A Story Flow

Here are more stories of interest

HOW TO SELL SIN CITY

No wonder the head Wilde-man at the University of Windsor took little action on Frat parties. I wonder if he is crying in his beer after the latest Macleans rankings.

Heck, if it works for the University, Edgar (aka Eddie) should try it

• "BOOZE FOR BOARD MEMBERS
  
  The President of the University of Windsor Student Alliance is questioning a new staff entertainment policy approved by the School's board of governors. The policy states that alcohol may be purchased while entertaining people like donors, guests and volunteers. Mohsin Khan says some students won't like seeing their tuition spent on booze for others. Board Chair Dave Cook says alcohol is just part of promoting and selling the school."

Now about those massage parlours and the photographs...

FIREFIGHTERS---ARE WE NOW LIKE DETROIT

Oh how nasty people are east of us on the 401. Take a look at this story that should make it impossible for anyone to want to move or invest here in the foreseeable future.

Yup, Highway 401 stops west of London now. No wonder there is no need for Service Centres until next summer:

And just wait until the Arbitrator nails Windsor in the firefighters' case considering what is happening in London

• "City firefighters add year to pact
  Pay rises now match those for London police
  
  London firefighters have agreed to extend a just-signed contract for another year.
  
  Originally a two-year pact, which was retroactive to 2008, it'll now also cover 2010, giving firefighters the same pay increase city police are due to get next year...
  
  News of the deal's extension comes just as Windsor is reportedly set to lay off firefighters as city officials there mull a slew of significant spending cuts. Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis told reporters late last week 12 positions at the fire department, including five firefighters and four captains, are being cut.
  
  While the London union is aware of what's happening 200 kilometres down Hwy. 401, Holmes says he doesn't expect the city to ever take such a step.
  
  "It's happened in a lot of American cities that are going through an incredible budget crunch, but Windsor is quite the exception" in Canada, Holmes [president of the firefighters union] said. "As bad as things are here in London, they're way, way worse . . . there."
  
  

DOES THE TRUCKING ASSOCIATION KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE DRIC BRIDGE THAT WE DON'T

From an OTA Press Release. Sean O'Dell better not see this:

• "David Bradley, CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance continues to tell North American trade groups that the continued decline in cross-border truck movements is “masking” problems at the border and imposing significant costs on the North American supply chain.
  
  This past week Bradley was part of a panel at the Border Trade Alliance conference in Buffalo, NY and keynote speaker at the Ports-to-Plains/Texas DOT conference in Lubbock, TX.
  
  Bradley told both groups that as of August, on a year-to-date basis, the number of trucks crossing the ON-US border were down 18% and are now at their lowest level since 1996. “After 6 straight years of growth between 1995-2001 when the numbers of trucks crossing the border jumped 38%, by the end of 2009, the number of trucks crossing the border will have dropped 5 years in a row and will be 22% of their 2000 peak,” he said.
  
  “So when people ask me why we are not seeing the same sort of border delays that we say earlier this decade, I tell them its because the trade is down. I also tell them its because the border has thickened and that this leaves the North American supply chain in a vulnerable and uncompetitive situation.”
  
  Bradley outlined what he said are some “modest, but meaningful measures” to restore a risk assessment approach to border inspections and to increase the return on investment for participating in low risk programs such as FAST/C-TPAT including an end to the need for truck drivers to carry multiple cards, reciprocal recognition of Canadian and US programs (e.g., ACE/ACI, C-TPAT/PIP, FAST), the introduction of a system of natural justice and progressive discipline for C-TPAT, and allowing low risk carriers to make in-transit moves.”

Interesting, nothing about building a DRIC Bridge. At a cost of billions, it is certainly not modest and without any traffic, it is certinly not meaningful.

