“On Queen Street, I heard the same story everywhere. The Americans were mortified. Apparently, nobody who comes here from the U.S. voted for that guy. Or will admit it,” writes Garth Turner.
“Fallout from the Big Soak continues. This goes to the heart of governance issues. If we can’t trust our reps to deal with stuff like flooding or police the voracious developers in our midst, maybe it’s time to get some new ones,” writes Garth Turner.
“Add it up: The airport. The bridge. The bag money being thrown around. The unwarranted edifices like Parliament Oak or the Rand Ritz-Carlton … Goettler sees a plot,” writes Garth Turner.
“Democracy takes a hit when the one assuming that role refuses to speak on the record, be interviewed, or allow underlings to comment,” writes Garth Turner.
“The storms helped us face facts. A massive assault on the sewer system should have been disclosed — before the toilets burped, sump pumps were overcome and basements filled,” writes Garth Turner.
“Our leadership gave the final green light to a modern complex that will forever, irrevocably, irreversibly change our landmark street. Not since 1847 when the Courthouse was built has anyone done this,” writes Garth Turner.
“Although this level of government has the greatest impact on citizens’ daily lives, it is weak, ineffectual, rudderless and dominated by special interests,” writes Garth Turner.
“Are we better, or just pretending to be so? Maybe living beside the MAGA nation to the south would make anyone look pristine,” writes Garth Turner.
“His first cousin is a developer living in the biggest house in town. He leans right. He’s blunt. He was Grape King. Now he wants to be lord mayor,” writes Garth Turner.
“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.
© All Rights Reserved, Niagara Now.
