 By Staff
May 22, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It was a vicious break into the home of two elderly residents on April 25th 2018 shortly after 10:30 PM, at a home on Bonnieview Avenue in Burlington (Aldershot).
The suspects, one armed with a handgun and an aerosol weapon believed to be bear spray or pepper spray, confronted two elderly homeowners and demanded their bank cards and pins numbers.
The suspects then forced the homeowners into a bathroom before rummaging through the home in search of valuables.
Members of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau have identified one of two suspects responsible for this home invasion robbery.
 On May 5th 2018, police arrested Thomas Allan EDGAR (41-yrs) of Hamilton and charged him with the following offences:
• Robbery
• Wearing a disguise with intent to commit robbery
• Pointing a firearm (two counts)
• Administering a noxious substance (two counts)
• Assault with a weapon (two counts)
• Forcible Confinement (two counts)
• Fraud under $5000 (nine counts)
• Fraudulent use of credit card (nine counts)
• Fail to comply with probation
EDGAR was held for bail and subsequently remanded into custody. He will appear next by video on May 24th 2018.
Investigators are still seeking the identify of the second suspect described as a white male, thin build, approximately 5’9″ tall, clean shaven, wearing a black hoody, trapper hat with fur ear flaps, black jeans and dark glasses with metal frames.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Phil Vandenbeukel of the Burlington Criminal Investigations – Robbery Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2343.
Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See Something? Hear Something? Know Something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca .
People charged with a criminal offense are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
 By Staff
May 22, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington’s Interactive Maps and Open Data services not available on May 31 and June 1, 2018
The city is upgrading its mapping and open data technology. Please note that to be able to do the upgrade, interactive maps and open data will not be available on Thursday, May 31 and Friday, June 1.
These services will be available again on Saturday, June 2.
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By Staff
May 22, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
On Thursday May 17th 2918 at approximately 12:05 AM an attempted break and enter occurred to an apartment in downtown Burlington.
 The residents were home at the time and scared off the suspect who had not yet made entry. The suspect was located on video prior to the offence and police are seeking assistance from the public to identify him.
The suspect is described as a white male, average height, average build with a trimmed beard, dark hair, long sleeved blue shirt, dark pants and work boots.
 Anyone with information that would assist in identifying this suspect is asked to contact D/Cst. Mark Urie of the Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4747 ext. 2338.
Tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers “See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers” at 1-800-222- 477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca
 By Staff
May 22, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Margaret Lindsay Holton got a notice. She has been named as an ‘Alumni of Influence’ Award by the University of Toronto
Super nice was the way Holton described the nomination that was made anonymously.
 Alumni of Influence – Margaret Lindsay Holton Ceremony is in November. Holton said that “So often artists work away (because we MUST) with little thought of recognition or even sales. When it all comes together – when others recognize the effort, large and small – it’s an unexpected THRILL!
She adds that the anonymity is heart-warming: it will pleasantly plague me for the rest of my life!
Well deserved.
 By Staff
May 22, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Online Parking Services Unavailable – May 23, 2018, 6 to 9 p.m. while the city does maintenance on the parking database
 Sign said zero spaces available – incorrect. While changes are being made the following online services will not be available:
• Parking Ticket payments
• Parking Permit Renewal
• Parking Exemptions
Hopefully something will be done with the way the number of available parking spaces are displayed – sign said zero as slid into an empty space.
On the plus side the city has introduced a new pay-for-parking app called HonkMobile
Improvements have been made to the pay-by-plate parking machines in downtown Burlington to simplify the payment process and improve the user parking experience. Not sure how putting money into a parking meter is defined as an experience. The new occupancy sensor technology to show real-time information about available parking spaces in city-owned parking lots is in need of some fine tuning.
 By Staff
May 22nd, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It is a service that has been around for a long time. Its Mission Statement is to enrich the quality of life and to promote full and meaningful inclusion in our community of individuals who have a developmental disability.
Their annual Walk’n Roll takes place on Saturday – this will be the 38th time the event has taken place.
 It will be a walk around the Pier. Registration opens at 9:30; 11:00am Official start of 1KM & 2KM routes begin at 11:00 and lunch for all the participants at noon.
 It’s a fund raising event with a gal of $40,000
Slip over to the web site and sign up.
https://www.clburlington.ca
You Email friends with your page link, share your page on social media to spread the word!
