A waft of nostalgia here for some: another flickr photoset of Expo '67 scenes. (I linked to this previous set in April.) posted at 22:07

 
The city's buying back a dozen calèche permits to reduce the number of carriages plying the trade to 35. Rumours that bavette de cheval will be served in the cafeteria at city hall are said to be exaggerated. posted at 21:48

 
Various trends are blamed for the closure of Davidoff's tabagie on Sherbrooke St. posted at 21:45

 
A demo was held in Chinatown today to ask the federal government to pay compensation for the head tax charged on Chinese immigrants over several decades. posted at 21:40

 
Teenage kids rounded up after a series of muggings around Lionel-Groulx and Saint-Henri metros. posted at 21:37

 
Residents of the east end won't have to live beside massive oil tanks as a ruling says it would be too unsafe. posted at 21:32

 
The shrine to St. Jude, on Saint-Denis near Duluth, is to be sold off for real estate development, although it's not clear here whether the building will be repurposed or demolished. posted at 14:31

 
Montreal is planning to install 30,000 water meters in non-residential buildings, a plan being resisted by some business interests. The eventual revenue will help support the renovation of the city's decrepit water system. posted at 14:23

 
The jazz festival opens tonight. posted at 12:05

 
French firm Alstom is taking Quebec to court to try to force an open tender for the new Montreal metro cars, a contract worth $1.2 billion. Upshot for Montreal may be a delay in getting new trains in the system. posted at 11:56

 
Glimpse of l'Barouf, where supporters of the French World Cup team congregate on St-Denis, and of the rudeness of Montrealers in the street, and of the new city green patrol that will be looking into problems with recycling and the environment. posted at 11:12

 
This rainy summer has meant a weedy and overgrown cemetery, but I walked through it on the weekend and I have to say the extra greenery is kind of nice. N-D-des-Neiges was possibly at its most Gothic and spectacular a few years ago during a strike by the landscape maintenance union. posted at 11:05

 
A new hall for the Montreal Symphony is promised by 2011, although many other such projects have been promised and proposed, and the ideas have come and gone. posted at 11:02

 
Although the smoking ban has slowed down debt repayment, the Olympic Stadium debt should be paid in full this September (party, anyone?). But the question of the stadium's ownership is not yet settled. posted at 10:50

 
Washington Post marvels at Montreal's moving day; summer brings out street performers (when it's not bucketing rain). posted at 10:47

 
More than 4000 bicycles are stolen annually in Montreal, although it's an estimate because many aren't reported. Also notes on the fragility of locks and on the experience of a bike reseller in the Plateau. posted at 10:39

 
The police arrested one of their own yesterday for being involved in drug trafficking. posted at 10:29

 
Not much detail here, but apparently Montreal is breaking provincial law against pesticide use. Is it worth risking making people seriously ill to have tidy municipal lawns? posted at 10:21

 
Vivid description of the festivities yesterday in Little Italy and another report on the scene. posted at 10:13

 
Socioeconomic researchers say Montreal has too many condos and not enough new rental housing, leading to a chronic apartment shortage. posted at 20:01

 
Montreal's Italians whoop it up as the Azzurri get into the World Cup quarter finals. The team next plays Ukraine on Friday. posted at 19:58

 
In a gently ironic twist, fans say they have a problem with Montreal's Grand Prix site because you have to walk to get there. posted at 19:55

 
A city councillor and planner says the city should not rush to ban cars from Mont-Royal Avenue. Which is OK then, because the city's not rushing to do that. In other endlessly recycled news, cars may be banned from Jean-Talon market on weekends. (Pedestrians should simply step in front of cars pushing through the crowded market, and walk as slowly as possible. We're too accustomed to getting out of their way. A little bit of practical resistance.) posted at 12:20

 
Even though the holiday weekend was generally peaceful, there were six murder attempts around town that night. posted at 11:09

 
The Canadians sign Cristobal Huet for two years. posted at 10:52

 
A brief photo essay on yesterday's Grand Prix. posted at 10:38

 
Toronto held its gay pride parade today, as did many other cities, but organizers say ours will likely be bigger when it's held July 30 as part of the upcoming Outgames. posted at 22:41

 
Spanish driver Fernando Alonso wins the Grand Prix on the circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Homeboy, alas, didn't finish. posted at 22:31

 
Sad numbers show how many folks feel it's OK to abandon an animal like an unwanted sofa on moving day. In Quebec, authorities have very little leverage to use on such behaviour. posted at 12:27

