Informed consent
If you pay a water bill in Prince Edward County, you should know the risk that Shire Hall is taking on—on your behalf. If it works out, senior leadership deserves all the credit and recognition it has garnered. But if it doesn’t, it is County waterworks customers who will pay—and only waterworks customers. Shire Hall […]
Won’t be burned again
I stole away with old friends for a couple of days last week to an island. Some time and space away. Nevertheless, the subject of municipal governance sprouted like foulsome bindweed despite energetic efforts to nip it early. I have a party trick I drag out for such occasions, a bit of a thumbnail of […]
Chicken rules
In the Catholic faith, and I expect most religions, the calendar is pocked with celebrations and special days. In between, there is Ordinary Time, as in the past weekend was the Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Don’t fret; we’re not veering down a catechismal or liturgical discussion. Instead, this week I want to talk chickens. […]
Lennie and the rabbits
According to at least one County council member, Wellington’s small business owners all belong to the hospitality sector. As such, these folks are unworthy of Council’s attention. Don’t worry; they’ll all be gone in a few years anyway. “We have to recognize that the hospitality industry has an extremely high failure rate,” explained Ameliasburgh councillor […]
Call for urgency
Finding an affordable place to live is too hard. For some, it is becoming impossible. This crisis has deep and profound societal impacts that reach far into each of our lives. Whether looking to buy or rent, prices are out of reach and getting further away. Housing costs are chewing up an increasingly unsustainable portion […]
Visibility
For more than a century, Wellington managed its own affairs. The village council managed the streets, the electricity distribution network and its waterworks. It cleared snow. It built sidewalks, parks, docking facilities in the harbour, and a beach. It built and rebuilt an arena. There were challenges and hardships along the way, but the village […]
Piercing MDS
It was wrong for Prince Edward County. It has likely caused more problems for farmland owners than shielded them. Now the province is giving municipalities an off-ramp. Shire Hall should take it. Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) is a tangled and cumbersome set of calculations and measurements designed to do one thing: reduce complaints about cow […]
FOMO
The Leafs won a playoff round for the first time since Magellan found passage through Tierra del Fuego. The Bruins lost too. An expansion team defeated the Stanley Cup champs. It was a big weekend in the NHL playoffs. With the promise of more to come. So why, in this most joyous of weeks, am […]
Bluegill sunfish
A cormorant lifted off the dark lake this morning. Empty of gullet and unsated as it slid across the grey horizon. Whether it was the presence of an ever-sniffing poodle—fully preoccupied in identifying which of her animal brethren had moved bowels or emptied bladders by this tree or that rock—or it was the prospect of […]
Press pause
Shire Hall says it was a Council decision. Council approved the plan—and the spending—only Council can pause it. Or slow it down. It should do so. Now. Few council members, regrettably, have any stake in the County’s waterworks utility. Most are not customers, nor will they bear the consequences should the $100 million project to […]