Information Overload

There are lots more interesting stories out there, some of them from sources that are harder to find unless you look for them specifically. Here are a few for your consideration.

BE NICE TO BLOGGERS, WE BITE

KDDUCK did an intereting primer for politicians and others about why they should be nice to BLOGGERS http://kdducktalk.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-educational.html

He raised some interesting points about why BLOGS may be a lot more important than some people understand.

I write a political BLOG primarily about local Windsor politics. It does have an interest internationally because I write a lot about our border crossing. However, what shocked me recently is the reach of my BLOG.

I use a site analysis tool that tells me that since I started writing online I have been read by almost 60,500 unique visitors from 136 countries! They have used over 6000 network providers from around the world to get to my BLOGsite.

Obviously, most visitors are from North America but I have had people visit my site from such places as Zimbabwe, Mongolia and Afghanistan.

I just thought that these were some interesting numbers as a follow-up to KDDUCK's BLOG comments. Who would have thought when I first started out...

REMO, LUCY AND DESI

What do Remo Mancini, the Chair of the Windsor Essex Development Commission, and Lucy Ricardo have in common if Desi got mad at them?? Keep on readin’.

Only a few weeks ago, his group presented their new strategy for developing new business for this area and already he has problems.

Check this out. Pretend that you are an investor who may want to locate a business in this region. What is the first thing that you would do… go to the Commission’s webpage http://www.choosewindsoressex.com/ I would guess that most people would start at the top left corner and click on “LOCATE & EXPAND.”

When you do that, what you see on that page? There is a nice story about a company locating here because we are a "centre for trucking, and a powerful international border crossing."

I knew about the border crossing (There sort of is a photograph of the Ambassador Bridge) but I did not know that we were a centre for trucking. Immediately I went to the left-hand side of the page and clicked on “Infrastructure, Transportation.”

Here is what I read:

• “Detroit-Windsor Crossings
  
  The Region's infrastructure and access to the U.S. market is second to none... Over 10,000 trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge every day.
  
  Roadways
  
  A highly sophisticated trucking industry is well established in the Region, providing competitive rates and numerous alternatives for the cost efficient movement of freight destined for local, national and international markets. Locally more than 50 major trucking firms provide bond, warehousing, forwarding, piggyback, customs clearance, trailer shipping services, and an association with the Detroit commercial trucking zone to ensure full-service capabilities. With the introduction of zero inventory manufacturing by major auto companies, "Just In Time" trucking originated in the Windsor-Essex-Detroit marketplace and remains the standard on which manufacturers rely today."

You see, I am concerned. One of our big new high-tech companies that came in to the region that we are publicizing deals with the trucking industry. 50 trucking companies are located here with all of their employees. Moreover we seem to be pretty pleased over 10,000 trucks crossed the Bridge every day. Clearly, this is one of our advantages.

Yet the position of the City does not seem to have been explained very well. It almost seems as if the Mayor is holding the trucking industry hostage to pressure the Senior Levels. The CP story started off saying about trucks on Dougall Avenue:

• “The mayor of Windsor is pledging even stricter truck traffic controls in his city unless there's action from the federal and provincial governments. “

The OTA picked up on this saying to CKLW:

• “The Ontario Trucking Association is slamming the city over its decision to clamp down on truck traffic in Windsor. Mayor Eddie Francis will inform the province that the city plans to examine every route and impose traffic controls, like the left-hand turn ban from Dougall Avenue to the expressway. The association's manager of Government Relations, Doug Switzer, says that sends out a bad signal to potential investors.”

Today's Trucking Magazine wrote recently as well:

• Trucks blocked from Windsor border shortcut
  WINDSOR, Ont. -- Trucks will be banned from entering westbound E.C. Row Expressway off Dougall Avenue in Windsor, Ont.
  
  According to the Windsor Star, Mayor Eddie Francis cast the deciding vote himself after a deadlock by city council. He voted to restrict access to trucks because of safety issues related to "trucks collecting in the left-turn lane" and "causing backups."

I can just hear a prospective trucking investor say this to our Development Commission people during their first meeting when we are trying to convince them to locate here:

• “Remo, You Got a Lot of `Splainin' to Do.”

THE FEDS REALLY, REALLY WANT THE TUNNEL. REALLY

Someone in the Federal Government needs to do some 'Splainin' on this one too.

Rememeber what the Government said when the Bridge Co. tried to do a deal with Detroit:

• "Bridge plan faces flak from federal officials;
  Windsor Star 10-27-2005
  
  The Canada Border Services Agency has no legal authority to post customs agents on the U.S. side of the river as called for in the Ambassador Bridge's plan to create a 200-acre superplaza in Detroit, a federal government spokesman says.
  
  "We couldn't implement their proposal as it stands," said Alex Swann, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan.
  
  "From a CBSA perspective, we have no legislative ability to deploy people to the other side of the border," Swann said…
  
  Swann said McLellan also has security and "redundancy" concerns about creating one Canada-U.S. superplaza to handle both bridge and tunnel traffic under the bridge plan.
  
