 By Staff
March 23, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
2016 is all about mobile web and short ‘bite-sized’ communications. Our desktop messaging has shifted to our smartphones and tablets, and spelling and grammar have been slashed in favor of thumb-typing speed. All the while, we still need to pack meaningful information, courtesy and etiquette into our messaging.
 I’ll call this one – you call that one. Hundreds of bizarre texting jargon expressions have spawned as a result. Primarily about shorthand and the removal of capitalization and punctuation, the new jargon is all about speed and brevity.
It saves us keystrokes to say ty (thank you) and yw (you’re welcome).
Capitalization and punctuation are optional. Yes, English teachers cringe at this new and loose language of messaging. In text messaging, lowercase is the norm for speed. For desktop email and IM, UPPERCASE is acceptable for emphasizing one or two words a time. AVOID TYPING ENTIRE SENTENCES IN UPPERCASE – IT’ CONSIDERED RUDE SHOUTING.
Some of the more used shorthand –
WBU – What About You?
IDC – I Don’t Care
W/E – Whatever
Also: wuteva – Whatever
PROPS – Proper Respect and Acknowledgement
NP = No Problem
NVM – Never Mind
IDK – I Don’t Know
TYVM – Thank You Very Much
WTF – What the F*ck?
LOL – Laughing Out Loud
BISLY – But I Still Love You
BBIAB – Be Back in a Bit
If you want to add to the list – add a comment.
 By Staff
March 23, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Hamilton Herald Newspaper and cigar store owner “Billy” Carroll, originated and sponsored the first “Around the Bay Road Race”, run on Christmas Day, 1894. It is now the oldest road race in North America, older than the Boston Marathon which was born three years after the Around the Bay Road Race. The race tested the abilities of the finest long distance runners, but was also an avenue to lay down some bets.
The Around the Bay Road Race established Hamilton as a running mecca for long distance runners, and it was not uncommon for thousands of spectators to line the route to watch their local favourites start the race from the front of the Herald Newspaper Offices at 17 King Street West Hamilton.
 Older than the Boston marathon. The 122nd Around the Bay Road Race on Sunday, April 3, 2016, will result in road and lane closures in Burlington from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Streets will reopen as the last participant passes. Vehicles parked illegally in the event area will be tagged or towed to allow emergency access.
Road Closures – 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• QEW Toronto-bound exit ramp to North Shore Boulevard East. Detour via Fairview Street.
• North Shore Boulevard East Niagara-bound entry ramp to the QEW. Detour via Fairview Street.
• Plains Road West at York Boulevard. Detour via Hwy. 6 and 403.
Traffic Lane Closures – 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Southbound lane of King Road from Plains Road East to North Shore Boulevard East – local access only. Northbound traffic not affected.
• Eastbound lane of North Shore Boulevard East and North Shore Boulevard West from Plains Road West to the QEW exit ramp west of Joseph Brant Hospital. Westbound lane open to westbound traffic only.
• Eastbound curb lane of Plains Road West from York Boulevard to North Shore Boulevard West. Two-way traffic maintained.
Bus route detours in effect
Routes 1 and 5. The HSR, Route 11 Parkdale bus will detour via the QEW and Maple Avenue to the John Street Terminal. For more information call 905-639-0550 or visit www.burlingtontransit.ca
 By Staff
March 22, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton District School Board will be holding its 27th annual Halton Skills Competition which will be hosted by Robert Bateman High School, 5151 New Street in Burlington.
The competition will take place from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., with the results revealed and celebrated at the medals presentation starting at 5:30 p.m. on April 5th
Approximately 1,200 elementary and secondary students from across the Halton boards will compete in a wide range of skills in more than 40 competitions. Teams of elementary students in Grades 4-8 will take part in activities like the technology challenge, green energy challenge, distance challenge, Lego robotics, and TV/video production competitions. New to this year’s competition will be a demonstration of the learning students are experiencing as teachers integrate robotics into the curriculum.
 Robotics students at Central High prepare for their comptitions. Secondary school students will compete in numerous events including architectural CADD, auto collision repair, auto service technology, auto painting, baking, cabinet making, character animation, culinary arts, desktop publishing, digital photography, distance car challenge, electrical installations, electronics, fashion design, floristry, graphic design, hairstyling, health care, home building, team and individual carpentry, home building, horticulture and landscape, landscape design, mechanical computer-assisted design, precision machining, refrigeration, robotics and control systems, website development, welding, small power equipment and TV/Video production.
A Career Showcase will take place during the day with representatives from the community, business, industry and education sectors.
“The Halton Skills Competition is a fabulous way to showcase the amazing talents of our students as they engage in friendly competition at a very high level,” said Julie Hunt Gibbons, Superintendent of Education for the Halton District School Board. “There is a huge need for skilled trades in our country, and it is very encouraging to see the both the interest and incredible skill levels acquired by our students during their time with us.”
 Students successful in the competition will go forward to represent the Halton District School Board at the Ontario Skills Competition in Waterloo from May 2-4, and then onto the Skills Canada National Competition in Moncton from June 5-8.
