News Backgrounder

New community museum west of art gallery?

The site for the city’s much sought after new community museum appears to be on land west of the Art Gallery of Windsor in a budding new “cultural” district. The city has been debating for almost two decades about building the museum but the stars appear to be lining up on where the museum will go. The city is now focussing on getting its $77 million family aquatic centre built on the former Western Super Anchor site downtown, now occupied my parking lots across from the art gallery. But with the main branch of the Windsor Public Library moving into the art gallery building, another piece is in place to develop the community museum as part of the wider aquatic and cultural centre development.....Library CEO Barry Holmes says the main branch, now on Ouellette Ave., will move to the AGW in “phases” and “ultimately” a “full service” library will be there. He says under the library’s new organizational model – which emphasizes fewer traditional stacks and more emphasis on e-books and hi-tech learning – what will be required is 40,000 sq. ft., down from the main branch’s current 100,000 sq. ft. (40 per cent of which “isn’t used”).....AGW director Catherine Mastin says the AGW overall is 74,000 sq. ft. on more than three levels with about 20k on the first floor. “In principle” she says the library would move into the first floor though negotiations are ongoing. Holmes suggested the library would acquire space for future phases as a result of expansion of that building as part of the city’s new “cultural hub.” This would include the new community museum. “If you look at it that’s where this major kind of complex is going to be,” he said. “The art gallery is there, I suspect the museum is going to be down there, I think there will be announcements around that and there will be a build-out on that building, which will get us the rest of our square footage”.....Meanwhile Mary-Ann Cuderman, chair of the Olde Sandwich Town business association, also suggested the cultural hub is where the new community museum will be built. “I think what administration and particularly the mayor wants is to have that complex downtown to include a museum,” she said of the AGW – aquatic site. She said this in light of the fact the land would not be big enough to incorporate a “satellite” museum about her historic area and which would better be operated out of the former Windsor Jail on Brock St. A local neighbourhood group is investigating such a museum in light of the jail closing to make way for the new regional jail, under construction on the city’s east side.

Why is Ambassador Bridge privately owned?

That kind of question comes up often in any discussion – in the news media or in private conversation – about the contentious border crossing. Newspaper columnists plaintively ask it. The bridge’s legions of critics repeatedly raise the question. Heck, it probably comes up in dinner conversations. And it simply confounds bridge critics who, in utter frustration, ask: how in the world can a private business – let alone a billionaire businessman – operate the most heavily travelled border crossing between Canada and the United States? Well, according to a Wayne State University professor, it’s all very elementary. Law professor Robert Sedler has written extensively about the bridge’s legal position – and, yes, he has been commissioned by the bridge company to do so – and has an arm’s length list of legal facts to demonstrate why the bridge is in the hands of private enterprise. At a recent Wayne State forum on border issues the professor said private ownership of the bridge was created from the start when Canada and the United States granted a franchise in the 1920s to someone who would build the border crossing. Why? Simply because governments in that era didn’t want to shoulder the “enormous engineering problems” that such a suspension bridge would create. When completed in 1929 the Ambassador was the longest central span suspension bridge in the world, beating out New York’s George Washington Bridge by a couple of years. Of course it wasn’t the current day Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) that owned that franchise. The DIBC, whose president is one Matty (Manuel) Maroun inherited the franchise when it bought the bridge in 1979 from another private owner, the Bower family. Dan Stamper, Ambassador Bridge president, also told the Wayne State forum that a 2005 opinion from the U.S. State Department, based on the 1921 charter, “includes the right...to build a twin span,” a reference to its proposed parallel six-lane bridge, which is currently held up by regulatory authorities. The bridge company is also battling construction of the publically-owned Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) bridge, which would be located more than three kilometres downriver.

A Volt in EnWin's (near term) future

That Chevy Volt you see scooting around Windsor and wrapped by the EnWin logo is part of an experiment into the future use of electric cars. EnWin is only one of three Canadian organizations – there are 62 across North America – participating in the three year research to determine the “functionality” and “potential (electrical) grid impact” of these vehicles, according to EnWin spokeswoman Barbara Peirce Marshall.....The research is in partnership with General Motors, which makes the Volt, and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)(, a U.S. based independent non-profit. Marshall says EnWin will keep the Volt as part of its fleet for three years. The car will be monitored “under a variety of professional and personal driving circumstances.” These include short and long haul driving, distances, performance in various types of weather, charging at home or at commercial sites, and energy consumption in “cold climate conditions.” The utility will use the data to determine “how electric vehicles might fit into” the utility’s fleet as well as impact on the electric grid.....The research will be used to develop the future electric car industry infrastructure.....Local GM dealers Gus Revenberg Chevrolet Buick GMC and Dan Kane Chevrolet Cadillac are partnering “by caring for the ENWIN Volt” and providing info “to interested consumers” on the product, which is now for sale.....The research money comes from a $30.5 million grant from the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.....The utility hopes this will help shape “the energy future in Windsor, and to assess the suitability of such vehicles for the ENWIN fleet.”

