Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 21, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A10 OPINION A10 SUNDAY, JULY 14, 2013 Previous polls: BLOG OF THE WEEK: THE ART OF GETTING BY IN WINNIPEG Would you be willing to ride a riverboat to Bombers games? POLL Vote online at winnipegfreepress. com I T'S no secret that Winnipeg residents like to harp on the city. We even wrote a song about it. We love to hate our city. In my opinion, we simply don't appreciate what we have. Leave the city for a few weeks, months or even years and you'll see what I mean. I personally LOVE this city ( now). This certainly wasn't always the case. Growing up in Transcona, I always proclaimed my hatred for the city, ( being 16, you always have to hate something), and I was going to move somewhere " sooo cool" when I graduated. Well guess what, 16- year- old Melissa? To leave, you need something important: money. Fast- forward two years and I didn't have a money tree in my backyard, so now 18- year- old me had to choose a school here ( the horror). So that meant I was trapped. Stuck pursuing my post- secondary education in this horribly " boring" town, I was ultimately doomed. The five years I spent at the University of Winnipeg would prove myself incredibly wrong. Since my first semester over five years ago, I find myself constantly discovering new people, places and things to do. Winnipeg is booming, and recent developments across the city, such as the new Bomber stadium, IKEA, residential developments in the downtown and Exchange district and the return of the Jets are proof that Winnipeg is going to look very different in the next five years. Having recently graduated, I look forward to starting my career in this city and hopefully contributing to its future growth. Long story short, I have made the decision to dedicate my blog this summer to documenting my explorations across the city to prove that there's more to Winnipeg than the awful weather, constant road construction, mosquitoes and HORRIBLE drivers. ( I'll admit that those examples really don't make a great case for where I'm going here... ) I'm going to try and see this beautiful city as though I were a tourist; through new eyes, if you will. How will I accomplish that? Great question. Tourism Winnipeg put out a list of 101 things to do in Winnipeg in the spring/ summer. Since I'm ( no joke) so broke, I will naturally attempt to do all the free stuff first. Here are a couple of my recent forays. Number 27: Watch a Goldeyes game Does it count if I was there selling 50/ 50 tickets? I decide it still does. And who is going to argue with me? To preface, I dislike baseball. There's just something about it that bores me to tears. The only redeeming quality I've ever found about the sport is the tight little pants... ahem. Moving on. Despite my dislike for the sport, there is nothing that beats the atmosphere of a Goldeyes game on a breezy July/ August evening. It feels so home- y. The sense of community inside the park is astounding, and even just selling 50/ 50 tickets, the amount of smiles I witnessed ( even when the Fish were throwing away their lead) was heartwarming. Truth be told, I have been to my fair share of games over the years with my family. My dad loves going to Goldeyes games. I'll never forget daddy- daughter dates where he would take me without my sister and we would eat junk food and try and catch free stuff. Once I started to get older, the only way my parents could convince me to go to a game was with food. The world's best incentive. How can you ever say no to a giant pretzel and bag of mini- donuts? Now, I don't mind going to the Goldeyes games. I still hate baseball, but people- watching is a sport all on its own. Number 83: Antiquing This one was super fun. ( I think I've said that about them all, but I don't care; they really have been super fun so far!) Instead of heading to the Exchange District, though, I went to The Old House Revival Company, which is right behind my office. They have four levels of some seriously cool ( and old) stuff. I went with my dad a few weeks ago and we were there for a good one to two hours, but just went back recently so I could get some pictures to post and I spent a solid hour in there, again. Seriously, I can't express how much of a grandma I can be sometimes, but this must take the cake. I think I was born in the wrong decade. They have everything you can possibly imagine: chandeliers, typewriters, books, dishware, clothes, lamps, furniture of all kinds, and the list could go on forever. I also love that they have a variety of doorknobs, hinges, locks and a number of other vintage