitude about her codified responsibilities concerning respectful communication, particularly online via social media,” Maynard said in his report. “Furthermore, she has shown disregard for this process by engaging in conduct which, in our view, was a thinly veiled attempt at reprisal against a complainant. This conduct is disturbing and unacceptable.”
Stone has a long record of sharing misinformation about the LGBT community and transgender people specifically, both in public school board meetings and on social media. She has also been censured and suspended by the school board multiple times and in fact resigned in 2022, only to run for re-election later that year and reclaim her seat on the board.
Maynard is recommending Stone be barred from three council meeting – one for each of the three complaints – and serve two three-month bans from all committee meetings.
The code of conduct violations will be debated and voted on at the Monday night Durham School Board meeting.