 By Staff
July 28, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
If they caught you Red Handed – you were lucky – you were probably given a gift certificate and asked a lot of questions as to why you shopped downtown.
The Saturday before last was the Burlington Downtown Business Association’s (BDBA) annual Red Bag day.
 Centro went all out with their window – there was no doubt what the display was about. It worked – the majority of the retailers were onside and several stores featured the event in their windows. There were more retailers involved this year than last.
 Facebook painting always draws the kids – which means the parents are close to a captive customer. Brian Dean, General Manager of the BDBA was delighted when retailers on the street other than Brant got in on the game. “This is the third year we have run the program and it has grown. My retailers are finding it to be a very productive marketing tool.”
 The good people at Scriveners made the best of the opportunity. There were about 50 gift certificates given out – people were delighted to be asked questions as to why they were downtown and what worked for them.
Those retailers that bought into the program are delighted. Several used the word “fantastic” to describe the response they got.
The BDBA is still working through different marketing tools to get the right mix. The telephone directory people sponsored a Yellow Bag program with a contest element to it which Burlington won two years in a row – they are doing something right to make that “vibrant downtown” feel real and effective.
The Test Kitchen’s Pop Up is doing just fine; CineStarz is building their audience and the outdoor patios are very close to full much of the time.
Photographs provided by Jon Root
 By Pepper Parr
July 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
On Tuesday we get back the use of the HOV traffic lanes on the QEW. Then we learn that the province is looking at the idea of turning those lanes into a stretch of road they can collect tolls on.
Looks like that is going to become our PanAm Games legacy from the province.
 Will drivers pay a toll to use a special lane? Those making the big bucks will – and of course the politicians who will get that feature as a perk. The HOV lanes didn’t always get a lot of traffic during the Pan Am games The two-occupant requirement, explains the province, will let more carpoolers and families access the lanes, and help Parapan Am Games athletes and officials get to and from competitions, training sessions and the airport. In addition to high occupancy vehicles, the lanes continue to be open to: emergency vehicles, public transit, licensed taxis, airport limousines, electric vehicles with green licence plates (on provincial 400-series highways only) and motorcycles (on City of Toronto roads only–Don Valley Parkway, Gardiner Expressway, Lake Shore Blvd.)
Starting this weekend, road signs will be converted to reflect the change from three or more occupants to two or more occupants. However, drivers are reminded that the new two-occupant requirement does not come into effect until Tuesday July 28, 2015.
Work to convert the signs will take place overnight to avoid traffic disruptions. The temporary HOV lanes will be in place until August 18, 2015.
Temporary HOV lanes operate from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. When not in operation, the lanes function as general purpose lanes.
The Parapan Am Games will be held from August 7 – 15 and feature 1,600 athletes from 28 countries.
Games event ticket holders can ride public transit for free on the day of the event across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (excluding UP Express).
All nice – everyone experienced some inconvenience but the PanAm games were a success – so much so that Toronto now wants to take a shot at bringing the 2024 Summer Olympics to Toronto. The city just might be ready for an event that size.
Then the news that the HOV lanes are going to become HOT lanes – the T standing for tolls
 A city worker, Robert Collins carries away one of the automatic toll-takers. The electric devices were removed from the Burlington Skyway because motorist tossing coins were too often off the target. That was back in September 30, 1964 Premier Kathleen Wynne says lessons learned from the Pan Am HOV lanes will make it easier for the province to roll out high occupancy toll lanes announced in the previous two budgets.
“What’s important is that we take the lessons from the HOV lanes,” Wynne told reporters last week.
“I have heard people talking about how they’ve noticed behaviour changes and that’s what putting in place HOV lanes is meant to do,” she said after a meeting with Toronto Mayor John Tory.
“It’s meant to change people’s behaviour and it’s why we have committed to HOT lanes, because we believe the revenue from high occupancy toll lanes put into a fund to fund public transit is an important source of revenue and we will be working to implement those,” Wynne said.
The premier said her government has been clear about its intention to implement HOT lanes.
“Whether the configurations that have been put in place on provincial roads for the Pan Am Games are exactly what will transpire when we put in place the HOT lanes, that’s not our plan at this moment,” Wynne said.
High occupancy toll (HOT) lanes are similar to high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, except drivers can use them with only one person in the car if they pay.
Progressive Conservative critic Michael Harris said HOT lanes are just a way to gouge drivers.
“Let’s be clear, taxpayers of Ontario have already paid for these roads where HOT lane tolls will be levied, now the Wynne Liberals want us to pay again for the privilege of driving on our own roads,” Harris said.
“This is just one more way to feed the Liberal spending addiction. It seems each week the Wynne Liberals think of another way to make it more expensive to live and work in Ontario — from job-killing carbon taxes, to Hydro One sell-offs to the new beer tax and now HOT lanes.”
