When I grow up, I would like the Regina Streets magazine to belong to the Regina Chamber of Commerce.  Not only is belonging to the Chamber a great networking opportunity, I think it would be a very strong statement about where our publication hopes to fit within the Regina media scene.

Because of my love of and interest in our local Chamber of Commerce, I find myself constantly watching their web site.  And, I frequently compare their offerings to the services provided by Chambers in other markets.  Luckily, I read a whole lot of blogs so the opinions I read are quite diverse.  Don Power is Nanaimo based business strategist who frequently writes about the business scene in Nanaimo.

One of the most interesting things Don talks about is called “Business After Business” (or its sibling “Business Before Business”).  Basically, members of the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce get together either before or after their business day for an informal networking event.  Something about this makes me say, “hmmmmm”….

Imagine if we had something similar in Regina (or even just downtown Regina)?  Can you imagine leaving working at 5pm and heading over to a watering hole for a beverage and a short presentation (or two) about an area business? Can you imagine how many people you would meet?  And can you imagine how tight our business scene would get in a couple of years?

I see this Business After Business/Business Before Business as a major opportunity for our city (and especially our downtown) and I would love to help promote it.  Thanks Don for the idea….

• overall, there will be a 5.2% increase in expenditures
• an 11.4% increase in capital funding
• a 5.3% increase in funding to the Regina Police Service
• a 4.9% increase in salaries and benefits paid

The interesting thing though is that they City is going to allocate 2009’s surplus to allocate to help balance 2010’s budget.  This is a remarkably responsible style of governance – the year to year balancing makes me very happy.

Another interesting point is that the budget calls for a decrease in the amount of money spent on fuel.  It seems to me that the price of fuel is only going up and as our city continues to grow, city workers will only end up driving more.  While the budgeted decrease is small, it still seems like a good sign – with the price of fuel not likely to drop, doesn’t it mean that the city expects to actually use less fuel?

That development, which calls for a four-storey office building, totalling approximately 80,000 square feet of office space, is set to start in 2010 with occupancy starting in 2011. Another 80,000 square feet of office space will add some variety to downtown Regina and help revitalize that particular part of Albert Street.

Moving our attention a little bit north, the site of the old Nortown bowling alley will be home to a three-storey office building which will add approximately 37,000 square feet of retail space to that area.  The building’s design and location (right beside the Pasqua Hospital) are intended to attract tenants who are somehow involved in the health care industry.

Finally, it looks like we should expect two major development announcements over the next few months.  I know that there is going to be a new hotel/condo project built on the north east corner of Victoria and Albert Street (the Plains Hotel site), but I have not found any confirmation of where the second building is expected to go up.

Regardless of where the second building is going to go, it appears that both of these new developments will be complete by 2013.  With a new plaza on 12th Avenue, at least three new buildings right downtown, and other tenets of the Downtown Neighborhood plan on the horizon, we have an exciting few years ahead of us.

A fiercely independent media source, Sasquatch will be suspending its publication due to financial strains and a generally challenging market. Editor Shayna Stock summed it up best when she wrote,

“This has been a difficult process for everyone involved, particularly because the need for independent media in this province is still so acute, and The Sasquatch, though barely out of its infancy, was already punching far above its weight. The more unbalanced and divided our world becomes, the stronger the need for democratic, public-interest journalism that holds power to account and presents practical alternatives to the status quo. It is painful, then, to close down a new publication that directly addresses that need.”

Well said, Shayna, well said. To all those involved with the publishing of The Sasquatch, thanks for being part of an important dialogue. We will miss you!

While the entire report is a must-read for anyone interested in poverty in Regina, one particular statistic jumps out at me. Check out this quote:

In 2001, the estimated child poverty rate in Canada was 15.6 per cent while that of Saskatchewan was 17.6 per cent. Yet, the poverty rate among First Nations children ages 0-14 living off-reserve in Saskatchewan in 2000 was 55.9 per cent, while the corresponding number for Regina was 61.3 per cent. The incidence of poverty
among Métis children ages 0-14 living off-reserve in Saskatchewan in 2000 was 36 per cent, while the corresponding number for Regina was 45.7 per cent.

Shocking numbers, but I am wondering, has anyone seen more current numbers? If you have, please contact us, or leave a comment below!

