I think I’m cool therefore I am
I’ve figured Austin, Texas out. This entire city’s psyche is based on the people here thinking that they are cool and acting like it. That alone is what makes the city cool. The entire city is founded on its own self image.
When they first called themselves the live music capital of the world, they weren’t, Nashville was. But when they called themselves that the amount of live music venue’s in Austin grew by a factor of 10 Times while Nashville’s grew by 10%.
When they came up with the slogan “Keep Austin Weird, support your local business” People bought local and local businesses took pride in how they ran their shops and what they offered.
We talk about Windsor’s poor self image, never before has it struck me this much on how that impacts our economy.
The naysayers take pride in being naysayers, they feel the need to call out the fact that the city is not living up to what it preaches. Too bad they don’t realize that you can’t walk the walk until you first talk the talk.
Can you imagine if these people lived in Austin, how people would view them if they just complained about the traffic, the noise, the bars? Imagine if they exposed the emperor as having no clothes in this city? No one would pay them any attention.
So have at me, naysayer. Show me one positive thing that came out of your naysaying.
I’ll just keep working on Film festival, Music video contests and actually buildiing stuff.
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A good one Mark! Keep doing what you do!
Call yourself something and it becomes true? Interesting.
With the mayor having such a high regard for himself, I feel it happening as you describe. I really do believe he is the cat’s ass.
How’s that for being positive?
Write about how much you hate him for years and guess what, he’ll still be mayor next year. Hows that for results?
Here’s another cute way of saying it
http://brandcorral.blogspot.com/2010/03/attitude-is-100.html
Mark, Writing is only part of what I’m doing. I expect results this year.
Btw. Not intending to offend u LOS
just think that blogs shoul be about what ur passionate for instead of against
u should share
btw, came from a blogger session that recommends against anonymity saying it’s useless as every blogger who ever wrote anything of note has been outed
I really enjoy the vague naysaying commentary. What exactly is naysaying Mark Boscariol?
Is naysaying demanding political accountability? Or, your comment at 11:06 a.m. simply “hating” the Mayor?
Are you suggesting that our democratic right (and some would argue obligation) to demand the substance behind the vision(s) is worthy of your broad-based naysaying stroke?
Or shall we just jump on the bandwagon, without question or query, and ignore the empty rhetoric?
Or is it, donning on the rose coloured glasses, holding hands and singing Kumbya, by political design to silence and attempt to discredit those who do not sing in the same choir?
Or is your message that politicians are irrelevant and it is the undying spirit and passion Windsor residents that we will prevail and achieve our individual goals to the benefit of all?
How I read your comment is yet another disguised “defence” of the status quo and toxic political environment created over the last 7 years.
Postive attitude is created by consensus building - not wearing the blinders as you suggest.
And the divisive strategy employed - particularly over the last 4 years - does greater harm to community cohesiveness than anything your vague references to “naysayer” suggest.
I think I stated it clearly, name a positive result that has come from criticism.
I think its a matter of constructive criticism vs. Criticism in and of itself.
Your criticism comes in the form of education which is why I’m a fan of your website. Your posts are well researched and they have a lot of information to offer
I learn things from your blog, I learn nothing from guys like the uniblogger or LOS. Thats just my personal opinion that I am democratically stating having the same right as you to state it.
There are those whose criticism serves no purpose other than to just bring people down. F*** em,
- Show quoted text -
How about the mayor’s criticism of DRIC in favour of GreenLink? Anything positive come out of that or has the contruction of the new roadway been delayed for nothing?
Can’t go around making competely false statements like that Los your lucky u don’t get Syed for libel by our litigious mayor. Agree with greenlink or not, nothing he’s done has delayed DRIC road by one minute.
What’s libelous? The mayor has continually threatened to take DRIC to the courts if he doesn’t get what he wants. You’re just blowing smoke. WHy doesn’t he sue? Because he can’t.
Regardless, nothing he’s done has delayed the road project. You said he did delay the projects. Thats patently false.
The only thing that will get delayed is the 3rd border crossing by ALL THREE LEVELS of Canadian Gov’t Plus OVER HALF of Michigan gov’t - disputing with the ABC and many of their supporting U.S. lawmakers. Lets be clear who this battle is between because regardless which crossing location you support, the mayor is not alone in his choice.
To Chris S. I’m really surprised at your accusation that i am defending the status quo
I’ve done more than most Windsorites to rail against the status quo.
From obtaining petitions for ward boundary review. Film Festival, DWBIA, Scaledown
Whats funny is my next seminar today is entitled shameless self promotion without looking like an *&%$%&*.