We hope the Premier understands that behavior change also includes deciding to vote for someone else to lead the province.
 By Pepper Parr
July 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The campaign has begun for the federal Liberals in Burlington.
 Mile Wallace was a happy camper when he retrained his seat during the xxx election. There was a lot of Tory Blue on that map. Mike Wallace, the Conservative incumbent faces Liberal Karina Gould who opened her campaign office on Saturday and Dan Laird who has been nominated for the New Democrats.
The opening of a campaign office is for the party faithful – a time to cheer the candidate and tell the troops that now is the time to buckle down and slog through the next 90 + days and win the election.
The candidate speaks and tells her team why they are running for public office and what matters to them.
 Gould sees herself this far ahead of the other guy. Could be – far too early to tell. Karina Gould is running in her first campaign. She is young, articulate, very well educated and has an open face and engages with people easily.
There are always the political zingers aimed at the other candidates during these partisan events and Gould has acquired the ability to aim her arrows. There will be a local debate – it could be something to watch.
“Their advertising about Justin seems to be focused on his hair: said Gould “Is that all they’ve got” she responded. Her audience loved it.
Gould told the story of going door to door and talking to people – “many told me they would vote Liberal but didn’t want to put a sign on their lawns because most of her neighbours were Conservatives.
“This happened at a lot of doors” explained Gould. “When I got to the end of the street I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted out – You’re all Liberals”. It is of course quite possible that all those people were just wanting to be polite and not hurt the woman’s feelings.
And that of course is the hope for the Liberal campaign in Burlington. Can they do what provincial MP Eleanor McMahon did when she took the seat as a Liberal after more than 70 years of Conservative rule?
Time will tell.
 “I’ve never cut a ribbon before” said Liberal candidate Karina Gould when she opened her campaign office. Gould did point to a significant issue that affects everyone and that is the rules that are now in place to be able to cast a ballot on election day.
The Gazette will report on these new rules in a separate article.
For the Liberals in Burlington it is now “game on”. The first of the pre-writ debates will take place August 6th – the Liberals plan on projecting the debate on a wall and making it a “movie” night. No mention was made of any popcorn.
By Pepper Parr
July 27, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Arts are often seen by people as something that is nice to have but when there are budgets to be cut – the arts get cut.
Those within the arts community will argue that entertainment is an economic engine that brings in more in the way of revenue and business that its costs.
There is hardly an arts organization that can get by without some form of subsidy – that’s just an economic fact.
Are the subsidies worth what we spend? Is the half a million given to the Performing Arts Centre each year a worthwhile expenditure.
The Sound of Music gets grant from the city – they argue that they pump a solid $6 million into the local economy and buy services from the city that equals or exceeds the grant they are given.
It’s a debate that goes back and forth and one that the politicians have to deal with every budget – having said all that – the Art Gallery, the Performing Arts Centre and Royal Botanical Gardens have a WORDS program for the week we are going into – check it out!
 Mary Poppins – A perennial favourite for the kids. Things are a little on the quiet side at the Performing Arts Centre – The Mary Poppins Student Theatre Summer Camp takes place at the PAC on Thursday at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $18.
Seems a bit of a shame that the space isn’t put to some use – Shaw and Stratford make the summer season real revenue opportunities.
PAC Executive Director, Brian McCurdy, who got the Centre on a solid footing after a bit of a shaky start, has advised the board that he will be retiring in October. The Centre now has a new board chair: Ilene Elkaim.
Perhaps a new expanded direction will be put forward.
The PAC does have an excellent Friday evening Jazz program that will be held throughout August.
The Art Gallery of Burlington has a recently appointed President in place. Robert Stephen brought an excellent track record with him – now that he has a sense of the place and knows much more about Burlington we should soon see where Steven takes the gallery. He is fortunate to have a well led board that will urge him to break new ground,
 Taking ten minutes or so to just sit and contemplate the sculpture – is time well spent. The week ahead has the Jordi Alfaro, abstract nature of the design in the Courtyard. It is a series of monolithic forms that complement the straight horizontal and vertical lines of both the architecture and the plantings of the space. His single large sculptures and his stacked round forms have the evocative sense of prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge in England,
Alfaro is originally from Spain but now a resident of Dundas, Ontario.
 The craft community is streaming into Burlington for this exhibit – if crafts matter to you – get to see it. The Naked Crafts Exhibit continues in the Lee-Chin Family Gallery. This international project brings together the best of contemporary Canadian and Scottish crafts. Makers from these two countries are united in this exhibition to celebrate the shared sense of northern resilience as both of them rest to the north of a southern powerhouse. People in Scotland and Canada have a tendency to identify themselves by what they are not; Not English, Not American, and our countries appear to struggle to retain our freedom from those southern neighbours. Contemporary craft builds upon traditions and heritage that are place holders that aid in defining our identity and cultures.