By Pepper Parr
March 22nd, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) created a 10 year Economic Vision that is a foundational part of the strategic plan the city approved at the standing committee level last night.
The economic visions acts as both a standalone economic strategy which outlines in detail the vision for Burlington’s economy and will also be fully integrated into the City of Burlington 2015 Strategic Plan.
 From the left: JCBourne and Norm McDonald of consultants KPMG, Frank McKeown, BEDC Executive Director, Councillor Paul Sharman, Andrea smith, Official Plan review manager and Councillor Blair Lancaster at a strategic Plan review meeting. Burlington Vision 2025 will allow the business community to better understand the economic situation in Burlington and its position in the changing global economy, create a clear direction for economic growth in Burlington, help to address the economic pressures and trends in the region and act as the roadmap to economic prosperity in Burlington. The result will be a focused economic strategy that illustrates our short and long term objectives and identifies the strategies that will allow us to achieve them.
The development of Vision 2025 was founded on two core principles:
Understanding our current situation through data analysis and
Engaging stakeholders to create a common vision that can be achieved in partnership.
An extensive baseline analysis and stakeholder engagement process was undertaken to support these objectives which engaged over 300 stakeholders through a combination of interviews, surveys and workshops. This process was overseen by the Economic Vision Advisory Committee composed of 19 stakeholders who met regularly throughout the development of Burlington Vision 2025 to review work completed and develop draft directions for the economic vision. The results of this work is set out in separate reports:
Burlington Base Analysis
Burlington Key Sector Analysis
Burlington Infrastructure & Employment Lands Analysis
Burlington Competitive Analysis
Burlington SWOT Analysis
Online Survey Summary Report
Stakeholder Interview Summary Report
Burlington Rural Strategy Background Document
These resulted in the following five Strategic Pillars and 2 Economic Enablers for Burlington Vision 2025:
Strategic Pillars
Development & Intensification of Employment Lands
Vibrant, Diverse & Growing Community
Fostering Business Growth, Investment, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Integrated Transportation & Increased Connectivity
Developing a Unique & Dynamic Brand for the City of Burlington
Economic Enablers:
Infrastructure Planning by all Regulatory Bodies
Intergovernmental Alignment
 From the left: Frank McKeown with Councillor Paul Sharman during the first creation of a Strategic Plan in 2011 BEDC Executive Director Frank McKeown was happy to see the city getting away from a brand that had defined the city as age friendly with one of the larger serniors population in the province and the largest in the Region. He wanted to see the city’s brand focused on vibrancy, innovation and growth. He added that “we have to become better at redevelopment because there is precious little greenfield development left.
McKeown said he has found that the city has a very strong working relationship with Hamilton; one that is much stronger than the one with Oakville or Milton. He hopes to create stronger bonds between both McMaster University and Mohawk College.
McKeown said he hoped council was inspired by the document and that he hopd as well that staff wouild feel inspired as well.
“We need to be more innovative” he said “and we need to attract talent to make this happen. Council has to be part of the talent attraction team.”
The success of this plan will not be seen just at city hall – it will be seen in the commercial community and that success will attract more successes.”
Frank McKeown told city council last night that he supports the Strategic Plan and pointed out that the hard part now begins” You have to execute on the plan you are about to make policy for the city.” He added that less than 10% of most Strategic Plans get properly executed.
 By Pepper Parr
March 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 It was one of those déjà vu evenings for Trevor Copp as he stood at the podium during a Corporate and community Affairs Standing Committee meetings – this time, at least to some degree – thanking the city for beginning to come around to his point – first made about five years ago – that artists were beginning to be able to work in the city they live in.
 Trevor Copp in conversation with Angela Paparizo, the city’s cultural manager. Copp’s was delegating at the meeting which was hearing comments on the close to final draft of the 25 year Strategic Plan. The event was part love in and part dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s while council and staff commented on just how involved citizens had been in creating the document.
It isn’t an overly long document – 30 some odd pages and there isn’t much in the way of inspiring language in it – but it is at least understandable.
 Frank McKeown, former Chief of Staff to Mayor Rick Goldring and now the Executive Director of the Economic Development Corporation supports the Strategic Pan – now wants th city to deliver on the document. Frank McKeown, executive director of the Economic Development Corporation added that it was a solid plan – the challenge now was to executive on that plan – and that is the real challenge.
City manager James Ridge, sounding like an author on a promotional tour, threw out the phrase “blue print for city building” as if it was the title of a book and he wanted to be certain that people go it. We counted five occasion when the phrase was inserted into his comments.
Ridge set out some of the challenges the city faces and identified a number of places where things are going to get done differently. The Gazette comments on the Ridge remarks elsewhere.
Throughout the creation of the Strategic Plan – and it was a creation – they took more than nine months to complete the document – we don’t know the total cost yet – the word culture was sprinkled rough numerous pages.
Jim Riley, part of the arts collective in Burlington, made the point that the word art had been left out – and while it may seem petty, Riley had a point. “The arts change culture” he said. Most of council got his point which is something that would not have happened five years ago.