The walks are around Burlington Pier
 By Staff
May 22, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Peel Region and the City of Hamilton have joined more than 50 municipalities across Ontario that have passed motions calling on the provincial government to give municipalities the right to approve new landfill sites. The campaign is being led by the Town of Ingersoll, Town Council, and concerned residents such as Ontario People Against Landfill (OPAL). Ingersoll mayor, Ted Comiskey, has been presenting to municipal councils across Ontario.
Burlington is not one of the 50 municipalities that has joined in the effort to give municipalities the right to have a say on whether or not a landfill site can be created in the city. Given the battle the city had with the Air Park and the dumping of soil that had not been properly assessed before it was dumped on the Air Park property, one would expect Burlington to be on the list of those who wanted the provincial legislation passed.
 Municipalities want to be at the table when private operators create new landfill sites. In addition to the 2.5 million people represented by the municipalities that are on the list, 100,000 individuals have signed a petition calling on the government to give municipalities a say in where landfills are sited. More than a dozen more motions are in the approval process.
“Municipal leaders are beginning to see that Ontario’s highways have become Toronto’s garbage chute, and municipalities have no say in where 6.7 million tonnes of garbage a year from its office and commercial buildings are going to land,” said Comiskey.
“No town wants to be in the position that Ingersoll and Zorra are currently in,” Comiskey said. “Right now, we have almost no say in whether or not a private company can locate a new dump in our neighbourhoods.”
In April, PC MPP Ernie Hardeman introduced a private member’s bill to create new legislation that would require municipal approval for any new landfill sites in the province as part of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Changes (MOECC) environmental approval process. The bill passed Second Reading unanimously, just before the legislature rose for the coming election on June 7.
Comiskey said, “It was wonderful that Ernie Hardeman took the battle to the floor of the legislature. It’s great to see support from all three parties on this issue. But we need to keep the pressure on to make sure that whatever party forms the next government, it makes this legislation a priority. This affects not just us in Oxford County, but every municipality across our province.”
 Municipal leaders are beginning to see that Ontario’s highways have become Toronto’s garbage chute, and municipalities have no say in where 6.7 million tonnes of garbage a year is going to land. Nearly 8 out of 10 Ontarians feel municipalities should have a say in whether they host landfills, contrary to current legislation, according to a poll by Public Square Research. The poll also found that 27% of Ontarians would accept waste from other towns or cities.
Comiskey said, “We are fighting for the right of municipalities to determine if they want to host a landfill in their communities, or not. We need a level playing field with private waste companies so that the needs of residents are heard and respected. It is 2018, and it’s the right thing for the provincial government to do.”
 By Pepper Parr
May 21st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington’s Official Plan is now in the hands of Regional Council.
And just what does that mean?
 The approved Official Plan is now in the hands of the Region. Was the paperwork needed to get the document to the Region done properly? The Official Plan has become a municipal election issue with some thinking that the election of a significantly different city council means they can have the Region send the Plan back to the city where it will get debated and hopefully changed.
Not likely.
Many don’t understand just how the process of getting the Official Plan passed works. Greg Woodruff, an Aldershot resident who ran for the Office of Chair of the Region in 2014, wrote the man that won hat job asking for an explanation as to just how the passing of the new Official Plan to make it the law of the city gets done. Chair Carr passed Woodruff’s request along to Art Zuidema, the commissioner for Legislative & Planning Services at the Region.
Commissioners are the senior level of Management at the Region
Here is his description of the Official plan procedure Woodruff got from the Region:
The public consultation for the Burlington Official Plan; including special meetings of council, statutory public meetings and open houses must occur prior to Burlington Council’s adoption of their Plan. The City of Burlington is required to submit to the Region affidavits or sworn declarations that state that the procedural requirements of the Planning Act have been met in passing their Official Plan.
If you have concerns about the adequacy of the process followed, these should be directed the Clerk for the City of Burlington.
The Region is the approval authority for the Burlington Official Plan. The Plan will be reviewed to ensure that it complies with the Provincial Policy Statement, the Provincial Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Provincial Greenbelt Plan, the Regional Official Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan.
The Region received the adopted Burlington Official Plan for review on May 11th. The Region has 210 calendar days to review and make a decision regarding the Burlington Official Plan and can, if necessary to complete the review, extend that time-frame for an additional 90 days.
The Region’s Chief Planning Official has delegated authority from Regional Council to approve local Official Plans that conform with Provincial and Regional policies. If the Plan does not conform, and the City of Burlington does not approve the required changes, then Regional Council will make the final decision on the Burlington Official Plan.
