ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-10

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1008TNTO
Resale home prices tumble in Toronto

Prices of existing homes in Canada`s largest city took a stunning drop in the first half of October, down by 15 per cent compared with the same time last year.

The average price of a home in the city of Toronto is now $375,804 compared with the $441,878 recorded in the first two weeks of October in 2007, according to figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board yesterday.

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/519655

 

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1008ONTR
Sun sets on cottage prices

Bay Street financiers are ditching their expensive toys as they seek shelter in stormy economic times – especially a favourite Canadian status symbol – the cottage.

A miserable, wet summer, record high gas prices and a bumpy economy have contributed to make this one of the worst seasons for cottage country sales in recent memory.

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/519657

 

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1008TNTO
Elm St. part of a liberating trend

Every city in North America has an Elm St. Toronto`s is shorter than many, but very lively and urban. Located just blocks north of the city`s busiest intersection – Yonge and Dundas – it is one of those minor thoroughfares in which great cities abound. Lined with restaurants, shops, condos and some fabulous historical buildings, our Elm St. is definitely a destination as well as a transit corridor.

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/517501

 

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1008CATH
Niagara College`s enrolment up 12.4% this year

Student eyes on employment may be the reason for an increase in college enrolment.

When Colleges Ontario released its first-year enrolment figures Thursday, Niagara College was well over the provincial average.

The 24 public colleges across Ontario saw an average increase of 5.6 per cent in their September enrolment, while Niagara saw an increase of 12.4 per cent.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1253952

 

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1008OTWA
Developers unveil their vision

A group of Ottawa builders hoping to redevelop Lansdowne Park say they believe their idea won`t cost municipal taxpayers a dime, but city councillors say they want ironclad proof before even considering whether to go ahead with the plan.

The developers -- Bill Shenkman, Roger Greenberg and John Ruddy -- unveiled their proposal for the park yesterday.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...97-9259dea1019f

 

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1008HAMN
Householders face water bill hike next year

Hamilton householders should expect to see their water bill go up next year.

Adbul Khan, the city`s director of water and wastewater treatment, says the rate could go up by more than 5 or 6 per cent. The city originally planned to raise the rate by only 4 per cent.

"It has been a difficult year," Khan said. "We have had shortfalls with our revenues."

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/452416

 

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1008KWCG
The road is brand-new, but its design may soon be outdated

Kitchener council asked for four lanes when Ira Needles Boulevard was built. Regional council limited most of the road to two.

A pending traffic study may show four lanes was the better choice.

Ira Needles was completed last year in west Kitchener and Waterloo. It cost $31 million.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/431318

 

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1008BAOR
Residents face $3.2M cost after OMB fight

INNISFIL–Making 298 families pay a developer`s legal bills after he spent $3.2 million fighting their objections to his massive development on Lake Simcoe would scare communities away from expressing their views, says the lawyer representing the families.

The Innisfil District Association, a local ratepayers` group, lost that fight last year, and now the developer is at a second Ontario Municipal Board hearing, seeking a refund of the company`s expenses from the residents and their lawyers.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/520029

 

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ON Small Town Updates: 2008-10-19

 

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1008TNTO
New Regent Park neighbourly

Road work doesn`t usually mean this much. But when the new roads are part of the rebuilding of Canada`s largest and oldest public housing complex, even the roads have meaning and are laden with hope.

Over the weekend, construction crews at the site of the Regent Park revitalization project laid the first road to run through the neighbourhood.

This little extension of Sackville St. matters because, for half a century, roads haven`t run through Regent Park, only around it.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandg...141756-sun.html

 

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1008LNDN
Wrecking ball strikes `Wick day before talks about its fate

Demolition crews began tearing down the Brunswick Hotel yesterday, just as the city and the architectural heritage committee were to meet today to discuss the building`s fate. Much of the rear of the building at York and Talbot streets was torn open and piles of debris stood in the parking lot after crews went to work in the morning -- even though the property wasn`t fenced off and the building still had electricity.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...141016-sun.html

 

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1008BAOR
New owners hope to see airport soar

/Lake St. John Airport could see about 150 to 200 airplanes using the property on any given day.

Mike Cogo and his wife Karen, who recently purchased the airport, hope to restore the popularity of the airport.

