Self-inflicted injury
In 2007, 155 homes were new homes built in Prince Edward County. Three large residential builders were developing plans to build more than 1,000 new homes around Wellington. Last year just 85 were built—that was up from the previous year, when just 69 new homes were started. In 2007, new construction was valued at $63 […]
Informed judgment
About 35 folks filed into the Tall Poppy Café last Thursday evening to consider their role in local government. It’s not as though there weren’t other things to do— the Pirates were fighting for their playoff lives in Picton. And pies were fetching $100 at the spring supper hosted by the Hillier Women’s Institute. The […]
Discontent
My hometown used to make things. Paper. Textiles. Chemicals. It was home to innovators. In 1884 Thomas Edison came to Cornwall, Ontario with bold ideas of electric illumination, and predictions of efficiency that his invention would bring to manufacturers and factory owners. From a steam-driven generator he strung lights throughout the weaving sheds of Canadian […]
Consider this
From this chair it is easy to write prescriptions for the ills I see around me—that is, to scan the horizon, to spot problems or inequities and offer solutions or point to better ways of doing things elsewhere. Easy, because editors and commentators don’t implement the solutions we recommend. Easy, because we are not answerable […]
Good eating
In Peru, cooking and the culinary arts are a knowledge industry—and a growing one. Seven of the best 15 restaurants in Latin America are in Lima. It is not an accident. The Peruvian capital has encouraged and nurtured the emergence of food and cuisine to help diversify an economy that has been reliant upon fluctuating […]
Who will protect Ontario’s heritage?
Our heritage tells us who we are, where we have come from and what we have accomplished. This is how the government of Ontario describes the places, documents and artifacts that tell our story—the story of our province. These are its words. But what happens when our government no longer believes these words? These ideas? […]
Wrong to assume
The Prince Edward County Field Naturalists are wrong. Ontario Nature. Nature Canada. Both wrong. Dr. Robert McMurtry is wrong. The South Shore Conservancy is wrong. So too is the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory. Alvar, bird, butterfly, turtle and bat experts are all wrong. The municipality of Prince Edward is wrong. As are the majority […]
Faded brand
Across television screens and on movie screens during the Olympics, viewers have been presented with glorious images of wineries, orchards, beaches, shops and farm markets—most easily recognized as County scenes. Meanwhile the narrator describes a paradise with thousands of kilometres of beautiful shoreline. “You can have the life you’ve always wanted,” warmly intones the voiceover. […]
Bad choices
It has been a hard, cold winter. But few have been harder hit this season than those families who heat their homes with propane. In the last six months, the price of this heating fuel has more than doubled. Folks with monthly fill-up bills of $350 and $400, are now paying $900 and $1,000 or […]
Big decisions
Ten people sat around the table for nearly two years working toward a plan they could recommend. All but two were firefighters—plus a municipal councillor and the County’s administrator responsible for the fire service. A representative of the Ontario’s Fire Marshall’s office listened, but did not vote. Nine of the ten committee members recommended that […]