 Regional Council meet at the offices in Oakville. Once a decision is made regarding the Official Plan, notice will be provided to each person that has made a written request to be notified of the decision. Once the Region’s decision has been made, anyone who before the plan was adopted made oral submissions at a public meeting or written submissions to the council, may appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). The appeal must be based on inconsistencies with the Provincial Policy Statements, Provincial Plans or the Regional Official Plan.
If you wish to be notified of the Burlington Official Plan decision you can register with Curt Benson, Chief Planning Official for the Region, who has been copied with this message.
Woodruff then said that “it appears the 210 day time frame is live and the LPAT objections are limited to “provincial policy statement compliance”.
 What this means in effect” said Woodruff, “is that the existing regional council can pass the Burlington OP at the regional level in November under the normal time line.” He adds: “I’m sure this 210 day process and the May 11th OP pass date are no coincidence. I can see no realistic process for stopping the New OP at the regional level. It can be passed in November by the existing council. At that time even if a new council made a new official plan on day one (clearly impossible) the new OP would still be live for many months.
Tom Muir, another Aldershot resident, suggests there “was a sticking point about the legality of the public process that came up.
Muir wants to know “who provided the affidavits and/or sworn declarations that the issues around the special council meeting at the end clearly met the Planning Act requirements for public notice of the meeting and opportunity for public delegation?”
“As I recall, we were only told the procedural by-law saying the powers and procedures to call a special meeting of council, not if this one was done “adequately”. No explanation of that was issued as I recall.”
Did the Clerk make a public sworn declaration or affidavit that the public notification of the special council meeting was adequate in terms of timing because there were so many slips that the special meeting as originally notified of, did not happen at the notified time, and there was, in my experience, no adequate public notice of when the meeting would actually be held to take the adoption vote so the public could register to delegate at Council, said Muir.
Muir points out that the public was told there wold be a special council meeting “following the P&D meeting”, but P&D meeting kept being extended – so much so that no one ever knew when it was going to end.
Muir isn’t at all sure that the City Clerk could sign an affidavit saying the special council meeting was properly held and that due notice was given the public according to Planning Act rules and council procedural practices.
 Muir wants the City Clerk to be held accountable and to explain just how she got the approved Official Plan out of city hall and into the offices of the Regional government. Muir wants the Clerk to be required to provide a detailed explanation as to how this actual process was “adequate” and sufficient to justify a sworn declaration or affidavit. He appears to be looking for that elusive thing called accountability that is said to exist at city hall.
Muir “thinks Council and staff just went with the momentum and wanted to vote and that overcame paying attention to whether they were adequately fulfilling Planning Act rules and their own procedural by-laws.”
There are some very valid concerns as to whether or not the city followed both the letter and the spirit of the process of approving the draft of the Official Plan before they sent it along to the Region.
 By Staff
May 21st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The City is holding its annual Touch-a-Truck event on Saturday, May 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the city’s Roads, Parks and Forestry facility at 3330 Harvester Rd.
 If the weather is good taking the kids out o see the equipment is a fun and inexpensive way to spend a day. The event gives residents and their families an opportunity to:
• Get an up-close look at city vehicles, including a street sweeper, snow plow and fire trucks
• Take a tour around the neighbourhood in a city bus
• Experience what it’s like to operate a backhoe in a simulator
• Visit the forestry booth to speak with staff on what’s invading our trees.
The equipment is used to maintain 121 city parks, 134 recreational fields, and 109 playgrounds as well as maintaining 69 bridges, 117 culvert structures, 600 kilometres of mainline storm sewers as well as catch basins and creeks
 A photo op for the kids – part of the annual Touch a Truck event. Managing operations include, the design and inspection of road reconstruction, inspecting and maintaining city-owned trees, maintaining and repairing the city’s fleet of vehicles, the operation of Burlington Transit and animal control services through the Burlington Animal Shelter.
The event is part of National Public Works Week, dedicated to public works employees who maintain the roads, parks, trees and benefit from one of the richest pension and benefit plans in the country.
 By Pepper Parr
May 21st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Few more names now on the list of those nominated. A new one in ward 1 for a total of three in that ward now.
There are now five candidates in ward 2, 3 in ward 3, 2 in ward 4, 2 in ward 5 and 3 in ward six.
There is at least one more candidate thinking about running in ward 4 or maybe ward 5; lives on the border between the two wards.
Nominations close July 27th. Last day for a candidate to file or withdraw a nomination is Friday, July 27, 2018, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Any really serious candidates will want to be on the ballot immediately after the provincial election which takes place June 7th.