parts. They are perfect for giving your cottage/ cabin that oldtime feel, or even your home. My absolute, ultimate favorite part of this store is the books. OH, THE BOOKS. The bibliophile in me almost stroked out when I found a 1910s printing of Treasure Island . You can find The Old house Revival Company at 324 Young St. 101 Winnipeg days By Melissa Suggitt Follow this blog at http:// awinnipegaffair. blogspot. ca The Old House Revival Company has four levels of some seriously cool stuff. My summer quest: See Winnipeg as a tourist A PLAN to offer purchasers of new condos in the Exchange District $ 10,000 cheques? You can bet our readers were quick to get their two cents' worth in on that one. Let me get this straight. The Winnipeg condo market is hot enough that Exchange condos sell for far more than the average person's house. Yet taxpayers are to fund the purchase of these condos by affluent people with more money than the average citizen will ever see in their lifetime? Seriously? This has to be a joke!! What's next, will we subsidize the purchase of homes on Wellington Crescent? New condos are going up in the Exchange all the time. Clearly, they do not need taxpayer subsidization. Something stinks here. - 23652962 Let the sellers reduce the price to meet the market. Why should taxpayers fork out $ 10K to buy someone a place to live? Get real. I would rather see my housing dollar spent on providing good- quality housing for low- income families. - volunteer1 Sounds more like a bribe. How about giving that money to Loblaw in the form of tax breaks to incentivize the building of a grocery store so residents don't have to get in their car and drive 10 minutes for milk? - Ceedger There is a public benefit from having a thriving Exchange neighbourhood. I think this is pretty good policy so long as it is really term- limited. Will pay for itself, I would think, from increased property assessments. - luvstb First, no incentive would get me to live downtown. Second, I don't think we should be using tax dollars to fund down payments on a condo. They should just decrease the cost of the condo in the first place. Third, if we have this extra money floating around, maybe we should fund more deserving programs instead. - 23615082 We don't have the money to fix our roads, but yet we have money to give to people so they can have a nice view of the river? Only our braindead city council would approve this plan. - LuckyBucky Almost $ 3.5 mil over the next four years in rebates and financing charges for high- endpriced condos but only $ 250K for retail incentives ( i. e., grocery stores)?! How about they spend the $ 3.5 mil on the crumbled, broken, pothole- riddled streets and tax the crap out of grocery chains that build big- box stores in the burbs while closing downtown locations. More money spent unwisely and directed at those who don't necessarily need the incentives/ tax breaks while the rest of the middle class keeps funding their highfalutin lifestyle. How does anyone at city hall seriously think this is a good idea?! - 23639867 The real problem with the Exchange is the lack of parking facilities for many of these conversions. You can't expect people to choose to live car- less unless they live within walking distance of amenities like grocery stores, pharmacies and coffee shops. I don't drive, and I looked at the Exchange when I was condo- shopping a few years back; I chose South Osborne instead, primarily because it's so walkable. Other issues were safety and noise, especially in the summer. - charlene1 Bribing people to live downtown What are your feelings on the band Kiss? They're my Reason to Live 4% I Love It Loud 22% Enjoyed them more in my Flaming Youth 31% They Shock Me 3% Ugh, I find them Unholy 21% Who the Deuce are you talking about? 19% How many Fringe plays do you plan to attend? One or two 10% At least half- a- dozen 3% As many as I can 5% None 82% Should the city give $ 10,000 to people who buy a new condo in the Exchange or along Waterfront Drive? Yes 15% No 85% Are you happy with the federal government's cabinet shuffle Monday? Yes. More women and Manitobans in cabinet is a good thing. 19% I'll wait to see how they do before deciding. 22% No. It's more of the same. 48% I thought ' cabinet shuffle' was some sort of dance. 11% Did you attend the 40th Winnipeg Folk Festival? Yes 11% No 89% Are you ready for higher gasoline prices? I can live with it 31% My SUV is worth the cost 11% It's time for a smaller car 21% I'm biking/ walking more 16% Time to take a bus 11% Luckily I don't drive 10% A_ 10_ Jul- 21- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A10 7/ 20/ 13 7: 43: 41 PM ;