______________________________________________________

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

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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

We talk to Paul Wilson about a column he called, “Hamilton is the Town Where Time Stands Still” that appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on March 15, 2016.

http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/6390115-paul-wilson-hamilton-is-the-town-where-time-stands-still/

It focuses on some of Hamilton’s public clocks that have stopped working. Clocks at Leon’s furs, Central School and Hendry’s Shoes.

While these clocks may only tell the correct time twice a day, they still tell a great story about 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.

Visit the official Graham Crawford Show website

______________________________________________________

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 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 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 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

On this show, we talk about a local project that’s received a fantastic outpouring of goodwill from Hamiltonians across the city. The project is the revitalization of the Westdale Theatre. A project being called an urban barn raising, Hamilton-style.

I’m joined by three members of the Board of the Westdale Cinema Group, the non-profit organization that has purchased the Westdale Theatre. They are, Fred Fuchs, Bob Crockford and Jeremy Freiburger. For the record, I’m the fourth member of the Board.

If you haven’t already checked out and Liked the group’s Facebook page, here’s the link https://www.facebook.com/WestdaleCinema/

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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

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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

We were pleased to welcome Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr and two very engaged residents, Roz and Dale Mugford, who started the Park the Violence Campaign related to the planned urban park bounded by King William, John Street North, Rebecca and Catherine.

We discuss the challenges facing the community caused by the violence around the nightclub on the southeast corner of the proposed park that has seen two murders, fights and disruptive behaviour. Currently, there is a full investigation being undertaken by the City of Hamilton into the situation.

While the focus is on a specific park, the discussion speaks to the good, the bad and the ugly of relationships between the City and its agencies and engaged residents looking for answers. It’s a compelling exchange.

SIGN the Park The Violence: Finish The John/Rebecca Park Now PETITION PAGE

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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 Debunking the Myth of Fiscal Prudence OR Read Any Good Books Lately?

It’s an op-ed about a myth of near Shakespearean proportions that happened at, and after, some comments made by Ward 7 Councillor Donna Skelly about the Hamilton Public Library and their budget request for 2017.

Think of it as Donna Skelly’s “I come to praise the HPL, not to bury it” moment.

I’d like to end this myth that has risen up around Councillor Skelly’s question about the relevance of the Hamilton Public Library. Fiscal conservatism that doesn’t wait for facts before making its point gives fiscal conservatives a bad name. It’s time to stop mouthing hollow “fight for the taxpayer” platitudes that might be appropriate at a rally, but are not even nearly appropriate in our Council Chambers.

Please listen and share.

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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

Although there may be fewer than there were just a few years ago, there are still boarded up buildings in Hamilton. In this edition of the Paul Wilson interview Series, I talk to Paul about the Auchmar gatehouse, the lightkeeper's cottage on the Beach Strip, and storefronts along Barton Street.

We discuss why unrented too often looks like unwanted.

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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 Graham Crawford Show was pleased to welcome Matt Jelly, engaged and active resident, artist, and one of the sharpest wits in town to talk about a project he is leading. It’s called #EqualWardsNow and it is gathering signatures for Hamiltonians who support Ward boundary review.

During the interview, Matt provides informed perspectives on how we got to where we are now, where we need to go, and what we can do to make that happen. As you’ll hear, this isn’t just about drawing new lines, it’s about being more equitable in how we are represented.

Please be sure to check out the Equal Wards Now Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/equalwardsnow/?fref=ts for more 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.

Visit the official Graham Crawford Show website

Our Civic Panelists are Peter Graefe, Maureen Wilson and Ryan McGreal, begin the year by looking back at the previous one. They share their answers to questions in 7 separate categories, all focused on the City of Hamilton in 2016, and with an eye to 2017.

All on this Civic Panel edition of The Graham Crawford Show we’re calling: Backward Glances. Forward Thoughts.

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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

Whether it really makes any difference or not, many of us use the end of one year and the beginning of the next as a fresh start for new behaviours. Too often, that fresh start often ends with old behaviours. Change, although always possible, is usually difficult. But that truth doesn’t seem to stop us from believing we can do it this time.

So, in the spirit of new beginnings, this first edition of the Cityist for 2017 engages in some wishful thinking. Seven simple wishes for Hamilton City Council in 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.

Visit the official Graham Crawford Show website

Paul Berton is someone who spends every day on the job thinking about news. About how it’s collected, reported, illustrated and distributed. All via Hamilton’s oldest operating business.

Paul Berton is a lifelong journalist - reporter, columnist, editor, and now Editor-in-Chief of the Hamilton Spectator, now celebrating 170 years of reporting in our community.

