21 February 2010
Reader Response Forum
27/02/2010 05:37
Habitat Issue Just Won’t Die
This letter to the St. Albert Gazette was copied to St. Albert’s Place by the author:
The Editor:
Lori Fabian and Nina Carpenter each provide excellent perspectives: Realistically, it is not a positive venture to establish an expansive residential facility within the confines of an over-crowded neighbourhood such as Akinsdale. Frankly, construction invites potentially disastrous consequences and therefore, I cannot support an unfavourable plan that poses a safety risk to members of the community.
Similarly, I do favour the Habitat for Humanity Project. Indeed, it is necessary to establish an affordable living space, making St. Albert an inviting place for diverse populations of individuals to dwell. Frankly, I am quite concerned with the financial educational demands and rising costs that challenge young persons. As a parent, I am well aware of the implications of absence of affordability. However, needed housing cannot simply be permitted to arise based upon cost effectiveness. Safety within any community must be prioritized and remain the ultimate deciding factor.
The park space at Arlington Drive has provided a haven for children in the community throughout many years. A school is located nearby as well as a neighbourhood childcare centre which regularly employs the area to facilitate active recreational play and team sports. Clearly, middle-ground must emerge wherever consideration of establishing a new housing area arises. Naturally, reservation and opposition to building within the confines of an already condensed, long established and populated area. It is necessary to listen to critics because valid safety concerns cannot be denied. At the same time, we must continue to brainstorm collectively to achieve support for a viable living area venture sufficient to carry the impact of numerous residents safely.
Sincerely,
Velvet Martin
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
If council thinks this issue is going to go away anytime soon, they had better think again. If they force such a high density of multi family homes on the people of Akinsdale, they do so at their peril.
Bits ’N Pieces From Our Readers
About That Smart Car Item . . .
On Thursday’s site I noticed your Smart Car accident pictures. I saw these last week and noticed the hubcaps in the picture were different than the one in the accident so I thought I would check this out on snopes.com and this is what was on their site … the picture is real but it wasn’t a Smart Car – it was actually a Ford Escape SUV which really shocked me.
Sharon Magnuson
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
That shocks me too Sharon, thanks for pointing out the real story. That said though, I still would not want to be a Smart car either in that kind of collision.
And Speaking Of Cars . . .
This is interesting. An electric drag race car.
Al Popil
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Wow Al, is it ever! Imagine an electric car that beats anything at the track. Even those big muscle cars. It’s the fastest street legal electric car in the world.
Readers can see a video of this car and how well it performs here.
WEBBITS
27/02/2010 05:37
A roundup of bits from the web:
* Low-carb diet can increase bad cholesterol levels.
* Are my favourite bartenders going to be sent to jail?
* Cash-strapped LA going after unlicensed dogs.
* The Funniest Headline Fails Of All Time.
* US diplomats add a moat to their expenses at $1bn London embassy.
* Man gets back wallet taken in 1949; was found in an attic by home renovator.
Imaginative Paper Art
27/02/2010 05:37
This item was sent in to us by Mayor Crouse. Thanks
for sharing Mr. Mayor.
These are entries for an art contest at the Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in Washington DC. The rule was that the artist could use only one sheet of paper.
These are entries for an art contest at the Hirshorn Modern Art Gallery in Washington DC. The rule was that the artist could use only one sheet of paper.
Embarrassing Medical Moments
27/02/2010 05:37
Some Days Teachers Just Can’t Win
27/02/2010 05:37
It’s a dirty job folks, but someone has to do it.
Teach school that is.
A US substitute teacher is in big trouble for breaking up a fight in his classroom.
Two young goons tackled each other and the teacher grabbed one of them by the neck to break it up.
Now that precious little snowflake has complained he has red marks and a full investigation is underway.
He shudda kicked his ass.
What’s Stopping Bullets Now?
27/02/2010 05:36
Last week we told you about a woman with large love handles that stopped a bullet and saved her life.
Not to be outdone, a woman in Los Angles was saved from certain death when shot with a high powered rifle at point blank range.
Did her love handles play a role?
I guess it depends on your definition of love handles.
The tale is here.
Reader Response Forum
26/02/2010 06:20
Do We Know The Real Facts On Habitat Project?
The numbers of issues government can resolve are few; as a result politicians invent or exaggerate issues to achieve personal or political objectives. The result is always the same needless spending, ego driven mega projects and numerous additional problems created for the electorate. St. Albert used to be governed by good public policy with small incremental solutions to improve the community. Increasingly we are being driven towards large high risk mega projects that fail to address the concerns of residents.
We were all hoodwinked by the rosy profit projections concerning Servus Place and many people voted accordingly. We are now all stuck with a costly white elephant that cost $50 million to construct and suffers perpetual operating losses, no matter how badly city accountants try to blur the red ink into various other departments. Ray Gibbons Drive, more aptly described “The road to nowhere”, was plagued with poor initial estimates and millions in cost overruns. Thank goodness the $95 million in offsite levy fees that was to be offloaded onto taxpayers was discovered by the St. Albert Taxpayers Association! If not for them, we would be on the hook for another costly misadventure. All of these items could have been easily averted with some due diligence and careful analysis by city council.
