Some Thoughts

Here are a few things that I and a few readers have thought about over the last few days:

SCHWARTZ IS BACK IN TOWN

Councillor Halberstadt's BLOG confirms what I told you already. Eddie needed him back since he has already done a deal with the Province and needs someone to take the hit. I wonder what Sam's fee will be for this job!

But Alan, tell us the real secrets discussed in camera. Don't give us just dribs and drabs to make it appear that you are letting us in on something.

You aren't part of the PR exercise to soften up poor Windsorites for the big news are you?

"This, for the time being, scuttles rumours that the process will be held up until after the provincial election in October, getting Liberal MPPs Sandra Pupatello and Dwight Duncan off the accountability hook.

Hardly. "But there is a hook..."

Everyone knows the border route...the issue is the bridge and plaza location. Which part of Sandwich will be destroyed is the key question outstanding.

If Schwartz is in town "to engage in intense modelling with the provinces's engineers to hopefully find a compromise on the route's many nuances." then we know why Eddie and Donnna Cansfield had a nice lunch recently!

Why else would Eddie say in his State of the City speech "We are continuing to work with the DRIC on a new border crossing solution" and never once mention the word "tunnel" in his speech!

There is no real decision coming out to embarrass Sandra and Dwight. We'll see Eddie and the Ministers hugging each other when DRIC and Sam support whatever it is that is going to be done.

IF SAM SAYS IT IS OK, THEN EDDIE IS OFF THE HOOK ISN'T HE?

Sam is Eddie's excuse for no tunnel from Highway 401 to the border. Alhtough there will be some tunnelling. He's the world famous transportation guru isn't he!

After all, we have a transportation hub, "shovel-ready" lands, a big brownfield redevelopment, a University urban village and an expensive East End arena to pay for! Never mind that we need huge provincial incentives for jobs.

Get real Alan....the border route works politically for Eddie, Sandra and Dwight. You read it here first... They will take credit for the thousands of construction and spin-off jobs that will be created.

In the end, it will be nothing other than a road to the Ambassador Bridge. But that won't happen until after the provincial election.

Now you know that Eddie never cared about a tunnel other than as a re-election gimmick and why the wording on Councillor Marra's tunnel motion had to change!

Now THAT'S real politics!

THE PRECURSOR

This guy is varied.

Not only is he the border writer, but he did he City Hall beat for awhile and was a "talking head" (or is it a "speaking head") on a radio interview show. Now he is critiquing films.

But if you are a loyal reader, after seeing above about Halberstadt's BLOG, you know that the front page scare story is aimed at the Ambassador Bridge and any road to that bridge.

It's just like the cheap shot on "cancer" in the Engineering Building story:

• "He said the testing might not detect other dangers in the air from fuel residue, Ambassador Bridge truck fumes and solvents used in the machine shops and research labs."

Stay tuned for more of the same now for several more weeks!

TUNNEL DEAL

What's going on with Detroit Council over the Tunnel deal? Should Eddie be concerned that they may want to cement their side? Are they furious at his insensitive remark?

Today's Detroit News reported that

• "The City Council is scheduled today to consider a city budget boosting Detroit's deficit to $89 million and setting aside a controversial plan to lease the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
  
  Council members have opted to include the sale of $58 million in bonds to help finance the proposed 2007-08 budget, instead of leasing Detroit's share of the tunnel as Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had proposed. No deal has been reached on a tunnel lease."

Is this for real OR is Detroit so aware that Eddie is desperate for a deal that the price will increase from US$75M to $US100-125M or more? And will Eddie go along with it since he cannot be seen to have failed.

I can just hear his excuse in going higher---"Oh, the $75M was just a starting price. I knew we would have to pay more." If that was the case, why didn't he start at the $25M, a bit more than the Bridge Co. said it was worth!

I really would like to see what the City's advisors said the Tunnel is worth!

HURON LODGE

Is it true that there is ahe legal battle brewing between the City and the contractor on the new Huron Lodge project. Has the contractor placed a lien on the property?

Oh well, I told you that lawyers are going to make a fortune in fees on City deals.

Was the contractor at fault? If so, has the City sued him? Have the contractor and the City sat down to try and resolve the outstanding issues?

