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Saturday, September 20, 2025

Opinion

Bottom Line: Alarming planning activities abound in Niagara-on-the-Lake

"We require more applicant identity clarity to assess whether the neighbours are truly acting at arms’ length," writes Steve McGuinness.

Dr. Brown: Ahead of this year’s Nobel Prize ceremony, let’s look back at past winners

"Increasingly, awards are evolving and while the Nobel Prizes remain at the top for now, the number of high-calibre competing awards by other institutions is increasing," writes Dr. William Brown.

Letter: In response to the deputy lord mayor’s record-straightening

"Maybe our esteemed deputy lord mayor should get his facts clarified before wading into the weeds defending his administration and planning staff," writes Bob Bader.

Letter: If developers are going to build, they should fund needed infrastructure

"This council has exacerbated a situation where the residents of NOTL are probably going to experience significant property tax increases in future years to fund infrastructure improvements," writes Gienek Ksiazkiewicz.

Editorial: NOTLers pay way too much for policing

"If taxation is to be equitable, Niagara Region needs to adopt a new model that does not penalize residents who happen to live in a low-crime community where their home has appreciated in value over the past decade or two," writes Kevin MacLean.

Letter: New cellphone tower doesn’t belong at Nelson Park

"The site is immediately beside the densest residential area in the Old Town and in a beautiful park, which has a steady stream of walking and biking visitors," writes Catherine Cornell.

Letter: Cell tower at Nelson Park should go elsewhere

"Why have they picked the most densely populated area in Old Town? There are some 130 residents nearby," writes Mike Henry.

Letter: Despite disagreeing with Turner Report, appreciate its existence

"I, for one, appreciate that The Lake Report gives Garth a prime-position soapbox even though I thoroughly disagree with his assessment and conclusions," writes Doug Mepham.

Letter: Where Chautauqua needs improvement — and where it should be preserved

"Change will indeed occur, it is inevitable — but aren’t there some types of change that are within one’s control?" writes Ruth Denyer.

Bottom Line: Bed, breakfast and tax

"Residents living on our once quiet town streets, in homes neighbouring unhosted short-term rental sites, complain about irresponsible renting to unruly groups," writes Steve McGuinness.

Dr. Brown: The Muon experiment was successful. Does it matter?

"Telescope design, whether for space or land-based, manufacture, launch and maintenance, to say nothing of the scientists and engineers involved, are all very expensive," writes Dr. William Brown.

Growing Together: Exploring the versatile world of ornamental grasses

"Grasses can be used as focal points in the garden. Many of the tall or dramatically coloured grasses can be used to draw the eye and anchor garden beds," writes Joanne Young.

Opinion: The importance of these streetscapes should not be overlooked

In a statement from the Niagara Foundation issued this week, it writes, "We recognize and value the Shaw Festival as a core cultural element and encourage it to be equally respectful of the heritage elements of this town, ensuring the Royal George 'fits' within our heritage district."

Arts review: Entire cast shines in Shaw presentation of ‘Gnit’

"Despite the absurdity of life and perhaps unreached dreams, our aspirations remain, and we can still find magic in the power of language and theatre," writes Penny-Lynn Cookson.

The Turner Report: Sorry, boss: Theatre design still sucks

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."

Arch-i-text: Where is the Parliament Oak hotel project’s engineering report?

"In the event this report has not been completed — which would be odd given that we’re eight months into 2025 — the question then becomes why would staff be proceeding with this application in the absence of any form of validation of the applicant’s claims?" writes Brian Marshall.

Letter: Council should be hiking, not advocating to lower, Parliament Oak hotel project’s fees

"Clearly, council shouldn’t have approved such a colossal commercial development on a property surrounded on four sides by single-family houses on quiet, narrow laneways," writes Wayne Murray.

Letter: Latest redlined official plan ‘slap in the face’ to Chautauqua

"Diluting this promise to a mere 'consideration' in the latest red-line version of the plan feels like a slap in the face," writes Robin Cardozo.

Letter: Lord mayor’s response to inquiries leaves us in limbo

"The lord mayor appears to be refusing to provide the information and has instructed the new CAO to merely prepare a summary of the historical correspondence and to 'close the loop,'" writes Gienek Ksiazkiewicz.

Letter: Let’s be civil when talking about public projects in town

"Robin is a respected festival director and tireless advocate whose efforts have made a meaningful cultural impact. Her support for the Shaw proposal stems from a sincere desire to see our town thrive," writes Kate Morris.

Letter: Chautauqua residents group gets ‘unfairly’ criticized by lord mayor

"The town asked for input on the revised official plan and as a respondent, the Chautauqua Residents Association (in my opinion) gets unfairly criticized," writes Brian Crow.

Letter: Make Chautauqua a gated community

"Clearly, the overwhelming majority of our town residents would agree, Chautauqua is indeed unique within our community," writes Samuel Young.

The Turner Report: The little town that wouldn’t

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.”

Editorial: Time to embrace change at the Royal George

"A major institution is doing things the right way — listening, adjusting, communicating and making real efforts to include the public in the process. That’s not lip service. That’s leadership," writes editor-in-chief Richard Harley.

Arts review: Masterful ‘Dear Liar’ is one not to be missed

"This is not a static read but a lived experience of minds and bodies in motion both intellectually and physically," writes Penny-Lynn Cookson.

Arch-i-text: The importance of heritage conservation district — analyzing our neighbours, St. Catharines

in many jurisdictions, the sheer volume of important heritage assets which potentially stood to be lost was such that only a small fraction could be protected via Part IV designation.

Growing Together: Harvesting sun-kissed and homegrown tomatoes

"Harvesting tomatoes at the right time and in the right way ensures the best flavour and extends the productivity of your plants," writes Joanne Young.

Creating the new Royal George together

"The next round of renderings will offer a fuller picture — complete with streetscapes, gardens, and trees — so you can better visualize the theatre as part of the community fabric," write Tim Jennings and Tim Carroll.

Ross’s Ramblings: An accessiblity challenge for our sweet little town

"I sincerely hope this Ross’s Ramblings will help the StopGap ramp initiative gain traction. It would simply be the right move — and would feel so good," writes Ross Robinson.

Letter: Gus the Wonder Dog and his coyote encounter

"My garden is well fenced, so the mystery is how the coyote got in and how he left. And the lingering fear was, would he be back?" writes Nancy Smith.

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