Canadian officials pressed on Maid of the Mist issue
From the Buffalo News:
New York’s senators urged Canadian officials Thursday to protect the jobs, docking areas and brand name of the Maid of the Mist Co., regardless of whether another tour company is awarded launching rights around Niagara Falls.
In a letter to Canada’s Niagara Parks Commission chairwoman, Janice Thomson, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said that the 150 jobs created by the American Maid of the Mist operation should be preserved and that the Maid of the Mist brand name be maintained.
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Parks Commission needs more time for boat tour lease decision
From the Niagara Falls Review:
It has had more than 11 months to pick a winner, but the Niagara Parks Commission says its evaluation team needs more time.
More than a year and a half after a long-term operator for boat tours at the base of the Horseshoe Falls was originally supposed to be found, NPC officials said Thursday the team making the decision needs another “five or six weeks,” before announcing a winning bidder.
The deal will be worth a minimum of $5.5 million per year, not including the commission’s share of annual revenue from ticket and souvenir sales.
Chairwoman Janice Thomson had said she expected to announce who would be awarded a 25-year lease to operate boat tours near the falls by the end of 2011, but she told The Niagara Falls Review the complex process to select a winner is still underway.
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Maid of the Mist decision delayed
From WIVB Channel 4 in Buffalo (including video):
The Niagara Parks Commission is buying more time before it decides who will award a lease to operate the premier attraction at Niagara Falls, the Maid of the Mist boats.
It has taken the commission more than 11 months to mull the matter, but it says it needs another five or six weeks before deciding who will be awarded the 25- year lease to run the boats at the base of the Horseshoe Falls.
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Cullen miniatures sale approved
From the Niagara Falls Review:
The Cullen Miniature Village, which has delighted hundreds of thousands of visitors at its former location in the Durham Region, has found a new home in The Niagara Parks Commission’s (NPC) Botanical Gardens.
Oshawa City Council approved the sale after endorsing a decision made that city’s corporate services committee last week.
“Our Botanical Gardens will be the perfect site for the Miniature Village,” NPC Chair Janice Thomson said. “The village was originally developed for a botanical setting and they were intended to be viewed by audiences of all ages; our Botanical Gardens, with the Butterfly Conservatory right next door, will be the perfect home for this collection”.
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NPC buys Cullen miniatures
From Niagara This Week:
The Niagara Parks Commission hopes some little buildings will become a big attraction in Niagara Falls.
Oshawa City Council gave its nod to an offer by the NPC to purchase a collection of miniature buildings and assorted pieces that were once found at Cullen Gardens in Whitby. The NPC offered $113,000 for the 182-piece collection, which includes buildings, trains and accessories which it will pay off over the next five years.
“It’s something we hoped we could acquire,” said NPC chairwoman Janice Thomson after receiving word of the successful bid.
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NPC buying Cullen Miniature Village for $100k
From the Niagara Falls Review:
First a carousel, now a miniature Ferris wheel.
The Niagara Parks Commission will be the proud new owner of a three-foot-tall wooden Ferris wheel, part of a 180-piece miniature village collection it is buying for $113,000. The Cullen Miniature Village, once a popular tourist destination in Whitby, will be restored and set up on parks commission land, now that the NPC’s offer to buy the collection has been accepted.
The City of Oshawa, which bought the collection in a controversial $239,000 deal from the Cullen family in 2007, unanimously voted to accept the commission’s offer during a special committee meeting Thursday. That decision is expected to be approved by the full council Monday night.
“These councillors just wanted this done with,” Oshawa director of finance services Chris Brown said Thursday. “They would have loved to get (the full purchase price) back, but the market is what it is, so I think they’ll endorse this Monday night.”
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Wallenda’s World
From the Niagara This Week:
It’s an interesting time in Niagara Falls.
The CAA Winter Festival of Lights are in full swing, the songs of the season echo down Queen Street. But the Niagara Parks Commission is not in a Christmas mood.
Playing the grinch to Nik Wallenda’s bid to walk across the gorge on a high wire, a decision to not allow the event — although understandable under the terms in which the NPC operates and its anti-stunting stance — isn’t necessarily the right one. There are always exceptions, rules are made to be broken and all that.
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Wallenda taking his case to tourism minister
From the Niagara Falls Review:
The Niagara Parks Commission slammed the door on Nik Wallenda Wednesday, but a day later Minister of Tourism Michael Chan opened it up just a bit.
Speaking with the Niagara Falls Review Thursday, the Ontario tourism minister invited Wallenda, a seventh-generation aerialist who wants to walk across the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope, to come and speak with him.
“My door is always open. I welcome the opportunity to meet Mr. Wallenda,” said Chan, who confirmed he had nothing to do with the NPC’s decision to reject Wallenda’s proposal. “This particular project is under the watch of many, many people. It has huge interest around the world.”
Asked if he would stand behind the NPC’s ruling, Chan seemed to leave the door open, saying there are big issues at play.
“One of the major factors is economics. These are uncertain economic times. Jobs are important, the economy is important. That’s why, my door is open to listen to people,” he said.
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Minister’s door open: Craitor
From Niagara This Week:
The door to Tourism and Culture Minister Michael Chan’s office is always open and the minister will look at ways of increasing tourism in Niagara Falls, Kim Craitor said Thursday.
Craitor, who represents Niagara Falls at Queen’s Park and who is also the parliamentary assistant to Chan, made the remarks in a telephone interview with former provincial Progressive Conservative party leader John Tory on Newstalk 1010’s The Live Drive program, Craitor.
“The answer is the door is always open,” Craitor told Tory when asked if the minister would consider looking into getting the Niagara Parks Commission to change its decision to not allow a walk across the Niagara Gorge in front of the Horseshoe Falls by Nik Wallenda.
“The minister will listen to ideas from anyone, including Mr. Wallenda, Craitor said.
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Canada nixes Wallenda’s Niagara rope walk
From UPI:
Canadian officials in Niagara Falls have denied daredevil Nik Wallenda’s application to walk across the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope next summer.
Wednesday night, the Niagara Parks Commission voted to deny a permit for the stunt, planned for June, the Toronto Star reported.
The plan was for Wallenda to cross from Goat Island, which separates the U.S. falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, 1,800 feet across the gorge, on a 2-inch-wide steel cable to the Canadian side.
Parks Commissioner Janice Thomson told the Star there are safety concerns as well as a fear it would spur unauthorized copycat stunts. She said the event also didn’t fit with long-term planning for the park region.
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