A Wentworth Street North property being investigated for hundreds of barrels of unknown substances found piled outside is now the subject of a criminal investigation.

Hamilton police say they have found slightly more than 1,000 marijuana plants in the plant.

The value is being estimated at more than $1 million.

Police spokeswoman Catherine Martin said the plants were found during a search of the building at Wentworth and Burton streets earlier today by police and members of the vice and drug squad.

Vice and drug officers remain at the scene at this hour. The site is in between Barton Street East and Burlington Street East.

Police said they were alerted to the situation through a tip to Crime Stoppers.

Martin said no charges have been laid following the discovery, but the investigation is ongoing.

Hydro to the building has been shut down and Martin said there is indications of illegal electrical hookups on the site.

Fiddler Liam McGlashon, 11, joins Darren Rust, Owen Mahoney and Patrick Lawson (not seen) as part of the Liam McGlashon Kitchen Band's regular Friday night gig at the Corktown Tavern.

Liam has been playing the East Coast fiddle style since he was 51/2 years old.

He is taking part in several music festivals over the summer months in both Ontario and Prince Edward Island.

He is especially excited about attending the Leahy Summer Music Camp in Lakefield, just north of Peter-borough, where he'll continue to learn more about the fiddle music that he loves so much.

Nicky Ramsay was watching TV, wondering what to make for dinner, when her daughter Bailey burst into the room.

Her children, 14-year-old Abbie and eight-year-old Leif had been swept away by the swollen waters of nearby Tuck Creek in Burlington.

"I just threw off my shoes and started running," said Ramsay, 39. "I thought they were gone."

Leif and his stepsisters had been playing in the creek Saturday when Leif dropped his flip-flop into the water. But the creek -- which is usually ankle-deep -- had swollen and was nearly two metres deep because of heavy rain.

When Leif tried to grab his shoe, the current took hold and swept him downstream. Abbie jumped in after him and was also carried away. Eleven-year-old Bailey ran to her mom for help.

"She was pretty frantic," Ramsay said.

Ramsay ran down to the creek, immediately got into the water and was also swept downstream. She had several moments when she struggled to keep her head above water as she searched for her children.

Larry Di Ianni says he’ll hold a press conference Monday morning to announce his “mayoral intentions” for October’s municipal election.

Di Ianni revealed he was considering challenging incumbent Fred Eisenberger in May after several other potential candidates – including Ancaster Councillor Lloyd Ferguson and millionaire philanthropist Teresa Cascioli – decided not to run.

“Obviously, if I ran, it’s because I think I could do a better job than Fred,” Di Ianni told The Spectator in May.

A councillor for the former city of Stoney Creek for 18 years, Di Ianni was elected to the amalgamated Hamilton council in 2000. In 2003, he defeated David Christopherson to become mayor. He lost to Eisenberger by 452 votes in the 2006 municipal election.

A landowner with property interests in the west harbour has come forward with an expanded proposal for the Pan Am stadium site that includes condos, luxury hotels and a stadium with a retractable roof.

Marino Rakovac, who owns property near Bay and Barton streets, has created a website that provides extensive details about the proposal.

The plans, detailed at hamiltonbay.blogspot.com, include hotel and condo towers, a bayfront village with restaurants and shops, and a retractable roof on the stadium that "consists of four arch truss frames covered in synthetic fabric or solid panels." The proposal also includes walkways connecting the stadium to Liuna Station on James Street.

Rakovac's website proposes the new stadium should be managed by the City of Hamilton, the Katz group -- the company of Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz, which has expressed interest in operating the Pan Am stadium -- the Tiger-Cats and "perhaps others."

Rakovac could not be reached for comment about his proposal.

David Adames, the city's Pan Am point person, said he has met with Rakovac and the man brought "lots of enthusiasm" along with his ideas.

"We welcome creative ideas and get a lot of proposals and concepts about the stadium. This one is a little more developed than others."

Inside the Sky Dragon Centre, the anarchists believe they are being watched by police.

But they don't care. They say they have nothing to be ashamed of.

It's a bold position to take given one of the best known anarchists to hang out there is facing criminal conspiracy charges related to last month's G20 summit and is accused by police of masterminding plans for violence and destruction.

And in light of a Hamilton police hate crimes report that lists the local anarchist movement -- including its annual book fair -- as something for investigators to watch.