The exhibition strips ideas of craft back down to four themes that bridge the past and the present, traditional and changing ideas:
 Reid Flock – his work will give you a whole new perspective on ceramics. The Permanent Hallway collection has drawn pieces from the Permanent Collection of Canadian Ceramics. The current offering traces the history of ceramics in Ontario over the last forty years.
Starting with the refined functional ware of Ruth Gowdy McKinley and her effect on the program at Sheridan College and elsewhere, this exhibition looks at the development of the more sculptural approach by younger artists such as Reid Flock and Mary Philpott.
Flock is one of the most exciting ceramic artists in the country. His use of colour and the shapes he uses are not what you think of when you go to look at ceramics – an artist not to be missed.
The Royal Botanical Gardens have just completed their very successful Panorama and are a little on the quiet side except for their Red Hot Jazz and Cool Blues Wednesdays offerings.
 Jack de Keyzer – a jazz guitarist that you won’t forget. Jack de Keyzer plays on Wednesday the 29th – 6:00PM – 8:30PM in Hendrie Park. A two time Juno and seven time Maple Blues Award winning guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer De Keyzer is always very pleasing
Country Tuesdays will have Ally Howatt playing Hendrie Park from 6:00PM – 8:30PM. Ally has shared the stage with top artists Trace Adkins, Sara Evans, and Tim McGraw.”
 Ally Howatt brings her Caledonia roots to Burlington at the RBG No one doubts that Howatt grew up country. She loves the music and honours it with every show she plays. Her passion to share country music with every audience is evident as she sings from the heart and draws a crowd on the dance floor. “I want the fans to enjoy the music as much as I love playing it.” The crowd finds her inspiring, just as she finds inspiration in the songs that she plays.
 Aboriginal dancers have traditionally been a part of the annual Joseph Brant Day held at LaSalle Park Late in the week we will move into the beginning of a long weekend when the annual Joseph Brant Day Festival takes place. This year the event is an official partner of the Toronto 2015 PanAm / Parapan Am Games.
The the captivating Beshano Bike Trials and the Burlington Soccer Club field games will be added to the music, art and cultural performances of the “Americas” will be part of the program.
 By Justin Lethbridge
July 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Despite stretches of great play, the Bandits were handily beaten by 2nd place Kitchener 9-3 in their final home game of the season. While both teams struggled with the gusty conditions at Nelson Park, Kitchener stuck to hard, ground hits to get players on base and wear the Bandits down.
 The Bandits were swinging – they just weren’t hitting the ball. Kitchener got off to a quick start in the 1st inning thanks to four earned runs. Despite a poor first, Bandits pitcher Brandon Nemeti upped his play and allowed only three hits and one run over the next six innings to finish the game with a 9.82 ERA in seven innings of work.
 The home town crowd would have liked to see a win at the last home game of the season – it wasn’t to be. Last game of the regular season is against Toronto in Toronto The Bandits would score off a wild pitch in the 3rd inning before the teams went scoreless through the next two innings. Although Kitchener increased their lead to 5-1 in the 6th, a Justin Gideon two-run blast in bottom of the inning narrowed the lead to 5-3.
That was as close as Burlington would get as the Panthers would add two runs in the 8th and hit back-to-back home runs to the exact same spot in the 9th.
Panthers First baseman Sean Reilly was especially potent with three runs and two RBI’s in five AB’s.
Burlington’s last game of the season on Monday night at 7:30pm as they hope to break a three game losing streak in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
By Staff
July 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
 The crack of the bat hitting the ball during a cool quiet evening when the game is played under lights is about as nice as it can get. Whatever wind the Burlington Bandits had in their sails that carried them through a six game winning streak seems to have gotten away from them, – they lost 6 – 1 to the Majors In London Friday night
Luis Pina threw a complete game five-hitter to shut down the Bandits in a game that saw the London lefty improve to 7-2 this season after allowing one run – striking out five and walking four.
At the plate, first baseman Cleveland Brownlee had two hits and drove in four, while shortstop Paul Lytwynec added three hits and scored a run.
Third baseman Kenta Nishii hit a solo home run.
London improved to 18-15 after its third straight victory.
Burlington shortstop Keith Kandel had two of the Bandits’ five hits, and first baseman Kevin Hussey singled and scored the Bandits’ run.
Matthew St. Kitts (1-2) went 6.2 innings in the loss, allowing four earned runs on eight hits, striking out eight and walking two.
Burlington dropped to 15-19.
 By Pepper Parr
July 26, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
It is difficult to find a developer in the Burlington area who will say great things about the city. It is easy to find developers, particularly the smaller ones, who do not have a complaint they are quite ready to share with you.
