>Santa rolls into Smithville, see Pages 8-9 for coverage > Wise Guys give giant boost to GAMRU Pg. 2 > Grimsby Fire says thanks Pg. 3 > GPAG hosts series of seminars Pg. 6 Thursday, November 30, 2017 Vol. 6 Issue 30
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Newspaper landscape changes again
Up Front Santa to roll into Grimsby
The big man in red will roll into Grimsby for the parade in his honour this Saturday, Dec. 2 starting at 5:15 p.m. on Livingston Avenue in front of town hall. The parade will proceed east through downtown and turn north on Ontario Street. Be sure to bring your non-perishable food items to be picked up by Grimsby firefighters for GBF’s Hamper program.
Dofasco choir lights up St. Joe’s
The Dofasco Male Choir and Ladies Ensemble will be showcased at a Monday, Dec. 4 performance at St. Joseph’s Church in Grimsby starting at 7:30 p.m. Free will offering with proceeds to St. Vincent De Paul Society of St. Joseph’s.
Women’s League host party
The St. Helen Catholic Women’s League invites all seniors to the 50th annual Senior Citizens’ Christmas Party, Saturday, Dec. 2, from 2-4 p.m. at the Lincoln Community Centre, 4361 Central Ave., Beamsville. This milestone marks the final year for the party and the end of an era in Lincoln. No cost. All are welcome.
Circ: 26,111
Unkindest cut of all
Neighbours of 228 Main St. E. were not happy to see three beech trees estimated to be 200 years old each being cut down. Checking with Town of Grimsby, planning director Michael Seaman said there is no recourse as the trees are on private property and no development approval process in the works for the site. He said some trees in town have been designated as historically significant, but not these trees. Seaman added a report is expected in the new year which could lead to some protection of heritage trees. Williscraft - Photo
By Mike Williscraft NewsNow That seismic shift residents may have felt on Monday originated with the region’s print media as 41 newspapers - in all - changed hands. Torstar Corporation and Postmedia Network Canada Corp. fashioned a deal which saw 22 papers for from Torstar to Postmedia, while 15 went the other way. What many of them had in common was they were immediately shuttered. Popular community papers in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie were closed by Metroland, Torstar’s subsidiary, while they will continue to operate the St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review and Welland Tribune. The only other paper acquired by Torstar which will survive is the Peterborough Examiner. The deal is, essentially a swap of markets with Torstar’s acquisitions focused on Niagara and Bar-
rie with Postmedia cleaning house in the London and Ottawa/ Kingston markets. Of the 21 papers it acquired, Postmedia has closed all but two publications in Exeter. For NIagara, the deal means NewsNow is now the only non-Torstar newspaper in Niagara Region. The federal Competition Bureau has stated it will step in to review the deal even though the assets involved in the transaction are valued under the $88 mIllion threshold for an automatic review. Under the Competition Act, transactions of all sizes in all industries can be subject to review by the Commissioner of Competition to determine whether they will likely result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in any market in Canada. Bob Cox, president of News Media Canada, called the closure of 30-plus newspapers “a disappointment”.