As reported in the Bracebridge Examiner here and by MooseFM here, as of January 7, 2016, the What’s Up Muskoka newspaper and Muskoka Magazine have been closed by their parent company, Postmedia Network Inc.
As reported by CTV Barrie here, after running for more than 20 years, Wakestock was cancelled last summer.
During the summer of 2015 there were many empty storefronts in Bala.
That is, the area’s economy is fragile, and the proposed hydro-electric generating station at the Bala falls would make it worse. The Bala falls are the most popular tourist attraction in the Township of Muskoka Lakes, but this would be ruined by; taking away 94% of the water from both falls, building an industrial building rising 55′ (that’s five storeys) above the Moon River, making the publically-accessible shoreline too dangerous to use, and making in-water recreation too dangerous to continue.