Now we are being told that St. Albert ranks 3rd in Alberta as being a community most in need of affordable housing. These numbers suggest that 15% of St. Albert’s population, or roughly 8000 people, are in need of affordable housing. These figures were calculated by compiling the income tax returns for residents of St. Albert and using these returns to see if the individual residents would be able to afford an “average mortgage payment” and that this “mortgage payment” would not exceed 32% of their income. So is the affordable housing problem really this large?
If St. Albert is a city that is unaffordable for 8,000 residents to live in, then we are left with the paradoxical question: How are they affording to live here now? Obviously they have found some housing solution that is logically affordable. Further investigation suggests that a large portion of the 15% figure is seniors residing in their own home that has a clear title, and that these seniors live with a reduced pension income. Other populations represented in this 15% figure are people aged 18 – 29 living in their parent’s home, and who are saving for a down payment or who are going to post secondary schools. The 15% figure would also include children under 18 who filed a tax return. All three of these groups would thus not be burdened with a mortgage payment reducing their low income.
In reality, the need for affordable housing is much less than 15% of St. Albert’s population. Recently the Chamber of Commerce came out in support of affordable housing as they saw this as a way of attracting low income workers to St. Albert; providing accommodations for current residents in need was not their primary motivation. In St. Albert, there are currently 33 homes listed for sale whose asking prices are under $250,000. These prices are less than the proposed price for the Habitat for Humanity (H4H) project proposed for Akinsdale. Why have the 8,000 local residents supposedly requiring affordable housing not purchased these listings?
When creating solutions to solve a problem that is exaggerated, how many people do we hurt in the process? The H4H/Apollo Developments proposed project would result in reduced home equity for current residents in Akinsdale. The city’s assessed property taxes create situations whereby seniors have to move away due to unaffordable taxes and young families choose to live elsewhere when they realize that they can purchase a larger home outside of St. Albert as our hefty property taxes reduce the size of mortgage they can service. The end result is that we will not create a more affordable community but a community comprised of the very wealthy and the very poor.
In the end analysis, City Hall is more interested in carving out additional tax revenue rather than to seriously quantify and address the issue of affordable housing. The property at 70 Arlington Drive in Akinsdale was not chosen because of its suitability or due to any pressing need, it was chosen as it is the quickest way for the city to increase tax revenue to gloss over their wasteful spending. If this was not the case, we would be looking at allocating any of the 1300+ hectares of annexed land to affordable housing, creating a land bank or partnering with the Edmonton region to look for solutions.
City Hall should address itself to resolving the real issues we face here in St. Albert. They would be able to find out what these issues were if they listened to their constituents.
Cam MacKay
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Cam, you raise some interesting questions that every taxpayer should ponder. All too often we simply take politician’s word for figures and it looks to me like that 15 percent number is far from correct.
I have long maintained that the last three councils, have been tightly controlled by administration. I often refer to the current administration as “Robbing Hood And His Merry Band Of Men” for picking the pockets of the poor to enhance the lifestyle of the rich in this city, $ervu$ Place being but one glaring example. Any council who blindly plunges ahead with the support of a tiny percentage in a plebiscite does no service to its taxpayers. The opposition was huge then as it remains to this day. I voted against it, have never set foot in it, and never will.
Did you get your copy of the new $ervu$ Place glossy brochure that had to cost thousands of our tax dollars in the Gazette on Wednesday? I see that only as more wasted tax dollars, appealing to nearly half the residents of this city who do not have the means, nor desire to afford to use that White Elephant in the first place.
It’s time to clean house at city hall and I don’t mean this council alone. Administration needs to be purged starting right at the top and carry on on down the line to mid level management. It is the only way we will ever regain control of spending in this city. The Gucci and Lexus taste of this administration must be stopped before they build themselves a new Taj Mahal (city hall) to go along with their lavish governance of this city.
Council Needs To End Administrative Control
Many years ago during a future leaders training session, an instructor told a story. It went something like this:
12 adults attended a training session, where 11 class members have been told to give the wrong answer to a certain question when it is posed to the group.
The 12th member gives the correct answer, but the other 11 give the incorrect answer they were told to give.
After some discussion the member who gave the correct answer, against his better judgement, gives in to the majority, even though he is 100 percent sure his answer was right and the rest were wrong.
I think this is what happens in our council, even if we had a whole new council elected, administration convinces them into thinking their way.
I once told a candidate running for election about a problem that no one seemed to be able to solve. That candidate solved the problem for me before they were elected.
But now that they have been elected, if I asked for help solving a problem from the same now councillor, I would be told the problem doesn’t exist in St. Albert.
So I wish this gun-ho young man James Van Damme all the best BUT . . .
Geordie
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Isn’t it odd that so many local residents think the problems we face with over taxation is directly the result of an out of control administration?
The most disturbing part of it all is that not one member of the past three councils has had the cajones to do the right thing and rid ourselves of the lot of them.
Perhaps that will change with the election of a new council this fall? The buck has to stop squarely in their court and we need a council willing to do it.
READER RESPONSE:
Another Reader Weighs In On Spending
Hi Don,
I've kept these comments to council around for almost 30 years, I was so impressed by this contribution to our GMP update. Have you ever heard of Dennis Mooney? And he never even saw Servus Place or Ray Gibbon Drive or $29 Million Riel sports facilities ... Wonder if he is still living in St. Albert?