Riley went on to point to definitions of culture in both a UNESCO document and a Ministry of Culture document.
Many speak of the role the arts plays in local economies –and city manager Ridge tends to portray himself as “arts sensitive” – just how sensitive will become evident when we see how much he invests in the art community.
The city puts just shy of a million dollars into the Performing arts Centre and another just shy of a million into the Art Gallery of Burlington – but not much of that money finds it way into the pockets of the artists.
The city does have a cultural manager who has an assistant – but the city seems to have said that it isn’t going to put much in the way of dollars into the Culture Days event that takes place each fall.
 What has traditionally been a document to guide a city council during its term of office – the 2015 Strategic Plan was changed to a long term vision document that covers a 25 year time frame. Of all the issues that got covered during the debate Monday evening – culture got the most air time – but there wasn’t a word from either the Executive Directors of the Performing Arts Centre or the Art Gallery.
Trevor Copp might have to come back to a council meeting and prod a little more. Copp’s did say that he felt there was very good public participation in the creation of the plan
“You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing a notice of a public meeting about the Strategic Plan” he said.
There was far more public discussion about this plan than any other document the city has developed. Michelle Dwyer, who is on her way to city hall sainthood for her efforts to get the plan completed, mentioned that she saw dozens of people attend meetings with copies of draft of the plan printed out and marked up in their hands as they walked into meetings.
 The Strategic Plan came out of a city administration run by city manager James Ridge – it is now his to deliver on.  KPMG consultant JC Bourne with city manager James Ridge and Michelle Dwyer – the woman said to have made the creation of the Strategic Plan possible. City manager Ridge said that the Strategic Plan “would have never happened with Michelle work”.
In his closing remarks Councillor Craven said that he supported the plan (he had few questions about the content) but thought it took far too long and that it could have been done at a weekend symposium without consultants.
That’s the way they do things in Aldershot where, as the ward 1 Councillor pointed out “the developers are ahead of the city with their proposals” – Station West – the stacked ton house development is pretty close to a done deal.
The strategic Plan will get some fine tuning in the next few days and get put before Council on the 11th of April. Then the really hard work begins – because all those people who turned up at the public meetings are going to hold this council and its administration accountable for what is set out in the document.
By Staff
March 21st, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Various schools within the Halton District School Board will be hosting open houses in late March and early April for Grade 12 students to select various free articles of donated prom clothing.
 It’s a big night and they want to look great – and their is a great program in place to help out with the clothing side of the evening. High school social workers are once again hosting an initiative to help students look their best for their Grade 12 prom, called Fashion Forward. New or gently-used articles of prom wear for all students were donated and available for students free of charge. There are many different styles, colours, and sizes of formal dresses available including suits, shirts, ties and shoes.
The open house for Burlington will be at:
• Thursday April 7, 2016 at M.M. Robinson High School (2425 Upper Middle Road, Burlington) from 3:00 to 6:00 pm.
Students are asked to bring their student identification card with them.
We don’t know how long this program has been around nor do we know who came up with the idea – but it is a superb way to let young people get to their prom look smashing.
 By Staff
March 21st, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Police had a busy weekend removing eleven (11) impaired drivers from the Region’s roads.
The first arrest occurred Friday at approximately 8:20 pm in Oakville. A 40 year old female was involved in a motor vehicle collision. Police attended the scene and commenced an investigation. She was arrested shortly thereafter for impaired driving.
Twenty minutes later police responded to a citizen’s complaint of a possible impaired driver northbound on Brant Street near Upper Middle Road, Burlington. Police attended the registered owner’s residence and observed him exiting his vehicle. He was subsequently arrested for impaired driving.
The third arrest occurred in Oakville at approximately 5:30 am on Saturday March 19. A vehicle struck a hydro pole on Lakeshore Road in the Maurice Drive area of Oakville. Police attended and arrested the 22 year old male driver for impaired by drug operation.
Saturday night Police in Burlington arrested six (6) impaired drivers. Four were involved in collisions. The remaining two were called in to police by citizens. One driver attempted to walk away from the scene but was prevented from doing do by citizens who witnessed the collision.
Police in Oakville received a call for a collision in the area of Bayshire Drive and Summerhill Crescent. A vehicle struck a parked car and the driver fled the scene. He was located at his residence a short distance away. The 40 year old male was arrested for impaired driving.
The eleventh impaired arrest occurred in Burlington. Staff at the Plains Road McDonald’s observed a customer passed out behind the wheel while in their drive through. They contacted police but he left prior to police arrival. Police attended his residence and arrested the 37 year old Burlington male driver.
Four drivers were also arrested on St. Patrick’s Day, totaling fifteen in four days.
When you report an impaired driver, you are helping Halton Region remain one of the safest regions in Canada!
The Halton Regional Police Service thanks the numerous concerned citizens who continue to report impaired drivers; you can report suspected impaired drivers by calling 911 when it is safe to do so, and reporting the vehicle description, license plate, direction of travel and a description of the driver.
