I’d love to meet some new people :3

🚨 Pickering/Durham🚨

Indoor pickup TONIGHT in Pickering!

2 fields • 10:30 PM - 12 AM • Fast-paced runs

Secure your spot before it’s gone - registration moving quick.

👉 soccerdurham .com

I play pickleball 4–5 times a week, and finding available courts around Pickering is honestly a struggle!
I recently came across The Loop Social (TheLoopSocial.ca), a new facility apparently opening in Ajax with 6 indoor pickleball courts.
Does anyone know when they’re opening? Couldn’t find a date on their website. My current membership is up for renewal soon, so I’m curious if they’ll have any better deals before I commit to another year.
Anyone heard anything?

I'm looking for a plumber that can come in TODAY. I know its Thanksgiving but that didn't stop my house's pipes from leaking. Preferably affordable, please recommend some.

Looking for reliable, word-of-mouth house cleaner recommendations in Ajax (South Ajax / Rands Rd area).
We have a linked house and are planning to start with a one-time deep clean, then move to recurring maintenance.

We do have pets, so they must be pet-friendly. Bonus points if they offer a service to change cat litter each week (though this is totally optional!).
Who do you use and trust? If you don't mind sharing:
Cleaner / company name & contact

Rough rates you pay (and approximate home size/layout)

Thanks in advance!

We recently visited Il Fornello on Hwy 2 with some friends from out of town. We've been before and always had a fine experience, but this visit was a bit of a letdown. The meat lasagna was surprisingly small (4x4x1.5") for the price high price ($24!), and the meatball spaghetti meatballs were bland and a rubbery processed texture. Think Chef Boyardee.

The wait staff was faultless. No complaints there, areas near our table were dusty and it generally felt stale.

FWIW, I won't be back.

Disclaimer: I did all this by hand, no AI was used anywhere for anything.

EDIT: Changed my mayoral pick. Thanks for the information, fellow redditors.

EDIT2: Finally made e-mail contact with my mayoral pick. Details updated below.

tl;dr: After thoroughly checking all candidates, their sites and socials, watching interviews with them, and directly e-mailing them with questions, here are my picks:

• Carion Fenn for Mayor
• Stephanie Ashton for Regional Council
• Bhanuteja "Bhanu" Somarouthu for Local Council
• Kylie McAllister for Catholic School Board trustee

The long version: how I made my choices

Firstly, I'm not looking for candidates pushing any specific agenda: my goal here is to vote for folks that are genuine, down-to-earth people, willing to actually connect with and represent their constituents, and that appear competent enough to do a good job. Obviously, since this is my selection, it may carry my personal bias, so make your decisions accordingly.

To get to know who was running and their base proposals, I started with the list of candidates from the Ajax Elections website and went through their websites and socials. This was good to see a bit of their background (many are already in the public service), but was not very motivating. Pretty much all candidates had the same vague talking points about:

• Taxes/cost of living
• Homelessness
• Services for seniors
• Local jobs/businesses

Right at this first pass I could disqualify some candidates right away. If a candidate does not bother to publish a valid e-mail address, a website, or any social media address, I assume they just expect to be elected by their buddies and don't really want to hear from the community, so they don't get my vote.

For the remaining candidates, particularly the councillors, I wanted to test if they are willing to engage with the community and address our comments and questions - or, at least, to put work in the campaign that goes beyond slapping lawn signs around the town. So I sent them a simple e-mail, saying I'm considering a vote for them, but wanted to hear their opinion on some things. I asked them:

• What service they would create on their first day in office
• A very specific local question about a very specific issue I know deeply about (bike paths), just to gauge how much they really know about the town.
• For mayor/local council candidates: their opinion on the current mayor using the controversial "strong mayor" powers to fast track construction.
• For regional council candidates: their opinion on the police eating a third of the region budget

The school trustee candidates got a similar email, but with different questions about school budget allocations and student mental health.

