​Vaughan’s 20-Minute Makeover swept through the City on Friday, April 20 as residents, schools and businesses participated in the annual community cleanup. Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and Members of Council joined students and staff from Kleinburg Public School for this year’s event, held as an early celebration of Earth Day, Sunday, April 22.

​​An official groundbreaking ceremony took place recently to mark the beginning of construction of a new City-owned fitness facility at the Vellore Village Community Centre.

​The City of Vaughan has received a grant from Public Safety Canada’s Joint Emergency Preparedness Program (JEPP) which contributed 45 per cent of the cost of two Digital Vehicular Repeaters (DVR) for the Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service.

Filming of a safety video by the Vaughan Emergency Planning Department on April 10 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. will  result in the following road closures:

• Intermittent closures of east and westbound Avro Road at Melville Avenue and Hawker Road. 
• Traffic travelling south on Avro Road from Major Mackenzie Drive will be redirected to Hawker Road.
• Traffic on Caproni Drive will be redirected to travel east to Hawker Road.

Ward 1 resident Hugh Cook was presented with the Civic Hero Award at the Committee of the Whole (Public Hearing) on April 3, 2012 for his volunteerism and commitment to preserving the history of the City of Vaughan.

​On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, the City of Vaughan will hold the inaugural meeting of the Vaughan Cycling Forum (VCF) at City Hall, Multipurpose Room, Level 100, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

​The City of Vaughan and its residents and businesses joined millions around the world by turning out the lights for Earth Hour on Saturday, March 31.

PowerStream reported that Vaughan reduced its energy consumption by 8.6 per cent. By turning off the lights between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., the City reduced its energy use by 27 megawatts, enough energy to power approximately 817 average-sized homes for 24 hours.

The City of Vaughan is proud to join other major cities around the world in supporting the international Earth Hour campaign to turn off lights for one hour on March 31 at 8:30 p.m. The City is joining with the Earth Hour Vaughan community group to host a special celebration at City Hall which will include the 5th annual Lantern Walk. 

​The City of Vaughan will turn of all non-essential lighting at City facilities for one hour beginning at 8:30 p.m. in support of Earth Hour 2011 on Saturday, March 26. Created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Earth Hour is a one hour lights out event that mobilizes millions worldwide to show support for action against climate change.

​In celebration of National Volunteer Week, April 15 to 21, the City is inviting not-for-profit organizations and community groups to nominate their most outstanding volunteer of 2011 for a City of Vaughan Volunteer Recognition Award. The nomination deadline is Friday, March 16, 2012.