BLOGBREAKINGNEWS: Is There A DRIC Road Deal

Read this Media Advisory and you can guess as well as I.

If there is a deal, then the question is: who blinked and folded like an accordion!

It would have to be Edgar (aka Eddie) or else the EA process would have to restart. Moreover, the Premier would have been embrrassed for what he said here about getting on with the DRIC road and that is NOT going to happen.

The fun will be reading Gord's column to see how he spins it as an Edgar victory. You can bet that you will see this: Edgar brought the Senior Levels up from $300M to $1.6B.

Of course it is not true, but hey, who cares when there is an election to be won!

PS

Is it just me or don't you find it odd that no one from the Federal Government is there too since they contribute half of the money. No one from the County either.

Hey I got it...Perhaps I have it all wrong. The real story is that the Province is putting up the cash for the Tunnel Plaza Improvement project since the cost has escalated dramatically and to buy control of the US half of the Tunnel too.

Smears Don't Work

What is wrong with this world we live in?

The old reliables---name-calling, smear tactics, vilification--- do not seem to be working any more. Imagine, the strategy of demonizing Matty Moroun may have to be re-thought. Consider these two recent opinion pieces in Michigan media:

• "Yes, we need rich guys to spend their money
  
  This is not about a bridge to nowhere, this is about a bridge going somewhere.
  
  No one questions that a new bridge is needed connecting the Detroit area to Canada. The Ambassador Bridge is too old and too narrow. If something should happen to that bridge before another is in place, the economies of both sides would be devastated — as hard as it is to imagine local finances worse than they are now.
  
  A lot has been said about Matty Moroun’s plans to build a second bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor. Moroun, unlike most of us, already owns a bridge — the Ambassador. More precisely, the bridge is owned by Moroun’s Detroit International Bridge Co.
  
  There’s no doubt a new bridge would be good for commerce between the two countries, as it would ease the long waits that truckers now endure.
  
  The Coast Guard doesn’t want Moroun to build another bridge. The Canadian government is also opposed.
  
  Jack Lessenberry, a columnist for the Metro Times weekly newspaper, has been a frequent critic of Moroun’s plans.
  
  Lessenberry points out that disparate types such as Gov. Jennifer Granholm and L. Brooks Patterson oppose Moroun’s plans and support the efforts of Detroit International River Crossing group, which also wants to build another bridge.
  
  Billionaires like Moroun are used to getting their way because they usually do.
  
  Now you may hear a little fife music in the background when I say the following: This country has been built by rich guys with grand plans.
  
  Public money is tight, so we need to listen long and hard when a successful businessman wants to boost the area’s infrastructure.
  
  Lessenberry (who will speak March 23 at the Mount Clemens Public Library) thinks Moroun just wants to keep his monopoly. That may be true.
  
  Obviously Moroun’s a businessman and plans to make money on this bridge. But we need rich guys spending their money. Especially here in the Detroit area.
  
  Don’t count out Moroun yet."

Detroit News Editorial

• "Editorial: Michigan should mothball Detroit River bridge plan
  
  The Detroit River international bridge dispute shouldn't stalemate yet another state transportation budget. Until Michigan can afford its share of the cost and the traffic counts rise enough to justify this span, it's time to suspend Michigan spending on the project and halt the endless squabbling about it.
  
  The state, federal government and government of Canada are working on a plan to build this second, publicly owned crossing downriver from the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, in the area of Zug Island.
  
  The proposed span has stirred controversy from the start, first due to the proposed location and in recent years over whether public money should be invested in the $5-billion venture when owner Manuel Moroun has announced plans to construct a second span for his Ambassador Bridge.
  
  The dispute each year delays approval of the transportation department's budget over the question of whether to continue parceling out state funds to continue planning and preparation for the bridge.
  
  It appears, however, that lawmakers' work has been simplified this year. A new study has lowered daily border traffic projections for 2035, about 15 years after the bridge would be completed, to 34,600 vehicles. A 2008 study had pegged prospective traffic at 38,218 vehicles a day.
  