No de-icing airplanes ... at an airport?

It’s airport land. On airports there are airplanes. In winter airplanes need to be de-iced or they will crash. But....some naturalists locally aren’t especially thrilled about the idea of chemical de-icing taking placed at the airport. So says Windsor city councillor Fulvio Valentinis. Valentinis says a question has been raised by the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) “about the incompatibility with the de-icing which takes place at an airport.” That’s apparently because there would be a natural area on airport lands – in fact, a much expanded natural area, according to the airport’s new master plan. Valentinis wants a discussion by city councillors on the plan because he says most are probably unaware of the huge increase in a natural “buffer” that is part of its blueprint. The airport has some 2000 acres. The master plan calls for expanding what exists now as a woodlot – 74.5 acres - to a larger natural footprint of 310.5 acres or 236 additional acres. Valentinis has problems with the entire concept of expanding a natural area on what’s supposed to be industrial land. He says it would attract birds and other wildlife, which also could interfere with aircraft landings and takeoffs. ”I’m sorry but it’s overkill,” he says. Valentinis says he’s not someone who wants to “chop down all the trees” and supports the concept of more green space, just not on lands set aside for development, which would have limited or no public access anyway. The city is attempting to develop a major intermodal cargo terminal on the lands, among other new uses. And at a price of up to $200,000 per acre, creating the buffer could “tie up” $45 million, the councillor added....Richard Wyma, ERCA’s general manager, did not respond to requests for comment.

City of Windsor photo shows new runway construction

Waterloo museum could be Windsor model

As Windsor considers a new community museum it might want to look to the Region of Waterloo, which will be officially opening it sparkling new $26 million museum Nov. 12 & 13. (www.waterlooregionmuseum.com). According to Waterloo regional councillor Sean Strickland, the museum could “absolutely” serve as a model for a future Windsor museum. The museum seems to be doing everything Windsor might want. It tracks early settlement and immigration and notes the contributions of significant groups and individuals. It displays the heritage of industries that built the region from traditional agriculture to current high-tech. Displays, for example, include a locally-built 1908 steam engine, and a threshing machine, both of which are focal points for wider stories about their respective industries. The museum will also host temporary exhibits both locally-curated and from elsewhere. It’s gearing for a February opening of an exhibit about teen life through the decades in the area – from the 1920s to Generation Y – focussing on fashions, music and what teens were concerned about over each era. Museum manager-curator Tom Reitz says the museum has the largest staff, budget and size of any community museum in the province. And he allows it might be difficult to compare “apples to apples” to the Windsor situation. Its land came free and is adjacent to the decades-old Doon Heritage Village fixed-in-time 1912 historic site. The museum cost $26 million to build with construction starting early 2009 and a soft opening in May of last year. It got a $2 million federal grant, $600,000 from individual and corporate donations including naming rights for interior spaces, and the balance $23.4 million paid by the regional government which encompasses several municipalities such as Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge (population more than 500,000). Its yearly operating cost is $6.3 million but it derives revenue from such activities such as renting meeting rooms and hosting receptions, leaving a net $5.9 million paid for by the regional government or tax dollars. There are 23 full time staff. The budget encompasses the wider Doon Village site of 60 acres and a separate preservation facility. Reitz said the museum does not make money. “Does it pay for itself? Absolutely not, no museum does. Anyone who suggests that to you, it’s just not going to happen.” The museum and preservation building encompass 82,000 sq. ft. The architecturally-striking building has a large “iconic” multicoloured sign simply saying MUSEUM - eye-catching to motorists driving into Kitchener. The overall price of $26 million is broken down into $19 million to build, $3 million for exhibits, $1 million for preservation facility expansion, and $3 million for other expenses like landscaping, fees and studies.

Bridge says Gateway work will be completed

A State of Michigan official says his government still believes the Ambassador Bridge is not compliant with a judge’s order to move quickly enough to complete its share of road infrastructure on the Detroit side of the bridge. Officials will be in court tomorrow as the Michigan Dept. of Transportation (MDOT) seeks to put the project in receivership and complete ramps and other work as part of the $230 million Gateway initiative which links the bridge to Interstate highways. This, despite the fact the bridge company reportedly is undertaking substantial work to comply with its share of the project. Asked if MDOT is satisfied with work done to date spokesman Rob Morosi told WON.com, “Not having evidence or communication from DIBC about recent work, we are unable to comment to the degree with which any new work is compliant. To the best of our knowledge, even if they did accomplish some elements of the necessary work, the DIBC still remains substantially non-compliant with the Gateway Agreement with the State of Michigan and non-compliant with the court’s orders.” Asked if his department is still seeking to put the project in receivership to spur its completion, Morosi said, “Yes, as the DIBC has continued to remain defiant, uninterested and unwilling to complete their portion of the Gateway project in accordance with the Agreement and the court’s orders. We believe this is the only way to see the project successfully completed in the shortest amount of time.” But a story in Toll Road News yesterday, with numerous pictures supplied by the bridge, showed what looks like very substantial work taking place on the bridge plaza, including reconstruction of a gasoline plaza (see WON.com front page story Nov. 1). Bridge president Dan Stamper told the publication the company has been “doing everything” to comply with the court order. “The work is either done already, or we'll have it done by the Judge's deadline for the work." Among the changes: 12 toll booths moved toward the plaza’s entrance from their previous exit position, relocating 28 fuel pumps from the east to west side of the duty free store, and a 1,000 ft. ramp and bridge to connect the plaza to state highway ramps and Interstates. Stamper said most of the work will be done within the next week and the rest likely before year end – at worst by the Jan. 11 compliance date. (Picture shows ramp bridge beams being set)

Who could possibly be protesting Sir Elton?