Be sure to head over to the Queen City Marathon’s home page to learn more about the 10th Anniversary of the Queen City Marathon! This year’s race is going to be held on September 12, 2010, starting at 8am.

In breaking news, I have decided to run the half marathon. As long as I run it in less than four weeks, I’ll be happy, though I’d badly like to throw down a sub two hour run. It is going to be my first half marathon, so I expect a pretty big learning curve.

Are you going to run at this year’s Queen City Marathon? If so, are you available to help carry me?

Now if only we’d vote…

As a long time resident of Ward 3, I would like to start off by looking at the four candidates, and the profiles that they submitted to the City of Regina’s page on the election. For fairness, I will cover each of the candidates in the same post and in alphabetical order.  Warning, this is going to be a long one…

Fred Clipsham – I tried to email Fred Clipsham two years ago. At the time, I was working in Downtown Regina and living in the Transition Area. So, my morning commute included trying to cross Victoria Avenue at Cornwall Street. Easily the most dangerous crossing in the city, I had grown tired of nearly getting run over every time I had the audacity to go to work. So, I wrote Clipsham a nice email asking him if he would raise my safety concerns about that crossing. He never replied.

I am a big boy and frankly, if he didn’t care, all he had to do was write back and say, “Greg, I don’t care if you get run over”  But, I am a little bit miffed at not getting so much as a reply.

Now, let’s focus a little more on Clipsham’s record. The moronic Tag Day Permit (which makes panhandling illegal in the City of Regina) has remained on the books throughout his term. Perhaps if he worked on building businesses and building other opportunities for the less fortunate, I wouldn’t be so bothered by this.  In fact, if I saw evidence that he was working to make Downtown Regina a safer place for the less fortunate, I would not even be so bothered by the fact that he did not reply to my email.

And what about the fact that 13th Avenue was closed for a large part of the summer. With the economy what it is, any blow to the Cathedral Village’s business sector should have been seen as a major blow to all of Ward Three. Did Clipsham try to come to the rescue? Nope, he was more concerned about people burning shit in their backyards.

His candidate profile contains precisely what you would expect from an incumbent running for re-election. He says that this election is “about maintaining Regina’s momentum and making it sustainable.”

Next….

John Conway – John Conway taught me Sociology in University and I managed to enjoy his class, despite the fact that our politics are quite different. He left his position as a public school trustee over his convictions and is running for City Council to make sure that everyone is represented, not just the business lobby.

I would love to be able to support him for City Council. Problem is, some of the things he has said actually worry me a little. Consider these nuggets that the Regina Leader-Post printed about him when he announced the he was going to run:

“I think I share with many people a perception that the current council basically is carrying out an agenda that’s set forward by the business lobby,” he said.

About a new version of Taylor Field, he said:

“Personally, I think it’s madness,” he said. While unlikely, the evidence could convince him otherwise; but for now, he thinks that such a luxury shouldn’t be contemplated considering great infrastructure and social deficits, he noted.

Sometimes, in politics, you have to be very careful about what you say, lest the wrong people will get the wrong ideas. When I read those two statements, I am left with the image of someone who may prove rather difficult to work with. When I vote for a Councillor, I vote for someone who will be able to work with the rest of Council to build a better city.

Then there is the press release that I found on socialistproject.ca. Conway wrote, “Providing and keeping good jobs in the community should be central to the city’s tendering policy. The fact is that in our world good jobs usually means union jobs. Council should adopt a strict “union-first” tendering policy, giving preference to local, unionized companies.”

Do not get me wrong – I have nothing against unions, in fact, I believe that certain industries need unions to protect workers. However, I resent the idea that the City of Regina needs a “union-first” tendering process. Rather, the City of Regina needs a “quality-first” tendering process – it needs to ensure that we get the best value for our tax dollars. Adding a “union-first” tendering process will end up putting upward pressure on our budget while penalizing those companies whose employees have no need or desire to unionize.

Is that really fair? Should management have to encourage its employees to unionize for purely competitive reasons?

The Leader-Post article and the press release aside, I was pleased to read his profile on the city’s site. He wrote, “On Council I will approach every issue, every decision in the context of the question: ‘What is in the general public interest?’ and act accordingly.”

Perhaps that is a sign that he will be consensus builder and that he will not let our Council get bogged down in a sea of rhetoric about social deficits, the overwhelming superiority of unions and the evils of the business lobby.