  Border traffic levels, in fact, are down from their peak volumes of the 1990s and may at best grow slowly for years, which should mean there isn't a rush to finish the project.
  
  Proponents say a public span is warranted by national security considerations, protection of a trade route carrying billions of dollars in commercial traffic, and the construction jobs created by the four- to five-year project. Those are compelling arguments.
  
  There's a June 1 self-imposed deadline for lawmakers to green light this project, called the Detroit River International Crossing, or suspend paying for continued work on it.
  
  But the Transportation Department is short of money.
  
  It has knocked more than 100 repair projects off its five-year road construction plan because of flat-lining fuel tax and vehicle registration revenues.
  
  These taxes are earmarked for keeping state and local highways, secondary routes and bridges in good condition.
  
  The state stands to pass up as much as $2 billion in federal road money over the next five years if it can't come up with enough matching revenue, and the number of road miles in poor shape will increase dramatically.
  
  There's no greater deterrent to the revitalizing of Michigan's economy than miles and miles of cracked and pot-holed pavement.
  
  That adds to transportation costs and delays, discouraging businesses from locating news plants and facilities here.
  
  An increase in gasoline taxes to raise the money needed has been widely endorsed in the business community.
  
  Lawmakers this year should put aside the Detroit River bridge controversy and make that their transportation Job One."

Oh my gosh, what will Transport Canada and MDOT do now?

The Tunnel Deal Questioned

The question I have always had in my mind is why Edgar (aka Eddie) who is supposedly such a smart business person bid so much money for the Detroit half of the Tunnel. The $75M was so outrageous an amount that even the Bridge Company who wanted it backed off

• "Windsor’s $75-million bid to secure a tunnel deal with Detroit involves a price tag the Ambassador Bridge company has no intention of competing with, bridge president Dan Stamper said on Thursday."

A new report out the other day makes this deal appear even dumber than before! It could have meant severe financial problems for this City at a time when we are having enough problems with the economy. It brings into question the financial acumen of our Mayor in a very stark fashion.

The Citizens Research Council (CRC) of Michigan prepared an interesting report on "The Fiscal Condition of the City of Detroit."

Its role:

• "For over 90 years, the objective of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan has been to provide factual, unbiased independent information on significant issues concerning state and local government organization and finance. CRC believes that the use of this information by policymakers will lead to sound, rational public policy in Michigan."

I read the part of the report that dealt with the Windsor/Tunnel deal and what it said made that deal even more absurd than before. Let me quote relevant sections:

• "The city budgeted $275 million as revenue from the monetization of assets. Although there is precedent for the sale of future revenue streams in other cities and states (Chicago leased the Chicago Skyway TollRoad and parking meters, and tried but failed to lease Midway Airport), it is highly unlikely that Detroit can sell future revenues from the parking and lighting departments. Discussions on the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel have occurred, but, even if an agreement were to be reached, the sale would not generate the amount included in the budget."



• "Monetization is the process of converting assets into legal tender. The FY2010 City of Detroit budget includes $275 million in general fund revenues to be generated by the long term lease of Municipal Parking, Public Lighting, and Detroit’s 50 percent interest in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. This plan to sell the income from specific city operations or assets for a specific period of time was defined by the former mayor as “unlocking the value of city assets for citizens...
  
  Probability. There may be progress on the sale of income from the city’s interest in the Detroit Windsor Tunnel this fiscal year, but the $275 million budgeted from monetization of assets appears to be a “plug” to balance the budget. [Bing's] Crisis Turnaround Team estimated that $225 million of the budgeted $275 million would not be realized in 2009-10.”



• The major revenue component of the plan was the sale of future revenues from the City’s interest in the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and from the Municipal Parking Department and the Public Lighting Department. In his statement, Mayor Cockrel made the following comparison “This is no different than a citizen winning the mega millions jackpot and taking a lump sum payment immediately instead of a series of payments over many years.” According to the City Council Fiscal Analysis Division review of the Cockrel Plan, “it appears the generation of $250 million will require present value calculations of revenue streams to be taken over a 50 to 75-year period to realize this level of one-time cash. One major caveat, however, is the outstanding debt service and capital improvement requirements on the leased assets that could significantly lower the amount of cash generated from the proposals in order for the investor to earn a reasonable return on investmentt.”



