More Shorties

Here are some quick items for you to consider.

NO INFRASTRUCTURE MONEY FOR WINDSOR

I found it strange that the Star did not report the results of the meeting between our Mayor and Transport Canada Minister Baird. Something must have gone on between the two of them.

Could it be that the Mayor was warned that there might not be any money for Windsor if he continued to make an unreasonable fuss about the DRIC project? Or perhaps, the money might be delayed or the projects examined more closely?

If in fact that actually happened, my response would be that it is about time. I just found this quote in the Star very surprising:

• “Another concern is the city has not been given any indication from Ottawa how much it may receive in new infrastructure money as part of the recent federal budget announcement which promised $4 billion for municipalities to help stimulate construction and the economy.
  
  The lack of information has delayed council’s capital budget discussions.
  
  “We hoped that we would have got guidance from the federal government by now,” Colucci said.
  
  “They wanted to stimulate the economy, but we don’t have the details.”

IT’S ALL GARBAGE

I see that the latest trial balloon to outsource garbage collection has now been popped:

• “It appears Windsor’s 27 garbage collectors are safe for another year following a closed-door budget meeting Wednesday in which council took no action on a recommendation to outsource the service.”

Those crossing guards better watch out now. Clearly, they are not safe.

COUNCILLOR MOM IS FRUSTRATED

It appears from her new BLOG that the Councillor from Ward 2 is frustrated:

• “I am really frustrated about the state of some properties in the West end and how I am powerless to get anything done except ensure grass gets cut or weeds pulled…In particular my experiences with the property located in the 500 block of Erie St. W and the old Grace Hospital site have caused me grief and more than a few on site meetings with several city staff to figure out what we can do to try and clean things up.”

I wonder if the property owners would have liked to have approached the City on these properties except that they feared that the City might negotiate on the unfair basis. I can see the City unilaterally demanding terms of negotiation such as:

• “definitive timelines, definitive implementation plan and definitive schedule for implementation, definitive funding for their plan to be enacted in perpetuity.”

I would bet that even if the property owner wanted to tear down the properties and make the plot green, the City would find problems to prevent that from happening.

Perhaps if the Councillor suggested that one way negotiations really is not the way to do things she might be more successful.

INTERNATIONAL MULTIMODEL CONFERENCE

I went to the Undevelopment Commission Website the other day and saw that we were having the above conference. Finally, they are doing something right.

Oh my goodness, I thought, world-famous fashion models are coming to Windsor. A lot of them too. I immediately made sure that my digital camera was charged and that I had a pen and autograph book to take with me. I was hoping that I would see famous supermodels such as Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum, Elle Macpherson, Christie Brinkley, Cindy Crawford amongst others.

I immediately clicked on the link on the front page and was disappointed. The conference was not about “multimodel” but about “multimodal.” It all had to do with transportation hubs, ports, railroads, logistics, trucks, Homeland Security and other boring things like that. Someone had made a spelling mistake!

Oh well, it’s a good thing I found out in time. I was considering becoming a sponsor so that I could meet some of these supermodels but then I had to phone a long-distance “905” number to do so. I guess we did not have anyone locally who could do any of the work.

The person who was named, Angella Gravelle, does know a lot about the subject of multimodal mind you. If she is the same person, she was on the Organizing committee of the “Multimodal Gateway 2008 Conference” in Hamilton as a representative of the Burlington Economic Development Corporation.

I assume however that she is not considered as a “BUY FOREIGN CONSULTANT” under Junior’s definition just because she is out of Stoney Creek, Ontario.

She has an interesting sense of humour I think. Her company’s name is Alegna Corporate Events Inc., a play on her first name.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Nice to see that the Star Editorial writers have finally written something on the conference sponsored by the four Liberal MPPs.

Their Editorial was 239 words dealing with a matter that might actually produce jobs now.

Compare that with the Editorial with respect to the Airport and the Blue Sky cargo facility for exporting onions, or is it for importing perishable goods, I really have no idea, for which only a proposal has been issued and which may never come to fruition. That Editorial had 336 words or about 40% more.

I wonder if the Editors will find this news story of interest and will publish it in the Star. It might have saved taxpayers about a quarter of a million dollars:

• “Lufthansa gives bleak outlook for non-airline units
  
  FRANKFURT, March 6 (Reuters) - Deutsche Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) expects its cargo and maintenance businesses to continue feeling the impact of the global economic crisis until at least 2010, reports in company employee newspapers.
  
  The company has taken two MD-11 cargo planes out of service as part of a plan to cut capacity by 20 percent, the Lufthanseat newspaper reported this week. The company had already said it would shorten working hours for cargo employees.
  
  A spokesman for the company said the two planes would remain grounded until October 2010. Another two cargo planes are currently not being used but have not been taken out of service.”

Or perhaps this earlier one:

• "Lufthansa cargo declines
  
  February 10, 2009
  
  Lufthansa, Europe’s second-largest airline, announced that freight traffic in January tumbled a record 24.3 percent from a year ago as the deepening global economic downturn further depressed demand.
  
  Lufthansa Cargo, the freighter unit, reported an even steeper decline of 25.9 percent to 96,000 metric tons, which it said was caused in part by factories halting production across several industries.
  
  The decline in total volume, including subsidiary SwissCargo, to 111,000 tons followed a 21.4-percent drop in December shipments to 114,000 tons."

THIS STINKS

I believe that Members of Council who travel overseas on business should consider taking Melatonin to help with jet-lag although there is some doubt whether it is effective or not.

How else can one explain this suggestion by Councillor Dilkens other than continued jetlagged from his trip to Frankfurt to see the transportation hub. I am certain that he was kept up most of the night talking with Councillor Lewenza about how they would explain away the hiring of a foreign consultant:

• “Coun. Drew Dilkens says he wants the city to spend $200,000 for two air monitors near the Zalev Brothers scrapyard after complaints of foul odours and a company admission that iron dust from the site had exceeded provincial standards.”

I have a different solution for the Councillor that should not cost the City Taxpayers a penny:

• “Zalev vice-president Sheldon Jarcaig said in an e-mail statement Wednesday that company policy is to address environmental concerns and co-operate with government agencies, including the Ministry of Environment.
  
  "As a matter of company policy, Zalev continues to monitor and mitigate, as necessary, any impact its operations may have on the surrounding community."

It appears that there are ongoing problems at this facility including

• “during the third quarter of 2008, "several downwind samples showed exceedences" of the air quality standards for iron.”

It would seem to me that the Councillor might spend less time on airplanes and more time demanding that the Ministry of the Environment and Zalev Brothers spend the $200K for the air monitors if they are required. After all, if the Company is responsible for the problem and the Ministry has the legal responsibility for environmental compliance, then why should City Taxpayers be on the hook.

It is time that the Councillor demand proper enforcement if there is a problem.

Of course, readers of this BLOG understand that these continued stories in the newspaper are nothing more than building up a case so that the City can spend millions of dollars along with the Senior Levels to do a Brownfields redevelopment project for the property just in time for the next municipal and provincial election.

I am shocked that the Councillor known as Councillor Budget has allowed the rookie Councillor to beat him to the punch on this issue.