Hamilton

The Novemburger

Illustration by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 3, 2017

Today’s illustration featured on the front of the Saturday Hamilton Spectator:

Is it a thick patty? Dill pickles? Something crunchy? A secret sauce?

Hamilton’s most delicious fundraiser is proof that a good burger takes many forms.

Novemburger, the annual fundraiser for the United Way, kicks off this week. Seventy-five restaurants around Hamilton and Burlington will offer unique and delicious entries throughout the month, with $1 per burger going to the United Way of Hamilton and Burlington.

Diners can vote for their favourites at novemburger.ca. Two winners will be announced, for most Novemburgers sold, and Novemburger of the Year.

In celebration of Novemburger, we asked three participating restaurants to share their secret to a good burger. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)

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Saturday November 4, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 4, 2017

Will Hamilton miss the bus on LRT operation?

Will unreliable HSR bus service kill the city’s bid to operate light rail transit?

October 18, 2017

It’s a popular question in the face of a dramatic spike in no-show buses — about 23 a day last month — unprecedented driver absenteeism and escalating tensions between the transit union and management.

Two months ago, city council got on board with a vocal local union campaign to ask the province to reconsider its plan to contract out operations and maintenance of a $1-billion, 14-kilometre LRT line proposed for Hamilton.

The province and transit agency Metrolinx, which had planned to solicit private bids to design, build and operate the LRT, say they are mulling the request.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said Thursday he expects an answer “in the next week or so,” but added he didn’t know if AWOL buses would factor into the provincial decision.

Coun. Arlene Vanderbeek, however, publicly pointed out the especially poor timing of the no-show bus crisis. “We’ve asked the province to let us run the LRT … all of a sudden, we can’t run the HSR,” she said during a meeting on the issue at City Hall.

April 28, 2017

Residents were quick to weigh in online, too.

“Wonder how this debacle is playing down at Metrolinx HQ as they ponder council request to have @hsr operate the #LRT,” tweeted Ward 8 resident Paul Seczek.

Brad Clark, the former Ward 9 councillor and a Tory transportation minister, also pointed to a “very problematic” open letter from the transit union that labels HSR management “incompetent.” “Province could seize on this letter as a reason to reject local operation or even stall LRT,” he said on Twitter.

Hamilton Liberal MPP Ted McMeekin acknowledged in a brief message he has spoken to the mayor about the HSR. “No doubt their current situation does not reflect well. Let’s hope it’s an anomaly.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

 

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Wednesday October 18, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 18, 2018

Mayor getting ‘antsy’ about LRT holdup

Council asked the province back in August to let HSR and its Amalgamated Transit Union workers operate and maintain the $1 billion provincially-funded light rail system.

Despite follow-ups with the Ministry of Transportation, Eisenberger says the city still hasn’t received a response or even a sense of when it might arrive.

The mayor says he’s starting to get “antsy” about the holdup and the impact it could have on the project’s timelines.

A contract was expected to be signed with a private sector consortium around June 2018, with major construction getting underway in 2019.

The request for qualifications (RFQ) process to identify prospective bidders was concluded in April. The next stage in selecting a builder is sending out a request for proposals (RFP).

But the RFP can’t go out until the province responds to the city’s request. If the answer is a full or partial yes, that changes the parameters of the already completed RFQ, which probably means starting all over again, adding months to the timeline.

That’s frustrating because, as Eisenberger notes, until the project gets to the RFP process, the community won’t know what LRT operating cost will be.

“I’m anxious to keep the process moving,” says Eisenberger.

The mayor says when he asks the province why it’s taking so long, all he gets is “bureaucratic talk.” He’s being diplomatic. As someone who’s asked the same question, I call it gobbledygook.

Coun. Sam Merulla, who originally predicted the province would respond quickly, shares Eisenberger’s concern that the delay is knocking the legs out from under the timelines.

Like Eisenberger, Merulla doesn’t care that the delay means a contract might not be signed before next year’s provincial and municipal elections. Both figure LRT will be an election issue regardless of how far along the process is. For Merulla this is about the province being upfront with Hamilton and showing “leadership.”

“They need to move on it. If they reject it, we can just move forward. By delaying the answer, they’re only compounding the problem.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

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Saturday October 14, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 14, 2017

The Next Big Thing in the Cannabis Industry

 
Canada has a pot problem, as Quartz Media recently warned us, but it’s a lucrative problem to have. One thing holding back this $8-billion market Forbes Magazine, April 13, 2017) is supply, and one little-known company plans to be the steward of it in a big way.  
 
When Canada legalizes recreational marijuana in less than a year, in line with a bill pushed through by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, legal supply is likely to be limited. There may not even be enough even if we are only considering medical marijuana usage. Keeping an eye on Insys Therapeutics (NASDAQ:INSY), Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (NYSE:SMG), Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZYNE), Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIRP), Teva Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TEVA).
 
The supply picture is so fantastically tight that Health Canada has had to streamline the approval process for growers because medical marijuana users have tripled in number since last year alone, according to Quartz. When it becomes legal recreationally, a Deloitte report estimates the economic  impact will be worth $22.6 billion annually in other words, more than the combined sales of beer, wine and spirits.
 
Meet Cannabis Wheaton the world’s first cannabis streaming company, backed by a powerhouse team, with the biggest industry trailblazer leading the way.
 
Not only is Cannabis Wheaton jumping into a huge potential market where supply is forecast to struggle to reach demand, but it’s offering a lifeline to new and existing growers who need financing to get off the ground fast.
 
Producers need a miracle grow strategy, and Cannabis Wheaton is stepping in to fill the gap with a ‘royalty’ business model that is new to this market.
 
And for investors, the major upside is that this model removes the risks associated with putting all your money into a single-crop producer.
 
Cannabis Wheaton is intending to ‘stream’ pot, and 15 partners have already been lined up, along with 1.4 million square feet of growing acreage. (Source: Markets Insider) 

 

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Saturday September 30, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 30, 2017

McMaster going tobacco, smoke-free

McMaster University will become the province’s first tobacco and smoke-free campus next year.

As of Jan. 1, 2018, using tobacco and all oral smoking devices will be prohibited on McMaster campuses.

This includes the Hamilton campus, inside and on the grounds of the Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington, as well as at all McMaster-owned properties.

The university said it is working to help students, faculty and staff adapt to the new policy and educate the community before it comes into effect.

“McMaster University recognizes the unique relationship that many Indigenous cultures have with traditional and sacred medicines,” says a post on Mac’s Daily News website. “As such, exemptions to this policy will be granted, upon request, to members of the McMaster University community.”

There will be phased-in enforcement of the designation starting in January.

For the first months, anyone found in contravention of the policy will be asked to stop or referred to supports and resources. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)