[ Cue Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song please ] Now, this is the story all about how My City got flipped, turned upside-down. And I’d like to take a minute, Just sit right there. I’d like to tell you why I decided to stay right here. In Hamilton, Ontario born and raised – [...]
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There are over 7,000,000,000 people and hundreds of religions in 196 countries all over the world today. While the number of people who have ever lived on earth greatly differs based on your world view, they have all tried, or at least thought about, answering the four great questions of life: 1.Who am I? 2. [...]
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Last month, Dora and I went to Henriette’s funeral in Bowmanville. We arrived 20 minutes early and the church was already packed. So many people were affected by the tragedy of Henriette’s very sudden passing. My friend Henriette was someone that I had been working out with for the past seven years. The last time [...]
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Let’s put two simple facts together to try to understand the central mentality driving Hamilton City Council and its finances. Fact one: According to the City staff’s “State of the Infrastructure Report”, Hamilton is two BILLION dollars behind in the repair and replacement of existing infrastructure. That deficit is currently growing by $195 million a [...]
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When I was a kid, I had an annual ritual: Every Christmas holiday I would save what money I could and pool it with whatever cash I might have received from Santa, and, come Boxing Day, my best friend and I would jump the bus downtown to get to Gore Park in time for when [...]
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At a recent charitable dinner, the conversation veered to the interminable Hamilton casino debate. I listened intently to both sides, who earnestly argued the same points that have played out in the media and at public meetings. Yet, I was left wondering, what about the substantive planning issues. What zones in Hamilton are already permissive [...]
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It’s 2013, and the city of Hamilton is once again embroiled in a massive debate about a massive project. This time, the project is a casino in the downtown. Like in the Great Stadium debate of 2010, the two major sides of the issue have clearly-drawn battle lines. Signs have been produced, City Council meetings [...]
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Over the past six months I have found myself at the epicenter of the casino debate that has captivated our city. Last August, right before the media reported that my family and I were examining opportunities related to how an entertainment complex including a casino could transform the city, an old family friend asked me [...]
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Sanford Avenue School, a great hulk of genuine Hamilton architecture, turned 80 this year. After a noisy meeting last night to debate the building’s future, it’s a good bet the school is not going to see another birthday. The session ran hot for two hours, a hundred people or more, and would have gone longer [...]
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During last summer’s International Downtowns Summit in Hamilton, I spoke on a panel with Brian Payne, CEO of the Indianapolis Community Foundation. After the conference, I invited Brian to lunch at La Cantina and we had a long, pleasant conversation over good food and a little red wine. We were struck immediately by the many similarities between [...]
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An Open Letter to Hamilton From Gorilla Cheese
The Casual Gambler
Chedoke Park: Hamilton's Newest Outdoor Space
Hold Mommy's Cigarette: Shelley Marshall
An Open Letter to Hamilton From Gorilla CheeseThe Casual GamblerChedoke Park: Hamilton's Newest Outdoor Space
