Opinion

The Turner Report: The anti-establishment man

“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."

Arts review: ‘Sleuth’ uncovers the dark side of male competition

"As the ring-master of inventions and deceptions, Wyke is supremely confident that in the real world of crime, who could possibly outthink him?" writes Penny-Lynn Cookson.

Arch-i-text: Amateur hour in NOTL planners’ latest decision-making

"At the very least, this application should not have been deemed complete until it complied with the provisions of the tribunal’s decision. Instead, it was given the go-ahead," writes Brian Marshall.

Ross’s Ramblings: Constant conflict of interest situations befuddle me

"How do we solve the quandaries of the conflicts of interest? The very people who have expertise in a certain subject often opt to recuse, to voluntarily remove themselves, from the discussions," writes Ross Robinson.

Dr. Brown: Our lives are shaped by choices, but not by choice alone

"Future conflicts are breeding now because of what happened in the past and continues in the present and will be bitterly remembered in the future," writes Dr. William Brown.

Letter: Sorry Turner, but money is money

"There are opinions and then there are informed opinions. In the case of columnist Garth Turner, there are too many of the former and too few of the latter," writes Ron Fritz.

Editorial: Congratulations to the Shaw Festival

"More than 40 years later, it is almost hard to imagine the town without the Shaw as we now know it," writes Richard Harley. "And yet here we are again, acting as if the next step forward is some shocking attack on the town’s soul."

Editorial: Zalepa boxed himself in on Rand Estate

"The same tired logic keeps being used to make elected officials sound powerless, as if councillors are merely there to nod along while planners, consultants, developers and provincial policy do the real governing," writes Richard Harley.

Arts review: Shaw’s ‘Funny Girl’ glitters in spots, fades in others

"It was Sara Farb's finale, a stationary no-holding-back solo, guaranteed to rouse emotions, that wrenched the audience to an eruption of applause. Impressive, but still not quite enough to fill the void," writes Penny-Lynn Cookson.

The Turner Report: A town that chose to eat itself

"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.

Arch-i-text: Council has put NOTL’s small-town charm in danger

"Nobody is sure who coined the term 'sleepy little town,' but one thing is for certain: in the past few years, the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake certainly cannot be described in those terms," writes Brian Marshall.

Dr. Brown: What’s the best-before date for the average world leader?

"Politicians have a habit of hanging on long after their best-before dates, believing the country can't get by without them. That's a sign of cognitive impairment, not an encouragement," writes Dr. William Brown.

Ross’s Ramblings: Hidden Rye Park honours a giant of NOTL history

From the upcoming FIFA World Cup and the recent disheartening outcome for the Montreal Canadiens, to cherishing Niagara's homegrown corner store chain and an overlooked park in NOTL, Ross Robinson's Ramblings run the gamut this week.

Letter: Why destroy what could be preserved?

"None of these owners, when learning of deficiencies, should consider tearing the building down without first looking at all of the possible solutions to the problems," writes Wayne Murray.

Letter: NOTL Palliative Care offers respite services right here

"Our volunteers offer companionship, compassionate listening and emotional support for a caregiver’s loved one — and regular respite from caregiving duties," writes Bonnie Bagnulo.

Letter: No one should be dismissed by class

'No one in Rainer's large extended family ever forgets that the difference between a mud hut and a mansion is only the next bad political decision," writes Wallace Wiens.

Opinion: Librarians are on frontlines in war on intellectual freedom

"Canadians have the right to access diverse ideas, literature and viewpoints without censorship, allowing libraries, schools, bookstores and readers to explore both popular and controversial works," write Susan Elliott and Dr. Robin Williams Foster.

The Turner Report: The voice from the big house

"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.

Dr. Brown: All diseases are spread by living organisms — except these ones

"Transmissible prion is extremely stable and very hard to destroy with chemical disinfectants or heat — far more so than for the case of viruses and bacteria," writes Dr. William Brown.

Ross’s Ramblings: The ‘good ol’ days’ are here, right now

"Life was tough and a never-ending challenge. Travelling on foot or on horseback or in wagons. Am I the only one who never thinks about this stuff? It was a long way to the West Coast, wasn’t it?" writes Ross Robinson.

Letter: Prepare for another parade in town

"We love a parade here. Even if it rolls over us and breaks our backs while it destroys our town," writes Rick Monette.

Letter: Ideas to make parking lot fit better in town

"If we are considering a major construction project on the old hospital on Wellington Street, it would be pertinent to look at restructuring that end of Queen Street (Picton)," writes Malcolm Newton.

Letter: ‘NIMBYism’ vs. protecting our heritage

"It appears to this writer that Save Our Rand Estate is basically trying to preseve the historical and heritage assets that have been determined by experts to be located at the site, for the benefit of current and future generations," writes Derek Collins.

Letter: To preserve pickleball in NOTL, we need an indoor court

"In a Canadian climate, outdoor courts can only provide a seasonal solution. Play is limited to a relatively short portion of the year and is frequently interrupted by rain, wind, excessive heat and cold temperatures," writes Ron Pychel.

Letter: Despite past issues, TASC tulip farm are good neighbours

"Frank and Jill did a great job communicating with us, last year and this year, making changes to improve the traffic flow and eliminate congestion," write Bruce and Regina Robb.

Opinion: Ahead of the 250th Independence Day, who holds all the cards?

"Boasts aside, the authoritarian holds only a single card — the joker’s trick of chaos and distraction. The real deck is large. Americans hold roughly 340 million cards," writes Keith McNenly.

The Turner Report: Amid chaos, some lives are saved

"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.

Arch-i-text: Batter up, NOTL, for another battle over the Rand Estate

"This proposal is another fail on multiple levels and is underwritten by the arrogance of applicants simply who want what they want, full stop," writes Brian Marshall.

Ross’s Ramblings: Is it just me or has hockey changed quite a lot?

"I don’t think any sport has changed as much as hockey during the past 60 or 70 years. Back in the day, most of the players came from Canada, so we could say with straight faces, 'Hockey: it’s our game,'" writes Ross Robinson.

Dr. Brown: How fast is the universe expanding? Very fast

"An accelerating expansion of the universe without any obvious cosmic brakes ... is a universe whose matter is so dispersed that stars can't form, with the result that the universe eventually goes dark and cold with no place for life," writes Dr. William Brown.

- A word from our sponsors -

Follow us

HomeOpinion