Raise the Hammer
Harper Government is Terrified of Data
If the evidence contradicts the ideology, your choice is either to change the ideology or suppress the evidence.
by Ryan McGreal
Published August 27, 2014 in Editorial (13 comments)
More Case Studies in Dysfunctional Governance
A common theme of reflexive fear, heavy-handed bureaucracy and lack of vision runs through several of today's civic governance stories.
by Ryan McGreal
Published December 05, 2012 in Editorial (14 comments)
Balancing the Books on the Backs of the Poor
As Canada shuffles slowly out of the Great Recession, public spending isn't the problem and ideological cuts aren't the solution.
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 09, 2012 in Editorial (39 comments)
Making Amalgamation Work for Hamilton
If we can start to imagine ourselves as a region instead of a bickering jumble of competing interests, Hamilton can finally start to assert itself as an important centre.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 09, 2011 in Editorial (79 comments)
Local Media Access at City Hall: A Joint Statement
We are asking that Council and Staff develop a formal policy on media relations which is fair, clear, and does not allow political staff to unduly influence the free flow of information at City Hall.
by RTH Staff
Published May 31, 2011 in Editorial (86 comments)
Raise the Hammer Response to Mayor's Accusation
Mayor Bratina has accused RTH of publishing "false and defamatory material" against him and his staff. This is my response as editor, after careful investigation of the story behind the accusation.
by Ryan McGreal
Published January 28, 2011 in Editorial (264 comments)
James North Faultlines Reflect Ambivalent City
If we're serious about providing pathways for people to move out of poverty, we need to get better at supporting and cultivating the kinds of business startups that radicals fear are the vanguard of a yuppie invasion.
by Ryan McGreal
Published December 14, 2010 in Editorial (90 comments)
Exceptionalism
Exceptionalism is as tempting as it is precisely because it provides an excuse not to go through the effort of changing.
by Ryan McGreal
Published June 21, 2010 in Editorial (58 comments)
Why I'm Not That Exercised About Earth Day
If we've learned anything from the last several decades, it's this: people respond to incentives and disincentives, not to moral suasion.
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 22, 2010 in Editorial (53 comments)
Code Red Raises the Alarm - Will We Answer?
The poverty that grips this city is our problem - and our shame, if we continue to pass on the challenge and the opportunity to come to terms with the despair and heart-crushing waste of human potential we've allowed to take shape.
by RTH Staff
Published April 12, 2010 in Editorial (69 comments)
Feds Axe ecoENERGY Retrofit-Homes Program
The sheer badness of this policy change is galling, even for a government so obviously in the corner of big energy interests
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 01, 2010 in Editorial (24 comments)
Save the Dragon
The Sky Dragon Centre is too critical a social, political and cultural node in this city's landscape of civic engagement to let it fall by the wayside.
by RTH Staff
Published March 29, 2010 in Editorial (29 comments)
Plenty of Shame to Go Around
The trend toward "routine" annual parliamentary resets will prove hard to resist for whichever party ends up in power after the next election.
by Ryan McGreal
Published January 05, 2010 in Editorial (83 comments)
All You Can Drive
Market-based highway tolls would get us out of our traffic jams and into an optimistic future of high quality regional transit, stronger job growth and better economic prospects.
by Ryan McGreal
Published December 09, 2009 in Editorial (16 comments)
Official Launch of Hamilton Civic League
Witness the birth of a truly transformative organization in a city crying out for effective broad-based organizing.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 30, 2009 in Editorial (26 comments)
The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
A man was robbed at gunpoint on Bold St., half a block from Locke.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 28, 2009 in Editorial (7 comments)
Next Stop for Connaught Proposal: Provincial Government
Citizens concerned about the process and the selection of the Connaught should direct their energies and efforts toward the provincial government.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 21, 2009 in Editorial (51 comments)
Talk Radio Ranting No Way to Debate Policy
Uninformed rationalizing from a set of prejudices might make for entertaining rants on the long commute home from work, but it makes for lousy public policy debate.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 16, 2009 in Editorial (38 comments)
Time to Ban Corporate Donations to Municipal Campaigns
Developers generally get the candidates they want elected into municipal office - and they get the policy decisions they want as well.
