Happy New Year from the Hamilton- Stoney Creek- Ward 10 Community Blog

Happy New Year everyone and may 2011 be a great year for all.
Don't drink and drive and enjoy yourselves.
The BLOG will continue to get better in 2011.
Thanks for reading

One Bag Limit, becomes THREE for New Years in Hamilton: Just for ONE week.

The City of Hamilton is allowing THREE bags/containers of garbage to be picked up next week. The much debated one bag/container limit per pick up is a much debated topic, but for residents wanting to start the New Year garbage free, this is your chance. Just remember ONE bag/container is considered to be not heavier than 23 Kilograms (50lbs) and not larger than 135 litres.  This is just for ONE week after New Years.

Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina hopeful the Tiger Cats will stay in Hamilton.

The mayor of Hamilton understands why his city’s Canadian Football League team is working on a plan to move to Burlington. But Mayor Bob Bratina suggests Hamilton could still salvage a plan to build a new stadium in its city limits.

“The ball is still in Hamilton’s court, if you will, because … Toronto 2015 is waiting for us to tell them something on February 1st and today is only December 28th,” Bratina told a Hamilton radio station on Tuesday.

 Last week Hamilton council voted 9-6 not to examine a site at Confederation Park on the shores of Lake Ontario. “Two votes need to change and then its 8-7, but what we’re losing desperately here is time,” said Bratina. The mayor of Hamilton says he doesn't blame the city's CFL team for looking at a possible move to nearby Burlington.“Right now I’m in my office at City Hall messaging councillors just to update them on exactly what is before us,” Bratina said.

Bratina thinks some members of council never took the threat to leave by Ticats owner Bob Young seriously.
“The Tiger-Cats have been quite straight up with me and I suppose anyone who wanted to listen to them seriously,” Bratina said. “There have been accusations of bluffs … but that’s not how Bob Young works, I know that, so I think this is a straightforward business situation for them.”
A move by the Ticats to Burlington is actually not a terrible outcome, according to Bratina.

“There’s an emotional thing, having grown up in the east end where we sort of thought we owned the Tiger-Cats and that hurts to think of the team moving across a boundary into another jurisdiction, but … this is not the Brooklyn Dodgers moving to Los Angeles.”

Burlington is located about 20 kilometres from Hamilton.
“It’s just as easy for me to go from my house to Aldershot as it is to go from my house to Confederation Park and maybe even Ivor Wynne.
Hamilton councillors have until Feb, 1st to notify the 2015 Pan Am organizing committee about their stadium plans.

Ian Troop, Pan Am organizing committee CEO, says Burlington officials need to have their plan together by Feb, 1st as well,

and he says Burlington's stadium proposal would have to meet the same criteria used for Hamilton.

Troop says Mississauga, Brampton and Markham have also shown interest in building a stadium, and that Oshawa has bowed out.

Tiger-Cats approach Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring. Burlington Stadium possibility.

Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have approached Mayor Rick Goldring about building a new stadium, which would also be used for the 2015 Pan Am Games, in Burlington. 
The Tiger-Cats have their eye on a parcel of city land located in Aldershot between the railway tracks and Hwy 403, just west of King Road.Team President Scott Mitchell and Executive Vice President Doug Rye met with Goldring in Hamilton this morning (Monday). Goldring stresses that talks between the Tiger-Cats and the City of Burlington about a possible 22,000-seat stadium are very preliminary at this stage. “They sought me out and I met with them this morning,” the mayor said. “They are very, very interested in pursuing the site in Aldershot for a stadium that would be a Pan Am stadium and a home for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.”

