Spec Online

Dangerous water

Cow manure, geese feces and bird droppings are just three reasons this weekend's Valens beach party may not make much of a splash. The water at the conservation area beach has been marked unsafe due to high E.coli levels, which at last check was about 250 E.coli bacteria per 100ml of water - two and a half times safe swimming levels. Organizers of this weekend's beach party are still expecting upwards of 3,000 people to attend the event. And if the day is as hot as it is expected to be, some may ask themselves whether it is worth the risk. The answer is a firm no, according to Bob Hart, the city's environment health manager, who is recommending that adults, children and pets stay away from the water. What should be done?

Pan Am Games in jeopardy?

The Pan Am Games' premier events will be moved from Hamilton to Toronto if the national track and field federation gets its wish.

Athletics Canada confirmed yesterday it has asked the Games host corporation for the top 2015 showcase to be pulled out of Hamilton due to stadium "struggles" and an uncertain future for a track at a stadium they believe appears to be centred on use by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

In the fight between east and west locations for the stadium, are we losing sight of the Pan Am Games?

George Hamilton for a day

Hamilton has declared that the August civic holiday will be named George Hamilton Day. The military commander and  land developer was responsible for establishing this city and lent his name to it. Are you aware of his legacy? Knowing the the civic holiday name was up for grabs, would you have chosen another person to honour?

Toxic lack of communication

(Excerpt from Susan Clairmont's column)

There is no complete list of vacant buildings in Hamilton.

Even if there were, city hall wouldn't share it with you.None of that gives comfort to residents of Hess Street North and Wentworth Street North who have just learned barrels of suspicious chemicals have been found rotting away on derelict industrial properties near their homes.

These neighbours are wondering why the city didn't know the chemicals were sitting there. And why officials haven't yet told them about the potentially hazardous materials that have been uncovered -- practically in their back yards.

No drinking for young drivers

Tough new rules for young drivers in Ontario are about to come into effect.

They include zero alcohol tolerance for drivers 21 and under, regardless of what kind of licence they have.

It also includes drivers who have just received their licence, regardless of age.

Anyone breaking the new rules will have their licence suspended immediately for 24 hours, and face a further suspension of 30 days plus a fine.

The changes, passed two years ago, take effect Aug. 1.What do you think of these new rules?

Lord Black wants to come home

The Canadian Press reports:

' A newly liberated Conrad Black will have to stay in the United States for the time being despite his wish to return to Canada out of consideration for his wife’s health.
Black asked a U.S. judge on Friday to allow him to return to his home in Toronto while free on bail, but the judge refused to make an immediate decision.
Judge Amy St. Eve told the court: “I don’t want this rushed because I want complete information.”
The case was adjourned until Aug. 16.
One of the current terms of bail for Black is that he has to stay in the continental United States.
Black and his lawyer, Miguel Estrada, stood before St. Eve — the same judge who sent Black to prison in 2007 — as the bail hearing got underway Friday.
The lawyer provided a financial affidavit as ordered, but the judge wanted more details. “I am going to give you a couple of weeks,” she said.
Estrada told the judge Black wanted to be allowed to go to Toronto, where he has a home, because of his wife’s “health issues.” He did not elaborate.
Black’s wife, journalist Barbara Amiel, is reported to have lived in a mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., for much of the time that the former media magnate was behind bars at a federal prison in Coleman, Fla.
Estrada told the judge that Palm Beach “is not a suitable abode in her condition.”
Prosecutor Julie Porter argued that Black should have to remain in the United States pending the outcome of his appeal.
The judge said she would keep Black’s request under advisement, meaning a decision would not come right away. “I need additional information ... to make a fully informed decision,” she said.
Black, 65, had arrived at the courthouse smiling but looking thinner after serving time in the Florida prison. He was wearing a blue suit and salmon-coloured tie. His wife was fashionably dressed in a grey tweed skirt, black cardigan and a Chanel scarf.
The couple did not make any comment as they entered the building and walked into the courtroom. Inside, they spoke quietly with Estrada, Black’s lawyer.
Black also chatted with Amiel, who sat in the courtroom’s front row just a short distance from her husband. He often smiled at her as they waited for the judge to arrive.'
 