Traffic crimes cost society more, devastate more Canadian families, and inflict more physical insult than all other criminal offences combined!
 By Staff
March 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is accepting nominations for its 2016 Hall of Fame Inductee.
Established in 2013, The Burlington Performing Arts Centre’s Hall of Fame recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the performing arts in Burlington. Recipients of this award demonstrate the diversity of artistic accomplishment that comprises the rich cultural tapestry of the City of Burlington. The Hall of Fame Inductee will be announced at the 2016/2017 Season Launch event held at The Centre on Tuesday, May 17.
Nomination applications must be submitted by noon on Friday, April 8th, 2016. The nomination form can be downloaded from The Centre’s website.
 When the pier was being constructed – both the first and the second time, Gordie Tapp could be seen most days checking on the progress. Here he talks with Pier Project Manager Craig Stevens.  Rainer Noack on the left.  Stewart Laughton The Burlington Performing Arts Centre recognizes that the individual and group artists are paramount and fundamental to cultural development. These individuals and groups contribute to Burlington’s reputation as a city with a strong and sustained commitment toward the development of cultural excellence. Hall of Fame Inductees include Gordie Tapp (2013), Rainer Noack (2014), Lawrence Bonanno (2015) and Stewart Laughton (2015).
 By Ray Rivers
March 21st, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The United States is one of a growing number of places on earth where political candidates can opt for public funding. But in that crazy world we call US politics, Mr. Obama shunned the public option for both of his election wins – because he could raise more money on his own. And much of that money came from small individual donations rather than contributions from corporations and unions
 While “Daddy Warbucks was a real person the name came to be used as a charicacture for “big men” with immense wealth that could be used for any purpose they wished – often political. In sharp contrast, later this year, the infamously wealthy Koch brothers, also known as Daddys Warbucks, are going to rain down almost a billion dollars for the GOP presidential campaign south of the border. And they are but one of the numerous corporate political action committees (PAC) in the game there throwing money into the election, hoping that will get them a win, in the increasingly expensive US election orgy.
Back on earth, Canada’s political parties in last year’s federal election were entitled to spend a maximum of $54 million dollars each. None of them actually got to the max, though the Conservative Party came closest at just over $50 million. And they lost the election anyway which makes me believe that there is a God and that the old Beatles standard, ‘money can’t buy me love’, is occasionally true.
The winners, the Trudeau Liberals, spent around $10 million less. It was what they were selling, rather than how much they advertised, which evidently won the election. Now that is refreshing – that ideas alone can win elections – putting to rest the notion that the public can always be bought with its own money. And it is our own money, or at least most of it, when we consider that the funds raised by these parties are tax-deductible.
 Cash in envelopes was the advice former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was said to have given his political cohorts. Individual donations are the only way federal political parties can raise money here since Mr. Harper eliminated the decade-old annual per-vote public subsidy last year. He argued that government should not be subsidizing the political parties. Who was he kidding? For starters he must have forgotten about the generous rebates Elections Canada doles out to eligible candidate campaigns.
Then there are those individual tax-deductible donations, which in 2009 accounted for almost twice as much of a subsidy to political parties as the per-vote annual government grants. Of course It is no secret that well-healed individual Tory contributors give far more money than that more economically diverse Liberal crowd. And the higher your tax bracket the more valuable these tax deductions are. But perhaps it was only well-meaning ideology and not self-serving hypocrisy which framed Harper’s argument?
But if anyone thinks the federal political funding scene could be better, they need only to look at the provinces. Following the Liberal ‘Sponsorship’ scandal, at the turn of the last decade, corporations and unions were prohibited from contributing to federal political parties. But, provincially, Ontario is still the wild west with the teachers unions, law firms and countless other corporate and labour associations pouring money into party coffers they hope will make a difference.
In B.C.’s last election, corporate donations to the provincial Liberals swamped individual donations. Of course, critics point out that banning corporate and union donations will just result in masked individual donations, leaving the influence peddling unabated. And that speaks to the rationale by those calling for the elimination of individual donations and fully subsidizing political parties, complicated as that might be.
 It may not come in brown bags any more but cash does move from the people who have influence to the people who want to see that influence used in their favour. These critics notwithstanding, it is remarkable that the provincial governments have not been forced to follow the federal government by at least eliminating corporate and union donations. Of course, it’s about the money. In fact Ontario’s premier has been criticized for holding ‘special meetings’ with those willing to cough up big bucks for that privilege.
The optics couldn’t be worse. Allowing money to buy access to Ontario’s chief policy maker is what we call influence peddling, and it is the first step on the road to corruption. Ontario residents expect and deserve better.
 Ray Rivers writes weekly on both federal and provincial politics, applying his more than 25 years as a federal bureaucrat to his thinking. Rivers was a candidate for provincial office in Burlington where he ran as a Liberal against Cam Jackson in 1995, the year Mike Harris and the Common Sense Revolution swept the province. Rivers is no longer active with any political party.
