Like a lot of people, I’m back in the office today and feeling very blah.

How did summer come and go again so fast, and when is the next long weekend or holiday?  During my search for said question, I found the following chart that only made me feel worse about the whole demise of summer and living in Canada.

Some of the highlights from the September update:

• The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) recently announced a new national ocean technology initiative to be based in St. John’s.
• Bit Trap Studios, a start-up developer of online games, is establishing a studio in St. John’s and developing a new product with the assistance of $300,000 from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
• A recent survey says St. John’s has the lowest vacancy rate for both office and industrial space and the highest rental rates in Atlantic Canada.
• The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for St. John’s metro decreased by 0.9 points to 7.4% in February 2010.

View the complete newsletter on-line at: http://www.stjohns.ca/business/pdfs/Sept10-newsletter.pdf

The points below outline some of the issues highlighted in the city’s State of the Economy report.

There is a lot of good news contained within the report, but also a lot of bad and ugly, view the full report from the City of St. John’s by clicking here

• Our population is ageing and the working age population is expected to decline.
• Our natural population growth (births minus deaths) has slowed.
• In-migration will be key to our future population growth.
• Migration to St. John’s is increasing, especially from other provinces.
• We are not realizing our full potential to attract international migrants.
• There is a shortage of available office space.
• Skyrocketing housing prices are creating pressures on affordable housing.
• There is a severe shortage of rental units (housing).
• The near term economy is positive, driven largely by oil and gas.
• Reliance on a single industry necessitates economic diversification.

If you’ve ever had the (dis)pleasure of looking for an apartment in St. John’s you know just how out of whack the whole scene is. From moldy, damp basements to sky high prices for new apartments in the middle of no-where, it’s not quite the buyers renters market of yesteryear.

Sadly, it doesn’t look to be getting any better as apartment availabilities are at an all time low.

So when friend of Signal, Ryan Strickland tweeted me about this amazing deal he found whilst browsing Kijiji for a friend, I knew I had to share.

It reads:

Near MUN/CONA/DOWNTOWN/CLOVELLY GOLF/WEST END WALMART. amazing isn’t it…
No Parties, No Smoking, No music, No Parking, No Visitors, No smiling, No drinking. just minutes away from a bus stop!! sweeeeeet.
Place has old carpet with the original windows still in the place , house is about 75 years old. Heat doesn’t really stay in the house too well.

990.00/month , oh and its POU

has a washer dryer hook up , but i am not going to provide it becasue I know I can get away with it.

stove and bathtub is that old yellow color thats hard to look at, both work okay though.
let me know if interested.

You can just taste the sarcasm. In all seriousness, though, it reflects a common gripe amongst apartment seekers in St. John’s.

Got any stories, good or bad, about finding a place to rent in St. John’s? Let us know in the comments!

The following is a satirical examination of the relationship between St. John’s and Mount Pearl. It should be taken with a grain of salt and at least two packets of vinegar.

Dear City of Mount Pearl,

Time and time again we have offered you the option to amalgamate with our fair city. Time and time again you have refused.

Let it be known, you had your chance.

Continue reading: For whom the booth tolls…

This will not be an entirely biased review of Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers. I did not grow up listening to every Buddy Wasisname album since Makin’ for the Harbour which came out not three years after my birth. I do not know all the words to Sarah, The Hillside in September or Shinny On The Ice, to name a few. I never go to any shows within a 200km radius. I did not meet Mr. Blackmore when I was a kid in Marble Mountain’s old chalet during one of their shows. I would not giggle like a little girl if I were to meet them again.

OK, Ok. I’ll admit it, they’re my heroes. All of them, not just Kevin a.k.a Buddy, but Rocky and Chaulky too. From the jigs-n-reels to comedic breaks, all brought together nicely with the timeless Newfoundland odes and songs… I’m a fan of it all.

And nothing says “Newfoundlandia” quite like a performance by Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers on George Street, opened by none other then Rex Goudie himself. If memory serves they opened with Make ‘n’ Break Hornpipe and the not oft performed Mr. McGuire Sit Down. Personally, I was absolutely thrilled to hear Mr. McGuire Sit Down as it’s my all-time favorite Buddy Wasisname song and haven’t seen it live in years. They played straight for almost an hour and a half, mixing upbeat jigs with songs that’ll bring a tear to the eye. As well, they did Chainsaw Earl which they wrote sometime in 1991. And almost 20 years on it still had everyone in stitches.

You want more? Click here to see even more snaps of Rex Goudie and Buddy Wasisname

Last night I witnessed Holy Fuck at The Rockhouse, and today I bought their latest album, Latin, off iTunes.

No really, they’re that good.

They remind of every song I’ve ever liked, all rolled up into one neat package. Now I can remove my entire iTunes playlist and just have Holy Fuck because they’ve got it covered. Thanks Holy Fuck.