While candidates in wards 2 and 3 are out on the streets every day – the reality is that the provincial election, a pivotal one for the province, is taking up all the oxygen.
The Gazette will begin reporting on the municipal race in more depth after the next provincial government is determined.
Mayor
Rick Goldring
524 Wicklow Rd., Burlington, L7L 2H8
905-320-3656
Marianne Meed Ward
497 Martha St., Burlington, ON, L7R 2R1
905-335-1899
mariannemeedward.ca
marianne4mayor@gmail.com
Mike Wallace
268 Tuck Dr., Burlington, ON, L7L 2R1
Home phone: 905-639-0185
Fax: 905-634-9822
mikewallaceformayor@gmail.com
www.mikewallaceformayor.ca
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 1
Jason Boelhouwer
163 Old Orchard Rd., Burlington, ON, L7T 2G2
905-979-7833
jason_boelhouwer@yahoo.ca
Marty Staz
773 Miriam Cres. Burlington, ON, L7T 1C7
289-983-7681
mstaz17@outlook.com
René Papin
905-541-7404
rehp1985@gmail.com
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 2
Kimberly Calderbank
905-719-6989
kimberly.solutions
David Cherry
1312 Hammond St., Burlington, ON, L7S 2C2
289-795-9203
Michael Jones
477 Holtby Ave., Burlington, ON, L7R 2R4
905-609-4305
jonesourward2@gmail.com
www.jonesward2.ca
Lisa Kearns
416-414-5335
kearns_lisa@hotmail.com
lisakearns.ca
Roland Tanner
357 Delaware Ave. Burlington, ON, L7R 3B4
289-259-4023
roland@rolandtanner.ca
https://rolandtanner.ca
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 3
Lisa Cooper
1299 Princeton Cres.
Home phone: 905-331-8469
Mobile phone: 289-259-9880
Fax: 905-331-8469
lisacooper1299@gmail.com
Rory Nisan
905-464-7195
info@rorynisan.ca
rorynisan.ca
Gareth Williams
289-635-8994
gareth@garethward3.ca
https://garethward3.ca
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 4
Jack Dennison
3087 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, ON, L7N 1A3
905-634-7102
Shawna Stolte
shawnastolte@gmail.com
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 5
Paul Sharman
5070 Spruce Ave., Burlington, ON, L7L 1M8
289-337-2297
paul@paulsharman.ca
Xin Yi Zhang
electxyz@gmail.com
Councillor / Regional Councillor Ward 6
Angelo Bentivegna
905-973-6923
Angelo.Bentivegna@gmail.com
www.AngeloBentivegnaWard6.ca
Blair Lancaster
3210 Hazelwood Ave., Burlington, ON, L7M 2V4
905-335-7068
blair@blairlancaster.ca
www.blairlancaster.ca
Ken White
905-220-4707
ken@kenwhiteward6.ca
www.kenwhiteward6.ca
Regional Chair
(nominations are filed with the Region of Halton)
Gary Carr
chaircarr@gmail.com
www.garycarr.ca
Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 1 & 2
Leah Reynolds
356 Newbold Dr., Burlington
905-516-0181
leahreynolds356@gmail.com
Halton District School Board Trustee – Wards 3 & 6
Andrea Grebenc
905-901-2235
contact@trustandrea.com
www.trustandrea.com
Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 4
Richelle Papin
3134 Terraview Ct., Burilngton, L7M 1E9
905-331-7608
Margo Shuttleworth
289-812-0629
shuttleworth.m.a@gmail.com
https://margoward4.wixsite.com/margoshuttleworth
Halton District School Board Trustee – Ward 5
Amy Collard
reelectamycollard@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/reelectamycollard
Halton Catholic District School Board Trustee
Arlene Iantomasi
772 Old York Rd., Burlington, ON, L7P 4X9
905-516-2691
arlo60@sympatico.ca
Maria Lourenco
905-808-5910
Lourenco4trustee@outlook.com
Conseil scolaire Viamonde
(nominations are filed with the City of Hamilton)
Pierre Girouard
905-808-3377
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir
(nominations are filed with the Town of Oakville)
By Pepper Parr
May 21st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Leah Reynolds looked at the number of people running for the city council seat in ward 2 and decided that if she wanted to hold public office it was safer to run again as a school board trustee.
 Meed Ward and Reynolds – 2014 election night Reynolds was seen by any as the heir apparent to Marianne Meed Ward who is giving up the seat n her run for the Office of Mayor.