Land Tiger Cats are interested in (Click to Enlarge)

Goldring said the city will need to move quickly, ideally within the next three weeks, to respond to the Tiger-Cats’ interest and meet the Feb. 1 Pan Am deadline.
He said he plans to ask for city council’s approval next Thursday to direct staff to create a detailed report, outlining the possible implications of building a stadium in the city. Goldring said he has already spoken to many members of council, saying they are largely supportive of further examining the project, adding that there are more questions than answers at this stage of the game.
“I think we have to see if there is any economic advantage of that happening,” he said. “There’s been no definitive ask from the Tiger-Cats of what they specifically want from the City of Burlington, so we need to first of all confirm that this is something that is worth taking a look at and council has an opportunity to give staff direction if this is something we want to take a look at.”
Goldring confirmed that the land that is being eyed for the stadium is owned by the city.
The mayor stressed that the proposed stadium is in its infancy.“I think it is something we should take a look at,” he said. “My analogy right now is we’re trying on some clothes to see if they are going to fit, whether we feel good in the clothes, but we haven’t looked at the price on the arm yet.”
The Cats are in negotiation with a Burlington developer and his partners that would see a private consortium contribute $30 million to the Pan-Am Games stadium project that would become the new home of the CFL team. It is believed talks between the Tiger-Cats and the Paletta family of Burlington go back months, with the understanding that a deal would only go forward if options dried up in Hamilton.
The Paletta's own 125 acres of land located east of the Aldershot GO station and bordered on the north by Highway 403 and on the west by King Road. The land has already been zoned for sport-entertainment use.

Queen's Christmas Day message to Hamilton City Council.

The Queen’s message today is oozing of irony. Just days after Hamilton City Council decided that sports, stadiums and the PAN AM games aren’t important in moving a community forward; the Queen gave a very pro sports message.  The Queen promoted the role of sports in building communities today in her annual Christmas Day message to the nation, crediting athletics with teaching valuable social skills and providing a different perspective on life.  Like Hamilton and PAN AM, England is getting ready to host the 2012 Olympics in London; their stadiums are built and ready to go.  With many Councillors in Hamilton ready to chase away a 100 year tradition in the Tiger Cats, it’s ironic how other successful cities in the world embrace sports and their teams, and Hamilton continues to be oblivious that sports is a lot more than just stadiums and teams.  It raises the morale of a city that is down on its luck by no fault of their own, just the decisions of a few who most likely have no clue of the importance of sports on communities. Who would have thought an 84 year old woman who is the Queen of England would have more understanding of sporting events and the positive impacts on a community than majority of the Hamilton City Council.  The Queen visited Hamilton back in 2002; perhaps she should pay Hamilton another visit.

The Queen's message to Hamilton City Council:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the H.SC.W10. Community Blog

Gas prices hit 2 year high in Hamilton. $1.15!!!

The price of gas has hit a two-year high in Hamilton with many stations climbing to $1.15 a litre. Same time this year it was $0.94, a whopping $0.21 increase. This isn't the Christmas gift we all had in mind and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better. The prices in the last couple of weeks have been like a yo-yo. The link below is a gas predictor for what the gas prices will be tomorrow in your area, their usually posted between 4:45pm and 5pm EST. You can visit: http://tomorrowsgaspricetoday.com/city/Hamilton/ 
to get a heads up and perhaps save a few dollars along the way. Good luck. 

Hamilton's John C. Monroe Airport celebrates first flight to Cuba.

John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport celebrated its first flights to Cuba today with Cuban tour specialist, Hola Sun Holidays. Travelers are heading to the warm sun with the new weekly non-stop flights now available between Hamilton and Cayo Coco and Holguin. Flying from Hamilton to Cuba is going to be a breeze this winter with new weekly direct flights, said Karen Medweth, Director, Marketing for the Airport. As we are seeing today, Southern Ontario residents love the opportunity to fly to these two beautiful locations from the convenient location of Hamilton. Our Airport is ideal for these sorts of leisure destinations  quick, easy and friendly  meaning our passengers can relax and enjoy their holiday before they even get on a plane. Cuba has never been so accessible!
Jorge Felix Salazar, President of Hola Sun commented, Cuba is fast becoming the world's favourite fun and sun vacation spot and Holguin and Cayo Coco are two of the nicest areas. We're extremely pleased to provide these new direct flights from such a convenient location as Hamilton.
Passengers and guests celebrated the new service at two welcome receptions held at Hamilton International Airport featuring steel drums, Cuban-themed refreshments and a spectacular themed cake. The energy was contagious.

The all-inclusive packages to Cayo Coco and Holguin started today and run through to 21 April 2011.