This man lived and worked all over the world and picked St. Albert to live in because of ads he saw and because of his interest in Fiscal Responsibility. Part of his submission (emphasis mine):
"...but Canada, my home and where I chose to come back to for good reasons, has not come face to face with the realities of the next century. We are still building monuments to ourselves, and what I mean is that elected officials seem to want to point to some expensive structure and say "my blood and sweat is responsible for bringing this marvel of engineering to you and future generations." I believe that St. Albert Place and the new Protestant School Board building are evidence of monument building. Instead what these elected officials are leaving us is a legacy of debt and high taxes.
I am asking this board (Allred, M. Plain etc.) to have the integrity and foresight to say to yourselves and to your neighbours that you have put into place a sound MDP for the 90's that will take St. Albert's residents proudly and financially secure into the next century. Please no more monuments, just sound spending.
If we can' t afford to grow, who says we have to. Simply saying that we have to grow without asking ourselves why is monument building in itself."
Elke Blodgett
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Well Elke, that proves two things to me. First, they didn’t listen then and second they don’t listen now. Is not a single one of them any smarter today than they were 30 years back?
WEBBITS
26/02/2010 06:20
Milking Time Down On The Farm
26/02/2010 06:20
Quick, what’s the first thing you picture in your mind when I mention water buffalo?
Yep, me too.
A rice paddy with a guy in a cone shaped hat walking behind the water buffalo.
Never would I think of a dairy farm near Trenton, Ontario, would you?
But milk the darn things they do.
They make cheese too.
Surprise In Bag Of Frozen Green Beans
26/02/2010 06:20
Opening a bag of frozen green beans seems like such an everyday experience, doesn’t it?
But one woman in Texas got more than she bargained for when she opened her beans.
You see, there was a visitor inside the bag.
Oh, it wasn’t alive or anything.
It wasn’t even all there!
But what was it?
It Happened At School
26/02/2010 06:20
Overblown Terrorism Threats Countries Perceive
26/02/2010 06:20
I don’t know about you folks, but it seems to me that the “Big Brother” mentality since the 911 attack on the World Trade Centre is getting out of hand.
Enter the Aussie government and their new permanent anti-terrorism policy.
They’ve now earmarked 10 countries whose citizens will have to undergo face scans and fingerprinting before they can set foot in OZ.
How ridiculous is that?
Reader Response Forum
25/02/2010 03:17
Tom Brokaw Explains Canada To Americans
This video needs no explanation, just sit back and be a proud Canadian.
Finally, A Good Picture Of A Ghost!
I don’t know about you folks, but every time I see a picture of a ghost it is all blurry.
Most remind me of those fuzzy UFO shots so many people take.
But this one is different.
A British builder was demolishing a school and saw a ghost of a school boy of old.
He grabbed his cell phone and shot an amazing photo of the kid.
No, not this fuzzy picture, see the good one here.
Shoplifting Seagull
WEBBITS
25/02/2010 03:17
A roundup of bits from the web:
* Half of Britain's six-year-old girls 'want to be thinner'.
* Truckload of marijuana goes up in smoke.
* Grand jury indicts Doctor in rapes of 103 child patients.
* Arrest made in 'break dancing' damages.
* Wildlife improvises when snow and ice make their menus skimpier than usual.
Van Damme Enters Race For Council
25/02/2010 03:17
James Van Damme, is a post baby boom leader running as a candidate for St. Albert city council on October 18, 2010.
When James was just eight years old, he wrote a biography of himself in the future, and foresaw that he would “live in a nice safe community, be married, have a son and a daughter, and be a successful lawyer and accountant.”
Although he did not become either an accountant or lawyer, he feels that having these goals kept him on the right track through his formative years. Goal setting has always been important for Van Damme, who is now setting his sights on a position on St. Albert’s city council. Long term planning and foresight is something he feels is lacking in our current city administration. “We need to have vision and goals, and everyone is more concerned about the year-to-year budgets,” he says.
In his work experience as a consultant in enterprise risk and information technology, James Van Damme has consulted with business of all sizes, including some Fortune 500 companies. He has assisted those businesses to access the big picture, concerning budgets, security, or risk management. His point of view makes him want to take action to correct what he sees as problems in the way St. Albert is currently being run.
When Van Damme moved to St. Albert seven years ago, he was aware residents paid the highest property taxes in Alberta. When speaking to co-workers and people he knew who lived here, “they had nothing but great things to say about St. Albert, other than the taxes.” Since that time, however, he has started to wonder if the citizens of St. Albert are getting good value for the taxes they pay.
James notes, “Since I’ve been living here, taxes have gone up every year and the amenities have decreased. When we do have surpluses, residents don’t get a tax break.”
In an attempt to investigate further to discover where taxes have been going, Van Damme discovered that it is hard to get answers. This led him to the belief that we need more transparency and accountability on city council, as to where tax dollars are going. “It’s not about being the highest,” he says, “it’s what you get for being the highest.”
He proposes that budgets be easily accessible online, with numbers crunched in a clear way. He also advocates posting city council meetings on YouTube, to further enhance transparency.