The “counter” – that’s the place developers first go to when they want to talk to people in the planning department, is often the focus of the complaints.
Developers will complain that they can never get a straight answer from the planning department and that just when they think they have everything the city needs in the way of reports – they find that yet another report is needed.
The planning department doesn’t see it quite that way – but they didn’t want to talk for attribution.
 Scott Stewart loves that sweater – has he had it since 1967? Scott Stewart, the General Manager for Infrastructure and Development is serving as the Interim Director of Planning – and he is a lot different from the recently retired Director of that department.
Stewart wants to see a culture change within the department and has moved some people around and adds “there are some noses out-of-place” in the department but there will be a change”.
The bringing in of a new director for planning is a Stewart hire to make and he is pretty clear in his mind what the city needs.
James Ridge, city manager, has some planning experience in his background – he and Stewart should be on the same page on this one.
Burlington’s city council members don’t, at times, fully appreciate the command structure at city hall. Council hires the city manager and he runs the city for them. Council creates policy and issues Staff Directions – the city manager follows those directions.
The city manager is there to advise and guide council – but the marching orders come from Council. Decisions get made by city council based on policy and specific votes made by the seven council members.
They don’t do the actual hiring – a source has suggested to the Gazette that the Mayor wanted to be in on the actual interviewing of the short list for the director of planning – that shouldn’t happen.
The story is told, from a sterling source, of the Council member who said he thought Council should be involved in the hiring of everyone down to the Director level. The person who told the story said to the council member: ‘You clearly have no concept of what staff accountability is all about.’ With this Council it is referred to as “getting into the weeds”.
Most municipal governments have well qualified, committed professional staff. They do have a pension that is not available to most people and it might seem as if they get a lot of time off. When senior staff are taking part at public meetings in the evening – are they required to be at their desks first thing the next day? Many people in Burlington think they should.
When the budget is going through its final phases – the team that creates that document, based on instructions from city council, work well into the night frequently to complete the budget.
Whoever the city hires as its next Director of Planning, hopefully will be with the city for several terms of office. The elected officials come and go – in Burlington they don’t seem to go very often which is unhealthy but until the voters in town decide they want different leadership we’ve got what we elected.
There is a bit of a leadership crisis at city hall; there are culture changes that need to be made in several of the departments.
 Scott Stewart on the left,and former city manager Jeff Fielding, put a number of major changes in place – but then Fielding saw a greener pasture and headed west for Calgary. Burlington has had three city managers in five years plus an interim filling the chair until a new city manager was hired.
Every management leader needs time to create the kind of work force and working environment that results in the kind of service delivery the public wants. Some good people have left the city for other jurisdictions because the lack of solid consistent leadership that would allow them to grow as civil servants wasn’t in place.
Burlington now has a city manager who has yet to make his mark. James Ridge isn’t a Jeff Fielding, his predecessor. He is more cautious and quite a bit quieter and appears to be a stickler for the rules. A deal maker he isn’t.
We need another year of observing Ridge to get a clearer sense as to what kind of a staff he wants to have in place to deliver the program he understands the city council wants.
We have watched Ridge admonish this Council ever so slightly when they appeared to be resisting the making of a decision. Ridge will, in his quiet way, hold their feet to the flames.
Ridge is not a big believer in the concept of Master Plans – Burlington has been in love with the things for years.
Ridge thinks they create silos and he seems to want a more homogenous approach to the way staff think through their problems. It is going to take him some time to determine where staff changes have to be made and then implement those changes.
Fielding was exceptional at getting out and talking to people; you always knew when he was in the room. Ridge is a quieter person – we are only beginning to get a sense of his decision making process.
Council has handed him a hot one – the Code of Conduct that has been kicking around for far too long and should have been agreed upon by this Council at its last meeting. Some fancy procedural foot work on the part of Councillor Sharman, aided and abetted by Councillors Craven and Lancaster, to reverse a change that had been agreed upon at Standing Committee preciously resulted in the whole matter being referred to the city manager who would work with it as part of the governance section of the Strategic Plan.
Strategic Plan sessions are frequently, if not always, done off site or in a room at city hall where there is no web casting capacity.
The scallywags on this council like it that way. It’s going to be messy.
Staff observes these changes and turn to their city manager to save them from this kind of unprofessional behaviour.
 James Ridge the day he was introduced to the public at a council meeting – he didn’t say a word. Is Ridge up to the job – can he manage the Mayor and the rest of |Council and hold a draw a clear line or will he choose to become “friendly” with council and fetch water for them rather than pour cold water on silly, expensive ideas that they come up with and expect him to find the money to pay for
James Ridge has the summer to work this one out. How he resolves this will tell what kind of a city manager we have; what kind of a culture will prevail at city and what kind of a city we end up being. This assumes that he completes his five-year contract.