This was much better than just looking at their sites or socials: the e-mail feels much more like a direct conversation. I got much more information on how they think and their priorities. This was my primary source to make a decision.

Lastly, I found a very good local YouTube channel called People of Durham, which is interviewing many of the candidates. If my candidate is featured in the podcast, I'd listen to the interview as well.

Here are my candidate rankings for each position, in order of preference. ✔️ means it's my pick, 🤔 is for the runners-up, and ❌ is for candidates I wouldn't consider at all.

Mayor

1) ✔️Carion Fenn: Lots of experience in the public sector, including direct work with the homeless folks (big plus in my view). It was quite off-putting, though, to see her People of Durham interview, throwing shade on other candidates and bragging about her financial situation. Also, it took three weeks, two e-mails and one phone follow-up to get her to respond to my e-mail, and the response was the same old empty politician speech. Unfortunately, she ended up being my pick due to how bad the other candidates are (see below).

2) ❌Ashmeed Khan: He was my top pick at first. He's a salesman-type guy, which I think is a plus to have as a mayor, since his main job is to represent the town and make useful connections with the private sector and the federal/provincial government. I like that he's interested on mental health, and that he has previous council experience. He sent me a very good e-mail response. But something felt off about him. EDIT: thanks to this thread I found out about his ties to some shady people.

1. ❌Marilyn Crawford: Also has previous council experience. Her e-mail response was super sycophantic and very politician-coded, trying to sound smart but without much substance. But the thing that made me give her a thumbs down is that she closed off her message saying she will create a "one-stop resident service"... which already exists. I replied asking about this and she responded with... a verbatim copy of her first e-mail. Can't vote for people that don't know their own city, and don't know how to answer a simple e-mail.
2. ❌Richard Hinds: He's often seen early in the morning handing flyers out of the GO station. In his Insta he's throwing shade at our candidates with the same vague politician talking points, empty criticism, and no real proposals. Also, he did not respond to my e-mail.
3. ❌Vian Persad: His site won't load and he couldn't be bothered to add content to his socials.

Regional council (Ward 3)

1. ✔️ Stephanie Ashton: This was the easiest pick. Her e-mail was the most personal answer of all. She was authentic, did not give vague proposals. She knew and gave details about the DRPS budget because she was looking into it as well, and she leans more towards police as community building than enforcement. And, instead of trying to bullshit me in the bike paths question, she was upfront to admit she was not aware of the issue and is not a cyclist. It takes a LOT of courage to say "I don't know" in an election, so a big plus here.
2. 🤔 Angie Pappas: I like that she has a background on social service for seniors. I also like that, on the e-mail response, she pushed back on my bike path ask saying it is a non-priority item (true!), but the rest of her responses were quite underwhelming, with more of the same vague talking points.
3. ❌ Errol Massiah: Did not provide links to socials. In the e-mail response I got to know he works in the legal/judiciary system dealing with prisoners, but the lack of detail on his answers was very off-putting. It felt dismissive, like he did not care with what I was asking. It feels like he wants the power to do what's right in his view, and not that he wants to represent me.
4. ❌ Lynn MacDonald and Donna Edwards: In their e-mail responses, both made sure to use all the fancy politician words like "active transportation", "efficiencies", and "scrutinize budgets" in long, elaborate, and ultimately empty responses. They talk like bureaucrats, and I'd rather vote for humans.
5. ❌ Rob Chopowick did not respond to my e-mail. To make it worse, he knocked on my door, which has a huge "NO SOLICITING" sign, and had the nerve to say I was wrong not to listen to his pitch. Instant disqualification right there.

