Random Thoughts.....
Tooting own trumpet: In a June 27 post, Citizen Ellie quoted a source who told her the membership of the Amalgmated Transit Union (OC Transpo bus drivers etc.) were not interested in giving up their right to strike. The source said the union membership was divided on the issue of arbitration right from the get-go. Citizen Ellie also noted that union president Andre Corneillier and Councillor Alex Cullen were forgetting something important when they trumpeted that a new era of labor peace had arrived at OC Transpo. Like bloodhounds on the scent, they just had to rush to the media with the news that an agreement had been reached. What they forgot to say was that while they might have reached an agreement, it would have no weight until the union membership had the opportunity to vote on it. Given that Brother Andre barely escaped being put out to pasture by his members in June when the local election was held, Citizen Ellie opined that this did not bode well for an agreement substituting binding arbitration for the right to strike. ATU members voted on the issue last week. They didn't give up their right to strike. Was Citizen Ellie right, or what ?
******************
They're not getting it: Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson has tried everything. He's raised the issue of costs. He's raised the security issue. No matter what he says, the powers that be at City Hall forge ahead with LRT planning which includes a tunnel beneath the downtown core. Time for a little plain speaking --in clear language so there can be no misunderstanding. Time to state once and for all that the province has no interest in a tunnel from the Bayview Yards to the University of Ottawa. Time to state once and for all that the province will not be contributing one red cent to the cost of building said tunnel from the Bayview Yards to the University of Ottawa. Time to state that the province recognizes that Ottawa property taxpayers are already overburdened. Save the taxpayers from this folly and they'll be erecting a statue in your honor. Get on with it, Minister Jim !
*******************
A sad sight: Citizen Ellie drives by the baseball stadium (previously known as Lynx Stadium) on an almost daily basis. It's been sitting empty for over a year, and it's reported that the facility is not being properly maintained. It's been suggested by some who've been in the place that the city is allowing it to deterioriate just like the city allowed the Civic Centre complex to deterioriate.
So there's no professional or semi-pro baseball in Ottawa any more. That doesn't mean the stadium couldn't be used for other revenue-generating activities. It would make a wonderful venue for small festivals, such as the jazz and folk festivals. It could have been used as the site for the provincial Little League championships which were held in Ottawa this past summer. It could have been used by a variety of baseball leagues in the city. A deal could have been struck with the nearby Hampton Inn re late night jazz sessions if the jazz festival was held there. A deal could have been struck with the Hampton Inn to accommodate and feed the Little League teams and their parents. These are the kinds of activities a private sector entrepreneur would organize at the stadium. These are the kinds of activities which would generate reveue for the city. Instead, it sits idle. That's what happens when you have a bunch of social engineers running the city. Maintaining assets owned by the taxpayers takes a back seat to exercises in wealth redistribution.
New posts usually on Fridays
