Calculating the ‘silent majority’
I may have to get fellow blogger Steve Berman a calculator for Christmas; his manipulation of numbers the last week or so has even my math-challenged brain weeping for a…
Municipal politics
A Council Christmas Carol – part 1
STAVE ONE. It was one of those long winter days. I was back in town late, that Thursday, well after dark, driving down the main street watching the heavy snow…
Gambling and the local economy part 2
Seventy three dollars. It’s not a large amount if you’re middle class, certainly not if you’re Conrad Black. But for others it can be significant. If you’re on minimum wage,…
Conspiracies, Secret Meetings and Backroom Deals
As the year comes to a close, I think it’s about time I ‘fessed up about the conspiracies, secret meetings, backroom deals, hidden commissions and other underhanded dealings council has…
An immodest proposal for council’s legacy
Collingwood council has hit the halfway mark in its term, and aside from the bump (bubble?) in the road that was the rec facility debate, there’s not much to point…
The Known Unknowns
“There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know,” said United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld in a now-famous statement. “There are known unknowns; that is…
Olivia Chow as Toronto mayor?
God, weren’t we all thankful when we heard Rob Ford was finally given the boot? (Let’s hope it stays that way, anyway). Of course, before his appeal has even really…
Mayors Under Siege: Why Laws Must Change
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is planning to appeal the recent judicial decision that ousted him from office for failing to obey one of the basic rules of municipal governance. In…
Toronto’s Ford Follies
Of course the mayor will now appeal his removal from office and attempt to run the clock until the next municipal elections in 2014. (The guy spends more time in…
Do We Need a CAO to Run Town Hall?
One of the comments in a rather lengthy letter presented to council recently was about hiring a CAO. The author demanded a “panel of qualified citizens appointed by an independent body* to…
Time to let residents in on secret for grain terminals
This is my column in Friday’s edition of the E-B – and after reading the agenda for Monday’s council meeting, it’s even more appropriate given the town is now thinking…
Councillor blindsided by inability to use very, very important Points of Privilege…
Did you watch Monday night’s presentation of the Why Can’t We Be Friends Of Central Park (updated story here)? Did you wonder why councillors were hopping up and down in…
Where there’s smoke…
… there’s, uh, more smoke… Jeez, it’s getting smoky in here… So, I’m reading Steve Berman’s latest blog post on Five Questions Collingwood Should Ask About Ed Houghton, thinking eventually…
Odds and sods for a Monday morning…
… E-B reporter Emily Innes will be hitting tonight’s Christian Heritage Party meeting protesting the casino proposal; I’m certain there will some interesting fodder for discussion, especially as the owners…
Central Park craziness continues…
Guess what’s got councillors’ goats this morning? It seems the Central Park Steering Committee were informed in September, 2011 that the YMCA lost out on a provincial/federal grant it was…
Why can’t we all be ‘Friends’…
Here’s my, uh, rather ‘brief’ recap of last night’s Friends of Central Park meeting. And here’s just a few of my other thoughts: Thumb’s Up: Acting-CAO Ed Houghton gets a…
Just the facts, Jack!
So tonight, Occupy Collingwood Friends of Central Park project will be holding a public meeting at the Collingwood Legion to get out “the facts.” There’s been so much flying around…
Muddying the (pool) waters…
… The Simcoe-Muskoka YMCA, in an open letter to its members, indicates it has met with municipal officials and presented an option for aquatics. It included a breakdown of costs…
Occupy Collingwood Part Deux…
… or the Long March to Truthiness… On Monday, the folks who want town council to revisit the decision on rec facilities will march from Central Park to town hall.…
Occupy Collingwood – Did it make an impact?
On the face of it, given the town has now signed a deal to buy two structures – one to cover Centennial Pool, one for a new rink at Central…