Some suburban councillors remain cool to the idea of densification in the suburbs, even as more warned that they ignore the need for change at their peril.
"People must understand that if they don`t want the suburbs to turn into the kind of ghettoes people are predicting them to be, we`ve got to increase the densities -- and not a little, a lot," Kanata South Councillor Peggy Feltmate said yesterday.
The Toronto Stock Exchange`s main index may have already broken through the 15,000-point level, but the S&P/TSX composite will ride the resources sector even higher in the second half of this year, CIBC World Markets says.
"Upgraded profit expectations suggest that Canadian equities, particularly recent winners like energy and material stocks, are likely to remain prime candidates for portfolio exposure over the next 12 to 18 months," Peter Buchanan, economist at CIBC World Markets says in a report.
The Windsor-Essex County Real Estate Board - The History
The Border Cities Real Estate Board, comprised of just twenty-five Members, was incorporated on April 12, 1918. This organization was formed by a group of brokers whose aim, according to an article written in March of 1927 in The Border Cities Star, was to "foster the real estate interest of this locality, to bring the profession to the highest standard possible, to demand honesty and proficiency from its Members, to protect the client; in fact, to give the utmost in all matters pertaining to Real Estate." Its Members vowed to abide by a strict and exacting code of ethics adopted by the National Association, one which to this day promises to promote and improve the real estate industry for its Members. It also promises to protect buyers -- including both inexperienced investors and veterans -- from poorly qualified, sloppy, or unprincipled realty salespeople. The term "Realtor®" is not a synonym for real estate agent, but is in fact a designation --a trademark -- for only active Members of the Board. The Realtor® guarantees efficient service, integrity, and knowledge; only a Realtor® has the proper training and sufficient experience to guide both buyers and sellers every step of the way.
The city celebrated the official opening of its renovated transit terminal at Eastgate Square yesterday.
New amenities include wheelchair-accessible platforms, modern and low-maintenance shelters and high-security lighting. It also expanded, so eight buses can dock at one time.
The newly renovated terminal has been in service since November but it needed some final touches.
The fire station in downtown Dundas is slated to close for at least a year for renovations, and city council is being asked to rezone the former Dundas hydro service building on Park Street West as a temporary fire hall, over the objections of several neighbours.
A Flamborough councillor is turning to her lawyer neighbour to help fight the suburb`s tax battle.
Margaret McCarthy took out a newspaper ad yesterday to announce she`s partnering with Toronto lawyer Benjamin Levinter to find "short- and long-term solutions" to the controversy.
"If Flamborough was feeling muscled after Hamilton council`s last-minute decision to take the slot revenue out of the budget ... we have just received a heavyweight in the fight for fairness and equity," the ad states.
Lights out?; City to study troublesome Erie Avenue intersection
Travis Jones is delighted that an Eagle Place intersection may lose its traffic light.
"That`s awesome that this is getting a look-see," said Jones, who owns Wingmaster, which recently opened at Eagle and Erie avenues.
Jones had just heard that city transportation staff will conduct a traffic study at the intersection where people are complaining that the lights cause more trouble than they`re worth.
The study will show whether the current signal system should be kept or dismantled, with another arrangement used to fix a growing problem of traffic on Erie backing up north and south of the intersection at certain times.
Rama hails OLG signals; New executive director hints deal likely to be extended beyond 2011
By saying she hopes to see Casino Rama roll along for years to come, the new executive director of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has lifted a cloud of doubt that has hung over the facility for years.
"We need to forge a new relationship... which will ensure that Casino Rama will continue to be a successful enterprise many years from now," Kelly McDougald said Thursday night.
McDougald made her comments at an information session hosted by Rama Mnji- kaning First Nation, drawing a standing ovation from 70 representatives of local muni- cipalities, chambers of commerce and other business organizations.
Lakehead pressured to reconsider Orillia campus location; Group advocating for downtown site
A citizens group has formed to put pressure on Lakehead University to build its permanent campus downtown rather than on the former Horne farm property, west of Highway 11.
