Saturday December 13, 2008
Wow! I cannot believe that its been this long since I made an entry to local events - of course way to much has happened since then. Well lets dive right in to it shall we???? :-)
At first when Frank Valeriote was elected I was of no real opinion other than its not Brenda and its not the Conservatives. I had met Frank on a couple of occasions and he seemed like an okay guy with similar views/age/lifestyle etc. So heck could not be that bad considering that his provincial sister I would consider is a complete moron and that she is no different than all seasoned politicians who only care about one things - Getting elected!
Well - I am very dissapointed in Mr. Valeriote and here is why: I emailed him twice in the past week and never got a response at all (I am sure he responds to precious Linda at Linimar) when she calls or emails. And you know why he would not respond (I can only suspect) is that I 100% agree with an auto bail-out.
Saturday January 19, 2008
How things change and remain the same
I was reading an editorial today by Tony Leighton and it somewhat discouraged me since I believe he is correct in what he is saying. The premise was around the topic of development and how we as in citizens as well as the municipal government do not really have any real control as to how development occurs in Guelph. Not sure if I have mentioned this before, however I am a committee member of the Guelph Green Plan which is appointed by the City of Guelph Council. when I first was appointed a year ago, I was overly excited and positive that we would change the city for the better. After a few months my expectations downgraded but at least we would have a positive influence. Now I am not convinced that we will influence anything!
You may wonder why the drastic change? Well the world is a complex place where egos, personalities and money rule? - yikes I hate saying that! Its so pessimistic, however I see it every day both in the business I own and the politics that I experience.
Sunday December 30, 2007
Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this blog!
TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD
There has been considerable publicity surrounding the Clairefields Neighbourhood Group since they have been quite vocal about the lack of amenities in the South End. Of course there use to be a time when people didn't have a shopping plaza or take out on every corner. LOL! Of course I digress..... What is at issue is the lack of Recreation Centre in close proximity to Clairefields Road region. Of course one could argue what is close proximity? This can be somewhat subjective, however one argument in favour of the group is that there was a supposed agreement with the developer and city when lots at Clairefield were being sold that I rec complex would be built with in a reasonable time frame.
The issue is starting to be somewhat polarizing since certain individuals have made comments that the South End pays more in taxes and therefore deserves better amenities. Yikes! that may or may not be true about the amount of taxes, however it is based on the size and value of your property????? If you paid more for a bigger house with more bling than yes you will pay more taxes! These kind of statements are disturbing in that it causes additional strain between old and new neighbourhoods. A further indication of the differences came from a recent Guelph Mercury poll where 58% who answered the poll reject the idea of a new rec centre (at least in the short term) versus 42% in favour.
Whether you agree with building a new rec complex or not, the city needs to address this issue by publishing some sobering financial facts about the impact of current and future growth on the city. I have seen some of projected increased cost that have been calculated to support growth and Guelphites definitely need to be made ware of these increased costs. (I will publish the forecasted figures as soon as I can get an actual copy from the City)
Tuesday May 8, 2007
Water Issues:
Read a terrific article in the Tribune last week - The author was questioning why the Provincial government is allowing a company by the name of Nestle to extract water from the the same source has the city's drinking water? Great question, since we have water rationing in the summer and yet companies like Nestle can take our water and resell to us. Does that make any sense to you?
Care to guess what our elected MPP's response has been? Liz Sandals doesn't feel there is an issue and defended the government rather than even attempt to address the concerns of her constituents.
Passing of Laura Bailey
It is with great sadness that I found out today that Councillor Laura Bailey for Ward 1 passed away on Saturday of cancer. What shocked me even more is that I had seen her last Friday at a council meeting and she seemed fine. It is a shocking reminder of how precious life really is.
Wow! I cannot believe that its been this long since I made an entry to local events - of course way to much has happened since then. Well lets dive right in to it shall we???? :-)
At first when Frank Valeriote was elected I was of no real opinion other than its not Brenda and its not the Conservatives. I had met Frank on a couple of occasions and he seemed like an okay guy with similar views/age/lifestyle etc. So heck could not be that bad considering that his provincial sister I would consider is a complete moron and that she is no different than all seasoned politicians who only care about one things - Getting elected!
Well - I am very dissapointed in Mr. Valeriote and here is why: I emailed him twice in the past week and never got a response at all (I am sure he responds to precious Linda at Linimar) when she calls or emails. And you know why he would not respond (I can only suspect) is that I 100% agree with an auto bail-out.
Saturday January 19, 2008
How things change and remain the same
I was reading an editorial today by Tony Leighton and it somewhat discouraged me since I believe he is correct in what he is saying. The premise was around the topic of development and how we as in citizens as well as the municipal government do not really have any real control as to how development occurs in Guelph. Not sure if I have mentioned this before, however I am a committee member of the Guelph Green Plan which is appointed by the City of Guelph Council. when I first was appointed a year ago, I was overly excited and positive that we would change the city for the better. After a few months my expectations downgraded but at least we would have a positive influence. Now I am not convinced that we will influence anything!
You may wonder why the drastic change? Well the world is a complex place where egos, personalities and money rule? - yikes I hate saying that! Its so pessimistic, however I see it every day both in the business I own and the politics that I experience.
Sunday December 30, 2007
Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this blog!
TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD
There has been considerable publicity surrounding the Clairefields Neighbourhood Group since they have been quite vocal about the lack of amenities in the South End. Of course there use to be a time when people didn't have a shopping plaza or take out on every corner. LOL! Of course I digress..... What is at issue is the lack of Recreation Centre in close proximity to Clairefields Road region. Of course one could argue what is close proximity? This can be somewhat subjective, however one argument in favour of the group is that there was a supposed agreement with the developer and city when lots at Clairefield were being sold that I rec complex would be built with in a reasonable time frame.
The issue is starting to be somewhat polarizing since certain individuals have made comments that the South End pays more in taxes and therefore deserves better amenities. Yikes! that may or may not be true about the amount of taxes, however it is based on the size and value of your property????? If you paid more for a bigger house with more bling than yes you will pay more taxes! These kind of statements are disturbing in that it causes additional strain between old and new neighbourhoods. A further indication of the differences came from a recent Guelph Mercury poll where 58% who answered the poll reject the idea of a new rec centre (at least in the short term) versus 42% in favour.
Whether you agree with building a new rec complex or not, the city needs to address this issue by publishing some sobering financial facts about the impact of current and future growth on the city. I have seen some of projected increased cost that have been calculated to support growth and Guelphites definitely need to be made ware of these increased costs. (I will publish the forecasted figures as soon as I can get an actual copy from the City)
Tuesday May 8, 2007
Water Issues:
Read a terrific article in the Tribune last week - The author was questioning why the Provincial government is allowing a company by the name of Nestle to extract water from the the same source has the city's drinking water? Great question, since we have water rationing in the summer and yet companies like Nestle can take our water and resell to us. Does that make any sense to you?
Care to guess what our elected MPP's response has been? Liz Sandals doesn't feel there is an issue and defended the government rather than even attempt to address the concerns of her constituents.
Passing of Laura Bailey
It is with great sadness that I found out today that Councillor Laura Bailey for Ward 1 passed away on Saturday of cancer. What shocked me even more is that I had seen her last Friday at a council meeting and she seemed fine. It is a shocking reminder of how precious life really is.
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