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Niagara Falls
Saturday, March 25, 2023

The Lake Report: Check out our weekly print edition for Niagara-on-the-Lake here.

EXCLUSIVE REPORT: NOTL asks OPP to investigate after developer gave $10,000 to town councillor

Niagara-on-the-Lake council has asked the Ontario Provincial Police and the town's integrity commissioner to launch investigations after prominent developer Benny Marotta gave $10,000 in cash to Coun. Gary Burroughs. The...

Letter: We already have a long list of private health care providers

Dear editor: I am writing regarding Richard Wright's letter,  “Liberals, NDP need to act to stop privatized health care,” in the March 16 edition of...

Letter: Developer’s trees a welcome addition to St. Davids

Dear editor: Seventeen beautiful new good-size trees have been planted on the perimeter of the shiny brand new St. Davids Square commercial plaza built by...

Town issues statement but no details about case

On Wednesday afternoon, about 90 minutes after The Lake Report's website published an extensive story detailing the cash exchange between developer Benny Marotta and Coun....

Ross’s Ramblings: Volleyball playoff embodies all that is positive about sport

There is so much wrong with sports these days. The captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Wayne Gretzky on television promoting gambling. “Get in the game. Gamble now. Here’s...

Average NOTL property taxes to rise $105 this year

The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake expects to spend about $4 million more in 2023 than it did last year to cover its daily operations. The budget...

Town proposing to hire 16 new staffers for 2023

The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is proposing to spend almost $900,000 on 16 new staff members in 2023. Discussion over which positions make the cut have...

Editorial: Good sports, all around

It’s spring – finally, thankfully – and that means warmer weather. It also means that winter sports seasons are coming to an end – and...

Farmworker Hub opens doors to new social space

Sunday afternoon the Niagara-on-the-Lake Farmworker Hub’s social space opened for the first time and welcomed workers to a place for rest and relaxation.  Director Julia Buxton-Cox was excited about what the new space will provide. “It’s a place that they can come that’s away from the farm, where they can feel like they can relax a bit after work. We’ve got free wifi up here, they can just relax and have a little bit of fun,” she said. “They can play pool, we'll have sports, there are snacks for them and then at the back there’s some dominos and games.” Volunteers said the space...

NOTLers can help plant two billion trees

Niagara-on-the-Lake residents could have the opportunity to add more greenery to the community with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s Trees For All planting partnership.  The partnership invites landowners across the...

News

Arts: Music festival competition returns to NOTL

This year’s Niagara Festival of the Performing Arts is returning to St. Davids-Queenston United Church and the Yellow Door Theatre in Virgil with the introduction of strings and speech arts as part of the competition.  “It’s for musicians of all ages and adult classes as well," said festival director and founder Lisa Cosens Brillon. The competition, from March 27 to 31, includes classical voice, musical theatre, popular voice, classical piano, popular piano, strings and speech arts. Nearly 300 participants are signed up and ready to play as the competition returns to fully in-person festivities for the first time since 2019. “We offered virtual for...

News

Sports: NOTL swimmer sets sights on qualifying for Olympics

Peyton Leigh, 15, to compete for shot at making it to Paris Games in 2024   Standing just five-foot-five, with a shoe size of eight and a half, Peyton Leigh says she is “short for a swimmer,” but the 15-year-old has never let that slow her down. The Niagara-on-the-Lake teen has just qualified to compete in the Canadian Olympic trials in two events – the 200-metre butterfly and the 400-metre freestyle. A strong performance could mean a chance to represent Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Her mother Christi notes the journey toward the Olympics began when Peyton was just four months...

Local

Cat rescue selling planters at annual spring fundraiser

Spring is here and the third annual spring planter fundraiser and food drive for NOTL Cat Rescue is just around the corner.  “One hundred per...

NOTL chicken farmer staying positive amid rising avian flu cases

The owner of a large Niagara-on-the-Lake chicken farm is confident all the precautions he takes will prevent an avian flu outbreak at his operation. Two farms...

Special Report: Rental costs are high, supply is scarce in NOTL

If you're single, finding an affordable rental is a huge challenge   First in a series Debbie Delesky couch surfed for more than a year before finally...

Niagara wineries unite to pressure province for changes

Tax reductions, better access to markets among concerns cited by industry Niagara wineries travelled to Queen's Park with an important message, as well as some...

Entertainment

Ryan Gaio hopes to bring the music back with NOTL album launch

Ryan Gaio remembers a time when Niagara-on-the-Lake had a vibrant, independent music scene. It was back when NOTL still had a high school — Niagara District Secondary School, which had...

Donations, federal funding gave Shaw big boost in 2022

Outdoor shows were a 'huge hit,' artistic director Tim Carroll says   The Shaw Festival is adopting a “new normal.” “Turns out that there might be no such place as normal. And...

Opinion

Letter: $75 is small price to pay for superior, private health care

Dear editor: When I opened up the March 16 edition of The Lake Report to see my letter ("Let people buy better health care if...

Letter: We’re happy to share, but developers must respect NOTL

Dear editor: I am writing in response to the letter from Blair Cowan, ("Let’s share NOTL with others who want to be here," March 9),...