 By Staff
July 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Work to resurface Dundas Street will take place near the 407 ETR west ramp starting July 27 to Aug. 12, 2015. The work will be completed at night.
By Staff
July 25, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
 Karina Gould, federal Liberal candidate for the Burlington seat in the House of Commons. Perhaps the Gould Liberal campaign for the Burlington seat in the House of Commons thinks the Prime Minister might pull a quickie and call the election before the October 18th date – or maybe they got a great deal on the office space – whichever Karina Gould will open her campaign office at 3350 Fairview Street, Unit 2
The ribbon cutting will take place this Saturday – the 25th between 11:00 am and noon.
Gould has had teams of volunteers doing the door to door thing for the several months. She has a young team, people full of energy and the ongoing support of Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon who took the Burlington provincial seat after more than 70 years of Conservative representation.
By Pepper Parr
July 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
We didn’t get this story quite right the first time and have
since revised it
 Uber is expected to be available in Burlington very soon.
They are in Hamilton and some of that will slop over into Burlington but the Burlington app that is available from Uber is for Burlington, Vermont.
Scott Wallace, owner of Burlington Taxi claims Uber is operating in Burlington illegally and the By Law Enforcement officer for Burlington stated that a complaint has already been made about the service.
Tracey Burrows, the city’s bylaw enforcement officer will be meeting with the city’s solicitor next week and talking to her peers in Hamilton – where Uber has also made itself known.
Burlington’s By law enforcement tends to be re-active – in that they react to complaints.
However, when it comes to taxi’s said Burrows, the bylaw enforcement officer said, “the city inspects each vehicle twice and year and requires that every cab on the road be licensed.”
Burlington has three taxi companies: Burlington Taxi, Gem and Deluxe.
There has been a complaint and the city is acting on that complaint.
The city is up against a tough competitor – Uber argues that it isn’t a taxi operation and that the existing bylaws do not apply to them.
The market will decide if Uber wants to be active in Burlington – if people download their app and use the service they will put up the same kind of fight they have in other jurisdictions – where they have for the most part been winning.
Getting to the service is a breeze
Anyone wanting to use the service will be able to download an app and have it run on their Smart Phone. with the app loaded they click a couple of icons and the cab is on its way and the user can track the progress of the cab as it drives to pick them up
 You fill in the form – and you’re a customer.  This is my Uber driver? Then just follow the prompts – create an account, give them the data they need and you’re basically on your way.
By Staff
July 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
 Westbound Fairview Street, near Walmart, will be reduced to one lane for construction starting Monday, July 27 until Friday, July 31.
By Staff
July 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Uber has launched its UberX ride-sharing service in Waterloo Region, Hamilton, Guelph and London Thursday, according to a release from the company.
Can Burlington be far behind?
Uber had announced it was planning on launching in Waterloo Region by the end of the year. That plan changed when, according to Uber Canada’s general manager Ian Black, interest from social media came pouring in over the last week because of media coverage.
“Interest has been building to a place where residents and drivers in the Waterloo Region wanted Uber to come and wanted more transportation options,” said Black.
 There are tens of thousands of people who use the Uber service – is Burlington a fit for this kind of taxi? We may well find out very soon – they are operating in Guelph. “We’ve been hearing from our riders that they’re in need of more reliable, more affordable transportation. We’ve been hearing from drivers that they’re looking for a way to earn more money in a flexible way. And also, just generally, I think [the] Kitchener-Waterloo region being such an innovation and tech community, it’s a group of people who are naturally plugged into the next big thing.”
Black said even before today’s launch, tens of thousands of Waterloo Region residents had downloaded the app; some in anticipation of its local expansion and some who had used it other cities.
He added that several hundred drivers in the area have gone through a vehicle inspection, a background check, as well as a motor vehicle record check.
OK – that’s the Uber side of the story.
What would happen if they began operations in Burlington? A city with basically just the one major taxi service – there is a second taxi company but it doesn’t have all that much in the way of market share – Uber would see Burlington as prime pickings.
Uber offers three types of services:
Uber Taxi, which allows existing taxi drivers ways to find fares.
Uber Black and Uber SUV, for limo and large vehicle drivers.
UberX, for private vehicles and drivers.
UberX is the cheapest option for users of the app, because UberX drivers use their own cars to drive passengers and aren’t affiliated with taxi companies.
The app, available on iOS and Android, and accessible on BlackBerry through the mobile site, allows users to order rides and see the driver coming by following on a real-time map in the app that uses the smartphone’s GPS to determine the rider’s location and find the nearest available driver. It then lets the user pay through their smartphone, meaning no physical money or credit card information changes hands in the vehicle.
The company claims it will create over 2,400 jobs for drivers in southwestern Ontario over the next year.