They’d added a second show for tonight at the Rockhouse and there will be 100 tickets available at the door for those of you late to the game. The Pathological Lovers, who I should say are great in their own right, will be opening for Holy Fuck tonight.

Here’s a glimpse of what last night looked like.

HOLYFUCK at The Rock House, St. John's | Photo: Colin Peddle

HOLYFUCK at The Rock House, St. John's | Photo: Colin Peddle

HOLYFUCK at The Rock House, St. John's | Photo: Colin Peddle

HOLYFUCK at The Rock House, St. John's | Photo: Colin Peddle

HOLYFUCK at The Rock House, St. John's | Photo: Colin Peddle

HOLYFUCK at The Rock House, St. John's | Photo: Colin Peddle

Click here to see over 35 more pictures from last nights HOLYFUCK show at The Rock House

Friday evening featured a lot of good music. I’d attempted to take in as much as possible, hitting up Yellowbelly, Martini Bar, Dusk Ultralounge, Fat Cat and The Majestic Theater.

Despite Matt Anderson being the most popular event of the night, I was left singing a Rowdy Blues song entitled “All I Want Is To Travel” all of Saturday afternoon as I ran errands. You can check them out here.

Also on tap for Friday night was The Lori Cooper Band. My girlfriend quite liked Lori Cooper as well and being that she’s local (Cooper) we’ll probably be making the effort to see her again from time to time. She kind of reminded me of those silly people who just love to dance, sing and carry on… always smiling while aiming to make you laugh and enjoy life.

Rowdy Blues at the Majestic | Photo: Colin Peddle

Rowdy Blues at the Majestic | Photo: Colin Peddle

Lori Cooper at the Fat Cat | Photo: Colin Peddle

Lori Cooper at the Fat Cat | Photo: Colin Peddle

Tidbit time: Lori played keyboard for Thomas Trio and Red Albino, who in my opinion are creators of one of the best songs in Canadian history with “142 Thru”.

Dominic Mancuso at Dusk Ultralounge | Photo: Colin Peddle

Dominic Mancuso at Dusk Ultralounge | Photo: Colin Peddle

Dominic Mancuso at Dusk Ultralounge | Photo: Colin Peddle

Matt Anderson at the Majestic | Photo: Colin Peddle

Matt Anderson at the Majestic | Photo: Colin Peddle

Matt Anderson at the Majestic | Photo: Colin Peddle

Lots more pics from Friday night’s goings on here

I noticed the area, “Hoylestown” on Google Maps today while looking for directions to a restaurant.

Does anyone know if there is any historical significance to the Hoylestown area?  There seems to be a lot of areas, or former towns within the old parts of St. John’s that have vanished over the years.

While doing a quick search I found the following list of St. John’s neighbourhoods on Wikipedia:

Buckmaster’s Circle
Churchill Park
Clovelly Trails
Cowan Heights
Downtown
Fort Amherst
Georgestown
Goulds
Kilbride
Pleasantville
Quidi Vidi
Rabbittown
Rawlins Cross
The Battery
Virginia Park
Waterford Valley
Wedgewood Park

A couple other areas not listed above that came to mind were Cookstown and The Southlands.

Image via city-data.com

Seriously, what is the deal with the state of the roads cow paths in St. John’s!?

I think this is one issue that everyone in the city can agree on – our roads are beyond pathetic and require a major overhaul throughout the entire metro region.

What is even more frustrating than the normal day-to-day manoeuvring through the pot hole lined streets is when the city does actually try to patch things up. Take for example Military Road: earlier this week the b’ys haphazardly tore out patches of pavement from Tim Horton’s to Venice Pizza and, for reasons unknown, as of this morning only repaved half of the holes.

My guess is that the majority of the rim bending, tire ripping, stress inducing pot holes will be left unattended for weeks. Am I out to lunch in my thinking that if you create numerous new pot holes (in a pathetic attempt to fix the road) that you should cover them back over that day?

There are no signs or warnings of the new pot holes that the city constantly creates, and when they do get off their apparently lazy and unorganized asses to fill them in, most times the end result is worse than what was there in the first place.

The population, employment and tax base (along with mill rates) of St. John’s are at record highs, yet the city cannot seem to keep up with the most basic of services to its citizens.

I traveled for years with a former job and have been in just about every centre with a population above 100,000 in both Canada and the USA. From what I’ve seen, St. John’s has by far the worst road network in North America.  I’ve visited third world countries that have much better roads than St. John’s.

As for that tired excuse of our constant warming and cooling weather being the cause of our pitiful roads, I’ve driven in the Scandinavian countries (with similar weather patterns as NL) and their roads make ours look like woods trails.

When is the city of St. John’s going to take this issue seriously?