The Sandor Report

A recent interview with Australian millionaire Tim Gurner has gained traction – particularly on social media – after TIME reported his comments that millennials cannot afford to buy homes because they insist on buying “smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each”.  Obviously this is hyperbole and the point he is using food spending to make an argument that millennials are spending too much money on frivolous purchases.  I don’t know about you, but I’m bored with inflammatory rhetoric – I want data.  I went looking to see how much validity is behind his argument.  After an evening on the Statistics Canada website I’ve crunched the numbers. Full disclosure, I am a millennial; I can’t afford to buy a house; I don’t like avocado; and I believe that –  perhaps – the discrepancy between millennial budgets and housing prices results from a combination of complex economic factors – not avocado toast spending. Food Spending [i] [ii] We should start w...

One of the many community positions I am lucky enough to volunteer in is Chair of the Board at Growing Chefs! Ontario.  At Growing Chefs, we have programming that tailored for classrooms to teach the elementary school curriculum through food knowledge and cooking skills.  We work with local growers and food producers to deliver our programming which helps children learn about healthy eating and gain an understanding of where food comes from. Recently, I had the pleasure of being able to write a column about the importance of food education to families and the community.  While on the surface it may seem like learning to cook has little impacts outside of the kitchen, food literacy has an important role ranging in local economic development, poverty reduction, and community health. This column was published in The Londoner  on the Growing Chefs! Ontario website and if you haven't had a chance to read it, I encourage you to give it a read and if you like it, take ...

Argyle Community Association The Argyle community association evolved out of the City of London  Strengthening Neighbourhoods Strategy .  This initiative was started by former Mayor Fontana early in his mandate.  The Strengthening Neighbourhoods committee and Argyle Community committee amalgamates to form the Association. The Argyle Community Association has been active since 2010, although they have several members who have been community activists since 1990. Programming, Initiatives and Partnerships The Argyle Community Association is working to improve their neighbourhood including improving the economic prospects and  erasing the sigma of living "east of Adelaide".  Their focus is encouraging their 1300 plus members to become involved within the community.  This includes activities such as their Santa Claus parade on Dec. 3 2015 as well as lobbying local politicians about the construction of a new community centre and other in...

Old East Village Community Association The Old East Village lies just east of downtown London and some of the city’s other core neighbourhoods like Woodfield and SoHo. The area was developed in a short period of time at the turn of the twentieth century as a residential community supporting nearby industry, and it blossomed in London’s industrial era, but fell on harder times during the city’s suburbanization. Partly to address the lack of organized community support in early revitalization efforts, the Old East Village Community Association (OEVCA) was formed as a residents' association in January of 2003 “to aid and empower residents of the neighbourhood” through advocacy, education and community engagement. Its Constitution and Bylaws were passed at a general meeting in January, 2004.  Programming and Initiatives The association immediately became an active contributor to community development efforts like the Old East Village Community Improvement Plan ...

Old South Community Organization The Old South Community Organization (OSCO) began life as the "South London Community Organization" around about 1975, and was incorporated in 1980. According to the folklore, it came about mainly in response to the construction of the Horton Street "Extension", sometimes called the Horton Street "Expressway" (if you can believe it) and the proposed extension of Ridout Street south of Commissioners Road. Programming and Initiatives OSCO hosts the Gathering on the Green, the largest & oldest community festival in London. It's been going on for over thirty years, since the mid-late 1980's. At various times they've sponsored or supported Cruise Nights, the Jazz & Blues Festival , Halloween in the Village, Christmas in the Village, and a mid-winter Chili Cookoff. In addition to the Gathering, OSCS sells Christmas trees as a fundraiser. Money raised goes to fund a number of award...

South of Horton (SoHo) Community Association SoHo Community Association Logo SoHo (which stands for South of Horton) is an up and coming neighbourhood just south of downtown. Our boundaries are the CN Rail tracks to the North; The Thames River marks the West & South boundaries and Adelaide St. to the east.  SoHo is surrounded by other great neighbourhoods: Old South, Woodfield, Hamilton Road, Old East Village and of course Downtown!  Renamed from St. David's Ward, the community association was put in place to assist residents and act as neighbourhood advisers for the city.  Together, a plan for the future was set in place to regenerate the neighbourhood and thus, The Roadmap to SoHo was created. Programming and Initiatives The group meets monthly during the school year on the third Wednesday of each month at  7pm  in the basement of Maple View Terrace.   Each year SoHo holds an annual yard sale, called Junk in the Trunk, in June and a ...

Orchard Park Sherwood Forest Ratepayers History Orchard Park Sherwood Forest Ratepayers' Logo The organization was formed over 30 years ago, though the history of the area dates to 1955 when developer Bill Davies began a 500 home development which promotional material declared “carved out a huge apple orchard” from farmland in the area.   This would become Orchard Park.  Five years later, the first phase of the Sherwood Forest neighbourhood began to be developed. As the neighbourhoods grew, the Orchard Park Sherwood Forest Ratepayers group was formed to promote an organized neighbourhood network to responds to developments and changes, and to present a strong unified voice with local government when representing the interests of the neighbourhood.  Issues tackled by the group over the years include supporting and maintaining existing facilities such as pools, libraries and areas, as well as raising resident concerns regarding traffic, development, zonin...

Recently,   local policy group, The London Institute published an excellent piece advocating the need for local employers and post-secondary institutions to work together to create more opportunities for co-op placements and internships.   This article argued – rightfully so – that internships provide opportunities for new professionals to establish the skills and networks needed to pursue meaningful employment in London rather than leaving the local economy.   The London Institute piece includes the argument that “firm, visible, internship programs… give students practical work experience, allowing them to apply their knowledge to real-world and local problems”.   While this is certainly the intention of a good internship placement, all internships are not created equal – that being said, not all interns are created equal either (I’ll write more on this in a future post).   When providing any kind of opportunity for new professionals, be it an internship...

Writing guides suggest starting an article off with something attention grabbing to capture your audience.  What if I told you Guelph will to have buses that run every ten minutes?  Do I have your attention yet? At the February 26 th Transit Advisory Committee meeting, the committee (myself included) got to see an early glimpse at plans to overhaul the Guelph Transit routes.  Some of the changes to come will be small and simple; some of them are very exciting.  In a few weeks, public consultation events will showcase the next generation of Guelph Transit and our routes , and will provide citizens with an opportunity to provide their feedback on the proposed route changes.  Today, I am going to highlight a few of them. Some of you may have read the letter to the editor in the Guelph Tribune outlining one Guelphite’s vision of a better transit system.  Included on this list are shorter routes with more efficient transfer points, the creation of a n...

Hello readers!  It has been a while since I last wrote, but I have a very exciting post this time around.  My survey series with the TVBDSB Trustee candidates was so successful that I have decided to periodically carry out interviews with groups and individuals in my homes of London and Guelph.  These interviews begin with this interview with His Worship Matt Brown, Mayor of London.  Spencer and Matt at a London Lightning game Spencer:  First and foremost, congratulations again on being sworn in as the Mayor of London.  Second, allow me to thank you again for agreeing to allow me to interview you for my blog.  Although I have a modest readership, I try to use my blog to provide insight into local politics in my two homes of London and Guelph. I have prepared a few questions for you to answer and have tried to strike a balance between providing you an opportunity to discuss your vision for London, and answer some questions that Londoners m...