Big Red Twitter Block Leaves Questions Unanswered

I have been Tweeting Diane Colley-Urquhart of late to try to get her to explain comments she made on April 6th about fellow Councillor Jeromy Farkas.  I tried to send one a day since then. I missed the opportunity yesterday, however I did send her a Tweet about a 250 page document put out by the International Paralympic Committee.  

Big Red had a stack of paper on her desk yesterday which she said was all the documentation that the 2026 bid process has generated thus far. She said there was about 4,500 pages, though to be honest it looked more like about a thousand.

The document in question is the Paralympic Accessibility Guide, and it outlines the accessibility requirements that host cities must meet if they are to host a Paralympic Games. It lists the numerous technical specifications for stairways, pathways, ramps, etc. and is very detailed.

In July of 2015, Cllr. Druh Farrell put forth a Notice of Motion in Council calling for an improvement in accessibility in the city.  It came after a number of complaints were received by Farrell regarding the lack of accessibility in the City.  An article in the Herald from June 3rd, 2016 quotes Farrell as saying "We've got a long way to go." when it comes to accessibility.

So this raises some points: what would need to be done to make Calgary compliant with the IPC guidelines? My guess would be plenty and at a cost that would be over 10 figures.  Would this have been taken into account as part of the current cost estimates for the games?  Probably not, which is why I wanted to know if this document was in Big Red's slough of documents.

Since the Paralympic games now come hand in hand with the Olympic Games, accessibility now becomes a matter to be considered.  How would it look if we were to be awarded the Winter Olympics but couldn't host the Paralympic Games because we're not handi-friendly. We'd look like total jerks.

My question to Big Red was simply this: was this 250 page missive part of the 4700 odd pages generated by the bid process? If not has this issue and the associated costs even been considered as part of it? Let's not forget, this wasn't an issue back in 1988.

D.B.C.

IPC Accessibility Guide

The Lord Mayor Enjoyed Some Waffles In Council Chambers This Morning

A motion put before council at the beginning of this morning's meeting has extended the 2026 bid process, rather than stopping it in it's tracks as many had hoped.

The debate over the motion was lively and at time's spirited, with the two camps making their cases prior to the crucial vote.  Council tried to be as expedient as possible given that a number of people were there to speak on secondary suites, as had already been on the agenda.

Ray Jones gave a speech in support of keeping the process alive.

Shane Keating has prepared an amendment to the motion calling on Council to strike a sub-committee to study the matter further. Rather presumptuous of him considering the bid could die on the table. So, now a debate within a debate emerges.

He sends a verbal back hand Jeromy Farkas' way and is shocked to hear that a plebiscite could be used only as a tool to cancel the bid. In one of the highlights of the morning, Keating admonishes the Lord Mayor, scolding Nenshi for his behavior and editorializing. In a moment that drew chuckles from the gallery, Keating tells Nenshi "I'm not as intelligent as you but I'm smarter than you most times."  He speaks of frustration within the cul-de-sac of council and argues we need more engagement.

Ward (The Waffler) Sutherland raises the point that some infrastructure has not been included in the $3.5b-$4b cost of putting on the games, adding another $500m or so to the tab.  He isn't confident in the process so far, there have been too many red flags. But, he says that if there is money available from the feds we should take advantage of it. If we don't take it, someone else will get it.  The flip-flop; he wants to see the final cost before a plebiscite is held. Killing it now wouldn't be a good business decision, $6.5 million has already been spent.

Joe Magliocca wants to know what the IOC's timeline is. The key dates start in October and run until the IOC vote in September,2019.

Jyoti Gondek like the committee idea but wants to know what the make up will be, will it bu just Councillors or will there be others on it?  As she mentioned last week, she brought up the idea of setting aside the 2026 and focusing instead on 2030, an idea I support. 

Resident historian Gian-Carlo Carra ponders how the decision they make will be judged in the future.  I suspect it might go something like this, Future Taxpayer: "Thanks for saddling us with this debt and leaving us nothing to show for it, assholes"

Demong was brief, and Chahal had concerns with transparency and the fact there was no public engagement.

Council bad-boy Jeromy Farkas, who originally supported a 2026 bid, read off a litany of allegations of corruption on the part of  IOC officials. Proof that we need to think very carefully about who we are dealing with when it come to the corrupt IOC.  He asks why the rush, and is also not opposed to a 2030 bid exploration. Just not 2026.  He reminds us that BidCo would be exempt from FOIA legislation and as such could carry out meetings completely in secret, with mo public oversight.