"This option hasn`t been taken seriously," said David Stinson, a member of Build Orillia Lakehead Downtown (BOLD). "What better way to secure the future of the downtown than placing a major institution in the heart of the community?"
Building downtown and making use of existing services and vacant space makes more sense than sprawling onto a greenfield site that will inevitably be a commuter campus, said Stinson
University president Fred Gilbert said a permanent downtown campus has never been feasible based on cost, congestion and environmental concerns.
A public meeting will be held at Monday night`s council meeting to hear an application to rezone lands at 254 Penetanguishene Rd. to build stacked and street townhouses there. Of the 121 units, 94 would be for student housing.
A second public meeting will be held to hear a rezoning application for 251 and 257 Townline Rd., needed to build condominiums and homes.
Plenty of interest in Barrie Hydro; Merger a possibility but not sale: Prowse
Barrie Hydro is like the prettiest girl at the spring dance.
The electrical utility now has not one, but three, suitors looking for a merger or to purchase the company, which is owned solely by Barrie residents.
Newmarket Tay Power Distribution and Innisfil Hydro have joined PowerStream, a Vaughan/Markham utility, in showing interest in Barrie Hydro.
"I think the more suitors the better," Barrie Coun. Michael Prowse said, "but we are not interested in a sale, (but) a potential merger with one potential suitor (PowerStream).
"Anybody who says they are going to buy a utility is on the wrong side of the street."
No progress is being made to solve homelessness, despite millions spent to create affordable housing, a community group contends.
Waterloo Region earned a C grade in a bleak report card issued yesterday by the Homelessness and Housing Umbrella Group.
"If I had brought a report card like that home to my parents, that would not have gone over very well," group chair Patrick Germann, a Waterloo business person, told a panel of politicians.
Politicians may approve rapid transit as early as next summer, nine years after regional council first pitched the idea.
This means electric trains could be operating on local streets by 2013, after design and construction.
At the invitation of the Ontario government, which is paying two-thirds of construction costs, council voted this month to speed approvals. Here`s the latest timeline:
A recommended system and route is to be unveiled this fall, involving electric trains, rapid buses or some combination.
The province should select Guelph as a site for one of 25 nurse practitioner-led clinics planned for Ontario, says a professional nursing group.
Nurse practitioners can diagnose and treat common illnesses and injuries, prescribe medications, and order lab tests.
The idea is for nurse practitioner-led clinics to take on "orphan patients," who lack family doctors, and reduce the number of people without access to primary health care.
Housing market cooling off, not in downturn: experts
Has the housing bubble burst?
Things are not nearly that bad, but after years of record-setting sales, our real estate market may be "coming off the boil", according to a new Scotiabank report.
"Sales have fallen off fairly sharply, back to what would have been normal," said economist Adrienne Warren, who wrote the report.
People are excited about the two subway lines that could be coming our way, but are they really the best transit solution for York Region?
"I guess I`ve always been a bit of a rail fan," said Richmond Hill resident Calvin Henry-Cotnam, who performed his own in-depth analysis suggesting light rail transit (LRT) would be a far better use of transit funding.
Markham - Two public meetings are taking place next month so you can find out what the region`s plans are for Markham roads, including expanding 16th Avenue, which has faced opposition.
Mayor wants to build performing arts centre downtown
WHITBY -- The mayor says she is committed to building a performing arts centre that would "kick-start revitalization in our historic downtown." "We need a new performing arts centre, exceptional in design and located in our downtown," Mayor Pat Perkins said at the annual Mayor`s Lunch hosted by the Whitby Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
DURHAM -- Despite generating more power, Ontario Power Generation`s net income for the first quarter of 2008 dropped. OPG reported net income of $162 million for the first three months of the year, down from $171 million for the first quarter of 2007.
The company was able to generate 29.4 terrawatt hours (TWh) of electricity during the first quarter, a jump over the 28.2 TWh in the first quarter of 2007. Production at OPG`s nuclear stations rose 1.7 TWh, primarily because of fewer outages at the Pickering station.