And then in another speech dealing with Governmental unreality, nothing about the need for a DRIC bridge again:

• "CTA's Bradley calls for border improvements at business forum
  
  MONTREAL, Que. -- Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO David Bradley says "modest yet meaningful measures" need to be taken in order to win back productivity and efficiency at the Canada-US border and take full advantage of the economic recovery...
  
  With regard to the border, Bradley said that governments on both sides of the border are calling for a new border framework.
  
  "They are urging us to develop the next great idea, to think outside the box," he said. "That is fine, but most of us are living in the day, trying to survive not only the challenge to improve security, but also to keep our companies whole, to serve our customers and to operate in a safe and environmentally-friendly way."

Yup, why spend taxpayer billions when traffic is dying when the Bridge Company is prepared to use their money and take the risk.

CAN MACQUARIE FUND THE DRIC ROAD

How were they short-listed? What were the criteria used?

One of their companies had trouble with BC's Port Mann bridge project and had to back out. Now this:

• "Recession may complicate funding of tunnel project


For years, Australia's biggest investment bank has been raising billions for airports, tunnels and toll roads throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Now the Sydney-based bank Macquarie Group Ltd. is seeking to help finance construction of a new Midtown Tunnel, upgrade the Downtown Tunnel between Norfolk and Portsmouth and extend the Martin Luther King Freeway.

Macquarie and its construction-company partner Skanska formed a joint venture called Elizabeth River Crossings, which is negotiating with the Virginia Department of Transportation to finance, build and operate the $1.5 billion project. An interim agreement with VDOT is scheduled to be in place next month.

In presentations to government officials and an independent review panel, Elizabeth River Crossings called attention to Macquarie's success at raising more than $8 billion in recent years for toll-road projects in the United States.

But financial markets have been jolted during the past year by heavy losses and investors' aversion to risk. That's likely to make the job of raising money for the tunnel-and-expressway project more complicated.

"The folks providing debt are being far more cautious," said Michael Garvin, a civil engineer and associate professor at Virginia Tech who has studied construction projects by public-private partnerships. Lining up financial commitments "is going to be a challenge for at least a couple of more years."

The schedule for the tunnel-and-expressway project calls for Elizabeth River Crossings to have a comprehensive agreement with VDOT by early 2011 and to close on financing that spring.

In an evaluation of the Skanska-Macquarie proposal, VDOT determined earlier this year that the two companies are financially qualified and capable of lining up the money to build and maintain the project. But because of uncertainty in financial markets, the report said, "Macquarie's ability and willingness to provide a significant direct investment in the project should be monitored," said the report, issued May 13.

Macquarie, it noted, was initially engaged as a partner in two recent toll-road projects - one in Florida and another in British Columbia - but later withdrew.

"Overall, it is a strong company," said Deborah Brown, VDOT's innovative finance officer and co-author of the report with the department's chief financial officer. Given the environment for financing these types of projects, "we still felt it was wise to continue to monitor their condition."

Paula Chirhart, a Macquarie spokeswoman, noted that the company continued to serve as financial adviser for the Florida and British Columbia projects and remains active in financing infrastructure projects.

"The partners in Elizabeth River Crossings are absolutely committed" to the one proposed for Norfolk and Portsmouth, Chirhart said.

WILL GIGNAC CENSURE JARVIS AT COUNCIL

The Councillor has to be furious.

After all of her efforts at the Queen's Garden Party in Windsor, England during the CUPE strike

• "Queen gets invite to Windsor
  
  When Jo-Anne Gignac went to England last Tuesday, she did more than just take in the sights. She invited the Queen to Windsor.
  
  Wearing a large bronze hat and a linen cropped jacket, Windsor's Ward 5 councillor joined about 8,500 guests at the Queen's summer garden party at Buckingham Palace...
  
  Gignac is excited about the invitation.
  
  "I know the people of Windsor will be thrilled," she said."

I am sure that she expected the Queen to come to Windsor when she visits Canada even though her son did not. And then Anne Jarvis had to write this:

• "Windsor's Anne Jarvis: Canada has outgrown monarchy
  
  Long live the Queen, but when she dies, Canada doesn't need another monarch...
  