The dozen or so protesters outside the Elton John concert two weekends ago at the WFCU Centre were a strange sight indeed. Who, probably thousands of concert-goers wondered, could possibly be protesting a feel good performance by one of the world’s leading – and seemingly uncontroversial – rock stars? Well, people who don’t like gay people, for one. And John is very openly gay.....The protesting group appeared to be religious in nature. Concertgoer Kyle Mills - who originally wrote The Windsor Star about the protesters and told WON.com their actions were “maddening” – said the pickets shouted at audience members “we’re all going to hell because we're supporting Elton John”.....Mills didn’t get a bead on who the protesters actually were. Not did Jason Toner, the PR manager for the WFCU Centre. Toner said that since the pickets were not actually on WFCU property but at an entrance along McHugh Street WFCU staff had no contact with them. “Until they’re on our property we don’t really address protesters that are at the facility,” he said, noting they were on a public sidewalk and did not impede traffic. Toner added that the WFCU management “more than welcome people the opportunity to protest at the facility as long as it’s on a public space”.....There have been previous protests at WFCU Centre, he said, such as “animal rights activists” when circuses were performing.....But who could have been protesting at the Elton John concert? There are at least two possibilities – both religious groups. One would be Christian conservatives, the other an Islamic organization. In the Christian case, John created controversy last year when he told a magazine that Jesus Christ was a “super-intelligent gay man.” In the Moslem case, John had been the target of protesters in the Middle East when he played a concert in Morocco. Islamists said the fact he was openly gay offended public morals.....John may be more controversial than the good-natured persona he evokes. He also at one time called for a ban on organized religion.....WON.com tried to track down the protesters but was unsuccessful. One well known area conservative Christian religious organization was called but a representative said none of the church’s members had taken part. And there was no response from a local Moslem organization.

St. Aidan's parishioners argue church really isn't the property of the Diocese of Huron

While the Anglican Diocese of Huron may have won the first round of a battle for control of St. Aidan’s church in Riverside most of the church’s parishioners hope they will win an appeal of the lower court decision. The parishioners are members of the breakaway Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) which adheres to a more traditional interpretation of scripture. Chief among these are views on divorce, common law relationships and gay marriage. But spokeswoman Cathy Knight said gay marriage has been a “wonderful wedge issue” and a “great thing to beat people up with” by suggesting that ANiC members are anti-gay when they are not.....The St. Aidan’s parishioners (shown above) voted unanimously in 2008 to secede from the mainstream Anglican Church. Knight says some 165 members of the parish have now signed as ANiC members, ironically leaving only a small handful who adhere to the mainstream church.....Nevertheless Superior Court Justice T.D. Little ruled that the physical church and a charitable trust in fact belonged to the diocese, saying “Members can come and go but the parish itself remains. The parish could not sever itself from the diocese.” And late last month the Diocese responded by saying it would “re-mission” the church and invited disaffected members back.....However, according to Knight, overlooked in the decision is the fact the church never really belonged to the diocese at all. She said this was proven in the aboriginal schools settlement several years ago where the Anglican Church had to relinquish properties to pay for damages in the treatment of native children at former church-run schools. She said St. Aidan’s was never deemed diocese property but belonged to the parishioners because the diocese held “no beneficial trust interest.” Knight said parishioners and their families – dating back to the 1920s – built and maintained the church. “It rises and falls on that principle.” Parishioners are currently being accommodated for services at other religious institutions.

Who pays when public sector workers take their employers' vehicles home at night?

