0908KWCG Councillor suggests tolls needed on Highway 401
CAMBRIDGE -- It`s time to think about tolls on Highway 401 to prod commuters into taking public transit to Toronto, a city councillor says.
"I know it`s not going to be popular . . . but it`s the only way you`re ever going to solve the issue," Councillor Ben Tucci said.
He suggested the pay-as-you-drive plan at a recent meeting of the city`s economic development advisory committee, which has long advocated expanding GO bus and train service to Cambridge.
OSHAWA -- Just weeks after they were approved, a council committee has revoked two licences issued under the City`s controversial new rental licensing bylaw. The finance and administration committee voted Monday to pull the licences given to landlords Harold Tomlinson and Lawrence Greco, both of whom rent out houses in the Windfields Farm neighbourhood.
City staff recommended the move, citing the fact that the landlords in question were among the 37 found guilty of operating illegal lodging houses, in a landmark decision handed down by Justice Peter Howden last month.
PICKERING -- Sustainability means being able to maintain, not grow, and we`re not currently living sustainably, said a concerned resident at the latest Council meeting. "That`s why there are so many efforts now to conserve, recycle, reuse," Peter Rodrigues said. "We are urged to cut back on our garbage, to use less energy, etc. But what`s the point in any efforts to save, if we then just go ahead and double our population?"
Drivers for Viva rapid buses went on strike this morning, forcing about 35,000 commuters who use the York Region service to find other ways to get to work.
About 160 drivers walked off the job at 4 a.m. today after voting 61 per cent against a proposed contract, said Bob Kinnear, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113, in a statement released last night.
London`s board of control wants to preserve the facade of the Capitol Theatre by leasing the building at rates well above those of other downtown buildings, a lease that would cost taxpayers $5.6 million over 20 years. Controllers yesterday backed the proposed deal with landlord Shmuel Farhi, who once threatened to bulldoze the core landmark unless the city leased space there.
0908CATHHigh-end condos coming to historic Yates St.
A sloping, wooded plot of land is set to be the site of the first new condo building in St. Catharines` downtown in at least 18 years. It`s called 77 Yates and will be located on the west side of Yates Street, near Adams Street.
The two-acre site owned by Sally Mc-Garr will have either 31 or 34 suites and appeal to luxury condo buyers, said McGarr, who owns Sally McGarr Realty Corp., based in St. Catharines.
"It`s a fine location," she said. "Yates Street is such a high-end and historic street.
0908CATH Thorold ponders tax relief for ratepayers affected by stalled construction project
It`s not William McInnes`s front lawn, but it would be a start.
The prospect of McInnes getting a break on his property taxes for enduring a year without a front yard at his Delaware Avenue home while a new sewage over-f low tank is installed on his Thorold street is a welcome one.
"It`s a step in the right direction," McInnes said. "I think there definitely should be compensation of some sort."
So does Coun. Ted Luciani.
He broached the topic at a council meeting earlier this month after fielding complaints about the ongoing project, which was stalled after the construction company hired to do it went bankrupt.
Economic development could get a boost when Orillia is on display to a captive audience of more than 250 real estate investors Friday.
Five busloads of members of the Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) will roll into Couchiching Beach Park for an afternoon barbecue followed by a guided tour of the city.
"These are people who invest money in residential and commercial properties," said Robert Lamb, manage of economic development with the City of Orillia. "This is a direct investors group."
With a bit more force than a shovel, the first visual evidence of Orillia`s new university campus broke through the ground yesterday.
A drilling unit was on the site to begin geothermal testing, that will eventually help determine how much of the new university`s heating and cooling can be provided by the geothermal system.
"(it`s) Finding out what the best options are that are available to us," said Orillia campus dean Kim Fedderson who was on site yesterday with capital campaign manager Lee Pigeau.