 
A short and scanty Saint-Jean parade disappoints, shocking the crowd with the langue de Shakespeare, but the Parc Maisonneuve gathering under a cloudless sky was a general success and nobody started a rumble. On the downside, several people died in highway accidents over the holiday. posted at 11:42

 
Detailed review of the International Flora show on the Old Port; review of a new book about Schwartz's Deli; the film industry here is perking up with three major productions lined up; the symphony's going to get its new hall after all; the Grand Prix seems set here for five more years; tonight's St-Jean party starts at 5 at Parc Maisonneuve. posted at 13:00

 
Madonna, more Madonna, stars, more stars, and where stars eat and leave massive Grand Prix tips. posted at 11:03

 
A new ramp to the Decarie Expressway threatens part of lower N.D.G. with more traffic and noise. It's being built for the new superhospital abaft of Vendôme metro. posted at 10:53

 
Parks in southwestern Montreal are not safe because of heavy metal pollutants in the soil and their decrepit play structures, broken glass, dog crap and other hazards. What's more, if they're fixed up, they're soon vandalized again. posted at 10:50

 
Tomorrow's Saint-Jean parade, starting at Saint-Laurent and René-Lévesque at noon, will include a daylight pyrotechnical display among other spectacles. posted at 10:43

 
The city has decided to sell off Marché Saint-Jacques, at the corner of Amherst and Ontario. posted at 10:38

 
The Grand Prix promises un week-end fou, fou, fou and the media are getting a bit dizzy with excitement over Madonna's presence in town. posted at 11:20

 
A garish new arts building is to be the flagship in cleaning up the Main between Ste-Catherine and René-Lévesque and turning it into the quasi-Disneyesque Quartier des spectacles. posted at 11:01

 
The minister of municipal affairs has ordered Montreal to repay eight million bucks to demerged suburbs. Westmount mayor Karin Marks speaks of vindication. posted at 10:51

 
Cigarette butts have become such a problem downtown that the borough is going to make businesses install butt disposals at their doors. posted at 10:46

 
The police are quite pleased with their success against street gangs, and intend to pursue them relentlessly as the numbers of gang-related homicides grow and the inevitable fatal errors are committed. posted at 10:58

 
A critic from a right-wing American think tank praises Montreal's urban sprawl and derides the usefulness of public transit, reversing all the ideals of modern urbanists like Projet Montréal's Richard Bergeron. posted at 10:28

 
Despite promises, various promised bike paths have not materialized, notably the most-needed one along de Maisonneuve into the heart of downtown. posted at 10:04

 
The once thriving convention business is in a slump here, although not quite as bad as in Toronto or Vancouver. posted at 10:01

 
More hype coming up to what sounds like the busiest weekend of the year with lots of Europeans in town and lots going on in the streets. posted at 10:38

 
Onto a good thing, the Journal de Montréal continues with its look at French in downtown Montreal: André Boisclair says it's disturbing but would be unwilling to pass a new law (which is just as well, as he isn't in power yet), and the culture minister says she wants to get businesses to respect Bill 101. There's a whole dossier.

Am I a little cynical about this? Yes, I think the Journal knows this is a great issue to sell papers with. posted at 10:31

 
The city gets a new director-general, Claude Léger, who used to hold the same post in Longueuil. Robert Abdallah leaves the position, the top civil service spot in town, at the end of the month. posted at 10:23

 
Uh-oh. Apparently tourists are getting served in English first downtown and even francophones turn to English to get service there.

I suppose it might be true, but the generation doing service and retail jobs now has mostly been educated in French so I doubt they have trouble switching to French as they might have done in the bad old days of the fat lady at Eaton's.

(This blog has steered resolutely clear of language issue stuff, but is detecting a slight disturbance in the Force these days.) posted at 13:02

 
The 18th FrancoFolies is called a success, likewise the Fringe; the festival Montréal Baroque opens this week to bridge the space between bigger events. posted at 12:48

 
This week will be one long lead-up to the weekend's Grand Prix, with notes on the event's history, items on Villeneuve, and bits in languages I don't usually link to... posted at 11:42

 
Nice piece on how hockey coach Jacques Demers has become a focus for the fight against adult illiteracy. posted at 11:11

 
Blog entries by an American Fringe performer on a sleepless jag in the city. posted at 04:16

 
The city marked its first smog warning yesterday as the mercury flirted with 30°, and people started acting like it's summer as park swimming pools opened for the season. posted at 04:12

 
Montreal's Italians were sandbagged yesterday by the tied match with the U.S. posted at 13:08

 
Interview with a Montreal writer who has written about life as a woman in the Hasidic community. posted at 13:04

 
Lots of enthusiasm for Montreal's possibilities as a cycling city. posted at 12:46

 
A little far afield, but I was fascinated to read about Quebec City's Chinatown which no longer exists, having been demolished for a highway – a fate narrowly escaped by ours. posted at 13:42

 
Even though Quebec has vowed money for public transit, a condition is that cities also kick in their share, so the public will pay more, whether in taxes or higher fares. (Not forgetting that the dosh Quebec's handing out is also, you know, ours.)

