More News Stories For My Readers

This cold weather that we are experiencing these days is not all that helpful for what I like to do. 

As you know, dear reader, I like to go out several times a day for a nice stroll to make myself feel better. Or, at least that is what I have done so many times over so many months recently. Unfortunately, that is not what I have been doing for the past little while. In fact, I have not even gone outside at all to go for walk. It is just too cold for me to do so. 

I do exercising now inside the house on our elliptical trainer.  I will usually do it once or twice a day. Obviously, I do this much more in the winter months than I have done in the spring, summer and early autumn. During that time of the year, my walking outside, sometimes for a long period of time, is the exercising that I do. It is because the temperature is so cold now that I do the exercising inside.  I really have no other choice. 

It is quite interesting for me to go to the basement and to go on our exercise machine to do the exercise work now. In all honesty, the amount of time I spend on the trainer is a lot less than the time I spend walking outside. I just get so much more tired doing the tough work inside.  To be honest, while I have to do it, it is just not as much fun as walking outside. 

On the machine that I have, there are all kinds of different exercise programs that I could possibly undertake. Unfortunately, I don't do any of them. All I do right now is the basic program that I assume everyone does when they first start out on the machine. I just find I get so tired so quickly on this basic model that I have no idea how well I would do on the other ones if I had the courage to try them out. 

No problem though. It does help me out quite a bit. It helps keep my weight down and burn off any excess weight that I have. That is the purpose of buying this piece of electrical equipment and then using it to exercise in this terrible cold weather in winter. 

Here's something else that I do rather than going outside. Publishing some stories about interesting events that I saw recently in our media. Here are some of them. 

FLOODING IN TECUMSEH 

As you may recall, dear reader, and as I know quite well because I live here, the Town of Tecumseh suffered rather badly with terrible rainstorms this year and last year that gave rise to widespread flooding that impacted many homes in our area. 

Last year, as an example, for the first time that I have ever experienced in my life, my condo house had flooding in the basement that resulted in my insurance company sending in people to fix up the mess that was caused.  Fortunately for me, most of the loss was paid for. This year, we again had some flooding after the rainstorms with only a bit of water in the basement. We again called the Insurer. A representative came to our condo but fortunately not much damage was done so there was no insurance claim that we had to file. 

I saw this in the Windsor Star in an article by Julie Kotsis on November 22, 2017 

"Capital projects include road rehabilitation work, bridge repair and other infrastructure improvements. 

“One of the big ones is we continue to upgrade our storm sewer and sanitary sewer project,” McNamara said. “We’ll be spending some capital dollars but also grants from the provincial and federal governments." 

It would be interesting for me to know exactly how much money was spent before, what was achieved and what the results would be if this new sum was spent because I am quite worried that we might see some more horrible storms next summer. It really doesn't seem that a lot of money is being spent on ensuring that we never have another flood again.  

But who knows. The last thing that I want is more damage especially after the problems we had for 2 years now in our condo. I think I might do a bit of research on this subject and do another note on it shortly if I find out anything interesting. 

IMPROVING DOWNTOWN WINDSOR 

I just read the Anne Jarvis story in the Windsor Star and appreciated it. (Anne Jarvis,Windsor Star, November 22, 2017) 

I just remember how exciting downtown Windsor was for so many years, especially after moving to this City for my new job so many years ago. However, unfortunately, the City experienced several times terrible economic problems that resulted in the last few years with many businesses closing down and the sites not reopening. 

Anne's column was quite exciting about what may be starting out in Windsor downtown finally soon. There is a three-story apartment building that is supposed to be built, a new building might be set up with up to 5 floors of commercial and residential units and then another building is supposed to be upgraded by spending “multimillions” restoring it for commercial or office space, high-end lofts and student apartments." 

Perhaps Windsor finally has the money that it can spend to improve itself. I am sure that you recall, dear reader, how many millions have been spent by the City of Windsor on so many huge projects in the past.  If taxpayer money is finally available for other purposes, then perhaps we can see some of it being used to help Windsor Downtown revitalize. Perhaps also, many others will see the Windsor downtown growing and decide to invest there as well.

Just to give you my point of view from an ex-resident of the City, I do hope that Windsorites will be serious about the need for improvements in the City to help it grow. After all, the automotive industry hopefully will be active for a number of years now and we can see other businesses growing. That means that the City can be economic again and encourage people to move and then work here.   