"I've been told by a police officer that they've had Sky Dragon under surveillance for two years," says executive director Kevin MacKay. "Our perspective is -- whatever. We have nothing to hide."

"We've had undercover cops at our book fair," says anarchist Meaghan Ross. "People recognized them. It's just a book fair."

At Sky Dragon, a sunny space on King William Street, a block from police headquarters, discussions range from Gaza to Haiti, community gardens to vegan recipes, peace and anti-poverty to First Nations' and women's issues.

And anarchy.

It's easier to call it a must-win if you actually win it.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, facing the prospect of an 0-3 start, used a series of clock-eating, yardage-killing drives to avenge a season-opening loss with a 28-7 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last night at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

Quarterback Kevin Glenn was ruthlessly accurate, completing more than 80 per cent of his passes -- including the first 14 straight -- on his way to a 340-yard, three-touchdown day. Receiver Dave Stala led the way with nine catches for 124 yards and Maurice Mann had two touchdown grabs.

"Everybody understood the ramifications of the game," Glenn said in a near-jubliant locker-room after the game. "Everybody knew we had to get this win."

The Ticat D contained Bombers' quarterback Buck Pierce and then drove him from the game in the third quarter after the last in a series of hard hits. Pierce finished with 119 yards on 10-for-19 passing and, perhaps more importantly, a big fat zero in the rushing column. Ticat linebacker Markeith Knowlton also had a key interception.

Redemption was evident elsewhere on the field. The offensive line, much maligned after giving up seven sacks in week one, gave up just one this time around.

THE WHITESTAR GROUP IS A DEVELOPMENT COMPANY THAT JOINTLY WELCOMES AND ARE ENTHUSED ABOUT THE PAN AM GAMES VISION TO RESTORE OUR BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN BAY FRONT. THIS BLOG IS INTENDED TO SHOW THE MANY SHARED AND COMPLIMENTARY VISIONS OUR COMPANY HAS WITH THE CITY, THE CATS, THE INVESTORS AND THE CONSUMER PUBLIC. OUR GOAL IS TO HELP IMPLEMENT A STRATEGIC, ECONOMICAL AND SOCIABLE PLAN THAT WILL CATER TO ALL PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING PROCESS, PROVING TO BE BENEFICIAL OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.

A dramatic road rage incident in the city’s east end this morning ended with no one wanting to pursue criminal charges and a so-called Good Samaritan crashing into one of the fighting men’s car.

The incident began as two cars were exiting a King Street East Tim Horton’s parking lot, across from the Hamilton police east end station around 8:20 a.m., said Sergeant Terri-Lynn Collings.

A 27-year-old man driving a Chevrolet Cavalier alleged that a 35-year-old man driving a Chrysler Intrepid cut him off, she said. They both drove westbound on King stopping beside each other at stop lights and yelling.

At Quigley Road the enraged 27-year-old stopped his car and pulled out a crowbar and started waving it around, Collings said. He had another male passenger in the car who also exited the vehicle.

Then the 35-year-old pulled out a carpeting tool from his vehicle, she said.

The tumultuous story of America's first family of politics is being filmed on the streets of Hamilton.

The Scottish Rite, Liuna Station and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church on Locke Street are just three Hamilton locations for the $20-million to $25-million television production The Kennedys, starring Katie Holmes as first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

The eight-hour miniseries is slated for broadcast on the U.S. History Channel next year.

It also stars Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy, Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy and Tom Wilkinson as patriarch Joseph Kennedy Sr. The film covers the period 1960-1968, but features flashbacks to earlier years.

Filming was taking place this week at The Scottish Rite and Holmes -- the wife of Tom Cruise -- was on the set wearing a pink outfit with black lapels. This was the outfit the real Mrs. Kennedy was wearing in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, when her husband was assassinated in a motorcade by Lee Harvey Oswald.

A popular downtown chick named Chedoke is soaring in Hamilton's skies again after recovering from a soft tissue injury two weeks ago.

The female peregrine is one of four chicks hatched from the nest atop the downtown Sheraton Hamilton Hotel, where the endangered birds first started nesting in 1995.

The falcons and nests, captured by cameras above the ledge, have fascinated Hamiltonians and observers worldwide through the Internet.

Most of the activity happens in the spring, when the nesting occurs. The live camera screening and surveillance, carried out by volunteers with the Hamilton Community Peregrine Project, are now about to come to an end.

