“His colleagues at town hall, says Gary Burroughs, are too easily manipulated into big decisions. Like approving a massive hotel in the middle of a residential ‘hood. Or (soon, he reckons) greenlighting a Ritz-Carlton hotel, spa and residences on the former Rand Estate. Together with the Terminal 4 Clayfield edifice in Garrison Village, these developments put NOTL into tourism overdrive,” writes Garth Turner.
“The economy has flatlined. Trump’s war went badly. Inflation is back, so interest rates won’t be falling … But people still want houses. And, of course, everyone wants to live here,” writes Garth Turner.
“In my decades on this planet I’ve been pushed around a few times … But never been beaten, viciously, until one pleasant and warm Friday afternoon in the bucolic bosom of Old Town NOTL,” writes Garth Turner.
“Queen Street will never be the same,” Nicholas Colaneri tells Garth Turner. “The change might not be tomorrow, but watch out 15 years from now, when we won’t have heritage any longer.”
“The legacy of our current council will be forever. A large hotel and venue plunked in a residential hood … Changes of mass and scope to the main street that can never be undone,” writes Garth Turner.
“There are suddenly more reasons to talk about Mr. Hummel as he uses social media this week to eviscerate your reporter. Ad hominem arguments are always exciting. He does it well,” writes Garth Turner.
“The arboreal genocide has been rethought. When the tree guys are finished and before the dozers move in, there will be 17 stumps instead of 41,” writes Garth Turner.
“Given what’s coming, our lord mayor will also be the sole and only rep at the senior level of government, Niagara Region. Kaiser already knows what that workload amounts to. Being mayor would be extra,” writes Garth Turner.
The next lord mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, writes Garth Turner, “must not only rule a disparate, complex town … but be the sole voice at the senior level where big tax, policy and service decisions are made.”
“Elections are levelers. Money won’t buy you one. Support is earned, and in NOTL these days, we’re a polarized society,” writes Garth Turner.
“Why do people flock here to visit? To live in this bucolic burg? For the quiet, the history, the architecture, the streetscapes, the geography — and the green above us,” writes Garth Turner.
“Yes, the Shaw is great for NOTL. Lucky to have it. But ripping up the main street while taking such a financial gamble in dodgy economic times seems rash. So, a little scrutiny is not a bad thing,” writes Garth Turner.
“Lord Mayor Zalepa has now formally endorsed the move to chop council, dump our elected rep to the region, accept an unelected super-chair and submit to a voting scheme that would mute our voice. Your voice,” writes Garth Turner.
“Is this still an artistic enterprise worthy of oodles of tax money, the sympathy of donors and exemption from all heritage rules? Or, has it become a non-tax-paying corporation heavy into real estate development?” writes Garth Turner.
“Given the level of public support, it would be good to know more about how this web of interests is being run. Is it sustainable? What happens in an economic downturn, with a half-built theatre complex?” writes Garth Turner.
“Is this bureaucratic overreach? Abject stupidity? Or a clumsy attempt to tamp down the grassroots rebellion? Let’s see where that vote lands,” writes Garth Turner.
“Eventually, everything made with oil — which is pretty much everything, like the plastic on the berries, plus the diesel and jetfuel that got them to the store — will become dearer,” writes Garth Turner.
“Turning us into a ‘burb of the Falls or the pointy part of a big region would likely be the beginning of the end of NOTL. For all the bad decisions that have impacted us, this place is unique,” writes Garth Turner.
“The next month will bring the collapse of the theatre, the erasure of the historic barber shop beside it … and geothermal drilling,” writes Garth Turner.
“This is a turning point for us,” veteran councillor and former mayor Gary Burroughs told Garth Turner, “and we’re not coming out of it well.”
“It turns out ‘heritage’ is, in fact, a hated word in the insurance biz, and that only a tiny sliver of companies (called “markets” by brokers) will even consider extending coverage,” writes Garth Turner.
“The election’s this autumn. Betting is among senior members of the rebel NOTL residents rabble that the current monarch, Gary Zalepa, will be buried if he choses to run again,” writes Garth Turner.
“Existing tariffs are bad enough … but hiking them to 100 per cent — and maybe ripping up the existing Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement this summer? That’s war,” writes Garth Turner.
“Old Town residents — on Victoria, Prideaux, Simcoe and Queen — can expect up to 50 trucks per day during various phases of the project. Dumps, flatbeds and tractor trailers,” writes Garth Turner.
“How will heavy construction be handled during the next three summers when Queen is shoulder-to-shoulder with tourists, cars are everywhere and festival season arrives?” writes Garth Turner.
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