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The Graham Crawford Show, with your host Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

Visit the official Graham Crawford Show website

This edition of the Cityist is called A Story About Storeys - The Height of Arrogance.

One use of the word story refers to a narrative. The other, refers to a building.

In Hamilton, we build too many brand new public buildings that are one and two storeys tall. On land we own. And that we control, both in terms of value and zoning. Why?

Why do we not take advantage of the situation and increase the height and the uses of buildings we build using tax revenues? We continue to build one storey community centres instead of adding a few storeys of affordable housing, or seniors housing. Or a library. Or anything. We’re about to do it again on the LRT line in the stadium precinct where we’re building the Bernie Morelli Community Centre. One storey that tells another story.

This week on The Graham Crawford Show.

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The Graham Crawford Show, with your host Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

Visit the official Graham Crawford Show website

Today’s show is all about things that never happened. And if you’re wondering how we can fill a show about that, then you don’t know my guest.

His name is Mark Osbaldeston. He’s a senior lawyer by day and an author by night and by weekend. Mark discusses his latest book called Unbuilt Hamilton - The City That Might Have Been.

It’s available now at booksellers throughout the City and beyond and I simply can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s a fascinating read. It’s also the focus of an exhibition running currently at the Art Gallery of Hamilton through to February of 2017.

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

In the Paul Wilson edition of The Graham Crawford Show we talk to Paul about a column from August 30, 2016 that he called: Movie time: wonder in the woods, worry at the Westdale.

From the Highlands Cinema in Kinmount near Bobcaygeon to the much loved Westdale theatre in Hamilton, Paul and I talk movies, where we used to watch them in Hamilton, and how we watch them now.

We also reminisce about the first movies we saw as kids. A cinematic trip down memory lane in Hamilton. Have a listen, we think you'll enjoy it.

Link to Paul's Hamilton Spectator column: http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/6829598-movie-time-wonder-in-the-woods-worry-at-the-westdale/

The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

THE REAL STARS OF HAMILTON’S WALK OF FAME

Here are two names you know. Eugene Levy and Martin Short. Both Hamilton boys. Both students at Westdale High School. Both well known as celebrities in the entertainment world. Some Councillors want to create a way to honour people like Levy and Short. That’s just fine.

But why do we want to celebrate people because they were born here versus celebrating them for what they did here.

When does celebrity become the hallmark of what represents us as a city? Why is it that we would talk more about someone who came from here, but who might not have contributed much locally other than perhaps being the celebrity draw for a fundraising event?

What about civic contribution? What about silent, unrecognized, civic volunteerism, year-after-year, that touches peoples lives in unheralded ways? That shapes a kid’s future. That helps a young adult believe in him or herself? That makes the lives of seniors just a little bit more comfortable? That makes living in our city easier, more fun, more rewarding? What about those people?

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The Graham Crawford Show, with your host Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

Visit the official Graham Crawford Show website

The idea isn’t a new one. For decades, organizations have been encouraged to see things through the eyes of the people who use their services. What if all members of staff, all members of the Senior Management Team, every Councillor, the Mayor, and all of the contractors the City hires saw things through our eyes as they deliver the services they deliver? What if resident-centred thinking was evident in all interactions we had with our City? Our regular Civic Panel explores that simple premise.

Thank you to our regular Civic panel, Ryan McGreal, Maureen Wilson and Peter Graefe. 

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton. 

The other day, I was looking at some old photographs that had to do with my parents - Jim and Marie. The photographs were not of my parents, but about my parents. They featured friends of theirs who had taken photos of themselves sitting on and around a bench on the pier at Port Dover that my sister Gillian and I had commemorated in our parent’s honour after they died.

My parents’ friends were celebrating my dad’s birthday. They had tied balloons to the bench. I could read my parent’s names on the back of the bench in the photos. That simple act of memory and of friendship, meant a lot to me. It told me my parents were still being remembered years after they had died. And that got me thinking about Hamilton. And about benches. And about memories. Our collective memories. As Hamiltonians. So, I asked my Councillor, Jason Farr, if he knew if we had a commemorative bench program. What I found out is what this edition of The Cityist is all about.