In her media release said she is running as the trustee again because “there is much to do”.
She also said that “As a member of the board of trustees, I supported Burlington high school amalgamations to improve the future of education for all Burlington students. These amalgamations were necessary in creating equitable access to the best and most appropriate learning environments for the individual needs of Burlington high school students. Our children’s futures are heavily influenced by what they are exposed to in school. I believe that having a variety of course selections, including skilled trades, in every high school is a paramount step in exposing students to as many career pathways as possible.”
Reynolds is the first trustee who has used the word “amalgamation” to describe the closing of two of the city’s seven high schools.
 Leah Reynolds with students during a public PAR meeting. “I am running” said Reynolds “to ensure that the changes and transitions for special education students, including the creation of two comprehensive schools (MM Robinson HS and Nelson HS), deliver on the expectations set out by the Director of Education and community.
The Board of Education plans for the implementation of the new I-STEM program at Aldershot high school and the International Baccalaureate program that was moved from Bateman to Central High School are initiatives that Reynolds wants to be around to ensure that both receive the resources they need.
Reynolds refers to her more than 20 year involvement with public schools as a passionate community member and mother.
You can learn more about Reynolds in her newsletter at: https://madmimi.com/p/25cc3c
 By Ray Rivers
May 21st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Mr. Ford says he’ll cut the gas taxes at the pump by 5.7 cents? And perhaps the oil companies will reduce the price of gas after he kills the cap-and-trade carbon program, maybe giving him the ten cents he’s promising to deliver. That may sound pretty good but I already get three cents off just for using my credit card at Petro-Canada stations. And then there’s another 5-10 cents off when I use my Petro-Points.
 It’s just the old shell game, playing pennies, taking from transit and giving to the auto crowd, robbing the mayors to pay the Premier. And big deal, I saved all of $1.47 on my last fill up. Oh, and to fund this promise Mr. Ford will be cutting the gas tax transfers the province gives municipalities for public transit – some billion dollars or so – meaning it’ll cost you more for that next bus ride. It’s just the old shell game, playing pennies, taking from transit and giving to the auto crowd, robbing the mayors to pay the Premier.
But it’s the climate change stupid! National geographic has reported that the last two decades have been the hottest in over 400 years. The earth has had the warmest consecutive 400 months of record high temperatures. And the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere is higher than it has been for almost a million years.
Don’t believe the statistics? Look at the melting polar ice caps and glaciers, the world’s declining coral reefs, the rate at which desertification is happening and the rate at which species are becoming extinct, including the polar bear, sooner than later. Look at the weird winter we just had and the near hurricane strength freak windstorm a couple weeks ago, which took several lives and kept parts of Burlington in the dark for over three days.
 Evidence based decision making – what does one do if they don’t like the evidence. Higher gasoline prices are economic disincentives – they encourage people to shift to less polluting transportation, like hybrid cars, electric vehicles (EV) and public transportation and to reduce their carbon emissions. And incentives are needed beyond the pump. Ontario’s cap-and-trade system forces all large emitters to reduce their emissions to become more competitive.
Subsidies and rebates on home insulation and efficient windows help reduce energy use and save the consumer money as well as reducing greenhouse gases. And the development of renewable electricity is critical to replace coal and other fossil fuels as Ontario has done in shutting down the largest point source of carbon emissions in Canada.
The value/cost of Mr. Ford’s election promises dwarf those of the other two main parties. Yet, Mr. Ford has been the strongest critic of the current government for not balancing its budget sooner and reducing Ontario’s public debt. Indeed, there are a number of good reasons to knock down the size of our fiscal debt. But most folks end up arguing that it is about fairness. “How moral is it to bequeath the next generation a whacking big financial bill?”
 Our youth are not marching about, nor protesting, Ontario’s relatively high debt levels. Young people can and do speak for themselves when it matters. When I was young we marched for civil rights and against the Vietnam war and nuclear weapons. After the last recession (2008) our youth led the protests over financial power and misuse of that power by Wall and Bay streets. More recently high school students have marched across the USA to protest the obscene number of school shootings. In the UK those who were too young to vote against Brexit feel cheated by the outcome and are demanding a new referendum.
But our youth are not marching about, nor protesting, Ontario’s relatively high debt levels. Perhaps they understand that incurring debt after the last recession was the price we had to pay for Ontario to get back on its feet, achieving the lowest unemployment in nearly two decades and the strongest economic growth in the G7.