Maybe we can both agree that its something I can benefit from
here’s a poem i wrote about this topic way more than a decade ago:
the balance poem
the black, the lack,
the dwelling, the quelling
of lusciousness, laughter,
the goof of enjoy
we fixate on taxes, pollution and layoffs,
our faculties stuck in naysay employ
piss on it,
beauties abound,
permutate,
bubble
the effort to optimizem
is definitely worth it
(hope you enjoy - mesm)
Love it, I think this is the first time the blog elicited poetry. Woohoo!!
i have some strong views on this point because of the constant and perpetual negative vibe that is put forth by so many in this city and much of it is fueled in the digital realm in blogs etc. while i believe writing and discussing is vitally important in keeping things in check and continued progress, i think it often goes over the edge towards useless negativity. what we need is more action and less blaming. while i am not a fan of the current mayor i think much more harm comes from everyday citizens who continue to focus on the negative and waste the opportunity to make things better. i will use one example of citizens taking control and making a real and tangible impact on daily life and “livability”. small as it may be it is a good example. Tom Lucier from Phog has been a community advocate for awhile now, while at times unfocused, and looking to improve Windsor in one way or another. He entered Phog in a CBC contest and asked people for help. he inspired them and motivated them. as we know, they won. they had no right winning that contest except for the tremendous sense of pride that Tom helped invoke in all who voted. the fallout of winning was a huge boost in civic morale, not seen in years around here. in fact friends who had moved away commented about it from other parts of the country. in turn phog phest was held and again was a great success and proof that Windsor can host a fantastic music festival and showcase our immense local talent. Tom rarely is negative. Tom is a doer. his actions in the last year or so have made a major difference. in my opinion his good acts and the subsequent consequences have done more good than eddie has done bad. on a daily basis what do we do to make our city better? even in the smallest ways. while i recognize that some issues need attention, we often let the negative perspective muddy all our views. i have lived in windsor and if asked i can go on for hours on why its the best city in canada to live in. they’re not lies. they’re not exaggerations. they’re true. they’re here. while recognizing the negatives leads to learning and subsequent change so does recognizing and bragging about the positive. in fact it has a greater net effect on creating change. if we want people to think windsor is great we need to act like it is.
Well said Rino!
You said it Rino! Check out toms latest contribution at http://www.downtownwo.ca
BTW, I do my share of criticizing as well, think I’m happy that I’m a member of an organization such as the Chamber of Commerce who has wildly reckless and irresponsible policies. Like the one where they want no restrictions on rezonings of any type (Oh they changed it to “unreasonable” to keep it vague enough that they could somehow defend the indefensible)
“I’ve done more than most Windsorites to rail against the status quo.
From obtaining petitions for ward boundary review. Film Festival, DWBIA, Scaledown
Whats funny is my next seminar today is entitled shameless self promotion without looking like an *&%$%&*.”
Read your own words Mark. Predictably, you rattle off until you trip on your own chain. In your own words above, you ARE a shameless self promoter. Everything you do is about that. You come across very clearly. Perhaps honestly. What you ultimately look like is up to you. Reflect on that as you give your seminar/”what I did on my vacation speech” today. Will anyone see the smiling side of a sow.
And proud if it
if more windsorites were shameless self promoters
we’d be INFINITELY better off economically
that’s the premise of the post
why should I be shy or ashamed of what I’m passionate about?
I want to share that passion
Went to a session with a panel of the most successful bloggers and authorities on blogs and they say the same thing
Mark…
Self promotion is not the same thing as cheerleading.
BTW, and I know I am going to pay for this. Would you be so kind as to share with us who some of the most successful bloggers and authorities on blogs are? Also…How did they come by these designations.
Tomatoe, tomatoe (pronounced differently). I promote my businesses, my festivals, my downtown, my city. I call them mine because I take ownership of them instead of blaming others
http://my.sxsw.com/events/event/724
the panel I went to consisted of
The girl who started the blog jezebel.com
The comics curmudgeon http://joshreads.com/
Scott Rosenberg
Wordyard
Writer, editor and website builder SCOTT ROSENBERG is a cofounder of Salon.com and author of “Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters” (2009)
Emily Gordon - Emdashes
Loud Poet - Guy Gonzales
The one exception to what I said was the comics curmudgeon who criticizes comic strips. However he loves
M.O.M. why do windsorites feel the need for cannibalism? a need to eat their own when showing any pride? I am a proud son of Windsor and there should be a mutual level of support for all we do
The reason for the post is that local independent businesses are supported in Austin, the owners are celebrated. They celebrate success while we, many times, attack it.
