I don’t know how today’s provincial election will turn out.  The polls seem contrary to my intuition, not that my intuition is very reliable.  I read the numbers of the different polls then I drive through the neighbourhoods and talk to people and what I see and hear don’t reconcile.  In Ottawa ridings, except for Ottawa Centre, there are more PC personal lawn signs than other party signs (maybe Liberals are embarrassed to display signs).  And this is true in some surprising ridings.
In Ottawa South, there are plenty of Jason …

The upcoming October 6, 2011 provincial election provides the clearest and simplest choice for Ontario voters.  Do they want more financial pressures and more taxes from a Dalton McGuinty government or do they want relief and less taxes from a Tim Hudak government?  Any other discussion as the Liberals will try to have is a sidebar and a distraction from this point.
It was almost laughable to listen to Bob Chiarelli suggest at the Randall Denley nomination launch that the Hudak team is being purposely vague on its stance on the …

The title of the book by Randall Denely, The Perfect Candidate, would lead one to believe that Denley himself has always had a secret dream to be such a candidate for public office but “perfect” might be over the top.
So if not the perfect candidate, he is at least the star candidate for the PC party in the Ottawa-Carleton region.  In what is a surprise announcement to most – although I heard that Sun columnist Sue Sherring had tweeted of this potential announcement some weeks back (kudos Sue) – Randall …

A few final words on the bi-weekly garbage pickup and green bin program: Randall Denely of the Ottawa Citizen sums up the double speak of councillors and city staff.  Whereas Sue Sherring of the Ottawa Sun summarizes the whole thing the best by stating “The city made a bad deal, but the green bin is here to stay.”
On the #exln41 front, John Ivison in the National Post makes a comparison of the political leaders as a peacock and a despot.  It is pretty funny and some would say bang on.  …

First let me state that I have to be careful how I word this blog.  As a member of the Seniors’ Advisory Committee (SAC), I am bound by certain code of conduct rules that limit the extent of what I say and write.  Sure hope I stay inside the lines…
With that disclaimer out of the way, let me tell you that there is a clash coming at transit commission.  That’s because, according to OC Transpo themselves, they are bilking Ottawa seniors up to $4M per year in higher bus fares …

Note to Newbies: There is a lesson to be learned somewhere in this debacle…read on…
Both Sue Sherring of the Ottawa Sun and Randall Denley of the Ottawa Citizen write about the green bin program:
City Hall math misleads by Randall Denley
Something stinks and it’s not the green bin waste by Sue Sherring
Denley takes on the truthiness of the numbers being discussed in regards to the costs to haul away regular garbage versus green garbage. He points out the numbers presented are not apples to apples comparison. Councillor …

There were two really good columns that were written over the weekend.  Both dealt with the city budgets:
Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen (Seniors lose battle for lower bus fares), wrote about the secret switch on seniors that saw their reduced fare rate as passed by the last council replaced with two half day free days.  Depending on who you ask, the savings is between $400K and $3M.
Sue Sherring, Ottawa Sun (Residents paying for council votes), wrote about the discontinuation of the rebate program for candidates.  Seems like after each election, council …

In yesterday’s Randall Denely column relating to the homeless dome, a city option to locate the dome on the field at Ledbury/Banff was turned down by the clients of the dome because of negative perceptions on the neighbourhood.  The fact that the dome will not be located there is probably good news to the residents of the area who would not want the traffic and parking hassles.
But there persists a wrong public opinion about this community that is the location of one of many Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) communities. This …

With the election of this new council comprised of some strong veterans plus much needed new blood, I was expecting vigourous debate and public discussion on the pros and cons of important motions presented to council.  In the previous council, I often complained that meetings were too long and too much time was spent debating frivolous issues.  In this council, I’m starting to see the opposite developing.  That is, no discussion at all on issues that should be deliberated.
I’m not going to rehash many of the points that Randall Denely …

I was asked today what are the foibles of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.  I didn’t know where to start.  There are so many things wrong with the Ontario premier, not only because of flawed policies but in the way he goes about implementing his flawed policies.
There is the health tax that added almost $1,000 to everyone’s tax payments.  There was also the fact that health tax was imposed following a signed public election promise not to raise taxes.   There was the fact that he refused to call it a tax …