During the interview, the first of 2017 on The Graham Crawford Show, we talk about the future of printed newspapers, serving local news needs, the role of investigative journalism, the troubling trend of fake news, what happens during editorial meetings, and so much more.

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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

Each month, I do a Cityist column for The Graham Crawford Show. It’s usually about an issue, or an idea to overcome an issue, or to take advantage of an opportunity. This edition is much more personal. It’s about my first Christmas in Hamilton, having arrived from England in the summer of 1959.

The memories are simple. Told through the eyes of a child. But they are as clear to me today as they were that Christmas almost 60 years ago.

I hope you enjoy it. It’s the first time I’ve really had a way of sharing those immigrant memories with others - through this podcast that Dave Beatty, Alex Zafer and I have created each week since May of 2016. We thank you so much for listening and for commenting. Both mean a great deal to us.

To all of you, from all of us, Merry Christmas 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.

Visit the official Graham Crawford Show website

The weather outside is frightful, so that must mean it’s Christmas time. That’s why I asked Paul if he would select a Christmas-themed column to share with us on this seasonal podcast.

Paul selected a column he called: Marie’s first Canadian Christmas tree. It appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on December 17, 2008.

It’s a truly beautiful story, beautifully written by Paul. Be sure to sit by the Christmas tree as you listen to this one.

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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

He’s served at two levels of government, one as a Conservative MPP in Ontario, where he was a cabinet minister of two ministeries (Transportation and Labour), the other as Councillor for Ward 9 in Stoney Creek from 2006 to 2014. He ran for Mayor in 2014 where he placed second to current Mayor Fred Eisenberger and ahead of Brian McHattie.

His name is Brad Clark.

In this interview, Brad shares his views on the current state of City Council and the issues being debated such as LRT, affordable housing, ward boundary review as well as the impact the working culture is having on performance. All in all, a straight ahead discussion with someone who’s been there.

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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

A neighbourhood that’s healthy makes the people who live in it healthier - mentally, physically and socially. A neighbourhood, by definition, is more than just the building where you go to sleep each night. A neighbourhood is as much a way of thinking as it is a way of living. If you love your neighbourhood, chances are that affection is about much more than asphalt and sidewalks and bricks and mortar and paint colours.

In this episode of The Cityist, you and I are going to go on visit to your own neighbourhood. That’s right. Your very own neighbourhood.

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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

We’re calling this show a Civic Panel Mélange, because rather than focusing on a single topic or theme, we felt that there’s just too much going on to limit our discussion. So why don’t you pour yourself a coffee, or a tea, or something stronger, and join us for our free flowing, and very passionate, yap about all things Hamilton politics including:

The Conflict Interest Troika: Ranked Balloting, Ward Boundaries and Area Rating Affordable Housing on Pier 8: Good start or poor outcome?

The LRT Debate: Has Council gone mad?

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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

LRT. Affordable housing. Ranked balloting. Ward boundary review. Area rating. Downtown casino. Biggest disappointment this term. Biggest accomplishment this term. Just some of the things I talk about with our special guest, Mayor Fred Eisenberger, on this very lively edition of 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

You’ve probably heard of the term “Ward of the State”. It refers to a situation where the court takes responsibility for the well-being of an individual.

I’d like to turn those words around and redefine them at the same time.

Think of it as: State of the Ward. In this case, I’d like it to refer to a situation where the Councillor discusses the well-being of their constituents.

I’d like to suggest that we get our Councillors to formally present their own State of the Ward every year throughout the month of January about what’s happened over the previous year in the Ward, including plans, progress and remaining challenges.

I’m not looking to add more work to the Councillor’s job. What I am looking for is some focus. And some sharing. And some learning.

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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

On this edition of the Cityist - Can We Afford This Kind of Thinking About Affordable Housing? I talk about the decision by Councillors to finally include some affordable housing (of the affordable home ownership variety) on Pier 8.

The 5% commitment is too low, but it’s a lot higher than what Chad Collins, and others, had planned for Pier 8. In fact, it’s really the lowest it could be and still be able to talk about a percentage. After all, who would talk about setting aside 2 1/2% of the units for affordable housing? I think we should have stepped out a bit more and talked in terms of 15%. Perhaps even higher.

Staff have been complicit in deflecting questions about a commitment to affordable housing on Pier 8 from residents for almost 2 years. So many people who attended those many West Harbour public meetings spoke so passionately, and tenaciously, in support of more affordable housing - many of them from the neighbourhoods where the housing would be located.

That speaks to a kind of kindness and compassion on which truly great cities are built. They put what was best for most ahead of any personal gain or concern. For me, this was a hugely meaningful moment in Hamilton’s history - people wanting to make more room in their own neighbourhoods for people who need a little bit of help.

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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