Would I pay a little more to have the 55 bus come past more than twice an hour outside rush hours? You bet I would. posted at 13:15

 
Poetic paean to the Main as it is now. posted at 12:46

 

The Swiss open this year's fireworks fest tonight with a tribute to Vesuvius. posted at 12:32

 
Police are indulging in road chases more and more, blaming it on suspects' growing tendency to flee the scene. But didn't crooks always run from the police? I tend to blame the influence of TV and movies for this one. posted at 12:21

 
Thoughts on why people leave Montreal and why they come back; a rather odd selection of restaurants in a Washington Post article on the city; the Gazette has an urban life poll to fill out. posted at 19:09

 
Jean Charest announces a $130-million infusion for public transit in Quebec. posted at 18:41

 

Cheek by jowl
Originally uploaded by zadcat.

The World Cup's bringing out atavistic national feelings all over town.

posted at 18:31

 
A series of talks and debates on gentrification is being held by a PIRG at McGill (link not currently working); the city is offering a help line (514 868-4002) and temporary accommodations once again this year for those who can't find affordable digs by July 1.

Which reminds me: the list for apartment-hunting, updated:

• craigslist Montreal which now works with housingmaps
  
• Concordia off-campus job and housing bank
  
• McGill housing classifieds
  
• Campus Montreal
  
• More Montreal / Tout Montréal
  
• Les petites annonces classées
  
• Kijiji
  
• louer.com
  
• La Presse classified
  
• The Gazette
  
• The Mirror and the Journal de Montréal ad system – can't point directly at the right section but it's not rocket science
  
• Voir's pay-to-see ads
  

posted at 13:35

 
Short Hour piece gives you the agglo-suburb political struggle in a nutshell. posted at 13:14

 
Plans to turn St-Michel's Francon quarry into a big-box horrorshow have been put on hold by the city, but it sounds like nobody's talking about why. posted at 12:32

 
The Paris-style bouquinistes come to flog their books along the Old Port next week, till mid-July, and the Flora Montreal show opens there today and runs till October. posted at 12:07

 
The Sûreté du Québec establishes a ten most wanted list to try to track down these ten lovelies who may be hiding in plain sight. posted at 11:51

 
Starting tomorrow, ten-digit dialing begins here, with a reminder if you forget; starting October, it'll be mandatory. posted at 11:30

 

The old YMHA building on Mont-Royal near Parc may be turned into condos. Residents had been hoping it would be returned to public use.

Photo by greynotgrey, from flickr's Montréal avant et maintenant pool.

posted at 10:34

 
Vignette of Montreal's Tunisians gathering to watch a World Cup game. posted at 10:16

 
Just for Laughs is facing a budget shortfall that may make it cut back on some of its events. (Beware possible noisy ad on this page.) posted at 09:51

 
Theories why Montrealers tend to support Brazil for the World Cup. Isn't it simple? They throw the liveliest street parties when they win. posted at 10:49

 
Students are cleaning up after slobs who throw cigarette butts and litter around. posted at 10:30

 
The plans to enlarge Hôpital St-Luc to create the CHUM hospital are criticized for their lack of planning and consultation and their potential effects on that part of town. posted at 10:28

 
Numbers confirm that it's hard to find a family doctor in Montreal. If I were of a paranoid frame of mind this morning I'd wonder whether Quebec might not be artificially creating this situation, limiting the number of doctors in Montreal in order to make us more amenable to paying for medical care. But the lack of preventive medicine will have long-term effects on public health. posted at 10:06

 
The city, aware of the junk left behind on Moving Day, has a plan to remind people how to get rid of things like that old sofa or fridge. posted at 10:40

 
More on shows coming up at the Francofolies; admiring review of a performance in the chamber music festival; the theme of the Montreal Baroque fest is announced; the comedy fest will have 650 free shows next month. posted at 10:31

