Waterfront Festival is Back

John Draper

The last Festival was in 2019 but the Festivals for the next two years were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Like a lot of activities that are resuming, the Festival may be less exuberant than previous Festivals because some people are still reluctant to venture out.  This includes vendors – judging by the pleas coming from the Lions for vendors, there will likely be fewer participants.  With no sales for 2 years, it’s likely that some vendors are out of business. But the Entertainment has been booked (program below), a Midway is promised, the beer tent is organized and the Rotary Tent planned. The three day event on the Canada Day long weekend is jointly run by the Lions and… Read complete articleWaterfront Festival is Back

Unfinished Business – June 2022

John Draper

The Agenda for every Council meeting includes a report on Unfinished Business.  This is a list of items that Council has directed staff to do but that are not yet done – it includes an update by staff on the status of each item.  Some are quite old but there is usually little comment about it from Councillors with one recent exception: Councillor Emily Chorley twice asked about how many Cannabis stores were in Cobourg and what could be done to regulate them so at the CoW meeting on May 30, Brent Larmer responded to this request; therefore one item came off the Unfinished Business list.  Essentially Brent reported that there are 4 stores authorized to open and one still… Read complete articleUnfinished Business – June 2022

Delegations Point to Parking By-Law problems

John Draper

The new Parking By-Law is already causing problems for residents of the “East Beach Waterfront Area” – they are now in an area where parking is paid for in the beach season albeit with special arrangements for residents.  At the May 30 Committee of the whole Council meeting, there were two (related) delegations asking for exceptions. The problem that Caryn and David MacDiarmid have is that they are expecting “50-60 people in our backyard for our daughter Leigha’s graduation with her University Master’s degree” on June 4.  That means about 20 cars will need parking nearby.  If the event were after 4:00 pm it would not be a problem since restrictions end at 4:00 – but the event is at… Read complete articleDelegations Point to Parking By-Law problems

David Piccini wins big

John Draper

With a vote of around 51% compared with the second place Liberal at around 25%, David Piccini did exceptionally well and won the riding for the Conservatives and helped Doug Ford win a fresh majority.  Below are detailed statistics as of late June 2nd – final numbers will be delayed since some ridings had problems so closed late.  But there were some highlights: Liberal Leader, Steven Del Luca lost to a Conservative with around a 20% margin. The NDP will be the official Opposition. Andrea Horwath was re-elected with a good margin (and then resigned leadership – “passing the baton”). Conservative Dave Smith won Peterborough-Kawartha with about a 10% margin. The Green Party almost got Parry Sound Muskoka – they… Read complete articleDavid Piccini wins big

New Development – Albert and Division

John Draper

In early 2021, a developer asked for permission for their plans for the Property at the southwest corner of Albert and Division.  They proposed two buildings – one on Division and the second smaller one on Albert.  On the ground floors, they plan seven commercial units (stores) facing Division and 3 “live/work” units facing Albert plus a total of 20 apartments on second and third floors.  A public meeting was held and a big concern was that there was insufficient parking – 28 spaces compared to a normal zoning requirement for 45.  At the Committee of the Whole Council meeting on Monday May 30, a revised proposal will be presented that has 35 parking spaces.  The new plan, which has… Read complete articleNew Development – Albert and Division

Electric Vehicle Event at the Mall

John Draper

If you were at the Mall today (Saturday, May 28) you might have wondered what was happening in the Parking Lot – it was the “Electric Vehicle and Sustainability Event”.  Many electric vehicles were there ranging from KIAs to Teslas to the new Ford Mustang recently acquired by the Police.  The event was jointly staged by the EV Society (Northumberland Chapter) and Sustainable Cobourg and was opened by Mayor John Henderson.  You could take a test drive of one of four electric vehicles provided by “PlugnDrive” and many owners had their cars open for inspection or you could sit in them.  There was not a big crowd but I spotted several people in earnest conversations with owners – a good… Read complete articleElectric Vehicle Event at the Mall

Summary of Election Questions

John Draper

With the election less than a week away, it’s time to review the Cobourg News Blog series of posts featuring four key election issues.  As expected, many candidates simply pointed to the policies published by their party but some in particular took the trouble to spell out their personal positions.  Most electors in Canada decide their vote based on the policies and personalities of the party leaders and see the candidates as representatives and not individuals.  But in gathering responses to my questions, I have come to see them as distinct from their party leaders.  I can also safely say that from my perspective, they are all good people.  But let me try to analyse what Cobourg News Blog readers… Read complete articleSummary of Election Questions

Candidates Plans for Long Term Care

John Draper

Given that this Riding and Cobourg in particular has a higher than average demographic of seniors, the last question in this series should be of particular local interest: How will you ensure Seniors get good Long Term Care?  This issue got a good deal of interest during the pandemic since Long Term Care homes seemed to have a high proportion of Covid-19 cases and deaths. This is the fourth and last question in the series of questions I have asked of Election Candidates.  If you missed the earlier questions or need a refresher, see the Resources below. I would like to thank all candidates for their cooperation in providing responses – they make my job easier. I have tried to… Read complete articleCandidates Plans for Long Term Care