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'Worst time': As Trudeau steps down, Simcoe North braces for election

OrilliaMatters

11

The conservatives are not the conservatives of your grandparents' or parents' day. The conservative party, in a great many instances, has been commandeered by self-serving religious, ethnic, and xenophobic groups whose only goal is to reverse anything that smells progressive. There can be dialogue - if it's allowed to happen. But when any suggestion from either side results in a shut down of communication and name calling (or three syllable slogans) the dialogue becomes useless. And we all suffer because the sycophants and purveyors of dictatorial dogma slip into the void. We, as humans, need to look at how to improve all of the lives on the planet, in our country, in our riding. This requires hard work, thinking, and unbridled discussion. Can we do it?

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'What is going on?' Power outages spark outrage in downtown Orillia

OrilliaMatters

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It seems that there has been a successive increase in brown outs and power outages since the takeover by Hydro One. Not sure of the causes since we rarely get followup information. The sale to Hydro One was ill-conceived and poorly managed, but it is what it is - the horse is outta the barn.What's more frustrating is the total absence of any information, effort, action by our MPP, who seems perfectly able to show up for photo-ops (like when giving the paltry $3 mil to OSMH as a token) but unable to dig into issues concerning her constituency. For example, how do we (the poor, downtrodden consumers) deal with a corporation that has no culpability?I also wonder if the expansion of housing and business in the area was done without serious review of infrastructure capacity and planning. Just wondering.

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Council OKs massive 1,065-home development in west Orillia

OrilliaMatters

14

Parking remains an issue as does the increased traffic on University, Hwy 12 and Bass Lake Side Road. The housing is not "affordable" except to the developer and their minions. It is affordable housing we need not more mcMansions. What's in the works to address THAT problem?

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'Much is lost': Curtain closing on locally produced plays in Orillia

OrilliaMatters

14

VULTURE is spot on. The costs of running a few large productions versus many small productions should not be so different as to jettison the reputation we have built as a venue for innovation and exploratory theater. It's a shame that we seem to continue to drop the ball when it comes to leading the pack in the arts. Anyway - as with many things Orillia, the decision has been made by the bean counters and so here we are.

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'A shock': Fionn MacCool's closes doors, lays off about 20 staffers

OrilliaMatters

11

The draw for this was limited Franchisers needed to let staff experiment with recipes I liked the ambience but the food was always meh Example: how do you ruin nachos? Dump a bag of chips on a plate with a few canned jalapeños and squeeze some cheese sauce on top The cooks had no choice

COLUMN: McIsaac shows what can go wrong with strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

11

The constant entrenchment of public officials through arbitrary and broad application of "confidentiality" starts to burn after a while. If the issue is not scurrilous, and we can logically understand reasons and rationale, there should be no need to hide behind confidentiality. It would be a nice day in the neighborhood when public officials can be open, clear, and honest about decisions, actions, and the cost of things we rely on. I'm not holding my breath.

Local seniors, youth are all aboard 'age-friendly' bus programs

OrilliaMatters

9

The community benefits with the ability of teens to use public transit to get to school in a timely manner and without the hours-long delays of waiting for school transit. I have been using public transit of late and noticed the effectiveness of allowing youth to use transit at no charge. This should be translated into free passes for seniors. Sure - $2 is cheaper than $3 but it adds up when one is on ODSP or OAS. With the rates for elder support unchanged for years, a little goes a long way and the city, certainly, has more resources to work with than do seniors. In fact - why not look at Europe and other places where transit is free, and used quite frequently. That might also cut down the gridlock in the town.

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Orillia speed cameras issued over 12,000 tickets in four months

OrilliaMatters

3

Yeah - $160,000 to replace the revenue from 65% out of city drivers that we could collect to repair roads and infrastructure. The fines would be from people who were speeding.....but, in his inimitable wisdom, Premier Ford has quashed another local initiative to protect his buddies and line his own pockets.

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Marlene Bulas’ paintings featured in Orillia fundraiser exhibit

OrilliaMatters

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Marlene is a local gem I love her wirk and own some. You can't go wrong.

'I think we've failed our students,' says local trustee of below-average test scores

OrilliaMatters

2

To some extent, the shifting of funds from public to private has shortchanged school board budgets And, the management of funds locally needs examination

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'It doesn't fit': Stacked townhome proposal draws ire of neighbour

OrilliaMatters

5

The city needs to expand housing responsibly With the emphasis on responsible Packing in housing at exhorbitant rates is not responsible planning.

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'Extreme disappointment': Trustee slams delay in opening of new Orillia elementary school

OrilliaMatters

5

The fact that there is a serious disconnect between local and provincial planning and that environmental issues cannot be dealt with in a reasonable time frame (and properly) leads one to assume that there is significant 1) incompetence, or 2) backroom dealing, or 3) failure of the ministry and province to streamline the process - or all three.

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COLUMN: Discover Ontario — if you can afford to

OrilliaMatters

2

Ah, the usual right wing "blame anyone but business shareholders" mantra

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Pilot project a 'pawsitive' for pets, people experiencing homelessness

OrilliaMatters

3

Happy to see that we are acknowledging pets are family Good job

'Terrible idea': Smith rails against pitch for tiny homes, car living

OrilliaMatters

2

Good idea. It's not like we don't have loads of empty plots in town.

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Annexation money helps bring down Oro-Medonte tax hike for 2026

OrilliaMatters

2

Sell your house to buy a car Short term relieve Long term pain When will locals understand you can't keep slipping the costs down to the next session

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'Terrible idea': Smith rails against pitch for tiny homes, car living

OrilliaMatters

2

With meaningful planning involving all sides we could come up with a housing strategy. Other places have done it so it would not be hard to adopt a plan. First step is to understand the factors causing homelessness and the need for shelters . Second is to actually address those factors in meaningful ways or be forced to accept the status quo.

'Little goes a long way': Auction raising funds to help those in need

OrilliaMatters

1

Hmmm..... seems like we would all benefit from UBI.

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The Social aims to breathe new life into former Fionn MacCool's space

OrilliaMatters

2

Good luck and welcome

'They got to do something' about deadly downtown intersection

OrilliaMatters

2

advanced green on all sides would help. Best would be restricted lighting - red in one direction at a time (4 cycle) although the frustration with downtown has increased as we see Orillia becoming more like Barrie. People are so worried about being late or being interrupted they take risks. I come from New Jersey (spoiler name alert) where almost every intersection is a death trap in one form or another. Because everything takes longer to navigate, people lose patience and take risks. The (sad) joke is "I sped up past that slow guy just so I could get to the exit before him. Then he cut me off so he could beat me off the freeway."