 
In a move that may come back to bite them on the ass during the next election, Charest's "Liberals" invoke closure over several key bills including the sale of part of Mont Orford Park to developers and the imposition of a contract on medical specialists. posted at 10:24

 
The Journal de Montréal sacks 44 pressmen over claims of sabotage during a recent, sharp strike. The union denies the claim. posted at 10:08

 
It must be the silly season. Baie d'Urfé is encouraging kids to paint pictures on fire hydrants and the agglo says they can't do that. It's the agglo/suburb power struggle in miniature, but being allowed to annoy the fire department is not a smart thing to make an issue of. posted at 10:41

 
After a dispiritingly soggy opening week, the Francofolies festival heads bravely on into its second half. posted at 10:32

 
A new group composed of some familiar names, Mouvement Montréal français, vows to make Montrealers speak one language in common. Seems there's been some serious backsliding into English, although nobody seems worried about the growing presence of Spanish as a major third language, or not yet. posted at 10:23

 
Owners of some of the new condos around the Parc des Amériques want to shut down the Fringe festival and keep all evening activities out of the park, because they're noisy.

Now I ask you, who moves into a place at Rachel and St-Laurent and expects quiet evenings? posted at 10:08

 
A Montreal imam narrowly escaped a knife-wielding assailant while leaving his mosque Friday night. It's being called a hate crime. posted at 13:14

 
The notion that something green has to be done with Mont-Royal Avenue surfaces again at a Plateau borough meeting. posted at 13:05

 
Apparently the tarting-up of the lower Main is taking longer than planned, and shopkeepers along the stretch are getting cranky.

Suggestion: all plans for public works should be reassessed by a Realism Officer who will start by assuming that all projects will take twice as long and cost three times as much as official estimates. Then we might get some ballpark figures. posted at 13:02

 
The Mirror has its annual Hot Summer Guide; survey of summer festivals; notes on the Fringe festival, ongoing, and an entire dossier on the FrancoFolies, also in full flight. posted at 12:48

 
In all this rain, it's nice to hear that the Quebec strawberries have started to come in and that it's a good season for them. posted at 13:22

 
A possibly useful partial list of where World Cup games will be shown for various national team supporters; notes on watching a game with Germany supporters on Bishop St. posted at 13:12

 
Gazette writer despairs of fixing the intersection of Notre-Dame and Pie-IX and, in the larger picture, the domination of Montreal by the car. posted at 13:08

 
Velo-Quebec is asking for the education of cyclists to try to avoid the many accidents caused by those breaking traffic laws while riding. Lots of city cycling stats at the bottom of the article. posted at 13:19

 
With more rain in the forecast, will we see more depression?

I've noticed that if you have a garden, your attitude to summer rain changes completely. Instead of a pain, a rain shower is a reprieve from having to water the thing. posted at 13:13

 
The Botanical Garden is celebrating its 75th anniversary with special exhibits and events. posted at 12:48

 
Study of Statistics Canada numbers reveals that Montreal has several hotbeds of crime and that they're concentrated in poorer communities. (At least, they say "less access to social and economic resources" and "economically more disadvantaged" so I suppose they mean, you know, poor.) posted at 12:42

 
Plateau Mont-Royal borough tries out the application of participatory democracy on budget priorities. posted at 11:46

 
The Royal Vic has been caught out destroying protected Mount Royal green space for – what else – parking spaces. posted at 11:36

 
Montreal is asking for a law banning phone use while driving. And about time, too.

I think the problem with this issue is that it concerns something we don't have much experience talking about in the public arena, and that's the nature of human attention. When you're talking to someone on the phone, your attention narrows down. You may be sitting at home, in your office, walking down the street or at the wheel of a car, but your attention becomes focused on a virtual space in which you and your interlocutor are talking. We're wired this way and technology can't change that in a generation. For some reason, a lot of people don't want to admit this is true, but surely there must be clinical psych tests that would confirm the fact of divided attention.