Mark…
Cannibalism doesn’t apply here at all. The naysayers you point will rightfully argue that pride in Windsor and all that it has to offer is a given. They/we wouldn’t be blogging if that wasn’t the case. Let’s get it out right here. You/we are in a dialogue about bloggers who are also in a dialogue with Windsorites. As in any media, social or otherwise, we are all seeking our own. If some of the bloggers are about an alternative perspective or about really rounding or even routing out our local news that’s OK. In my book, they are doing a great job of it. If you are making this about supporting local businesses I don’t see your point at all. We all shudder when we hear bad news about any business or about it’s impact on our community. We all applaud when another takes root. If you are trying to tie this to concepts like the canal vision then, unfortunately, it gets political. How can it not? While we all agree that something has to be done about our downtown, some of us are very leery about things that fall out of the sky with desert forks inserted. Practical consequences have to be taken into account. Past, present and future have to run smooth and contiguous. I for one have always disagreed with those who proclaim that Windsor suffers from a poor self image. In fact, I have never seen a population that manages to take its show on the road as well as as Windsorites do. Our economy is born of other things and is what it is regardless. If others see Windsor in dim light it is because of their failure to see us as anything other than a stereotypical factory town. That unfounded misperception is their problem. As for Austin, you have been abducted by the shiny stuff. It is a cool town for sure; the Ann Arbour of the south. Made of different stuff than Windsor. Face it Mark. You are looking for some sort of closure to your real question: “What is wrong in Windsor?” You, and others throw around the Naysayer word but it is nothing more than a Harry Potteresque illusion. A false rationalization for those who can’t, or don’t want to understand whats happening around them. Some will even try to profit by this slight. We all walk the walk Mark. We all wear different shoes is all.
Your right, i did digress but I digressed at the self promotion.
Why does it have to be made of different stuff than Windsor? I see companies in Windsor like Suede Marketing, Filmmakers like Otto Buj, Symphony leaders like John Morris Russell. I see the company that made the Olympic inflateables, I see world class everywhere.
I’m not looking for much, only making observations.
I don’t see all of us walking the walk. When we blame politicians for our state, we absolve ourselves from our responsibilty to …..
BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE.
The day my livelihood becomes dependent on a mayor or any other politician will be the day I slit my wrist. Our city is what we make of it, not them. They do what we tell them to do or what we put up with them doing.
Every town posses the same attributes but the mix and proportions are different. The stuff that makes Ann Arbour and Austin is a greater proportion of higher learning that comes with the lead (high tech) industries (medical, academic and electronic). This creates a more natural environment for the arts etc. and we see how it goes. Windsor CAN do these things but more often than not we are more preoccupied with the business of holding our own. We are not blaming politicians for our state. We are blaming them for missed and botched opportunities and for absurd planning. Your last comment is rather telling. Yes…We have to rely on whats at the end of our own arms for sure. Your idealism is at least in tact but when has our current government and administration done what we have asked or told them to do? It seems logical then that all of the noise coming from our new social network IS about the limits of what we will put up with. This is indeed a most positive thing. Change IS coming and it is largely attributable to this new and on-going dialogue. If that ain’t walkin the walk I don’t know what is.
Agreed (mostly)
To Mark B:
My comment regarding “status quo” has everything to do with the topic of your blog: Naysaying - as much as you try to redirect this to support of local business.
Throwing the unqualified “naysaying” label out there only reinforces the divide and conquer tactic that I raised.
I said:
“How I read your comment is yet another disguised “defence” of the status quo and toxic political environment created over the last 7 years.”
While you have since narrowed the scope of such comment - it ignores the role criticism does play.
You know very well of the status quo I speak of - I outlined it in my response. You are personalizing and diverting attention from the issue you raised. And only after the fact, qualify it to some extent.
From my read - myself included - the mounting frustration expressed in “political” blogs - and that is a very relevent distinction - commentary etc., are the voices of real people regarding political affairs and shenanigans.
I do not consider my writings any better than yours or other blogs - each respective blog serves a respective purpose. As are your own, opinions are deeply personal - and neither right nor wrong. Only facts can be right or wrong.
For a simplistic example - I don’t like wearing the colour white - I think it makes me look fat. You believe white makes me look thin. Is my opinion wrong? Am I an anti-white naysayer?
But when it comes to “politics” our representatives set the tone.
MOM said it best: We are not blaming politicians for our state. We are blaming them for missed and botched opportunities and for absurd planning.
What does criticism result in?
I’ve seen it first hand and have been involved at the ground level including but not limited to our downtown; Sandwich Town; areas of the west-end; and advocating for issues with my councillor to name but a few.
I do not proclaim the things I do, quietly and without the recognition I do not seek; and suspect many other proud Windsorites, critical of the status quo, do the same.
Frankly, there are some issues that neither you nor me can affect “change”.
Only through criticism can that occur.
If not for criticism, why have opposition parties? Effective opposition - at the grassroots level - mobilizes. On the other hand, effective opposition impacts social policy on levels higher than I think you even realise. I see my blog statistics - I know who reads some of my entries.
I’m almost as certain as that as the impact this blog has on planning issues.
And as my former political colleague Joe Hueglin has told me time and time again - if they read it - it plants a seed. And in both the politico and Buro-World’s that is a true accomplishment.
I may not have the financial ability to physically affect change - but seek out other means to do so. The same can be said by mere virtue of the posting of this comment or another blog entry.
