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ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

Expanding Highway 140

With traffic increasing over the last few years, Highway 140 is seeing an increased load of transport trucks shipping goods in and out of the city, in addition to cars.

The highway "is like a roller coaster with bumps on it," said Mayor Vance Badawey during last night`s council meeting.

Ward 4 Coun. Kate Leigh brought the issue up to council and requested a motion be made to look into adding passing lanes on the busy highway.

"Traffic is definitely greater than it used to be," she said. "I know we will never get a four-lane highway but if we can get passing lanes, it would be beneficial."

http://www.wellandtribune.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1153766
 
T.O. horizon has the blues

On a beautiful sunny lunch hour, with the CN Tower and Rogers Centre framing the background, sunbathers lounge beneath yellow umbrellas on a sand beach overlooking Lake Ontario while office workers take a stroll on the wooden boardwalk.

Welcome to the beginning of what could be Toronto`s transformed waterfront. Skeptical? I know the feeling. But at long last, there are signs that the tides of change may finally -- and ever so slowly -- be lapping ashore.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndG...478246-sun.html
 
Making a power play

Nuclear energy could be Ontario`s next auto industry

David Ebenstreit loved working in the outdoors and thought it only natural to change his major from music to land surveying.

But a cold snap made him call it quits.

"I was freezing outside on a cold February day and thought I didn`t want to be doing this for the rest of my life," said the course developer at Bruce Power`s training department. Growing up in Port Elgin, Ebenstreit, now 39, wanted to return to the life he grew up with. "My dad was an engineer with Bruce Power for 25 years and I grew up with other kids whose parents were engineers and PhDs," he said. "The work is always new and challenging ... and it helps when my co-workers are like family."

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008...478251-sun.html
 
More new homes

Bluewater Country Adult Leisure Living broke ground Monday on a $15-million fourth phase of the development. Mayor Mike Bradley joined Bluewater Country officials at the 10-acre lot for the ceremonial groundbreaking.

Construction crews, which were set to begin work on the new 99-home development Monday, were postponed by poor weather over the weekend and are now expected to begin on Tuesday.

See the video at www.theobserver.ca

"We`re starting, supposed to be today, but weather obviously is holding the guys up," Ian Greenshields, the community manager, said Monday. The development is split into three subdivisions of 40, 40 and 19 homes. The first subdivision should take roughly two years to complete.

http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1152796
 
Christina St. construction may carry into next year

A series of delays could drive the downtown reconstruction of Christina Street into next year, warns the city`s engineering manager Andre Morin. "The contractor and the city are making an honest effort to get the job done by mid-November, and that`s still Plan A," Morin said. "But if worse comes to worse, there`s a potential they may not be able to finish this year.

"In all reality, we may have to look at stopping near Lochiel and picking it back up in the spring."

A massive $3.7-million reconstruction of the downtown`s main street between Wellington and George streets was started in April.

The first phase from Wellington to Cromwell streets is nearing completion but that stretch won`t reopen for several weeks, Morin said.

http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1150917
 
City not sure it will get its share

Already smarting from missing out on subsidies for an expensive water system, Greater Sudbury city council is a little uneasy about getting its share of a new federal- provincial infrastructure funding plan.

Council was less than reassured Wednesday when it was presented with an overview of the new federal-provincial funding agreement.

Preliminary information indicates the city could be hard-pressed to secure funding for many of its infrastructure needs, council was told by Mark Mieto, the municipality`s chief administrative officer.

"The type of municipal projects we generally talk about at council here ... currently are not highly recognized by the federal government," Mieto told council.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1160157
 
Renters forced to compete for housing

It would have been unheard a few years ago.

A listing for a three-bedroom apartment for rent in Garson this week was going for $1,000 a month plus hydro. But, the landlord also added the words "or highest bid."

Denis Desmeules, the city`s manager of housing services, said it is his understanding that landlords of units built after 1990 are not bound by provincial rent control guidelines concerning rent increases, so there is nothing wrong with landlords fostering a bidding war with those units.

"Normally, when you are competing for an apartment, you don`t see that kind of thing," he said. "But it may be in the background."

Greater Sudbury`s current economic boom is the big culprit behind the accommodation crisis, said Desmeules.

"We are definitely a bright light, but the downside is it`s putting a lot of pressure on the (housing) market."

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1160116
 
Greater Sudbury to host 2011 francophone games

Greater Sudbury will the next host city for the next Canadian Francophone Games in the summer of 2011, games organizers announced Friday.



"The 5th Games scheduled for summer 2011 will provide the City of Greater Sudbury with an athletic, artistic and cultural, heritage along with an important economic impact," Karlynn Grenier, president of the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française.



"We were pleased and impressed by the proposal put forward by the future organizing committee," Grenier said. "They have shown great determination through their work so far, showing a strong commitment to youth and to the vitality of French Canadian communities."



Grenier made the announcement as the 4th Canadian Francophone Games Edmonton 2008 opened.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1158995
 
City`s contract costs soaring

A robust economy is being blamed for public works contracts that are costing Greater Sudbury taxpayers millions more than projected.

"I think we have a problem here," Ward 3 Coun. Claude Berthiaume exclaimed during Wednesday`s city council meeting as he highlighted the latest cost overruns.

Council was confronted Wednesday with the spectre of five public works contracts that were tendered recently. The lowest bids received by the city for each contract resulted in total costs exceeding the city`s projections by more than $3 million, or 38 per cent.

If left unchecked, such cost increases threaten to negate any positive impact from the city`s efforts to increase spending on road upgrading, Berthiaume noted.

"I think we have to do something; we can`t let that situation be," he said.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1156669
 
City committee OKs projects

City council`s planning committee approved two residential developments Tuesday, one of which is expected to come to fruition next year, while the other is widely viewed as a long shot to see the light of day.

