In the grand scheme of things, three months doesn’t seem like a long time. For some Hamilton schools, though, it was exactly the right amount of time to learn what could be done to curtail a persistent problem in public schools.
The anti-bullying app Tip Off launched in March, to be tested by six schools in Hamilton. It was continually used by four of the selected schools, and the results are in.
During the three-month trial period, 132 calls and texts were received. Of those notifications, roughly one-third pertained to legitimate cases …

With winter fast approaching and temperatures dipping below the freezing mark, the City is moving to protect some of its most vulnerable citizens. Councillors approved a funding budget of $250,000 to go towards helping homeless women find shelter.
In a presentation to city councillors, Gillian Hendry, Director of Housing and Homelessness Programs, said the current provincial budget for homeless housing programs is not sustainable.
“There is not enough provincial funding to maintain the existing Community Homelessness program, including the Housing Stability Benefit,” said Hendry.
Three key program services are at the greatest risk. …

A comedian delivered the message, but it was no laughing matter. Comedian James Cunningham spoke to students during the Funny Money presentation as part of Financial Literacy Month at Mohawk College.
“You are my people. You are broke-ass college students.”
The remark provoked a wave of laughter among the students who had come to hear Cunningham in the Arnie last Wednesday. Students sat attentively, waiting for Cunningham’s punchline, but it wasn’t all laughs. He offered some very good tips to help students learn how to manage their finances.
For example, Cunningham told the …

Hey, you! Yes, you. I’m on to you– I know where you surreptitiously disappear to when you think nobody’s looking. What’s the big deal, anyway?  Everybody does it. Going to the bathroom is a universal thing.
Well, that’s where you’re wrong. Using the accessible washrooms (the huge ones featuring wheelchair signs, support bars, and other equipment) when you don’t need them is ignorant.
Mohawk College has over forty washrooms on campus. Jennifer Jahnke, the college’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act project coordinator, says she doesn’t know the exact number of accessible washrooms …

Rob MacIsaac is stepping down as president of Mohawk College. MacIsaac has accepted a new position as the president and C.E.O of Hamilton Health Sciences and will begin his new job in February.
Dean of the School of Business Piero Cherubini says he is sad to see MacIsaac leave, but thinks this is a great opportunity, and not only for MacIsaac.
“It’s good for us as a college that he is going to an organization like the Health Sciences that we work very closely with so be brings the college knowledge over …

If you only took one thing away from Bruce Croxon’s speech last night at the McIntyre Theatre, it should have been this: Kevin O’Leary is not as big a jerk as he seems on TV.
Dragons’ Den member and Lavalife co-creator Bruce Croxon spoke at the year’s first Mohawk Talks, a series supported by the college and community, which brings influential speakers to Hamilton. A rapt audience of fans and entrepreneurs gathered in the theatre, trying to get as close to Croxon as possible.
He started out the night by briefly going …

The Hi-Rise Group unveiled its plans for new condo units to be built immediately north of the Lister Block.
At a Renew Hamilton event on October 18, the development group announced the empty lot that currently occupies the space will be replaced with a mixed-use building.  The ground floor will be retail, with three additional floors of offices and 100 residential units.
The space was formerly the four-storey William Thomas building, built in 1855 and taken down in 2010 as part of the renewal of the Lister Block.
Shawn Marr, the Hi-Rise Group’s …

Hamilton is one step closer to hosting the 44th Annual JUNO Awards in March 2015.
City council unanimously supported the decision to host the ceremony at a meeting of the General Issues Committee on October 16. A report prepared by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was presented to council highlighting the benefits of hosting.
These include the opportunity to develop Hamilton’s music industry, increased exposure to local artists, media exposure, tourism and economic spinoff.
“We have the experience. We are part of the evolution of the JUNO Awards. It is …

Mohawk College welcomed and celebrated new Canadians Wednesday at its annual community citizenship ceremony, held in partnership with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Native elder Elize Hartley performed a traditional smudge ceremony, to start the ceremony. Citizenship Judge Ted Salci administrated the oath of citizenship and gave 40 people from 11 countries their long-awaited Canadian citizenship papers.
Guest speaker Fernando Montero, a former immigrant himself, had advice for the new citizens. “Get your Canadian credentials but also volunteer and participate within your community. Volunteering can open new …

The City of Hamilton does not want to be on the hook for the expansion of the Police Services Taser program.
“I’m just baffled by this,” said Ward 9 Councillor Brad Clark.
The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services announced in August that all front-line officers in Ontario should carry Tasers . But it isn’t clear who is to pay for the new equipment.
“If the province wants to expand our Taser program, they should put their money where their mouth is and supply the dollars to go with it,” said Ward …