You’ve probably seen them parked in private driveways - trucks or cars belonging to local public agencies whether they be municipalities, school boards or utilities. Obviously the person driving the vehicle uses it for commuting purposes. So it raises the question: who pays when a public sector worker takes the vehicle home?.....In the case of EnWin Utilities, the answer makes perfect sense. EnWin spokeswoman Barbara Peirce Marshall said that because of the potential for power outages certain employees are permitted to take bucket trucks home. This is even in the case for reporting to regular jobs. “This allows EnWin to provide faster, more efficient service by significantly reducing wait times for our customers and hence reducing the length of power outages,” she said. An example was a storm July 2 during which EnWin “was able to resolve more than 19,000 of the original 20,000 outages overnight, so that the maximum possible number of Windsor residents would have power by morning”.....Scott Scantlebury, spokesman for the Greater Essex County District School Board, said the board is considering allowing more employees to take vehicles home. He said that because the board’s jurisdiction encompasses all of Windsor and Essex County – a considerable geographic area - it make sense for an employee living, say, in Kingsville, to take the van home at night. Then the next morning he can drive to a school in the Kingsville or Leamington area to do maintenance work rather than drive to Windsor, pick up the van, and drive back to Kingsville. “There is a substantial saving in man hours and resources,” Scantlebury said. The board “is looking at a plan to actually expand” the number of employees who can take vehicles home “to try and take advantage of those efficiencies”......Meanwhile the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board only sent a copy of its Board Vehicle Handbook. It states employees can use vehicles for business purposes and “transportation to and from work – where management has approved the taking home of the vehicle.” A vehicle can’t be used by non-employees or to transport members of the employee’s family. Nor can it be used for personal business such as household moving or maintenance.....Finally, the City of Windsor, with a fleet of some 300 vehicles, hardly ever has any out at an employee’s home, says city fleet manager Angela Marazita. “We only have a few, maybe two or three...it’s not common for us to do that.” When an employee takes a vehicle home, she says, the mileage is reported to the city’s finance department which calculates for federal tax purposes the “personal use of the vehicle;” the employee pays the tax at tax time.

Duncan architect of green energy policies

With electricity prices and the Green Energy Act – which critics argue vastly inflates the real cost of energy that taxpayers pay to subsidize numerous green energy projects such as wind and solar farms – shaping up to be among the dominant campaign issues in October’s provincial election, local residents might be interested to know that one of their current MPPs played a key role in Ontario’s shift to alternative energy. The province is considered in the vanguard in the transition to green energy of any jurisdiction in North America.....Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Dwight Duncan as Minister of Energy between 2003 – 2005 got the ball rolling on green energy. In 2004 he brought forward a conservation plan that featured smart meters as a way to reduce energy use during peak hours.....In 2005 he invited the private sector to bid on providing up to 1000 megawatts from renewable sources with a target of 10 per cent of all energy being renewable by 2010.....Then, in his second go-round as energy minister from 2006 to 2007 Duncan announced the government’s long term strategic energy plan calling for a vast series of wind and conservation projects over 25 years estimated at about $46 billion. In November 2006 he opened the country’s largest wind farm at Sault Ste. Marie.....In early 2007 Duncan said Ontario was on target to meet its Kyoto commitment by achieving a 29 per cent reduction since 2003 in greenhouse gases from the burning of coal in electric power plants.....Duncan also announced in 2007 that Ontario would ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs by 2012, the first Canadian government to take such a measure.....To be sure, Duncan also presided over decisions that kept nuclear energy as a key source of power and had to back track on plans to close all coal fired plants by 2007.....But it was definitely under the Windsor-Tecumseh MPP’s watch that what have become major elements of the controversial green energy program of the Dalton McGuinty government took shape.

Highway 3 will be fully twinned - eventually

There is an effort afoot to rename the Hwy. 3 bypass between Windsor and Leamington the Bruce Crozier Memorial Highway in honour of the late Essex MPP’s untimely death in June after announcing late last year he would be retiring from politics. Crozier’s crowning achievement was convincing the government to widen the death-prone highway from two to four lanes. Essex County Council and various municipalities have recently passed a resolution seeking the name change. However, at present, only a small portion of the just over 30 km road has in fact been twinned. Motorists driving along the route might wonder if the entire route will ever be widened. There is no sign of construction activity east of where the current four lanes end at County Rd. 8. That’s on the western side of Essex if the town is considered the bypass's midway point. But don’t despair. The entire road indeed will eventually be twinned. The Ontario transportation ministry says construction is taking place in phases. The first $23.3 million section was between Rd. 34 and Rd. 8 and completed two years ago. The second $23.8 million phase is being worked on now between Rd. 34 and west of County Rd. 11 (Walker Rd.). When completed later this year a total of 13 km of highway will have been twinned, leaving a remaining 20 km as two lanes. So what’s next? A transportation environmental study report is needed to identify specific improvements along the remaining road. There’s also a local town of Essex study that will be incorporated. For motorists perhaps the most glaring deficiency is that there are still two lanes running adjacent to the town of Essex with its two intersections and high traffic volume. “It’s a terrible road,” Essex Mayor Ron McDermott said. The next steps will be preliminary design, public consultation and environmental approval. That work is listed under “Planning for the Future in the 2010-2014 Southern Highways Program.” Cost of building one kilometre of road is $4 million. Renaming the highway has the support of Ken Schmidt, who’s running for the Liberals in the Oct. 6 election and endorsed the renaming campaign in a letter to the editor. “I think Bruce’s legacy is one that should be continued,” he told WON.com. But there’s no indication if such a designation would come complete with a logo showing a bow tie, Crozier’s sartorial trademark!

