[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Photo taken by Gordon D. Bonnar during this past weekend's Doors Open tour of the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, on Sussex Drive"][/caption]

This year it seems a week can't go by without another major fire in the news. The crowd-sourced echo chamber that is twitter no doubt adds to that perception that fire is all around us, as with Tuesday's blaze in Kanata -- captured here in a tweetphoto of such intensity it looks like the iPhone that took it  is starting to melt --or last weekend's controversial blaze at a scrapyard on Sheffield Road, tweeted within minutes of breaking out. Of course when fire struck Merivale Road in February the news didn't need even need twitter to spread around quickly; CJOH losing its home of nearly four decades was instant headline news all by itself. Fire seems to be a perfect subject for the immediacy of social media and the aftermath of a blaze seems an especially popular subject for Ottawa photo-bloggers. Spacing Ottawa contributor Justin Van Leeuwen has the knack for being close the scene for the fires that seem to bedevil his West End district, and has recorded the destruction superbly in shots like this Chinatown panorama or the shattered windows of this dream home on St. Francis near Gladstone that recently caught on fire on the last day of construction. This pit of rubble is a burned-out convenience store not far from Bronson.

Photo by Jeremie D.

CITY HALL Winds of change in air for new council (Ottawa Citizen) City gets $780Gs back for fuel it did not use (Ottawa Sun) Expand Lansdowne jury, adviser urges (Ottawa Citizen) CYCLING More cyclists brave elements to commute year-round (Ottawa Citizen) SCHOOL BOARD Board again tackles alternative school issue (Ottawa Citizen) URBAN ART Cozy up to a lamppost and some urban art (MetroNews) photo by Justin Van Leeuwen

CITY HALL • Council passes budget, 3.77% tax hike. Bus routes, tree trimming slated for cuts win reprieve, but at cost of higher transit fares (Ottawa Citizen) • City seeks citizens' ideas for Lansdowne urban park (MetroNews Ottawa) • Committee introduces new anti-poverty strategy (CBC Ottawa) DESIGN • Key Carleton landmarks circled for major facelift. Updated master plan urges replacement of Paterson Hall among other recommendations (Ottawa Citizen) CYCLING • More cyclists brave elements to commute year-round (Ottawa Citizen) MUNICIPAL ELECTION • Hume is the man to watch. If he runs for mayor, election will be ...