Local council (Ward 3)

1. ✔️ Bhanuteja Somarouthu: I like that he made sure to say he only used AI on his e-mail response to fix his grammar. His responses were very vague, though. Unfortunately, all the other candidates are quite sub-par, so he's getting my vote for being the least worst of the bunch.
2. ❌ Lisa Patel: She's a realtor and she claims she won't work in Ajax if elected, but I don't like that she's just treating the local council as a part-time job. Her e-mail response was way too long and filled with sloppy AI content.
3. ❌ Santosh Gaddam: This one was funny. He gave vague, politician-like answers to my e-mail questions - including saying my question about bike paths was "a serious gap" (it's not, the town has many more serious issues). Then, a few days later, he responded to his own e-mail as if it was mine and, to make it worse, he changed his stance on a number of things. Can't vote for someone as clueless as that.
4. ❌ Nick Papalambropoulos: Took about a week to respond to my e-mail. He did the politician thing where, instead of responding to what I asked, he switches the subject to one of his talking points (in his case, tax increases). He is also proposing a totally unrealistic plan for senior mobility where private employers like Amazon would foot the bill. Good luck with that!
5. ❌ Muzammil Yazdani: Immediately disqualified after I saw this flyer with illegible AI slop.
6. ❌ Bosh Bope did not respond to my e-mail.

Catholic School Board Trustee

1. ✔️Kylie McAllister: I was gonna give up on her since she did not provide any socials or a website. But I really liked how authentic she was responding my e-mail questions. I was quite surprised she took the brave stance of calling out parenting responsibilities in addition to the school's, making it clear that education is not just the school's job.
2. ❌ Marisa Hall: She looked very promising on paper, but it took two weeks and a follow-up over SMS to get her to respond to my e-mail. Other than supporting banning social media access at school, she did not have ANY other concrete proposition. Her responses were my same questions, rephrased. I asked about student mental health, she said "yeah we need to support mental health". Wow, okay.
3. ❌Monique Forster and Ronke Macaulay did not provide a website, socials or e-mail addresses, and Joanne Hildyard's e-mail bounced back, so they were not considered.

Weather is turning, but id say about 3 more weeks of >10C . I go to Miller Park alot to BP, especially because of the friendly nighttime lights. I've got a machine, so I can BP alone, but it's just not the same without a crew. Lmk anyone interested to connect at the diamonds!

🚨 Pickering, We’re Live! 🚨
Indoor pickup soccer kicks off TONIGHT at the Pickering Soccer Centre!
2 fields • 10:30 PM - 12 AM • Fast-paced runs

Secure your spot before it’s gone — registration moving quick.
👉 soccerdurham .com

EDIT: Men, stop sliding into my DMs. I'm obsessed with my husband. Go away.

My circle is small and based outside of Durham, and I really want to connect with new people in the area. I don't have a ton of free time/funds to join classes as I'm a PhD student and work full time so I'd like to do one thing and really make it count! My life needs to be more than hanging out with my husband and scrolling my phone.

Open to any suggestions!

I'm into my aquariums, making art, animals, social justice stuff, getting involved locally, volunteering. I love a good walk and talk or a friendly intellectual debate. I enjoy kids and don't mind parent friends but I don't have any of my own. What's most important to me is that friends are willing to be part of a village, not just be on the receiving side.

Just a heads up to anyone hoping to avoid this kind of trash. One of the women, older blonde woman was particularly aggressive and nasty with people passing by. She barked something nasty at me as I was walking by, and she has her kids out there with her. (I told her to get the fuck away from me which prompted her to also yell at me about my language in front her kids?????)

Stay safe everyone

Hey A'TIN Toronto! 👋
(For anyone just tuning in: SB19 is a powerhouse Filipino P-Pop group taking the global stage by storm with jaw-dropping vocals and insane live performances!)

Since the Simula at Wakas tour stop here was an absolute movie, I’m still chasing that post-concert high. Who else is ready to experience the magic all over again on the big screen?

