The Hamilton Spectator
Young, armed, deadly
Two Hamilton teens were killed in shootings just six days apart. Nabil Askafe was only 16. He was gunned down in the entranceway to Jackson Square on April 24, allegedly shot by a 14yearold boy who he got into an argument with while walking to the...
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In the core, fear has become part of daytoday life
Standing on the corner of King and James streets on a recent afternoon, the hum of traffic and rush of footsteps all around her, personal support worker Ann Recollet watches one of Hamilton's busiest intersections in motion. Next to her, people wait...
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WITH ONE LUMP OR TWO?
The owners of a new sugar refinery at Pier 15 hope, over time, it will become the largest such facility in Canada. Sucro Can Canada officials and local politicians celebrated the completion of the new plant, which was billed as a job creator that will...
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`Hamilton hum' causing sleepless nights
The humming has become a part of Megan Hull's life. Since moving to a house around Main Street and Sherman Avenue in 2012, the central Hamilton resident can't remember a time when she hasn't heard the “weird background noise.” It's loudest in the...
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WHERE DID THE BEACH GO?
High water levels in Lake Ontario translate into almost zero beach along Hamilton Beach this week. The city is urging residents, particularly near the lake, to protect their homes and property against the risk of flooding. Find more information inside on
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`We were through a war'
It wasn't the graphic evidence of a man being gunned down in a shisha bar bathroom that got to the juror. Nor the immense responsibility of deciding the fate of the two accused. The breaking point for 80yearold Ralph Corning was the first night he...
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Case reveals child aid system `in crisis'
In April 2022, supervisors at the Halton Children's Aid Society met to discuss the “current struggles” Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney were having with the two Indigenous brothers who had been living in the couple's Burlington home for five years — an...
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UNKNOWN NO LONGER
He may have been killed more than a century ago during the First World War, but Earnest Welby Smith has no final resting place. Pte. Smith, a 28yearold labourer from Norfolk County, went missing on Aug. 15, 1917, one of 1,200 Canadian soldiers whose...
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A TOXIC CLIMATE
Editor's note: This story contains descriptions of harassment, including graphic language and threats of violence. A seemingly endless stream of threatening, racist and misogynistic messages — including a suggestion she should be “gang raped” —...
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`We stick to what we're really good at'
“If it's not broke, don't fix it.” The classic saying applies to many things and situations, but it is not often directed at an eatery or business. But when it comes to Hutch's on the Beach, it might just be the secret sauce for the Hamilton...
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`I had nice memories in my head'
As the lenses cover her eyes, the conference room vanishes and Donna Nowacki is afloat on a troutfilled lake, casting a line. After years spent cottaging on Lake Erie, the Brantford senior is familiar with the pull of an oar and the tug of a hooked...
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Overdose calls double following closure of safe consumption site
Hamilton public health issued a drug alert as paramedics continue to respond to “persistent high numbers” of overdoses. The alert on March 6 about the increasingly toxic drug supply coincided with the secondhighest month of opioidrelated overdoses...
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Family and friends say final goodbye to teen killed in Jackson Square shooting
Amid tears and embraces, a casket draped in a traditional blackandgold burial cloth moved through the Hamilton Mountain Mosque on Monday, where family and friends bid farewell to 16yearold Nabil Askafe. About 300 people attended the afternoon...
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From Baghdad survivor to 4.0 graduate
Thirteen years ago, he was a kid singer in the Middle East with a song promoting school that earned more than 60 million views on YouTube. In June, Abdullah Al Azzawi will graduate from McMaster University's rigorous life sciences program with a 4.0...
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From `people place' to pressure point
Two acres in the sky, the lungs of a new Hamilton. That was the vision for the plaza atop Jackson Square when the landmark downtown complex opened in August 1972. Perched above the shopping concourse of the $100million blockspanning development and...
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Waterdown navigates traffic snarls
Every morning, Jeff Yaeger sees cars lined up and waiting at the stop light on the east side of the underconstruction bridge over Grindstone Creek in Waterdown. The problem? Those vehicles won't be able to cross the bridge westbound on Dundas Street...
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Old Stelco factory coming down
A massive landmark of Hamilton's industrial roots along the harbour is coming down on Pier 18. Demolition of the former Stelco bloom and billet mill — located at the northeast corner of what used to be the steelmaker's expansive bayfront property —...
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Stream restoration dream coming true for nature sanctuary
A local conservation group is seeking help to restore a west Ancaster stream to a picture of historical health that hasn't existed since the 1940s. In 2010, the late George Amaolo donated 16 hectares of farmland northwest of the Ancaster Fairgrounds...
