This week: Fire trucks to fill, food trucks to find, and a fight that reached Ottawa.

The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society of Durham Region is hosting Spring Adoption Days on Friday May 29 and Saturday May 30. Adoption fees for dogs over 65 lbs are 50% off for the weekend. The reason is the one nobody likes to say: big dogs sit longer. They take more time to find homes, full stop. Shannon Stephenson, who runs the Durham centre, says spring is their busiest intake season and they need to open up space for the animals coming in. If you've been thinking about a dog, this is the weekend to go meet one. Browse adoptable animals at ontariospca.ca.
Source: Durham Radio News · OSPCA Durham Region Animal Centre

Clarington Council approved the Soper Hills Secondary Plan last week, the framework for a new 193-hectare walkable community in East Bowmanville. The plan supports about 5,900 dwelling units of mixed housing types and eventually 13,000 residents, with a pedestrian-focused neighbourhood centre planned along Concession Street East (shops, services, offices within walking distance of homes), elementary schools placed beside neighbourhood parks, and a connected web of sidewalks, trails, and multi-use paths.

Mayor Adrian Foster framed it as "how we encourage development that builds walkable neighbourhoods with lots of different types of housing, new schools, and central shops." No funding or timeline has been released, and individual subdivision plans still have to come through. Full plan details at clarington.net.
Source: Durham Post · Municipality of Clarington

Destination Oshawa, the four-episode workplace comedy created by Oshawa native and O'Neill grad Hannah Veldhoen with co-creator Dave Luca, got its world-premiere screening Tuesday night at the Biltmore Theatre downtown. The premise: a fictional Oshawa Tourism Board task force gets one job, to land Oshawa on a "Top 5 Cities to Visit" list. "What's Banff got that we don't have?" Veldhoen's character asks. The Biltmore screening was sold out, with stand-up segments from Sam Burns (writer of the show's theme song "Oshawa: Inside of You") and James Cummins. The series dropped on Bell FIBE TV April 9, was filmed at landmarks across town (Midtown Mall, City Hall, Lakeview Park), and is being talked about online as "Parks and Rec meets Portlandia." The team is hoping Bell green-lights season 2. Watch on Bell FIBE TV.
Source: INsauga · Cast: Hannah Veldhoen, Dave Luca, Jon Riera

Ajax: Town Brewery is opening a pop-up beer garden on the Ajax waterfront near Paradise Park this summer, in time for Canada Day. 🇨🇦 🍻 INsauga →

Pickering: Council just approved the final design for City Centre Park: a year-round gathering space with a winter skating rink, summer misting feature, and public art plaza. Construction starts summer 2027. 👍 INsauga →

The Whole Durham Region: Last weekends’ “RBC Ride for the Ridge” cycling event raised over $312,000 to make a difference for the hospitals of Lakeridge Health.. 🚴 💰 ❤️ Ride for the Ridge →

CHANGEMAKER

Each week's Changemaker is a Durham Region neighbour who decided not to wait. They show the rest of us what's possible, and what's already being done. They are the change.

Thirty-five years ago this past winter, Lisa Freeman's father, Roland Slingerland, a Navy veteran and rooming house caretaker, was murdered in Oshawa. The man convicted of his killing was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

When that 25-year mark approached, Lisa learned the system was quietly letting him out earlier. There were escorted passes, day-parole eligibility, paperwork that didn't match the certificate of conviction. She didn't go quiet. She built a body of work that has reshaped how Canada treats victims of violent crime.

Today Lisa is one of the most decorated victim-rights advocates in the country. In 2022 alone she received the Ontario Attorney General's Award of Distinction, Justice Canada's Excellence in Volunteer Victim Service Award, and the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Award. Her petition for "truth in sentencing" is now Bill C-321, introduced by Mel Arnold, MP for Kamploops-Shuswap, Central BC and seconded by Oshawa MP Rhonda Kirkland, and is at the beginning of the 3rd reading now in the House of Commons.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/857348960675560

She runs Point of Impact, a workshop that teaches survivors how to write the victim impact statements that make their voices heard at parole hearings. It's the part of the justice system Lisa says nobody can prepare you for. She wrote a memoir, She Won't Be Silenced (2016), and a follow-up, Time Served. She has two daughters. She works in healthcare. She does most of this advocacy on her own time.

On Saturday, July 4, Lisa is hosting her 4th annual memorial event in Oshawa to honour murdered and missing victims and to gather the community resources that support the people left behind. Details to come. We'll share them as soon as they're public.

This is the kind of work that doesn't get applause but should. Read more at authorlisafreeman.com. Or you can reach her directly at [email protected].

Thanks Lisa! You’re a Changemaker in Durham Life. 💝

The Town of Ajax is hosting a Big Spring Food Drive with St. Paul’s on-the-Hill Community Food Bank and the Salvation Army Hope. The goal is to fill two fire trucks to support local families in need. Rising food costs have increased reliance on food banks in Durham Region. All donations will benefit St. Paul’s on-the-Hill Community Food Bank and the Salvation Army Hope. Your generosity can strengthen our community this spring.❤️

A must-attend event in Durham Region, the largest food truck festival features 30+ food trucks, local artisans, and kids' activities. Attracting over 25,000 attendees annually, this year's Food Truck Frenzy includes talented chefs and a new Makers Market, making it the region's highlight. Great fundraiser from the Rotary Club of Whitby. ❤️

Join us for a 5km loop trail that's perfect for families and pets, no matter the weather. You can walk as much or as little as you want, or just relax at the starting area. There will be working Dog Guides wearing red vests, so please don't interact with them, but you can say hello to their handlers. You'll also see future Dog Guides in training wearing green vests. Feel free to ask their foster handlers questions and see if it's okay to pet the puppies. These volunteer fosters play a crucial role in helping these pups become Dog Guides for Canadians with disabilities.❤️ 🦮

From Halifax to Whitehorse, Yukon-based Country Josh has spent the last two decades traveling all around, bringing his style of country, blues and honky tonk to barrooms, street corners, and kitchens. Performing Live today at The Second Wedge. Must see if this is your music. Price is right!