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

This show is about doughnuts and Hamilton. Through the eyes and writing of journalist Paul Wilson in the Paul Wilson edition of The Graham Crawford Show.

We begin on Ottawa Street at the very first Tim Hortons outlet and work our way through some of the other Tim Hortons that both Paul and I remember in our lives - some of which are still there.

Why not pour yourself a coffee and ‘fritter’ away some time with us?

The Graham Crawford Show. Always fresh.

Read Paul Wilson's article in The Spec: http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/5330111-paul-wilson-our-doughnut-museum-got-built-just-in-time/

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

This episode of the Graham Crawford Show is all about Adaptive Reuse - the practice of re-imagining heritage buildings and breathing new life into them. Creating familiar, yet updated streetscapes.

Too many developers see an old building as just old. Past its prime. Better destroyed than developed. But some enlightened developers, like our guest Steve Kulakowsky of Core Urban, look at an old building and see history and opportunity. And every great developer knows he or she can’t do it alone and that one of their most important partners is a good architect - like our guest Rick Lintack of Lintack Architects. And every finished adaptive reuse project needs clients who are prepared to buy or to lease space in a building that has some heritage - like our guest James Lefebvre of FirstOntario Credit Union. Between them, they contribute to a very lively discussion about big changes with familiar faces.

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

Straight talk about the Councillor from Ward 8 and his so-called "report".

As you probably know, Ward 8 Councillor Terry Whitehead produced a 58 page ‘report’, and I use the term loosely, that was essentially a Googled grab bag of articles and documents related to LRT.

For me, what’s just as troubling as is the report’s content, is the report’s intent. Why would a Councillor choose to spend money from residents creating a report when we have professional staff and consultants who do that very thing for a living? Why did the Councillor choose not to ask staff to do this kind of anti-LRT research if he had misgivings about the validity of the data that was being used by staff, by Metrolinx, and by municipalities and higher levels of government throughout North America, Europe and most of the rest of the world?

I think we need to question Councillor Whitehead’s actions. Or, for that matter, any Councillor who would choose to do something similar.

In this edition of the Cityist, I list 10 things to question.

Click below and listen to the podcast.

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Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

Produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton

There are many different types of public engagement in Hamilton. Sometimes, public engagement is part of a legislated requirement related to certain kinds of public projects where residents must be consulted in order for projects to meet provincially legislated requirements. Other kinds of public engagement are driven by a goal to understand what residents would like to see happen. Sometimes that goal is real. Sometimes, it feels more like theatre.

On this edition of The Graham Crawford Show, our regular Civic Panel, Maureen Wilson, Peter Graefe and Ryan McGreal, discuss public engagement. What’s working well. What isn’t. And what we could be doing better.

Link to the IAP2 Spectrum of Participation model as referenced in this episode.

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iap2.org/resource/resmgr/imported/IAP2%20Spectrum_vertical.pdf

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

It’s still there. Just beyond the High Level Bridge off York Blvd. A secret garden that was part of the grand plan for Hamilton’s Western Gateway Project from the 1920’s.

It’s a fascinating story shared by our regular guest, Paul Wilson.

If you haven’t seen it, chances are you’ll want to after listening to this engaging interview with one of the Spectator’s favourite columnists.

Be sure to check out the historical photographs via this link that were part of Paul’s column from May 9, 2016.

http://www.thespec.com/living-story/6545580-paul-wilson-secret-garden-slumbers-at-city-s-front-door/

The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton. 

We invited the 4 Councillors whose Wards the new B-Line LRT will run through to sit down to discuss why they supported LRT, which they all do. Each of them was quick to accept our invitation.

This edition of The Graham Crawford Show features Councillors Aidan Johnson, Jason Farr, Matthew Green and Sam Merulla in what can only be described as a lively discussion about all things LRT. Their comments and insights are most definitely worth a listen. Hope you enjoy the show.

Hamilton Light Rail Transit Committee for July 2016 [Live Video] Thanks to Joey Coleman and The Public Record

Click to Hamilton Light Rail Initiative for more about LRT

Click to the City of Hamilton website for more about LRT

Click here for a list of City of Hamilton Councillors Contact Information

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

If you think Cultural Planning is all about museums and art and concerts and theatre, please listen to this interview with Jeremy Freiburger of CoBALT Connects on this edition of The Graham Crawford Show.