"We just feel that this area is up-and-coming and we can do a lot with this property," Mike Cogo said. "This particular one is a great airport because it has water access and land, so we can serve land and seaplanes."

The Newmarket couple is still in the planning stages of their ideas for the airport, located off Rama Road, however their hopes are high.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1254993

 

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1008BAOR
Neighbours fight hotel`s size

There`s a shadow on BrightStar`s plan to build a hotel/convention centre in downtown Barrie.

The owners of a nearby property have appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in regards to the city bylaw which allows the $100-million-plus project. A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 8 in Barrie.

Frank Sperduti, lawyer for landowners Vlado and Sonja Pavlovski, said his clients have access concerns -- given they currently enjoy a legal right-of-way over lands right behind 15 Dunlop St. E.

Sperduti also said the building`s height of 47 metres is higher than the 30-metre maximum allowed by the zoning bylaw.

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1254619

 

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1008OTWA
`Grandiose` Lansdowne plan earns yeas, nays

OTTAWA - The freshly unveiled redevelopment plan for Lansdowne Park has already begun to sour with skepticism from some area residents.

The Lansdowne Live plan, brought forward by Bill Shenkman, Roger Greenberg, John Ruddy and Jeff Hunt -- four men who collectively share sports, business and development experience -- was made public on Friday. The proposal includes a retail-entertainment-office complex with 1,000 underground parking spaces, a hotel in front of the Civic Centre, a refurbished stadium and an aquarium inside the Aberdeen Pavilion. In a nod to concerns about green space, the plan also includes soccer pitches, formal gardens and an Ultimate Frisbee field.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...50-73a4cfb9bf00

 

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1008HAMN
Last call for light rail

Today the city`s public works committee will decide if it wants staff to keep pushing for light rail transit (LRT) in talks with Metrolinx, the provincial transportation agency. Staff say that if Hamilton bows out of the bid, Metrolinx will fund rapid transit in other parts of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. Here`s how thinking on LRT continues to evolve:

What does LRT look like?

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/452911

 

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1008KWCG
City aims to bring boulevards into line

CAMBRIDGE

Who would have thought daisies could be so dangerous?

Tonight, city councillors will consider a draft bylaw that would ban curbside plants taller than 45 centimetres in a bid to make Cambridge`s boulevards safer and more uniform.

Also banned under the proposed bylaw, which covers city-owned land within 1.8 metres of the curb, would be:

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/431823

 

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1008DOSH
Task force to tackle student housing crisis

OSHAWA -- As the student housing crisis intensifies, council has voted to strike a large task force to examine the issue.

Twenty-three stakeholders, including students, builders, landlords, university officials and homeowners will sit on the task force, which will be chaired by Councillor Louise Parkes. Coun. Parkes said she has already talked to potential members and expects the group to hold its first meeting some time in the next two weeks.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/oshawa/article/110797

 

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1008DWTB
Not in their backyard

WHITBY -- The possibility of a new group home sprouting up in Whitby for troubled youth has the residents of at least three streets up in arms. The application was brought forth by two Toronto police officers who live in Ajax and together own the home at 1023 McCullough Dr. in Whitby. They intend to open the facility at that location with their organization, Fresh Start 4 Youth Services Inc., to house five youth members -- aged 13 to 18 -- coming from Children`s Aid Society centres in Durham and York regions.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/whitby/article/110745

 

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1008TNTO
City`s land transfer tax falls far short

Toronto`s new land transfer tax isn`t quite the solution to the city`s budget crisis it was touted to be when Mayor David Miller finally pushed the controversial measure past city council last fall.

The city had projected it would collect about $155 million in 2008, already considerably less than the $300 million per year mentioned in the original pitch. But the first five months of the tax, starting Feb. 1, actually brought in only $54.8 million.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/520934

 

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1008TNTO
Toronto 4th in world for culture

Toronto ranks as the world`s fourth best city to experience culture, behind only London, Paris and New York, a new study on globalization has found.

Washington, D.C.-based Foreign Policy magazine`s inaugural Global Cities Index, in the November/December issue, assesses 60 urban areas around the globe in five broad categories: business, human capital, culture, global political influence and the centrality of the city to global information flows.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/520912