City preparations to welcome the New Year are all set, and Brampton officials have planned various activities for the city’s residents and tourists.

Folks can take their pick from a free concert, face painting, games and contests, or they can opt to simply skate underneath the city’s beautiful holiday lights.

Indeed, it looks like the City of Brampton is ready to usher in the New Year.

Brampton’s downtown area will be the center of activity, with thousands of residents and travelers expected to flock to the streets to take part in this evening’s New Year’s celebration.

Food stands and booths will be there to fight off the December-chill, while live bands—among them Canadian rock band 54•40—will be heating up the night.

Of course, any New Year’s Bash would not be complete without a grand fireworks display for the finale.

The celebrations will be kicking off at 7 tonight at Brampton’s Gage Park, continuing at the City Hall grounds and Rose Theater until 12:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

And good news for those attending, Brampton Transit will providing free rides to and from the party grounds on selected routes. Rides will begin at 7:30 in the evening.

Here some good news to end the year with. While the City of Brampton had its share of homicides this past 2009, the numbers are lower than the 10 cases recorded last year.

A yearly record of 10 homicides is pretty low in itself. But for a city in Ontario, whose overall crime rate has been on a steady decline since 1991, 10 is still a significant number. But law enforcement officials have outdone themselves this year, solving and making arrests in all of the 8 reported cases this past year.

Like most years in the past, the homicide cases in Brampton had no common denominators – meaning all cases were isolated and not connected to each other in any way. According to authorities, three of the murder victims were not from Brampton, and another—whose body was found in the trunk of his SUV—wasn’t even killed in the city.

An in-depth look into this year’s record shows that among the victims were a 15-year-old teenager shot when hanging out with a drug addict, and a 59-year-old church volunteer who was allegedly killed by her own mentally unstable son.

The news is a testament to the investigative prowess of the police officers in the Peel Region and Brampton. But to them, true success means that the city is finally crime free.

Chaos gripped the Pearson International Airport—which is located near Brampton’s south border—as authorities implemented measures to tighten the airport’s security.

Many travelers were stuck after their flights were cancelled due to delays, while others remained determined and lined up for hours just to catch a flight out of town.

Causing the delays are the temporary restrictions placed on people bound for the United States. One of the new measures prohibits fliers from having carry-on bags; leading security officials to do hand-checks (which take a significant amount of time), travelers repacking their bags’ contents, and a second batch of staff doing double-checks at the gates. Furthermore, passengers have to submit themselves to thorough pat-downs at almost all of the airport’s corners.

All this has caused confusion and frustration between travelers and the airport staff of Pearson International.

The measures were put into effect after Transport Canada and the U.S. Transport Security Administration issued warnings in the wake of the foiled terrorist attack aboard a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.

A 23-year-old Nigerian was apprehended and claimed to be connected with the terrorist group Al Qaeda.

Airport security has now been heightened across Canada and the Unites States to prevent any similar incident from happening.

Here’s some great news to end the year with.

While housing figures were pretty weak in the months of October and November, things were buoyed by an increase in demand for low-rise housing in the City of Brampton and its neighboring areas.

According to figures released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation or CMHC, housing starts fell to 2,514 units of November this year. The dip marked the first housing decrease since rates rose consistently for 3 straight months.

Analysts note that the situation would have been much worse if low-rise housing rates stayed the same throughout the year. Luckily enough, Brampton’s residents unknowingly helped the city pull through this sticky bind.

Compared to figures from 2008, this period’s housing starts were down by as much as 40 percent. It was only in the second half that things started to improve.

November’s decline in housing figures was largely a result of fewer apartment starts, although rates have steadily risen since May of this year.

However, single, semi, and row housing starts for November also rose to their highest level this year.

Thanks to this increase in demand for low-rise homes, construction projects in areas like Brampton and Vaughan also enjoyed a spike in activity.

Aluminum cans may be useless to some, but to Brampton resident James Young, they are his ticket to success.

The entrepreneur recently went on a campaign to collect 150 million of these normal, everyday, aluminum cans to help Habitat for Humanity build home for 10 less fortunate families in the City of Brampton.

How’s he doing, you might ask? So far, Young and his team of volunteers have amassed over 75,000 cans, and while that’s a far cry from the goal of 150 million, it’s a pretty darn good haul, considering that the campaign is only a year old.

Young comments that all it takes to make the goal is for more people and businesses to pitch in and donate cans. He advises those who want to help that the goal is not so much as making the mark of 150 million cans, as it is to help those living beneath the poverty line.

With the rate things are going, he expects the number of cans to double by the start of spring.

Aside from being busy with the campaign, James Young serves as the CEO and president of JEY and Associates Research Analysts. The business owner kicked off the campaign in December of 2008.

While this year’s haul was a few dollars short of last year’s tally, The Brampton Guardian Santa Claus Fund was a big success despite the economic difficulties experienced by many locals and businesses in the city.