Ward 10 Councillor Maria Pearson votes against Confederation Park Stadium

Ward 10 Councillor Maria Pearson votes against the Confederation Park site using the "green space" excuse, after proudly parading a massive condo development just months prior, destroying 35 acres of the very same green space she was trying to save today with her vote against Confederation Park. Sadly, I don't recall any "NO" voting Councillors coming to the aide of residents fighting for this very same green space just a few kilometers from Confederation Park. Private or public land, green space is green space.

Condo Development: Click to enlarge

http://www.stoneycreeknews.com/news/article/219509 ( Same Green Space just a few Kilometers down the road)

Confederation Park Stadium is Dead/ Council says NO to stadium

After Mayor Bob Bratina tried in a last ditch effort to salvage the Tiger-Cats. City Council voted  9-6  against Confederation Park, taking it off the table and ending any discussion or studies on the site.

Those who voted FOR the Confederation Site were: Bratina, Farr, Pasuta, Ferguson, Jackson and Clark.

AGAINST the Stadium on Confederation Park: Morelli, Merulla, Pearson, Collins, Duval, Whitehead, Partridge, Johnson and Powers

Green Space? Where?    (Click to enlarge)

The main reason for many Councillors who voted the idea down was "green space", and that's about it. No studies will be done to make any other excuse for the "NO" vote.

Clr. Brad Clarke says the responsible action is to tell Hostco Hamilton is withdrawing from stadium. 
Ferguson says it would not be wise to withdraw stadium as sometimes business deals can get done at last minute.

Merry Christmas Hamilton....................

Hamilton City Council emergency Confederation Park Stadium Meeting.

Click to Enlarge. Confederation Park

With reports of the a $120-150 million funding gap. At today's emergency council meeting, CP Rail is officially taken off the table. Clr. Sam Merulla wants to to end all stadium talks other than Ivor Wynne, with Mayor Bob Bratina wanting to motion a Confederation Park vote. Bratina says that neither Confederation Park nor west harbour was his first choice but agreed WH should have been looked at earlier this year and says same thing should happen now with Confederation Park.Clr. Merulla counters saying that "people get sick when the stadium issue comes up" and that " it's time to pop the champagne and save the taxpayer several hundred million at all levels by staying at Ivor Wynne.Council was also advised that the money is not transferable to another stadium site out of the city, stating that other options outside of Hamilton are for a smaller facility. Chris Murray who also says that City staff will get the best answers it can by January 14th, in regards to the Confederation Park location. Clr. Maria Pearson praises staff for all the to-ing and fro-ing on stadium sites. Going door to door gave a loud message we cannot afford this, Pearson also said  "residents just want stadium to go and don't want to take away green space".  Clr. Brad Clarke finally brought out the elephant in the room in regards to Ivor Wynne that the Tiger-Cats don't want it and says private-sector funding assurances should be in hand to move ahead with stadium. Need them to come forward. Clr. Jason Farr notes he was a Ticat announcer and touts Bob Young's commitment. He calls it's last chance to save a 100-year-old institution and heroes and legends of the past. "They won't stick around if we don't get stadium done". Mayor Bratina says that "Council won't be doing it's job if they at least don't allow a study on Confederation park". 

Mayor Bob Bratina believes Confederation Park is prime stadium location.

The Aberdeen Stadium for the PAN AM Games is unaffordable a report shows. Purchasing the CP Rail Yards alone would cost between $70-90 million, bringing the funding gap between $120-150 million.

Council received an email from Mayor Bob Bratina on Sunday, advising them of the news about the CP Rail location. The enormous funding gap all but ends the idea of the Aberdeen Avenue and Longwood Road as a potential stadium site.
HOST CO has given Hamilton a February 1^st deadline and has openly approached other municipalities like Mississauga who have shown interest if Hamilton can't come to a decision. 
Council will meet at an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss other options. In the email sent to council, Mr. Bratina also suggests that Confederation Park should be looked into as the alternate site,
“What I believe is that Confederation Park has always been considered a prime site and has to be evaluated,” Bratina said Monday.

“This is not the end of Pan Am in Hamilton.”

