MORE Letters To The Blogmeister
With all of the news going on, there is no space to post all of the emails I have received. I mean after all, your coffee break is only so long and how much can I give you to read.
Here are a few of them that I have saved up.
1) Hi Ed,
I’ve been collecting articles on some pretty big issues lately and I’m beginning to worry that these big problems may land on this city with little warning and frankly I believe that we are going to get hurt.
First thing is the price of oil. The price of oil for the past few years has been trending upward. Now the pace is gaining momentum with many economists now warning that $100 dollars per barrel will be reached before the end of the year.
What will $100 oil mean to the North American economy? It will continue to slow down. Auto sales for large, North American built vehicles will evaporate. The North American automakers, unless they can pull an affordable 60 mpg car out of their asses, will have to cut back even further. Kiss the rest of this city’s auto workers good bye.
Second, and this will be an even bigger problem, is the continued decline of the US dollar against all major currencies. As the US dollar falls so does the buying power of Americans. As Canada’s largest trading partner the weak US dollar will hurt what exports we have left. The weak US dollar will also keep OPEC from moving to reduce the price of oil because it will further reduce their revenues from oil sales transacted in US dollars. Increasingly oil producers want Euros for their oil.
Third the collapse of the US housing industry and the hedge funds associated with them is starting to do some bad things in the markets. If the US economic markets collapse, well I bet you can guess where we’ll be.
If you look at these possible problems from Windsor’s perspective we may have already missed the opportunity to build a second bridge (anywhere) because the fallout from any economic “correction” (that’s what economists call depressions now) may cause cross border trade to be reduced even further. Now if these worries, that I have, really start to gain momentum no reasonable person will invest in infrastructure that would be redundant or surplus, there is no profit in it. Mr. Moroun and DRIC will pack up and tell us that they’ll be back later. (How much later?)
If there is no bridge constructed there will be no job creation and no new tax revenues associated with it. If the NA auto industry collapses there will be more unemployed and less tax revenues. Is Windsor in any position to continue operating on less? Can the city’s social services department ramp up their operations to be of any real use? Will there be a mass exodus from the city and if so what will be left to work with?
There are cities that are working to plan for a future without affordable oil that are thinking about how to keep businesses and people working in a future that does not look very good. But our mayor and council have no vision and it is going to cost us all.
I know the focus of your blog is the day-to-day adventures of the city government, but I think people here need to look and the big things that are going to shape our future. If the unemployment rate in Windsor jumps to 25% are we going to care if the Junction has a liquor license?
2) The real issue with all of this is not the water rate increase, as Windsor rates are still relatively low compared to other jurisdictions, but it is the sewer surcharge. A minor issue in all of this is the fact that the politicians did not allow the WUC to raise water rates for the past three years when WUC was already dealing with the need for greater infrastructure requirements. Isn't it amazing that the original water rate/sewer surcharge announcement occurred just after the City budget was finalized.
3) I know I have said this before but this is your best one yet! [Teflon Memo BLOG]
4) Just a second.....
Maybe I am missing somthing here. When did the new segmented tunnel become a linkage for wildlife?
Is that so the raccoons and skunks have a right of way?
Maybe they are referring to the nightclubs downtown.
Maybe Eddie should make the Province pay for new water mains. He could point the finger and say it was the trucks that did it.
5) Hello Ed;
I think the Windsor Mayor should resign. The message I am hearing from all over this area is that people are really mad over this water issue and the way the city is being run and they want him out. One thing for sure Eddie would have a hard time running for dog catcher, let alone for Provincial or Federal office.
Thank God I live in Tecumseh.
And even more to add salt to the wound the current Windsor council says nothing. what a bloody disgrace the whole bunch of them.
6) [Re Parsons Brinckerhoff whom Sam brought in for their tunnel expertise] It is all very disingenuous and full of bravado isn't it - New York engineers attacking Canadian engineers when, if you read the article, they really aren't disputing the needs for ventilation shafts or addressing the issues of how you construct a bored tunnel through Windsor's soupy soils.
The idea that taxpayers in other communities should help Toronto with its problems irks people when David Miller cries he needs provincial help with his budget shortfalls. I see the same sort of thing in Windsor - money shouldn't be a question with tunneling - sure, just ask the rest of the province to pay for it. Ya right. Nobody here in [my city] sees a tunneled truck route in Windsor as important as a new hospital or two.
7) I also do not understand how they are going to move the emissions to less
populated areas. Apparently some people are more important than others in Eddie's world. Perhaps his engineering consultants have determined the carcinogens only go where there are fewer people.
