“Urbanites may not get this, but in much of Canada, the post office is Canada. The sole, identifiable, enduring and working link to the federal government. Once that is shuttered, the bond dies,” writes Garth Turner.
“The buyer of a $1.9-million house needs $400,000 in cash and an income of about $220,000 to handle the $8,400 monthly mortgage payment, plus property tax and utilities. Ouch,” writes Garth Turner.
“Now people who flock to see old, quaint, authentic and irreplaceable architecture are greeted by a fine example of the Mississauga Industrial school of design,” writes Garth Turner.
“This is the Old Town’s new signature gateway project. And some people wonder what the heck went wrong with our planning process. How did we turn into Mississauga?” writes Garth Turner.
“What’s motivating the Second Sons and the Tamaras needs to be learned. Dissing them as lowlifes and bigots doesn’t work,” writes Garth Turner.
“Some say a lot more lurks beneath what used to be a school,” writes Garth Turner about the history of the former Parliament Oak school site.
“A hole 23 feet deep is no backyard swimming pool. It will consume a good chunk of the Parliament Oak site, rising toward King Street as it transitions from parking garage to hotel foundation and car ramp,” writes Garth Turner.
“We will be questioned, if not laughed at. Who would put a cell tower on the very shore where the War of 1812 was fought?”
“NOTL ain’t TN. This is paradise. Everybody wants to be here, right?” writes Garth Turner. “But wait. We also have a weird market. And some people are being clobbered by it.”
“Unhosted short-term rentals are a bad idea. Period. Most municipalities in Canada have banned them. Having an Airbnb unit in your house is far different from buying a property and operating a ghost hotel with nobody living there full-time,” writes Garth Turner.
In response to editor-in-chief Richard Harley’s July 31 editorial, The Lake Report, writes Garth Turner, “embraces the size, the massing, the demolitions, the height, the truck bays, the big-box architecture, the gobbling-up of a residential street and the three or more years of construction chaos involved.”
The old Royal George may need to tumble and be rebuilt, but Old Towner and Tiktoker Sally Basmajian says, “there are right ways of doing things and just egregiously wrong ways of doing things.”
“This is the Niagara Warehouse of Hope. Mary and her squeeze, Ted, started in their garage almost 40 years ago. She now operates out of the big structure a crew of believers built in a single day and ships containers around the world with the help of at least 150 volunteers,” writes Garth Turner.
“The Royal George eruption has folks again asking that eternal question: is this a place to live or a theme park for the tourists?” writes Garth Turner.
“Over the years we felt that our dream was slipping away as the town and council seemed to become more and more focused on tourists, and less so on the residents that chose to call NOTL home,” says a former resident who wrote to Garth Turner this week.
“Shaw says it has worked and planned harmoniously with neighbours. They say phooey,” writes Garth Turner.
“Dear Shaw Festival, we want you to stay and prosper. But there’s a reason you’re here in paradise, and not in Brampton,” writes Garth Turner.
“In all, four heritage buildings will be offed. The iconic Queen streetscape will be forever altered, the 120-year-old Royal George erased, trees sacrificed and apparently you have nothing to say about it,” writes Garth Turner.
“It’s never a good thing when normally docile folks believe councillors are in the pockets of developers, that the town’s government is anti-family or that public matters are shielded from, well, the public. But here we are,” writes Garth Turner.
“So the town has launched a race for business survival. Not only do we risk displacing people and houses with hotels and tourists, but life is a whole lot tougher — and more expensive — for the guys already in the hospitality biz,” writes Garth Turner.
“Apartment units should be reserved for long-term tenants, not thrown into the online tourist pool. And no place with a pool or a hot tub should be granted a short-term rental licence, since that’s just a recipe for neighbourhood noise, disruption and mayhem,” writes Garth Turner.
“Why did citizens have to protest outside town hall last year with signs and slurs just to be heard? And why wasn’t the mayor there the other night when the largest political mob in modern NOTL history packed the community centre, fully 500 days before a vote?” writes Garth Turner.
“It’s a tough gig for the house-sellers now. But those who do buy likely come from the urban east and move to NOTL with equity,” writes Garth Turner.
“Is this a good development for NOTL, or does it polarize us? Is endorsing candidates useful, or cause conflict and strife? Does the rebel movement suggest we need improvement in the way this place is run? And will you attend the meeting?” writes Garth Turner.
“These days 43 per cent of the 11 million people that come into Niagara to spend money come from across the river. Before Trump, that was peachy. With Trump, we understand that for too long we’ve been milking the same cow,” writes Garth Turner.
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