Background links:
Koch Brothers PACs (USA)
Money Can’t Buy Me Love
2015 Federal Election Spending Federal Financing Influence Peddling Ontario’s Political Financing
Political Party Financing Ontario Liberal Donation Limits Donations from Law Firms
Teachers Unions B.C. Political Financing
 By Pepper Parr
March 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Mayor is going to make another attempt at getting a private tree bylaw passed by Council – we think.
In July 2013, the Development and Infrastructure Committee chose to receive and file an information report on a private tree by-law feasibility study. Council did not vote to see the creation of such a bylaw at that time. . The dean of Council, John Taylor, summed it up when he said “the will is just not there”, the public just doesn’t want this” and try as they might BurlingtonGreen and Ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward, who pushed as hard as one can push, could not get this through the Development and Infrastructure Committee. ” It is going to be very tough to get a private tree by law in this city” said Taylor
In a Notice of Motion that he filed for debate at the Development and Infrastructure the Mayor said that since the 2013 failure he “ continues to hear requests for a private tree by-law in Burlington. Most recently, this came from members of the Roseland community as part of the Character Area Study process.
 Many of the trees in Roseland are very old – replace trees have not been planted – at some point the residents of this community will deeply regret the loss of their tree canopy. “Recognizing staff did not support a private tree by-law specific to the Roseland neighbourhood … I believe there is merit investigating a pilot private tree by-law to gauge its impact.
“I propose that a report on a pilot project with recommendations be drafted by staff, with considerations to such aspects as length of time, extent of regulations, performance measures, staff resources required, among others.
“There are several reasons I support a pilot project for a private tree by-law in Roseland. I believe our tree canopy is essential to the environmental and physical health of our city and its residents. As well, as one of the community’s oldest neighbourhoods, Roseland has a large number of mature trees that contribute to its character. Through the Character Study, many residents expressed a desire to maintain the tree canopy and the presence of the large, mature trees.
“The Roseland Tree Planting Initiative is a noteworthy endeavour started by interested community members.
 A truly spectacular tree canopy – most of the trees are on city owned property. “This cooperative effort by city staff and residents in the community to proactively plant trees within the public rights-of-way in areas with a high percentage of mature trees, and raise awareness among homeowners about the importance of trees within the neighbourhood, demonstrates the value placed on trees and as such, is an appropriate neighbourhood to implement a pilot private tree by-law.”
The Mayor added that “There are many other neighbouring communities that have private tree by-laws, such as Oakville, Hamilton, Toronto and Brampton. Mississauga is currently working on establishing a private tree protection by-law.
He also said: “When drafting the by-law, it is important staff strike a balance between private property owners’ rights and the intent of preserving our tree canopy. The outcome of this pilot project will be valuable in determining the applicability of a private tree by-law in other neighbourhoods, and, potentially, a private tree by-law for the entire city.”
The motion that will get debated is:
Direct the Acting Director of Roads and Parks Maintenance to investigate the implementation of a pilot tree by-law for the Roseland neighbourhood, with a review of options including, but not limited to: length of time for pilot project, extent of regulations, budget and staffing requirements, and measures to evaluate success, and to include community consultation.
Direct the Acting Director of Roads and Parks Maintenance to report back to committee on June 21, 2016.
There is a critical word missing from the Direction – the word “private” isn’t in between the words pilot and tree. Is this a motion to create a bylaw restricting what people can do with trees that are on their private property?
 A beautiful collection of apple trees next to st. Christopher’s church on Guelph Line that were cut down because Canada geese were eating the apples and pooping on the roadway. There have been a very sad story told about the man who cut down a 50 year old tree because he didn’t want to rake the leaves. A lovely collection of apple trees were cut down on the property next to St. Christopher’s Anglican church on Guelph Line because Canada geese were eating the apples and pooping all over a driveway used for the most car by just cars. There was a promise to plant new trees – two years and counting and still no new trees,
The environmentalists take the position that people do not own trees – that we are the stewards of a tree for the period of time we own the property on which the tree grows. Mayor Goldring has positioned himself as an environmentalist – he tends however not to walk his talk.
It will take some time for a shift in attitude to take place in this city. Changes in attitude take place when a society is educated – it is the leadership of a community that does the evangelizing.
The motion the Mayor has put forward isn’t going to get us very far – I would love to be proven wrong on this one.
Background links:
Council looks for every way out of a private tree bylaw.
The environmentalists lost the fight in 2013
 By Staff
March 20, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
New Street closed between Martha Street and Guelph Line starting March 21, 2016
The City of Burlington and Halton Region are making improvements to New Street, between Martha Street and Guelph Line, and to several of the streets located in the area of New Street and Drury Lane.
 Transit route changes while construction on New Street takes place. Construction to replace the water and wastewater mains on New Street will begin on Monday, March 21, 2016.
The work is being broken into sections with the work starting at Guelph Line through to Seneca
All local businesses will remain open throughout the construction period. Local access for residents and businesses will be in place.
Transit
Burlington Transit users will experience detours and schedule changes from March 21 until September 2016 during the construction on New Street.