I”ll be writing a response to your post from a very different perspective - but along a similar vein as to your amended posts - which had they been included in the original, would have changed the tone and context of your entry.
I’ll add - in the most simple of forms - stating “Windsor sucks” or comments similar, as I’ve read on the Star forums - is naysaying. Lobbing criticism at politicians is not lobbing criticism at Windsor.
More simply, politicians make not the city - which is more in line with your later comments. But politicians impact the city and impact our perceptions.
Which is why, including a Star reporter, have great disagreement with the liberal application of the term “naysayer.”
To criticise a politican is not to criticise the city. The two, are mutually exclusive.
Let me answer each point
“Throwing the unqualified “naysaying” label out there only reinforces the divide and conquer tactic that I raised.”
Fair enough, point taken
“I do not consider my writings any better than yours or other blogs - each respective blog serves a respective purpose. As are your own, opinions are deeply personal - and neither right nor wrong. Only facts can be right or wrong.”
Our opinions have equal value, however you one up me with the research and foundations you take the time to show to base your opinions on. My opinions are also well founded, I just don’t have or take the time to build a proper foundation like you always do. Therefore, almost by definition, your blogs do more to educate than mine. I just hope that people will take min with a grain of salt that I do have a background in what I’m talking about
“MOM said it best: We are not blaming politicians for our state. We are blaming them for missed and botched opportunities and for absurd planning.”
I disagree, they mainly take their cues for opportunities from what we tell them. Remember the Sandra Pupatello fiasco when she was sent 100 phoney emails protesting dwarf tossing, it became an issue because she thought a lot of her consituents spoke up. WHen in reality it was one guy with 100 different email addresses. She ended up getting them globe and mail and CBC national publicity by her protest. Our politicians take cues from the masses.
“I do not proclaim the things I do, quietly and without the recognition I do not seek; and suspect many other proud Windsorites, critical of the status quo, do the same.”
I see what you do and sometimes what I do as a rallying cry but if the troops are not rallying then you have to do something else. I’m getting pretty poor response in trying to expose the Chamber of Commerce policies as wildly reckless and irresponsible but it seems like our own independent business owners don’t get that they support an organization that wants to cut their own throats. I get pretty frustrated myself
“I’ll add - in the most simple of forms - stating “Windsor sucks” or comments similar, as I’ve read on the Star forums - is naysaying. Lobbing criticism at politicians is not lobbing criticism at Windsor.
More simply, politicians make not the city - which is more in line with your later comments. But politicians impact the city and impact our perceptions.”
Here’s where I’ll differ with you. When a Uniblogger comes out with a singular purpose of blaming our mayor for everything then they become a naysayer. Our mayor is in charge of 1000 things a year, with some good people under him. It would be statistically impossible and extremely improbable for him to screw up every single one of those.
You yourself have admitted agreement with him on some policies. There are those who I call unibloggers out there whose sole purpose is to critisize him and promote a certain ABC company. Never reporting on the successes of one and the shortcomings of the other even though both have many of each.
THATS NAYSAYING., thats sucks the life out of our city, its intellectual terrorism, using knowledge and information to terrorize our populace.
I got no use for them and I hate that so many malcontents look to them instead of focusing on what change they can do
Oh, and I’ll add that if there wasn’t unibloggers out there that are easily blown off by politicians as being soley “out to get them”, for you to get lumped in with Chris, I believe more people would listen to what you have to say
Mark, with all respect, the only one lumping all bloggers in the naysaying category is yourself.
It’s funny, I read dozens of blogs criticizing consistently either Stephen Harper, or Michael Ignatieff, or Jack Layton. It seems to me those politicans rise above labels and take it for what it is.
Honestly, people gravitate towards the blog entries they have a predisposition to. I don’t read every post on here (sorry Mr. Holt et al) - some do not interest me, others do.
The same can be said for mine. Some of my entries go off the map, others barely a blip.
The point is - people read what they want to. Intellectual terrorism? Please. That is overly dramatic. Each blog has their fan base and I know for a fact, there are those that hate mine. The derogatory emails I receive are testament to that.
Your issue with the “uniblogger” is your own. You’ve personalized it - and that’s fine - that’s your opinion and prerogative.
But the slippery slope argument that because blogger A is bad in your books somehow makes all bloggers less credible is perplexing - as you argued at 10:22.
Public opinion is messy.
I personally believe, despite some of the good things that are being done, they are lost because of the confrontational dictatorial style of the current administration. I only point to verbal attacks on private citizens as the perfect example. Citizens who are the employers. And that is my opinion.
As I’ve said, our leaders set the tone.
The difference - and credit to you for this - is when challenged, most people take what is said, reflect and grow from it. You and I may argue feriously at times - but I do listen and grow from some of the comments made.