by Ryan McGreal
Published August 18, 2009 in Editorial (20 comments)
Council Ignores Strategic Objectives
Instead of actually following their own planning policies, our council lurches from case to case, bending to whatever interest group has the most influence at a given time.
by Ryan McGreal
Published June 18, 2009 in Editorial (31 comments)
Subsidized Sprawl Servicing a False Economy
If suburban homes are no longer affordable once their prices reflect the actual cost of servicing, that suggests the logic of greenfield development is actually a false economy.
by Ryan McGreal
Published May 12, 2009 in Editorial (7 comments)
I'm Kind Of With Merulla on This One
Those ideas that really can transform the city are coming not from the usual suspects but from the grassroots.
by Ryan McGreal
Published May 05, 2009 in Editorial (34 comments)
Wash Your Hands Already
There's just no excuse for health care workers not to wash their hands close to 100 percent of the time, all the time.
by Ryan McGreal
Published May 01, 2009 in Editorial (7 comments)
Dabbling in the Cult of Done
Can a succession of ephemeral, throwaway accomplishments add up to a worthwhile, enduring project?
by Ryan McGreal
Published March 12, 2009 in Editorial (7 comments)
New Centre Mall Locks In Sprawl Development
If the city wants to shift development to the urban model, it needs to help investors and builders make the jump away from the sprawl model with which they're already familiar.
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 26, 2008 in Editorial (13 comments)
Civic Advocacy: A Brief Primer
Build relationships, find common ground, and focus on campaigns that are concrete and winnable.
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 04, 2008 in Editorial (18 comments)
Enough Already!
Say what you want about whether the recent Canadian election was a waste of time; at worst it was only a waste of 35 days.
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 04, 2008 in Editorial (2 comments)
A Work in Progress: James North in Transition
Three new projects on James Street North showcase a neighbourhood coming back to life.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 11, 2008 in Editorial (46 comments)
Summer Vacation
This is the last RTH issue before our annual summer break.
by Ryan McGreal
Published July 07, 2008 in Editorial (2 comments)
Transport Revolutions Seminar
As oil production goes into decline, we must transform the way we move people and goods.
by Ryan McGreal
Published January 18, 2008 in Editorial (9 comments)
Case Studies in Dysfunctional Governance
Regardless of which decision you support, it's bad policy not to consider the alternatives before making a decision.
by Ryan McGreal
Published December 20, 2007 in Editorial (7 comments)
Amid Policy Crises, Canadians Grow Weary of Politicking
The Conservatives have had two years to demonstrate that they represent all Canadians, not merely their partisan base. Instead, they have demonstrated that they just don't get it.
by Ryan McGreal
Published December 20, 2007 in Editorial (0 comments)
More Than a Feeling: A Boston Travelogue
Boston provides abundant lessons - both hopeful and cautionary - for a revitalizing city like Hamilton.
by Ryan McGreal
Published October 22, 2007 in Editorial (15 comments)
Big Box Stores and Urban Development
The best way to get developers to accept urban criteria is to make the rules clear and simple.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 28, 2007 in Editorial (9 comments)
HPD Intensification Seminar
You can't change the planning policies or the economics of development until you change people's mindsets about planning and development.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 28, 2007 in Editorial (0 comments)
The Internet is Self-Correcting
Compared to TV, the Internet makes it extremely easy to expose oneself to a humongous variety of perspectives and opinions from across the political spectrum and around the globe.
by Ryan McGreal
Published June 27, 2007 in Editorial (0 comments)
Fix the Municipal Funding System
Canadian cities cannot meet 21st century challenges with a 19th century legal framework.
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 30, 2007 in Editorial (0 comments)
Support the Anti-Idling By-Law
The proposed anti-idling by-law needs your support at the May 10 public consultation.
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 30, 2007 in Editorial (5 comments)
American Way of Life: Still Not Up for Negotiation
Bush's plan to reduce US reliance on imported petroleum through the wonders of technology is dangerous magical thinking.
by Ryan McGreal
Published January 24, 2007 in Editorial (1 comment)
Contact Your City Councillor - No Longer Current
Easy contact information for the newly elected municipal representatives.
by RTH Staff
Published December 13, 2006 in Editorial (4 comments)
Bidness is Bad for Business
The bad money of bidness, which thrives on secrecy and cronyism, drives out the good money of innovative industries that try to addres some of our long-term problems.