A 33-home subdivision proposed for Garson should be built entirely next summer, developer Gilles Caouette said after the city planning committee approved the plan.

"We should be ready to go next summer," said Caouette, treasurer of Perfect Choice Developments Inc.

"As long as there are no unforeseen problems, we`re going to go ahead with all of it, in one shot. As it is, the market is good. The demand is there."

The housing project, to be located off Springhill Drive in Garson, will be the latest phase of the Cedar Green subdivision that was launched in the 1980s.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1154908
 
City cannot run on empty

Don`t fear the fuel depots that dot Toronto`s landscape -- they`re safe and they`re needed, oil industry experts say.

In the aftermath of the devastating explosion at Sunrise Propane in Downsview, Toronto residents have been given a new reason to question the proximity of thousands of litres of flammable and explosive commodities to their homes and businesses. A fuel terminal on the northeast corner of Finch Ave. W. and Keele St. is one of the most prominent storage facilities in the GTA. But after a while, people in the area almost forget it`s there.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndG...486966-sun.html
 
Premier makes Pan Am pitch for Toronto

BEIJING–Anyone who looks around the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics can see what Toronto was up against when it tried to outbid China for the games.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty doesn`t see the same issues when he examines Toronto`s competition for the 2015 Pan American Games.

"I like the way our bid is shaping up," McGuinty said in an exclusive interview with the Star.

"I guess the first thing that reassured me is that nobody has said, `This is a mistake.`"

McGuinty made a whirlwind, 48-hour appearance in Beijing to show Toronto`s flag and head off any whispers from rival cities about a lack of government support for the bid.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/480313
 
Propane suit forges ahead

The Toronto propane blast`s impact on property values and long-term mental and physical health topped the list of concerns brought by anxious residents to an information session yesterday held by lawyers leading a class action suit.

The estimated $300 million suit against Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases and the City of Toronto (lawyers say the province and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority will also be named) is one of five or six being launched in the wake of the explosion on Murray Rd.

Harvin Pitch of the Toronto law firm Stevensons LLP told some 300 people gathered in the Days Hotel conference room that the legal firms have agreed to work together to bring the defendants to the table.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/480284
 
OMB topples controversial condo tower

In a precedent-setting ruling, the Ontario Municipal Board has turned thumbs down on a controversial condominium tower proposed for Lakeview.
The decision, issued Thursday, has City of Mississauga officials and area residents rejoicing.
Ward 1 councillor Carmen Corbasson, who was opposed to the project from the beginning, termed it "critical" for City planning.
"It`s very easy to plan when we have green-field applications, but we know that, from here on in, most applications coming before us are going to be of an in-fill nature," she said.

http://mississauga.com/article/17777
 
Act now on King Street buses: Bratina

Removing buses from the Gore Park area is in sight thanks to funds from GO Transit, Councillor Bob Bratina says.

He is urging city staff to get the buses off King Street now since GO Transit has put forward $100,000 to accommodate at least five city buses at its Hunter Street location.

"Now is the time to act," Bratina said. "There`s money in place."

The downtown councillor is suggesting buses be removed prior to the construction of the new downtown transit terminal, which is expected to be complete by 2010.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/420566
 
Ontario moves toward cap-and-trade system

Ontario farmers are being recruited for carbon offset testing as the province prepares to participate in a cap-and-trade system, which officials say is the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change.

Three pilot projects will be launched this summer to test the feasibility of ways that farmers and others can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in exchange for obtaining carbon credits.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/420657
 
Wi-Fi hot spots expanding

Wi-Fi "hot spots" help make the web more accessible for laptop users and this wireless technology is moving to smart phones and other consumer devices.

There are thousands of these so-called hot spots in North America and Europe, often in airport lounges, fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, malls and hotels. It`s either free or there`s a user fee.

"Wi-Fi helps make the Internet more accessible to people," said Stan Schatt of New York-based ABI Research, which tracks emerging technologies.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/420658
 
Neighbourhood parking feud simmers

CAMBRIDGE

A flurry of parking tickets has residents of Newport Drive casting suspicious glances at their neighbours while filling out petitions asking city hall for relaxed rules.

For the last few weeks, city parking commissionaires have been putting $16 tickets on the windshields of cars parked longer than three hours on the street. As of Friday, residents were warned against parking across the end of their driveways or face $21 tickets.

Someone on the street is complaining about people trying to find a place to park, so the city has stepped up parking patrols in the decade-old subdivision near Eagle Street and Concession Road.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/400660
 
Greenbelt keeps growing

The lush green backdrop of the Kortright Centre was used this week to announce new guidelines for expansion of the Greenbelt, the same setting where the protected area was first announced in 2005.

Ontario citizens, municipalities and community groups have repeatedly expressed interest in expanding the Greenbelt, which protects 1.8 million acres of agricultural and environmentally sensitive land in the Golden Horseshoe, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Jim Watson said.

The announcement explained the province`s criteria for judging municipal requests for expansion in the Greenbelt.

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Regional%20News/article/79744
 
Residents` court victory a great step forward: councillor

A court decision against an Aurora golf course and condo development is "a great step forward", Councillor Alison Collins-Mrakas says.

Residents in the area of a development on Leslie Street, just north of Bloomington Sideroad have fought to get the application heard by more than just the Ontario Municipal Board, the body that decides on development issues.

This week, a divisional court ruled in residents` favour.

Previous to this, the municipal board had argued a joint hearing would result in "delay and expense without a discernible benefit", explains the decision released Wednesday. The divisional court decision disputes this.

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Aurora/article/79732
 
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