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TAKING A WALK IN WESTDALE
A woman walks her dogs through the Royal Botanical Gardens teaching garden behind the weeping cherry trees on Oak Knoll Drive in Westdale. Daytime highs should be back in the double digits into the weekend. Find more details on the weather map,
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Awardwinning Mac knife out of this world
Without the sneakers, neon foam earplugs and fluorescent lights, you might think you were in a medieval forge. In McMaster University's blacksmithing lab, students heat metal in a small propanepowered hearth, hammering it into shape on an anvil...
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Different flowers, same garden
“We believe the circumstances surrounding Emily Bailey's disappearance indicate the possibility of foul play.” Hamilton police respond to 1,700 missingperson calls each year. Typically the person turns up within 24 hours. In rare cases, the...
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`Time; the healer, and the killer'
“I remember so much about you,” the girl writes her grandmother. “Beautiful smile, the way your eyes sparkled in the sun.” The grandmother died when the girl was a toddler, yet abides in her mind, like a beacon lighting a path not taken. If the path...
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New life for gallery following fire damage
A local art gallery hopes to turn a sour situation into a showcase of community, after an Easter weekend fire damaged multiple businesses along Hamilton's Ottawa Street North. On the afternoon of Easter Sunday, flames consumed the two apartments above...
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`What every parent dreads'
His parents arrived at the former Westinghouse factory in the middle of the night and knelt down in the gravel and prayed — prayed it wasn't true. Hours earlier, Peter Pavlovsky and Katie Porter's son, Flynn Pavlovsky, fell to his death through the...
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Tribunal battle over Hamilton urban expansion underway
A provincial tribunal battle over whether to expand Hamilton's urban area with plans for tens of thousands of homes on rural land has begun after years of public debate and shifting provincial legislation. Three development consortiums have appealed...
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Thousands run new route — again
He'd just crossed the finish line after spending twoandahalf gruelling hours completing the Around The Bay Race. Trying to catch his breath at this moment was more of a pressing matter than offering deep insights or pensive reflections about the...
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He's often last, but certainly not least
He shouldn't be hard to find among the runners doing the 5K at the Around The Bay race on Sunday. He'll likely be in the same spot he's been more than a few times now. The same spot he was last year. Right at the back of the pack. “I finished last,”...
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Dofasco to shutter one of two remaining coke plants
Hamilton's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal Dofasco, is shutting down one of its two remaining coke plants next week. Monday will be the last day of operation for the steelmaker's No. 3 coke plant, leaving its No. 2 plant as the only operating...
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Councillor suggests more boulders on Mountain Brow in wake of crash
A teenager driving a car over the escarpment last Friday evokes memories of deadly incidents along the Mountain Brow in the past, and a city councillor wants to explore enhancing traffic barriers there. The crash happened after midnight, when a Toyota...
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Farmers warn of higher grocery prices
Hamilton farmers face spiking fuel and fertilizer prices due to the war in Iran — and many are warning that could lead to higher food prices for everyone. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has frozen shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which...
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After decades of renting, Wesley buys a home
Why rent when you can own? Wesley asked itself that question the last time it moved to yet another leased space in Hamilton. That was in 2023, when the socialservice agency set up shop in a former retirement home on Main Street East near...
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Glorious news:
Police responded to the 911 call when a woman's partner tried to force his way into her house Easter weekend leads the good news, our seasonal interval laden with meaning, the prelude to renewal, pause before spring settles in, summer a distant...
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Defence rests
“Even though the (criminal) lawyer knows his defendant is guilty,” wrote Jeff Manishen, “the lawyer tries to prove him innocent, for a man is not guilty until he is proven so.” Manishen defended thugs and cons, accused killers of men, women and...
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New AHL team to practise out of expanded Harry Howell Arena
A couple of weeks ago, the New York Islanders announced they were moving their American Hockey League team to Hamilton. On Wednesday, we learned it's on the move again. This time to Flamborough. No, this isn't some kind of belated April Fool's...
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WATERFALLS AND SAFETY
Hamilton is famous for the more than 150 waterfalls that spill over the edge of the escarpment, attracting millions of appreciative visitors each year — but also a growing host of problems. That's why the socalled City of Waterfalls is working on a...
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`LEAP OF FAITH':
A decade ago, Jonathan Marshall was roadtripping around the Maritimes when he stepped into a Halifax consignment store. Inside the shop, the Hamilton native spotted a castiron, Remington 17 typewriter — it was love at first sight. Marshall bought...
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Showtime in Hamilton
Junos mania landed back in Hamilton during the weekend. For the first time in 11 years, thousands of artists, industry representatives and visitors descended on the city for multiple days of events. It started with a fivehour kickoff concert and...
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HYPED FOR HOMETOWN JUNOS
The Junos stage is ready for the limelight — all that's left is rehearsals and the big day. The Spectator got a sneak peek inside TD Coliseum Friday to see the primer for what the public and TV broadcast will look like for the Juno Awards on Sunday...