A former Edmonton man was handed a seven-year prison sentence today for pointing an imitation handgun at two unarmed correctional officers and helping a reputedly dangerous prisoner to escape custody.

Ontario Court Justice Maria Speyer imposed the maximum five years allowed by the Criminal Code on Aram Hadi, 20, for the offence of assisting a prisoner to escape. 

The judge sentenced him to three years for the carjacking of a corrections van and one year for wearing a mask in the commission of a crime. Those terms are to be served concurrent to the five-year sentence.

Hadi received an additional one-year sentence for pointing an imitation handgun and another year  for breaching probation. The prisoner escape on Nov. 24, 2009, was committed while Hadi was serving a sentence on weekends at a Toronto-area jail for a prior conviction for trafficking in cocaine.

http://bit.ly/cgBOs6

Hamilton’s Hindu and Sikh communities are looking to change the city’s fireworks bylaw to accommodate for Diwali, the “festival of lights.”

While thousands of Hamiltonians every year celebrate the Hindu holiday, the current bylaw restricts the use and sale of fireworks to Victoria Day, Canada Day and the two days before and after those holidays. 

Local community members are looking to change what they are calling an outdated regulation.  

“The definition is called ‘festival of lights.’  Without that component of light, Diwali has no or very little meaning,” said Nithy Ananth, president of the Hindu Samaj Temple of Hamilton and Region. 

Twitter Group Partners with First Annual Proud Hamilton Hunt
Report: t'WestofTO (a Twitter group that holds meetups (or Tweetups) for design, tech, geek, and social media folks in Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, and Niagara region) announced today that they are partnering with community members to work on a joint project to support the Proud Hamilton (PH) campaign. The PH campaign is a grassroots initiative designed to help bring jobs to Hamilton. The initiative was started by the Jobs Prosperity Collaborative who learned from a study that companies are less likely to invest in a city that has a poorer reflection on themselves than other cities do. In other words, "if we can’t look at ourselves and be proud, how can we expect others to invest their businesses in our city?" They agreed.

On July 24, 2010, t'WestofTO is hosting the first annual Proud Hamilton Hunt. The Proud Hamilton Hunt is an urban adventure where teams of two can solve clues about Hamilton, photograph themselves at the clue locations, and reach the finish line for a chance to win prizes provided by Hamilton businesses including two Apple iPads for the first place team.

All proceeds of the event will go to the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s Art Without Barriers Summer Camp. The camp program invites principals and/or teachers from high-needs neighbourhood schools to identify children who would most benefit from attending this special camp; the camp includes breakfast, lunch and snacks, a week of art-making with artist-educators, and a kit of art-making supplies to use at home. For more information about the event or to register visit http://bit.ly/1stPHH

Hamilton police say this shows the value of learning CPR.

An employee at a Metro Food store on Barton Street East was able to save the life of a colleague yesterday.

He performed CPR on a worker who had collapsed at the store's loading dock.

That kept the man alive until paramedics arrived.

The 62-year-old was rushed to hospital, where he's listed in serious condition

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have responded to facilitator Michael Fenn's report on the new Pan-Am Stadium.

In a letter to Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger, Ticats owner Bob Young says the CFL club has selected the east mountain location, at the Linc and Red Hill Parkway, mentioned in Fenn's report as their preferred location.

The Tiger-Cats are committing $74-million to the proposed 2015 Pan Am Games stadium, including $15-million towards the cost of the stadium, and $10-million toward the transition costs between today and opening the new stadium.

The Ticats will also cover estimated operating costs of the new stadium at the price of $3-million over the next 10 years, totaling $30-million.

Facilitator Michael Fenn issues his report on Hamilton's Pan Am stadium options tomorrow.

CHML News has learned that Fenn will recommend two possible sites for the stadium.

One is the West Harbour, the city's preferred location.

The other is the east mountain, in the Linc and Red Hill Parkway area.

Fenn's report also recommends a technical analysis on the West Harbour site and east mountain location by August 12th.

The report indicates the final location should be selected by August 31st.

Unofficial heat wave: Day two.

It may not be an official heat wave until we have had four straight days of this stuff, but Hamilton and the Golden Horseshoe continue to swelter under high temperatures, heavy humidex and a smog advisory.

Temperatures will hit 33 C today, a repeat of Monday.

The humidity will make it feel more like 43.

Joint humidex and smog advisories from Environment Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Environment continue today for Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk, Halton and pretty much all of Southern Ontario.