I owe Sean Chu an apology. I missed his turn in the debate. I had to pee real bad and my back was getting sore so I went for a cigarette.  I could see the way things were starting to look, and I already knew what his stance on this would be. 

Druh Farrell speaks about the  "Temperature Check" that she wanted this to be. If however this moves forward, she would like to see the process cleaned up. Her opinion hasn't changed from last week.  She still doesn't trust the IOC.

It's Big Red's turn to speak, but before she can the Lord Mayor interjects to to grace us with his opinion.  He tells council that there are many off-ramps in the process and that the vote today is not a reconsideration on the city's part. He's perturbed at criticism of the process, calling it the most transparent bid process in the history of bid processes. Sure there have been missteps, but overall he's proud of the way the process has gone.  He quotes an article by Robert Livingston, who reports on Olympic bids. Hardly a neutral observer.

Big Red gets to talk, and speaks of her love for sports. Professional sports, amateur sports, youth sports, sports, sports, sports.  She supports a plebiscite now. Big Red is serving up waffles now too. At the end of it, having gone over her allotted time, she wonders if Council can "overcome the faltering process".

Ray Jones just wants to put this thing to a vote, and so with that a recorded vote is called.

On the matter of killing the bid today (paraphrasing the motion here) the vote was 9-6 to keep it going. 

Voting in favor were:
Carra, Chahal, Colley-Urquhart, Davison, Jones, Keating, Sutherland, Woolley, Nenshi

Voting against:
Chu, Demong, Farkas, Farrell, Gondek, Magliocca

And so the fight continues on this issue, and I'll be there to watch and add my voice.

D.B.C. 

Crime Statistics and The Westbrook Train Station

So the main reason that I started this blog was because of what has happened in the neighbourhood since the Westbrook C-Train station opened in December of 2012.  Anyone living and working in the area, myself included, can attest to the fact that once the station opened things around here changed, and not really for the better. Sure it gave us a quicker, more direct means of getting to the downtown core.  What it also did was give crime a quicker, more direct means of coming to the community.

It's something that's been bugging me since 2013, so finding myself unemployed and left with too much time on my hands, I figured I'd try to do something about it.  If nothing came of it I could at least say that I tried.

So, what could I do.  The idea dawned on me that a CPS Community Station in Westbrook Mall might be a start. I mean, I realized that opening up what is basically an administration station in the mall wouldn't suddenly bring crime in the area to a screeching halt.  But it would be a start.  

If things were ever going to get better around here it wouldn't just be a matter of having the police patrol the area more.  Having seen what is going on I can say with confidence that the CPS has their hands pretty full right now, and they are doing an outstanding job.  What they will be needing is more resources (money) in order to get the job done.

This now meant having to deal with things on the political level, and if there is one thing that politicians want to see, it's numbers.  If you are going to be going to any level of government with hat in hand, it helps to come backed-up with the numbers.  And, boy did I come up with some numbers.  There is a plethora of information available online if you look for it.  On the CPS website, there are links to a number of different reports and statistics.  Among these is a report on the number of calls to CPS and the nature of these calls.  Information in every call to CPS, the nature of the call, and the neighbourhood it came from is available.

So, I started out trying to see what these numbers looked like in the communities surrounding Westbrook Station.  Sure enough, the numbers were backing up what we in the area had known since 2012.  As I started to gather and analyze the data, some things began to stand out, and more questions began to present themselves.  

I have gathered my data in what I hope is are easy to navigate spreadsheets along with my analysis of it.  Bear in mind, I'm not a professional or an academic, I'm just a regular guy that lives in a fairly regular neighbourhood, that wants to point out that there are a few problems that need to be addressed by the powers that be.  I am posting the results here for the citizens of the communities of west Calgary to see, but the information I've gathered is for all communities in the City of Calgary.  

I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to publish my findings as they further strengthen the argument for an increase in the police budget, an argument made by CPS Sgt./CPA President Les Kaminski in an article that appeared in local media yesterday.

During the course of doing my research, I've come across something else that I think needs to be addressed.  I have started  digging into it a bit more, and am now working on an investigative piece that I will be publishing soon on my blog MyCalgaryIssues.  

