Does anyone have a favourite restaurant in Aurora? Great food? Great ambiance? Superb service?

Also, does anyone know of an indian grocery store in the immediate area?

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Some of the more recent posts have commented about the biased nature of this site relative to other news.

Most people recognize that all news is biased — to think otherwise is a bit naive. Just read the Star, Sun, Globe and Post and you will quickly see their leanings or spin on things. More/less environmental, pro/anti gun control, supporting one political party over another — they are all skewed to varying degrees. That is the very nature of people and Editorial Policies. That is also the beauty of social media.

No matter what the potential skew of the vehicle/blog — any and all points can be raised and presented by the reader through their comments. That is how unbiased discussion takes place. It is the responsibility of the reader, not the vehicle.

The fact that people feel this site is negative says something. People who are engaged and interested in town are angry. They are commenting. Does it represent the general feelings of the community — we don’t know, but it makes one wonder.

The opposite point of view doesn’t seem to be as interested in making their case. Maybe they aren’t interested enough. We don’t know. Both sides of any issue are published. All comments published are without editing (Blogger does not allow editing of comments). Comments which are purely lashing out at other contributors are simply rejected.

For those readers who’s commentary thus far has been to criticise the criticizers — we encourage your continued participation. Clearly we don’t vet the comments — otherwise yours would not have been published. We love to hear your point of view.

The real value of social media is the ability for everyone to take the opportunity to communicate their views — as many have done. Could we do better? Could this site offer a more balanced point of view? That’s up to the readers — it’s not up to the site.

The opportunity in always there for you to take. Will your take it?

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Back when Mike Harris was Premier amalgamation was a hot topic here in York Region. A number of amalgamations took place and the “benefits” should now be well-known.

The issue was recently raised in the Aurora with a letter by Barry Hall and an Editorial by Ron Wallace. Both can be seen on The Auroran website www.auroran.com.

What do you think — good idea or bad? Undecided? What advantages do you see versus the disadvantages?

We are interested in your point of view. The comments in The Auroran should provide some food for thought.

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We just hosted our 10,000 visitor. Our first post was 8/19/08 and after 75 posts and only 8 months we have surpassed our expectations.

It hasn’t always been easy and sometimes the comments haven’t been as productive as hoped, but we are seeing a steady increase in visitors and more productive commentary.

This is your blog, so please let us know what concerns you, what delights you and what you’d like to see done differently.

Plus, if you would like to be a post contributor, drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you.

As we near the next election, let’s make this a voice that represents Aurora.

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A couple recent issues caught our attention. One had to deal with the Soccer Dome and the second with the pool complex at the new rec centre. In both cases, the user groups had petitioned for facilities and committed to financially support the operation , either through fund raising or operating expenses. However, it appears that taxpayers are being left to foot the bill now that the structures are built.

For example, the fund raising commitments by pool users were not even close to achieved — and the user groups have indicated they aren’t doing anything further. What scarce dollars they did raise were mainly because of selling room sponsorship. Not really fundraising.

In the case of the soccer dome, the town is not fully utilizing their allocated summer time to run programs to generate revenue, but are still paying the costs — while the private owners are using town time without contributing to the costs.

It is very important for communities to provide facilities, but why do we provide high-end facilities based on user group commitments, when the user groups don’t fulfil their obligations.

What responsibility do users groups have to fulfil their commitments — and what should the town do when they don’t?

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Interesting letter to the editor in the Feb 12 issue of The Banner. A reader writes they spotted a Mercedes-Benz Smart car which had been leased for Town employee use. Their point was that the vehicle should have been Canadian built.

Although we have never seen the vehicle in question (so we will have to take their word for it) the comment raises a philosophical discussion.

Should Aurora (or Canadians) as a matter of course buy Canadian or should Aurora purchase the best value regardless of country of origin?

There are opposing opinions being discussed in the media, but what do you think. Even if the Feds don’t legislate it as a condition of a rescue package, should Aurora purchase Canadian?

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