If that were occurring now, others might notice as he has, that you don’t see a lot of actionable items during city council meetings. Van Damme suggests standardizing committees to save time and money.
“Councillors serve on a lot of committees, but there’s no mandate for these committees. A lot of time is spent by council on committee work,” he notes and advocates “standardization of committee’s presentations to council, their mandate, and what outcomes should be, set through an organizational oversight committee. That will free up some of these committees to actually start producing.”
Another way to cut fat from municipal budgets is to spend less on consultants. The city continues to hire consultants to do research on city projects, often paying them thousands of dollars to do a job that might easily be done in house. Van Damme believes that we should interact with city administration and have them do some preliminary work before we engage consultants.
Having been a consultant himself, Van Damme knows how consultants operate. He points to the irony that consultants are paid to interview city employees and then present their opinions to council. He also suggests the use of online bidding to hire consultants, when necessary. That would make sure rates are competitive to get the best value for taxpayers.
James believes in setting long term goals to have a vision for the future of St. Albert. His vision? “I want to see St. Albert be internationally recognized for technology as a city that has adapted to the 21st century.”
With his background in information technology, it seems inevitable that technology would be integrated into his plans for the future development of St. Albert. He foresees a city where the use of emerging technologies is commonplace, WIFI networks are well established, and homes are energy efficient. Van Damme points out, “I know the city has to grow, but the city doesn’t have to necessarily pay for that growth.”
He agrees with recent implementation of levies on new developments, to offset costs of infrastructure. He recognizes it means an increase in housing costs for new home buyers as developers try to recoup costs. However, he argues that it is better to pay $20,000 more for a house than to have current residents shoulder the burden of infrastructure costs as high as $95 million up front. He says $20,000 dollars is comparable to normal fluctuations in the housing market and buyers would benefit from the infrastructure as would the rest of the community for the long term.
He also believes in Smart Growth concepts. “We can use Smart Growth, to our advantage and start putting a green footprint on our city, perhaps using federal and provincial funding.”
James Van Damme believes his vision is suitable for our city because, “eco-city, eco-vision works for St. Albert to offset a lack of industrial development.”
Other facets of Van Damme’s vision for the future are the development of clean power, such as solar, attracting more commercial business to annexed lands, and development of downtown.
He believes that there is potential to resolve the financial albatross that is Servus Credit Union Place. He thinks it can be made profitable by utilizing “outside the box thinking.” This includes adding commercial space, using Servus Place as an entertainment venue, setting up a transportation hub nearby, and encouraging community atmosphere making Servus Place a flagship.
James looks forward to the months leading up to the election and does not plan on slowing down. He is currently working in partnership with city employees to put together a blueprint for his platform. He will be posting his blueprint on his website (www.stalbertelections.com). James is also accessible online via Twitter and Facebook. He expects citizens of St. Albert to hold him accountable for campaign promises and hopes his transparency, work ethic and enthusiasm is seen in his campaign.
He is starting early, but James sees the months ahead as an opportunity for citizens to get to know him and his platform.
“I’m about being open with issues and allowing democracy to rule and wants St. Albert to hear what I have to say,” Van Damme says. He wants to get voters thinking that if he shows this much devotion to a campaign, imagine what he can do on council!
In the end, it is the voters of St. Albert who will determine the future on election day, October 18, 2010.
SINC SAYS:
As a courtesy St. Albert’s Place will be offering free hot links to any candidate’s web site when running for city council in this fall’s election. They are located in the left hand column for reader’s convenience. If you are, or intend to be a candidate and have a web site you would like listed, just e-mail it to mybirdie@telus.net.
Press releases from any candidate are also welcome at any time.
The Advantages Of Being Fat?
25/02/2010 03:17
You won’t find many folks who will tell you that being fat is a benefit.
But you will find one woman in the Sunshine State that will make that claim.
You see, she’s got big “love handles” and she found a use for them that saved her life.
What did she do anyway?
Having Trouble Finding That Book You Want?
25/02/2010 03:16
Smart Cars Great For Gas Mileage . . . BUT
25/02/2010 03:16
Reader Response Forum
24/02/2010 06:22
A Story About Greeters At Wal*Mart
The day came and as the four sat around the conference room table, Jennifer asked, 'What is the fastest thing you know of?'
The first man replied, 'A THOUGHT' It just pops into your head. There's no warning.
'That's very good!' replied Jennifer. 'And, now you sir?', she asked the second man..
'Hmmm...let me see 'A blink' it comes and goes and you don't know that it ever happened. A BLINK is the fastest thing I know of.'
'Excellent!' said Jennifer. 'The blink of an eye, that's a very popular cliché for speed. ‘She then turned to the third man, who was contemplating his reply.
'Well out at my dad's ranch, you step out of the house and on the wall there's a light switch. When you flip that switch, way out across the pasture the light on the barn comes on in less than an instant. 'Yep, TURNING ON A LIGHT is the fastest thing I can think of'.
Jennifer was very impressed with the third answer and thought she had found her man. 'It 's hard to beat the speed of light,' she said.
Turning to BUBBA, the fourth and final man, Jennifer posed the same question.