By Staff
March 21, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Regional Police, the RCMP and the banks are doing their best to get the word out to people about Identity Theft and the bank scams that take place every day.
Most recently in this part of the world we read about a senior citizen who is out $8900 – someone tricked him into thinking he was helping the police – when he should have been calling the police.
During a month that police cautioned the public on several occasions about email scams someone somewhere sends out emails to people they have identified as Apple users.
Here is the first mail
 The moment you click on the Continue and review line – you are in the process of telling crooks more about you than you want them to know. It does read like a reasonable request – in our case we aren’t Apple users so we recognized what the email was really about. Within hours there was a follow up email – from the same address.
Here is he second email.
 This email amuses there was a transaction – and for the millions that do transactions with Apple – this would seem like a reasonable request. How many people got caught with this one? These people never give up – it costs them next to nothing to send out tens of millions of each email – all they have to do is snare one person and they pull – wellone local resisdent lost $8900.
If you are in doubt – call the police or talk to your bank. THEY are on your side.
“I didn’t see that article” is a comment we hear frequently from readers.
 The Gazette is an on-line newspaper that you can get delivered right into your mail box just as soon as it is published.
Many readers have made logging into the site something they do every day – others come in and see what’s going on a couple of times a week.
We have lot of people who go south for the winter and they come on line to see what has happened in their hometown.
At the bottom of each story there are two small boxes – they are beneath the section you make a comment if you are so inclined.
If you want to get the Gazette automatically – scroll down to the bottom of any article. You will see two small boxes underneath the space where you can make a comment.
Click on the lower of the two small boxes – we drew a red oblong rectangle around the one you need to put the check mark in.
 You do need to make a comment – be polite and if you don’t want your comment published just say so. All comments are moderated.
Once you have entered a comment click on the Post Comment box and it gets sent to us. Make sure you put the check in that lower box.
You will then get an email asking if you really want to be notified when a new story is published.
Tell them you do – and zippo – you are a regular subscriber – and the news will be delivered to you automatically.
News that matters, news that puts what happens in your city in context with an approach intended to ensure the people who serve you are accountable to you.
It was the Gazette that broke the story on the Air Park bylaw abuses. It was the Gazette that followed the construction of the pier – the one we built twice and paid for both times.
By Staff
March 20th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Halton Regional Police Service’s Human Trafficking and Vice Unit (HTVU) concluded a month long investigation of the Dynasty Wellness Centre in Milton. As a result two people have been charged and a third faces deportation on an outstanding immigration warrant.
The police also have appeared to add an interesting phrase to the English language.
On March 17th, the HTVU, in conjunction with Milton Municipal Law Enforcement officers executed a Criminal Code search warrant at the Dynasty Wellness Centre located in the area of Ontario Street and Derry Road in the Town of Milton.
As a result of the warrant, the following have been charged with prostitution related offences:
Chin-Yu (Tim) CHIU 50 year old male of Toronto – Receive material benefit from sexual services. CHIU will appear in Milton Court on April 25th 2016.
The police do not define “a material benefit”. Could it become a phrase used in some of the bars and pubs frequented by the single set?
A male from Milton was also charged with purchasing sexual services.
A third person, female, was detained on an outstanding Immigration Warrant and has been turned over to the Canadian Border Services Agency for processing.
The Halton Regional Police Service HTVU have ongoing investigations relating to suspicious activity in other similar establishments in the Region of Halton and will be following up investigative leads.
By Pepper Parr
March 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The plan is for the lights to go out at 8:30 Saturday night and remain out for an hour. Will you flick that switch to recognize Earth Day? And if you do what difference is it going to make.
Turning off the lights for an hour isn’t going to save the planet.
It is however a statement – and it is a statement the public needs to make – for a couple of reasons.
The earth is not going to disappear – it will be around for a long time – it is we human beings who are at risk.
 Vince Fiorito – probably the city’s best environmental advocate. Vince Fiorito, a Burlington citizen nominated for the Environment award as one of Burlington’s Best, will bend your ear badly if you let him get started on what we human beings have done to the environment. He does however make a number of critical points.
“2015 a new record high average temperature for the planet’s climate. It broke the 2014 record that was a new high. What seems evident is that there is a rate of change taking place that we have not seen before.
“We are in uncharted territory now. It doesn’t take a genius to know that as these trends continue, the result will be series of unprecedented floods and droughts.
“No human being has ever breathed an atmosphere of 400 ppm of carbon dioxide. What does that mean? The more carbon in the air the warmer the climate gets.
“We have cut down most of the forests and altered the earth’s ecosystems in ways that reduce the ability of the earth to sequester carbon.
“No one can claim to know the future. What we do know is that CO2 levels are rising, along with the average global temperature and sea levels. Oceans are acidifying. Corals reefs and life at the bottom of the ocean food chain is dying.
 Arctic Ocean sometimes does not freeze over – even in winter. “The last time the earth’s atmosphere had this much CO2, the Arctic ocean didn’t freeze, even in “winter”. Eventually the climate may change to the point where Greenland will become tropical enough to support crocodiles and palm trees, like it was 55 million years ago when ocean levels were 50-100M higher than today.
