Thursday, January 2, 2014

AS we enter a new year there are signs that 2014 may witness the triumph of common sense. At all levels of society there are people forging practices that defy the bad habits of avoidance, obfuscation and outright nonsense. It is as if the pendulum swung too far into the realm of the bizarre and is now returning toward normalcy.
Thunder Bay’s experiment with amalgamation — 44 years and a day old — has finally settled on an approach that makes sense. Rather than trying to maintain two former city cores that continued to compete with each other, the city has designated one for entertainment and one for government services with a massive retail zone in between. The private sector is following the lead.
The former Port Arthur waterfront has been turned into a vibrant people place. This year will see more city services open alongside shops, two condos and an upscale hotel. On the horizon is the possibility of a sports, entertainment and convention centre.
Just up the street from Marina Park a sleepy downtown is alive with new boutiques, restaurants, pubs and gyms. A trendy loft condo development is adding pizzazz to old real estate.
A huge new courthouse will open in the former Fort William downtown this year with law firms eyeing adjacent empty buildings. Already there are new shops and eateries to complement the few stalwart stores that have weathered the long downturn. The city is examining a future for the fine old Royal Edward Arms while maintaining a riverfront park nearby.
In these pages last Saturday, inventive city architect Ahsanul Habib laid out his vision for the south side downtown centered on an all-season pedestrian market on Victoria Avenue. Habib has already rehabilitated a number of buildings there and saved the remarkable old Bank of Commerce facade.
Who on city council, asks a letter writer here today, will run with this ball?
Crowded north-south arteries will be further expanded this year by the city while the province gets on with plans to widen the expressway through town.
The province is also preparing to challenge Ottawa in the court of common sense by proposing its own pension plan. Ottawa refuses to consider an enlarged Canada Pension Plan even as most Canadians dread their absence of a secure retirement.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair will continue to bedevil the Conservative front bench with that marvel of good sense — a simple question demanding a straightforward answer — while Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau will surely drop more new ideas that resonate with people seeking clarity in their politics.
What’s next — decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana? Why yes, why not, says city police chief JP Levesque.
Most people know right from wrong. Politicians are catching up. – Editorial Chronicle Journal , January 02, 2014

Another biting, hard hitting editorial from the pages of the Chronicle Journal.   I can’t believe people in this city actually pay to read this shit.

What exactly does the City of Thunder Bay give the CJ in return for the newspaper becoming a city government whore?  What is the price for the newspaper to dump its integrity, ethics and standards?  Inquiring minds want to know.

PS – That sleepy downtown would look a lot nicer if that CJ property was not a pigsty. Just sayin’