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Letters To The Editor News

Jo-Anna Downeys death unites comics: Reader Love and Hate

Stand-up comedy being a back-stabbing, depressing and lonely world aside, Torontos scene has united to recognize the brilliance of Jo-Anna Downey (NOW, December 3) and the comedic legacy she has left behind. One only had to be at the Eton House or Spirits in the last week to see how much she meant to the community she helped create.

And, oh yeah, her friend Boyd Banks is still one of the funniest motherfucking comics out there.

Carolyn Bennett, Toronto

I was happy to read Na Lis column, The Singular Beauty Of Kensington Market: Its People (NOW, December 8-14). Im a huge supporter of her book on the Market.

I lived in Kensington for three years, and Lis book got me really interested in the neighbourhood. In collaboration with the Kensington BIA, I embarked on a project called 100 Kensington Posters, inspired by the abundance of community-made street posters. I photographed and archived hundreds of these ephemeral messages. I reinterpreted and redesigned 100 posters using this archive and other graphic elements found in the area.

I brought the new posters back to the neighbourhood to give the messages a second life. They can be seen at 100kensingtonposters.tumblr.com.

Benjamin Lory, Toronto

Thank you to Dominique Russell for Of Chaos And Community (NOW, December 8-14). It brings back great memories of Kensington Market. It is a very special place and needs to be maintained, not gentrified.

Marjorie Ratcliffe, From nowtoronto.com

Everybody forgets about the 1,500 residents of Kensington Market who now live with noise and people urinating on their properties till 2:30 am due to the bars.

Andy Scrimshaw, From nowtoronto.com

Some of the same forces at work in Kensington Market are happening on West Queen West. Just over a week ago, a private-sector heritage consultant shocked the participants at a meeting with draft recommendations that excluded from the planned Heritage Conservation District the 10-block stretch from Shaw to Dufferin, the very part written up in the New York Times a couple of years ago and voted second-coolest hood in the world by Vogue.

The area contains 93 Victorians, some of the oldest in the city, the Great Hall, the Old Post Office, a Carnegie library, etc. And its the very area under most development pressure, as per the Bohemian Embassy, Urbancorps formerly MOCCA condo, and now the Drake Hotels raze and replace expansion.

Why the exclusion? The reasons are as thin as tissue.

Jessica Wilson, From nowtoronto.com

Norman Wilners review of Allied (NOW, November 24-30) states that Zemeckiss insistence on over-complicated, digitally augmented flourishes only underlines how fake the whole endeavour is. Really? I didnt notice any excessive computer-generated effects. And Ive studied film production. It was a very well-done movie, with a film noir feel toward the end. Maybe you guys were thinking of another movie, or you just hate Brad Pitt.

Tim Himes, Toronto

Ive noticed in the last few months, with all your one-sided stories about the U.S. election, that NOW has become a very biased rag.

If you dont like Hillary, you are a bad person, etc. Would have been great to see both sides covered and read about some of Trumps platforms that would actually be good for the American people. The paper has tried to make Clinton seem like a saint. She is just as corrupt.

Kris Garvinson, Toronto

Gary Freeman blames middle-aged white men who cant cope with globalization for Trumps win (NOW, November 10-17). What, then, were the people who smashed windows downtown during the G20 protesting? It isnt just fat white guys who have a problem with globalization.

NDP members of Toronto city council have been advocating higher property taxes for working people for years. Its time the left in this city cleaned up its act.

Bob Murphy, Toronto

Breaking interracial taboos

Finally, a couple on the cover of NOW that features a Black woman and a white man (NOW, December 1-7). Reading this magazine, youd think that only men of colour date outside their race. Hmm, gender bias or just taboo?

Tanya B., Toronto

Thanks to NOW for covering the new Syrian Brunch Pop-Up and for the fantastic video (NOW, November 30). Im sure this was a big factor in the success of this Brunch Pop-Up, which is now completely sold out. But I happen to know the fine folks at Butlers Pantry are working with the cooks to see if it would be possible to add another round of seatings on Saturdays, so stay tuned to Newcomer Kitchen & Butlers Pantrys social media feed.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported this great project, and looking forward to lots more tasty adventure in 2017!

Len Senater, From nowtoronto.com

news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

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