Thursday, April 28, 2011

Wow - What a wind on April 28, 2011 !!

Wow what a wind!

I've never seen anything like this in the Niagara Region before. Take a look at some of the pictures below to get an idea of the damage done to the infrastructure and homes in St. Catharines.

These photos show some of the devastation caused by the wind. The city is lucky that the trees had not filled out with leaves. The damage would have been much worse and the electricity outage much longer. As it is, many people were out of electrical power for 2 days and some longer.

Wind Storm Damage - 3 May 2011 - St. Catharines - Ontario - NiagaraWatch.com

Wind Storm Damage - 3 May 2011 - St. Catharines - Ontario - NiagaraWatch.com
Wind Storm Damage - 3 May 2011 - St. Catharines - Ontario - NiagaraWatch.com
Wind Storm Damage - 3 May 2011 - St. Catharines - Ontario - NiagaraWatch.com
Wind Storm Damage - 3 May 2011 - St. Catharines - Ontario - NiagaraWatch.com
Wind Storm Damage - 3 May 2011 - St. Catharines - Ontario - NiagaraWatch.com
Most were spared
Wind Storm Damage - 3 May 2011 - St. Catharines - Ontario - NiagaraWatch.com
If you have comments or would like to have a review of a feature here in the Niagara Region, please email me at NiagaraWatch@gmail.com.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Fractional Addresses


I am always amused and pleased when I see fractional addresses. They are usually found on residential lots that have been severed and in-filled. To me, these fractional addresses are a sign of intelligent re-urbanization and they are usually found on houses in highly walk able older neighbourhoods.
The addresses and real estate below are in the Fitzgerald neighbourhood of St. Catharines where many fractional addresses are to be found. It is interesting to observe the large number of people who walk and ride bicycle around that area all year long.
If the reader has or knows of an interesting architectural property or point of interest in the Niagara region, please leave a comment and I will follow up. Thanks for visiting and remember, the Niagara Region is a wonderful place to live, work and visit.

If you have comments or would like to have a review of a feature here in the Niagara Region, please email me at NiagaraWatch (at) gmail dot com.

Branded Trash #3


This series documents branded trash. Pictures of items are taken as found. This trash looks to be branded by McDonald's, Tim Horton's, Starbucks and FritoLay.  Don't you just love these impromptu advertising billboards? I wonder if that advertising is unintentional?  I wish people would use waste baskets!


Branded Trash #2


This series documents branded trash. Pictures of items are taken as found. This trash looks to be branded by McDonald's.  Don't you just love these impromptu advertising billboards? I wonder if that advertising is unintentional? It appears as if someone had a take out meal and discarded everything but the napkin and burp.  I wish people would use waste baskets!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Branded Trash #1 - advertising WE pay for - and we pay more than once


This series documents branded trash. Pictures of items are taken as found. This trash looks to be branded by Tim Hortons.  Don't you just love these impromptu advertising billboards? I wonder if that advertising is unintentional? I wish people would use waste baskets!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Sunset in St. Catharines


Photos of a beautiful sunset this evening  23 April, 2011 in St. Catharines.



Tuesday, April 12, 2011

What is that smell? Is that the new Niagara Region Police Headquarters deal that smells putrid?

Here is a photo the current Niagara Regional Police Headquarters in St. Catharines. It is located right in the heart of Niagara Region's population. 