What all this means to me though is that the City needs new politicians to assume the political power to help achieve this goal. I truly cannot believe that the members on this Local Government can do much to help the City prosper again. I am hoping that the election in 2018 will result in good people being successful by being elected and that they will be able to make Windsor prosperous again. 

Moreover, I am hopeful that these people also will be prepared to work with politicians in the County because I believe we will see an "Amalgamated" City of Windsor and the Local towns arise as a "Metropolitan unit" with that process starting immediately after the next municipal election.

A Lot More To Write About

Is it ever cold these days! I know technically that it is winter but seriously, it is only the early part of November. Should we really be setting records for cold weather as was done recently! 

This kind of weather is scary as far as I am concerned. I wonder if it means that the reality is extremely harsh weather as winter continues. Will it be so much colder in the months that follow with lots of snow as well? I don't know but what it does mean for me, at least, is that I will be remaining inside and will do lots of exercising here to keep my health up. I have a very nice elliptical trainer in the basement that I will be using as much as possible.  It is a piece of equipment that I am told is really good for the needs of a person like me so I will be using it to stay well. 

Naturally of course I will have more time to write articles on my website to help pass the time. So let me start by writing about some matters that I saw recently that I trust will be of interest to you as well. 

IS THIS HOW TO HELP STUDENTS 

I just saw some comments from Deb Matthews, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development that I found rather troubling. 

I have to admit that I am not particularly pro-union. However, I can hardly state that I am particularly pro-management either.  Oh sure, I understand how important unions have been in the past and what they have accomplished. I also know how much they achieve today. Just the same, I understand how much management has been able to achieve for their businesses and the people who work for them.

To be direct about what I am saying, I really have never been very much in favour of "labour relations" and all of the difficulties that I have seen between management and labour for so long. There have been very many horrific fights between the two sides for so many years and they are still around. 

I am sure that you know, dear reader, that St. Clair College and other Colleges in Ontario are in the midst of strikes for about 5 weeks which means that classes have been cancelled. As far as I am concerned, that is catastrophic for the students who may have lost, by the time this is over, a good part of their education career.  That means that their lives have suffered because it means that they will be unable to apply for a job which many of them desperately need as soon as possible. They may have to delay it for a number of months which will postpone their graduation time and the time when they can start working. 

So why am I talking about the Minister? Here is what I saw in her "Statement Regarding the College Strike and Support for Students" published on November 10, 2017. Support? For students? Really? You tell me what you think. Here is what the Statement said: 

"Since the strike began, I have been clear that my focus is on students and their learning. I have had the opportunity to meet with a number of student leaders and their provincial associations. I have heard from them about hardships students are experiencing as a result of this strike. Students have been in the middle of this strike for too long and it's just not fair." 

Wow, did it ever start off well! So why should I be concerned about the Minister? Read on, dear reader, about what the Minister is doing: 

"That is why I am requiring that colleges establish a dedicated fund with all the savings from the strike. The fund will be used to support students who have experienced financial hardships as a result of the strike…  

So, in the coming days, I look forward to working directly with student leaders and colleges on how we can lessen the impact of the strike on students." 

Huh, the strike is allowed to continue! Nothing there about how to end the strike? Nothing suggesting that this strike is hurting the students' future and something needs to be done right away to help get the students back into school? What kind of nonsense is this! 

I honestly do not understand why the Government is acting the way it is. Gee, how can anyone be angry considering how nice the Minister is to the students. Come on, one knows that certain Government organizations are not allowed to strike because of the importance of their work. The police department is a prime examples. How can this be allowed to happen in the education world! 

Why are teachers allowed to go on strike thereby negatively impacting their students? Why are the Colleges not forced to sit down and resolve their differences with their employees so that students will not be suffering? Why are both sides not treated like other Government officials and prevented from going on strike but forced to resolve their differences through binding arbitration if required? 

I am sorry, dear reader. That may not be your position but it certainly is mine. The parties have been unable to resolve their differences for so long and who knows how much longer it will take to achieve it. 

I don't really care what the differences are between the parties. All I know is that so many students' lives are being hurt by this. As far as I am concerned, that is completely unacceptable. 

I am so disappointed that what the Minister set out in her statement is so insignificant that it is disgraceful.  It is time that she delivered an ultimatum to both sides to resolve their differences. Or else! 

Moreover, in my opinion, the Government ought to consider changing how Unions and Management act when there are labour differences. In other words, do we really still need a striking system? 

