Another trinket in Junction Jewel Box
Thank you for including John Shelley Turner’s Terracotta Jewel Box at 20 Jerome so prominently in your Hidden Toronto Issue (NOW, July 26-August 1). This house was built by my great-grandfather. Some people may be interested to know that he was born in Hartfield, England, in 1844 and came to Canada with his family in 1873. He died in 1930 and is buried in Park Lawn Cemetery.
He was a well-known builder in West Toronto and was one of 29 signatories pushing to establish a Mechanics’ Institute in Toronto in 1888.
Ted Turner, Toronto
Shining light on T.O.’s hidden gems
Thanks to Richard Longley for Hidden Toronto. Reading details about each site reminded me of tourist guides I have read about faraway places. What fun to have these buildings and places so close at hand.
I went to Lord Lansdowne Public School in the late 60s. When I first saw it, the building made me think of a circus tent. It was very different from the rectangular schools I had attended. After a short time I stopped noticing until I read your article. Thanks for shining a light on these gems.
Hamish Greenland, Toronto
New gun shooter tech misses the mark
Regarding Black Community Reps Pen Open Letter To John Tory And Doug Ford On Gun Violence (NOW Online, July 24).
The mayor and the premier should accept demands not to implement ShotSpotter technology in priority neighbourhoods. The technology was developed for urban areas in the U.S. where there is a large number of unreported shootings. Most shootings in the GTA are reported.
Policing is becoming increasingly reactionary. Patrol and crime prevention are labour- (and cost-) intensive activities that police services used to provide, but which are steadily declining, particularly in Toronto, whose police service is in the middle of a self-described “transformation.” Why deploy an additional 200 officers who can do little more than stand (or drive) around?
Archibald Lowenstein, From nowtoronto.com
Denial on nuke waste
I want to thank NOW for Pickering, We Have A Problem by Angela Bischoff (NOW, July 19-25).
Media often shy away from making any comments, let alone critical ones, about nuclear power.
Even in the recent Pickering hearings, few proponents even referred to the nuclear waste problem, although they all know it has been piling up beside Pickering and Bruce for decades. I expect the reason for that is because they know that it is a problem with no solution
J. Lennox, Toronto
Radioactive waste plan has big hole in it
Does letter-writer John Barrett, CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association, really think that burying Ontario’s nuclear waste will be end of that problem? (NOW, July 26-August 1)
There are forces at work that make it very unlikely it could be safely isolated for even a few hundred years.
In fact, as he surely knows, there have only ever been three deep geologic repositories built to store high-level nuclear waste (two in Germany and one in New Mexico) and all three failed.
There are plenty of alternatives, starting with water power from Quebec.
Rena Ginsberg, Toronto
Veganism = consumerism
Regarding your Vegans Rising cover story (NOW, July 12-18). It is virtually impossible to live in a modern society without massive exploitation of animals. All drugs, by law and scientific protocol, must be tested on animals before proceeding to human trials. Many vaccines are grown on or contain animal products.
Vegans offer that world hunger could be eliminated by moving humanity to a plant-based diet.
Since poverty is a defect in the economic distribution of goods, I don’t think it will make any difference if the foods being wasted are plant- or animal-based.
I believe that veganism is a form of consumerism that was created to serve the needs of global capitalism.
Moses Shuldiner, Toronto
