ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-10

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1008KWCG
Failing to shovel may cost $140

CAMBRIDGE

Shovel your sidewalks this winter or get a $140 ticket, city staff warn.

For the first time since it was enacted three years ago, the sidewalk shovelling bylaw is going to be enforced. The bylaw requires snow and ice to be cleared from sidewalks and roofs overhanging sidewalks within 24 hours of the end of a storm.

In past years, city staff issued warnings as people got used to the new bylaw. Warnings will continue to be issued to first-time offenders, but everyone else will get tickets, said Cheryl Zahnleiter, the bylaw enforcement manager.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/432202

 

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1008DBRK
Township votes to sell property so church can expand

Township council has done its part in the expansion plans of Beaverton Presbyterian Church.

At Monday night`s meeting, council passed a bylaw declaring the old hydro office on John Street -- which is currently rented to the Durham Regional Police Service -- surplus to its municipality. The bylaw will allow the municipality to sell the property to the church at fair market value. In an interview following the meeting, Jim Hughes, a parishioner and co-chair of the church`s development committee, applauded the co-operation of council.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/brock/article/111040

 

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1008DCLR
Clarington looking for ways to speed up info superhighway

CLARINGTON -- Things are a little slower in north Clarington, at least where the Internet is concerned.

In an effort to speed it up, the Municipality is seeking expressions of interest to see if any broadband Internet providers want to expand coverage in the area.

Residents have long been raising the issue. "It`s becoming more and more of a necessity," north Clarington resident Charles Baetsen said last March. His childrens` school assignments often require Internet access, he said, and as it stands the only way to get high-speed is to go the costly satellite route at upwards of $150 a month.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/clarington/article/111018

 

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1008DCLR
Residents asked what they want Clarington to look like

CLARINGTON -- The most important challenge facing Clarington is balancing development and curbing sprawl, residents say.

Given 65,000 more people are expected to call Clarington home by 2031, it could be a daunting task. But finding that balance is part of the function of the Official Plan, now under review. As part of the review, the Municipality held public information sessions and contracted a telephone survey, aimed at determining residents` priorities.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/clarington/article/110993

 

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1008DPIK
From quiet to chaos

PICKERING -- Brenda Holden used to enjoy relaxing on a Saturday morning with her coffee and newspaper on her front porch on Walnut Lane.

Now her early mornings are met with speeding cars on their way to Home Depot or contract vehicles to work on Kingston Road. "I have to worry when I step out on the street to put out my garbage now," she said.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/pickering/article/110997

 

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1008DWTB
Residents want Town to put a stopper on flooding issues

WHITBY -- Residents are tired of "Band-Aid solutions" and want a concise action plan in place to address flooding issues after a summer of being pummelled by heavy rains. Members of council heard a litany of horror stories from residents gathered at an operations committee meeting Monday night. Some of the more devastating experiences came from residents on Annes Street in southwest Whitby, which is one of the areas where most houses were affected by flooding.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/whitby/article/111053

 

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1008YVGN
Vaughan eyes property tax levy to fund new hospital

While some GTA municipalities balk at the rising burden on them to pay for new and renovated hospitals, Vaughan is powering ahead with a fundraising drive residents hope will help land them a brand-new medical facility.

The initiative is expected to get a million-dollar boost tonight, when Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman addresses about 1,000 people at a glitzy fundraising gala. But that`s a penny in the wishing well compared with the hospital`s $1 billion estimated cost – not to mention the further $1.2 billion needed to revitalize three existing York Region facilities.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/522804

 

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1008ONTR
Ontario unveils cuts, $500 million deficit

Forced into a $500 million deficit by worldwide economic chaos, the Ontario government is scaling back spending this year and signalling that harder times loom in next spring`s budget.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan revealed the shortfall for this fiscal year in the province`s fall economic statement yesterday, and warned cities, hospitals, school boards and universities to brace for lower than expected funding come April, when the new fiscal year begins.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/522866

 

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1008CATH
College growth said to be critical to region

The shovels are in the ground on a $50-million expansion Niagara College says is critical to the region`s economic future.

Work is underway on a Skilled Trades and Technology Centre and a new wine education centre, college president Dan Patterson said. And nothing will stop the rest of the project, which includes a new athletic centre, academic wing and student centre for the college of 7,500 students.

"It`s not just a dream," Patterson said in an editorial meeting with The Standard Wednesday. "We`re really mobilizing."

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1261376

 

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1008OTWA
Kingston wants piece of Pan Am Games

Kingston is making a pitch to be the host city for the sailing events in Toronto`s bid for the 2015 Pan American Games. Kingston Economic Development Corporation sport tourism manager Gary Kelly has submitted a letter to the Pan Am bid group to pitch Portsmouth Olympic Harbour as the venue for the sailing competition at the multi-sport games.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndReg...23/7175531.html

 

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1008KWCG
It`s official -- college buys land to expand

CAMBRIDGE

Conestoga College officially purchased land for its $50-million expansion into Cambridge yesterday.

