This week we ask: where is your favourite outdoor relaxing spot in our fair city?

Today’s topic is suggested by my neighbour Sloane, who emailed this suggestion: I had an idea for the next New West Wed: Summer Festivals! Which one is your favourite and why. I know there are ads in the newspaper and stuff but I always feel like I miss the smaller ones. And maybe someone might have a reason that would convince me to try others?

The front-page article on today’s Newsleader is about New Westminster’s new green bin program. According to the article, with the introduction of a dedicated waste bin for food scraps, New Westminster has gone from having a 31 per cent rate of diverting waste from the landfill in 2009 to 59 per cent in the last three months of 2010. How do you like the green bin program? What do you do to reduce trash? How do you think New West could further reduce garbage sent to the landfill?

Thinking about the coming blog posts I’m preparing about Aroka Vintage and Red Brick gets me wondering about what undiscovered little shops around New West I may have missed. This week, let’s share a little love with the shopkeepers of New West. Share your picks for great local boutique shopping in the comments, via Twitter or on Facebook. Gotta love a good excuse to go shopping!

My neighbour reminded me today that I forgot to post this week’s New West Wednesday question yesterday. Sorry! Hopefully you won’t mind if we do it today instead.
This week, I’d like to hear what you think about Residents’ Associations in New Westminster. Have you ever attended a meeting? Why or why not? What do you think about your RA? What do you think the role of RAs is or should be for New West residents?

New West is a tight-knit community, but the flip side of that is that it can seem a bit cliquey to newcomers. A lot of information is passed via word-of-mouth and it takes some time to learn about the best places to go and other insider tips.
In this week’s New West Wednesday, let’s share a tidbit or two to help newcomers to the city get their bearings. What do you wish someone had told you when you were new to the city? What hidden gems would you recommend if someone …

Our kids can eat lunch in 15 minutes, but should they? New Westminster District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) wants to double the eating time for elementary and middle school children from 15 minutes to 30 minutes so that our kids can have more time to chew. In this week’s New West Wednesday, let’s talk about lunch: do you agree with DPAC that kids need more time to eat?

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s New West Wednesday about first impressions of the city. In honour of the upcoming federal election and the all-candidates meet & greet happening today at La Rustica, this week we’ll talk politics. Specifically: what do you vote for?
Note that I did not say who, though if you want to reveal your choice you’re welcome to do so. What I’ve got in mind is a few steps before you put a name to your vote, when you work out what issues truly matter …

First impressions count. But they don’t always stick. What were your first impressions of New Westminster? Has your opinion changed over time?

One of my favourite things about running Tenth to the Fraser is reading what my New West neighbours have to say about our town. In the hopes of inspiring more discussion about our city, I’d like to announce a new feature on Tenth to the Fraser: New West Wednesdays. What do you think should be the first topic for discussion?