And don't get me started on people watching movies or playing video games while driving. Anyone caught doing that should simply lose their license because they've demonstrated that they don't give a crap. posted at 10:58

 
Archaeologists say they have found the fort of Ville-Marie, the original structure built in the times of Maisonneuve and Jeanne-Mance. posted at 10:46

 
More houses changed hands here in May than in any other May on records. posted at 10:26

 
The law governing how city agglomeration budgets work will be changed so that Montreal and Quebec won't face the financial standoff that's afflicted Longueuil this year. posted at 10:23

 
Quebec has put a moratorium on the selling off of churches in an attempt to stop the loss of heritage sites that's been going on. posted at 10:20

 
A summer squad of students is to clean up downtown, with special attention to cigarette butts. posted at 10:09

 
Journal de Montréal pressmen held a strike yesterday, and some charges of vandalism have been made. The company had asked for a lot of layoffs. posted at 10:40

 
Even though a judge ruled that the borough could make Jean-Talon market pedestrians-only on weekends, the market is still fighting it. posted at 10:36

 
A rather ad-heavy AskMen article lays out an entire Grand Prix weekend for men, including the information that you don't shake hands with people here, you kiss them on both cheeks... posted at 10:22

 
Heritage Montreal has issued its latest list of threatened sites which includes the Belgian carousel at La Ronde. posted at 10:02

 
Glowing review of recent Mutek festival; a look at the First People's festival, which is ongoing. posted at 09:47

 
Police are adding more surveillance cameras along Saint-Denis and Saint-Laurent.

I'd like to hear about actual crimes prevented or solved by these things. posted at 09:43

 
Bars with outdoor terrasses are going to clean up this summer with the smokers, it seems – but winter will be the great leveller. posted at 10:01

 
Police are concerned with street gangs that seem to be getting gradually more violent in their methods.

(Incidentally, why "street" gangs? Is it because they rumble in the street, or because they divide up the city streets between them?) posted at 09:00

 
The project to turn the old Cinema V into a cultural centre is becalmed for lack of funds, although this article tries to put a positive spin on the situation. posted at 08:46

 
Apparently Saturday's rain annoyed smokers, who were forced to find ways to smoke outside without getting wet; the Gazette explains in detail how to allow smoking in your establishment without getting caught. posted at 01:14

 
This weekend's big arrest in Toronto is making people wonder how vulnerable Montreal is to similar plots; local Muslims are also uneasy and not without reason after a mosque was vandalized in a Toronto suburb.

Despite all this, Montreal authorities don't seem to be taking special precautions – although the SQ spokeswoman in that piece makes the reasonable point that if they were, it wouldn't necessarily make sense to talk about it. posted at 01:05

 
The Tour de l'Île is probably just winding down now as I post, with more than 30,000 cyclists expected; Montreal is lauded as a city for physical activity; a West Island group has designed a bike trail visiting dozens of historic sites in an arc around the western tip of the island. posted at 13:52

 
CBC has a weekly podcast of news from Quebec; on Radio-Canada you can hear the latest news bulletins but only in Windows Media format.

(I had to go to the Grand dictionnaire terminologique to find the French for podcast, which the g.d.t. says is balado, short for fichier baladodiffusé. If there are any interesting local news-oriented fichiers baladodiffusés I'll start linking to them.) posted at 13:29

 
Nathalie Petrowski brilliantly skewers the recent tendency for culture czars to bewail Montreal's cultural stasis based on our rejection of the big casino project. A must-read. posted at 13:52

 
12,000 cyclists rode in last night's Tour la Nuit including some people who come quite long distances to participate in the Féria du Vélo. posted at 13:46

 
Inuit peach on an NDG dépanneur that had been selling dime bags alongside the usual beer, cigarettes and loto tickets. posted at 12:36

 
Tonight is the Tour la Nuit; Sunday is a street party on Jeanne-Mance to honour the 400th anniversary of the birth of a woman now credited with co-founding Montreal; Hour also has a summer guide this week including a list of interesting and oddball events and venues for summer enjoyment; the beer festival continues through Sunday. posted at 12:29

 
The city has announced a big plan to repair sewers and water lines that are past due. Expect lots of detours as the digging commences. posted at 12:06

 
The mayors of Canada's big cities are here in Montreal today to ask for direct federal tax support. Mayor Tremblay is especially concerned about funding public transit. posted at 11:15

 
Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie has established its right to ban cars from driving through Jean-Talon market on weekends in the summer, a matter that sounds trivial enough but turned into a bone of contention that may not yet be over. posted at 10:41

 
A third of the glass panels covering the Grande Bibliothèque are defective and have to be fixed or replaced. As I recall, the original design specced copper panels but they were seen as too expensive; it seems like they might've been a better bargain after all (although, in view of recent news, they might in turn have attracted scrap metal thieves...). posted at 10:46

 
"The last time Montrealers suffered a transit strike [...] it wasn't that much of a hardship." Praise for the Quebec essential services act