In brief

The city will add its voice to a last-ditch effort to prevent the liquidation of Hamilton Specialty Bar. The century-old steelmaker went into receivership in January and is slated to be liquidated after union efforts to find a new buyer-operator failed by March 26, the court-imposed deadline. But council was told Wednesday that the United Steel Workers Local 4752, which represents workers at the facility, is continuing to negotiate with a potential operator, KAL Advisory Partners LLC. (That potential buyer would now have to deal with the successful liquidation bidder, American Iron and Metals.) A motion from Coun. Matthew Green asked top city bureaucrats and Mayor Fred Eisenberger to meet with interested parties as well as provincial officials to "explore any and all opportunities" to keep the steelmaker a going concern. "We've seen what happens when our steel industry is gutted," said Green, who noted the steelmaker at maximum capacity employs up to 250 workers. "There is still hope for this deal."