"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.
"Let’s stay focused on amalgamation of one kind or another folks, and maybe go to the public (not private) library and read some intriguing books once in a while," writes Peter Rusin.
"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.
"Amalgamation, I believe, is a component of a broader provincial economic strategic plan that recognizes the Niagara region and the provincial government are underutilizing the revenue generating capacity of Niagara Region," writes Gienek Ksiazkiewicz.
"As we fast approach the municipal election cycle, expect our elected officials to dust off their tired, old, scripted and repetitive stump speeches. Political puffery on steroids," writes Samuel A. Young.
"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.
