NIAGARA FALLS —
This weekend the prime tourist season started with most visitors likely arriving from the Canadian side of the river.
Over there, the long Victoria Day weekend celebrates the birthday of Queen Victoria of England. Banks, schools and government offices will be closed in Ontario on Monday.
Traffic should be backed up at the international bridges as Canadians hop across to shop with their higher-valued currency. On Friday, that dollar was worth $1.03 (U.S.).
That hurts, if you happened to be stuck in Canada with your American buck. Chances are an Ontario merchant smugly told you that your Yankee dollar was worth 90 cents. (It’s called payback time.)
Next weekend, many of us will be off Monday to observe our Memorial Day holiday.
It will be interesting to see how many visitors to the Niagara area over the three-day period head to Ontario.
The lower U.S. dollar, the need for extra identification (e.g., a passport, enhanced driver’s license or NEXUS card), and the potentially long lines at the customs booths might drastically boost attendance in the nation’s oldest state park.
In a word, many visitors on the U.S. side may opt to stay put.
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A PIPE DREAM?: If that subsidized GO Train service is extended from Toronto to Niagara Falls, Ont., the tab could exceed $1 billion, according to a consultant report disclosed Thursday.
At present, that expansion plan is “just a long-term future option,” the consultant said.
It has been suggested that a Grimsby, Ont., link (estimated at $187 million) and St. Catharines ($204 million) are more feasible.
Niagara Falls, Ont., Mayor Jim Diodati intends to make a strong case for a full-time commuter GO service to his city by 2015.
It’s seems odd that the two Cataract Cities — major travel destinations at the border — are having a hard time trying to sell the public on improved train service that could mean millions of dollars for their communities.
Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, a staunch supporter of a statewide high-speed rail service also struggles at times to convince people such a route has merit.
No one is suggesting, as some critics claim, that those trains would be coming into Niagara Falls at 110-miles-per-hour but with Buffalo as a major stop on the line, this city could easily become a popular sidetrip.
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A BETTER VIEW: Crews were cutting the high grass Friday along the median of the Robert Moses Parkway, preparing for the predicted heavy influx of weekend visitors.
After a stretch parallel to the Whirlpool State Park was finished, the mowed area enabled motorists to easily spot the two joggers and the three dog walkers that use those closed-off lanes every day.
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THE WELCOME MAT: Richard Mauer of Angola, who chaired the three-day annual convention of the Fraternal Order of Retired Border Patrol Officers last week at the Sheraton at The Falls, said the 102 ex-officers and their guests were delighted with their Cataract City stay.
“A number of them said they thought it was one of the best conventions they had attended in several years,” Mauer added.
The visitors also appreciated the efforts of the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corporation.
Dallas will host the organization in 2012.
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OUT OF THE PAST: Lest we forget, last year at this time the average price for regular gas was $2.78 per gallon. Today, the national average is $3.96 for regular or $4.05 in the Niagara area.
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OPEN MINDED: Overheard in the Why Coffee Shop: “My church welcomes all denominations: tens, twenties, fifties...
Contact reporter Don Glynn at 282-2311, ext. 2246.
Opinion
Tourist season kicks off
- Opinion
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GLYNN: VFW post keeps spirit alive
At one time, members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars-Post 313 would march down Main Street in Youngstown on Memorial Day to the 1812 Cemetery near Old Fort Niagara. That same scenario out of the past occurred for decades in cities, towns and villages across the U.S.
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HAMILTON: Dandelions, parades, broken poles and people
There are still those remnants of the fading bouquets of floral tributes that still hang at that base of a tree on city hall’s lawn. It is near where, last year, from his shiny silvery cart, Melvin Johnson sold hot dogs and sausages to both city employees and passerbys while his tiny white dog excitingly yelped at anyone that came near.
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GLYNN: Gillibrand seeks help for prime bread-winners
A recent report shows that working mothers across the Empire State earn nearly 15 percent lower pay for the same work as men.
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BRADBERRY: There really are spirits in the water
Over the centuries since it was “discovered” hundreds of millions of people have traveled from every corner of the world to visit Niagara Falls making it the most visited of the great waterfalls on the planet.
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CONFER: The reality of rationed health care
The ongoing debate over Obamacare has brought to light the concept of rationed healthcare. Opponents of health care reform keenly point out that while the bill never explicitly calls out rationing, it features certain provisions that will lead the markets to adjust to strict federal demands and, therefore, dispense certain procedures in smaller amounts or not at all. Because of it being the first time that the subject has really come up in public circles, most people, especially on the right, believe that rationing is something new. It’s not. The free markets have been practicing that for quite some time. I should know; with a 4-inch long, 1-inch wide scar running south of my belly button – and a couple of related scars around my groin – I could be the poster child for rationed health care.
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CITY DESK: A regrettable error
We owe Carol Sensabough an apology.
Several weeks ago, the long-time reader and Niagara Falls resident sent a letter to the editor explaining that she took offense to some of the things written by a syndicated columnist, Stephen Dick. -
HIGGS: Niagara Falls' own West Side story
Trusello’s Bakery was on Elmwood behind the family home at 840 19th St. The family, Richard, William (Billy) and Sam along with two sisters, lived in the house.
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GLYNN: Falls, Ont., rolls out red carpet for Wallenda
Before Nik Wallenda even started practicing his high-wire routine in downtown Niagara Falls, state Sen.George D. Maziarz, R-Newfane, had noted the warm welcome the tightrope walker received across the river.
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HAMILTON: Civic ‘ParticipAction’ can work too
Back in the 1970s, our Neighbors to the North ran a national campaign called ParticipAction to encourage Canadians to get off their butts and do things for the sakes of their bodies.
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GLYNN: Graduates find they’re in staggering debt
Countless senior citizens often gripe about something, sometimes even with good reason. Perhaps they should consider themselves fortunate, compared with the younger generation.
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