MyOpinionAndEditorialPage

Twitter user @Mystz sent this to Save Calgary yesterday: @SaveCalgary a friendly proposal to you. With your involvement for the betterment of the city and it's Citizens, why not head the formation of a Coalition of Citizens to rally against this pitiful collection of Councillors and their less than ideal ideas? — Deborah (@Mystz) April 25, 2018 I think this is a great idea. There are a number of people and groups in this city who are tired of the nonsense that goes on in city hall and the Council Chambers.  Among them is the group Save Calgary which was formed close to a year ago by an anonymous group of Calgarians who were concerned with the direction city hall was going in.  Some thought the group would fizzle out after the 2017 election given the re-election of the Councillors they were campaigning against.  Instead the group is now the leading voice of opposition to those on city council whose agendas are more focused on social engineering and legacy buildi...

I won't hide my disappointment in the results of the 2017 municipal election.  In fact I''ll voice it loudly: Are you facking kidding me?!! Council looks pretty much the same as it did before, and worse still Naheed Nenshi is still the Lord Mayor, the silencer of microphones at Council meetings. While most of the people I wanted to win did not, two council members I was happy to see get elected took their seats.  Sean Chu won re-relection in Ward 4 and newcomer Jeromy Farkas came onto the scene winning in Ward 11.  Farkas wasn't the only rookie to join council as he was joined by Jyoti Gondek in Ward 3, George Chahal in Ward 5, Jeff Davison in Ward 6, and "Rundle" Ray Jones in Ward 10. If you were new to the city or had never paid attention to local politics before, you might get the impression that Sean Chu and Jeromy Farkas were just a couple of major shit disturbers. You'd be right but you wouldn't be aware of the context in which they are distu...

This is one of those time when inflection and intonation come in handy.  The title of this post can be said 2 ways, as a question or as an exclamation of surprise depending upon how the phrase is vocalized, and upon the emphasis placed on certain words.   I have done both. I was curious and wanted to know how much money had been spent on public art projects since 2004 when the program began.  Thus, the simple question, "how much money has city hall spent on public art?" When I saw the results, it more like, "HOW MUCH has city hall spent on public art?!" Information provided to me by city hall shows that from 2004 to the present, a total of $18,324,539 has been spent on public art.  This total does NOT show    "temporary works that have been created over time: things like the Celebration of the Bow project, works by artists who have had residencies,  170+ utility boxes, murals, etc."     This likely puts the total at over $20...

So, I woke up earlier than usual, showered, shaved, and put on my favorite custom suit and shirt from Moore's.  I picked out the perfect tie to go with it, and marched out the door to city hall.  My objective: to address the Priorities and Finance Committee who would, ironically enough, be taking up the issue of public engagement in the 2026 Olympic bid process. The meeting started with Cllr. Colley-Urquhart asking for an in-camera session to address certain personnel issues pertaining to the matter.  An audible groan could be heard from the gallery as soon as the words "in-camera" were uttered. That will be addressed later and the meeting continued with Big Red questioning Mary Moran, the head of the Calgary Economic Development Authority. Things aren't looking so good for Ms.Moran as she gets picked apart by committee members Colley-Urquhart and Farrell over the fact that the CED doesn't appear to be a neutral party in this whole mess.  They want the games...

pic.twitter.com/b1MVprkv4h — Diane ColleyUrquhart (@BigRedyyc) April 6, 2018 It was an absolutely brutal week-end across the country that began as word of the tragedy in Saskatchewan began to spread late Friday afternoon.  I spent most of the week-end trying to comprehend the events, and shedding a few tears for the lives lost and for the ones left behind.  But for the rest of us, life moves on, and there were some things that happened over the week-end that are worthy of discussion.  Equally, a great many MORE things happened that were NOT worthy of discussion at all. I think the Tweet sent out by Diane Colley-Urquhart (later re-Tweeted by Druh Farrell) just before ten on Friday morning qualifies as being discussion worthy.   I hadn't actually set eyes on it until mid afternoon Friday and I was stunned by what I read when I did see it.  Big Red fears Jeromy Farkas is seething just below the surface??  She agrees that any time he will un...

I have to say that it has been quite the week.  Last Tuesday I published my analysis of calls to the Calgary Police Service for the years 2012-17 in my blog MyWestCalgaryNeighbourhood.  I went over my findings with Danielle Smith on her show on QR77, and since then have started to settle into a routine with this blogging thing. There certainly hasn't been a lack of things to write about this week as hot-button issues like the 2026 Olympic bid and public art make the headlines.  This gives me plenty to write about because they are also hot-button issues for me.  I've already made my position on the Olympics very clear in an earlier post (No to a bid!) so I'll move on to the matter of public art.  This won't be the only thing I have to say on the issue. Rather, this is the opening salvo in a barrage I plan on firing at city hall.  I will only cease firing when the tax-payers of Calgary have claimed victory in the battle (I really don't know where the navy m...