Uber has come under fire in other communities for everything from concerns over how drivers and their vehicles are vetted to failing to collect HST.
Uber was exiled from Vancouver in 2012 because of requirements by the BC Passenger Transportation Branch. Recently, 36 UberX drivers in Toronto were charged with operating unlicensed transportation services and Toronto city councillor Jim Karygiannis warned passengers could face fines of up to $20,000.
Waterloo Regional councillor Sean Strickland, who has been a proponent of the service, said staff will now review bylaws to determine whether the company is in contravention of the laws.
Black said Uber is prepared to work with the Region, repeatedly emphasizing a recent decision by an Ontario judge that came out in Uber’s favour.
The city of Toronto sought a permanent injunction against the company’s operations, arguing that Uber is a taxi company and must abide by the city’s regulations. But Judge Sean Dunphy dismissed the application, saying there is “no evidence” the company is operating as a taxi broker.
“The Ontario courtroom…clearly points that ride-sharing is a new model that is outside the regulations, but certainly completely legal,” said Black.
“For those regions that do want to update their regulations, I think there’s a lot of lessons to be learned from the hundreds of cities around the world where ride-sharing already exists. And many of those jurisdictions, including 50 in the U.S., have created new regulations for ride-sharing.”
 Burlington Taxi has strong ties in the community – is that enough to overcome a cheaper service? Burlington Taxi has a strong local profile and in the past has piloted several new services. Their rates are determined by city council where Scott Wallace, owner of the company, has very strong relationships. The company has been pro-active in the community.
Scott Wallace said: ” The UberX taxi service is already operating illegally in Burlington and most every other city if Ontario.”
The Gazette has not been able to get any comment from city hall.
If Uber announces the service is going to be available in Burlington – it will be interesting to see how it works out. City council might have to return from their holidays.
Uber is apparently available from the Pearson Airport.
 By Justin Lethbridge
July 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
On the strength of three straight wins over Toronto, the Burlington Bandits made a run up the Intercounty Baseball League standings ladder. While that six game winning streak came to an end Thursday against Hamilton, the Bandits earned a 1.5 game lead on Toronto for 5th place in league standing.
If the standings hold, Friday night’s game against the London Majors will be a preview of the first round of the playoffs.
A win would do little in the standings, the Bandits need to beat London to gain a bit of momentum and confidence ahead of the playoff series.
 Through four games this year Burlington has been unable to beat the London Majors. Even with a 8 – 0 3rd inning lead over the Majors in their last meeting, Burlington was unable to seal the deal as they lost 11-12.
Despite early leads in their last three meetings, the Bandits have been unable to hold London off the scoreboard and have been outscored 32-18.
It’s a trend that Burlington needs to snap in London Friday night.
Hamilton snaps Bandits six game winning streak.
 By Justin Lethbridge
July 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Bandits were unable to muster much offence in a 7-1 loss against rival Hamilton Thursday night. Despite the score it was a very defensive affair for most of the game as the teams combined for only 13 hits.
 Burlington pitcher Steven Dressler was great through seven innings despite allowing six runs on seven hits to go along with five strikeouts. A couple of errors resulted in a sloppy 4th inning that allowed Hamilton to score six times on only five hits, all while the Cardinals had two outs.
Adam Odd hit a home run in 5th inning to get Burlington on the board but they were unable to solve Hamilton’s Tim Black. Through just over eight innings of work he allowed only three hits and one run while earning 4 strikeouts.
The loss snaps Burlington’s six game winning streak, a run that has seen them vault over the Toronto Maple Leaf’s for fourth in the League.
With only a few games left before the playoffs, Barrie sits in 1st followed by Kitchener in 2nd, Brantford in 3rd, London in 4th, Burlington in 5th,Toronto in 6th, Hamilton in 7th and Guelph in 8th.
 By Staff
July 24, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington detachment of the Halton Regional Police have issued their fourteenth “Fugitive Friday” report that asks the public to help locate wanted persons and hold them accountable for their actions.
There are numerous people who continue to evade the police and the court system and continue to live out in our communities while having a warrant for their arrest in place.
Every Friday, the Burlington Offender Management Unit shares information on a wanted person in hopes that the public can assist in locating the individual.
 Ahmad ALAMI, 34 years old, of St. Catharines, wanted by Halton Regional Police. The objective this week is to find Ahmad ALAMI, 34 years old, of St. Catharines, ON.