  But I, like many in my generation, don't see the point of Canada's constitutional monarchy. With Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visiting for 11 days, now is the time to make that point.
  
  As former Newfoundland premier and federal cabinet minister Brian Tobin said, it's silly that someone from another country is our head of state.
  
  We're not a good match anymore, either. England remains a fundamental and inextricable part of our history, but Canada is no longer a British colony. We're a sovereign and multicultural country, and we do things differently."

Sorry Councillor.

What A Shocker

I almost blew a fuse. A truly electrifying event in Windsor.

No strike at Enwin! Watts going on here?

Heck, there wasn't one at WUC either. Watt gives?

• "Enwin workers ratify agreement
  
  Seventy-five outside workers at Enwin Utilities have voted 83 per cent in favour of a new 3 1/2-year collective agreement.
  
  The workers, represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 636 Unit 21, will receive a 6.5 per cent increase over the life of the agreement."

So then please explain to me why we needed a 101 day strike of CUPE workers to achieve a similar resolution.

I would get a charge out of seeing the Minutes of both WUC and Enwin to see how Mayor Edgar (aka Eddie) voted since he is on the Board of both.

I wonder if there was a spark of independence from the other Board members to approve the contracts.

Depending on what Junior amplifies about the CUPE strike in his Report upcoming on November 10 at the Ward 4 Councillors meeting, it may impact the next municipal electron-ion. I am positive about that!

McGuinty's Dilemma: Kids Or DRIC

You are the Premier of a have-not Province that used to be the richest one in Canada. Your deficit has grown to the multi-multi billions, so much so that your Minister of Finance can barely mention the number without choking.

However, somehow you have found a spare $1.5B to play with.

You could use it to build the most expensive road in Ontario's history in Windsor, an area where the sitting MPP/Cabinet Ministers are virtually unbeatable and the small-town Mayor does not know his place and keeps on attacking you.

OR you could use the money for children across the Province including ridings where sitting members are at risk and in Opposition ridings where you could take a seat or two. Moreover, there are going to be some nasty election issues that are coming up and you do need some good news.

What to do with it? What to do?

Kids or DRIC. DRIC or kids.

I think I know the answer

• "With full-day kindergarten, McGuinty builds a legacy
  
  Mr. McGuinty, there to announce the details of his early learning plan, was plainly excited. And why wouldn't he be? More than anything else he's done in office, and more than anything else he'll do going forward, this was him leaving an indelible mark on his province...
  
  But with full-day kindergarten, the initiative at the heart of the early learning plan, Mr. McGuinty has found his sweet spot - a policy that he desperately wants to be remembered for, and one that future governments will find very difficult to make Ontarians forget.
  
  "It's not the only test," Mr. McGuinty said in an interview last month. "But one important test of public policy is, do I think that anybody would seek to undo this. I find it hard to see somebody seeking to undo this..."
  
  For a projected annual cost of $1.5-billion, then, Mr. McGuinty has acquired a legacy. And because nobody wants their legacy to be half-assed, he has gone further than expected in adopting Dr. Pascal's recommendations - notably fee-based before- and after-school programs not just for kindergarten students, but (where demand warrants) for older children as well. After months of hints that the Liberals would stick fairly rigidly to their previous campaign commitment, which was just all-day kindergarten, some schools are going to look quite a bit like the community hubs Dr. Pascal envisioned.
  
  No wonder Mr. McGuinty was in such a buoyant mood yesterday
  
  
• "Ontario's roll out of all-day kindergarten to take five years: source
  
  Premier Dalton McGuinty will announce Tuesday that it will take Ontario five years to phase in a much-touted plan to offer all-day kindergarten for all four- and five-year-olds, The Canadian Press has learned.
  