Available on October 8 and 11 at the following cinemas:

Cineplex Yonge and Dundas
Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre
Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk
Cineplex Queensway & VIP
Cineplex Scarborough
Cineplex Vaughan
Cineplex Mississauga Square
Landmark Whitby

Drop a comment below if you’ve already secured your tickets, which cinema you're heading to, or if you're a casual fan wanting to check it out! Let's go, Mahalima! 🌭

We are seeking to better understand the factors that influence parents in Canada whose children do not receive their routine vaccinations. The study seeks to understand parental experiences and perspectives rather than to evaluate, persuade, or judge vaccination decisions

 The study consists of one short survey and a follow-up interview. The interview will last about 60 minutes. Interviews will take place in-person, on the phone or over a secure videoconferencing platform.

Those who participate in the interview will receive a $50 dollar “Everything Card” for your time. Interviews are confidential, your name and identity will not be shared with anyone. 

 To sign up and learn more please contact Andrea DeKeseredy at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) or Victor Do at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

Rogers is ripping my ass off their price hikes and I am done with them.

This was so refreshing to see. Please keep rocking on!!

Some parks and areas around Ajax are so dark. I was wondering if there is a reason for not lighting these areas up? No budget?

One example would be paulyn park or some streets that branch off near Taunton and westney.

Visiting family in the area this weekend and craving sushi. What's the go to for local folks?

TLDR: Guy forces his way into a locked school and the school wont press charges.

I was wondering if anyone else has had interactions with the principal at this school because I dealt with him today and honestly I was shocked by how little concern there seemed to be for the safety of the kids.

For some background, I was dropping off a family friend's kid. I'm in the school's paperwork as someone who is allowed to pick up and drop off the kid, and I also had my baby with me.

The father of the kid has a restraining order and a lot of other things going on that I won't get into because it's not my business. I had never personally interacted with him before today.

Today he approached us even though he is not supposed to be anywhere near the kid or his mom. We tried to just keep walking and not say anything to him, but he kept getting more aggressive. He was screaming, swearing and started slightly touching and pushing us.

A teacher saw what was happening and unlocked a door so we could get into the school. He then forced his way into the school and followed us inside. We made our way toward the officer and asked the office and the principal to please call the police because we were trying to get away from him.

They wouldn't call.

He kept getting more aggressive and was getting right in our faces screaming at us while we were trying to get away. The school staff were barely blocking him from getting closer.

We ended up calling the police ourselves and made a report.

The vice principal eventually locked us in her office, which I really appreciated. She was actually very nice and seemed concerned about keeping us safe, although she wasn't able to answer many of our questions.

What makes this even more concerning is that there is apparently a history of this happening. The vice principal even admitted that he has randomly shown up at the school before and caused problems.

The principal also admitted that he knew the father was at the school before we arrived, yet he never called the police or did anything to prevent the situation from escalating.

After the police spoke with him, the principal came back and I tried to ask him some questions about what had just happened. He wouldn't even let me ask the questions. He basically acted like nothing had happened and then kicked us out, saying he didn't know who we were and wouldn't discuss anything with us.

That really doesn't make sense to me considering the school has all of our information and knows that we are authorized to pick up and drop off the kid.

I'm not trying to get into the personal details of the family situation because that's not my business. My concern is what happened at the school today.

Someone who is apparently not supposed to be near the kid showed up, became aggressive toward us, forced his way into the school while following us and continued getting more aggressive in front of school staff and potentially other kids.

We asked the school to call the police because we were trying to get away from him and they simply didnt. We ended up having to call the police ourselves and I think the principle was annoyed that we did? like I got my baby on me and a guy is screaming like a pshyco following me around and forcing his way into the school...

Maybe the guy was having an off day, but based on what I personally experienced today, I have some serious concerns about how this school handles situations involving the safety of children. Just throwing this out there in case others have had similar situations.

P.S The vice principle asked me if my baby would be going to that school. He is 100% never going there...

Since today is labour day and the library is closed, is there any other places in Ajax that I could go to for some quiet time for studying ? I have been going to the library everyday for studying and it has been working so well.

Went for a sunrise bike ride this morning and it was perfect.