Stay tuned.........

Follow the links below to read the statistics and analysis.

West Neighbourhood Calls Analysis

Analysis of Social Disorder Calls 2008-Q3 '16

2012-2014 Detailed Crime Statistics

2015-2017 Detailed Crime Statistics

$2 Million for "Drinking Birds" At New Calgary Library

The Calgary Municipal Land Corp. (CMLC) announced Thursday that Los Angeles artist Christian Moeller has been commissioned to create the public art at the New Central Library. A budget of $2 million has been set aside for the project.

Included in the price is a three piece work modeled on "drinking birds" and an interior mosaic of a fish made with 11,000 books.

  

My question is, will the fish mosaic be made up of books about fish? 

D.B.C.

Public Art for New Library

7 Calgary Cops Have Been Killed On The Job In My Lifetime and I'd Rather Not See Any More

An emotional Les Kaminski held a press conference earlier this morning, calling for the release of the names of the individuals who were shot after attacking members of the Calgary Police Service.  The president of the Calgary Police Association noted that the individuals in question died after trying to kill police officers.  These weren't stand-up citizens and both were well known to police.

I can see no reason for withholding the names, it serves no public purpose to do so. It's almost certain that they'd be identified had they survived these encounters and been arrested. So why not now?

The CPS has come very close to losing some of its members in the past few weeks.  Thankfully all the good guys came out alive though a little the worse for wear, and I want to again thank Cst. Jordan Forget for his service and sacrifice to the community. Same goes for the undercover officer involved in the most recent incident.

I've spent the majority of my nearly 50 years living here, and in that time seven police officers have died in the line of duty.  To be honest I really only remember 6 of them, but here are the stories of those seven:

Staff Sergeant Keith Harrison (1936 - 1976)

On March 12, 1976, Staff Sergeant Keith Harrison was alone in his car when he responded to a holdup alarm at a nearby credit union. He was unable to request backup because of a radio malfunction, but attempted to follow the culprits' vehicle as it left the scene. Realizing they were being followed, the suspects forced a confrontation with the officer. A shootout ensued and Staff Sergeant Harrison was shot in the abdomen. He died hours later on the operating table.

The offenders took hostages in a northeast Calgary home. After two days, they traded the hostages for cigarettes and drugs. One of the suspects died of a drug overdose at the scene. Two others were convicted of murder and a number of other charges, while a fourth person was not charged.

Staff Sergeant Harrison was a 16-year veteran who had just been promoted to Staff Sergeant of Detectives. He taught law to police recruits and was considered a brilliant academic. He was survived by his wife and two teenage children.

I don't really remember hearing about this though it did sound familiar when I read about it years later.

Constable Bill Shelever (1945 - 1977)

Constable Bill Shelever had only been out of recruit class six weeks when he was shot and killed on May 27, 1977. On that evening, the 32-year-old rookie and his partner, Constable Jack Pedersen, spotted a man who fit the description of an armed robbery suspect. They took him to their car for questioning.

Without warning, the suspect pulled a gun and demanded the officers' weapons. While attempting to disarm him, Constable Shelever took a shot in the head while Constable Pederson was shot in the leg and foot. Constable Pederson recovered sufficiently to shoot and wound the suspect as he tried to escape. Constable Shelever died two days later. The offender was later convicted of attempted murder and murder.

Constable Shelever was survived by his wife, as well a daughter, born a few months after his death. As a result of the incident, police ammunition was upgraded to improve stopping power.

I remember this one.  My mom and one of her friends knew Jack Pederson back then and I've met a few people since then that knew him.  I'll never forget when this happened.

Constable Rob Vanderwiel (1956 - 1992)

Constable Rob Vanderwiel was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Sept. 22, 1992, during a routine traffic stop.

While returning to his car to verify the driver’s identification, Constable Vanderwiel was shot in the back of the neck and died at the scene. The driver of the vehicle was later apprehended, charged and convicted of first-degree murder.

Son of retired CPS Staff Sergeant Art Vanderwiel and devoted father to his only son, Christopher, Constable Vanderwiel is remembered as the friend who always went the extra mile.

To commemorate the memory of this devoted public servant, the Rob Vanderwiel Memorial Award is presented at each graduation ceremony to the recruit who demonstrates the greatest degree of co-operation and teamwork toward his or her fellow police officers.