New integrity commish wants to give back

Bruce Elman, former law dean at the University of Windsor, and the city’s new integrity commissioner, said he knows this may sound “Pollyannish” but he applied for the job because “I wanted to give something back to Windsor.” Elman, a native of Cape Breton and who spent many years at the University of Alberta before coming to Windsor, fills a void after the former commissioner Earl Basse, a retired RCMP inspector, quit, citing the city’s lack of parameters for the commissioner’s office and the fact he lived too far away. Basse, of Waterloo, is currently Hamilton’s part time integrity commissioner.....Elman says one of the first things he will do is draw up a set of protocols. He has been studying the Toronto integrity commissioner’s office – the most well-developed in Ontario – for guidelines.....Elman, dean of law for 11 years, said he was surprised by just how much of a hot seat the commissioner’s office had become, it being a target of bloggers and city hall critics. “It’s interesting,” he said. “When I had my first discussions with some of the city officials...they were telling me about this and I had no knowledge of it”.....Elman over the next year will also be teaching part time at the University of Toronto.....Elman was attracted to the position because he has a deep background in writing about issues of public integrity. “I taught professional responsibility and ethics when I was at the University of Alberta”.....The city created the position to administer its relatively new code of conduct of 2007. But it has had difficulty filling the commissioner’s office.....City clerk Valerie Critchley, who has also practiced law here and in Victoria, said any penalties arising from the commissioner’s decisions would have to be voted on by city council. These could include reprimands or up to three months salary suspension.

Sandra P. won't collect big fat pension

MPP and cabinet minister Sandra Pupatello’s decision to resign seems to have led a lot of people, as per at least one local chat site, to jump to the conclusion that she’s going to retire on a great pension. But while federal Members of Parliament indeed have the “gold-plated pensions” – in some cases paying out well over $100,000 per year - so often mocked by certain interest groups and the general public, Ontario MPPs do not. In fact they have no pensions at all.....That’s not to say our MPPS are not well paid. Indeed when MPPs voted themselves a pay raise in 2006 – their salaries jumped a whopping $22,000 to $110,000. Cabinet ministers – of which of course Pupatello was one – had their salary increased an extra $31,000 to $157,633. As for retirement income the vote also allowed MPPs to double contributions to self-directed RSPs to 10 per cent of earnings.....Premier Dalton McGuinty defended the increase saying that MPPS had been making only 75 per cent of what federal MPs made. And previously MPPs had had their pay frozen for nine years and cut in one year by 5.5 per cent. The vote came four days before Christmas, and prior to the legislature adjourning for a three-month recess. Government officials also defended the raise saying salaries needed to be high enough to attract sufficient talent, and the fear of losing lesser-paid MPPs to federal politics.....To make sure they didn’t fall behind again the MPPs included a provision in their vote stating that whenever MPs got a raise they got one too.

Former planner cites London's "different dynamic" among reasons for leaving

Former Windsor City Centre Revitalization Manager Jim Yanchula said he doesn’t have any real criticisms about Windsor that led him to leave the city for greener urban pastures in London Ontario. (See May 17 column on right.) Sure, he said, “some days” he got frustrated with the pace – or lack thereof – of downtown redevelopment in the Rose City. But he said “that wasn’t my motivation” for taking the job as Manager of Community Planning and Urban Design in London.....However, Yanchula said London has set some ambitious goals for its urban core which have been “implemented” and “that appealed to me.” Examples are the Covent Garden Market and the new Tricar condo tower across the street from it. “I have nothing bad to say about Windsor,” Yanchula, a local native, said. “I think London is just doing some good stuff” and “they put their walk behind their talk.” Of regrets about Windsor Yanchula said it’s too bad the city never built a new downtown market. “I have to say that was disappointing.” However, that decision occurred in 1996, so obviously it didn’t trigger his recent departure.....Of Windsor planning successes Yanchula mentioned the riverfront Peace Beacon (picture above) at the foot of Ouellette Ave. Another has been the downtown’s recent uniform streetscaping. “London is going to have to learn from that, actually,” he said. Yanchula also lauded efforts like the opening of Charles Clark Square and skating rink, and the new riverfront stage. But he said riverfront development has always been a touchy issue here. “Everything in Windsor seems to be about the riverfront,” he said, noting that this brings ”real challenges” for planners but “that’s a good thing.”.....Other factors leading to Yanchula’s move include that there is a “different dynamic” in planning in London and the fact that city has more resources because it wasn’t hit as hard as Windsor in the recession. London also has closer access to regional provincial offices based there.