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`We're afraid,' tenant says after fire
As fire alarms rang through the halls of a downtown seniors building early Wednesday morning, Timmy Manson couldn't be bothered. He'd heard them before. Lately, Manson recalled Thursday, alarms in the 460unit CityHousing Hamilton highrise “had been...
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Public school board reports hundreds of hate incidents with new tracking tool
Use of the Nword and other slurs, removing a turban, misgendering and playing a Nazi marching song are among the hundreds of inci dents reported through a new Ha milton public school board tracking tool. Between March 2025 and February 2026, 325...
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SEEING SIGNS OF THE JUNOS
The Juno Awards are rolling into Hamilton — and downtown traffic is about to get a bit more tangled than usual. The City of Hamilton has announced that there will be road closures, transit impacts and lane restrictions due to the annual celebration of...
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Free hairstyles, fresh confidence for hundreds of youngsters
Elevenyearold Elin Anangfac loves that her twists bounce when she dances Kpop in her basement. Arihanna Soulliere, 18, appreciates having “versatile” hair that can hold many different looks. And Jahari Smith, 14, loves that his hair's texture makes...
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CRUSHIN' IT FOR CHARITY
Floyd Moerschfelder, right, shows four minor hockey players from Haldimand County how to crush beer cans using a homemade machine at his family farm outside Fisherville. The longtime Lions Club member is close to raising $50,000 for youth hockey and...
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MAPLE SYRUP SWEET SPECTRUM
The maple syrup season is underway at Mountsberg Conservation Area, where sap collected from nearby trees is being boiled into syrup in the sugar shack. The annual Maple Town program runs from late February through early April, with daily activities...
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SLABS OF SUCCESS AT ROMA
Roma Bakery owner Anthony Di Filippo with the Stoney Creek bakery's famous bread pizza slab. The family business on Barton Street is undergoing a multimilliondollar expansion. Find the story on
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What a difference a year makes for Matthew Schaefer
It's eight hours before game time and Matthew Schaefer is already at work. Standing rinkside in a New York Islanders' hoodie and shorts, the 18yearold from Hamilton is shaking hands with strangers, hugging friends who've made it to the morning...
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Hamilton fugitive wanted for Mob killings arrested in Mexico
An international fugitive wanted for nearly a decade for two Mob shootings that killed innocent bystander Mila Barberi in Vaughan and Hamilton mobster Angelo Musitano in Waterdown has been arrested in Mexico. Daniel Tomassetti was arrested in August...
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Remember when Hamilton bid to host the Summer Olympics?
Had things gone a little differently, we'd be well into our celebrations by now. Parties, festivals, athletic competitions and various other retrospectives would be in full swing. All thinking back on the 50 years since Hamilton hosted the Summer...
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Hamilton school choir lands Blue Jays anthem gig
A Hamilton school choir is entering the big leagues. The vocal ensemble at Annunciation of our Lord Parish Elementary School will sing both Canadian and American anthems before an expected crowd of 40,000 people when the Toronto Blue Jays host the...
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When her therapist suddenly disappeared, everything fell apart
Savannah Saieva says she felt so abandoned by the cityrun children's mentalhealth clinic she relied on, she attempted to take her own life. As a vulnerable teenager, Saieva spent two years with Child and Adolescent Services, building a trusting...
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CATCHING SOME AIR
Everyone is frantically looking for great event ideas now that it's March break. We've got you covered with these events happening March 12 to 15. You'll also find a fun March break planner on thespec.com with multiple events and ideas happening...
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This year, city has seen 228 pothole damage claims
Peter De New is no stranger to potholes on Hamilton streets — and the damage they can do to vehicles. The Kirkendall resident said between his Smart car and his wife's Nissan Leaf, they have had three tires “destroyed” after hitting various potholes...
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THE LEADER OF THE PACK
Environment and Climate Change Canada is warning of the risk of flash flooding with an incoming deluge dumping rain on frozen ground and into already swollen creeks and rivers in the Hamilton area. Hamilton could be hit with up to 40 millimetres of...
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His 40th birthday wish? Running across the Sahara Desert
A few weeks from now, he'll be running roughly 270 kilometres across the Sahara Desert in Morocco in conditions that'll replicate being in a microwave set on high. So how does someone around here get ready for such a scenario? Turn up the heat in the...
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WARMING UP ON THE WATERFRONT
Cyclists, joggers and many dog walkers hit the Waterfront Trail last week, lured by warmer temperatures. That trend should continue, with daytime highs expected to rise into the mid teens.
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Troubles, and joy, at downtown library
The central branch of the Hamilton Public Library unlocks its doors and people at once begin to enter. They bring with them all the troubles and joy our city holds. Established 135 years ago and in its current building on York Boulevard for the past...