We know that the project is "more than a year behind schedule." Councilor Gignac

• "chairwoman of the committee of management for Huron Lodge, said the city has sought the help of a lawyer specializing in construction law. "We want to make sure we recover our costs" resulting from the delay, caused by mould that had to be removed and a shortage of building trades." [Note that SOL FURER, President,Essex Kent Building Trades said to the Councillor in a Letter to the Editor "If you think there is a skilled trades shortage in this city, you must also believe in the tooth fairy."]

The losers in this are all of the small sub-trades that are being held hostage for their holdback money while at the same time they starve in this city for work.

Just curious...does the City’s "pay as you go" policy have any impact on this?

EAST END ARENA

I heard this silly comment that the drawings for the arena are not finalized yet. Surely, this cannot be true.

If it is, then how do we have any idea how much the arena will cost in the end?

WERE COUNCILLORS ASLEEP AT THE STATE OF THE CITY SPEECH

They must have been since Eddie spoke so long. They must have missed this part:

• "We need to tell our story.
  But before we do … we need to accept responsibility.
  And realize that every action, every word, every report, every headline, or news story…
  Every conversation…
  Everything we say or do…
  Impacts our city’s reputation – for better or for worse.
  It starts with us. Each and every one of us.
  We are all Chief Public Relations Officers of the City of Windsor.
  Negative messages travel at the same speed as a text message or information on the internet.
  Negative news lands on the desks of corporations and investors all over the world – hand delivered by our competition- leaving a distorted perception about our City in the minds of important decision makers.
  It leads many people outside our city to believe things about Windsor that are simply not true...
  Your City Council is investing in a new branding initiative, that will help crystallize and define what makes us great, and what makes us different from other cities with whom we compete for jobs, tourists, and people.
  Our brand is more than a logo. It is our personality. It helps to communicate who we are to the world.
  But it’s everyone’s responsibility to promote Windsor.
  We all need to be walking advertisements for the City of Windsor. Speaking and reporting about the good things Windsor has to offer, to our neighbours, our co-workers, our friends – everyone.
  It’s time for a new mentality in Windsor. One where we always ask ourselves if our words and our deeds help our city’s image – or hurt it.
  Working together – on our common interests – is no longer an option. It is a necessity...
  Others are listening. Others are watching us. The old era of airing our dirty laundry in public is over.
  We must unite.
  We will build upon our strengths. And we must show the world a proud, confident, and forward-looking Windsor."

Hmmmm perhaps Eddie was asleep as well as he was delivering it. If not, one wonders why he allowed so many Councillors to go on and on with their Statements at the end of the Council meeting telling us what we already know---how bad things are here!

Sure they were trying to support the Jobs rally but as a reader writes:

• "Well, you would have thought that the sky was falling at the end of last night’s Gruntfest meeting @ City-small. If Windsor has any intention of a “branding exercise” in the near future, our councilors sure did a good job of presenting a half – filled glass.
  
  Why would anyone want to come to Windsor, let alone invest with such a litany of doom and gloom? Has anyone realized that these messages penetrate the core of our existence and seep out throughout North America?
  
  We are all aware of the jobless rate here and the impact on the economy of the city, but do we want to air our laundry in public? (again) It’s just another example of a lack of positive spin, a spin that could make everyone and everything around us feel better. City Hall is sending a catatonic message to all that will listen and that’s the first critical error.
  
  Anyone who understands marketing and advertising knows that you highlight the positives and downgrade the negatives. Sell the sizzle! It’s no surprise that in the years that I have been back here no viable brand has been found. Everyone is too busy burying their heads in the sand yelling “the sky is falling.” And jumping on the entitlement bandwagon.
  
  I work for myself and I make things happen. I depend on no one and nothing to make my mortgage payments. I have no benefits or RRSP. But my life is controlled by me and I like it that way. I am the author and I can’t finger point and make any excuses if I run short. Through good and bad times, my standard of living remains steady and stable.
  
  We have much to sing praises for and it’s time our Council woke up and stopped their whining and complaining and actually took a step forward by doing something worthy. Everyone around the council chamber seems to have lost their voice!"