Letter: Black burial ground deserves to be commemorated

Dear editor: Given the historical significance and the recent renaming of the former Negro Burial Ground to the Niagara Baptist Church Burial Ground, plus the...

Entertainment

Horoscope: Time to take stock in what you have – and don’t have

Thursday, March 9: Chiron and the moon connect, showing how hurt flings can be powerful long after the wound has been inflicted. Happy birthday to Barbie, first sold by...

Latest Past Events

Food and Wine Lab

Stratus Vineyards 2059 Niagara Stone Road, NOTL

Take a one-hour journey with Stratus Vineyards and learn about how to enhance your glass of wine.  

New year’s Eve at Riverbend Inn & Vineyard

Riverbend Inn 16104 Niagara Pkwy, NOTL

New Year’s getaway at Niagara’s Riverbend Inn, surrounded yourself by vineyards, and celebrate the end of the year. The cost of the evening will include a two-night stay  Four-course prix […]

Paint Nite: Winter visitors

The Exchange 7 Queen St,, NOTL

The Exchange brewery is hosting a painting nite on Dec. 20, where drinks will be served and no experience is needed.  

$45

News

Expert advice on how to avoid becoming a scam victim

Second in a two-part series With the number of text, phone, door-to-door and email scams targeting seniors and vulnerable people across the region, it's good to be prepared in case...

Local

Region seeks 100 new volunteers for emergency response team

Deadline for applications for CERT program is March 24   Niagara Region is looking for 100 new volunteers for its Community Emergency Response Team, known as CERT. Volunteers are trained to assist...

Welland Canal reopens Wednesday for 2023 shipping season

The Welland Canal reopens early this Wednesday morning, so drivers should be on the lookout for raised bridges and passing ships.  This means ships will be travelling through the canal...

Dancers, fiddlers, pub crawlers come out for St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day started early at the Irish Harp this year. A troupe of young dancers from De Menezes Reilly Irish Dance Studio came out to show off their high...

News

Lizards, crocs and snakes — oh my!

Legless lizards, a crocodilian and corn snakes — all of those and more were out for kids to see on March Break. On Tuesday morning the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library hosted a reptile show, presented by Samuel Bylsma from the Reptile Kingdom. Based in Fonthill, the Reptile Kingdom not only does educational shows, but it rescues reptiles that can no longer be taken care of by their owners.  “I want to talk about what kind of reptiles make great pets and what kind of reptiles maybe not so great pets,” Bylsma said.  More than two dozen children and parents showed up for a chance...

$10M road reconstruction means long, slow drive through Virgil

Niagara Stone Road is all chewed up after a seven-year plan finally hit the road. Literally. Anyone driving through Virgil should expect traffic delays while construction workers give the regional road some much-needed attention.  For now, most of the construction will run from the intersection at Four Mile Creek to Line 1 Road. That phase of the project is expected to wrap up in the fall. Once completed,...

Solmar seeks permits to demolish some Rand buildings

SORE and Solmar will be facing off again soon after the town called a special meeting to review applications to alter or demolish buildings on the old Rand Estate.  On the demolition applications, Solmar general manager Giuseppe Paolicelli outlines plans for structures on 588 Charlotte St. and 200 John St. E.  The Calvin Rand summer house, carriage house, stable dwelling and several small sheds would all...

No end to phone, text and door-to-door scams, experts say

First in a two-part series With Fraud Prevention Month well under way across Canada, so are telephone, text message and door-to-door scams. One scam in particular has been on the rise — the grandparent scam. That's when someone calls a senior on behalf of a loved one claiming to be a government official, family member, police officer or even a lawyer. The scammers then scare the individual into...

Town’s new e-permit system expected to streamline process

The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has introduced a new labour-saving online program that will allow residents to obtain building permits electronically. The new service makes it...

’30 seconds in’ he heard four snaps

NOTL wrestler wins provincial gold, then dislocates elbow at nationals   He remembers hearing four distinct snaps. Eden High School wrestler and Niagara-on-the-Lake resident Zubin Gatta was...

Glasses raised for farmerettes at Oast celebration of women’s day

A Niagara-on-the-Lake brewery is paying homage to the women who ran the family farms while the men were away during two world wars. Oast released...

NOTL Youth Collective looking ahead to spring session

With the NOTL Youth Collective’s winter session wrapped up, volunteers are looking back and reflecting on the innovative centre's first eight weeks of operation.  About...

Man, 72, in critical condition after crash on diverging diamond interchange

A 72-year-old man is in critical condition after suffering a medical episode and crashing his car into a guard rail on Glendale's diverging diamond interchange early Tuesday afternoon.  When they arrived on the scene, officers learned that the man was in medical distress, Niagara Regional Police Const. Barry Ravenek said in an email to The Lake Report.  Police have not released the name of the victim.  Niagara Emergency Medical Service paramedics transferred the St. Catharines man to...

VIDEO: Celebrating the women of NOTL

This story is one in a package to celebrate the women of Niagara-on-the-Lake for International Women's Day. Find a video of the making of the photo here, view our 12-page special section here and read about some of the NOTL women involved here.

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