The HST: Fun & Profitable
Editorial by Jeff Green There are not many things that people dislike more than paying taxes. We like money, and we don't like to have that money taken away from us. And when we want to buy something, we don't relish the idea that the $100 price tag on that… READ MORE
Rhubarb: wallflower of spring
Editorial by Jeff Green We are in the midst of a gardening season such as we have not seen in years. The hot weather in early spring has put gardens two weeks ahead of normal years. Every year we plant such early season stalwarts as spinach and lettuce in the… READ MORE
Of cigarettes and land claim negotiations
Editorial by Jeff Green Just over two years ago, on April 24, 2008, to be exact, the Frontenac News published an article about a cigarette store. The store was selling bags of 200 tax- and duty-free cigarettes for a fraction of the commercial price. The Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation had… READ MORE
The challenges of budget reporting
Editorial by Jeff Green Note on budget reporting – Local councils will be finalizing their 2010 budgets over the next month. Covering budget debates presents a challenge because the different townships have different ways of calculating their budgets. From the point of view of the public the main concern is,… READ MORE
Everybody's a Critic
Editorial by Jeff Green As the winter Olympics start this weekend, the Canadian media machines will turn their attention to two weeks of flag waving as Canada tries to take its place as the greatest sporting nation that money can buy. Much of the worldwide media, once it turns its… READ MORE
A lack of political direction
Editorial by Jeff Green It's now been several years since federal gas tax money started flowing to Frontenac County. That money is a rebate from gas tax that we all pay whenever we fill up, and municipalities wanted some of it to deal with what they called an “infrastructure deficit”.… READ MORE
A dash of politics in new ambulance plan
Editorial by Jeff Green It seemed like it was only a matter of time before Frontenac County Emergency Services Manager Paul Charbonneau and the Council of North Frontenac Township would end up at loggerheads over the location of a new ambulance base to serve people in the northern part of… READ MORE
MP Scott Reid and MPP Randy Hillier Find Themselves in Hot water
Editorial by Jeff Green MP Scott Reid and MPP Randy Hillier have done something that no one else seems to have been able to do – they have created unanimity on Lanark Highlands Council over, of all things, water. They did so by sending out a questionnaire asking whether the… READ MORE
The fix is in for school bussing
Editorial by Jeff Green There is something to be said about services that are locally run and locally managed, particularly when they are well run. Removing the management of a service from the people who deliver it, particularly in rural areas where there are back roads to be navigated will… READ MORE
From Flanders Fields to Kandahar Province
Editorial by Jeff Green As of Remembrance Day in 2008, 97 Canadians had been killed in the Afghanistan conflict. One year later, the total is 133, making this the deadliest year for Canadian troops during a conflict that is now eight years old. Traditionally we think about WWI and WWII… READ MORE
Thanksgiving Editorial
One of the comforting aspects of Thanksgiving is that it is a dinner with very little variation; it is the same dinner wherever you go. Some particulars may vary, but Thanksgiving dinners should include turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, a green vegetable (salad will do), and pumpkin pie… READ MORE
Get out your calculators: solar panels just became a long-term investment
Editorial by Jeff Green With the long-anticipated announcement that local power distribution companies will pay 80.2 cents for every kilowatt/hour produced by small-scale alternative energy installations (under 10 kilowatts) for a period of 20 years, solar panels on rooftops and front yards are now the domain of another group of… READ MORE
Did you see Barack Obama hit that ball?
Editorial by Jeff Green (Editor’s Note: the following was written on the night of the United States Election, November 4, 2008, but was not published – In the two plus months since it was written, Obama has demonstrated the kind of calm resolve, in his selection of a cabinet and… READ MORE