It is alleged:
– In August of 2014 the accused was working as a sub-contractor at the Joseph Brant Hospital in the City of Burlington
– The accused stole several cheques from the hospital, forged the signatures of various hospital staff members and attended Cash Stores in the Niagara Region to cash the fraudulent cheques
– The accused was identified and contacted by police however he was uncooperative and refused to turn himself in
– A Warrant in the First was issued for the accused
He is now wanted by Halton Regional Police Service for:
Fraud under $5000 x 4
Uttering Forged Documents x 4
Possession of Stolen Property
ALAMI is described as 6’, 175lbs, brown eyes and black hair. Alami was born in Afghanistan and has ties to Niagara, Peel and Markham areas
Anyone who may have witnessed this male or has information that would assist investigators in locating him are encouraged to contact D/C Calvin Bulbrook – Burlington Criminal Investigations Bureau – Offender Management Team at 905-825-4747 Ext. 2346 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.com, or by texting “Tip201” with your message to 274637 (crimes).
By Pepper Parr
July 23, 3015
BURLINGTON, ON
While picking up the morning paper I bumped into a Roseland resident who said he too had that disgusting piece of paper stuffed in his mailbox – and he, like many others wanted to know why nothing could be done.
For some reason everyone is saying they are powerless to do anything – that’s not true.
Like many, I’m not prepared to listen to someone’s free speech rights – this is not free speech – this comes close to hate mail – and there is something that can be done.
 There may well be security camera in the Roseland community that captured images of the people delivering the hate mail Regular Gazette readers will recall an article the Gazette ran recently about the police asking people who had outdoor video surveillance cameras if they would mind registering their location with the police.
The idea was to give police a list of places that had outdoor video cameras. The police plot all the locations on a map and when looking into crime in an area they know that there are specific homes that have outdoor video surveillance.
The police can then contact the owner of the equipment and ask if they can review the video. The owner of the video can always decline. The purpose from a police perspective was to be aware of a possible investigative resource. The program was called SCRAM
There is an opportunity here for the police to see what they have in the way of people in the Roseland community who have outdoor video surveillance equipment and who have registered it with the police and see what there is on those cameras.
Is there a chanced that good visuals of people going house to house putting papers in mailboxes?
This would be an interesting Fugitive Friday subject for the Burlington police unit to look into.
Original article on the hate mail stuffed in local mail boxes
Story on the police surveillance program
By Staff
July 23, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, voted on Wednesday, July 22, to accept a new collective agreement that includes significant wage increases and other improvements in their contract.
 Thirty three unions workers care for the acres of plants at the Royal Botanical Gardens. They settled with management on a new wage package “We are happy that we were able to secure significant gains for our members in this round of negotiations,” said Sandra Walker, president of CUPE 5167, representing RBG workers. “Over the years, our members have fallen behind in wages and were forced to accept minimal increases to keep the RBG afloat.
For this round of contract talks, we were very focussed on rectifying this problem – the employer also recognized that this was a recurring issue and worked with us to address the wage issue for our members.”
The new five-year contract includes wage increases of 10.75% over 5 years with a $1.00 hourly wage enhancement, for all workers, effective immediately.
The new agreement also includes improvements in education funds for the workers, increased meal and clothing allowances and other improvements. The new contract will expire on January 15, 2020.
“In the past, there were lean years at the gardens and our members suffered economically,” continued Walker. “But, now, RBG is on a better financial footing and we are glad that workers are benefiting from that as well, as our members worked hard to ensure the success of RBG.”
“We want to thank supporters from the community and RBG patrons for helping us achieve this contract,” concluded Walker. “Our members take great pride in working for the RBG and will continue their work to tend and maintain the ecological jewel that attracts visitors from around the globe.”
In addition to representing the 33 RBG workers, CUPE 5167 also represents 4200 workers who work with the City of Hamilton, the Hamilton International Airport, DARTS (Disabled and Aged Regional Transportation System), Good Shepherd Women’s Services, and the Macassa and Wentworth Lodges.
 By Pepper Parr
July 23, 2015 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
The Gazette has received two reports of an absolutely disgusting piece of paper being stuffed in mail boxes in the Roseland community.
This is not literature. This is not a political statement.
This is garbage; this is disgusting and belittles everyone in the community.
Someone created a document with graphics about Justin Trudeau and abortion.
There is nothing political about the document.
There is a sick mind out there – the people who did this need help.
Politics is the exchange of ideas and ideologies. Differences of opinion are healthy; they are necessary for am society to grow.
What was stuffed in mail boxes in Roseland yesterday is a society at its worst.
We are better than this. Someone should be ashamed.
We are not going to reproduce the document – not because it is about a Liberal and we do have a liberal bent of mine but because it is disgusting.
No one has the right to foist this kind of garbage on people.
Those who received a copy of the document should turn it over to the police.
By Pepper Parr
July 22, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
They began the evening singing O’Canada – I heard the voices as I was approaching the back entrance to St. Georges Anglican Church where the Lowville Festival was being held.
The first inaugural festival was a moving enterprise that worked its way from local to locale – the Saturday events were at the Lowville School house and the Sunday event at the Lowville United Church.