• The city must reengage the discussion with Windsor or other entities about sale of the revenues from the Detroit Windsor Tunnel. Although the city receives only about $60,000 annually [may be a typo: $600K] from the operations of the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, there does appear to be some potential for monetizing this particular asset.



• The FY2010 budget, with its $280 million prior years deficit, was “balanced” by the inclusion of three revenues that are highly unlikely:
  
  Detroit Windsor Tunnel Securitization $100 million

There has to be more behind this deal than meets the eye. I really wonder if it was ever going to be completed as structured.

The whole Tunnel deal is so strange to me especially because we cannot get the facts to decide if the deal ever made sense. Clearly, from what is being said, CRC seems to believe that the amounts being thrown around are completely unsupportable.

Even now, Windsor is still fighting WeACT's request for:

• "Any or all appraisal reports, valuations prepared by any party with respect to the tunnel or any part of it from September 1, 2005 until the present."

We still do not know how much money Infrastructure Ontario was prepared to loan Windsor for the Tunnel deal although I was told that the amount was $20M or less.

We know that both Matty Moroun and Transport Canada thought a deal with Detroit was only worth a fraction of what the City was prepared to pay Detroit.

Now the CRC Report states that "even if an agreement were to be reached, the sale would not generate the amount included in the budget" and that "the outstanding debt service and capital improvement requirements on the leased assets that could significantly lower the amount of cash generated from the proposals in order for the investor to earn a reasonable return on investment."

Why then would Windsor offer $75M? The Tunnel is worth much less especially if DRIC is going to take away a huge amount of its traffic. Edgar is such a smart business person we are told. Why would he overpay so dramatically? It mystifies me especially when Edgar is backing the DRIC bridge. He would be supporting the Tunnel's competitor who would take business away from him and make his deal risky.

Here is how the Star reported it at first:

• "Under the terms of the proposed tunnel deal, the Ontario government would first loan the $75 million to the recently formed Windsor-Detroit Tunnel Corporation. The $75 million would next be sent to its counterpart in Detroit -- the Detroit Transportation Authority -- with $65 million passed on to plug a hole in Detroit's budget."

Note, $10M of the $75M was NOT going to Detroit but for legal, insurance and other expenses of the transaction that I never saw reported broken down in dollar amounts. In fact, my recollection is that Kwame needed $58M leaving an additional $7M that needed to be accounted for.

Here is a comment from the CRC Report:

• "There may be progress on the sale of income from the city’s interest in the Detroit Windsor Tunnel this fiscal year, but the $275 million budgeted from monetization of assets appears to be a “plug” to balance the budget. "

PLUG, an interesting choice of words. Like plug a hole in the dike before it breaks and there is a flood that causes huge damage too all in its path.

Remember that the previous Detroit Mayor was able to "balance his budget" with the $75M supposedly coming from Windsor. As I wrote at the time:

• "I saw this in Crains Detroit:
  
  "Two Detroit City Council members changed their minds Tuesday and voted "yes" on Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's sales plan for the city’s half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.
  
  Kilpatrick said the action allows Detroit to begin the new fiscal year with a balanced budget."
  
  Without actually receiving one penny from Eddie, Detroit's deficit was wiped off the books! Ahhhh, isn't accounting wonderful! Kwame has a balanced budget as promised. Who cares if the Windsor money ever comes in. As far as Kwame is concerned, he just bought 4 months worth of time thanks to Barbara-Rose. That goes along with the year he received since June of last year even though no deal was ever done with Windsor. Why Eddie and his lawyer, Cliff Sutts, were his biggest allies as they restructured the deal how many times trying to get this deal done. Fortunately for Kwame, they never gave up or backed out of it.

And this:

• "On Monday, as it closed out the fiscal year, the council voted 5 to 3 to reject the tunnel proposal, marking what seemed to be the end of a long push by Kilpatrick to accomplish the deal, which he first proposed in 2007, and which he reportedly touted to rating agency analysts as key to gaining stable financial ground. Under his plan, the city would sell its stake in the tunnel for $75 million to a new holding company, the Detroit Tunnel Authority. The transaction was expected to generate $65 million in a one-time cash windfall after insurance and other transaction costs.
  