Jeremy shares his expertise about the full meaning of culture in our community and how it impacts how we experience our neighbourhoods and our city. Whether you’re raising a child, or aging successfully, this is a discussion you won’t want to miss.

Click to visit CoBALT Connects

Click to visit Expressing Vibrancy

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton.

If you’re looking for direct, hard-hitting and powerful insights from experts about affordable housing in Hamilton, this is a Graham Crawford Show you simply must not miss.

Our three expert panelists share information and insights about what we’re doing well, what we could do better, and where we need to go in the future.

As challenging as providing affordable housing is, there is room for hope. And our guests provide it. One of the most thought-provoking shows we’ve done so far. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to our special guests:

Renee Wetselaar, Senior Planner, Social Planning and Research Council

Graham Cubitt, Director of Projects and Development, Indwell

Laura Cattari, Vice President, Canada Without Poverty & Campaign Coordinator, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction

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The Graham Crawford Show with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media studios in downtown Hamilton.

This edition of the Cityist is about leadership. Leadership of the municipal kind. The kind of municipal leadership I think most of us would like to see more of. When I started to put my thoughts together for this show, I found myself reflecting on what kinds of questions I’d been hearing from Councillors over the past few months related to LRT. In particular, I thought about questions I’d heard asked by Councillors of Paul Johnson, our senior staffer on the LRT file. Then, I asked myself a question. Do questions BY leaders raise questions ABOUT leaders? Think about that for a second.

Can we judge the skills and expertise of our Councillors by the quality of the questions they ask?

I think the answer is yes.

Thank you for listening to this edition of The Graham Crawford Show. Let's keep talking Hamilton.

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The Graham Crawford Show with host Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media studios in downtown Hamilton.

This month on the Paul Wilson edition of The Graham Crawford Show, we start by talking about one of Hamilton’s past manufacturing giant, International Harvester and the recent column Paul wrote about some ex-employees and how they’re working to keep its history alive.

From there, Paul and I have a conversation about some of the other industrial giants in our history, most of which had plants along Burlington Street including one where I worked in the mills as a summer student - Stelco. Join us as Paul and I discuss industry, Hamilton and our disappearing history. 

Listen to Paul and Graham have a lively chat about the glory days of Hamilton's manufacturing history. 

--Read Paul Wilson's article on The Spectator web site here

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Graham Crawford Show, hosted by Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton

This week’s Graham Crawford Show focuses on the biggest single infrastructure project in Hamilton in generations - LRT.

Our regular Civic Panel consisting of Ryan McGreal, Maureen Wilson and Peter Graefe take a strategic planning approach to frame our discussion. SWOT - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities Threats. And PEST - Political, Economic, Social & Technological.

All in all, it makes for an intense, no holds barred discussion full of facts about Light Rail Transit and its implications on city building in Hamilton. You won’t want to miss it.

Let’s keep talking Hamilton.

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Host, Graham Crawford - Visit www.grahamcrawfordshow.com

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

All shows are produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in Hamilton

In this edition of The Graham Crawford Show we talk city cycling with three terrific guests each of whom has a different perspective on cycling in Hamilton Ontario.

Listen in as Chelsea Cox, Director of Strategic Development for SoBi Hamilton, Dave Michal, who owns a motor vehicle yet chooses to bike to work and Gail Berberick who enjoys cycling as part of her retirement.

If you cycle to work, or work at cycling, you’ll enjoy their insights into how they use Hamilton’s expanding cycling infrastructure, as well as their opinions on what we need to see more of in the short term and long term.

SoBi Hamilton (aka Hamilton Bike Share) is the non profit local operator who keeps the Hamilton Bike Share system rolling smoothly. For more on SoBi and Hamilton Bike Share please visit https://hamilton.socialbicycles.com/

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The Graham Crawford Show

with your host, Graham Crawford

Executive Producer: Alex Zafer

Produced and recorded by Dave Beatty at Q.E.D. Media in downtown Hamilton