Ol' Bubba replied, 'After hearing the previous three answers, it's obvious to me that the fastest thing known is DIARRHEA.'
'WHAT!?' said Jennifer, stunned by the response.
'Oh sure', said BUBBA. 'You see, the other day I wasn't feeling so good, and I ran for the bathroom, but before I could THINK, BLINK, or TURN ON THE LIGHT, I had already crapped my pants.'
BUBBA is now the new greeter at that Wal-Mart!
You probably will think of this every time you enter a Wal-Mart
The Video File Roundup
So many of our readers have sent in videos that we have a backup and to ease that, we’re calling this video Wednesday:
The Orangutan and the Hound
Lawn Mower Works Like A Toyota?
I can’t even count the number of readers who have sent me a copy of this video. Each and every one claiming they laughed until they cried, so here it is for all to see. Might it be a Toyota?
UFO Punches Hole In Sky Over Mexico
WEBBITS
24/02/2010 06:22
* Gay Guardsman Still Drills With Unit.
* Fast-food breakfast sales decline as fewer head to work.
* The perfect man is a geek with facial stubble ... women's secret turn-ons revealed.
* UFO sightings - MoD 'blanked out' insults about reports.
* Noah's Ark was circular raft made of reeds, according to ancient tablet.
Doing Hard Time In San Antonio
24/02/2010 06:21
Folks who live in this part of Texas are used to hardened criminals doing hard time.
Once a year the cops round up all the hardened criminals who have failed to pay their fines on time.
Usually the suspects are those folks who didn’t pay their speeding tickets, but this year the long arm of the law just got longer.
Now they’re after folks who held illegal garage sales and a host of other violations.
What violations you ask?
Embarrassing Medical Moments
24/02/2010 06:21
It Happened At School
24/02/2010 06:21
Naked Sled Race Draws 14,000 People
24/02/2010 06:21
A naked sledging event in Germany’s Harz region created a logistical nightmare over the weekend after 14,000 people showed up to watch 30 men and women strip before sliding down the mountain.
Take a peek here.
Reader Response Forum
23/02/2010 01:13
Fun With A Fan
Taxpayers Meeting Goes Tonight
Hello St. Albert Taxpayers:
Wondering about the Municipal Election in 2010? Want to provide your views on what should be an election issue? Come and share them tonight at the St. Albert Taxpayers meeting, 7:30 pm, at the St. Albert Community League Hall, 17 Perron Street.
Please print and bring this agenda, and January meeting minutes which can be downloaded here.
Thanks,
Lynda Flannery
President
St. Albert Taxpayers Association
“Your membership is your voice”
The Very Best Of Photography
WEBBITS
23/02/2010 01:13
The Shame In Spain Falls Mainly On Debtors
23/02/2010 01:13
If you’ve ever had a collection agency on your case, you should be glad you didn’t live in Spain.
Here we get the threatening letters and the harassing phone calls.
But over in Spain, the game changes.
Over there, they use a tactic called public humiliation.
So, just how do they humiliate you?
A Fascinating 1950s Love Connection
23/02/2010 01:13
Sometimes children don’t know everything about their parents lives.
Such was the case when siblings began to clean out the home of their recently deceased Mother in Helena, Montana.
A box, long ago sealed and stored in the basement revealed much more than they bargained for and left them speechless about their mother’s earlier first marriage.
It even contained her picture. But the picture had a bullet hole in it. That was from the bullet that killed her first husband as he carried the picture in his breast pocket in the Korean War.
Well worth the read and not to be missed.
Woman Dies Leaving Over 2,000 Descendants
23/02/2010 01:13
With a name like Yitta, one would think a woman would live a pretty average life.
Not so for this Yitta who left behind a string of descendants that boggles the mind.
Not many people can make that kind of claim either.
But how did Yitta do it?
Carnival 2010
23/02/2010 01:13
Once more, it is Carnival Season in many countries around the world with a Roman Catholic heritage. Celebrations and parades are put on just prior to the observance of Lent.
Over the past few weeks parades and celebrations have taken place throughout Europe, the Caribbean and South America. An estimated 730,000 foreign tourists, many fleeing snowy winter conditions in Europe and the United States, traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for this year's celebrations.
Collected here are a handful of images from some of the elaborate celebrations of this Carnival season. (39 photos total)
Reader Response Forum
22/02/2010 01:19
Taxpayers Meeting Goes Tomorrow Night
Hello St. Albert Taxpayers:
Wondering about the Municipal Election in 2010? Want to provide your views on what should be an election issue? Come and share them at the St. Albert Taxpayers meeting, 7:30 pm, Tuesday, February 23rd, at the St. Albert Community League Hall, 17 Perron Street.
Please print and bring this agenda, and January meeting minutes which can be downloaded here.
Thanks,
Lynda Flannery
President
St. Albert Taxpayers Association
“Your membership is your voice”
Tomorrow Night At LB’s Pub
Feb.-23rd - Norm Henze - Gord Macdonald - Chris Durand and Darryl (Scmidtty) Schmidt.