A poll was conducted on this blog over a month ago in regards to stadium location, check out the results on the link below.
http://josipovicforward10.blogspot.com/2010/11/stadium-results-are-in.html

The People-VS- US STEEL: Hamilton Day Of Action

USW Local 1005 and its 900 members and 9,000 pensioners are waging a battle against US STEEL. Being locked out since November 7th of this year, the workers feel that US STEEL is driving pensioners into the dirt by de-indexing their pensions, along with a defined benefits plan closed to new hires and replaced with defined contribution plans that they feel is nothing more than glorified savings accounts. This has made way for a "Hamilton Day of Action" at City Hall on January 29th, 2011 at 1pm.

The OFL, CLC, USW Local 1005 and Hamilton District Labour Council are calling for a massive province-wide mobilization to stop U.S. Steel and other foreign-owned companies from wrecking local communities and stealing their futures.

The sale of Coyotes ends Hamilton's hockey dream. For now............

The Glendale City Council has approved a new lease for the Phoenix Coyotes, clearing the way for sale of the team by the NHL to Chicago businessman Matt Hulsizer.
The agreement, which gives Hulsizer an option to buy the arena after five years, covers the remaining 23 years of the 30-year lease signed with then-owner Jerry Moyes.
Moyes took the team into bankruptcy without notifying the league and intended to sell it to Canadian billionaire James Balsillie, who would move the franchise to Hamilton. But a bankruptcy judge eventually threw out Balsillie's bid because the NHL opposed moving the team and refused to accept the Canadian as an owner.

The team has not made a profit since moving from Winnipeg in 1996 and is expected to lose at least $25 million this season. The 40-year-old Hulsizer, who played hockey at Amherst and co-owns with his wife an investment firm, has said he expects to lose money on the team for several more years.

"It will take some time to turn this around," he said. "It will not happen in the short term. We're looking 10, 15 years possibly, I don't know. We hope the economy will start to turn around, and the Coyotes can win."

Many Hamiltonians are angry that the NHL would rather lose money for the next 10-15 years in a US based market, than take a chance on a hockey hungry town like Hamilton.

What do you think?

ClubLink purchases Glendale Golf and Country Club

GolfLink has announced  that it has acquired Glendale Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario, its 23rd golf club in the Greater Toronto Area, joining such flagship courses as Glen Abbey, King Valley, Greystone and RattleSnake Point, for approximately $3.2 million.

Glendale, founded in 1919, was one of the first private clubs in the Hamilton area. More than 500 of the club's members volunteered over several months to build the course, which has had a vigorous and entertaining history. For example, found on the property is Smugglers Cave, a brick-lined cavern purported to be used by rum runners during Prohibition.

Within the ClubLink family, Glendale will be categorized as a Gold-level Member Club. ClubLink has committed to infuse capital into the property in the areas of cart paths, bunkers and clubhouse renovations.
 ClubLink is Canada's largest owner and operator of golf clubs with 48.5 18-hole equivalent championship and six 18-hole equivalent academy courses at 41 locations, primarily in Ontario, Quebec and Florida.

VIDEO Mohawk College part of Jay Leno "Headlines" segment.

Hamilton's Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology made the Jay Leno show. Being a proud former graduate of Mohawk College, I can find humour in the video below. The  "headlines" segment this past week which featured a Mohawk Collage College ad during his weekly Headlines segment. The newspaper ad for the Mohawk College and Career Preparation Program was re-sized by designers at The Hamilton Spectator when college was lost in translation and turned into collage. Unfortunately, it appears that standard practice wasn't followed and no one at Mohawk received a proof of the ad to review and approve prior to publication. The Spectator published a correction and reran the ad earlier this year.

GO proposes new rail station for East Hamilton/Confederation Park

GO is looking into the idea of building a station by the CN Rail line at Centennial Parkway and calling it Confederation Station, which would wipe out the original proposed location at Fruitland Road in Stoney Creek. Service would be provided all day to Toronto's Union Station with 20 trains a day to Confederation Station from Aldershot. The idea will be presented to the minister in the upcoming months, if it is accepted than the project would have to wait for funding from the province which could take up to 5 years.

Spencer Rice shooting new series in Hamilton.

