Wreaders Write

It's strap on "W" time.

Wreally Winteresting Witems from Windsor Writers that Wreaders Will Want to Wread Wright Wnow!

Where are your Words?

1) Thanks for your giant, inquisitive, investigative, confrontational and logical brain!

2)The top 10 reasons why spending $220,000 on a 'feasibility study' to examine the merits of an air cargo and perishable goods centre at Windsor Airport is a bad idea...

• 1) The entity being paid $220,000 to prepare the 'feasibility study' is none other than Lufthansa Consulting - a purported division of Lufthansa AG. What assurance can Windsor Council provide the rate-payers that the 'feasibility study' will be unbiased instead of merely serving the interests of its author?;
  
  2) If an air cargo and perishable goods centre were in fact a viable venture, why wouldn't a private sector company have already exploited the demand for such a facility in Windsor?
  
  3) Why should Windsor rate-payers foot the bill for a 'feasibility study'?
  
  4) DHL International Express (one of the world's largest air cargo companies) recently closed its Wilmington, Ohio hub due to low demand for North American air cargo, resulting in the loss of 7,000 jobs. Those loads are being shifted to DHL competitor UPS. According to Mike Maynard of Wilbur Smith Associates, a logistics facilities consultancy: "There were a number of airports that had a lot of cargo activity in the Ohio River Valley which have since ceased." The North American air cargo industry is in decline and we are experiencing a global economic recession that in all likelihood will last between 8 and 10 years;
  
  5) The price of a barrel of oil is projected to reach US $150 by 2011 and US $200 by 2012 (making air cargo of heavy, low-value added freight such as produce economically nonviable);
  
  6) Windsor is not situated within the ideal radius (500-mile radius of major Midwest and Northeast centers) required in order to be viable as an air cargo and perishable goods centre;
  
  7) Windsor's economy neither manufactures nor consumes sufficient quantities of light-weight, high-value-added items (semi-conductors, precious metals, gem-stones, pharmaceuticals etc) that would make shipping them via air a viable enterprise - particularly when the price of a barrel of oil returns to its previous US $147 high of July 2008 in 2011;
  
  8) Currently, Toledo holds a virtual monopoly on regional air cargo with it strategic alliance with Emirates SkyCargo (Dubai), which has started flying pharmaceuticals and other light-weight, high-value-added goods aboard two weekly 747-400-freighter flights between Toledo and Hahn, Germany via Dubai;
  
  9) Windsor has no core competence in running an air cargo and perishable goods centre - such core competencies take years to develop. Without such a core competence, Windsor's air cargo and perishable goods centre would be at a competitive disadvantage as it attempts to compete with other centres in the region; and, last but not least...
  
  10) The Boeing Company issues the biennial World Air Cargo Forecast (WACF) to provide a comprehensive up-to-date overview of the air cargo industry. The forecast summarizes the world's major air trade markets, identifies major trends, and presents forecasts for the future performance and development of markets as well as for the world freighter airplane fleet. Ongoing weak traffic growth characterizes the market for the 2008-2009 edition. World air cargo traffic grew 5.1 percent in 2007, which followed 3.2 percent growth in 2006 and 1.7 percent growth in 2005, making the past three years the weakest growth period for the industry since the first Gulf War, 1990-1992. World air cargo traffic has declined for two consecutive months through June 2008. Record high jet fuel prices, weak economic growth, and turmoil in financial markets have reduced demand for air cargo services. Early third-quarter 2008 reports from carriers point to either continuing weak or negative growth. Tepid traffic growth can be largely attributed to high fuel prices, which were increasing from late 2003 through July 2008 -- particularly during the first half of 2008 when prices rose nearly 50 percent over December 2007 levels. These high fuel prices, in turn, have made air freight expensive for many shippers. Although concern over the growth prospects of industry is warranted, it is well to recall that a long-term economic growth rate of roughly 3 percent, the continuing globalization of industry, increasing adoption of inventory-reduction strategies, and anticipated operating cost reductions in the freighter fleet should help world air cargo traffic growth return to historic norms. Information presented as historical in this document was compiled from many sources including, but not limited to, Air Cargo Management Group (ACMG), Airports Council International (ACI), the Air Transport Association (ATA), the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines, (AAPA), the Association of European Airlines (AEA), Boeing Foreign Trade Database (TRADE), Eurostat, Global Insight, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Form 41. Historical information is updated each year as individual sources revise their respective publications [ SOURCE: http://www.boeing.com/commercial/cargo/ ];
  
  In short, Windsor Council would have been better off donating the $220,000 (which it spent investigating the obvious) to charity.

3)Instead of chopping A channel they should be running a new soap opera.
The best writers in the business would pay for these scenarios.

BUY CANADIAN!
Let's give a german company free money.

WE CAN"T GIVE EVERY FESTIVAL MONEY!
Let's give an austrian company $3 million dollars.

WE NEED TO PAY A STUDY GROUP TO ASK ABOUT A RATE INCREASE!
Just ignore the 100 bloggers and 250 people in the star. They don't count.

The days of Windsor.

It could be a great television show for A channel.

4) [RE reinventing the traditional media] http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96MPJ804&show_article=1

5) [Excerpts from a fisking email]

• 'A transition team has taken over...' - Transition team? They're kidding right?
  