  After the council vote, Adams told the council that the layoffs of up to 1,300 employees were now "inevitable." Perhaps to avoid the discouraging prospect of those layoffs, two council members yesterday decided to reverse their no votes and approve the measure, which allows the city to set up the tunnel authority. Kilpatrick still needs to win approval within the next 120 days from the council for the remaining financing and operational details of the deal, but the mayor heralded the reversal as a major victory for the city.
  
  "This tunnel agreement would be the final piece of the puzzle to put the city on stable financial footing and start moving forward," said Canning.

And this:

• "So here are the key points that I think you should understand in all of this:
  
  --the hope of a Tunnel deal was necessary to "balance" the Detroit budget and to eliminate Detroit's deficit
  
  --deal or no deal by June 30, the Mayor can claim a balanced budget since the 2 sides are working on a deal
  
  --without one penny coming in, the Mayor has been able to claim that the budget will be balanced for a year and now for another 120 days
  
  --this transaction was important for the bonding agencies to keep Detroit's rating up and interest costs down and since Kwame made promises to them."

For over a year, Eddie's seemingly extravagant offer allowed Detroit to claim it had a balanced budget when it appears that it really did not since the likelihood of getting so much money was remote. Remember, when Mayor Cockrel wanted $100M for the Tunnel, Edgar (aka Eddie) went ballistic and said:

• "Mayor Eddie Francis questioned how Detroit arrived at a $100-million price tag for control of the U.S. side of the tunnel.
  
  Windsor has gone through an "exhaustive process" to arrive last year at a $75-million value, he said.
  
  "That was the number we were prepared to pay back then, but economic conditions have changed considerably and are very different than five or six months ago."
  
  The mayor said 2010 toll revenues for the Detroit side are projected at about US$11.5 million, but the city has no way of knowing exactly since it is controlled by Alinda, a private company which holds a lease until 2020.
  
  "Does the tunnel have revenues to support $100 million on the American side? I'd be interested in looking at their numbers," Francis said.”

Getting the information requested about the results of the "exhaustive process" would go a long way to understanding the deal and what the participants were doing but that is being firecely opposed.

I wonder what the answer would be if the valuation was less than $75M, or if the IO amount was $20M requiring Windsor to find $55M. Would Kwame have come to Windsor if he knew that the valuation was lower than $75M or that IO would not put up the cash needed? Heck, he might never have had to go to jail for coming over here.

Perhaps there is more. I ask again if the whole so-called Tunnel deal was part of an effort to get control over both sides of the Tunnel to control Tunnel tolls to make it easier for a DRIC P3 operator to run the new Bridge. Seriously, who else would have an interest in a declining asset.

Let's watch if the Tunnel deal is revived by Edgar. To me, given the low valuation of the Tunnel, Detroit might be smarter to keep the $600K income per year. Windsor would be smarter to run away from the deal.

Remember that the Tunnel is almost as old as the Ambassador Bridge and Congressman Dingell has still not asked for the reports on the condition of this "unique security risk" to protect the users of the Tunnel.

Why The Star Continues To Ignore Junior

Poor Junior. He gets no respect.

Actually, I was surprised that the Star covered the meeting at the Caboto Club put on by a number of groups concerned about the City about the direction that Windsor is heading. Rather, a Star reporter was there and did write about some of the meeting. The story did not reveal much that would cause problems for Edgar (aka Eddie) and the hardliners who want to outsource garbage and parking enforcement as well as close down the municipal daycares so it was "safe."

There was nothing in the story about the money that the Province will provide for daycares that could help prevent the municipal daycares from closing. Nothing about how important the municipal daycare is to people who are being retrained or who are single parents and who might not be able to work otherwise. I guess it is better if they stay on the welfare rolls.