“The Arab spring and the Syrian civil war are just a taste of what may be coming.
“How does one link a war half way around the world to climate change? That unrest and violence was preceded by a five year climate change exacerbated drought across North Africa and Middle East. Farmers couldn’t pay their bills, lost their land and moved to the cities where they didn’t find jobs and in the case of Syria, didn’t find a caring government either.
“When people are so poor they can’t afford to some of the nicer things they want, they pick up signs and protest. When they are so poor they can’t feed their children, they pick up guns. When the level of desperation reaches the point where the majority of people have nothing to gain from the status quo and nothing to lose from chaos, even the wealthy living in “safe” gated communities become refugees.
“Likely the biggest climate change exacerbated crisis in the near future will come in Bangladesh. Already they’ve lost about 10% of their rice production in the Ganges river delta to rising ocean levels and salt water contamination. Sooner or later a massive climate change exacerbated typhoon will hit this region, flooding and contaminating the remainder of the delta with salt. Then 100 million people will suddenly become food insecure and desperate. The same thing will happen in the Mekong river delta and many other food production areas.”
What would a drought do to wheat farmers in Saskatchewan?
Why do you think those millions of Americans want Donald Trump as their president? Because he says he will do something for them and they are so desperate they will vote for a man that is seen as a dangerous demagogue by many. And they are our neighbours.
xxx 2
 Millions around the world demonstrate regularly for changes – before the planet becomes a place we can no longer live in. The environmental movement has been around for a long time. When it began we were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.
Mainstream North America remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries, and beginning to raise public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and links between pollution and public health.
We are now at least at the point where we accept that the climate is changing – we have yet to get to the point where we are ready to do anything about it personally.
 Burlington doesn’t hold large demonstrations – we are too polite to do anything like that. Mayor Goldring did speak to a group of activists about climate change – it was during an election and he was told he couldn’t use the Gazebo in Spencer Smith Park nor could he use Civic square – so he gathered in front of a coffee shop. Earth Day has reached its current status as the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year, and a day of action that changes human behavior and provokes policy changes.
Today, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more manifest every day.
Flicking that switch for an hour on Saturday won’t save the world – but it will be a statement – and that is a start.
By Staff
March 18, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Some St. Patrick’s Day revelers didn’t get the message – park the car and find alternate transportation to get home.
Last night the Halton Police arrested four (4) drivers for alcohol related driving offences.
 Police doing RIDE checks – four Irish wanna bes didn’t get to complete the drive home. Police conducted R.I.D.E. checks in various locations throughout the Region, resulting in:
1164 vehicles stopped
34 drivers tested at the roadside for alcohol
3 drivers arrested for Over 80
1 driver arrested for refusing to provide a sample
The four drivers arrested were charged with criminal offences, had their licences suspended for 90 days and their vehicles impounded for 72 hours.
Ouch – and they have yet to hear from their insurance company. How did they explain the behaviour to their friends, family and their children.
The Halton Regional Police Service offers a sincere thanks to all those who celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and chose to be responsible and not drink and drive.
 By Staff
March 17, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
 On a day when we all manage to find a little Irish in us we like to pass on a lovely little Irish limerick that says it all for us.
May those who love us, love us.
And those who don’t love us,
May God turn their Hearts;
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts
May he turn their ankles
So we will know them
by their limping.
Gerry Murphy will be printing this one out and framing it
 By Pepper Parr
March 16, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
The Performing Arts Centre will soon show the public what its new Executive Director is made of – in the near future the The Centre will announce its 2016-2017 season.
 Suzanne Haines, Executive Director of the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. When Suzanne Haines arrived she was given the gift of a career lifetime when the show that opened her first day on the job was sold out – the rest of the season did quite well. Haines followed Brian McCurdy who put together a strong program two years in a row and created a team of people that made the place work.
Now we get to see what Haines can do with her own skill set. She is certainly off to a good start – the Centre announced today a new $100,000 initiative sponsored by TD Bank Group.
The four event series is geared to 20 to 35 year olds; an audience that has been a bit of a struggle for The Centre in the past. In some of the best public relations language money can buy The Centre said: “Every show in this series will be met with an equally vibrant and modern ambiance, which may include post-show socials and the possibility of live pre-show performances from emerging local bands,” said Suzanne Haines, Executive Director.
“We are so excited that TD shares our vision in launching this new series. TD’s sponsorship will allow us the opportunity to expand our programming in order to continue with offering innovative and diverse programming.”
The intention for this new series is to create an entire experience for these patrons that will deepen and cultivate their long-term relationship with The Centre.
 “TD is proud to support The Burlington Performing Arts Centre and provide opportunities for people to connect with their communities and enable better lives through the arts,” said Anna Iacobelli, Senior Vice President, Western Ontario Region, TD Bank Group. “We understand the power of the arts in bringing people together and TD is proud to support initiatives that help make a lasting impact in the communities where we live and work.”