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`YOU ARE LIKE FAMILY' AT DUARTE'S
Longevity is our good news theme, and first let's note we lasted to the cusp of spring, officially arriving March 20, and doubledigit temperatures this weekend will feel subtropical. And then too, we note the longevity of a noble canine, timeless...
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Queer faith communities carve out inclusive space during holy season
It's an iftar like any other. People gathering together to eat a meal after fasting all day for Ramadan, talking with one another and playing games while filling up their stomachs. But Jihan Hussein says there is one key difference between a Queer...
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This Hamilton student can recite 314 digits of pi in 60 seconds
At 3:14 p.m. on March 14, Hamilton student JohnDavid Petz will attempt to break a Guinness World Record by reciting 314 digits of pi in one minute. Pi, which has an approximate value of 3.14 and an infinite number of decimal places, is an ancient...
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Mayor asks judge to evict former partner from home facing ordered repairs
Mayor Andrea Horwath is asking a judge to order the eviction of her former commonlaw partner from a home she has sought to demolish, citing the high cost of cityordered repairs to the building. Horwath is the registered owner of the West Avenue...
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FROM RUNWAYS TO SHIPYARDS:
A new partnership that puts Hamilton's Mohawk College at the centre of an Ontario shipbuilding investment is part of a growing emphasis on industryled education and meeting longterm workforce needs, president Paul Armstrong says. The college...
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EARLY EVENING INDULGENCE
Horses enjoy a lateafternoon dinner along York Road near Old Guelph Road. Daytime highs steadily increase into next week, with 8 C expected on Thursday. Weather map, A22.
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`Competition and compassion'
Win or lose, Hamilton brothers Jack and James Wiseman were all smiles on the court, cheering and highfiving their teammates. The Bishop Tonnos Catholic Secondary School teens and about 20 other Titans competed in bocce at a Special Olympics...
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Hamilton LIVE
Discover fun things to do, great eats and cool city finds in our inaugural issue inside today's Spectator JunoFest Who's performing at twoday event in March. What's On Concerts, wrestling, plays and more. Hidden Hamilton Five places that reveal city's...
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City tax budget to see 3.87% hike for 2026
Hamilton taxpayers will see a 3.87 per cent residential tax increase, after the city officially adopted the 2026 tax budget Tuesday. Mayor Andrea Horwath, under strongmayor powers imposed by the province, had final say on the budget councillors had...
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Dad wants to match $20K police reward for son's homicide
It's been two years since he watched a gunman execute his son with a shot to the head. Now, Derek Laffin wants to match a newly announced $20,000 reward to solve the case being offered by Hamilton police. “I'll match that,” he says, overcome with...
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Sport system under strain showed in Milan Cortina
Canada losing ground to other countries in the 2026 Olympic Games is a symptom of a sport system under strain, said a Canadian Olympic Committee leader Sunday. Canada finished outside the top five countries in the medal table at the Milan Cortina...
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Parents protest program overhaul at HWDSB
A jampacked room of parents and kids had a message for Hamilton's public school board: Save atrisk specialty programs. Better yet, expand them. More than two dozen people filled a HamiltonWentworth District School Board (HWDSB) committee meeting...
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HOCKEY HEARTBREAK
Team Canada's bench reacts to their 21 overtime loss to the United States Thursday in the women's goldmedal hockey game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Canada held a late 10 lead, but the Americans rallied, scoring with the extra attacker in...
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Hamilton's rocky roads
From Main Street to Mohawk Road, Hamilton residents say Steeltown's streets are littered with potholes — and that the city isn't doing enough to make daily commutes less bumpy. “I have travelled around southern Ontario for work and Hamilton is the...
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The latest champ from city's first family of boxing
Moments after the ref was done raising his arm in victory and he was able to begin celebrating his latest win, Bradley Wilcox flipped the switch from disciplined boxer to wild party animal. As fast as he could get showered and dressed, he and his...
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Golden run for Canada's Oldham
Megan Oldham delivered Canada's second gold medal of the MilanCortina Olympics on Monday, winning the women's freestyle skiing big air competition. The 24yearold from Parry Sound, Ont., finished with a tworun combined score of 180.75 to edge...
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Mystery odour plagues Waterdown neighbourhood
The scent is sickly sweet, but also like chemicals. It pops up at least once a week, but only hits the nostrils of some people in the neighbourhood. Those who can smell it, though, suspect a nearby glass recycling plant is to blame. Since last...
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This madeinHamilton tool is helping make curling happen at the Olympics
A madeinHamilton tool is helping produce the perfectly pebbled ice for curlers competing at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Curling sheets are different from the perfectly flat rinks skated on by hockey players and figure skaters. Curling ice...
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