Voting Apparatus for W.U.C. Rate Hike

Local blog coverage of City Council's handling of the Windsor Utility Commission's possibly fraudulent rate hike has been excellent. Better and more in-depth than the Windsor Star offerings which were shallow and not well researched (this includes Gord Hendersons column). If you want to gain a good perspective on what the fiasco is all about and perhaps join a forum to sound off yourself please read these excellent blog posts by Chris Schnurr, Ed Arditti and Paul Synnott:

http://chrisschnurr.wordpress.com/

http://windsormunicipal.blogspot.com/

http://windsorcityon.blogspot.com/2007/07/council-wussed-out.html

http://chrisschnurr.wordpress.com/2007/07/31/out-of-sight-out-of-mind-water-main-problem-known-in-1994-and-again-in-2002/

These writers burned the midnight oil last evening to make sure we could get the coverage a.s.a.p. They not only beat the Windsor Star to the draw; they did it with respect for their readers intelligence. So now that you have read the articles from the above links maybe you would like to give em hell as well.

Ah yes...Back to the voting apparatus. In a perfect world it would work like this: You can either vote to accept the water rate hike or you can vote to flush it away. This voting machine is actually quite accurate at measuring voter satisfaction. It actually measures it in gallons. No recounts, no hanging chads (errr).

If you are OK with councils decision to put the infrastructure charges on your back don't flush. If you are mad as heck and want council to address it another way then press the handle to flush three times. Less water in the system means that we are OK with paying (or apathetic as usual) and more water in the system means we are steaming mad and want to send a loud and crystal clear message to our political servants. Oh yeah... We all have to vote simultaneously. For example on a weekend day like this Sunday at 12 noon. Imagine 1.5 million gallons of water from 100,000 households pulsing through Windsors rotting, neglected 100 year old infrastructure.

In a perfect world every blogger would put the word out to their readership and every citizen would e-mail the word out to all of his/her contacts and ask them to do the same. In that perfect world we could all flush for what is right and then lie with our ears to the ground and listen to the gushing sound of democracy.

Thanks to the local blogosphere for putting some serious wheels on this thing. Please stay informed with more thorough and extensive coverage from these same contributors. All of their postings are covered to the left under Nooozbitz. Watch for them on their own blogs and on WeSpeak. Their research into the matter provides needed background and reasoning for ordering up a third party audit into the operations of the W.U.C. We need an answer to the question: What has the W.U.C. been doing with our tax money for the last 40 years? We don't need anymore whiteboard doodles. We need the truth.

NEW TODAY

AUGUST 3rd, 2007:

Internal WUC "Agenda Submission" item dated May 7, 2007 submitted by Victoria Zuber to the Chair and Comissioners of Windsor Utilities.

So funds were diverted!

Read the rest here:

http://chrisschnurr.wordpress.com/2007/08/03/breaking-news-the-wuc-agenda-submission-and-is-city-facing-danger/

THE FLUSH IS ON!

Throw your vote in the toilet next Tuesday between 12 Noon and 1PM.

Let's flush out this infrastructure mess.

Press:

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=179a6f74-e257-4664-b2cf-b9e5abb8ceea&k=20733

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/managing/strategy/article.jsp?content=20071001_198718_198718

http://www.atv.ca/windsor/news_46363.aspx

GEM DEVELOPMENT AREA NEEDS VISIONARIES

If ever there was a real estate venture with tons of profit opportunities Drouillard Road is it. To prove that point, all one has to do is drive up the street and pay attention. Pay attention to detail. Architectural details, infrastructure, the lay of the land, parking availability and location. This tired commercial corridor has been looking for the right lift for a long time. With the Ford Foundry ramping into oblivion there is yet another dynamic to affect change.

In recent years the city of Windsor has provided a fresh new street with beautiful lamp standards, sitting areas, trash receptacles, nice trees and colourful planters. There is lots of parking and even a nice park. The shop fronts are a bit tired and dated in appearance but a little planning and TLC could make them sparkle in no time. Many of the historical buildings which dot the street can be brought back into play. And let’s not forget Drouillard’s historical murals. All of the trappings for a hot commercial area are already in place.

Murals, statuary, trees, flowers and sitting areas

A variety of buildings and shops

A variety of buildings with lots of parking

The building on the left is currently for sale for $180,000.00

The location is textbook as well. The street reaches from Riverside Drive clean through to Tecumseh Road with feeders like Wyandotte, Seminole, Tecumseh Road and a few in between. Proper development of Drouillard could easily service Old Walkerville, Wards three and four as well as any other takers from in and around Windsor.

What’s that noise? Ahhh yes…The naysayers. “What Drouillard Road? Are you nuts? The place is a slum! It’ll never happen. Don’t waste your time and money. You’ll never get it back”. In 1984 we heard the same sounds about Monmouth Road. Everyone who bought into the street at that time got a steady ear banging from friends and relatives who could only see the street as a bad, bad place. The vision and potential was clear to those nervy enough to venture in at the time. Since then the home values on the street have risen to eight times the original value and there is no shortage of people who want to buy in today. Drouillard Road is the same story waiting to happen but only on a much grander scale. Real estate values on the street are just right for visionaries who can invest a little cash and sweat equity.

So what is the recipe for all of this? The first thing required is dialogue between business people of various kinds. Retailers, bakers, barbers, restaurateurs, banks, artists, designers, whoever has the guts and wherewithal to want in. An action plan should be established which ensures that the street will get repopulated and revitalized in a timely manner. This might even be a good game for all of the big boys and girls out there, business people who can afford to drop some legacy money into a very cool development. Once a solid core of businesses open more will follow. And when the shops, restaurants, night clubs, banks and retail stores et al are there the urbanites will surely come.
Looking for all takers. Do the drive by. Who wants to make some history?

HABITAT HOMES LIKE FEMA TRAILERS

New Habitat for Humanity Homes on St. Luke near Seminole

Fema Trailers awaiting assignment in New Orleans

Not to knock the global efforts of a truly great organization but the latest Habitat for Humanity build in Windsor looks very questionable. Unlike previous builds these homes are starkley minimalist and don't seem to even fit the agenda of Habitat. That is, "to eliminate poverty housing".

Habitat is famous for providing simple, decent and affordable housing but these ones seem to miss the mark on "decent". It is questionable if equity could ever rise in such a home. Who, in five, ten or twenty years would seek to purchase such a home? What kind of residents are likely going to be attracted to it? Even war time homes which were purposefully built after WWII are more dignified. As a long-term solution it is difficult to fathom that these homes will contribute to breaking the poverty cycle. In fact, they may do just the opposite. Imagine a whole sub-division of such buildings. The only images which come to mind are tent city and internment camp. If this is an experiment in eco-minimalism it seems dangerously out of context. Habitat's local Board and Advisory Council must keep in mind that Skinners Box was a dismal failure.