 Loretta Bailey and Robert Missen on stage with the choir who later did Rise Again – which just blew the audience away. The attendance Friday was – small but there was nothing small about the performances which ranged from two pieces done by Loretta Baily of Les Miserable fame, who kept forgetting her lines and turned to the audience for help; then there was Simone Caruso doing the laughing song from Die Fledermaus. The opera piece was followed by a Rachmaninoff piece done by Renee Barabash – her performance was superb
Allison Arends sang and Lawrence Cotton let us hear his voice.
 Renee Barbarash – played Rachmaninoff David Warwick tickled the ivories for several of the performers; his style reminded me of those days when the better clubs had men and woman who styled the music in a way that was all their own.
Lorraine Foreman did “From this moment on” and you knew you were listening to someone with great timing and style. Don’t hear that kind of voice live very often.
 Simone Caruso, who sang the laughing song from Die Fledermaus, talks with an admirer. Foreman used to work with Gordie Tapp and said she was looking forward to seeing him again – it had been 50 years when they last worked together.
Lawrence Cotton reminded us what Frank Sinatra sounded like – “Its quarter to three…” The audiene knew the words that followed.
It was eclectic, there were several solid performances and a choir that had people on their feet when they finished Rise Again. Whew! Most people had to blink when they finished.
The audiences were small but that took nothing away from the quality of the performances. Bob Missen said what the audiences heard was some of the very best that exists in Burlington. “These were very, very good performers, some with national and international reputations. They are here, part of our community and we put on an event that let the public hear what we have amongst us.
 Bob Missen and Loretta Bailey were two of the three event founders. Barbara Anderson-Huget was the third founder. Making it happen was not easy. Loretta Bailey found that they were pretty thin on the ground when it came to getting the word out. “I think I put up two thirds of the posters we had printed.
“Getting the program put together and ready on time proved to be a herculean task and we found that people who wanted to help just weren’t able to do what they had hoped to do:, added Bailey
Andy Griffiths, who did an event for children Saturday afternoon, just may have launched a new niche in his career. Andy tends to do events for adult audiences in small bars and cafes. His program for the children at the School House in Lowville Park adds to the stylings of Sharon Lois and Bram. ”Raffi isn’t doing his work much more and Robert Munch doesn’t perform much anymore” noted Missen.
Loretta Bailey added that the fist Lowville Festival just may have launched a new act for children.
The Sunday evening event at the Lowville United Church – held on one of the hottest days of the year in a building that wasn’t air conditioned – isn’t going to be seen as a highlight of the festival.
But listening to Gordie Tapp tell jokes while the technicians beavered away at making the sound system and the recording equipment work was a highlight.
Tapp is a master performer and for those who were in the room it was an occasion they will not forget.
It is too early to define what the Lowville Festival will become or even if the event will grow roots.
Missen believes it is fair to say that “it was a wonderful evening and if you paused for a bit you would realize that you were experiencing the rural part of Burlington where events took place in church halls.
With the event over – it was time to take stock – how did it work; was it a worthwhile effort and should it continue?
That decision will get made by the three people who came up with the idea; got it off the ground and made it happen.
It is too early to hold the get together that will make some decisions and it may take a fund raiser to cover some of the costs.
An earlier promotional start will make a difference and finding a way to use the natural beauty of Lowville Park is something that can be thought about.
Is July too early for a corn roast – that would add to the rural touch.
 By Staff
July 22, 2015
BURLINGTON, ON
A few interesting observations in Burlington: Shoreacres, the community with the highest increase in # of sales and one of the lowest DOM (Days on Market) resulted in the lowest increase in price which suggests that Shoreacres is experiencing a very balanced market. The more likely explanation is that there were several properties on the market that were over-priced.
 Girls selling lemonade on Palmer Drive On the other hand, Palmer is a community where supply is not meeting demand – sales are up by 35%, DOM are down significantly and price has risen by over 13% – a true example of a sellers market.
This can be explained by the simple fact that the average price of a property in Palmer is still in the low $500’s making these properties very attractive to first time home-buyers and empty-nesters.
Another notable community is the Orchard. It may very well be that the Orchard community has finally reached a ceiling in terms of price. The results for the first half of the year suggest that while there is still not enough inventory, that there are a never ending number of buyers and properties are generally selling for the asking price or more, prices are not increasing accordingly.
 The Rocca Sisters provide the data for this report. Overall, the Burlington market is heavily favoured towards the seller and with the exception of a few communities, experiencing double digit growth. There is still a large pool of buyers just waiting for the right property to be listed. One very significant sector that has stalled due to a lack of inventory is the downsizer.
There are very few decent sized condo apartments / bungalow / bungalofts for downsizers which has resulted in a stalled move up market. 
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