8) Interesting that there is not a story or picture about the opening of the new bus terminal [Grand opening on July 20]. There is one story about bus routes (and of course the obligatory picture of the mayor but none of the photo op of him and the other two levels of governmnet who paid for the new terminal) and that story is critical of the county and adjoining municipalities re sharing of buses. (Whatever happened to his speech saying that everyone should be a supporter and never a nay sayer).
I also like the shot at the federal government (Hayes Jones, general manager of SMART "Windsor is our neighbour, and why should a body of water and federal laws prohibit us from being creative to improve the quality of life for Windsor's citizens and citizens of southeast Michigan to be able to travel throughout both countries"). Well Mr. Mayor - those federal laws help Canadian (read Windsor) businesses. By not allowing foreign transportation companies to suck up potential Canadian business (besides - wasn't Council concerned not too long ago about Detroit taxis operating in Windsor)
Also intersting that neither the city nor Transit Windsor have any pics or story about the new terminal (guess to help underscore the need for more communications staff). The text from the Transit Windsor page speaks volumns (and I quote):
Check this page often for news on the latest Transit happenings. Whether it's a new initiative, new service or special event, this is the place to find out more:
I wonder how often we have to check? the event was Friday at 10 am. Surely there must have been enough time to post a pic and a pre-written text. Guess Transit really does not find it of interest enough.
Here are a few of them that I have saved up.
1) Hi Ed,
I’ve been collecting articles on some pretty big issues lately and I’m beginning to worry that these big problems may land on this city with little warning and frankly I believe that we are going to get hurt.
First thing is the price of oil. The price of oil for the past few years has been trending upward. Now the pace is gaining momentum with many economists now warning that $100 dollars per barrel will be reached before the end of the year.
What will $100 oil mean to the North American economy? It will continue to slow down. Auto sales for large, North American built vehicles will evaporate. The North American automakers, unless they can pull an affordable 60 mpg car out of their asses, will have to cut back even further. Kiss the rest of this city’s auto workers good bye.
Second, and this will be an even bigger problem, is the continued decline of the US dollar against all major currencies. As the US dollar falls so does the buying power of Americans. As Canada’s largest trading partner the weak US dollar will hurt what exports we have left. The weak US dollar will also keep OPEC from moving to reduce the price of oil because it will further reduce their revenues from oil sales transacted in US dollars. Increasingly oil producers want Euros for their oil.
Third the collapse of the US housing industry and the hedge funds associated with them is starting to do some bad things in the markets. If the US economic markets collapse, well I bet you can guess where we’ll be.
If you look at these possible problems from Windsor’s perspective we may have already missed the opportunity to build a second bridge (anywhere) because the fallout from any economic “correction” (that’s what economists call depressions now) may cause cross border trade to be reduced even further. Now if these worries, that I have, really start to gain momentum no reasonable person will invest in infrastructure that would be redundant or surplus, there is no profit in it. Mr. Moroun and DRIC will pack up and tell us that they’ll be back later. (How much later?)
If there is no bridge constructed there will be no job creation and no new tax revenues associated with it. If the NA auto industry collapses there will be more unemployed and less tax revenues. Is Windsor in any position to continue operating on less? Can the city’s social services department ramp up their operations to be of any real use? Will there be a mass exodus from the city and if so what will be left to work with?
There are cities that are working to plan for a future without affordable oil that are thinking about how to keep businesses and people working in a future that does not look very good. But our mayor and council have no vision and it is going to cost us all.
I know the focus of your blog is the day-to-day adventures of the city government, but I think people here need to look and the big things that are going to shape our future. If the unemployment rate in Windsor jumps to 25% are we going to care if the Junction has a liquor license?
2) The real issue with all of this is not the water rate increase, as Windsor rates are still relatively low compared to other jurisdictions, but it is the sewer surcharge. A minor issue in all of this is the fact that the politicians did not allow the WUC to raise water rates for the past three years when WUC was already dealing with the need for greater infrastructure requirements. Isn't it amazing that the original water rate/sewer surcharge announcement occurred just after the City budget was finalized.
3) I know I have said this before but this is your best one yet! [Teflon Memo BLOG]
4) Just a second.....
Maybe I am missing somthing here. When did the new segmented tunnel become a linkage for wildlife?
Is that so the raccoons and skunks have a right of way?
Maybe they are referring to the nightclubs downtown.
Maybe Eddie should make the Province pay for new water mains. He could point the finger and say it was the trucks that did it.