Spencer Rice, the other half of the Kenny-VS- Spenny show was in Hamilton this past week shooting his new series, "Single White Spenny". It was a cold day on James Street, but the crew and Spenny buckled down to overcome the elements. The Comedy Network actor was very approachable and an overall nice guy.

Common Campaign Coalition announces no transit fare increases included in 2011 budget.

Before this year’s Municipal Election the Nanos poll suggested that 80% of Hamiltonians thought poverty was the most important issue for council to address. The Common Campaign Coalition farther brought light to the matter by gaining support from Municipal candidates at this fall’s election. The Campaigns 3 main focus points were:  Making Hamilton a living wage city, enhancing the rent supplement program for social housing and ensuring affordable and accessible transit.

The CCC is happy to announce that there are no fare increases included in the 2011 budget and that  council is considering the transfer of $3M from the Federal Gas Tax payment be used for capital spending on transit in order to free up provincial monies to support operating costs and improvement of service. The CCC also wants to freeze transit for the next 3 years and dedicate funding to sustain the affordable transit pass.

 All this and more will be discussed at the Council meeting on Tuesday December 14th at 915AM.

The CCC is urging supporters to come out to the City Hall Council Chambers to ensure the budget reflects poverty reduction and affordable transit.  

Snow finally hits Hamilton and area, makes for terrible drive for commuters.

For the last couple of weeks it's felt like everyone has gotten snow but Hamilton. We officially got hit over night which made for a slippery commute. Numerous single car crashed have been reported by the OPP because drivers aren't being cautious. Rain yesterday was overcome by a flash freeze, making the roads and highways into an ice rink. The flash-freeze warning by Environment Canada was lifted over night, but the snow will continue  into Monday night with the temperatures and conditions staying relatively the same. Be careful out there and SLOW DOWN!!

Steelworkers support negotiating commitee and Rolf Gerstenberger.

For sometime now there have been rumblings that the steelworkers are being misrepresented by the negotiating committee and President Rolf Gerstenberger. A motion to force a vote on the union's confidence and its negotiating team. Wednesday night,  the motion was defeated by a wide margin of 150 to 16 by its members. The vote solidified the steelworkers after weeks of uncertainty and confidence by the steelworkers for its negotiating team.  Rolf Gerstenberger reiterated that its wrong for 900 active employees to vote on something that would affect 9000.

Hamilton band "Live How You Live" chosen by Yoko Ono to commemorate John Lennon's 70th birthday.

The band "Live how you live" has been chosen by Yoko Ono for their song "One Life" to commemorate the 70th birthday of the late John Lennon. The song contest introduced the band to an international audience, who beat out thousands of other entries with their pay it forward message that caught the eye of Yoko Ono. The band also won a John Lennon commemorative guitar and a spot on www.imaginepeace.com  website. Carm Milioto, the songwriter of "One Life" says the biggest honor is that their song was chosen by Yoko Ono for John Lennon.  You can listen to the song below and visit the bands website. Good for Hamilton.

Stoney Creek neighbourhood and Hamilton Conservation Authority in dispute over cement blocks and a turtle pond.

The residents of Teal street could face a $50,000 dollar fine by the Hamilton Conservation Authority for putting up cement blocks to prevent the pond which inhabits wildlife from draining into Lake Ontario. A poll/survey was done in the neighborhood on June 10th, followed by a letter stating that an overwhelming majority were in favor of the cement blocks being placed to protect wildlife, health, safety, home value and overall enjoyment of the scenery.

 The Hamilton Conservation Authority then sent a letter to all residents of the area threatening legal action, with the maximum  collective fine of $50,000, which would calculate to $483 per registered land owner.

Below is the letter sent to residents:

Letter to Residents Part 1

Letter to Residents Part 2

Below is an explanation from a resident in regards to the letter from the Hamilton Conservation Authority. I hope that the Hamilton Conservation Authority and the residents involved can all meet and come to a positive conclusion to this matter.