This former show has a special place in my heart due to how much I learned about being a, soft touch, yet push drummer. These musicians started this acoustic stage and built a foundation of new players and a new library of songs to play. Norm Henze's brainstorming homework to pick tunes that would fit the bill of being an acoustic open stage worked well. Working along side Gord Macdonald who showed his guts in doing most of the vocals and getting off his bass guitar at times to show his skills on the guitar live made this a very interesting match to play along with. Darrell Schmidt Scmidtty is a careful drummer who respects what else is happening on stage and adjusts his playing style accordingly just as I would.
This jam was not supposed to include drummers on stage but we were so careful in our pushing the songs quietly that it seemed to work and attracted a few drummers who came and became a little smarter about how to really play live.The addition of Chris Durand made and broke this jam wide open. Chris Durand brought the blues style and powerful emotional vocals and added more to the library of jam tunes and this started to attract even more new players. His brilliance as a guitarist on both acoustic and electric guitar made you want to get down to Wednesday night and play.
I wanted to show this show off to people who did not get a chance to enjoy it and mostly for those who were regulars at the show. Good friends, food, drink,and care free live music where everyone could play and the time clock never mattered. Whhooosh 3:00 a.m., remember Norm?
Ammar’s Moosehead Tuesday Open Stage
Every Tuesday night from 9 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
The Very Best Of Photography
WEBBITS
22/02/2010 01:19
* Weird X-ray: 123 cocaine-filled condoms found in smuggler’s tummy.
* Police: Man rides on car hood in his underwear.
* Using Facebook or Twitter 'could raise your insurance premiums by 10%'.
* Body falls from cargo plane leaving D.R.
* Elderly pirate filming Avatar for wife at Glendale.
* Dolphins have diabetes off switch.
The Top 10 Conveniences In Your Car
22/02/2010 01:19
Thinking back to the dozens of cars I have owned in my lifetime, I have witnessed the accessory become the standard feature over the years.
Back then we had to pay extra for an automatic transmission for example.
Ditto for power brakes or power steering or power windows.
Nowadays vehicles come with all that stuff as standard equipment, but they also come with a host of other conveniences for today’s drivers.
What’s your favourite option?
Panda Porn Assists Breeding Program
22/02/2010 01:19
We’ve all heard the jokes out there about porn and girlie magazines haven’t we?
You know, the ones about the Playboy mags at the sperm bank to assist, er, production.
But what to do when your prize Panda pair won’t mate?
Keepers in China have come up with a novel solution to the problem.
They show the boy Pandas porn to arouse them.
No, really.
Arizona Drivers Revolt Against Photo Radar
22/02/2010 01:19
In a move that must bring joy to the hearts of those who oppose photo radar, Arizonans are letting lawmakers know they’re mad as hell and aren’t going to take it any longer.
Ever since the state installed photo radar on highways driver have begun vandalizing the roadside boxes by some rather ingenious methods.
Some involve such simple things as silly string for example.
Read what else they’re done.
Reader Response Forum
21/02/2010 05:38
Can You Croak Like A Frog Grampa?
When they get to the hospital, she runs ahead of her Grandma and bursts into her Grandpa's room ...
"Grandpa, Grandpa," she says excitedly, "As soon as Grandma comes into the room, make a noise like a frog!"
"What?" said her Grandpa.
"Make a noise like a frog - because Grandma said that as soon as you croak, were all going to Disney Land!
The Very Best Of Photography
WEBBITS
21/02/2010 05:38
America's Most Miserable Cities 2010.
Daycare leaves two-year-old girl behind after 'Elmo Live' in New York.
Wife of televangelist Benny Hinn files for divorce.
"Feed the Children" Charity Under Fire.
School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home.
10 Worst Oscar Best Pictures of All Time.
A Taste of Texico
21/02/2010 05:38
A Foodie’s Expedition To Southern Texas And
Mexico
By KC4
Special Correspondent
St. Albert’s Place
Part Five:
The next adventure was a walk down a busy street with many hole-in-the-wall shops selling music, souvenirs, clothing, shoes, knock-off designer products and pharmacy goods. As full as I was, I was attracted to the colorful street food vendors. One was roasting fresh ears of corn over a charcoal filled pan.
The combination of smoldering wood charcoal, singed corn husks and the popcorn like smell of roasted corn kernels was tantalizing. I watched as he brushed each cob with butter, then tossed on a big spoonful of crumbled queso (Mexican cheese) and then topped it all off with a sprinkle of salt and chili pepper flakes. Awesome.
Not surprisingly, our next stop was another landmark restaurant. After all, we had not eaten for at least 90 minutes. This time we were at Los Nortenos (The Northerners), which seemed fitting as here we were in the North-Easternmost corner of Mexico. This restaurant has been around since 1950 and is still very popular.
Los Nortenos’ long time claim to fame is a northern Mexico regional specialty, roast baby goats. I’ve enjoyed lamb before and am actually looking forward to trying the goat equivalent. Yes, I know, I’m probably going to hell for eating babies. I eat eggs too.
The opened and flattened whole goat carcasses are skewered lengthwise on long stakes and propped up over the coals. Other than a bit of salt, they typically are not seasoned to avoid interference with the flavor that is given by being roasted for eight hours over slow burning charcoal.
Even though they looked delicious to me, I was sure hoping they wouldn’t bring a whole one to the table for us.
