Raise the Hammer

What's with all the grass? Where's the parking?

Win.

just think of the exposure to all the landing planes and cows. Naming rights will go through the roof.

Merulla is an asshole all he cares about is sewers and roads and bridges.

He doesn't care about what matters like the Golden Horseshoe Pan Am games that will make this city rich!

To Hell with Merrulla!!!

Pan Am Champ

^Easy there, tiger. There's satire and then there's just being angry and insulting. Dial it down a notch, eh?

Sam just doesn't get it!!!! The Stadium is the future!!!!

Hilarious, Trey!!

Actually, no, it's sad; sad and true :(

there's a funny cartoon in the spec today of merulla as grinch. i laughed out loud.

there's no perfect spot for the stadium. so you have to look at strategic tradeoffs. what strategic tradeoffs will hamilton choose?

I wonder if a vote went out to all the residents of Hamilton about having the pan am games here what the turn out would be? I would suspect that majority do not want these games here.

Too bad they did not do a referendum. A stadium is not the way to riches, neither are these games if you ask me.

How come the spec did not portray all those councillors and the mayor as "the Gringe" for voting the bus fare increase that affects those that struggle?

Pretty soon Larry Dianni will be writing on Euckland's web page about how he started all this when he was Mayor. I'm just waiting for it. I love reading his blog, it is so amusing to me. A disgraced former mayor always taking pot shots at the Mayor and Council of the day and trying to take credit for positive initiatives. When will he disappear into the sunset? It would make a good psychology case study for sure. Love it, keep it up Larry!

We should keep all the "White Elephants" in one place, like at the Airport. Readers here should check out this interview over at the Hamiltonian with EcDev Guru Michael Marini, son of the man Raise the Hammer interviewed back in 2005. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

http://www.thehamiltonian.net/2009/11/10...

By Grassroots:

"I wonder if a vote went out to all the residents of Hamilton about having the pan am games here what the turn out would be? I would suspect that majority do not want these games here.

Too bad they did not do a referendum. A stadium is not the way to riches, neither are these games if you ask me."

I remember such a comment when the election was held about the expressway (not really but between the fors' and against) and the expressway went ahead full steam. i've always felt that those apposed to such large projects with, to me, obvious benefits, always tend to be the most boisterous as if they know the future.

The initial costs will be high but the lasting legacy will be incredible. Ivor Wynne has lasted how long? Jimmy Thompson pool?? I guess we should just stop spending money on anything to make our overly busy lives more fun, no more parks, no more bike paths etc. They all cost too much right??

All these things add to the quality of life for us. I am starting to take my kids to football games now, they are swimmers and hopefully one day will get to swim in the new pool to be built. The track, the velodrome.....

Ya, actually lets forget all about those things. Lets just add to Sam Merullas legacy and stick another traffic light in front of the Rheem plant so all those workers can cross that busy part of Barton safely.

Woody10: But it does not add value of life to all the residents, that is the point that you fail to acknowledge.

So at what cost, should others pay? As the number of the homeless increases, the lines at the foodbanks get longer and more violence erupts, will you say then? Will you just close yur eyes and say, well it is not me, nor does it affect my children?

Please, can you elaborate, is the stadium filled to capacity for the football games now?

Well Grassroots, It seems to be busier at the games these days than it was when I was younger so.. And hopefully today it will be full ( Go Cats Go).

Homelessness increases when there are less jobs etc. Even if the area creates temporary construction jobs (for at least 3 years) and only maybe 100 (minimum I would think) full time area jobs. Is this not better than having a run down brownfield that employs no one?? And I don't close my eyes, I go with my kids every year and donate to the foodbank etc. The more we can build the city up, the more jobs, the less poverty etc. Maybe you should be more concerned with the corruption of city hall or the Provincial government and the HST. These things will cost more than anything the Pan Am Games will.

What would you like to see built with taxpayers money anyway?? 100 homeless shelters and more foodbanks?? Why not, then all the homeless and poor will congregate in our city and then we can ask the bigger governments for more handouts because we will be an impoverished city. The key is to enable people isn't it?

Woody10: Maybe you should be paying attention more to the policies that have created the poverty industry. The many programs that lead no where.

I mean the tax payer dollars that are spent doing report after report, saying the same thing over and over, has done what exactly has been done?

Giving to a foodbank is not enough.

Anywyas, to pass this along, as of Novemeber 6, 2009 the new temp worker bill changes are now in affect, if you know someone who works in this industry, pass the news along. A small victory from those voices from the grassroots!

http://www.workersactioncentre.org/

A stadium is needed....the Pan-Am games give a reason to build it and the dollars to do it.

Even if it's a colossal failure and makes zero dollars....the city is getting it at a discount. It's better than the city footing the entire bill.

I like Ivor Wynne myself...but there comes a time when refurbishing and upkeep just aren't worth it any longer. The Pan-Am games provide the perfect reasoning to build a new Ivor Wynne.

If nothing else....it will be property in the city that was wasted and run down now cleaned up, which is good no matter how you look at it.

lolz

believe history will prove Merulla right!!! I say Merulla 4 mayor!!! Mens Health

Back2reality ok, well, $60 mil from the city, $60 mil from the other governments and $50 million from private sources. Hmmmmm, lets build it ourselves for $170 million. Thank god for the Pan Am games. Oh by the way, the track is going to be used for more than the Ti-Cats I think. Who's the idiot???

Pan Am the future? It's an old-boy's club using old political methods to divert public funds into clubby old sports. It's as old as Hamilton's last Commonwealth Games that resulted in a civic stadium with limited commercial development due to its location in a residential community.

Still, I'd as soon have the games as not so long as the "legacy" projects were useful. What Merulla points out is that current plans are not. Better to spend directly on residential and community development than on projects that conflict with our resident communities. As such, I think Mr. Merulla is more on side with Mr. Florida than all the Pam Am rah rah boys. Build communities creative people want to live in and the jobs and commercial development will come to them.

Makes that stadium pic at the top of the page a good last laugh at the local old boys network.

Woody:

Considering how intelligent and progressive many of you are on this site I must say you have gone to the dark side and bought into the main stream media manipulation.The Pan Am budget is 1.4 billion dollars which Toronto receives 1.2 billion towards the athlete village and hard infrastructure mitigating their city's capital budget of roads and affordable housing.Hamilton gets a stadium which will have one tenant who is presently being subsidized nearly two million a year coupled with the sixty million we will be burning in the subsidy hole from hell. There really is no argument in favour of a stadium unless of course your tenant was the Dallas Cowboys and actually made a profit and paid their rent which is far from the reality of the Ti Cats.

I disagree BTR, I believe the legacy will be truly wonderful. Guarantee a Grey Cup or two in the next ten years plus maybe some international track and field events. And (hopefully) if they build it at Rheem, one less giant eyesore. I know people who live near that area and are overjoyed that we got the games and their area will get cleaned up.

And, I'm looking into it, but I believe the Cats are paying back these days, not asking for more. Maybe, just maybe, if you people who watch the NFL over the CFL ever went to a few games, you would realize how much it means to this city, and this country. 6.1 million viewers on TSN for the Grey Cup and at one point 14 million, almost half the population!

Woody you are still an idiot!

Its no longer a rumor Woody 10 is officially a moron!

The stadium in this picture is looking far more intelligent then anyone could have imagined. History has indeed proven Merulla soooo right!

Merulla was and is brilliant. All of the posters that were unfairly critical of him should formally apologize.