Perhaps they appreciate that debt helped finance the free tuition, youth pharmacare, and extra costs for early education which will better prepare Ontario’s youth for the future. And they no doubt can grasp that much of this debt has gone towards investing in transportation and other capital infrastructure which they will also inherit.
Perhaps they understand that the debt is only money after all – and if we really wanted to, we could eventually pay it down much as we did the large stranded $40 billion Ontario Hydro debt. And perhaps they understand that we could have paid off those annual deficits except for the recurring chant of ‘more tax cuts’ by those best positioned to pay them.
Indeed If we asked them, our youth would likely hone in on what they are most concerned about – their most important inheritance – the state of health of the planet we live on. Even though the climate experts can’t predict the fate of the planet with absolute certainty they are warning about higher ocean levels, loss of species, more severe storms, droughts and flooding as strong possibilities. And the list of potential benefits is extremely short.
 Whatever we do today – it will be in their hand tomorrow. And so it is unsurprising that youth would be more concerned about this starship earth, rather than balancing the budget and eliminating the debt. Does it really matter how high the fiscal debt goes once we’ve destroyed our way of life here? For this reason, youth tend to dominate the membership of political entities, like the Green Party, which are unequivocal in their demands to protect the environment and mitigate climate changes as best we can.
One provincial MPP recently proposed that we lower the voting age to 16. After all, those 16 year olds have more at stake, come election time, than any 50 or 60 year old. It’s just mathematics – they will be around longer and policies like those affecting the environment, education and even the fiscal debt will affect them more than it will the elderly. And they are unlikely to be bribed, nor to sell their vote to Mr. Ford for the couple of lousy bucks he’s offering them at the gas pumps.
 Ray Rivers writes regularly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was once a candidate for provincial office in Burlington. He was the founder of the Burlington citizen committee on sustainability at a time when climate warming was a hotly debated subject. Tweet @rayzrivers
Background links:
Ten Cents Maybe – Ontario Gas Tax – Highest Carbon –
Highest Warming – Monthly Warming – 16 Year Old Voting –
Green Party –
By Staff
May 18th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Mall, currently undergoing a $60 million upgrade, hosted a sneak peak of the 2018 sound of Music as part of the 50th anniversary of the mall.
 Stefanie Ledroit on the keybaard The year long celebration, which started last night featured Small Town Justice in a pop-up concert held in partnership with the Sound of Music Festival. The Hamilton-band played three sets for a crowd of mall shoppers and will be part of the 2018 Sound of Music Festival that kicks off on Father’s Day June 7th.
 Small Town Justice at the Burlington Mall Many have been looking forward to the day when some of the SoM performances might take place away from the downtown core. With the planned development of high rise towers in the core of the city different locations might be very welcome.
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, owners and operators of the Burlington Mall, are focusing the re-development on the attraction of space for major retailers and national restaurant chains. New additions to the mall include local grocery store, Denninger’s, and Indigo which both opened this spring. Other openings will take place throughout the summer and into the fall.
Heide McGaw, General Manager of the Burlington Mall said “the Mall property has held a special place in the community for 50 years. With the first phase of renovations complete and some exciting new retailers in the fold, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate the changes that have taken place, as we gear up for a grand opening in the fall,” said Heidi McGaw, General Manager, Burlington Mall.
“The Sound of Music Festival is one of those quintessentially Burlington institutions and we are proud to be partnering with them this year on several initiatives,” adds McGaw.
By Staff
May 18th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation is closing the ramp to QEW Fort Erie bound from Northshore Boulevard beginning Tuesday, May 22 at 7 a.m.
 It will remain closed until 5 p.m. on Monday, July 16, 2018.
There will be No access to QEW Fort Erie bound from Northshore Boulevard.
Please plan alternate routes for the duration of the closure. You can access the QEW Fort Erie bound from the Fairview Street on-ramp.
The closure is for construction.
 By Staff
May 18th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Conservation Halton staff is advising of strong shore-bound winds today and into tomorrow.
Sustained winds between 25 and 40 km/hr from the east/northeast with gusts of up to 50 km/hr are occurring across western Lake Ontario. Resulting wave heights up to 1.5 m are expected.
The Authority is asking all residents and children to keep a safe distance from locations in proximity to the shoreline. Elevated water levels, high sustained winds and gusts, and the potential for waves to overtop breakwalls and other shoreline structures continue to make these locations extremely dangerous. Please alert children in your care of these imminent dangers.
This Shoreline Warning will be in effect through Saturday May 19, 2018.