I chuckled at the menu. One side was in Spanish and the other in English. I noted that the Spanish side had more detail, while the English side was kept simpler, but it was clearly meant to appear to be an equivalent direct translation.
Busted! One of the menu items on the Spanish side offered Cabrito en Sangre which is directly translated as Kid in Blood. The blood of the goat is saved at slaughter time and this is used as the base of the sauce the goat is simmered in and served with.
The English language menu twin was “Gravy Baby Goat”. I wondered whether they would really prepare an American style gravy to go with the roasted goat or whether they would serve the Cabrito en Sangre with it’s unique “gravy”. The latter, of course.
I understood why they fudged the name on the menu – it certainly did not translate to English in an appetizing way. When I thought more about it, our Canadian/American gravy was not that much different in that we start our gravy with the drippings from the meats we roast.
We were there only for their most famous specialty, Cabrito al Pastor, the plain roasted baby goat. Thankfully, a whole goat did not arrive. We all tried a sample and it was very tender, fragrant and delicious. It really didn’t need any other spices or condiments.
Déjà vu. More unordered dishes started to come to our table carried by beaming waiters. Compliments of the Chef. Compliments of the restaurant owner. Compliments of the lead waiter. What’s next, compliments of the lead bus person? We are so full we are almost in pain. We are gluttons and we are definitely getting punished.
Chef leans over and whispers that she wishes we could take a bite, chew, taste and then spit it out like we sometimes do when testing multiple recipe variations. Being very hungry or very full while taste-testing recipes will skew the results. Things always taste better when you are hungry, and even great food can taste mediocre or worse when one is full.
Unfortunately, we cannot figure out how to do this gracefully without totally insulting our host, let alone revolting our fellow diners. We also do not wish to offend by refusing the dishes that we have been given. So we take one bite of everything and then taste, chew, swallow and smile. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
We all pile back in the van to return to Garcia’s. I’m surprised that we all still fit in the van. I thought we would surely need the aid of a giant shoehorn considering the quantity that all of us somehow managed to consume.
Once back at Garcia’s we thank Mr. Garcia for all the help and give leave to our fine police escort.
In the line-up to cross over the bridge we repeat the same routine as the night before. We all dig out our passports and hand them up towards the driver who gives them all to the Customs guard.
Just like the night before, the Customs guard walks around the van tapping the panels for suspicious sounds and scans the wheel wells with a flashlight. They never ask us to get out, but each time on this trip that we returned from Mexico, they would always exclaim with surprise that there was a Canadian in the van. Then they would crane their head in to get a good look at it.
I wave and smile. Yep, it’s just another Canadian frost-back returning from Mexico. I think they were disappointed to see that I didn’t look distinguishably Canadian. I was so sorry not to be wearing a fur fringed parka and toque.
What’s next on our schedule? Well, those groceries we bought this morning should be ready to eat soon. Oh no, I really need a nap.
After a short but blessed nap, we all present ourselves at the doorway of the tiny household of our next hostess. She is diminutive herself – not even close to reaching 5 feet tall. All her children are adults with families of their own. Her husband recently passed away and she now lives alone.
The aromas of freshly prepared home cooking waft out towards us. They permeate our pores as soon as we entered the household. We are immersed. Amazingly, it is making me hungry.
Our entire hog herd crowds into her tiny humid kitchen and hover over the stove to see what’s cooking. It does look fabulous. Pollo de Arroz (chicken with rice), Carne Guisada (pork stew), Charro Beans (seasoned simmered pinto beans), Fidello (Mexican chicken noodle soup) and wonderful Queso Enchiladas with a rich mole sauce.
This is what the people in this area grow up eating in their homes. It may be exotic and ethnic to me, but it’s good old home cooking to them.
Crowded elbow to elbow around her table, we tuck into it as if we haven’t eaten all day. There is something so soothing about home cooking. Soft incandescent bulbs give the room a warm glow and light up family photographs and other treasures crowding the shelves and walls.
The small warm room encloses us like a cocoon and we are so comfortable we linger over our food. It was the best meal of the trip in my opinion.
To Be Continued Next Sunday.
By KC4
Special Correspondent
St. Albert’s Place
Part Five:
The next adventure was a walk down a busy street with many hole-in-the-wall shops selling music, souvenirs, clothing, shoes, knock-off designer products and pharmacy goods. As full as I was, I was attracted to the colorful street food vendors. One was roasting fresh ears of corn over a charcoal filled pan.
The combination of smoldering wood charcoal, singed corn husks and the popcorn like smell of roasted corn kernels was tantalizing. I watched as he brushed each cob with butter, then tossed on a big spoonful of crumbled queso (Mexican cheese) and then topped it all off with a sprinkle of salt and chili pepper flakes. Awesome.
Not surprisingly, our next stop was another landmark restaurant. After all, we had not eaten for at least 90 minutes. This time we were at Los Nortenos (The Northerners), which seemed fitting as here we were in the North-Easternmost corner of Mexico. This restaurant has been around since 1950 and is still very popular.
Los Nortenos’ long time claim to fame is a northern Mexico regional specialty, roast baby goats. I’ve enjoyed lamb before and am actually looking forward to trying the goat equivalent. Yes, I know, I’m probably going to hell for eating babies. I eat eggs too.
