Have a Very Roady Holiday Season

Happy Holidays Everyone!

See you in the New Year.

Have Extreme fun.

Windsor Politicos Issue Chickens for Every Pot

Back in late summer when Windsor was in the throws of our undoubted, unnecessary 101 day civic strike, Mayor Eddie Francis methodically stumped that he was going to reimburse Windsorites for their time, trouble and municipal services not rendered.


At the time, the Mayor's newsbit was embraced with the dullest of enthusiasm. Windsorites interviewed by the Windsor Star used descriptives such as "political gambit", "gimmick", and "unimpressive". Councillor Halberstadt came out and said: "Yeah, I think it was a political grandstand". But Mayor Francis and his council "made it so" despite criticism that the cost to implement the initiative was prohibitive and wasteful. Commenters to the Windsor Star and other news sources such as blogs expressed that the money would better serve if it was applied against our tax base or even given up to the local arts. No such constructive advice was taken into consideration. The "best mayor in Ontario" along with "Windsor's pro business council" and "fast and responsive administrators" were hell bent on dumping a chicken into every pot.


And so we come to today. Two weeks before the start of Windsor's election season, the cheques are starting to arrive. Seventy two dollars each to every property owning Windsorite. 77,000 of us in total. All of which extends out to the questionable $5.6 million in savings that our city fathers reported as booty from the strike.


The task to issue the cheques was massive and the logistics for issuing them were reputed to be fraught with complication. The Windsor Star reported that the Scotia Bank was hired to do the mailing portion of the project at a cost of $100,000. Word is starting to trickle down that the total project cost is much higher. $500,000.00 for the entire project.

One might ask where all of that money is coming from? You have to know that every municipal department that had a hand in the project will be padding next years budget to make up for the loss. So dear Windsorites...When you sign over your municipal cheque for seventy two dollars to your bank, Applebee's or wherever you know why that chicken in your pot seems a bit odd. If only because it is a $500,000.00 turkey.

EAT YOUR HEART OUT LONDON ONTARIO

Windsor's Mayor Eddie Francis has a new friend and they are pretty serious. We learned that from the Windsor Star's own Gord Henderson. Read his column here:

http://www.windsorstar.com/travel/London+developer+eyes+downtown+core/2307094/story.html

Gord Henderson wrote with all the throb of a steamy harlequin romance novel. His leading man is the "larger-than-life London developer Schmuel Farhi" who met our vulnerable young mayor Eddie Francis at a wedding. A "larger than life developer"? That IS big. It makes Mikhail Holdings and Madycorp look like chopped liver.

Eddie and Schmuel started wooing each other immediately and in the blink of an eye they were shacking up in Windsor. And what good things were born from this tight union? In no time at all the City of Windsor transacted a land swap deal on Lauzon Road which gave us our new arena and Schmuel took back a sizeable chunk of the downtown western anchor in exchange.

Just like his new better half "he believes the proposed canal, which would run right by his property at Bruce and Pitt, would create an immediate tourist attraction and make Windsor more attractive for those considering retiring here". Hmmm...All that water must be good for reheumatism.

Schmuel is so smitten he yelped to Mr. Henderson that "Windsor benefits from having the best mayor in Ontario, a pro business council and fast and responsive administrators".
Wow! Sweet nuthins like that are bound to attract a nine iron from his better half London Ontario. Farhi "cackled" that his relationship with Eddie Francis is stronger than the turmoil in the Middle East.

Alas, Gord Henderson wrote that the relationship between Schmuel Farhi and Eddie Francis is deep and cerebral. "What they have in common is "brains and gumption. More than most of us possess." How touching after all.


Wooof! It sounds like Gord got his own spectacles all steamed up. Thats OK though. Windsorites are pretty metro about such things. We don't even have an issue if the Gordo wants to watch. After all...What are friends for?

Related stuff to read:

http://www.altlondon.org/article.php?story=20061227162004557

http://www.ul.london.on.ca/urbanweb/News/News2006/curtain_falls_on_capitol_theatre.htm

http://www.fhc.ca/NewsStories/Swap/Swap.asp

http://cgi.wn.com/?template=hellobeirut/index.txt&action=search&first=0&mode=bool&sortby=Date_Newest&SearchString=topic:beirut or topic:lebanon1 Open site and search for "Eddie Francis".

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2009/12/04/windsor-lawyer-apology.html