0908HAMN Peterson tapped to take Pan Am bid over the top
Former Ontario premier David Peterson will today be named chair of the Golden Horseshoe bid for the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Premier Dalton McGuinty is to make the announcement in a move that should give a major boost to the $1-billion plan to hold the sports spectacle in Toronto and a dozen municipalities, including Hamilton.
Peterson, who played a key role in Toronto`s efforts to host the 1996 and 2008 Olympics, is well regarded in the high-octane world of international sporting politics.
Neighbours aren`t happy with plans for 103 condominium townhomes on a contaminated industrial site in old Preston.
"I`ve got no objections to development, but I do object to developments that are going to destroy the community," said Paul Robertson of Garden Street, immediately east of the former Appleton Electric property on Lawrence Street.
Thanks to a surge in townhouse construction, housing starts in Waterloo Region were up nearly 17 per cent in August compared to the same month last year.
One hundred and fifteen townhouses were started in August in the region, including 57 in Cambridge and 43 in Kitchener, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported yesterday.
An increase of 84 units over August 2007, the townhouses were spread over several areas in both cities, said Erica McLerie of the housing agency.
0908DCLR Clarington decides how to spend provincial dough
CLARINGTON -- A new fire hall for Newcastle and an overhaul of the Darlington Sports Complex are the big winners in the competition for a piece of the $3.5 million the Province doled out to Clarington last month. Each of those projects will receive $1.5 million, while four others -- including the Orono arena, Bowmanville museum, the Municipal Administrative Centre and the Orono library -- will share the rest of the money, announced last month.
0908DSCG Railroad history on track at new Shoppers Drug Mart
PORT PERRY -- Port Perry`s rich railway history must somehow be incorporated into the new Shoppers Drug Mart store proposed for the lands now occupied by the Railroadhouse Motor Hotel, councillors agreed on Monday. In response to a letter sent to the municipality by David Foster, Scugog`s political leaders agreed that the town`s rail history should somehow be showcased if a new store is built at the intersection of Hwy. 7A and Water Street.
Luckily, China can`t compete in the Pan-Am Games because Ontario`s premier says we need to host them.
"I think we need a win here," Dalton McGuinty said on his way into a cabinet meeting yeterday. "We went after the Olympic bid and we came up short there. We need to know that we can come together and achieve some stuff together.
"I think there`s an important psychological dimension to this," he said.
McGuinty yesterday named former premier David Peterson as the man to head up the Games` bid.
Premier Dalton McGuinty has backed Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion`s demand that federal parties put the needs of cities first, saying the more Ontarians speak up, the better.
Other urban leaders, from Toronto Mayor David Miller to the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said yesterday they`ll be working to put urban issues on the election agenda.
"We`re going to have a powerful influence in lending shape to the next government," McGuinty told reporters in Toronto.
A year ago, the Garden City didn`t seem to matter much in the grand scheme of things to some political party leaders.
The provincial election had quickly turned into a disaster for the Progressive Conservatives, because of the party`s policy to fund faith-based schools, and St. Catharines Liberal MPP Jim Bradley was poised for a comfortable win over his rivals. The leaders of the major parties, Conservative John Tory, NDP Leader Howard Hampton and Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty did not campaign in the city.
Only provincial Green Party Leader Frank de Jong made a stop to support the local candidate.
As an urban transformation, it is remarkable in scope.
What was once an industrial wasteland of closed factories and scrub near Queenston Street has become one of St. Catharines` largest infilling projects.
On Wednesday, the partners of a $50-million residential brownfield development were eager to show off their pride and joy.
When all three phases of Heritage Point are completed by Ravenda Homes roughly two years from now, the new neighbourhood could house more than 500 people.
OTTAWA - The leaders of the major parties began their election campaign in the Greater Toronto Area Wednesday, waking up to headlines of more layoffs in the auto sector and a bank economist`s assessment that Ontario`s economy was stalling, a reminder that Canada`s slowing economy is an issue politicians cannot ignore.
Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. said Wednesday it would lay off 500 workers at its Oakville assembly plant. Workers there will be off the job as of Oct. 1, two weeks ahead of election day Oct. 14. And economists from the Bank of Nova Scotia issued a new report, saying that economic growth in Ontario this year will likely be flat. The Canadian economy overall will grow by only 0.7 per cent in 2008, the bank said.
0908BTFDHomeowner tired of empty promises to fix leaning wall
Pina Megna`s patience is wearing thin as she waits for the city to make good on its promise to take away a retaining wall that is leaning dangerously toward her home from a neighbouring property.
The Scarfe Avenue woman emerged teary-eyed from a meeting Tuesday with Mayor Mike Hancock, her ward councillors Jennifer Kinneman and Mark Littell, the city solicitor and senior technical staff.
She demanded the meeting after a $60,000 plan to repair the wall -- approved by council in June -- appeared to be going nowhere.
Officials told Megna that a new twist has developed in the situation. She wasn`t given any further details. But the mayor and councillors pledged to solve the problem by Christmas.
0908OTWA East end gets favourable look in LRT plans
City staff today will release four options for the first phase of construction of the city`s new transit system, including one that would bring light rail to the University of Ottawa from Riverside South, then east to the Blair Rd. transit station.
The four scenarios are based on the $4-billion, 25-year transit plan approved by council in May. All include a downtown tunnel, but the Riverside South-Blair Rd. option -- known as scenario three -- is piquing the interest of several councillors.
0908OTWA City council to invite leaders to public forum
Ottawa council is jumping into the federal election, though its experienced politicians know it will be tricky business getting the federal parties to commit to specific promises.
Councillors decided yesterday to invite the four major party leaders, or their representatives, to City Hall to take part in a public forum on Ottawa issues. The forum will likely be held later this month.
0908KWCG Matrixx to relocate Aclo following recent takeover
CAMBRIDGE
The new owners of Aclo Compounders Inc. plan to move its operations out of its historic location and into a smaller plant in Waterloo Region, Guelph or Brantford.
When Matrixx Group Inc. of Evansville, Ind., bought Aclo last month from its former shareholders, it did not buy Aclo`s buildings, said Keith Rodden, president of Matrixx.
Twenty Newmarket residents spoke out against a proposed development on the Oak Ridges Moraine, but to Grade 8 student Stephanie Speers, the issue is all about integrity.
"I don`t think making money is more important than the environment," she said in front of a hushed crowed at an Ontario Municipal Board public meeting Tuesday night.
Residents swarmed Newmarket council chambers to have their say against a proposed 448-home development on the moraine.
They focused on Newmarket`s official plan, traffic measures and the environment.
OSHAWA -- It may be costing the City money to build it, but a report says a new hotel planned for downtown Oshawa will have an economic impact of at least $83.8 million over its first 10 years. Council voted in the spring to give the developer a package of cash grants and tax incentives to seal the deal for a $45-million, brand-name hotel and conference centre at the corner of Simcoe and Richmond streets.
OSHAWA -- There may be "no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation," but council could soon have a say in the bedrooms of the city -- specifically how many are allowed in each house. Council voted last winter to impose a four-bedroom limit in student rental houses near Durham College and UOIT and City staff are now recommending the rule be extended to the rest of the city.
Barrie has lost more than 400 manufacturing jobs since the last federal election, but Industry Minister Jim Prentice says more investment in the auto sector will save some Canadians jobs.
"We are in less certain economic times," Prentice said yesterday at Kempenfelt Graphics Group, during a local campaign stop with Conservative incumbent Patrick Brown. "Particularly in Ontario, the auto industry is significantly affected by the softening of demand in the U. S. We`ve been quite focused on that."
The Conservatives have pumped cash into several of Canada`s big automakers, from Oshawa to Windsor.
0908OTWA Councillors urged to build rail to east, south first
City transit planners say it could take three years to sort out the objections to commuter rail along the Ottawa River Parkway, so council should first consider going ahead with rail service east to Blair Station and south to Riverside South.
The city unveiled four construction scenarios yesterday for the ambitious new rapid-transit plan, which is now expected to cost $4.7 billion over the next 25 years. Each lays out a different sequence of projects to achieve the same final result.