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 23, 2006 in Editorial (1 comment)
RTH Going to Print (We Really Mean it This Time)
A new partnership with Mayday Magazine will see a proper RTH print edition.
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 23, 2006 in Editorial (5 comments)
Good Guys and Bad Guys in City Politics
Do we blame the politician who breaks the rules, or the citizen who tries to hold the politician accountable?
by Ryan McGreal
Published November 08, 2006 in Editorial (3 comments)
Ersatz v. Real Urban Development
If we want to avoid more planning failures, we need to understand the nature of urban development before we lurch into the future.
by Ryan McGreal
Published September 20, 2006 in Editorial (0 comments)
Broad Based Organizing in Hamilton
Don't despair over the results of the upcoming municipal election. With a broad based citizen movement, it may not matter who wins.
by Ryan McGreal
Published August 30, 2006 in Editorial (4 comments)
A War on Rhetorical Wars
People don't like to be dominated, and resistance to domination is a renewable resource.
by Ryan McGreal
Published July 05, 2006 in Editorial (1 comment)
A Fair Trade?
Just how much are we willing to sacrifice for convenience? Quite a lot, it turns out.
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 09, 2006 in Editorial (3 comments)
Big Casket: Do Box Stores Have a Future?
Whatever else happens, the days of customers driving several kilometres to the warehouse store on the edge of town are numbered.
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 09, 2006 in Editorial (3 comments)
In the Zone
In its attempt to separate people from noisy, dirty, dangerous industry, zoning puts everyone in close proximity of noisy, dirty, dangerous cars.
by Ryan McGreal
Published February 15, 2006 in Editorial (2 comments)
Economics and Ecology
Our arbitrary property divisions don't extend to nature, and pollution ignores the property line.
by Ryan McGreal
Published January 09, 2006 in Editorial (0 comments)
Deer oh Dear
There are better ways than a deer cage to bring downtown children into contact with nature.
by Ryan McGreal
Published December 14, 2005 in Editorial (2 comments)
On Balance
Unless we get past that jump - many cars driven slightly less frequently to very few (or no) cars - we'll never realize the full benefits of compact, mixed-use development.
by Ryan McGreal
Published October 21, 2005 in Editorial (0 comments)
Summer Vacation
It's too stinkin' hot. We'll be back in mid-August.
by Ryan McGreal
Published July 01, 2005 in Editorial (0 comments)
Boxes Inside Boxes
The big box model destroys the possibility of any street life in its surroundings.
by Ryan McGreal
Published June 16, 2005 in Editorial (0 comments)
(Stair)case Closed
The Staircase was never just a business, but grew into a bona fide community centre, filling an important niche as a home for independent thought and expression.
by Ryan McGreal
Published June 16, 2005 in Editorial (0 comments)
First Principles
If we understand how healthy cities work, the citizens of Hamilton can revitalize our wonderful city.
by Ryan McGreal
Published May 16, 2005 in Editorial (16 comments)
Hitting the Wall
Building regulations should be simple, coherent, and people-friendly.
by Ryan McGreal
Published April 14, 2005 in Editorial (4 comments)
Four Proposals
Links to the four proposals for redeveloping the Tivoli (in PDF).
by RTH Staff
Published April 04, 2005 in Editorial (3 comments)
Renewal v. Revitalization
We need to make revitalization, not renewal, the basis for our downtown recovery.
by Ryan McGreal
Published March 14, 2005 in Editorial (0 comments)
No Jackboot Required
The trick is to remove impediments and restrictions so that real growth and development can take place at natural cross-roads and meeting places.
by Ryan McGreal
Published February 19, 2005 in Editorial (0 comments)
How could you not love this city?
At Raise the Hammer, we love Hamilton, warts and all. There's plenty to get angry about, but there's also plenty to celebrate.
by Ryan McGreal
Published December 14, 2004 in Editorial (0 comments)
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