  Some 35,000 kids – about 16 per cent the eligible junior and senior kindergarten students in the education system – will be offered full-day learning next September, but the program will be fully implemented across the province by 2015, a government source said....
  
  The logistics of the scheme are almost overwhelming. But Mr. Pascal said he's feeling “very positive” that Tuesday's announcement will mark a new beginning for the province.
  
  “This is absolutely critical for the social and economic progress of our province,” he said in an interview.
  
  If you compare all-day kindergarten to other stimulus ventures like bridge-building and road repairs, the investment in children is the project that “keeps on giving,” he said.
  
  With early learning, children are better prepared for elementary school and parents seeking supports for their kids are no longer navigating a “fragmented” system, he said.
  
  “There is no better return on a taxpayer's investment than early learning in terms of our future progress,” Mr. Pascal added.
  
  All-day kindergarten should be a priority for the Ontario Liberals because it would create a foundation for other positive changes in education, said Annie Kidder of People for Education.
  
  “Economically, it does makes sense, even though we're in a recession,” she added.
  
  “In terms of actually getting ourselves out long-term of a deficit [and] providing more economic stability, investing in early childhood and education have the best cost-benefits of any government investment.”

BLOGExtra: 2008 Ambassador Bridge Inspection Report Released

Just released from the Ambassador Bridge Company:

• "Media friends and bridge inspection mavens:
  
  Many of you covered the flap a couple of weeks ago over the release of the 2007 inspection report for the Ambassador Bridge.
  
  I hope we were clear that The Detroit International Bridge Co. was not so concerned about anything the report said about the bridge’s condition itself as we were about trying to uphold a written confidentiality agreement with the government.
  
  Nevertheless, in the interest of openness, we are making available to you the 2008 inspection report. It will be available shortly, hopefully within the next 15 minutes, at www.ambassadorbridge.com/2008inspection.
  
  There is no mystery to the release time; we just received an electronic copy of the report at 11 a.m. today and it’s taken a little time to put together the Web page.
  
  Some of you have seen the 2008 report already. Those of you who saw the 2007 report provided through Congressman Dingell’s office will not see anything strikingly different in the 2008 report. Everything identified for maintenance or repair in both the 2007 and 2008 reports has been addressed in some way. Some items have been fixed, others are ongoing because some projects take longer to complete and some items such as the bridge deck replacement are being engineered. Some items are handled in-house and others by contractors.
  
  The 2008 inspection report actually was made public in July when we shared it and discussed it in detail in meetings with regulators from the Michigan Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and Transport Canada. That is how we are supposed to be open to the public – by sharing this information with the professional regulators who are responsible for representing the public in such technical matters. Those regulators all say our inspections are extremely thorough and they all agree the Ambassador Bridge is safe for the public.
  
  The 2009 inspection is under way. That report will not be published until mid-2010. We understand if you don’t want to do a story about the 2008 report so soon after such thorough coverage of the 2007 inspection, especially if the findings are the same. But feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Meanwhile, I wonder whether you could get the same inspection detail about the Blue Water Bridge, International Bridge or the Mackinac Bridge.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Phil Frame
  Director of Communications
  Detroit International Bridge Co.

Great minds must think alike. Here is what I wrote to the Mayor/Head of the Windsor Tunnel Commission and Mark Galvin. I also asked the same of Transport Canada

• "From: Ed Arditti
  To: Mark Galvin
  Cc: Mayor Francis
  Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 9:52 AM
  Subject: Detroit/Windsor Tunnel safety report
  
  I assume that the Tunnel has inspections undertaken periodically about its condition, especially its safety since it is used by the public.
  
  Would you please provide me with a copy of the last inspection report undertaken. After all, thousands of individuals and truckers use the Tunnel every day and I believe they are entitled to know the state of the Tunnel before doing so especially since it is owned ultimately by the City.
  
  If possible, please send it in electronic form so that I may distribute it in the public interest on my BLOG.