A Shoreline Hazard Warning is defined as a notice that critical high water levels and waves are imminent and/or occurring, which could result in shoreline flooding and/or erosion.
By Staff
May 18th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The Herd is going to recognize a guy who wore the number 19 on his baseball uniform.
He isn’t with us anymore.
 On Saturday, May 19th the Burlington Herb is going to give a portion of ticket sales to the Terry Fox Run – their way of honouring a great friend of the Burlington Herd, Casey Cosgrove.
Casey who lost his battle with lung cancer last summer was a major supporter of the Terry Fox Foundation who the Herd have chosen to benefit from this amazing event!
$1 from each ticket sold will go directly to the Terry Fox Foundation. The Herd will also hold a special silent auction with all proceeds to go to the foundation.
 By Staff
May 18th, 2019
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington Performing Arts Centre Executive Director Tammy Fox let theatre goers see what they can expect during the 2018/19 season.
This will be the Centre’s eighth year of operation.
Fox lauded the exceptional diversity the season has to offer the community “I’m incredibly proud of the collection of performances I have curated for our 18/19 Season. It’s our most diverse and inclusive season to date.” BPAC’s commitment to learn about other cultures while being wildly entertained will be on full display at the inaugural Cultural Diversity Festival, September 29-30. Included in a series of free and ticketed events will be Ali Hassan’s Muslim Interrupted, and a cast of new Canadians in Enana Dance Theatre’s Julia Domna.
 Hot Brown Honey BPAC welcomes the deaf community to experience the beauty of live music when Raine Hamilton presents her concert with live ASL interpretation and Ahuri Theatre’s This is the Point will challenge audiences to change their perception of people with disabilities. International Women’s Day will be celebrated with Evalyn Parry’s SPIN, a captivating play with music inspired by the bicycle’s role in women’s emancipation, and the smash-hit Hot Brown Honey – a tour-de-force celebration of woman fighting the power. “It’s the most high-energy, empowering evening you can imagine!” says Fox.
Canada’s most celebrated musicians take center stage for a line-up of incredible concerts including; The Jim Cuddy Band, Whiskey Jack presents The Stories & Songs of Stompin’ Tom, MAGIC!, Cowboy Junkies, Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Royal Wood, I Mother Earth & Finger 11, Gowan, Holly Cole, Jesse Cook and Moon vs Sun – a new venture with powerhouse couple Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida.
 One thing leads to another. Audiences will find continuity with past programming with the Family Series, Classical Matinees, Holiday programming and the ever-popular Classic Albums Live concerts. Families will be enthralled with Carousel Players’ Peter Pan, and the immensely popular One Thing Leads to Another, a play for babies. Michael Kim, Art of Time Ensemble, Gryphon Trio and Anagnoson & Kinton celebrate the majestic piano in BPAC’s The Art of The Piano Series. Enduring classics ring in the Holiday season with John McDermott, A Next Generation Leahy Christmas and The Nutcracker ballet from The State Ballet Theatre of Russia.
Contemporary and traditional dance is well represented with Dreamwalker Dance Co: Memory is the History of Forgetting with Andrea Nann and Andy Maize from The Skydiggers, Toronto’s acclaimed Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, Irish dance spectacular Murphy’s Celtic Legacy, Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba: Made in Cuba, and The State Ballet Theatre of Russia’s Sleeping Beauty.
New for this season are film screenings with live musical accompaniment. Alicia Svigals plays the klezmer violin to the silent film The Yellow Ticket and Antonio Sánchez drums up his Grammy-winning percussion score to the Academy Award Winning film BiRDMAN in BiRDMAN LiVE.
 How do I love thee. Fox is also introducing a play reading series with Canadian Rep Theatre and its Artistic Director Ken Gass. “It’s a fantastic way to bring Canadian Theatre to audiences who may be unfamiliar with the work. You get lost in the story and imagine the sets and costumes for yourself- it’s addictive!” Garage Sale and How Do I Love Thee will begin what will become a staple series at BPAC.
“It’s so important to not take ourselves too seriously!” Fox notes and comedy in different forms proves that. Thank You For Being a Friend – The Ultimate Golden Girls Experience is a hilarious live action puppet show featuring Miami’s most famous senior citizens. Bringing the house down with their famous improv comedy is the Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company and BPAC will get the best of The Toronto Sketch Fest featuring Gavin Crawford and Bruce McCulloch, and stand-up comedian Jeremy Hotz.
Rounding out the season are evening appointments with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, The Guess Who’s Carl Dixon, and famous showman Tony Danza with his song and dance act.