Const. Vanderwiel was gunned down just a few houses down from a relative of mine. His killer, reprobate David Lawes, was on a tourist visa from Jamaica when he pulled a .357 magnum on Const. Vanderweil. Denied parole last year, he is a constant problem for the correctional system.

Constable Rick Sonnenberg (1966 - 1993)

In the early hours of Oct. 8, 1993, Constable Rick Sonnenberg and his partner were alerted about a stolen vehicle. As it headed in their direction, Constable Sonnenberg attempted to lay down a spike belt. He was struck by the speeding car and died instantly.

A youth out on bail was convicted of criminal negligence causing death, hit and run and possession of stolen vehicle.

Constable Sonnenberg, 27, was with the Service just under four years and was about to announce his engagement to be married. He was also survived by his mother Maria, his sister Lisa and his niece Rachael.

Following Constable Sonnenberg's death, his sister led a campaign to raise funds for a police helicopter. The Calgary Police Service acquired HAWC1 in July 1995 and HAWC2 in April 2005. Both have proven to be effective in providing aerial support to ground-based units.

Const. Sonnenberg was killed a few days before I moved back to Calgary from Kamloops.  HAWCS patrols the skies above Calgary due in large part to Const. Sonnenberg's sacrifice, so that no other officer has to die while attempting to apprehend a speeding vehicle.

Constable John Petropoulos (1968 - 2000)

At 5:40 a.m., on Sept. 29, 2000, Constable Petropoulos and his partner were dispatched to investigate a break-in at a business in southeast Calgary, where it was suspected someone was inside the building.

Upon arrival, officers began to check the exterior and interior of the building. Constable Petropoulos entered the building, together with other officers and the Canine Unit, and climbed a ladder onto a mezzanine area. He lost his footing and fell through ceiling tiles onto the concrete floor three metres below. He was rushed to the hospital with severe head injuries and was pronounced dead early that afternoon. An investigation later revealed that, although the call was legitimate, a break-in had not occurred.

Constable Petropoulos, 32, was with the Service for four years and was highly regarded by his fellow officers. He was survived by his wife, parents and two siblings.

What seems so tragic about this is that it was an accident.  Anything can happen when a police officer goes out on a call, even things that never would have come to mind.  I was a reminder to everyone that it can be a dangerous job even when a gun isn't being pulled on you.

Constable Darren Beatty (1972 - 2001)

On Oct. 17, 2001, Calgary Police Service Tactical Unit officer Constable Darren Beatty, 29, was critically injured during a training exercise at the former District 7 (Silver Springs) training facility.

Despite the best efforts of his colleagues and emergency services personnel who rushed to his aid, Constable Beatty died of his injuries shortly after being transported to a local hospital.

Constable Beatty joined the Calgary Police Service in December 1996, graduating from Recruit Class #118. He was initially assigned to District 1, where he served as a patrol officer until June 1999. He was then posted to the Mountain Bike Unit before joining the Service's Tactical Unit February 13, 2000. He was survived by his wife.

When the tools of your job include firearms, the risk to your life goes up exponentially. Tragically, deaths happen due to training accidents every day, and all over the world. Police and military's around the world train every day using live ammunition and ordnance. Sadly, Const. Darren Beatty lost his life during such an exercise in  2001.

All of these men knew the risks that they were taking every day when they went to work, and they went anyway.

That's at least worthy of a thank you.

So, if you have the opportunity to do so (safely), thank a police officer for what they do. 

D.B.C. 

Q1/18 Social Disorder Call Statistics

The total number of Social Disorder calls to CPS in Q1 of 2018 was 19,197 which is 69 fewer than the 19,266 made in Q1/2017 or a decrease of 0.36%.  

A number of communities saw increases in the number of calls while others saw a decrease compared to Q1/2017.  The decrease, albeit small, is a positive sign given that the rate of growth had only slowed down between 2016 and 2017 and there has not been an overall decrease in the number of calls in some time.

Whether there will actually be any further reductions remains to be seen.  It is possible that the drop in the number of calls can be attributed to this winter's unseasonably cold and snowy weather.  This will become clearer in the upcoming quarters and Q3 tends to see an increase in the number of calls due to the warmer summer weather.

Below is a list of communities that have seen significant increases or decreases over Q1/17.