Pond Explanation Part1

Pond Explanation Part2

Pond Explanation Part3

The UFC in Hamilton, Ontario?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has been trying to enter the market in Ontario for years now, being deemed illegal by the Ontario Government, this was just a dream by President Dana White who was very excited once the sport ban was abolished in August.  Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities Inc. (HECFI) want to bring a show to Hamilton. With record sell-outs in Montreal and Vancouver, this would be a logical choice to bring in economic activity in the city.  It is estimated that one UFC event, with 30,000 fans can generate up to 6 million dollars in the local economy.  With all the struggles that HEFCI has been having lately, this could be a much needed lifeline.  The Ontario Government announced that it will start accepting applications for MMA events as of Jan 1^st  2011, with HECFI, CEO Duncan Gillespie showing interest immediately.  “I think it will be a huge draw” said Gillespie.  This Saturday the event in Montreal (UFC 124) is expected to break the North American MMA record at the Bell Centre, which is expected to draw 23,000 fans that are coming out to see local hero and UFC Champion, Georges St. Pierre take on Josh Koscheck.  One can see why HECFI would be excited about bringing a show to Hamilton, but in all reality we might have to wait for Toronto to get their shot first, in which I believe will easily break the record set this Saturday at the Bell Centre. Local fighter Jeff Joslin helped put Hamilton on the MMA map when he fought Josh Koscheck 4 years ago, losing a tough decision. 

The Illumination of Mount Albion Falls by The Hamilton Waterfall Capitol of the World Group

Given the longstanding tradition of lighting up Hamilton's world famous waterfalls, it was no surprise to see Albion Falls lit up in all its glory. Volunteer and former Ward 6 candidate Chris Behrens was leading the event, which was reserved for special guests, The Mountain Kids Klub. In light of the Christmas season, this was the first year that Christmas themed lights were used, which were generously donated by The Hamilton Waterfall Capital of the World Group. What a great way of showcasing one of Hamilton's most beautiful waterfalls. Good job guys!

                                                Getting the lights ready.

                                                         Packed and ready to go

                                                                The Lights at work.

The 2010 Stoney Creek Santa Clause Parade.... in 10 minutes. VIDEO

This Saturday December 4th 2010, the annual Stoney Creek Santa Clause Parade traveled along King Street. Starting out on Nash and King and ending at Community Park. The parade opened up with newly elected Mayor Bob Bratina leading the way, followed by Councillors Maria Pearson and Brad Clarke. MP Wayne Marston and MPP Paul Miller also came out to say hello to local residents. The parade lasted about an hour and a half as the temperature hovered just above zero. Below is an edited 10 minute version of the parade, so if you missed it, you can see some of the floats and participants.

Who is the "Dancing Guy"? VIDEO

We've all seen him dancing up and down the street in all parts of Hamilton, putting smiles on peoples faces with his carefree attitude. Ever wonder why he dances? I did, so I asked him. There is an interesting story about this man, his vision and goals that he wants to accomplish with the art of dancing. Take a look at the video below:

Mayor Bob Bratina tells us about his first day on the job. VIDEO

Hamilton's new Mayor Bob Bratina . VIDEO

Yesterday Bob Bratina became Hamilton's Mayor officially. Growing up as a teenager and playing on a Croatian Basketball team with his son Sam, I had the pleasure of traveling to Pittsburgh  for tournaments where I remember meeting Bob and his wife Carol .
With the 7-8 hour drive on the bus, we got into a conversation of what I wanted to study in school. Bob, who worked in Radio at the time, told me it was something I should look into, and thus after careful consideration and thought, I enrolled in Mohawk College's Journalism and Communications Media program, where I spent three years learning the ins and outs of the business.
Just this past year in March, I called Bob and asked him to meet with me for career advice, which he had so helpfully given me in my youth. Despite his busy schedule, Bob always found time to let me into his office to ask questions, and always gave great advice. What struck me most from my meeting with Bob was that even after 14 years, he still remembered my name, what I had studied, and even the basketball games and bus rides. At the time,  I had no idea that Mr. Bratina would run for Mayor just 6 months down the road. When he announced his candidacy, I knew that Bob had a great shot of winning the election, not only because of his clear platform, but also because of the way he treats people.  I'd like to congratulate Mayor Bob Bratina and wish him the best of luck in his new role, and for his commitment to moving this city forward.  Check out the video below from the ceremony.

New Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr introduces new host, former Mayor Larry Di Ianni. VIDEO

There's a familiar face that will be taking over at Cable 14 for host and new Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr. Yesterday there was an announcement by Jason during his last show as host of "For The Record" introducing new host Larry Di Ianni. Di Ianni was unsuccessful in this years mayoral race finishing 2nd to winner Bob Bratina. Check out the video of the introduction and Larry's first episode as host of "For The Record".

Questions answered about the new HOV lanes. Hamilton/Stoney Creek

 Sitting in traffic watching other motorists zip by you in the HOV lane will be frustrating. Below are many questions about the new HOV lanes like. Who enforces the new lanes? What is the fine if caught? What qualifies you for the use of the HOV lanes and many more questions.

1. OPP officers are enforcing HOV lane use and issuing tickets to offenders as part of their regular highway enforcement duties. The OPP conducts HOV lane enforcement by pulling vehicles over on the left shoulder. MTO has constructed special enforcement areas on the left shoulder to provide safe areas from which the police can conduct enforcement.

2 -3 drivers using the lane improperly can be stopped and ticketed by OPP officers monitoring the HOV lane, and will be required to re-enter the general lanes at the next entry/exit zone. The penalty for improper HOV lane use is a fine of $110 and 3 demerit points.

4. At the discretion of a police officer, however
Under Regulation 620/05 of the Highway Traffic Act the following is stipulated:

Use of high occupancy vehicle lanes

2.  No person shall operate a motor vehicle or a commercial motor vehicle in a high occupancy vehicle lane unless one of the following circumstances exists:

1. In the case of a motor vehicle, the vehicle has at least two persons occupying seating positions.

2. In the case of a commercial motor vehicle,

i. the vehicle has at least two persons occupying seating positions, and

ii. the length of the vehicle or the total length of the vehicle and any vehicle being towed is less than 6.5 metres.

3. The vehicle is a bus.

4. The person is operating an emergency vehicle, as defined in section 144 of the Act, in the performance of his or her duties.

5. The person is operating the vehicle in the lawful performance of his or her duties as a police officer.

6. The person is operating a vehicle owned or leased by the Province of Ontario in the lawful performance of his or her duties as an officer appointed for carrying out the provisions of the Act.

7. The person is operating a vehicle engaged in road construction or maintenance activities in or near the high occupancy vehicle lane.

8. The person is operating a tow truck that has been requested to provide towing or repair services to a disabled vehicle in or near a high occupancy vehicle lane by a police officer, an officer appointed for carrying out the provisions of the Act, or a person driving the disabled vehicle, and operating the tow truck in the high occupancy vehicle lane is necessary to attend at and depart from the location of the disabled vehicle. O. Reg. 620/05, s. 2.

9. The person is operating a motor vehicle to which are attached valid number plates that,

i. are issued by the Ministry,

ii. have green lettering on a white background, and

iii. display the words "GREEN VEHICLE" or "VÉHICULE ÉCOLOGIQUE". O. Reg. 620/05, s. 2; O. Reg. 236/10, s. 1.

New HOV lanes open to Hamilton/Stoney Creek commuters.

The new HOV lanes are finally open to commuters from Hamilton/Stoney Creek. With many residents going out of town to work and putting up with standstill traffic on a daily basis, this should bring some relief to the concerns of greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging more people to car pool which would get rid of unnecessary traffic. I've driven in rush hour traffic to Toronto and back many times and it feels like majority of the cars on the road are single occupants.
Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic may trigger some commuters who make the daily trip to start looking for a car pool buddy. If it saves you an hour on the way to work and an hour on the way home. That's 2 hours that can be spent on important things like family and relaxing.
 The project is getting mixed results. I think its safe to say for the people who will continue to drive alone are going to say that the extra lane should of been open to everyone. The ones who organize a car pool and get to work and home an hour earlier will think its a great idea. Time will tell if the HOV lanes cut back on traffic and greenhouse gas emissions.

Feel free to share if you agree or disagree with this car pool method.

