Hot Topics

Every day, new topics of interest cross my desk. (Or rather my PC desktop) Here are some more interesting ones for you with my comments.

BYNG-KING AFFAIR

All of you Canadian history and constitutional law buffs better brush up on your knowledge of this matter.

You may see it discussed again in the media if Prime Minister Harper talks about calling an election soon by dissolving the House and the Liberal leader asks the Governor-General NOT to do so because he has the support of the other parties to form a Government.

Perhaps we might see Harper trying not only to reform the Senate but also the role of the G-G if that is the case!

WOULD YOU VOTE FOR OBAMA

I have not followed the US Presidential elections very closely. I did happen to see a very interesting report that troubled me greatly about the Democratic nominee.

The website Politico.com ran a story about “Obama's lost law review article.” It was an unsigned article that he wrote in 1990 when he was on the Harvard Law Review. It was abortion related whether “fetuses should be able to file lawsuits against their mothers.” Obviously, it can be controversial.

Here’s the part of the Politico.com story that troubled me greatly

• “But Obama has never mentioned his law review piece, a demurral that's part of his campaign's broader pattern of rarely volunteering information or documents about the candidate, even when relatively innocuous. When Politico reporters working on a story about Obama's law review presidency earlier this year asked if he had written for the review, a spokesman responded accurately - but narrowly - that "as the president of the Law Review, Obama didn't write articles, he edited and reviewed them."
  
  The case comment was published a month before he became president.”

“Accurate but narrow.” You know exactly what I’m getting at I am certain.

• “I can share with you that Mr. Sutts has been following the direction of City Council and, ah, I don’t believe there have been any face-to-face meetings since then.
  
  There may be some scheduled this week, as Mr. Sutts tries to respond to council resolution."

Accurate but narrow too.

THE PROVINCIAL WINDFALL AND PRIORITIES

It is a good thing that the program provided that the monies were to be distributed on a per capita basis or else guess which Councillor would be crying today asking why Windsor was ignored again!

Oh my goodness... $20 million in the hands of this Mayor and Council. How are they going to squander it? The thought of it makes my stomach queasy.

In looking at what the billion dollars provided by the Province is supposed to do, the Backgrounder states:

• “In May 2008, the government passed the Investing in Ontario Act. The Act allows the government to use a portion of any unanticipated year-end surplus to address priority public needs…
  
  Through regulation, the government designated municipalities as the eligible recipients of payments for 2007-08…
  
  While the funds are to be used for capital purposes, each municipality will have flexibility and discretion to spend its allocation on its own capital priorities such as improved roads and bridges, expanding transit or upgrading social housing…”

One can hardly say that the development of the Airport lands is a priority for the City of Windsor as the spending was put off until 2011. Moreover, I would assume that major environmental assessments would need to be done as well as involvement of Transport Canada since it is near the airport.

Presumably there are other higher priority items in place for which this money should be spent now.

MARTIUK SHINES IN BURLINGTON

It looks like our loss is Burlington’s gain.

Here is a news story about the reorganization of City Government in Burlington. For some reason, it does not have the drama that took place in Windsor.

In case you had forgotten, Roman Martiuk was General Manager, Corporate Services and City Treasurer in Windsor. He is now City Manager in Burlington. Read the rave review:

• “These changes were developed by Martiuk, after lengthy consultation with managers and human resources staff. Martiuk has been city manager for about nine months, and is proving to be knowledgeable and thoughtful. When councillors report that he defends his recommendations and does not kow-tow to individual members, that's a sterling recommendation.
  
  There must be enormous pressure on a new city manager from the mayor and individual councillors, and I'm hearing that Martiuk handles it with aplomb.
  
  Burlington appears to be on the right track.”
  

WINDSOR’S ZIGGURAT

To be blunt about it, Eddie’s vision for canals in downtown Windsor is boring and small-town-ish. A few blocks of water is not really going to get somebody’s heart beating quickly. It is hardly going to be our signature on the world’s stage like the Toronto City Hall that will attract people from everywhere to come here for tourism, for business and to live.

If you really want to do something, you have to do it on a world-class scale so that the media around the world will cover the story. I did a quick search and could not find any newspaper that reported on the Windsor story.

Compare Windsor with a story out of Dubai about the building of a ziggurat that might be able to house a million people in an area the size of West Windsor, about 2.3 sq km or less than 10% of the original land surface:

• “Timelinks, a design firm based in Dubai, has unveiled plans to make a pyramid of its own — one that could house a million people, feature an efficient vertically and horizontally running public transportation system, and generate all of the energy it needs. "
  
  
  It may sound like just another concept that'll never be a reality, but Timelinks already set about patenting the design as well as the technology that would make it possible. The structure, nearly a whole square mile by design, would use a combination of steam, wind, and other alternative energy-gathering methods to keep itself entirely off the grid. There would also be "green spaces" that would provide the pyramidal city with agricultural space, to provide food and green-based commerce.”

The project is described using all of the latest buzzwords too so people would pleased: sustainable, environmentally friendly communities in tune with their natural surroundings with a better quality of life for the inhabitants. Moreover, cars would become redundant.

It will be unveiled at Cityscape Dubai in October with the advance publicity surrounding it to build up the hype.

The moral is that if you are going to do something that you know is never going to happen anyway do it big to gain some publicity. Why think so small!

CRUISE SHIPS TO DOCK HERE

A Cleveland newspaper reports that

• “Two small, high-end cruise ships - one new, the other newly refurbished - will make their debut next summer on the fresh-water waves of lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior."

The Clelia II, an all-suite ship with room for 100 passengers and the Pearl Mist, the still-under-construction ship with 108 suites, will both stop in Windsor on their Great Lakes cruises. Not often mind you according to their itineraries but it is a start.

I wonder where they will dock in Windsor given the problems that the Rose City Cruise Line had with a ticket kiosk. If the waterfront is becoming “cluttered” because of a kiosk, imagine the space that the ships will require. Depending who is on the ship and where they are coming from, there may be all kinds of interesting issues that have to be dealt with such as Canada Customs and the space required for inspection and who will pay for it.

Presumably, space might have to be found outside the downtown but then the downtown usinesses would probably not gain the advantage of all of those rich tourists walking around the Area. The cost of the cruises is said to range up to $10,000 for seven to 10 days. Or will they use the new canal and Marina area? I am waiting for that one!

Hmmmm with all of the negative stories about roses in Windsor, perhaps Rose City might want to consider changing the name of their company to something involving dandelions, our new plant of choice for Windsor

They could say something like:

• "Our cruise is dandy and we aren't lyin' . "

I think I better work on that a bit.