Blogging would be much easier with Councillors like this

I’ve occasionally thought that some City of Winnipeg Councillors were playing with less than a full deck (cough…Harvey Smith..ahem), but they’re nothing compared to the nutters in Hogtown.
Check out this confrontation between Toronto City Councillor Rob Ford and a Globe and Mail columnist. It’s a bit dull to start, but around the 50-second mark this [...]

Well that’s embarrassing…

Mayor Katz issued a news release on February 20th challenging all Winnipeggers to take part in Earth Hour on March 29th. He said that the City would do its part by flicking off the lights at the City Hall campus.
Apparently someone forgot to tell the maintenance staff though, as CTV discovered the lights were left [...]

The cabal wins again

Some days I just want to punch this city in the face.
CJOB and the Freep are reporting that, miraculously, just three days before the March 31 fundraising deadline for the Friends of Upper Fort Garry, the group has suddenly been given a TWO-YEAR EXTENSION. Even more amazing, the extension was actually agreed to by Crystal [...]

And I thought I beat this issue to death…

In the past two months, Gordon Sinclair Jr. of the Free Press has written 13 columns about Upper Fort Garry, including FIVE in the past week alone. At what point does the Freep start charging the Friends of Upper Fort Garry for all this free advertising?
Today’s piece is about Premier Doer’s suggestion that the Fort [...]

Sam Katz: Who are you?

It’s a rare day that I agree with Councillor Jenny Gerbasi, but she’s completely correct in criticizing the sloppy job the City is doing with this year’s operating budget.
I did notice the 2008-2010 Preliminary Operating Budget – Service Based View on the City website late last week, but I assumed they were just slow to [...]

Dan Vandal: serious lack of honesty

Dan Vandal has been the self-appointed champion for Upper Fort Garry at City Hall over the past several weeks. On the eve of Wednesday’s vote on his motion to delay the sale of the parking lot that sits near the former Fort site, Vandal told the Free Press:
I defy anyone to tell Winnipeggers that this [...]

Take the awareness test

As the weather gets nicer we’re going to see more cyclists, walkers and runners on city streets in the weeks ahead. Here’s a little reminder to keep an eye out for them:

Winnipeg Convention Centre: Sell! Sell! Sell!

Leo Ledohowski wants to buy the Winnipeg Convention Centre?? Provided the deal came with a signed-in-blood agreement that Leo would never ask for a nickel in government operating or capital funding, I’d sell it to him for a penny. I’d even be willing to forgive all the property/business taxes in perpetuity.
The City and Province would [...]

Mega-Project Cage Fight 1: Park vs. Convention Centre

Okay kids, so would you rather spend $200 million on a complete overhaul of Assiniboine Park or $200 million expanding the Winnipeg Convention Centre?
Which project do you think would have a more significant economic impact over the long-term?
Which project should be funded by a portion of the new hotel tax?
My vote is for the park.

Rapid transit coalition misses the bus

Where did this Winnipeg Rapid Transit Coalition come from anyway? According to the Sun and Freep, over 1,500 people have signed the group’s petition demanding the City make a public commitment to building a rapid transit system by March 31, 2008 in order to access new federal funding.
I appreciate the group’s enthusiasm for rapid transit, [...]