Half Time News
This month, Collingwood residents got a newsletter in their Collus- PowerStream utility bill: The Half Time News. Recognizing this is the season of the Super Bowl, our brochure provides residents…
Municipal politics
Hull motion on the money…
… too bad it’s about six months too late… On Monday night, Councillor Keith Hull introduced a notice of motion to strike a task force to examine the future of…
Musings on public input
When I hear a call for a public meeting, my first thought is to ask why we need it. Is the issue something that absolutely needs more public input above…
Musings on representational democracy
Representational democracy, says Wikipedia, is “…founded on the principle of elected people representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. All modern Western style democracies are various types…
The mayor sets the record straight about the PRA
The following is a statement made verbally by Mayor Sandra Cooper, at Collingwood Council, Mon., Jan. 28, 2013. It explains the timeline of events between the Pretty River Academy and…
Context watch, Sprung edition…
Another notation of the pile Sprung emails jumped out at me. Here’s how it’s portrayed: August 7 – Department Head meeting w/ Mayor Cooper & Kevin Lloyd re: benifits of…
To everything, context…
I’m sure Steve Berman is seeing a significant uptick in hits this morning as a result of publishing some of the details he’s gleaned from six months worth of emails…
More construction at Centennial Pool
Here you can see the additional aluminum supports that have been erected to hold up the fabric covering. Only a small area at the north has had some of the…
If you can’t say something nice…
It may be best to say nothing at all… at least, that is, until July, 2014… So Councillor Keith Hull isn’t happy with the decision to buy two Sprung buildings.…
Not the expected blog post, I’m afraid
Sorry to disappoint those readers who expected this to be a blog post on ukuleles, tequila or our beautiful Mexican Sister City, Zihuatanejo (“Zee-hwa” for those in the know). I…
For reasons that shall become clear…
… I recognize that I will likely be scooped in the next day or so on a hot story happening in town. I have some of the same documents; however,…
What’s this nonsense about mushrooms?
In the middle of a video parody on YouTube that skewers council on our new rec facilities, there’s a comment about “the mushroom farm debacle.” It then goes on, rather…
Darn it…
… jeez, and I joked to someone last September about doing this, tho’ my script was slightly different… Mine was more of a ‘Hitler reacts to council’s decision to sole-source…
Centennial Pool gets covered!
Not sure how much will get done today – it’s a cold, windy winter day. But yesterday, in more clement weather, six frame struts for the Sprung building were erected…
Sounds very Star Trek-y
The Wrath of Ian, with me in the role of Khan Noonien Singh, Colin Wills in the role of James T. Kirk, and… Wait-ta-minute, this isn’t a happy story at…
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
Published in 1637, The Art of Worldly Wisdom is a collection of 300 aphorisms about life, behaviour, politics, morality, faith, philosophy and society. One comment, on Amazon.ca called it, somewhat…
Happy new year…
… the reason I haven’t posted much, evidently, is because I’m waiting on my marching orders from town hall… Odd, that… If I question how Steve Berman arrives at potential…
The Hidden Costs of Gambling
Let’s start 2013 with a sober consideration of the social and economic costs of gambling. Back n 2006, the Canadian Medical Association noted that, “Provincial governments may be glossing over…
A Council Christmas Carol – Part 2
STAVE TWO (continued from Part 1). THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPIRITS. I awoke in the dark, late Friday night. Winter days are so short that sometimes it seems a…
The Municipal Machiavelli is online
I’ve spent much of the past few days putting online my book in which I assess and rewrite Niccolo Machiavelli’s famous (or infamous) work, The Prince, in a WordPress format.…