The Lake Report’s strong performance in the Ontario Community Newspapers Association’s awards continued last Friday as Niagara-on-the-Lake’s hometown news source again took home more top honours than any other publication in the province.
Augusta Van Muyen, vineyard manager at Tawse Winery in Vineland since 2021, knows her terroir. She's been named this year's Grape King: “I’m super honoured to represent the wine industry,” she says.
Premier Doug Ford, writes Kevin MacLean, "has shown time and time again that, really, he is 'For the People' — though maybe just not the common people who have to live with his actions and decisions."
"The Ford government is spending millions upon millions on private planes, private spas and handouts to developers, while our public services crumble and life gets increasingly unaffordable for families in Ontario," writes Wayne Gates.
"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.
"If the plan is followed and enforced, there should be no fear of having an inappropriately designed monster McMansion squeezed into the lot next door," writes Brian Marshall.
"I have lived here for some 40 years, and have driven or run past Mennonite churches hundreds of times, with little thought about their history," writes Ross Robinson.
"My guess is that had AI been trained on similar challenging math problems, it wouldn’t have taken long before AI mastered other questions posed by top notch mathematicians," writes Dr. William Brown.
"Our local leaders should think boldly and speak clearly. It’s time to dream — otherwise, someone else will be dreaming for us," writes David Israelson.
"Amalgamation was intended to deliver 'better, more efficient government at less cost to the taxpayer.' But, 25 years later, Hamilton residents are still waiting," writes Ken Bosveld.
"I had a plan: propose to my now-fiancée Alanna (she said yes) in some sort of grand and romantic fashion. Easy, right? Not so much," writes Richard Harley.
"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 regional government seems to be a bottomless hole into which taxpayers continually pour money and receive few practical benefits from having done so," writes Brian Marshall.
"The path to modern humans was never scripted, because of the important role natural selection and chance play in the evolution of most species, including our own," writes Dr. William Brown.
"As a parent of two former Secord students, who between them performed in four great Secord musicals, last Saturday evening was certainly a trip down memory lane," writes Ross Robinson.
"Amalgamation with local adjacent municipalities with failing infrastructure will result in higher cost of living, more taxes and less service," writes Richard Connelly.
The representatives of small governments like NOTL "aren’t 'politicians' of the ilk perceived by Premier Ford, with offices in glass palaces and numerous staff," writes Keith McNenly, "but community members representing community members."
"If you sometimes buy milk from the supermarket and sometimes from the convenience store, it does not mean that one or the other should be shut down," writes David Israelson.
"Let’s take a careful and thoughtful approach toward amalgamation. Niagara’s entire system of local democratic representation hangs in the balance," writes Kevin MacLean.
"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.
"The published findings of this report resulted in the conclusion that while amalgamation was supposed to bring cost savings, smaller government and lower taxes, it didn’t," writes Brian Marshall.
"What was the point of having black maple leaves on the Canadian ice hockey sweaters? Was it Nike’s creative folks dictating to our national Olympic bosses?" writes Ross Robinson.
"The picture of human evolution, and indeed the evolution of most species, may look very different by the mid-century mark and beyond," writes Dr. William Brown.
"The picture of human evolution, and indeed the evolution of most species, may look very different by the mid-century mark and beyond. That’s what makes the story so intriguing for me," writes Dr. William Brown.
An opinion piece written by a Niagara-on-the-Lake town councillor, several stories, photos and columns by community contributors, and the journalism of staff members of The Lake Report have been singled out by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association in its annual awards.
"It would be helpful for everyone on all sides of this dispute, right or wrong, to lower the temperature, in print, online and in social media," writes David Israelson.
"In my crystal ball, at the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, I think we will have curling referees in black and white striped shirts, blowing whistles to signal infractions," writes Ross Robinson.