STUDY: Hamiltonians much happier than Torontonians

Hamilton has been in the shadows of Toronto for quite some time. With their big time business, restaurants, sport franchises, job opportunities,money  and many other things that would make you believe Toronto is the perfect place to live and  be happy. That's why the Argos-Tiger Cats game is so important to Hamiltonians. It's our one time to be able to out do Toronto. We've grown accustomed to thinking that Toronto tops Hamilton in many qualities of life categories.
It's actually quite the opposite. In a recent study called,       
does Money Matter: Determining the Happiness of Canadians, Hamilton ranked much higher than its counter part down the QEW. Out of 33 cities studied Hamilton ranked 18th, while Toronto finished dead last in the "happiness" category. To determine rankings, figures were collected in many areas that would determine quality of life. One’s perceived mental and physical health, stress level, sense of belonging to the local community, employment, immigration status, household income and marital status. The average results determined the "happiness" scale.
Hamilton's over all score was 4.28, which was above the Canadian average of 4.24.

Other notables included: Sherbrooke topped the list, while Brantford was 2nd, Guelp was 11th, Hamilton 18th, Kitchener was 20th, St. Catherines was 31st and Toronto was at the bottom of the list at 33rd.

Hamilton Fire sirens attend to a different emergency. VIDEO.

Don't be alarmed by the sirens you heard today, its just Hamilton Emergency Services collecting food for their annual Christmas food drive picking up non-perishable food items. The food collected will help support the 
Stoney Creek Community Food Bank and Winona Food Bank. For those of you who missed it and want to help out . Food donations can also be dropped off at Station 15, 415 Arvin Ave.; Station 16, 939 Barton St.; and Station 17, 363 Isaac Brock Dr. Toy donations will also be accepted. There is a video below for those of you who missed it.

Larry Di Ianni to host Cable 14 show.

 Former Mayor Larry Di Ianni has been chosen by Cable 14 to host "For The Record", a show that airs daily discussing local news features, commentary from the "opinionators" and has weekly updates from councillors. . The spot opened up after veteran Jason Farr was elected to Hamilton City Council at this falls election. Mr. Di Ianni is set to be introduced on Monday's show and set to take over the wheel on Tuesday night.

Local 1005 Union President Rolf Gerstenberger discusses the effects of Social Media during this lockout with US STEEL. VIDEO.

Today Union President Rolf Gerstenberger talked about how Social Media and media in general are affecting this lock out.

US STEEL buses arrive for another shift change carrying salary employees. VIDEO

 This Friday morning meant another shift change for the salaried employees working inside US STEEL to maintain the coke ovens. The video is below:

The rule of thumb is that the locked out workers are only allowed to keep vehicles/buses from entering in 15 minute intervals.  There are cameras just above the picketers to monitor the situation as well as security. If the 15 minutes is surpassed, a court order can be made against Local 1005 that would only allow them 5 picketers.
With the holiday season we hope that this all comes to an end real soon. The members respected the 15 minute period and once the time had expired they let both buses enter without any incidents. 

The PAN AM Host Corporation, looking for PLAN B.

HOSTCO is currently exercising its options and looking for a plan B, just in case a stadium and the PAN AM Games fall through in Hamilton. The City has decided on a Longwood & Aberdeen site, but are 50 million dollars short on securing the deal.  Mississauga, Brampton, Markham and Oshawa have received a letter from Ian Troop to build a stadium if the Hamilton site falls through. All four apparently have expressed interest in building a 5000-6000 seat stadium that could eventually be expanded to 12,000.

If we're 50 million dollars short for funding the Longwood-Aberdeen site, perhaps this could open negotiations to bring other sites back on the table that would be more attainable in regards to cost. "New" council gets sworn in on December 1st, then its back to the drawing board.

Ferris Park Bocce Courts: Investigative report by THE HAMILTONIAN

On October 8th 2010, I received an email about the Ferris Park Bocce Court from a resident who was upset about the lock on the Bocce court that was listed on the City Website as a public court. Her email to me is below.
http://josipovicforward10.blogspot.com/2010/10/ferris-park-public-bocce-courts.html

The full investigative report is available at THE HAMILTONIAN below.

http://www.thehamiltonian.net/2009/11/is-ferris-fair.html