Let's play a game!
Let us suppose that we want to build a new Niagara Regional Police Headquarters. How would we, the taxpayers and residents, go about making the decision of where to put it to serve Niagara best?
Let us list the desirables first:
  • It should be near the population centre.
  • It should be on existing and if possible, inexpensive land.
  • It should be on adequate public transit to facilitate workers and convenient to the largest number of the public and have affordable / free parking for visitors.
  • It should not be hidden away from the public.
  • It should be near other civic services.
  • It should be built for the lowest possible cost.
  • It should be a seamless transition to the new location.
  • It should be a completely transparent process with lots of input by the public.
  • There should be no loose ends and unanswered questions.
Now let us see what is actually happening by placing it in Niagara Falls:
  • It is NOT near the population centre.
  • It is NOT on inexpensive land.
  • It is NOT on adequate public transit to facilitate workers and convenient to the largest number of the public and have affordable / free parking for visitors.
  • It IS hidden away from the general public by being remote to the population centre.
  • It is NOT as near other civic services as it is now.
  • It appears that it will NOT be built for the lowest possible cost.
  • It will NOT be a seamless transition to the new location. It is a long way to relocate that many folks workplace easily.
  • It does NOT appear to be a completely transparent process with lots of input by the public.
  • There ARE loose ends and unanswered questions.
Clearly all contracts or purchases regarding this new facility should not be executed at this time. In fact, the public should request that the Attorney General of Ontario look into this process immediately.
If this deal was a piece of steak, I certainly wouldn't want to be eating it. Something appears to stink around this.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

The Canadian Canal Society - Meets April 10th, 2011


This April 10th, 2011 at 2:00p.m. the Canadian Canal Society will have it's Annual General Meeting at the St. Catharines Museum at Lock 3 of the Welland Canal. I am a strong believer and supporter of Canada's Canal system and maritime history. My own family's history has hundreds of years involvement with the sea while they were in the Maritimes.
The Welland Canal system was an important key in the settling and industrial history of the Niagara Peninsula and it has a rich history with more than a little drama and pain attached. In an ever more expensive petroleum liquid fuel world, the Welland Canal will once again be a key component of the North American Transportation System.

IMG_0104

 Copy of PICT0978 

 IMG_0100

P.S. As one who attended the above mentioned Canal Society AGM, I don't believe that this society is the best way to support the Welland Canal. I would recommend direct correspondence with the Prime Minister's Office or your Local Member Of Parliament.

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Nuclear Free Niagara Region


Most of the population in Niagara are supplied with electricity from The Adam Beck Hydro-Electric Generating Station at Niagara Falls. The most stable supply of energy in the world.
Below is a graphic showing possible danger zones from the Pickering, Ontario nuclear facility. The graphic doesn't mention or show the potential contamination of the lake - a contamination that would render the water from Lake Ontario poisonous for thousands of years. I for one am glad that I don't live inside the yellow circumscribed area but all of Toronto is in danger. By the way the Darlington Nuclear Station was built on a fault line. Both of these generating station will eventually fail and in fact there was a near meltdown at Darlington during the famous Blackout of 2003. 

We should all be very glad to live in this region with it's plentiful supply of safe, renewable electricity and to be far away from the Nuclear facilities.

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Welcome to NiagaraWatch.com

It's wonderful that you're interested in the Niagara Region of Ontario. It's the undiscovered gem of the province. The region stretches from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, and the Niagara River (Niagara on the Lake) to the east.
Within those boundaries you will find beautiful orchards, as well as vineyards, and a wide variety of farms. Where else can you drive through beautiful country side and orchards to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and organic meat right from the farm, then nip over to a shop, stop off for a walk along the Welland Canal to watch a Laker (ship) coming through the locks then enjoy a gourmet meal and take in a show at the Shaw festival - all within a 10 mile radius! 
 
The heart of the region is St. Catharines. With a population of about 130,000, it is large enough to offer all the conveniences (and necessities) of a "city" yet it's small enough to avoid the congestion of larger cities. 
Niagara Falls is the second largest city with a population of about 76,000 and Welland comes in third with about 48,000 people. Other communities in the region include Fort Erie, Grimsby, Lincoln, Pelham, Port Colborne, Thorold, Wainsfleet, ,West Lincoln and Niagara-on-the-lake. 
NiagaraWatch supports the people who live in the community and we are glad to have the opportunity to help visitors discover the region.
Please visit us often at Niagara Watch - we will be updating the information often. If you have comments or would like to have a review of a feature here in the Niagara Region, please email us.