  "You need options in terms of entry," Swann said. "We would have concerns about there being just one port of entry at such a vital crossing as Windsor."
  
• Feds threaten to sue Detroit: Single control of bridge and tunnel raise concern in Ottawa;
  Windsor Star 11-30-2005
  
  The Canadian government has threatened Detroit with legal action if it approves the Ambassador bridge's bid to take over the U.S. side of the Windsor-Detroit tunnel.
  
  Mark Butler, spokesman for Transport Canada, said the single inspection facility proposed by the bridge has raised fears over border security…
  
  The $30-million US proposal includes the purchase of nearly 30 acres of property from the city to make way for a 100-acre joint Canada-U.S. customs plaza in southwest Detroit that would link bridge and tunnel operations with a dedicated road."

Pretty clear wasn't it. It was a major problem to have US and Canadian Customs in the same spot. Border security and redundancy and all of that for the super-plaza.

Trouble is, the Government was speaking out of the other side of its mouth in Buffalo/Fort Erie and at some other, unnamed border location. There were no problems there about setting up a pilot project for joint Customs facilities. Here is what a United States Government Accountability Office audit just disclosed about the "United States-Canada Shared Border Management Pilot Project" which was started BEFORE the Bridge Co. made its offer:

• "In December 2004, the United States and Canada announced that the two governments had agreed to move forward with a land preclearance pilot project at the Buffalo, New York-Fort Erie, Ontario Peace Bridge and at one other border crossing site along the northern border, which had not yet been determined…
  
  The preclearance pilot at the Peace Bridge would involve the relocation of all U.S. border inspection operations for both commercial and passenger traffic from the U.S. side of the border in Buffalo, New York, to the Canadian side of the border in Fort Erie, Ontario. The other preclearance location had not been determined, but would have relocated Canadian border inspection functions to the U.S. side of the border at a different port of entry…
  
  From 2005 to 2007, the United States and Canada were engaged in negotiations to implement land preclearance at the Buffalo-Fort Erie Peace Bridge ports of entry. However, in April 2007, these negotiations were officially terminated by DHS."

Really, they do! There is absolutely no doubt now in my mind that our Feds came down to Detroit to threaten to ensure that no one but themselves had control over the Tunnel!

US DRIC KILLS GREENLINK TOO

Here is what was said on the US side recently in Minutes of a DRIC Joint LAC/LAG Meeting:

• "The air quality analysis of the DRIC on both sides of the border indicates that mobile sources of pollution are not the major issues—point sources, like refineries and steel plants, are. And with further federal restrictions on diesel engines and fuels, mobile source emissions will be even less of a problem."

HIT OR MYTH

Time for a contest. I just could not resist this.

• "Proposal seeks grist for Mythbusters' mill
  
  Got any local myths in need of highly publicized shattering?
  
  The Connecting Windsor-Essex organization is preparing a proposal to invite the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters cast and crew to Windsor to film an episode of their popular program."

Here are some myths that I thought of:

• Our Mayor and Council know what they are doing
• Eddie Francis will run for only two terms as Mayor
• Schwartz Report #1, full tunneling and Greenlink were serious proposals by the City
• The total cost for the East End Arena will be $64.9 million
• A canal project will revitalize our downtown
• Someone really cares about the redevelopment of Sandwich

Here's one myth that has been shattered. Councillor Loopy cannot sell ice to an Eskimo. Remember he stated that:

• "On a technical basis, we can sell it to anyone with an open mind," said Hatfield."

Obviously not. Not a word from the Councillor since he came back from the AMO meeting. No sales yet. Nothing was closed with the buyer.

I am certain that with your imagination, dear reader, you can come up with a number of interesting myths too!

DON'T BREACH THE STATUTE

I trust all of the backoffice people for federal candidates keep to the Election Act rules. We do not want to see something like this happen to a person in Windsor as happened before:

"COMMISSIONER OF CANADA ELECTIONS
CANADA ELECTIONS ACT
Compliance agreement
This notice is published by the Commissioner of Canada Elections, pursuant to section 521 of the Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, c. 9.

On [date], the Commissioner of Canada Elections entered into a compliance agreement with [X], contracting party of the City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, pursuant to section 517 of the Canada Elections Act.

In this agreement, [X], campaign manager for candidate [Y] in the electoral district of [Z], recognizes having breached paragraph 495(1)(a) of the Canada Elections Act by publishing and
distributing election advertising pamphlets in the electoral district without mention of the authorization of the official agent, contrary to section 320 of the Act.

Prior to the conclusion of the agreement, the Commissioner of Canada Elections took into account that [X] published a correction notice in the local newspaper The Windsor Star.

In summary, the agreement required [X] to
• acknowledge the requirement to indicate the official agent's authorization in all election advertising;
• admit to the truthfulness of the facts and admit responsibility for the acts that constitute the offence; and
• undertake to observe the requirements of the Act and to henceforth respect them.

Commissioner of Canada Elections