TD is committed to providing $50,000 annually for each of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 programming years for a total gift of $100,000.
Since The Centre’s inaugural year, TD has supported The Centre through its sponsorship, which began with Title Sponsor for the Opening Celebrations held on December 3, 2011.
What the four part series is going to be about; who wrote the material; who will be on stage? It will take another media release from The Centre to get that information.
By Pepper Parr
March 16th, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
It isn’t a new application – it is a revised application and the final phase of the Ontario Municipal Board hearing of the now revised Adi Development Group application to put 26 storeys of condominium development at the corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road will not be heard until February 20th of 2017.
 Meed Ward with Mayor Goldring: expect the two of them to head to head in the 2018 municipal election in 2018. At least one of the issues is becoming clear. Expect this to become a prime election issue in 2018 when ward 2 Councillor Meed Ward will run against current Mayor Rick Golding when the issue will be – what kind of a Burlington do we want?
A much more contrite Adi legal team did everything they could to ensure Chair Susan Schiller that they were going to do everything they could to ensure that there was public participation in the revised application.
 The next rendering of Nautique will not look like this. Hearings are as much about procedure as they are about the merits of an application. Because this is a revised application the city wants to know much more about just what the revision is all about – the only thing they know at this point is that Adi has purchased an adjacent piece of property and wants to merge it into what they already have. And what difference is that going to make to the shape and scope of the development – well those are the issues that are going to get discussed by the city’s planning department and the Adi architects before it gets back to the OMB.
What has been worked out is a schedule of events that has the Adi plans going to city council before they go back to the OMB hearing – which is a pretty interesting way to approach the problem.
Here is the lineup of events:
From now until the end of June Adi will have informal meetings with staff on what they have in mind with the new piece of land to the development.
At the end of June Adi formally amends the application.
There is then public notice of the of the revised application also at the end of June
Staff then does its review of the revised application and has until the end of September to get that done.
There is then a public meeting sometime in October
Late in October city council considers the revised application
There is then an OMB pre-hearing conference after the city council has had a chance to do whatever it wants to do. The date for this meeting will be late October early November.
Expert meeting reports are due November 28th
Witness statements are due December 12th
Participant statements are due January 6th
Reply statements are due January 16th
Visual evidence is due January 16th followed by a 10 day hearing that will start February 20th, 2017.
The city did have the right to ask that the development application be denied on the grounds that it was a new development which would have forced Adi to go back to square one and start all over.
This approach, which the public learned about this morning, is not bad – one might be gracious and call it pretty good.
Denise Baker, lead counsel for Adi promised everything but the kitchen sink as she explained the way Adi intended to proceed. One would have liked to see some of this willing to collaborate when the original application was filed rather than bully the city into an OMB hearing. They did have the right to do what they did – practice within the development community is to allow some grace time for development applications.
 Saud and Tariq Adi – it was heavy sledding for the twins at the OMB hearing. One gets edgy when hearing the promises from an organization that has in the past flouted bylaws and put signage up along main traffic arteries and install large signs that were called hoardings at one point and then a fence on another – forcing the bylaw enforcement people to seek advice from the city’s solicitor before ordering Adi to comply with the bylaw.
 Adi development added about 20% more land to the development they plan for the NW corner of Martha and Lakeshore Road. The OMB hearing that began on Monday came to be because Adi was not prepared to give the city some additional time to vote on the application.
With Chair Schiller running the OMB hearing as it goes through its various stages – there will be no nonsense. Those at the media table in the hearing room remarked that she appeared more diligent when it came to the public interest than the city’s council.
Because some land has been added to the assembly the boundary demarcation for those who are permitted to ask to be part of the proceedings and have standing will become a little bigger and include people who were not included up until now.
Chair Schiller went out of her way to ensure that all the lawyers let people know they could make presentations.
Schiller noted there was a high degree of public interest in the hearings – television cameras arrived at city hall on both Monday and Wednesday.
It now becomes a waiting game. Adi will work at figuring out how much more they can add to the development – they are going to have to find a way to pay for that additional land.
By Staff
March 16, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
A senior who was contacted by telephone by an individual claiming to be investigating illegal purchases on his credit card was coerced into sending over $8900 by wire transfer to China.
On March 5th the senior was contacted by an unknown individual on the telephone stating he was investigating fraudulent activity on his credit card in China and the RCMP was also assisting with the investigation.
 The man allowed the caller remote access to his computer and online banking and then the caller requested the male wire transfer money to China to assist the RCMP in tracking it.
The caller then instructed the senior to make separate withdrawals from three bank branches in order to avoid detection. Once the man had made the withdrawals he was advised to attend four different Money Marts in the area and wire transfer the funds to China. The victim transferred over $8900 as instructed by the suspect.
The fraudulent activity was halted when the victim’s bank alerted him to the fraud based on the unusual withdrawals from his account.
The Halton Regional Police Service is reminding citizens to be vigilant against any individuals seeking access to your personal computer or pushing a fictitious scam requesting you to send money via wire transfer.
The bank was the vigilant one in this matter – kudos to them.
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