Updates and Evictions
Despite grassroots support – and a cover
story in last week’s Echo – it appears that Ray Mitchell’s fight to save
the space he’s operated his Family Thrift Store from for 16 years, is over.
After I interviewed Mitchell for last week’s cover story, he was handed a
30-day notice by his landlord Milan Lesic. Mitchell and
Lesic were unable to reach an agreement on terms of a new lease; Lesic wanted
six months, Mitchell wanted three-to-five years. Mitchell may be able to move
his business into the building formally occupied by Wyndham Arts, but it would
only be a temporary salvation. “We’re out of here at the end of the month, and
I think we’re going out with a seven day music festival,” Mitchell told me last
Thursday. “Rather than be negative, we’ll be positive because that makes city
hall feel even worse.” The seven day festival is tentatively to be called
“Thrift-stock” adds Mitchell.
Quarterly Vandalism spree hits
core
Several proprietors and employees of 20
different downtown sites were greeted with delightful messages of "kill police and their families," "fight the
pigs," "kill police," "we are winning," and "No
2010 Olympics on stolen native land," last weekend. The River Run Centre,
Old Quebec Street mall, Knox Presbyterian Church and the law office of
Hungerford, Guthrie and Berry were amongst the venues not sparred from the
spree. Strong anti-police sentiments are a regular in graffiti incidents in
town; several squad cars were spray-painted in April 2007. As for the
anti-Olympic lobby, this follows an occurrence back in November where the
McDonalds on Wellington and Gordon was vandalized to the tune of $5,000.
There’s currently no evidence of a connection between the incidents, but police
are still investigating.
It’s a (tentative) deal!
With three days to spare before a strike
deadline, the City of Guelph reached a tentative deal with the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE) locals 241, 973 and 1946, who represent approximately 550
outside, inside and library employees. Details of the settlement will be
available when all parties have had an opportunity to present the settlement to
their respective principals for ratification. The CUPE locals have been working
with out a contract since January 31 and a strike deadline of
Friday, March 6 at 12:01 am was set.
Valeriote talks cars
Our local MP demonstrated again last week
that he’s a man of parliamentary action, as Frank Valeriote was appointed to a committee
studying the crisis in the auto industry. Five Members of Parliament will sit
on the sub-committee which begins its work immediately and will report its
findings and recommendations to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and
Technology by March 24, 2009. “The auto industry has been a
driving force in Canada’s economy and has contributed to the vitality and prosperity of
communities right across this country. Canadian families depend on the good
jobs that have traditionally been associated with the auto sector,” said
Valeriote in a press release. “This study is a welcome opportunity to study the
industry, share information with Canadians about the industry, and draw
conclusions as to the appropriate federal response to address this crisis.”
Pollinator Postponed
Last week, council formally approved a plan
to turn part of the old Eastview landfill into a pollinator park, but cost
issues in some aspects of the conversion may slow the process. The first phase
of creating a community park on the old landfill site – which will include the
creation of lit football fields (both kinds) – will cost about $1.74 million,
an amount that’s already been budgeted. The remaining costs, totalling about
$6.8 million, may have to be spread over five or six years. But at least the
pollinator function of the park should proceed in a timely manner; the city’s
planning chief, Jim Riddell, says that the non-profit group called Pollinator
Guelph will handle fundraising responsibilities to install pollinator-friendly
plantings without any direct cost to the city. The pollinator park project is
part of a sustainability effort to combat the decline of pollinators like bees,
butterflies, hummingbirds and moths
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