While city council dares flood-prone residents to “sue us,” officials up the road in London are stepping up a program that assists those affected by basement flooding in far more proactive fashion.
This past Monday, city staff presented an engineering report to council that addresses the impact of a June downpour that generated close to three dozen phone calls from across the city from residents who experienced an influx of water.
Getting down to the nitty-gritty, the document can best be summed up with this message to those affected – sorry about your luck.
Staff and our elected officials should take a page from the preventative strategy adopted by our northern neighbours whereby owners are urged to take advantage of city subsidies to reduce sewage backups and flooding.
Continue reading
Monthly Archives: July 2009
New St. Thomas-Port Stanley bus service launched
From the Times-Journal
Wanna hit the beach in Port Stanley but don’t have a car?
A day of fun and sun may be just a bus ride away as Aboutown Transit now offers thrice-daily service on weekends and holiday Mondays from London and St. Thomas to Port Stanley.
Service started on July 1 and is expected to run until Thanksgiving.
“It’s been very popular so far and it’s been well received,” said Aboutown vice president Jamie Donnelly. “We look forward to expanding it even further. Our goal is to connect communities and towns that previously didn’t have public transportation.”
Continue reading
Share this:
Time to recognize the architects of Alma
Posted by Bob Foster –
Dear Mr.Premier,
Recently the Heritage Canada Foundation released it’s 2009 top ten endangered places and worst losses list,and it’s no surprise the worst loss of 2008 was beautiful and historic Alma College in St.Thomas,Ontario.The college was set ablaze on Wednesday May 28th,2008 at exactly 12 noon.The dreams of seeing this magnificent structure fully restored were now over,however once the smoke cleared we were given a renewed hope,because TWO historic buildings on the property survived the intense inferno,giving us a chance to save a small part of the 130 year legacy of Alma College.
Continue reading
Share this:
It’s back to work for 600 Magna employees in St. Thomas
Formet Industries, St. Thomas
From the Times-Journal
Six hundred workers at Formet and Presstran were back on the job Monday, returning after a three-month temporary layoff.
Magna International, which owns both St. Thomas facilities, recalled 500 employees at Formet and 100 at Presstran.
While a spokesperson was not immediately available, last month the company said the start up would coincide with the return of production at GM, big customers for both Formet and Presstran.
Continue reading
Share this:
An improved Employment Insurance program would provide a better stimulus to the economy
OTTAWA – An improved Employment Insurance program would provide a better
stimulus to the economy than anything the federal government has tried so
far, says Canadian Labour Congress President Ken Georgetti.
He was responding to the release by Statistics Canada of labour force
figures for June 2009, when a net of 47,500 workers lost their full-time
jobs. There are now about 1.6 million unemployed Canadians, an unemployment rate of 8.6%. Fewer than half of the unemployed are actually collecting benefits due to rules, regulations and obstructions embedded in the EI system.
Continue reading
Share this:
June downpour dampens basements, and spirits, of city residents
As fellow columnist Mr. Friday notes, “it’s déjà vu all over again.”
Such was the state of affairs in St. Thomas on June 25, when the region was inundated with about 60 mm of rain over the course of the dinner hour, resulting in flooded basements throughout the city.
The residents of Montgomery Road now have company.
Welcome to homeowners on Parkside Drive, Wawa Street, Chestnut Street and about a dozen other locations where an inflow of water was experienced.
In total, city staff received 32 calls.
A detailed report from Edward Soldo, the city’s new manager of operations and compliance, will be presented to council on Monday.
Continue reading
Share this:
Lear Prohibited From Tapping Canadian Plants for Cash
July 9 (Bloomberg) — Lear Corp., which filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. on July 7, was prohibited by a judge from tapping its Canadian plants for cash.
Lear, the world’s second-largest maker of automobile seats, owed its Canadian units about $82 million as of May 31, according to a report from the accounting firm RSM Richter, which was appointed information officer by the judge.
Lear’s Canadian operations “shall not make advances or transfers of funds to any of the applicants or any of their affiliates by way of loan or otherwise,” Ontario Superior Court Judge Sarah Pepall said in an order issued today that recognizes the U.S. bankruptcy proceedings. She made an exception for payments due in the ordinary course of business.
Share this:
Future of Ford’s St. Thomas Assembly Plant rests on talks
The fate of Ford of Canada’s St. Thomas assembly plant may not be known until after the automaker has completed its contract talks with the Canadian Auto Workers union, industry observers said yesterday.
Ford will not announce a plant closure, or what it will take to land a new vehicle, while it is seeking a concessionary collective agreement from the union.
“They are in the middle of labour negotiations and you do not announce plant closures in the middle of negotiations,” said automotive analyst Dennis DesRosiers.
Tony Faria, business professor at the University of Windsor and an industry analyst, agreed nothing will be decided until talks are completed, but those talks may give the plant a chance for a new lease on life — as long as the federal and provincial governments also pledge financial support to retool the plant, he said.
“The St. Thomas plant will be used as a bargaining tool, in one fashion or another,” to wrestle concessions from the union and money from government. “It serves Ford’s purpose in the short term to not announce a closing now.”
Full story
Share this:
Health risks of industrial wind turbines debated
The managing director of the company behind two Oxford County wind farm proposals suggested the speakers at a recent “Wind Energy Information Night” overstated the alleged health risks of industrial wind turbines.
Bart Geleynse of Prowind Canada Inc. said the speakers at the Hickson Central Public School meeting were claiming a causal relationship between wind turbines and health risks without any compelling evidence.
“I’ve seen nothing that leads me to believe that except anecdotal and quite emotive statements by people making a name for themselves,” Geleynse said.
But the speakers at the June 25th meeting didn’t share Geleynse’s skepticism. Both David Colling, an electrical pollution consultant, and retired pharmacist Carmen Krogh were adamant about the link between wind turbines and a number of adverse symptoms, including dizziness, nausea, headaches and tinnitus.
