Spec Online

Red Hill Parkway flooding

The Spec's Jeremy Grimaldi reports:

'The city has admitted it needs to review how it responds to flooding on the Red Hill Valley Parkway after the latest of four heavy rainfalls in less than a year put motorists' lives at risk.

The admission comes after Ron Sheckenberger, the project manager of the parkway drainage system from AMEC Earth and Environmental, said both police and the city should have acted on contingency plans sooner.'

What do you think?

Terry Fox anniversary

Do you have memories of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope visiting Hamilton 30 years ago? Share them here.

G20 security under the microscope

Opposition parties in Ottawa say Canadians deserve a federal review of the conduct of security forces and alleged civil liberties violations at the G20 summit. What do you think? Should there be an inquiry or some other form of review?

Who's at fault in the Pan Am stadium debacle?

Former mayor Larry Di Ianni is poised to enter the Hamilton mayor's race, and plans on focusing on what he says is a failure of leadership by Mayor Fred Eisenberger around the Pan Am stadium controversy. Others blame the Tiger-Cat organization for not being upfront about its west harbour concerns from the outset of the process.

What do you think?

Shopping bag germ threat?

Torstar News Service reports:

'Reusing shopping bags may be good for the environment but harmful to your health.

Those handy woven polypropylene bags that can be squeezed small and tucked into a purse can become a comfy home for coliform bacteria and even e-coli, according to researchers in California and Arizona.

Coliform bacteria occur in fecal material and raw meat, toilet bowls, kitchen sinks where raw meat is cleaned and in sink sponges, according to researcher Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona at Tucson. An indicator of unsanitary conditions, coliform bacteria was found in half of the bags tested. E-coli were found in 12 per cent of the bags.

“You’re always gambling with germs and the whole idea is to keep the odds in your favour and not in the germs’ favour. If you don’t maintain these bags, you’re giving the germs a chance to get exposure,” says Gerba.'

What do you think? Do you wash your cloth bags? Are you worried about the germ threat?

Eco fees: sensible step or something else?

Torstar News Service reports:

'Checking her receipt as she left a downtown Canadian Tire, Chris Colorado noticed a new charge.

Her $1.99 bottle of dish soap was accompanied by a 13-cent “eco fee.”

The levy for thousands of new products, from pharmaceuticals to fire extinguishers, quietly came into effect July 1, the same day as the harmonized sales tax.

But unlike that tax, provincial agencies have done little to publicize the new fees, catching consumers like Colorado by surprise.

“I’ve never heard anything about this fee. No one’s talking about it,” she said. “The fact they just put it without us knowing, I don’t think it’s honest. I don’t like it.”

Manufacturers must pay the province a levy for recycling their products. Some companies are passing these costs, ranging from a few cents to several dollars per product, onto consumers.

Stewardship Ontario, the agency overseeing the eco fees, began its $2.5 million public education campaign at the beginning of the month, which consists of posters and radio spots, as well as a group which tours public events and provides information about the program.

“We would rather spend the money to educate people than to spend the money months ahead to say, ‘Hey, there’s a new eco fee coming,’ ” said spokeswoman Amanda Harper Sevonty.

“Our message to consumers isn’t about the eco fees. Our message to consumers is about here are the materials and what to do with them.”

What do you think? Are eco fees justifiable?

Ticats pay big bucks for different site

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have announced their strong support for the east mountain stadium site revealed in the report by Michael Fenn, hired to facilitate agreement between the club and city on stadium location.

In a letter to Mayor Fred Eisenberger, Ticats owner Bob Young said the club's "contributions to the new stadium will total in excess of $74,000,000.00"  over a 10-year period.

What do you think?

And the winner is ...

Have you been following the World Cup? Who are you picking to win it all?

The monarchy in Canada

Is the monarchy relevant in today's Canada?

Stadium location deadlock

The Spec's Andrew Dreschel reports:

'The facilitated talks between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the city have reached the end of the road without an agreement.

After more than three weeks of negotiations, the Tiger-Cats and the city are no closer to resolving their dispute over building the proposed Pan Am stadium in the west harbour.

The continuing impasse not only casts doubts on the viability of going ahead with a new stadium to replace the aging Ivor Wynne, it raises questions about the long-term sustainability of the football team in Hamilton.

The last scheduled meeting between the deadlocked sides took place Wednesday, the day after city council agreed to consider handing over management of the new stadium to Daryl Katz, owner of the Edmonton Oilers.

Facilitator Michael Fenn declined to comment on the negotiations. He said his job is to summarize them in a report which he expects to submit to council's committee of the whole meeting Tuesday.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger says the city remains committed to talking to the Cats.

"I'll save disappointment for another day, " he said. "Today, it's still the resolve to try to come up with solutions and something that is agreeable for the city and the Tiger-Cats." '

What do you think? Should the city move of its preferred west harbour location. Should the Ticats compromise?