Ambassador Bridge gas not always cheapest

It’s probably safe to say that Canadians returning from the United States almost without exception stop to purchase cheaper American gasoline - which can be as much as 30 cents per litre less expensive - than what they pay in the Great White North. And perhaps it’s also true that the majority of Canucks fill their tanks at the Ambassador Bridge’s duty free pumps, expanded in the past couple of years into two sprawling plazas with 32 pumps plus 14 truck diesel pumps. There likely are various reasons people fill-up there: the bridge is presumed safer than typical Detroit streets, the area is highly convenient since it's right beside the bridge ramp and – perhaps biggest reason - price is presumed best in Detroit......In fact the Ambassador Bridge web site advertises the ”best fuel price in town” (based on the bridge's reward card) and posts daily its regular and diesel prices compared to those of Canadian litres. Today, for example, the price was $3.89 ($1.02/litre equivalent) a far cry from the $1.34 average price in Windsor.....But little known is that, as good as the bridge’s prices are, they aren’t necessarily the cheapest in Detroit. A survey on Gasbuddy.com found the bridge’s price more expensive than Sam’s Club (3.75) on John R. in Madison Hts and 3.79 at a Sunoco in Sterling Hts. The day previously Ammex (the bridge’s marketing brand) was tied with several other stations at $3.89. Those included Kroger in Macomb and BP in St. Clair Shores......The Ambassador Bridge’s prices have recently become a topic of controversy because of media reports the bridge doesn’t pay state and federal taxes estimated to earn the bridge an extra 60 cents per gallon, a figure management disputes. That’s because its gas is sold for export as duty free.....Bill Vollenweider, owner of the Detroit Travel Center in Woodhaven, says such pricing “destroys competition.” A decade ago Vollenweider tried to lobby Congress to amend legislation to prohibit the practice but the bill got dragged out, changed, and the amendment dropped.....Vollenweider said the bridge’s gas prices, as good as they are, are nowhere as cheap as they used to be. “If you go back in history he (bridge owner Matty Maroun) was very very low, he was under everybody else...10 to 15 cents.” Now the prices are roughly at par with the cheapest Detroit gas stations. So, he says, the bridge company is pocketing even more money.....Vollenweider said another thing that doesn’t make sense is the concept of duty free. “If you know how duty free works, if you buy cigarettes or liquor you’re not allowed to either eat or drink or use that product in the country or the state that you bought it....well, when you talk about petroleum – either diesel or gas – as soon as you put that product in the tank the consumer is using it”.....Calls to the bridge company seeking comment weren’t returned.

Much of $240,000 city - county Intelligent Community funds gone to local ad campaign

The numerous “I.T. is Our Time to Shine” full page advertisements appearing in The Windsor Star, as well as billboards dotting area streets, and radio spots, are part of a full court press to get the word out during a visit this week by an official of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). He’s here to inspect what our area has to offer in terms of hi-tech infrastructure. This, in turn, is part of an effort to attract economic development. Windsor-Essex could be chosen as the world’s most intelligent community should the area pass muster. It’s up against six other cities with a decision by the ICF coming in June. The ad campaign is in addition to a series of non-paid newspaper articles run by the Star and news features on AM800 that have been part of this community-wide effort to support Windsor-Essex’s bid to become number one.....Earlier this year $240,000 was provided the campaign - $100,000 from the city and $140,000 from the county – to cover costs associated with events Monday and Tuesday. This includes an event tonight at St. Clair College with formal presentations. A social event was also scheduled for a winery overlooking Lake Erie.....But not all the money is being spent on this two-day showcase put on largely for New York-based ICF co-founder Robert Bell to convince him of our merits. A considerable amount of it is for the current advertising campaign.....Kristina Verner, research and development officer with the University of Windsor’s Centre for Smart Community Innovation - which is coordinating Windsor’s competitive bid - said $134,000 in fact is being spent on the two-days. The rest of the money is being spent on the advertisements and other promotions. “That came from that fund as well,” she said.....Asked why so much advertising is being directed at the local community when the region is trying to attract outside investment, Verner said it’s to change local perceptions. “There needs to be an increased sense of pride in what we have,” she said. “And there’s certainly lack of awareness. Like if I was to say that there’s 1700 km of fibre optic cable running underneath the county I don’t think anybody would have any idea that that actually exists”.....Late last week the province also kicked-in more than $200,000. Verner said this money will help “market the region externally” to the very people the Windsor-Essex hopes will invest here. Meanwhile the local billboards will stay up until mid-May.

Ambassador Bridge lobbyist Dick Morris famous, infamous on national scene

Dick Morris is indeed high profile. The Ambassador Bridge lobbyist, appointed earlier this month at the same time as the launch of an estimated $400k ad campaign screening on national TV including Fox News - where Morris is an analyst - rachets up the bridge company’s fight against Canadian and US governments to build the new government-based DRIC bridge.....Morris is a broadcast and print commentator, and with wife Eileen McGann, a prolific author of numerous contemporary political books. Their latest is Revolt! a four-square attack on the Obama administration including a strategy to “Repeal His Socialist Programs.” Other books include Rewriting History (by Morris alone), a counterpoint to former First Lady and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s book Living History; and Because He Could, considered a revealing investigation of former president Bill Clinton. Morris and McGann in fact have had eight New York Times bestsellers and Morris is among the preeminent right-wing pundits today.....Ironically, however, Morris was once known for his close ties to Clinton and the Democratic Party. He was Clinton’s consultant for 20 years dating back from the president’s days in politics in Arkansas leading to Clinton’s election as governor of that state. He worked on Clinton’s 1996 presidential re-election bid and was famous for convincing the president to come up with the policy of “triangulation” which sought neither a Democratic nor Republican way of governing.....But Morris is also infamous for a 1996 incident when newspapers reported his dalliance with a Washington DC hooker and the fact he enjoyed sucking her toes. He immediately resigned from the Clinton campaign.....Morris has also consulted for American and international politicians including former Mexican president Vicente Fox.....Morris this month was quick out of the gate after being hired by the Ambassador Bridge, denouncing plans for the rival DRIC bridge as a boondoggle while saying the private bridge company’s plans for a new span would cost taxpayers absolutely nothing. He also made headlines by saying about Michigan’s new governor Rick Snyder, who supports DRIC: "I'm delighted to have a Republican governor; I just wish he'd act like one."