Our current administration? Well, lashing out is what comes to mind. There is no recognition. There is no change.
And that is unfortunate.
Like begets like. That’s human nature.
I’d rather have it out there on blogs, rather then in whisper campaigns - which I hear in many of the circles I am in.
THAT is more honest, in my opinion.
I’ll close with I’m not out to change your mind; I’m simply presenting my take on it in response to your comments.
I’d ask you the same thing regarding the mayor. Except when it come to him it is self agrandizement and not pride in Windsor.
Do you really wanna follow in the Unibloggers footsteps with a mantra of “mayor bad, anything to do with maintaining or increaseing municipal workforce and services good”??? Just don’t think you’ll get the credibility needed to create change
I’m not following in anyone’s footsteps. I can them like I see them. If an ace is an ace, then that’s what it is. I don’t participate in putting lipstick on pigs.
Cut backs are need in some areas and the status quo is need in others. It is the lack of transparity and the questionable motivation that is in play. I shine the light on the processes and into the shadows.
Mr Arditti has his view of things and I have mine. Sometimes we mesh and at other times our thoughts part ways. But at least we are consistent on our individual endeavours and don’t switch horses in midstream. We don’t say one thing and then get caught saying something opposite as, quite frankly, you often do, and are called out for doing.
My message is in support of openess and accountability. Both are lacking from this mayor and administration.
I think thats great, and I agree with your posts many times, I’ve just noticed that you’ve not posted anything the mayor’s done right or any municipal service that should be cut.
My post was more of a friendly warning than an accusation. You don’t have enough history to be guilty in my opinion.
You can only mesh with the Uniblogger if you say “mayor bad, abc good”. And if you let him down in his fight for the ABC, god help you as he has a history of turning on you like he turned on the Mayor, CUPE, Brister and anyone else he used to work with and support who fell short of his expectations.
Hey, I have opinions, they change, sometimes according to my mood. Blogs are a public conversation, nothing more. Guilty as charged
BTW as a good example of me saying different things is the Canal plan, originally I wholeheartedly supported it. However BECAUSE of my conversations on the blogs, I asked more and better questions. My support is very reserved at this point
Now leaning very much against that particular architectural feature BUT
want to see what Mr. Farhi announces first
what a market rate housing study says. (who knows? maybe I’ll just change opinions again based on that information)
but at the same time I support many other elements in the canal feasibility study and think that the study was well worthwhile for the major points that it made about downtown revitalization. (What conditions are necessary for a Canal or any other type project to work)
I think that its a good thing that my opinion changed or what I would call evolved. A large part of that was because I threw out an opinion on a blog and had a conversation
Mark - let’s be completely honest - you not only threw out an opinion when the canal project came to light - you launched attacks on everything and everyone that questioned it. I know - I was the target for quite some time.
I’ll add that I don’t think its a positive thing to brag about that your opinions are unchangeable in the face of more information. In Italian its called “testa dura”
Mark…
Taking this quote from you:
“I disagree, they mainly take their cues for opportunities from what we tell them.”
Tossing midgets aside did we tell this mayor to wrist lock West Windsor? Did we tell him to spend our money on the airport studies? Did we tell him to put up an arena on Lauzon Road? Did we tell him to facilitate the Burger King build next to the Armories? Did we tell him to raise our water rates by over 100 percent? Please feel free to add more of such questions to the list. Maybe I and others are not included in your definition of “we”. If that’s the case then please tell us who “we” are. Maybe we will consider “we” during the next election.
As for your hate for “unibloggers” your rationalle is just as singular. How do you rationalize the Windsor Star’s brown fleeced tongue when it comes to this mayor? Don’t you think that someone has to stand up against that? Perhaps you think that the Star’s feed bag approach to news plays harmonious with “the cues” that our polititians take from us.
Since you brought up statistical impossibilities lets hear your list of achievements for this mayor. Your qualification would be very relevant to this thread.
Did we tell him to spend our money on the airport studies?
Pretty sure he has a mandate to do that
Did we tell him to put up an arena on Lauzon Road?
Actually the arena was an election issue and all councillors including the mayor got re elected supporting it. So yeah, we kinda did
Did we tell him to facilitate the Burger King build next to the Armories?
I opposed the Burger King, even with its mitigated site plan with planning but the city had planned a 30 million holding area for the tunnel. The money the feds put aside for that ended up getting spent on the 401 outside of Windsor because of Windsor’s indecision on the issue. Kinda a sore point for me.
Did we tell him to raise our water rates by over 100 percent?
Where was the money gonna come from?
I’m assuming the crime your accusing the Windsor Star of is undeservedly builiding up a politician.
I think its an offense but far less of an offense than ripping someone down.
I like to think I try to stand for the truth, and lying to tear someone down just to balance them being built up gets filed in the two wrongs don’t make a right.
Since you brought up statistical impossibilities lets hear your list of achievements for this mayor. Your qualification would be very relevant to this thread.