HOW OUR LOCAL MP IS ACTING 

Wow, is MP Brian Masse really working hard to get such important information. It might even provide him with some other assistance as well: 

"Brian Masse is planning to knock on doors in Sandwich Towne to hear first-hand from residents about how new border crossings could impact their community.  

The NDP MP has launched his campaign because "international truck traffic has had a devastating impact one of Canada's most historic neighbourhood," according to a media release." (CBC News, November 10,2017) 

He is going to have a rally on November 18: 

"I want to make sure that we collectively do everything we can to secure a bright future for everyone." 

Now isn't that lovely of him? Mind you, I think that this probably gives him some work to do because he did not seem to know very much about what was happening recently with respect to the Ambassador Bridge: 

"The NDP member for Windsor-West — where the bridge is located — said he is among those in the dark as to why the twin-span project was approved after more than a decade of planning, meetings and preparation for the government-backed Gordie Howe International Bridge." (DaveBattagello, Windsor Star, September 8, 2017)

What will the MP really accomplish? Who knows because it does depend after all on how many doors he knocks. Presumably, it will get lots of publicity coverage about what he does even if he accomplishes little. After all, when he does knock on doors, he might hope that people will remember him when he runs one day soon to be re-elected.

It's Cold Out Already

Oh I know it is not winter yet but it certainly feels cold out as far as I'm concerned. Days of clouds don't make this weather any better right now.  I have seen some nice rains coming down to making my Condo residence horribly wet. At least, I don't have to watch our Condo-retained snow removal company removing drifts of snow. So far anyway.

I have to admit that I check out the weather probably too much. But I like doing so. It is so interesting to go to some of the weather sites and watch their service suggest how the clouds are going to form over the next few hours and what their prediction on the weather is. I have to say though that I'm not sure how "accurate" they are in their predictions these days. Lots of times I've seen the weather company predict that rain will start at a certain time and it does not. In fact, on occasion, I have not seen any rain at all.

No problem though. I'll keep following what the weather forecasters are predicting and plan what I shall do, and also what I will recommend that my family should do as well. However, I will not say a lot to my wife and kids as I have agreed. They don't need to listen to so much nonsense concerning the weather from me.

One thing certainly that I know what will happen when I see all of these clouds and remember that the weather forecasters are predicting a miserable day is that I have the opportunity to write some articles for my readers. Here are some now.

THE BORDER AGAIN

I know that I am not supposed to write very much about the border file anymore and that I won't unless I have a really good reason to do so. Well, I'm going to write a very short one now. I know that you will understand what my "really good reason" is after reading it.

Anne Jarvis wrote this column in the Windsor Star on November 1, 2017: "Ambassador Bridge wants to be connected to the parkway." There is no real need for me to talk very much about what is in her article.  Here is what Dan Stamper of the Ambassador Bridge Company stated:

"We’ve heard this is a road to nowhere,” Stamper said, referring to what people have said the road will be if the Gordie Howe isn’t built. “But that’s not true. We got a nine-kilometre improvement. We do appreciate that.”

That leaves a 4.5-km gap with 10 traffic lights between the parkway’s exit for Huron Church and the bridge.

“We would expect that one way or the other, that’s going to get fixed,” Stamper said. “It makes sense. There are plans, although nobody wants to talk about it, for how to connect the Herb Gray Parkway to us."

Come on. That was the plan more than a decade ago. I think it was always the intention of the Government to build a second Ambassador Bridge right beside the first one with a special, high-speed road that leads right to the new bridge. It was never the intention to have border traffic go to the new bridge going down Huron Church Road.

Of course you doubt me. What do I know, right? Well here is what I do know. Go do some research for yourself and see what happened in Sarnia when they built their second bridge. It is exactly what you are going to see here, dear reader. A new, second bridge built beside the existing bridge, not away from it!

Give me a break. Do you expect the Government of Canada to spend $4-5 billion to build a bridge a few miles away when the Bridge Company can spend another $500 million to build a new crossing between Windsor and Detroit now. Of course, before the Government can build a bridge, we could see at least a decade long lawsuit started by the Bridge Company probably in both Canada and United States preventing the Canadian Government from building it in the first place. I think the Bridge Company would win it as well.  I also believe that the Governments on both sides of the river also believe it or they would have built their bridge, or at least tried to, a long time ago.

I am sure that there is going to be a whole bunch of stories in the media over who knows how long that will discuss this matter. There might even be some new lawsuits too.