Shirley Dixon – If I were to base my vote wholly on the information I have found online, Dixon would get that vote. In the Leader-Post article announcing her decision to run, she was quoted as saying:

“I’m feeling very positive because I’ve been talking to people on the street, and I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback. I’m excited. We have to get people passionate about municipal politics. It’s so important to get out and vote,”

A beautiful quote and a great way to end a good article. That article also contained:

“Women are not represented enough in politics,” she said. “I have the experience, the knowledge, the passion — and I’m the woman to do it. There’s a lot that the city can do and hasn’t done. We can move forward in a more positive way.”

However, she is going to run into a serious problem in this campaign. While I am sure that she is an amazing, talented, passionate person, I don’t really know who she is. And, since I don’t really know who she is, when I read quotes likes the two I just cited, I really need to see some policy. It is easy to say, “we can move forward in a positive way”, but it is significantly more difficult to craft policy that will accomplish that. When I look for actual policy, all that I can find is:

“Shirley will work for improved snow removal and street cleaning, curbside recycling, more reliable public tranist (sic), progressive approaches for crime prevention, and effective partnerships for affordable housing.” (source – Facebook Group – Shirley Dixon for Ward 3)

That quote contains two actual policy ideas – she wants improved snow removal and street cleaning, and curbside recycling. As for ‘more reliable public transit’, I take the bus daily and have never had any serious problems with it. If anything, our current model of public transit (woohoo – Sunday service!) is the best that I have ever experienced in all my years riding big diesel limos. And the rest?

What is a progressive approach to crime reduction? What kinds of effective partnerships and with who? Greg needs to learn more.

Don Young – Municipal politics are always funny because there is always, inevitably one candidate who just doesn’t quite understand the Canadian constitution. Don Young ruined his whole profile with one line. Drum roll please….

“Take a tougher stance on crime; develop more effective crime-reduction methods”

What is this tougher stance on crime that he speaks of and how will a municipal politician accomplish such a thing? Is he going to fight to bring the death penalty to Regina? Or maybe public floggings?

Does Don Young want to separate from Canada? That way, City Councillors can ‘take a tougher stance on crime’ and actually modify the Criminal Code of Canada. Or is, ‘take a tougher stance on crime’ just a particularly boneheaded piece of jargon and rhetoric?

Please don’t insult my intelligence.

The rest of his profile is decent and he likely got the best Leader-Post article of the whole bunch. One particular quote really stands out and almost saves him:

If elected, Young would push for improved streets and snow removal; reduced crime, litter and graffiti; cost-effective spending; fair and equitable revenue-sharing; reasonable taxes; better relationships with unions; enhanced family amenities; improved senior programs and benefits; better transit; a revitalized downtown; and, improvements for art, cultural and community groups.

While I love graffiti and consider it a legitimate, beautiful form of art, I think that it could be channeled in better ways. The rest of that statement is wonderful, but….City Councillors just can not change the Criminal Code.

Conclusions – Many of my comments have been scathing and I really mean no disrespect, but I take my municipal politics very seriously.

Based on what I have seen, we have a very good crew of candidates in our ward. This election will create dialog and we badly need dialog in Regina. However, I can not find enough information online to facilitate making a real decision. Rather, the information I found only makes me want to dig more, read more and talk to more people. As I learn more, I will share it with each of you.

Happy Thanksgiving – I’m very thankful for democracy!!

Regina has had a whole host of amazing events this summer, from classical performances to AC/DC. The problem is that it often costs a great deal of money to attend. They are exclusionary when they are supposed to bring people together. While events often have larger corporate or business sponsors, for the first time Regina’s city council stepped up to the plate to the tune of $25,000.

Kudos, city council, kudos! This is exactly the type of event that the city needs to not only encourage, but also facilitate. Free presentations of the arts, no matter what the medium bring out the vibrancy of this city. It is my fervored hope that the City of Regina uses the success of this event as a reason to support such endeavors in the future. I think it’s fantastic that our municipal politicians felt it worthy to invest in a great event that was open to everyone. A tip of my hat to all those involved in putting on Symphony Under the Sky, and for making it such an enjoyable day – the rain that fell during the outdoor performance was just as classic as the Symphony itself!