 BPAC has reintroduced its Member program for the 2018/2019 Season, sponsored by Lexus of Oakville, offering patrons discounts, access to the Discovery Ford Members ‘ Lounge and exclusive insider benefits.
Fox adds that “Our patrons have been essential to all we have accomplished so far, and to all that is still possible. I look forward – with great anticipation – to experiencing together our 2018/2019 Season and beyond.”
 By Staff
May 18th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
 There was nothing shabby about the game between the Barrie Baycats and the Burlington Herd.
The Baycats have owned the top spot in the league for years.
The Herd’s Santos Arias pitched seven innings and struck out two as the Barrie Baycats edged the Burlington Herd 2-1 Thursday night at Nelson Park.
Arias (1-0) scattered seven hits and didn’t walk a batter. He gave up an RBI single to Tyler Patzalek in the bottom of the first. Jaspreet Shergill tossed a perfect ninth with a strikeout for his first save.
Offensively, Kyle DeGrace and Jordan Castaldo drove in the Baycats runs. Ryan Spataro singled and scored twice and had two stolen bases.
 For Burlington, Patzalek also doubled in a two-hit game. Justin Gideon singled and scored a run.
Chris Boatto (0-1) took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.
Barrie improved to 3-0, and Burlington dropped to 0-3.
Hopefully the grit that was evident in the game will show up when the Herd goes up against other teams in the league.
Future games
Friday, May 18
Kitchener at London, 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, May 19
Hamilton at Burlington, 1:05 p.m.
Guelph at Barrie, 2 p.m.
Toronto at London, 6 p.m.
Sunday, May 20
Barrie at Brantford, 2 p.m.
Burlington at Toronto, 2 p.m.
Hamilton at Kitchener, 2 p.m.
By Staff
May 18th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
The Port Nelson United Church choir will present its spring concert on Sunday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m.
The concert, entitled Healey Willan Remembered, features stories and performances by the Port Nelson United Church Choir under the direction of Stillman Matheson.
Willan, who lived from 1880 to 1968, was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He wrote more than 800 works, and is best known for his sacred choral and organ compositions.
 Choir of Port Nelson United Church “Our spring concert gives us an opportunity to highlight the talents of our choir, which rehearses weekly throughout the year, as well as our special guest musicians,” said Matheson, director of music at Port Nelson United Church. “Healey Willan’s exceptional compositions with their rich harmonic palettes and soaring melodies are sure to please our concert audience.”
Musical guests include organist Andrew Adair and the Brassdale Quartet.
Adair studied at the University of Toronto with university organist John Tuttle. He is the director of music at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto, where Willan was organist and choirmaster for 47 years. Adair is a regular performer appearing on the recital programs of many Toronto area churches.
The Brassdale Quartet is an accomplished brass ensemble based in Toronto.
Admission is by a free will offering. All proceeds benefit the ministry of music at Port Nelson United Church.
Port Nelson United Church is located at 3132 South Dr. in Burlington in the heart of the Roseland community.
By Pepper Parr
May 17th, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
Terri Blackwell, a Superintendent with the Halton District School Board, gave a report last night on the progress of the creation of a new kind of high school that will be made operational within the existing Aldershot High School in September of 2019.
She has a tight schedule to work within and, as she out t in her presentation to the trustees last night, “we don’t know where we are going to land yet”.
 Superintendents Blackwell and Truffen Blackwell and her team, which includes Superintendents Truffen and Hunt Gibbons, are in the process of figuring out “what the learning will look like”. “What will there be in the way of specialty classes” How will the classroom space be configured?
The Board learned that $1.475 million has been allocated for renovations to some of the space at Aldershot high school.
The program Blackwell and her team are creating is being called iStem – Innovation – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics that will be focused on a problem solving approach to learning.
In a really instructive video that Blackwell and her team use to make their point they argue that there haven’t been many changes in the way education is delivered.
 Julie Hunt Gibbons making a point during the Mercedez Benz workshop. The Board has decided they want to create a curriculum and a location that will be a first step in changing the way high school educations will be delivered.
The idea was a sort of last minute thought that came out of the difficult, painful process of deciding to close two of the city’s seven high schools.
Blackwell reported that there are already teachers asking to be part of the process.
 The objective is clear – now the path has to be chosen. A full day workshop with more than 70 people was held at the Mercedes Benz dealership on the North Service Road where the classic cars were on display. The setting was apt.
With the concept approved, the needed funding in place the hard part begins – making sure they get it right the first time.
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