By Dave Meslin
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MESLIN: If a billboard falls in a forest… Part 4
Exactly fifteen years ago this week, I received this short and uplifting e-mail from Toronto city staff: January 12, 2006 Hi Dave, We have researched...
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Misleading Leaside: Lobbyists score a hat trick with digital billboard
Outfront Media wants to construct a massive digital billboard in the residential community of Leaside. The problem is, no one wants digital billboards in...
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MESLIN: Digital megaboard proposed for West Don park corridor
UPDATE: 68 letters were sent to the Committee, in opposition to the billboard proposal (you can read them all, at the bottom of this page). Rather than...
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MESLIN: While other cities embrace street murals, Toronto staff reject it
It’s been seven months since I wrote about the Regal Heights street mural, a community-driven art project painted by neighbours of all ages on...
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How to stop billboard proliferation along our highways
As the Ontario government considers allowing digital billboards on Ontario’s highways, community activists from across North America are gathering...
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MESLIN: Why don’t we do it in the road?
Toronto is no stranger to painted murals. From Art Starts to Mural Routes to the City’s StART program, we’re increasingly beautifying the...
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MESLIN: If a billboard falls in a forest… Part 3
Last week a brilliant piece appeared in the New York Times about commercial advertising in public spaces and what the author describes as “the...
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MESLIN: Connecting the Dots – Exposing the influence of lobbyists at City Hall
Five years ago, Toronto City Council banned all corporate and union contributions for municipal election campaigns. This was supposed to eliminate the...
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MESLIN: The myth of the five-week election
As the dust settles from the 2014 municipal election and political commentators begin to reflect on what happened, two common themes are emerging. First...
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If a billboard falls in a forest….. (Part 2)
Five weeks ago, I wrote the first installment of this saga which I described at the time as a “shocking tale of procedural inertia, bureaucratic...
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MESLIN: If a billboard falls in a forest… Part 1
Bathurst and Davenport cross each other just below the steep shoreline of ancient Lake Iroquois. The intersection is lush with greenery and steeped in...
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Bike fees: Misinformed, misguided and a step backwards for Toronto
From today’s Toronto Star: Giorgio Mammoliti boldly announced Wednesday that if elected mayor, he would introduce a $20-$30 registration fee for bikes...