OK, so it’s not so much that blogging is, like, so 2008, but that I’ve been tremendously busy between work, paddling, and working out. But now that paddling is pretty much wrapped for the season, I might be able to focus a little more on this endeavour.
Not that there hasn’t been topics. For instance, there’s some kind of election happening next week; I think the result next Thursday night – at least locally in Simcoe-Grey – is pretty much a given, though it was quite funny how Progressive Conservative candidate and 21-year Queen’s Park veteran Jim Wilson repeatedly agreed with Green Party candidate and leader Mike Schreiner at the chamber of commerce all-candidates’ forum from a couple of weeks ago. You could almost call it an endorsement…
There’s also a new blog in town: georgianbaysportsfan.wordpress.com. Now, some of the stuff about the local minor hockey association I’m just not familiar enough with to offer judgement. I did think the blogger’s, uh, dressing down of me was kind of humorous, given that the blogger completely missed my point…
‘Sports Fan’ and I actually don’t disagree on the topic; community buy-in to the Central Park multi-use facility is essential to the project’s success. The problem with the Fisher Field/Bay Ridge proposal was the town tried to frame public opinion around a building; here, the goal is to frame a building around public opinion. Contrary to the blogger’s opinion, community input has been sought: in public meetings, online, and in meetings with user groups (there have been several, again contrary to the opinion of the writer)…
I also need to take umbrage with the line on the site’s Send Us a Tip link; at the E-B, I’m only limited by my available resources as to what we run, it has nothing to do with advertisers or politics…
Bylaw Blues: Some of you may have caught my ‘tweets’ on Friday about my ‘observances’ of a local bylaw officer monitoring parked cars in the downtown. Well, speaking of ‘umbrage’, the bylaw officer – even though I didn’t identify the individual or post a photo – saw fit to send an email chastising me for making light of the person’s duties.
Well, a few things spring to mind:
1. Call me paranoid, but I got the slightest inkling there was a subtle attempt at intimidation…
2. I wonder if town management approved this person firing off an email in my direction. If that’s the case, that’s even more troubling…
3. Methought the individual doth protest too much. Put in the same position, my inclination would have been to laugh it off, and ignore it. By acknowledging the ‘tweets’, it only serves to draw my attention – when I would have otherwise ‘tweeted’ and forgotten about it.
There’s no question that the subject of parking — and metering — is a bit of a hot potato right now. I’ve heard several first-hand accounts of parking ticket horror stories, including a friend who was three minutes past his limit and returned to his car to find a ticket. A few weeks back, councillors tried to mitigate some of this PR nightmare by providing a 20-minute ‘grace period’ for an expired parking tag.
It seems every year, a committee gets created to try and resolve the conundrum that is parking in downtown Collingwood. And every time, a less-than-satisfactory solution is arrived at. The word is work is going on behind the scenes, once again, to find a resolution. We shall wait and see…