The opened and flattened whole goat carcasses are skewered lengthwise on long stakes and propped up over the coals. Other than a bit of salt, they typically are not seasoned to avoid interference with the flavor that is given by being roasted for eight hours over slow burning charcoal.
Even though they looked delicious to me, I was sure hoping they wouldn’t bring a whole one to the table for us.
I chuckled at the menu. One side was in Spanish and the other in English. I noted that the Spanish side had more detail, while the English side was kept simpler, but it was clearly meant to appear to be an equivalent direct translation.
Busted! One of the menu items on the Spanish side offered Cabrito en Sangre which is directly translated as Kid in Blood. The blood of the goat is saved at slaughter time and this is used as the base of the sauce the goat is simmered in and served with.
The English language menu twin was “Gravy Baby Goat”. I wondered whether they would really prepare an American style gravy to go with the roasted goat or whether they would serve the Cabrito en Sangre with it’s unique “gravy”. The latter, of course.
I understood why they fudged the name on the menu – it certainly did not translate to English in an appetizing way. When I thought more about it, our Canadian/American gravy was not that much different in that we start our gravy with the drippings from the meats we roast.
We were there only for their most famous specialty, Cabrito al Pastor, the plain roasted baby goat. Thankfully, a whole goat did not arrive. We all tried a sample and it was very tender, fragrant and delicious. It really didn’t need any other spices or condiments.
Déjà vu. More unordered dishes started to come to our table carried by beaming waiters. Compliments of the Chef. Compliments of the restaurant owner. Compliments of the lead waiter. What’s next, compliments of the lead bus person? We are so full we are almost in pain. We are gluttons and we are definitely getting punished.
Chef leans over and whispers that she wishes we could take a bite, chew, taste and then spit it out like we sometimes do when testing multiple recipe variations. Being very hungry or very full while taste-testing recipes will skew the results. Things always taste better when you are hungry, and even great food can taste mediocre or worse when one is full.
Unfortunately, we cannot figure out how to do this gracefully without totally insulting our host, let alone revolting our fellow diners. We also do not wish to offend by refusing the dishes that we have been given. So we take one bite of everything and then taste, chew, swallow and smile. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.
We all pile back in the van to return to Garcia’s. I’m surprised that we all still fit in the van. I thought we would surely need the aid of a giant shoehorn considering the quantity that all of us somehow managed to consume.
Once back at Garcia’s we thank Mr. Garcia for all the help and give leave to our fine police escort.
In the line-up to cross over the bridge we repeat the same routine as the night before. We all dig out our passports and hand them up towards the driver who gives them all to the Customs guard.
Just like the night before, the Customs guard walks around the van tapping the panels for suspicious sounds and scans the wheel wells with a flashlight. They never ask us to get out, but each time on this trip that we returned from Mexico, they would always exclaim with surprise that there was a Canadian in the van. Then they would crane their head in to get a good look at it.
I wave and smile. Yep, it’s just another Canadian frost-back returning from Mexico. I think they were disappointed to see that I didn’t look distinguishably Canadian. I was so sorry not to be wearing a fur fringed parka and toque.
What’s next on our schedule? Well, those groceries we bought this morning should be ready to eat soon. Oh no, I really need a nap.
After a short but blessed nap, we all present ourselves at the doorway of the tiny household of our next hostess. She is diminutive herself – not even close to reaching 5 feet tall. All her children are adults with families of their own. Her husband recently passed away and she now lives alone.
The aromas of freshly prepared home cooking waft out towards us. They permeate our pores as soon as we entered the household. We are immersed. Amazingly, it is making me hungry.
Our entire hog herd crowds into her tiny humid kitchen and hover over the stove to see what’s cooking. It does look fabulous. Pollo de Arroz (chicken with rice), Carne Guisada (pork stew), Charro Beans (seasoned simmered pinto beans), Fidello (Mexican chicken noodle soup) and wonderful Queso Enchiladas with a rich mole sauce.
This is what the people in this area grow up eating in their homes. It may be exotic and ethnic to me, but it’s good old home cooking to them.
Crowded elbow to elbow around her table, we tuck into it as if we haven’t eaten all day. There is something so soothing about home cooking. Soft incandescent bulbs give the room a warm glow and light up family photographs and other treasures crowding the shelves and walls.
The small warm room encloses us like a cocoon and we are so comfortable we linger over our food. It was the best meal of the trip in my opinion.
To Be Continued Next Sunday.
Grave Situation At Chicago’s O’Hare Airport
21/02/2010 05:38
Normally when folks bury a loved one, they rest in peace for all eternity.
Except in Chicago that is.
The city of Chicago wants to expand one of its runways at O’Hare airport.
And that is usually not a problem.
Unless a graveyard happens to be in the way.
Then they want to dig it up.
Cash Or Credit Card When Dialing 911?
21/02/2010 05:38
Most of us hardly notice that small charge we pay each month on our phone bills.
You know, the one for access to 911 calls?
But if you live in California, it becomes a whole new ball game.
There you can pay for 911 calls in one of two ways, a one time annual fee, or on a per call basis.
But holy hell is it expensive!
It Happened At School
21/02/2010 05:37