The 54 hectares of land bounded by Highway 401, Morningside Drive and Fountain Street was owned by the City of Cambridge. It`s been held by council for a campus expansion.

The city was paid $5.7 million for the land. That`s the original purchase price plus carrying costs, said Don Smith, Cambridge`s chief administrative officer. The money goes into the city reserve fund that was used to make the purchase five years ago, he said.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/432692

 

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1008YWSF
Rona not coming, Nofrills doubtful: Mayor

The retail development map of Stouffville is being updated.

It seems plans are constantly evolving, especially in the development department.

First, Canadian building supply retailer Rona has pulled out of the SmartCentres development in southwest Stouffville.

Now, plans for a new grocery store in the old Anderson Haulage property beside Tim Hortons may be on hold, too.

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Whitchurch-...e/article/83233

 

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1008DBRK
After all the talk, ethanol plant could go to Brock

OSHAWA -- Brock Township could be the hero in Oshawa`s ethanol plant debate.

This week, Mayor John Gray confirmed he has been speaking with Brock Mayor Larry O`Connor about the possibility of taking FarmTech Energy`s proposal to build an ethanol plant at the Oshawa port, and moving it north. In December 2004, councillors in Brock passed a resolution saying that Township is interested in playing host to an ethanol plant, and Mayor O`Connor said that invitation is still on the table.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/oshawa/article/111101

 

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1008DUXB
Keep that grass trimmed

UXBRIDGE -- Clean first, ask questions later. That`s one of the new powers the Township will have if it passes a proposed bylaw designed to ensure properties are not unsightly or potentially hazardous. Uxbridge staff would be granted `emergency powers` to enter a site and clean up if the property is deemed as "posing an immediate threat to the safety or health of persons or animals" according to the bylaw.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/uxbridge/article/111108

 

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1008TNTO
St. Lawrence Market makeover urged

The bunker-like structure that has served as the northern half of the St. Lawrence Market for four decades may soon be replaced by a grand new building that`s finally a fitting match for its southern neighbour.

City staff are recommending a redevelopment plan for the St. Lawrence Market North at Front and Jarvis Sts. that includes a new four-storey building with two levels of underground parking. The first floor, reserved for the farmers` market on Saturday and the antique market on Sunday, will be available for other markets, or even exhibits, the rest of the week.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/523585

 

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1008TNTO
City staff urge break on development fees

Toronto should more than double the fees that developers pay to cover the cost of new city services, says a staff policy proposal – but the increase should be phased in according to the strength of the housing market.

Right-wing councillors were quick to call for more aggressive fees, arguing that homeowners will end up paying if developers get a break on the higher fees.

But a spokesperson for developers said the proposal to adjust fees according to the housing market is "enlightened."

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/523682

 

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1008LNDN
Conversion to freeway leaves council split

If city hall doesn`t transform Veterans Memorial Parkway into a freeway, motorists will eventually have to wait as long as two hours and 24 minutes to drive its length during rush hour, a consultant warns. While that mother of all London traffic jams wouldn`t emerge for more than 30 years -- as the city population approached 675,000 -- city staff want council to plan now how to make that transformation, a project that comes with an early price tag of $230 million.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...187801-sun.html

 

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1008LNDN
Apartment hunters have new weapon

Apartment hunting in London could become a little less risky.

Twelve London apartment buildings now are listed under the Certified Rental Building program -- a North American first -- which is designed to assure renters they`re moving into a well-run, well-maintained building. The program was launched in June by the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO). Since the launch, about 700 rental buildings in Ontario have been certified.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...187876-sun.html

 

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1008CATH
Region unveils growth plan

Niagara should grow south and grow up.

Each town and city can grow, but only within existing urban boundaries.

To grow properly, they should all be linked by transit, too.

Those recommendations formed the backbone of a proposed 25-year growth plan for Niagara released Thursday.

"This is a blueprint for how Niagara might grow into 2031," said Bill Smeaton, the Niagara Falls regional councillor who chairs a committee on the strategy.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1263779

 

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1008BTFD
Moody`s attracting interest

Several parties are keenly eyeing a city-owned Dalhousie Street property that was once a strip club.

The building at 97 Dalhousie has remained vacant since the former Moody`s adult entertainment parlour closed nearly five years ago. The property was bought last year by the municipality for about $430,000 in a bankruptcy sale, to keep it from reopening as a strip joint.

Several potential buyers have either made offers or expressed interest since the city put it up for sale in July in hopes of recovering the purchase price.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1262453