That frustrates me because I always come off looking like a booster or defender. But, sure I’ll fall for it one more time
I think the downtown bus station is a success
I think the Arena is a success
I think the Canal feasibility study being privately funded told us a lot for no cost
I think the Mayor single handedly saved and scooped Red Bull
I think the mayor played Cupe’s like a fiddle so that he could get the public mandate to contract out their jobs (you might call that a negative but he accomplished what he set out to)
I think the Mayor helped get a better DRIC road than they would have offered
WHAT DONT I LIKE
I think the entire Capital fiasco could have been resolved
I think they shouldn’t have traded the prime acre of CIty Center West Lands without a plan for the area, its basically an unknown cost now because we don’t know what it would have brought if we didn’t trade it away
I think 4 Community Improvement Plans shouldn’t have been started and shelved when that money could have been used to fully implement one or two
I think we have crappy site plan controls and are beholden to some developers who won’t live anywhere near the crap they want to build.
I think that our provincially mandated residential intenstification plan for the core is a joke
I dunno, where does that put me, I lost score
Oh, I forgot the downtowh College campus and a valiant but failed effort to get the University downtown. was also a plus for the mayor
BTW, no one who lived downtown would have wanted an arena with blank walls on the street that would have likely looked like Joe Louis/Cobo surrounded by massive surface parking lots.
Those blank walls and parking lagoons can stay in the East side. The only way an arena would work downtown is if we designed it right and built a MASSIVELY subsidized parking Garage which we weren’t planning to do.
DOWNTOWN ARENA makes for some good sloganeering but I’d put it on the shelf next to the tooth fairy, santa clause and the easter bunny
You are out there now Mark. The proof will be in the pudding.
Where to begin?
The mayor has NO mandate for a cargo hub study. If the choice is between funding daycare another year or the studies, I’ll choose paying local workers who’ll spend that money back into the community.
The arena is just another example of shady schemes that are the emphasis of this mayor’s administration. A $71 million sole-sourced design and build? I mean, come on. That’s a no brainer. We’ll see what the audit says.
Private study of the canal feasibility was good. But it did not tell us anything we couldn’t have predicted before hand. More attempts to shore up the mayor’s plan.
Red Bull is nothing but tax dollars. Dwight’s estimate of revenue is completely wrong. How he figures a weekend of activities can out draw an entire NCAA basketball tournament makes me shake my head in disbelief. Red Bull is, at best, a band aid on a gaping wound.
Again, if you think outsourcing well paying jobs for minimum wage jobs is good for the business owners in this city then you should immediately resign from the DWBIA and check yourself into the 3rd floor at Prince Road Campus. The motivation is revenge andis nothing than a political measure that will hurt the city in the long run. And let’s not forget what Lewenza and Marra brought forward regarding the hardliner’s deal costing more had they just maintained the status quo. And those costs will remain with the city forever and will be multiplied each bargaining session. Great work Eddie.
Yes, the DRIC going forward is a better design than they were offering, but the cost involved with the fight off-sets the benefits. And it is time to stop the fighting and posturing, and get on with it.
I’d also direct you to Chris Schnurr’s article today. A downtown arena would have put 5,000 people into the downtown, and on Thursday nights. You don’t know what the design would have been. It is disengenuous to keep saying it would have been a grey box. Parking could have been built upward instead of in a lagoon of asphault, as you put it. There are many designs available, including the one sitting in the planning office that was paid for at great cost and discarded for what we got on the east side.
Your listing above does not make you look like a supporter of the mayor, but the choices you make of what to support places a very large question mark above your head.
Please fee free to respond.
LOS, I direct you to this post
http://www.scaledown.ca/2009/12/21/downtown-arena-top-ten-realities/
As we see an arena has a dearth of event nights so that means we woudl have built a parking garage for a place that only had 50 event nights per year. that means that parking garage would have been empty the other 300 nights.
The only way to not have blank walls on the street level would be to double the cost by putting streetlevel features.
I told you, I agreed with many of your posts. I don’t agree with the strike plan, I’m just saying that the mayor succeeded in what HE was trying to do. Stop shooting the messenger.
BTW LOS and M.O.M. is there anything that the mayor has done that is a success in your eyes?
Please feel free to respond
Mark, I’m not going to redesign the downtown arena. My vision of what it could have looked like could be just as unlikely as what you describe. Suffice it to say that street level amenities had to have been part of the design, but more importantly, built with PRIVATE money. There is no reason the city should be in the landlord business regardless what the previous model was with The Barn. There were alternatives to what we got, but they didn’t involve the mayor’s plans with his friend.
Secondly, by saying,
“I don’t agree with the strike plan, I’m just saying that the mayor succeeded in what HE was trying to do,”
is a ridiculous statement. You rated the mayor’s bad plan as a success. It would seem to me that a bad plan is a bad plan regardless of how successfully he carried it out. By your same reasoning Hitler was a success. That’s the type of promotion of the mayor that you do that others take exception with, especially when you say you’re not promoting the mayor.