  'The interim team, led by Santos and Francis, will make decisions until a new board is chosen.' - An 'interim team' comprised of Fast-Eddie and Nellie?
  
  "Our key focus over the next several days will be to stabilize the corporation," said Francis - Translation: We have no plan to stop the haemorrhaging, but I'm sick and tired of being personally associated with this fiasco and as everyone knows, I'm a micromanager so I might as well take over the Board.
  
  "The warden and I took the steps that we did to communicate to investors that the two leaders of this region are saying with a unified voice as loudly as possible that we are here, we are open for business and we're doing everything we can as two leaders of this region to attract their investment and attract them to this region," - Yeah, nothing says 'we're open for business' like the resignation of the Board of Directors.
  
  'The WEDC letter stated the resignations took effect after a "transition checklist" was completed.' - I can just imagine the 'transition checklist'
  
  '...a business-led operation free of political oversight' - They're kidding right?
  
  'Former vice-chairman Albert Schumacher said the outgoing board was unfairly criticized.' - He's kidding right? Newsflash Doctor Schumacher - you and your fellow directors have accomplished zilch in how many years and after spending how much of the ratepayers' dollars? How does that song go again? Oh yeah - 'Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey - Goodbye'
  
  "Absolutely," he said. "I didn’t apply for the job. I was recruited by Gary McNamara on the basis that it would be a business-led, non-political board. Otherwise, I would not have agreed on it. The last year was anything but what had been outlined to me.." - Now this begs the question: 'Why didn't the 'good doctor' simply resign during the last year?'
  
  'Francis said the transition team must examine where the search for a new CEO is now before revealing what the next step will be on that front.' - Duh, let's see, it's been over 10 months and they haven't 'found' anyone
  
  'Mancini said the board members stepped down Monday, ahead of the 90-day deadline, because all the necessary housekeeping for "a smooth transition" was taken care of.' - Yeah, sure. It's not because the writing of public opinion was on the wall saying: "Fire the whole lot of them".
  
  'He said the transition went so quickly partly because the corporation had "functioned very well" for the last 12 months.' - Sure it did
  
  'Schumacher said the board members handed over a list of more than 50 projects they’ve worked on which need follow up, as well as a list of top 10 projects still in development.' - Translation: 'We're handing over a stack of paper
  
  "I’d hate to see the relationships built with U.S. consulates and trade commissions abroad unravel," he said. - Too funny! This just goes to show how absolutely clueless they are - their best contacts were 'consulates and trade commissions'? Seriously? Yeah Doc, no one knows more about how to set up private sector investment and job creation like 'consulates and trade commissions'. Pathetic.

6) That's absolute Bovine Manure. Those figures may be plausible if the WSO was supported by a majority of citizens It's not supported and they don't generate any significant spinoff.

They are a lost cause and certainly not a place to dump tax dollars.

7) $32,000,000 in direct economic benefit to Windsor

Public Libraries in Canada pay their way, by providing these Dividends and from the U.S. Return On Investments, according to OCLC, “For every $1 spent on the library, a community sees an average of $4 in return.” If that is the case, then Windsor Public Library’s budget for 2008 was just under eight million dollars, then the ROI on average is …$32,000,000 in direct economic benefit to the citizens and the city of Windsor! Imagine if WPL was fully funded rather than being the lowest funded public library system in Canada! Windsor spends roughly $2.75 per person for its library system, while the average is $4.50 per person across Canada. We have the lifeboats but we don’t have the oars!

8) Dear Mr. Marra and Mr. Halberstadt
Mr. Lewenza is saying that an increase in Water Rates is required "for the replacement of Windsor's aging water mains".

Don't we already have a Water Main Replacement Levy?
Do you not recall that this item was increased by 345% (13% to 45%) during August 2007? Wouldn't you like to see how the WUC Has spent all this collected loot!??

What I would like to see before this charade goes any further is the following information:
> DOLLARS COLLECTED by Water Main Replacement Levy $ ________. ___ 2007
> $ ________. ___ 2008
> $ ________. ___ to date in 2009
# of Feet of water mains replaced using these monies already collected ________ feet;

Once we see this information we'll be able to judge for ourselves whether Ken Lewenza Jr. is just "turning our crank". ALSO, if they REALLY are going to assemble a Focus Group to "explore" this issue, I WANT TO BE ON THE GROUP!

9) I am having a hard time with this mayor who is in a fight with DRIC, the Gateway, and promoting his Greenlink road, in arguing who is the lessor or great polluter in various levels of Parts per Million in the various EA studies. But yet he is willing to throw pollution from aircraft exhaust and aircraft noise and the trucks that will be coming in on a daily 24 hour basis out the window. He got the money for a fesability study, where is the environmental impact study?

10)I believe it was Groucho Matx who said, "innuendo and out the other."

11) [Re: More Windsor stories] You have to tell me which councillor that was! I don't think that I know them well enough to guess! At least give me a ward number!!

12) Good Day Ed!

I see you remain vigilant, on the job with scathing reviews of our local boards and councils. I know you keep everything to a 'G' rating which requires some limitations in the language that you are able to use. But to get the point across I think you might be able to say something like this: "Our Mayor and Council is giving us the kind of service that a bull gives to a cow!"