Windsor Symphony's programming decreased over the past four years

Contrary perhaps to its continuing image as a vigorous community-oriented orchestra the Windsor Symphony has actually decreased programming over the past several years. Symphony director Jeth Mill told WON.com that “we have reduced, rather than expanded, program offerings”....The orchestra’s expense budget was lowered from $2,161,333 in fiscal 2007 to a projected $1,795,398 for the current fiscal year. That’s about 17 per cent over the course of four years......True, the WSO had been expanding and performed widely - and still does - in formal and less formal settings throughout Windsor and Essex County in community outreach. Over the past decade its expense budget grew 28 per cent from $1,553,543 in 2000 to the “high water mark” in 2007. This, says Mill, was “concurrent” with the symphony’s “bingo years.” The symphony, like many other non-profit groups, long relied on bingos to raise tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the province’s 2006 smoking ban put the kibosh to that, draining charities of millions of dollars and forcing them to go cap-in-hand to other sources to replenish funding or simply cut back activities.....Mill says the WSO’s bingo revenue peaked at $375,597 in 2004 but fell to $22,565 in 2007....The orchestra this week sought a $30,000 grant or 10 per cent budget increase from City Council but was denied.....Mill was responding to questions about just how much attendance the symphony has been attracting in recent years. “The questions you ask are not quickly answered with full accuracy,” he said. “It is difficult to come up with audience numbers for the last 10 years”.....Asked how a funding shortfall would affect much-touted plans for a new concert space in converting the former Armouries building downtown to a state of the art concert hall, Mill replied that while the orchestra’s viability “is our utmost concern” the performance venue “is a significant matter.” He added: "We still believe that the Armouries could be developed into a first class concert hall. Achieving that outcome will require a major partner organization and the political will of our city fathers. Neither of those is readily apparent at this time, but our Armouries/Palace Redevelopment Committee led by Paul Mullins and Anne Winterbottom continues to work on the project.”

If Essex County can't afford public transit, how about choosing a private operator?

With the County of Essex putting on hold a decision to establish a public transit system – despite an extensive study last year – the void in local public transit outside the City of Windsor seems greater than ever......Politicians balked at the $4.5 million it would cost to start a transit system connecting bedroom communities like Lakeshore and Amherstburg to Windsor in a tight knit urban area that almost calls out for transit, particularly when compared to other Canadian municipalities – including Chatham-Kent just up the road – which commonly have urban-rural lines such as from Chatham to Dresden, Wallaceburg or Tilbury.....So, if the municipality won’t provide transit, who can?.....CK Transit, as Chatham-Kent’s system is called, happens to be run by a private operator, London-based Aboutown. This same company operates an airport shuttle through Windsor to Detroit and to Toronto airports. In fact, Aboutown also operates a Chatham-Windsor intercity service two days a week - Fridays and Sundays – linking communities such as Leamington, Kingsville, Essex and Windsor and terminating at Devonshire Mall.....Would Aboutown be interested in operating a more extensive Essex County system? James Donnelly, Aboutown’s CEO, suggests it would be too expensive for his company on its own to operate regularly-scheduled service. In Chatham-Kent the company operates for the municipality so receives municipal funding. “A municipal transit service is virtually always subsidized by the community,” he said. But the Chatham-Windsor route is an intercity service – “that’s why it runs on a lower frequency because it has to have sufficient volume to support itself, whereas a municipal service on a regular schedule is designed for convenience of the rider with less concern given to revenue density”.... Donnelly – whose company also operates the St. Thomas bus system – hasn’t looked at the Windsor-Essex market. “We haven’t yet,” he said. “If they decide that they want to go forward and provide a transit service we would definitely be interested in opportunities to expand into that area”.....Many transit systems in Ontario are operated privately presumably for lower cost or better efficiency. This includes York region north of Toronto.....Michael Roschlau, president of the Canadian Urban Transit Association, said private operators would have to obtain permission of a municipality to operate. “They’re all privately operated under some contractual arrangement with the municipality. So what typically happens is that the municipality decides – other than operating the system themselves – they’ll go out to the market to select the best private contract operator based on certain performance criteria”......

