Gwynne Dyer parking was too far away

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Plans fell apart when UPEI’s inaccessible parking met my fatigue

UPEI 2009 accessible parking survey (click for larger image)

I wanted to hear Gwynne Dyer last night lecturing at the AVC building on UPEI campus but I was simply too tired to walk or wheelchair the long distance from the parking lot.

The Atlantic Vet College building is one of the buildings that is more than double the legal distance from the optimistically painted “wheelchair parking.”

The legal limit is 50 meters from the parking to the door. The AVC building is 103 meters.

Most people intuitively understand that people with walking or other disabilities need to be close to the building.

The National Building Code, which is also the law in Charlottetown, stipulates that accessible parking should be as close as possible to the door but not greater than 50 meters.

Frankly, on some days 50 meters is too far to walk for many people with disabilities.

The point is not lost on retailers who want our business like WalMart, Canadian Tire and the SuperStore. Continue reading →

One in two of us affected by disability

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Toronto Rehab strikes a pose on big problem of disability

Ontario Rehab flash mob campaign for disability awareness (photo Toronto Rehab)

Toronto Rehab is conducting a unique flash mob campaign to raise awareness of disability. 1 in 2 will be touched by disability, “either personally or in their immediate family.” (video after the story break)

In Toronto, the flash mobs have been doing street theatre with people in t-shirts marker “1″ and “2″ to illustrate how pervasive disability is.

“We want to take the campaign to the streets at a grassroots level, in addition to more formal channels,” Jennifer Ferguson, vice-president of marketing & communications, explained in a phone interview.

“Reactions were mixed – some people just walk on by, but others stop and take a moment to look and read, and told their friends “there’s something weird going on,” she added. (City TV News) Continue reading →

Damage from Tropical Storm Earl in Charlottetown PEI

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Plenty of branches and a few downed trees, some people lost power

By 3:30 PM the first attack of Tropical Storm Earl was over. In the early part of the storm, a tree fell against power lines on Grafton Street near Prince. Work crews were cleaning it up by 4 PM. Related to Fallen tree on Grafton Street during Tropical Storm Earl

Branches and debris littered the streets but it could have been a lot worse. An hour later the wind turned to the W and came back with fury.

I could have narrated the video but it’s obvious what is going on and the wind sounds great.

Tropical Storm Earl it’s not over yet

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Storm seemed to abate mid afternoon but at 4:30 the winds changed direction and came on strong again as Earl pounds PEI

Update – Nova Scotians felt the worst of Tropical Storm Earl. More than 200,000 homes were without power from fallen trees and branches on power lines. Halifax lost power and was littered with trees and debris.

At 6 PM Tropical Storm Earl was 20 miles west of the Magdalen Islands still packing 110 km/h winds. The track after the Magdalen Islands is Western Newfoundland.

Earl cut a swath through central Nova Scotia with power outages all along it’s path. No deaths were reported except a swimmer in Chocolate Lake in Halifax and its not clear if it was during the storm or not.

StormPulse puts the eye of the storm in the Gulf of St. Lawrence 135 miles from Sydney. Winds at the center of the storm are still 112 km/h but outside that they range from 62 to 91 km/h. Continue reading →

Earl sideswipes NC headed for Massachusetts, Moncton and PEI

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane Earl still packs winds of 105 miles an hour of 168 km/h

In Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island last night there was a line up at Peake’s Quay as nervous boat owners trailered their boats and brought them ashore. The damage from Hurricane Juan, which was not predicted until too late, only seven years ago is still fresh in their minds.

All over Atlantic Canada people were getting ready for Hurricane Earl, the first hurricane of the season, heading up the Eastern Seaboard.

Torrential downpour hits Charlottetown with video

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Charlottetown Prince Edward Island streets were flooded this afternoon and early evening

More than 100 mm poured down. Heavy rain started at 2 pm. (updated – the official rainfall was 94.8 mm)

Summerside residents also reported up to 50 mm of rain fell over suppertime.

Streets were flooded all over the City as storm sewers could not keep up with the deluge.
Continue reading →

Petrides Sorensen Quartet and le jazz hot

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Petrides turns up the heat on Victoria Row

Petrides Sorensen Quartet, Mark Adam drums, Chris Budhan bass, Barrie Sorensen sax, Ron Petrides guitar

After a long two days of sound and video editing, I went for supper on Victoria Row to chill. The jazz musicians had other ideas.

Unlike Sunday when Petrides was playing more towards the cool side of jazz, Wednesday night they were cooking.

Maybe it was new drummer Mark Adam from Acadia University. Maybe it was Chris Budhan’s new bass mic that made him sound fuller, more present. Perhaps Petrides was over the cold he had on Sunday. Continue reading →

Back in Town Ron Petrides jazz musician

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Stephen Pate

New York City jazz guitarist is performing until Sunday on Victoria Row

Ron Petrides is back in Charlottetown performing on Victoria Row. Petrides first came to PEI 13 years ago when the Always on Stage jazz festival was in its infancy.

It’s a real treat to have Ron Petrides perform in Charlottetown. He is both a jazz composer and interpreter of the greats including John Coltrane in the featured video, Blue Trane.

Petrides wide smile and tall stature make him a pleasure to watch. His style includes virtuoso guitar runs mixed with on-the-money rhythm, improvisation and warm tone. Continue reading →

Each day is challenge with disability

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Rewind – trying to make it through the week with a little performance

Stephen Pate, peforming on Victoria Row for 2 hours is a challenge and usually all I can do that day and maybe the next

Stephen Pate, peforming on Victoria Row - come on down Tuesdays for lunch Noon to 2 PM

Each day is a challenge for someone who has a disability. How we see ourselves is mostly personal perception.

I am fortunate that I can walk a little and still do manual tasks. Other disabled people can do more or less.

Every person with a disability is just like me, trying to cope, to get by and make some sense of life. Actually, we all are doing that only some people can accomplish more in the same time.

When I wrote Tenth anniversary of being disabled and loving it , it was early in the day, early in the week and natural optimism prevailed. The second part of the story was written a day later but by then I was struggling at 11:30 AM to muster the energy to finish it. Continue reading →

Maggots infesting Green Carts in Charlottetown

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Stephen Pate

Bi-weekly collection of compost cans is not enough. Island Waste Watch needs to collect them weekly in hot weather

Maggots in garbage bin

Summer is here and the Green Carts are full of maggots. There is very little you can do about it other then empty the food compost they thrive on.

Maggots are the larvae stage of flies that live on a 7 day cycle. Unchecked they can reproduce and make an ugly sight when emptying food and other compostables in the Green Cans. Maggots and flies pose a health risk to humans.

They are attracted by rotting food. The solution is to remove the compost more often. Two week intervals in the summer are too long and allow the pesky insects to become plentiful.

From July to August in Halifax the Green Cans are collected weekly. This is the only logical answer to reducing maggot infestations. Continue reading →