"Although this level of government has the greatest impact on citizens’ daily lives, it is weak, ineffectual, rudderless and dominated by special interests," writes Garth Turner.
Over the last five centuries, says Frank Lloyd Wright, what humanity has called architecture has been "phony": "It was not innate, it wasn’t organic and it didn’t have the character of nature.”
More than 40 years after the debut of this British farce on the Shaw Festival stage, "One for the Pot" returns with excellent performances that contain the elements needed to make this for-the-masses comedy a laugh riot, writes Penny-Lynn Cookson.
"As a pretentious British boss of mine said many years ago ... 'I have found that around the world, one can get on with two languages: English, and loud English,'" writes Ross Robinson.
"I provided you with an opportunity to do the right thing, which you have obviously declined to do. Please be advised that I intend to pursue this in the appropriate forum(s)," writes Derek Collins.
"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.
"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.
"There is a lot of hypocrisy especially in the Old Town district of NOTL that is allowed to flourish in favour of NIMBY attitudes that kind of spoils the mood for others," writes Peter Rusin.
"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.
"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."
"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.
"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 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.
"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.
"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.
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.
"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.
"Our volunteers offer companionship, compassionate listening and emotional support for a caregiver’s loved one — and regular respite from caregiving duties," writes Bonnie Bagnulo.
'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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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 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.