Crime stats: Perception and reality

The Spec's Nicole O'Reilly reports:

'Hamilton's crime rate decreased more last year than the national average, a report released by Statistics Canada yesterday revealed.

There were 2.2 million crimes reported to police in Canada in 2009, down 43,000 from the year before and continuing a decade-long trend of reductions in the volume and severity of crime, the report said.

"It represents a 3 per cent decrease in rate, " said Mia Dauvergne, a senior analyst with Statistics Canada.

And it's 17 per cent lower than a decade ago.

Crime in the Hamilton metropolitan area -- which for Statistics Canada's purposes also includes Burlington OPP numbers and 40 per cent of Halton crime -- decreased by 5 per cent.

Looking at statistics just from the Hamilton Police Service released earlier this year, crime dropped 7 per cent in 2009.

Hamilton police Chief Glenn De Caire said he was encouraged reading the report because "Hamilton is right in line" with Canada and Ontario.

The Hamilton area dropped 5 per cent on the crime severity index, compared with a 4 per cent drop in the national average. The area ranks 24th out of 33 metropolitan areas.

The city ranks 16th out of 23 on the crime severity index and is down 4 per cent. The national average declined 1 per cent.

Dauvergne said the index is calculated by attaching a number to a particular crime based on how severely it is punished in court.

Nationally, car thefts, break-ins and mischief cases accounted for most of the decline.

While the Hamilton area used by Statistics Canada reported a 4 per cent drop in property crimes last year, Hamilton police alone saw a 2 per cent increase, largely attributed to a high-end vehicle theft ring.

De Caire said vehicle theft is an area that police continue to focus on in Hamilton.

Violent crimes, which are all crimes that involve a victim, accounted nationally for about 20 per cent of crimes in 2009. It decreased, but just slightly.

In the Hamilton area, violent crime fell 6 per cent and Hamilton police found a 7 per cent decrease.'

What do you think? Do you believe the stats? Do you feel safer? Is there a disconnect between perception and reality over crime? If so, why?

Wage freeze for public sector

In an effort to reduce the provincial deficit, the McGuinty government is preparing to announce a wage freeze for unionized public sector workers. (Non-union workers already have their wages frozen.) What do you think?

Census cut controversy

The Canadian Press reports:

'OTTAWA — The Conservatives want to recall the federal industry committee right away so they can better explain their decision to axe next year’s mandatory, long census.
The long census only goes to 20 per cent of the population during every census, so 80 per cent of Canadians don’t realize how invasive it is, explained Conservative MP Maxime Bernier.
“So they don’t know what we’re talking about. And so we have to explain what we did and why we did it, and we’ll use the committee,” Bernier said in a telephone interview Sunday.
The Tories also want to use the emergency committee hearings to put the opposition Liberals on the spot, Bernier said.
“The opposition will have to explain to Canadians why they want the state and the government of Canada to know lots of details from their private lives. They will have to answer their question.”
The Conservatives axed the long form at the end of June, in a quietly published order in council.
The uproar since then has been anything but quiet. Municipal governments, provincial governments, social scientists, religious groups, medical researchers, economists, minority-rights advocates and some business groups have all decried the move.
They say the long census is a crucial tool in policy-making and in understanding local population dynamics in Canada, and can’t properly be replaced by a voluntary survey. That’s because a voluntary survey would contain a bias and omit groups that tend to object to or avoid answering questions from government agencies.'

What do you think?

Is a stadium deal likely?

The controversy over the location of the so-called Pan Am stadium is growing, with new community-led opposition to the east mountain location. The issue has polarized the community, in much the same way as the Red Hill Parkway controversy did. Do you think a deal is possible, or even a good idea? Should the city stick to its guns on the west harbour location, especially in light of news about millions in road upgrades needed for the east mountain option? Or should the city change its course and put the stadium where Bob Young wants it to be?