The successes of the city all have one thing in common; that they were successful despite the mayor, and not because of him. The Film Festival, the Air Show, the Dragon Boat Races, the bike race on Erie. Those are but a sliver of all the successes have had, but they are all private initiatives with little, if any, city input beyond the cursory permitting.
The one thing the mayor did achieve was forcing DRIC to adopt some of the design features of GreenLink. That was a good idea carried out poorly and at too much cost. Furthermore, it’s time to drop the GreenLink guise and to endorse the new DRIC plan and to stop playing games. But no, not this mayor, that would look like he failed when little does he realize, he has failed in this area.
Bitch Bitch Bitch….Boscariol, I’m sure your intention with Scaledown was NOT to offer a vehicle for everybody with an issue of doubt to pour their hearts out about how poorly ‘everybody else” is doing their job? Unless somebody has an answer, a solution, insight or a new direction its simply negative babble….we can point all day to the bad points of Windsor and its administration but i have yet to see “real solutions” being offered.
To use your Austin pschye:
“windsorites think this is the shittiest place on the planet….therefore it is”
Where are we going??….lets grab something good out of this and build forward!
If you don’t like the Mayor then lets get some real candidates out there…sounds like alot of these bloggers can identify the issues…lets here the solutions…..?
Secondly….i wouldn’t just assume that because the downtown arena sight is dubbed the “downtown arena sight”…that its the best downtown location….the idea of a “downtown” arena isn’t dead yet either.
I agree, in fact that leads to another accomplishment if the mayor
I thought his “let’s change the conversation” speach was Brilliant ( that’s brilliant with a capital B”
Blogs typically draw cranks and iI have a predeliction fir calling them out on their BS when their statements don’t jive with reality. It seems that nothing pisses ‘em off more than getting called out.
Even the uniblogger seems to always blog a defense or fan mail after he gets called out showing his insecurity
it’s a catch 22 the public needs to see the bs called out. If i stop the comments then I fear becoming like the uniblogger.
HA…
fair enough
Woods, You bring up a good point why more people are not bringing forward plans and ideas instead of just “bitching” about things. Of course I can only speak for myself in this regard, but I have watched the mayor for many years now, I have seen him and his ways and his methods, and I simply do not trust him. I have seen him take credit for other’s ideas, in fact he has said that about himself, speeling the glory (such as it is).
No, I prefer to put my ideas forward through the candidates I am backing for council. I will undertake a cooperative discussion with many people’s inputs to arrive at workable, respectable, and cost-effective solutions to our situation.
The mayor has done one thing well…he has provided many of us with the example of how not to run a city, how to not work with others, how to be aloof and demeaning. If that sounds like bitching to you, then so be it. I’m over it.
If you take some time and read through the many posts I have made on this site, you’ll notice that I have floated ideas. It’s sad though that a person like the mayor dissuades more people from coming forward with plans. How many CIP’s did Mark mention, 4?, that have been ignored by the mayor. Largely because they weren’t his ideas, I would guess.
Not Invented Here? Not Happening Here.
just a nit pick correction, there was over 5 CIP’s, just thought that 4 should have waited until the first 1 or 2 were fully implemented
LOS, leaving out your mayor comments, I commend you for doing more to be the change you want to see. Who are your candidates? There’s very few wards with candidates registered.
You make it too personal, freindly warning that your candidates will fail if they do.
My candidates haven’t dropped the papers yet so I will leave their announcements for them to make.
And I do take note of your mention of the issues becoming personal. I do allow myself to become more personally involved than I should but it is difficult to tone myself down. I am the only one responsible for my actions, but I do meet the mayor’s penchant for personalizing issues with upping the ante myself. It’s not the mayor’s fault that I do that.
i’m just adding a comment because i want to see this feed go on and on. it might be setting a record for number of comments on one post. kudos to everyone for giving a shit. at least this isn’t a long thread about who’s gonna win the NCAA tournament.
Kansas over West Virginia.
Wait, that’s not what the topic was about…
rino…
We’re not there yet son. Caroline Postma’s blog holds the recent record for comments with 61. We’ll no doubt tip that as we draw more out into the open.
So Mark…The pudding is out now and I think we all have to agree here that there is a huge split over how this Mayor is interpreted. I’m sure there isn’t a whole lot of surprise in that for any of us. This is going to be a very interesting election.
You asked: “BTW LOS and M.O.M. is there anything that the mayor has done that is a success in your eyes?”