The annual campaign raised a total of $27,647.04 as of December 24 – not that much of a difference compared to last year’s haul of $27,654. Furthermore, last year’s numbers were largely a result of last-minute donations that came in after the deadline, so it’s very possible (even expected by many) that this year’s fundraiser will be even more successful by the end of the year.

All this was made possible thanks to the help of Brampton’s residents, with many making a mad rush to donate hundreds of toys, food items, clothes, and many more. In addition, the campaign saw a spike in cash and cheque donations during the fundraiser’s homestretch.

Their contributions helped around 5,000 less fortunate children in the City of Brampton and Peel Region, with kids receiving gift packages that contained goodies and other necessities.

With many hard pressed to donate cash, community members compensated by giving as many gift boxes as they could. In fact, boxes with books, toys, and clothes came in as early as October.

If you missed out on this year’s campaign, don’t worry. The Santa Claus Fund accepts donations all year round. Simply donate non-perishable food items, books, toys, clothes (used and new), or any amount of money to The Brampton Guardian office.

Drivers beware. Starting on the 1^st day of the New Year, the Peel Region and City of Brampton will start to impose stiffer penalties for traffic rule violators – specifically those who run the red light.

Fines imposed on drivers caught on the intersections with cameras installed will now be pegged at $325, that’s almost double the $180 fine dozens of drivers had to deal with this year.
The red light cameras of course, are not new and have been around in Brampton and the Peel Region since 2000. So if you’re new to the area, or just passing by, it would be best to stay smart on the road. The cameras are part of the region’s traffic safety initiative.

Some 24 red light cameras are scattered across the Peel Region’s intersections, with operators keeping watch 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Ontario Court has decided to impose stiffer penalties for red light runners, due to the prevalence of drivers who take the ordinance for granted.

According to Joe Avsec, Peel’s supervisor of traffic signals and systems, while the region’s red light camera system is vital to catching and fining violators, the new and heavier fine is meant to show that running a red light comes with very serious consequences.

With only a week to go before New Year’s Eve, Brampton’s preparations for the celebrations ushering in 2010 are already in full swing.

A 54•40 concert, fireworks display, and more are just some of the things to look forward to in Brampton, Ontario, come the 31^st of December. With over 40,000 people expected to flock to the city’s downtown area, festivities are expected to be filled with music, entertainment, and fun for the entire family.

The celebration kicks off at 7 in the evening and ends at around 1 the next day. Two fireworks shows are planned for the evening, with the one at 9 p.m. at the Brampton City Hall, and another at the Rose Theatre at midnight.

Everyone’s in for a grand time, as different zones have been set up to suit the party needs of all. The center of the festivities will be in Garden Square, with performances from Cure Gravity, Pinup Saints, and 54•40.

For those who want to take a breather from the celebrations, the Brampton City hall will be transformed into a nice and comfortable café with beverages and plush couches to relax on.

For details and information on New Year’s Eve in Brampton, log-on to www.brampton.ca.

After months of work, Queen’s Park has finally marked the completion of Brampton’s Hwy. 410 extension, which is taking place today.

A commemoration ceremony will be held today, with parliamentary assistant to the provincial transportation minister and MPP for Brampton-Springdale Linda Jeffrey, making an appearance to make the extension’s completion official.

The newly finished extension, which connects Hwy. 410 with Hurontario Street, is designed to alleviate the problem of frequent traffic jams in the area. The extension is just a few kilometers north of the Brampton and Caledon border.

Ontario’s Transportation Department estimates that around 60,000 vehicles will pass by the Hwy. 410 extension each day over the next few moths.

The three-stage project first started in 2003, when the highway (which was divided by four lanes) was pushed further up north from Bovaird Drive in Brampton toward Caledon. In 2008, the highway was connected with Mayfield Road, which serves as the boundary line between the two municipalities.

The Hwy. 410’s unveiling is scheduled to take place at 11 in the morning today, at the Brampton Christian School.

With traffic congestion a regular sight in the area, Brampton officials hope that the extension eases things a bit. They’ll be monitoring the highway closely during the weeks that follow.

Christmas may be hitting the city next week, but Brampton’s garbage collection services won’t be taking a break.

In spite of the holiday downtime other government services in Brampton and the Peel Region will enjoy, garbage and recyclable items (blue boxes and green bins) will still be collected regularly on Christmas Week. Community Recycling Centres (CRC) however, will be closed on the 25th, 26th, 27th, and January first.

Here’s a list of other government offices in Brampton that will be going on Holiday break.

• Recreational Centers will be closed on the 24th 25th and 31st of December, as well as the 1st of January.

• The City’s Animal Shelter will be also be closed on December 25, 27, 28 and January 1. Emergency cases will still be entertained on these dates

• Bylaw enforcement offices will stay open until the noon of the 24th and 31st of December.

If you’re not sure if a government office is open or not on the Holidays, you can call 311 and contact the municipal information telephone line.

You can also log-on to the city’s official web site www.brampton.ca for additional details and information on the services available during these dates.