School bus cancellations: highly different impacts on county versus Windsor schools

Last week’s cancellation of school bus services was only the latest in a sometimes controversial move by local school boards to cancel buses due to perceived unsafe road conditions, which can pique parent anger and is often fodder for radio talk shows.....While buses can be cancelled in both Essex County and the City of Windsor – the decision actually rests with the consortium that operates the boards’ buses - county cancellations have greater impact than those in the city. More county kids, because of distances, depend on buses to get to school.....An analysis of 28 cancellations for the county over the seven academic years from 2004-05 up to this current month shows 19 all-day cancellations and nine morning-only cancellations. For the current academic year the county had two all-day cancellations including last Wednesday and one morning-only cancellation. The city had none.....But over these seven years the city had 10 all-day cancellations, no mornings-only....The fact there are several morning-only cancellations shows the boards closely monitor weather and traffic and attempt to get buses rolling when conditions improve.....School board officials say no money is lost due to cancellations. “Essentially there is no additional cost involved with the cancellation of buses, but there is no saving - the drivers are paid,” public board spokesman Scott Scantlebury said. “It would be impossible to lay them off for a day; (buses) just wouldn't use any fuel that day.” Teachers of course show up “and deliver the curriculum regardless,” he said....But in some schools attendance is indeed so low as to make opening the schools seem pointless, though student age makes a real difference in attendance. In the Catholic system, for example, one “snow day” for Leamington had 50 per cent of elementary students showing-up but only two per cent at Cardinal Carter high school, according to board superintendent Mario Iatonna..... The earliest date in any academic year buses have been cancelled? Sept 5, 2007. The latest? May 10, 2007. On both those days cancellations were for mornings only.

Safety warnings on Peaksaver thermostat

Essex Powerlines and Enwin Utilities are warning customers about a problem with their White-Rodgers 1F88 programmable thermostat, one of several models installed as part of the Peaksaver conservation program..... “The announcement was made in response to a risk of fire relating to the thermostat batteries” Essex Powerlines says. An investigation by the utilities and manufacturer has begun to find an “acceptable corrective solution”.....In the interim and as a precaution the companies are advising customers to remove the batteries. The batteries will not affect the overall function of the thermostat since they are only used to provide backup to the unit’s clock during power outrages. Customers would only notice a problem after an outage when the time has not reset.....The product had three “failures” in the U.S. and one in Ontario.....This relates to the “unique circuitry” that “under certain circumstances” may cause electrolytes to leak from the unit’s two AA alkaline batteries. The leakage may in turn contact portions of the circuitry and result in damage to the unit including “oveheating and smoke” and which could “possibly damage the adjacent wall and create a potential risk of fire.” There have been no fire incidents in Ontario and Kristopher Taylor, conservation and special projects manager with Essex Powerlines, said the risk is “extremely low”. .....Essex Powerlines no longer issues the White-Rodgers thermostat but has almost 1400 units installed at customers’ premises. Officials tell customers not to disconnect the thermostat since it still regulates heat and cooling......Several other provincial utilities have also issued the alert....Taylor said that customers would only notice a clock malfunction after a power outage but this would be reset by the utility. “We are sending signals a couple of times a day that will send the reprogramming to the thermostats”.....Some customers have demanded a replacement and Taylor said they are being dealt with on a “one-off” basis. Health Canada is also investigating. Taylor said there has been no formal recall “but there may be one coming shortly”.....More information can be found on the utilities’ web sites.

Ont's "green" cred includes 50% nuclear

Given the Ontario Government’s emphasis on green or renewable energy – highly favoured by environmentalists – many people might not be aware that the government’s long term energy plan, announced last month by Energy Minister Brad Duguid, (right) places 50 per cent of future power needs on nuclear energy. The government’s rationale for the long-controversial nuclear option is that the power is indeed green since it doesn’t generate emissions. “Nuclear power does not produce any primary air pollution or release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” the plan says. Probably true as far as it goes.....But environmentalists are adamantly opposed to nuclear because of potential radiation leaks, concerns about storage of spent fuel, and the huge costs of building and repairing these plants, which notoriously go over budget.....Nevertheless Duguid, while trumpeting the fact Ontario will be “coal-free” by 2014 by shutting remaining coal-generating power plants, couldn’t have been more explicit: “The government is committed to clean, reliable nuclear power remaining at approximately 50 per cent of the province’s electricity supply”.....The government also favours nuclear because these plants “are able to operate steadily, providing a plentiful, consistent supply of energy for decades at stable prices.” Also, the fuel cost for a nuclear plant “is a small portion of its total costs, so nuclear power is generally not impacted by fuel price escalation or fluctuations”.....The province’s electricity supply is 24,000 megawatts and half of that will continue to be borne by nukes. The government will get this by continuing to refurbish existing nuclear plants and building 2000 MW of new nuclear facilities at Darlington on Lake Ontario. As the document says, "It is essential that the province...construct new nuclear plants as part of the government’s ongoing commitment to modernize Ontario’s nuclear fleet".....At one time the prospect of new nuclear plants would have resulted in major headlines but this announcement has gone virtually unnoticed. Perhaps the fact the Ontario Liberals have honed their green renewable energy credentials so well has allowed them to announce this major investment in nuclear with hardly a question or criticism raised.