Outside of the normal functions and responsibilities required by the position only one that I can think of. I give him credit for putting pants on the first Red Bull procurement. I posted about it here:
http://themayorofmonmouth.blogspot.com/2009/02/mayor-gets-credit-for-red-bull-flyer.html
Only that one because Spanky and his gang latched onto the stump during the awards ceremony of that first event and they have been running with it ever since. Their motive for spending the amount of money on the successive events seems very suspect though.
I have always given this mayor credit for being an able speaker but his brand of altruism rubs the wrong way. I have to concur with others here.
Looks like there is no eye to eye here Mark and I would suggest that is a good marker for how the election is going to look.
So you like the “let’s change the conversation” speach. It was already done in Windsor back in the early 1980’s as a part of Marty Goldberg’s election platform. The catch phrase was the same. Text was somewhat different albeit very similar in its intent. Your’s truly smoked an IBM Selectric on that one. That was back in similar days of another scary recession when interest rates rose to a high of 20% and home keys were being tossed at banks like wedding confetti. Another catch phrase of the day was “Buy the cars your neighbours helped to build”. Yeah…I don’t hold that speech in the same regard as you.
My take on this election is that the unions (plural) will rally for the required corrections. They may have been beaten up technically but their strength is in numbers and there are a few of them in Windsor. If this hypotheses hold out our current politicians (including the mayor) have kicked wide.
Being the blog tie matching post I relish the status of who follows
Of course there is no Eye to eye. Its a real shame that the election will be looked through the singular prism of pro or anti CUPE
I think you take on CUPE’s following is pretty out there.
My prediction Anyone running on a Pro Union Candidate will be pretty much wiped out.
The unfortunate consequence is that the votes they draw will likely take away from a candidate with more depth who might have a good chance of unseating an incumbent.
Which leads to the other consequence: Anyone winning on a singularly anti union platform probably won’t be good for sustainability, proper planning principles, local independent businesses and artists
My take is not on CUPE at all…and it is not about anyone who runs on a pro-union ticket. That won’t happen for obvious reasons. We have to look at who the electorate is NOT going to vote for. Do you think they are going to vote for anyone who has just beaten them with a stick? Do you think that when the final hours arrive that the other unions (the Windsor Collective if you will) aren’t going to have some say in this? Do you think that the events of last summer are not singed into their frontal lobes? The big gamble here is going to be if enough card holders can be swayed to the corporate perspective or towards the rest of the herd where strength is in numbers. You can bet that the majority of Windsorites are not kinky enough to go for two rounds of painful bondage. The candidate who plays that hand right is likely going to own the game. And whos to say that candidate won’t have depth? If your premis is correct Mark:
“they mainly take their cues for opportunities from what we tell them.”
then all bases will be covered (”sustainability, planning priciples, local independant businesses and artists”) to name a few. If the unions blow this one then we will all know that Windsor has reached a major tipping point.
Well M.O.M. with 62 posts (beating the previous winner Council Postma’s 61) you are the WINNER of the first Blogger comment challenge.
I will contact you about your prize when I return this Monday. (It involves a corporate sponsor who we can’t name do to the non commercialization of this blog) Not a big prize but it deservedly goes to you.
Don’t count the union out prematurely. There’s been a vocal anti-union attitude lately, but the CAW still has one of the most powerful political machines in the city.
This is what I’ve been saying Chris. I also do not put a lot of weight on the Windsor Star feedback. All of this comes from a pretty well defined, but small group of commenters. Not representative of the whole for sure. Windsor hasn’t changed its colours and probably won’t for a long time. I am also starting to toss the idea about that anyone who might run on a union ticket just might win big time as long as he/she sticks to the voters core values.
M.O.M.
I’m with you on this. I think the anti-union campaign being rammed down Windsorites’ throats by the Star’s editorial board is going to blow-up in some candidates’ faces. Unions have the experience and the ability to get their members out and active in politics at all levels.
Many of the current councilors have painted themselves into an anti-union corner that they will not be able to get out of. There were a number of comments to stories in the Star during the college faculty negotiations calling out Fulvio and Brister (Brister’s wife works at the college but, she is not part of the bargaining unit that was in negotiation) for hypocrisy after the ugly public sector strike last year. Those comments were interesting to me as they demonstrated the voters’ long memories.
This could be a very interesting election season.
One of the interesting trend found in Oshawa was that voters who were former union members that lost their jobs ended up mainly voting conservative. thats how they explained the fact that a strong union town like Oshawa could go Conservative. I chalk it up to the “I lost these privileges and benefits so why should anyone else have them” factor. Again, Im not justifying or agreeing with this argument, just being the rare individual honest enough to voice them. (Ouch, being the messenger hurts)
I’ll put your existing union members up against bitter former union members and frugal seniors any day. Tipping point came and went.
I will concede to you Mark. You’re ahead of the curve on this. Hopefully the slope down won’t be a precipice.
Anyone know if they make a device for blog posting on your computer that functions similarly to a car breathalyzer ignition interlock?
P.S. hope you all had a happy st. patty’s day too