Published: October 27, 2009 11:07 am      

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: Savings to be had in States

A recent comparison shopping trip by a Canadian newspaper found several deals to be had on this side of the border.

The St. Catharines (Ontario) Standard did a report on Canadian shoppers traveling here for shopping deals. The report found that cameras, sweater and other items could be had more cheaply here than there. Also chronicled were the adventures of several Canadian shoppers who frequent Niagara and Erie counties.

“It’s the thrill of the hunt,” said an anonymous Canadian shopper who enjoys the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara — a locale that, the report said, “is so popular with Canadians it might as well take out dual citizenship.”

“You can probably find the same deals back home, but it’s great to get out and make an event out of a day of shopping,” the shopper said.

The outlet mall was cited as seeing brisk business of late, as the Canadian dollar has strengthened in relation to its Yankee counterpart. While trying to dispel the myth of better bargains in the States, the report conceded that, on at least some items, Canadian shoppers really could save money here.

“Good news for shoppers, perhaps, but with Canadian businesses and industry types worrying about the soaring loonie’s impact on the economy back home, you wonder how much of a deal we’re in for in the long run,” the report concluded.

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The last fiscal year was apparently a bad time to be in the casino business in Ontario.

The Calgary (Alberta) Herald reported that Ontario’s four government-owned casinos lost a combined $94 million in fiscal 2008-09. Dwight Duncan, Ontario’s finance minister, said the industry has been down worldwide, but that increased travel requirements to enter the United States also hurt attendance.

Two of the four casinos — Casino Niagara and Niagara Fallsview Casino — are a poker chip’s throw from the Rainbow Bridge.

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Having just retired from a top basketball officiating position, a Niagara Falls native has started making the rounds on the speaking circuit.

Henry Nichols just hung up his whistle after a 42-year career officiating college basketball; 22 of those years were spend as the NCAA’s national coordinator of men’s basketball officiating.

In an interview with the Salem (Ala.) Times-Journal, which talked to him in advance of a lecture there, the Bishop Duffy High School graduate said his role wasn’t as important as other people seemed to see it.

“It always seemed that people put more credence and emphasis on the officiating,” Nichols said. “None of that seemed that special. I refereed with the same love that I had for the game.”

Nichols coached at Bishop Duffy and DeSales High School in Lockport before embarking upon a refereeing career that saw him call 10 Final Four contests and six NCAA men’s title games. He was nominated in 2003 for enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame but wasn’t elected.

Contact Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.