Will GM Move To Canderel

Not a chance even though the rent at Canderel is dirt cheap, it probably has enough space for the few GM employees remaining and it has a great location. Hmmm I wonder if they can add extra stories to the building if times get better.

However the subject line did get you to read about other interesting stories.

GOOD NEWS FOR THE SYMPHONY

If they only had money! Otherwise the Maestro may leave us for another spot as I BLOGGED before.

Perhaps Sandra and Dwight and Windsor's newest, bestest buddy, Jeff Watson, can find a bunch of infrastructure money for us. I am sure Jeff's powerful position in the Conservative caucus allows him to make a few calls to his Ottawa friends to get that done right away. Don't we just have mere hours and days to spare to get this new request in!

• Windsor Armouries Concert Hall: "A Golden Opportunity"
  
  Needs Assessment for Feasibility Study Has Positive Results
  
  The overall concept of converting the Windsor Armouries into a cultural venue is a good idea", concludes Webb Management Services. "It can potentially provide the region with a high-quality performance venue at a fraction of the cost of building a new hall. In addition, the adaptive re-use of the Windsor Armouries is fundamentally a preservation project - a way to preserve a building that is historically and culturally significant".
  
  The physical assessment of the building received glowing remarks. Webb Management comments, "The existing geometry and materials offer what could be described as a golden opportunity for great acoustics...the Windsor Armouries building is well suited for the proposed purpose"

But wait---"The cost of renovation is estimated to be $28.3M." That is a trifling amount for our Mayor, mere lunch money considering that he will be spending almost $650M. It should be a no-brainer for Eddie to fit this project in too.

ILLEGAL PARKING

Which Member of Council will have to spend some of his/her big bucks because he/she received a parking ticket at City Hall for parking the wrong way.

I will buy a CUPE member a coffee if he/she sends me a photo taken from his/her cell phone showing the police officer tagging the car!

WEARING A "W" AT CKLW

"There's a hole in my bucket, dear Lisa, dear Lisa"

When you listen to this clip from the CKLW Morning lob show with Eddie Francis, this is the first thing that came to my mind after Lisa talked about the hole in her roof. I thought she might go on to say however:

"Then fix it, dear Eddie, dear Eddie, then fix it."

After all he makes "big bucks" in his words.

Not a peep from the hosts about the canal fiasco as the cause for complaints. But then again, Eddie might blamed and be forced to apologize. I wonder if he would have stormed out of the studio.

MORE CKLW CHANGES

I am still waiting for Melanie to ask me what is behind Door #3.

Here is what I learned about a change in CKLW's City Hall reporting crew.

• Patty Handysides' shift has changed but she knew several weeks ago that it was changing. It has to do with a change in CKLW's newsroom operations. Peter Langille is taking over the City Hall coverage for AM800.

KEY TO THE CITY

I heard that the Mayor got loudly booed after the last hockey game when his named was mentioned. Oh well, with his big bucks, he can take the heat.

I wonder with the successful season and the big attendance how much money the Spitfires made on their Arena deal with the City. We know that

• "It was projected that the city would get $1.5 million from WFCU operations in 2009. The new projection is $705,131 -- almost $800,000 less than anticipated."

If you remember the analysis of the Spitfires' deal, they were in line to make more than a few $$$. I wonder if Eddie will let us audit this deal as he was prepared to let us audit the savings from the City strike.

Naw, I don't think so! I wonder if it was not the key to the City that they received but one to a different location.

DO THE FEDS REALLY WANT SEXY PROJECTS

Here is an interesting story

• "Baird promises speediest handout of infrastructure cash in modern times

There have been suggestions that last week's sudden departure of top bureaucrat Kevin Lynch was the result of a clash between Conservative politicians and public servants, who are purportedly worried about the government's rush to throw money at infrastructure projects without doing due diligence.

But Baird said bureaucrats are making an "unprecedented effort" to cut red tape and are doing "phenomenal work" to speed up the process...

The Ontario applications, which poured in over a two-week period ending May 1, are seeking funding for all manner of municipal infrastructure projects, including road improvements, municipal building upgrades, public transit and water-and waste-management systems.

Officials are poring over the applications, looking initially for straightforward projects - such as water main replacements - which are ready to go immediately and can be wound up by March 31, 2011.

More complicated projects, such as those that require environmental assessments, will be saved for more critical evaluation later."

Perhaps Iggy could start acting as the Leader of the Opposition already and ask a few questions about how Jeff Watson could make the comments he did about the canal project. We have not had a good scandal for a few months now.

THEY MUST BE LAUGHING OVER THIS TOO

Writing only one column a week will be hard on Gord. People will actually have the time to read his column and think about what he says before the next one comes out.

Take this comment for instance:

• "The power brokers in the nation's capital must have been rolling in the aisles when they learned that the lead clowns in Canada's most economically troubled city had, in a monumental hissy fit, turned thumbs down on a $32-million federal contribution for downtown revitalization...
  
  Cooke, who brought Windsor a host of goodies, including a casino and an art gallery, while serving in the Bob Rae government, conceded it's a new one on him to see Windsor, which has historically bitched about being shortchanged, decline to ask for money that's there for the taking. "I can't remember Windsor ever turning down money.
  
  "The politics of this," said Cooke, "have clearly overtaken an honest assessment of the merits of the project. So let's wipe the slate and do it right."

I wonder what language Gord will use to describe how they are reacting to the turning down of billions of dollars from private enterprise and the Senior Levels on the border file!

CANAL BUSINESS CASE

If the canal idea is so good, then why hasn't our riverfront developer, Mr. Farhi started his condominium project already? I don't think he actually owns the land yet does he?

I would trust his viewpoint about our market condition a lot more than some politician who is not risking his money.

You remember the headline the other day too

• "Roof falls in on housing starts"

WINDSOR'S GREAT PR

Thanks to our Mayor's many recent media appearances, when people think of disadvantaged cities in Canada, guess which one they think of first. Here is a story out of Fredericton:

• "He said there's a dichotomy between the worst-case scenarios people are learning about in the media and what people in this region are seeing and experiencing.
  
  "The people I talk to would for the most part be confused. They're confused by what they see on the street and hear on the news. Their personal experience doesn't match what they're hearing on the news," Clark said,
  
  They're not experiencing job losses like in Windsor, Ont., he said."

Good to know we are synonymous for something. And we did it without a Mayor's PR Department or spending thousands of dollars on glossy magazines!