To see the complete list click on the link:

Q1 17/18 Social Disorder Call Statistics

Abbeydale  -41 (-41%)
Altadore  +13 (+23.21%)
Auburn Bay  -63 (-49.61%)
Beddington Heights  -28 (-24.35%)
Brittania  -14 (-73.68%)
Canyon Meadows  -30 (-34.88)
Cedarbrae  -20 (-46.51%)
Chaparral  -19 (-27.94%)
Cranston  -37 (-34.26%)
Deer Ridge  -19 (-43.18%)
Downtown Commercial  +311 (+21.33%)
Downtown East Village  +87 (+54.04%)
Franklin  -48 (-27.59%)
Glendale  +43 (+79.63%)
Haysboro  -52 (-27.23%)
Horizon  +26 (+27.66%)
Hounsfield Heights/Briar Hill  +35 (+50%)
Killarney  +35 (+16.91%)
Lower Mt. Royal  -31 (-15.20%)
Marlborough Park  -37 (-20.79%)
Mayland Heights  -24 (-20%)
Meadowlark Park  +25 (+38.46%)
Millrise  +13 (+22.81%)
Montgomery  +70 (+81.40%)
Renfrew  +30 (+41.67%)
Richmond  -22 (-32.84%)
Riverbend  +44 (+80%)
Skyview Ranch  -15 (-21.43%)
South Calgary  +19 (+26.39%)
Southwood  +64 (+46.38%)
Spruce Cliff  -104 (-63.8%)
Sundance  -25 (-45.45%)
Sunnyside  -15 (-15.79%)
Sunridge  +44 (+21.15%)
Taradale  -22 (-18.18%)
Thorncliffe  -43 (-25.29%)
Tuxedo Park  +22 (+25.58%)
Upper Mt.Royal  -29 (-61.7%)
Walden  +20 (100%)
Winston Heights/  +12 (+20.69%)
Mountainview 
  

The 2026 Olympics: To Bid Or Not To Bid

When I'm looking for information on a variety of topics relating to the City of Calgary (the city itself as well as the government entity) www.calgary.ca is a most valuable tool.  Within it's pages are a number of reports, statistics, and documents containing information on a wide variety of topics from services,departments, budgets, contact information, etc.

Among its pages is one dedicated to the 2026 Olympic bid which is sorely lacking in useful information.  It seems to be more of a cheer-leading document, extolling the benefits of hosting the games while glossing over the little things, such as the cost.

It does however have links to reports prepared by outside experts assessing the potential impact of hosting an Olympic games.  I do not find the findings of their economic impact studies to be a ringing endorsement for a bid.


A Review of Two Economic Impact Studies of Calgary Hosting the 2026 Winter Games Trevor Tombe, University of Calgary, Department of Economics and the School of Public Policy

Regarding the use of public funds: Section 3.1
Why does it matter how much public funds are used? Simple: tax revenue costs the economy more than one dollar for each dollar raised, as taxes distort economic activity. Researchers measure the magnitude of this effect in what is called the “marginal cost of public funds” -- if the marginal cost is 1.5, then raising $1 in government revenue costs the economy $1.50. A large empirical literature in public finance consistently finds these costs can be very large. In the 11 latest research available for Canadian provinces, for example, Prof. Bev Dahlby of the University of Calgary -- a leading researcher in this area -- finds a typical dollar raised through corporate taxes costs the economy $3.93 dollars. Personal income and sales taxes have lower costs, at $2.86 and $1.59 dollars, respectively. Provinces differ, and such costs are lower in 12 Alberta, but the general principle is sound: there is a cost of raising public funds.

Final Paragraph: Section 5  Conclusions and Recommendations
In the end, there will be economic costs of hosting the games. If the benefits in terms of civic pride, community engagement, promotion of sports, and so on, is worth the cost, then hosting the games makes sense. But, to claim that GDP and employment will increase -- at all, but especially by the magnitudes suggested in the 3rd-party reports -- is to go far beyond what the evidence suggests.

For me the economic arguments carry more weight than the emotional ones do.  Sometimes it just has to be that way.  There is simply too much at stake.  A 2026 bid is NOT the right decision for Calgary.

For more information Visit the 2026 Olympic Bid webpage at:

http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Recreation/Pages/Calgary-2026-Olympic-bid/Olympics-Bid-2026.aspx

D.B.C.