-2.8 C
Niagara Falls
Saturday, December 13, 2025

Featured

Sports: NOTL teens run away with all-American titles at U.S. race

Two Niagara-on-the-Lake teens helped lead their track club to a first-place finish at the prestigious U.S. cross-country running national championships last Saturday.

The Turner Report: What turned NOTL real estate skunky

"Sure, overpriced homes will continue to sit, but there are lots of properties now priced at 2022 levels, getting no action. Sellers are anxious. Many are willing to deal," writes Garth Turner.

Arts review: Bidding adieu to the Royal George with ‘A Christmas Carol’

"Some will mourn the final performances of 'A Christmas Carol' at the Royal George for the foreseeable future. Others will mourn the passing of the theatre itself," writes Penny-Lynn Cookson.

Arch-i-text: ‘If not here, then where?’ Not there.

"The basic precepts of good urban development planning place the onus on the local government to proactively identify low, medium and high-density locations," writes Brian Marshall.

The Forum: Our held-over then cancelled patio roller-coaster ride

"The only thing certain about this ongoing great town patio debacle is that it is not over," writes Steve McGuinness.

Dr. Brown: Triumphs for Google in new weather-predicting technology

Google's GenCast, introduced at the end of 2024, is a program designed to accurately predict weather forecast for 15 days — "a far more difficult task than 10 days," writes Dr. William Brown, explaining how the program works and its implications for the future.

The Turner Report: Organizing the unhappy flock in NOTL

How do you wrestle an opinion out of someone? Simple. Insult them. Or at least try. Eben knows that. “Why so sheepish man?” he asked after...

Arch-i-text: If push comes to shove, enforcing standards can be done

In this week's edition of Arch-i-text, Brian Marshall outlines how a municipality may directly intervene to bring a property into the provincially required standards under the Building Code Act.

Growing Together: Elevate your garden by adding flow to the landscape

For gardeners who have been working on adding to their outdoor space but feel dissatisfied with the results, what is missing is the sense of flow, writes Joanne Young: "It is the sense of flow that creates unity and peacefulness in the landscape."

Editorial: An unnecessary provincial election

Somehow Premier Doug Ford, his anointed PC candidates and members of his re-election team can keep a straight face when they repeatedly tell us...

The Turner Report: Shooting it out with the tourist cartel

"What’s worse than NOTL becoming a theme park? Why, turning into a cartel, of course. David Gilchrist says it’s already here, aided by the bandidos at town hall," writes Garth Turner.

Year in Review: A summer of floods and political anger

The last six months of 2024 in Niagara-on-the-Lake were marked by extreme weather upheaval and a volatile political climate. Kevin MacLean breaks down what made the headlines in the second half of the year.

The Turner Report: Rebellion, panic and a slippery slope

"Is bowing to tourism why people are encouraged to buy houses, flip them into motels, shrinking the supply of homes and creating businesses that don’t pay business taxes?" writes Garth Turner.

Year in Review: Development pressures remain NOTL’s biggest issue

With loud public protests, numerous anti-development screeds on social media and many more development decisions facing councillors in the second half their four-year term, vigorous debates will continue in 2025.

NOTL’s top newsmakers of 2024

NOTL produces a huge amount of news, week in and week out — and we have chosen to highlight some of the top stories and newsmakers of 2024.

Growing Together: Mother Nature’s clues for what’s in store this winter

"I must admit, as one who grew up on a farm, I love the many “observations” that have been passed down through the generations," writes Joanne Young. "Most of them can be confirmed, scientifically speaking, but at first glance can seem questionable."

Growing Together: Caring for your indoor plants this winter

"If you had your plants outside for the summer months and have brought them back into house this fall, you will see those plants going through a bit of a struggle at this time," writes Joanne Young. She shares how to keep them happy and healthy before spring returns.

Arch-i-text: All about green infrastructure

"The protection and expansion of our natural heritage system supported by green infrastructure has become the proven order of the day and necessary to our future," writes Brian Marshall.

The Turner Report: The town that wants to be a motel

It’s probably the ugliest listing around. Basically, a garage glued to a box. On a narrow lot. No trees. But for $1.6 million it...

Editorial: That’s a wrap for 2024

Sometimes a small idea blossoms into something big and beautiful. Something that has a ripple affect across the community. A couple of weeks ago, while...

Editorial: Let’s keep the conversation going

Last week’s editorial about public access to public documents got a conversation going. We heard from several readers who congratulated us on the opinion piece,...

Editorial: Yes, we can help fix the housing crisis

Ever heard something that just makes you scratch your head and go “What!?” Last week in response to an excellent decision by town council to...

Dr. Brown: The tiny and the gargantuan in the universe

"Heisenberg was right in his day — there were no methods for 'seeing' atoms, never mind, electrons. But these days the first fussy pictures of atoms have been seen and electrons tracked," writes Dr. William Brown, covering two scientific objects of recent fascination for him: A giant red star and a photon of light.

Growing Together: O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!

"Your tree is your canvas, so it is important to select a good one — gorgeous ornaments can only do so much for a scraggly tree," writes Joanne Young.

Exploring History: Queenston, circa 1910

This week’s image of Queenston originally had very little information attached to it. From our local sleuth, this photo was determined to be taken from the corner of Kent and Queenston streets, looking towards Queenston Heights.

Editorial: Concealing documents is not openness

"It’s a sad state of affairs when our town lets this kind of thing slide by — when only one or two politicians stand up against withholding information and fight for what’s right," writes editor-in-chief Richard Harley.

Arts review: Shaw’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ remains fun time for everyone

"The delight of this production owes much to its buoyant, genuine performances, fine direction, imaginative minimalist staging, creepy sounds and lively puppets," writes Penny-Lynn Cookson.

Dr. Brown: Biology, physics, artificial intelligence and complexity

"We created AI and now AI helps us understand ourselves, our world and our universe. That’s why AI, biology and physics have so much in common," writes Dr. William Brown.

Growing Together: How to grow amaryllis, the mysterious Christmas flower

"Growing an amaryllis requires no special skills. In fact, once a bulb is ready to bloom, it will flower with or without you," writes Joanne Young.

Opinion: Niagara’s hospital system is in crisis

After reading Kevin MacLean's article on his experience in the emergency room at the St. Catharines hospital, Wendy Cheropita shares the trials of her own "waiting game": "What I didn’t know was what lay ahead of me. This was my first visit in 10 years."

- A word from our sponsors -

Follow us

HomeFeatured

Subscribe to our mailing list