5) Hello Ed;
I think the Windsor Mayor should resign. The message I am hearing from all over this area is that people are really mad over this water issue and the way the city is being run and they want him out. One thing for sure Eddie would have a hard time running for dog catcher, let alone for Provincial or Federal office.
Thank God I live in Tecumseh.
And even more to add salt to the wound the current Windsor council says nothing. what a bloody disgrace the whole bunch of them.
6) [Re Parsons Brinckerhoff whom Sam brought in for their tunnel expertise] It is all very disingenuous and full of bravado isn't it - New York engineers attacking Canadian engineers when, if you read the article, they really aren't disputing the needs for ventilation shafts or addressing the issues of how you construct a bored tunnel through Windsor's soupy soils.
The idea that taxpayers in other communities should help Toronto with its problems irks people when David Miller cries he needs provincial help with his budget shortfalls. I see the same sort of thing in Windsor - money shouldn't be a question with tunneling - sure, just ask the rest of the province to pay for it. Ya right. Nobody here in [my city] sees a tunneled truck route in Windsor as important as a new hospital or two.
7) I also do not understand how they are going to move the emissions to less
populated areas. Apparently some people are more important than others in Eddie's world. Perhaps his engineering consultants have determined the carcinogens only go where there are fewer people.
8) Interesting that there is not a story or picture about the opening of the new bus terminal [Grand opening on July 20]. There is one story about bus routes (and of course the obligatory picture of the mayor but none of the photo op of him and the other two levels of governmnet who paid for the new terminal) and that story is critical of the county and adjoining municipalities re sharing of buses. (Whatever happened to his speech saying that everyone should be a supporter and never a nay sayer).
I also like the shot at the federal government (Hayes Jones, general manager of SMART "Windsor is our neighbour, and why should a body of water and federal laws prohibit us from being creative to improve the quality of life for Windsor's citizens and citizens of southeast Michigan to be able to travel throughout both countries"). Well Mr. Mayor - those federal laws help Canadian (read Windsor) businesses. By not allowing foreign transportation companies to suck up potential Canadian business (besides - wasn't Council concerned not too long ago about Detroit taxis operating in Windsor)
Also intersting that neither the city nor Transit Windsor have any pics or story about the new terminal (guess to help underscore the need for more communications staff). The text from the Transit Windsor page speaks volumns (and I quote):
Check this page often for news on the latest Transit happenings. Whether it's a new initiative, new service or special event, this is the place to find out more:
I wonder how often we have to check? the event was Friday at 10 am. Surely there must have been enough time to post a pic and a pre-written text. Guess Transit really does not find it of interest enough.
[NOTE: Big advertising special in the Star today re the bus terminal a month later]
9) Thank you for your question about E.C.Row Expressway. The Expressway was transferred to the City of Windsor in 1997. The City is the current road authority, and is responsible for all operations and maintenance on the expressway. I encourage you to contact the city with any questions regarding current conditions on the Expressway.
Fausto Natarelli
Director, Windsor Border Initiatives Implementation Group
10) Eddie really has lost hasn't he? He has conceded a) that the entire route will not be tunnelled and b) that the route will be in the DRIC corridor and not elsewhere. Are they chuckling somewhere in Toronto?
He is, by the way, very Clinton-esque in his parsing of words.
He may do both before and after - show council the new Schwartz stuff prior
and then have a public meeting after where he asks people to compare after
they've seen both.
11) With all the budget cuts happening in Windsor, I wonder how much was cut from the new arena?
The new Peace Beacon was not cut but the surrounding parks sure were.
Will the City cut it's budget for legal fees?
Every week it seems there is some kind of need for legal assessment or investigation.
With the high rate of unemployment, City council must have figured out by now that the tax base is dwindling. When the big plants change their status to warehousing instead of manufacturing they will lose even more.
The Junction. Unbelievable tactics from the city.
Why would business locate here again?
In all this time council still finds the time and effort to fight the Bridge Company.
A corporation who wants to spend money, pay taxes and just be a business.
Can we say enough already?
The construction jobs lost and delayed on the bridge access road is large. Probably more than the city's budget.
Can we say ENOUGH already?
12) I hear from someone who has seen a draft of Schwartz part 2 that it includes a picture of one of the proposed parkettes on Huron Church that has a water feature or pond of some sort. They swear there is a man and his son pictured fishing in the pond.
(and I thought they would never beat "the new Champs D'Elysses" in terms of ridiculousness...)
posted by JoeBlog at 6:50 a.m.
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