Ignore it all.

Just accept what I have said in this column about what is going to happen because it is really not all that different from what I have said in all of my columns previously for so long!

What the Governments need to do to get this moving quickly is to do a deal already over the building of the new bridge with the Ambassador Bridge Company that will give them shares in the Bridge Company. All that they have to do is pay the money needed to build this second bridge, a relatively small amount, and get a piece of the Company that owns and operates the two crossings.

It really is that easy.

UPDATE: 

In another article in the Windsor Star, Anne Jarvis makes it clear, as far as I am concerned, that it only makes sense to build a second Ambassador Bridge and to forget about the other one:

"Two new six-lane bridges between Windsor and Detroit that could cost $5 billion will be “highly underutilized,” predicts a border policy research institute.

Traffic on the Ambassador Bridge plunged 45 per cent between 2000 and 2016. Yet Canada and bridge owner Matty Moroun are each building new six-lane crossings, tripling capacity. Moroun’s new span, immediately west of the Ambassador, will replace it. The government’s, two kilometres downriver, is an additional one.

“From a straight-up traffic data standpoint, all indications point to them being highly underutilized,” said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University, near the Canada-U.S. border. “From just a capacity standpoint, it seems like a very strange use of funding.” (Anne Jarvis, Windsor Star, November 2, 2017)

Why waste any money for something so ridiculous! The reality is that only the second Ambassador Bridge will be built.

PHONE MEDICINE

An interesting comment but do you accept it, dear reader:

"Walk-in medical clinics where patients are seeing doctors by video have popped up recently in the Windsor area, leading the president of the local medical society to question why they’re coming here since the technology is largely designed to assist patients in underserved and remote locations, such as northern Ontario.

“I struggle to see what they are adding,” said Dr. Amit Bagga, who represents 460 physician members of the Essex County Medical Society. “Maybe 20 years ago, when we were underserviced, but that’s not the case any more. You have lots of physicians here of good quality…”

“There might be benefits in remote locations. But a place like Windsor you have enough quality physicians to take care of health needs,” he said." (Dave Battagello, Windsor Star, November 1, 2017) 

I have to admit that I was not exactly sure what this section of the medical system was all about. When I first read the Star story, I thought it had to do with patients who weren't feeling well seeing a doctor right away through a video system. I thought frankly that it referred to any doctor that a patient might want to see especially the equivalent of a "family doctor."  However, I don't think that is correct. I read this online at Ontario Telemedicine Network where it appears that people are dealing with specialists through the system. I assume that one must have one's own doctor locally who refers the person to a specialist through this system:

"Why should you talk to your doctor about OTN?

-to access a specialist from anywhere in Ontario in a timely manner.

-to receive care closer to your home.

-to reduce travel to appointments, saving time and money."

If that is so, I would not think that there should be much concern since there seems to be a very big backlog still in seeing specialists here because it takes so long to get into their offices.  Moreover, some of the illnesses are so severe in this region that specialists here need to refer people to more senior specialist doctors located in a small number of hospitals around the Province. If that is so, then I would think that OTN is helpful for the patients and does not jeopardize our local doctors.

WHO IS RUNNING FOR OFFICE

For the City of Windsor, here is what the newspaper article is talking about:

"With just under a year to go before the next municipal election, most city councillors are talking like they want to run again." (Brian Cross, Windsor Star, November 1, 2017) 

It will be interesting to see if anyone runs against some of these Councillors who are seeking re-election. In my opinion, if good candidates decide to run against any of them, I would expect to see quite an election campaign taking place. It would not surprise me at all to see a bunch of the Councillors lose. I know that I would have some difficulty in voting for a number of the Councillors in Windsor if they decided to run again. I have not been impressed with many of them at all.

With respect to the election for Mayor, I think I would be surprised to see Drew Dilkens running again. I just don't think his chances are good now anyway plus I also expect someone's brother to be out there running. Dilkens seems to be out there these days getting a lot of publicity that would help him for re-election but I wonder if it is for a nonelected-political job that he is seeking. As an example, if Bill Marra ran for Mayor, and I don't think he's going to do so based on what he said in that article, I think he could easily defeat Dilkens.

Have fun watching what happens out there in the City of Windsor, dear reader. For those of you who live in one of the smaller towns outside Windsor, as I do, follow the election in your area as well. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be some major issues that will involve the smaller towns in the next 4 years including amalgamation into one major city with the City of Windsor.