TECUMSEH - Reichmann Seniors Housing Development Corp. formally presented its plans Wednesday for a $25-million luxury seniors` residence resembling Willistead Manor, that would be built on municipally owned waterfront land.
The town`s planning committee agreed to hold a public hearing Oct. 29 on applications for official plan and zoning bylaw amendments for the project north of Riverside Drive, just east of Manning Road.
0908WIND Expansion continues for Lakeshore printing plant
VistaPrint Ltd. is expanding its Lakeshore printing plant for the second time in three years in response to increased business across North America.
The latest expansion, including 39,000 square feet of office space and 80,000 square feet of manufacturing space, brings the plant`s total area to just under 300,000 square feet.
A consultant`s recommendation to have an interprovincial bridge span the Ottawa River at Kettle Island fails to bridge the gap between what is best for the city and what is best for the affected communities, said speakers at a crowded public consultation last night. Judy Lishman of the Manor Park Community Association called it a "breach of faith" on the part of the National Capital Commission -- which worked with the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau and the province -- to even consider Kettle Island.
A controversial project to twin Ottawa`s Airport Parkway, which pitted downtown against suburban residents several years ago is back on the city`s agenda.
While officials unveiled the various options for the $4.7-billion public transit plan two weeks ago, they also quietly released the latest plan for $2 billion in major road projects, meant to carry the city to 2031. What the public didn`t know was that part of the plan to widen the Airport Parkway, a crucial north-south corridor linking communities south of the airport to Bronson Avenue, is being speeded up.
0908KWCG Arts impact economy, ROM boss tells region`s prosperity council
WATERLOO REGION
Cities tend to draw boundaries around their museums, concert halls and art galleries, when they should be building bridges to these cultural institutions, says the chief executive officer of Toronto`s Royal Ontario Museum.
Arts and culture have a much greater impact on other sectors of society than many people realize, William Thorsell told a forum held by the Prosperity Council of Waterloo Region yesterday.
The former editor of the Globe and Mail said Einstein credited the Renaissance 400 years earlier as laying the groundwork for some of his physics breakthroughs.
0908KWCG Atria acquires another fibre-optic network
KITCHENER
Atria Networks LP is acquiring another fibre-optic data network, this one in Peterborough.
The internet service provider said yesterday it is to buy the fibre-optic and wireless assets of Peterborough Utilities Inc., a city-owned utilities company.
Terms of the deal, which is to close Sept. 30, were not disclosed.
Peterborough Utilities serves a modest number of institutional and corporate customers with fibre-optic internet access, said Larry Doran, the company`s chief executive officer.
Georgina council want a meeting with Energy Minister George Smitherman and ask him to reconvene the Northern York Region Working Group to study the additional need for electrical generation.
Council is also on record as being an unwilling host for a proposed 350-megawatt gas-powered generating plant.
One potential site for such a plant is on McCowan Road in Georgina.
The "new" Newmarket is progressive, dynamic and forward thinking.
This was the pitch to Newmarket council from Mindshape strategic planner Paul Curwen, who was awarded the $125,000 contract to help create the town`s new identity.
Through an online study conducted this summer, the corporate branding steering committee found only 57 per cent of Newmarket residents and 8 per cent of GTA residents recognized the town crest. In the GTA, 98 per cent of those surveyed recognized the Toronto logo.
AJAX -- About $5.14 million in provincial funding is going to be used to resurface roads and defray costs on a new operations centre. The money is coming from a pair of provincial initiatives. Just more than $4 million is coming from the Investing In Ontario Act, in which the government is using $1.1 billion on infrastructure. The Town`s portion is based on the 2006 census.
0908ONTR McGuinty confident Ontario can still attract automakers
ALLISTON, Ont.–Premier Dalton McGuinty says he`s confident Ontario can attract future investment in the auto sector despite a proposed $25-billion infusion into the sector in the U.S.
McGuinty says current investments by companies like Honda aren`t a coincidence and are based in part on the quality of the province`s workforce.