Nothing at all about the waste to be caused to taxpayers by the City if garbage is outsourced including equipment write-downs and costs to move employees into new jobs. We did not see in the Star story anything about the other municipalities that contracted out but then brought garbage back inside the City because of cost and service deficiencies. Nothing at all that I heard about how the City cost is about $10 lower per garbage stop than that of the County nor that the cost of City Garbage services has not really increased over a period of almost 18 years considering that we have the second-best garbage service in the country.

I found it interesting given the fact that NAFTA is in the news in Windsor that nothing was mentioned about what the impact of NAFTA was if garbage was outsourced considering that its provisions were now being extended to the Provinces and municipalities in Canada.

But it was the omission about anything that Ken Lewenza said that I found most strange. In fact, there is nothing in the story that let the Star readers know that he said anything. It was as if he sat there like a bump on the log like his two Councillor colleagues:

• “Councillors Ron Jones, Ken Lewenza Jr. and Percy Hatfield were in attendance at the meeting, along with a number of councillor hopefuls, including John Elliott, Tristan Fehrenbach, Colin McMahon and Shannon Porcellini.”

Oh well, Jones and Hatfield can still claim that they are Labour supporters because they attended the meeting.

Why is the Star, and the Mayor, so afraid of Junior? Why is it that the Star refused to cover his Ward meeting where he talked about the CUPE labor dispute and also did not cover what he said at Council about it? Why are they so afraid of what Junior said at the Caboto Club too?

Are the Star and Edgar that afraid of what might be exposed? I guess that actually answers my question. I forgot what happened in Toronto where their Mayor was chased out of town by the media after his failure in their strike resulting in him saying that he would not run again. Both of them know that if the truth was known, Edgar and the hardliners would be in serious trouble come municipal election time.

Better to ignore and be criticized by the Obliging Blogosphere for shoddy journalism than to disclose the truth to Star readers.

Accordingly, as a public service, let me state briefly what Junior had to say last night. He told us:

•  That in his opinion the process with respect to outsourcing garbage was flawed especially because it was held in camera. In passing, why the CUPE leadership has not taken advantage of this to stop the process is beyond me
  


•  He mentioned that at the in camera meeting the management person that knew the most about the garbage situation was not allowed to attend to inform Councillors about because it might “confuse” the Councillors. Are their brains that tiny that they cannot grasp the information to be presented?
  


•  He said that the decision has been made already that 50% of the garbage should be outsourced and I assume 50% of it should stay within the City. That is probably the worst of all worlds for taxpayers as I described in a recent BLOG about what took place in the City of Ottawa where the private contractor’s employees threatened to go out on strike to get wages and benefits comparable to City workers.
  


•  The astounding statement was made that no business case has ever been presented to Council to justify outsourcing of garbage. If it is true that our workers are the second-best in Canada, realistically I do not see how a private contractor can beat them. Teh only way it can be done is by deliberately low bidding what the price would be, since they know what the City costs are already, with the expectation that once the City is out of the business they would increase rates.

We are being terribly served by our major media voice in the City. The one-sided coverage really is quite shocking but is one that is expected.

It is even more despicable when one compares what mini-Gord discussed in his column about the recent candidates meeting where he gave a presentation and what Chris Schnurr in his BLOG said about his comments

• “Stating that all candidates warrant scrutiny and challenge on the CUPE issue, the columnist will be hunting down sympathizers posing as municipal candidates in what will amount to a witch hunt leading up to the 2010 Municipal Election…
  
  On November 21, 2009, the columnist referred to the CUPE strike as the “fight…that refuses to die.”
  
  Interestingly enough, it is Mr. Vander Doelen in his witch hunt of municipal candidates who is keeping the fight alive.
  
  Our economic issues are much more complex than the simplistic “unions are responsible” arguments put forth by Mr. Vander Doelen. Such a narrow focus on a much broader issue does a great disservice to our community and the ideas candidates may have – which could be ignored should they express one ounce of sympathy for CUPE members.”

After all, the major election platform that the Mayor and hard-liners will be running on is the labour issue. As Gord so bluntly put it in his latest column:

• “The canal, dismissed by the unimaginative and pothole-obsessed as a useless "ditch," has drawn significant interest from out-of-town investors.
  
  There's a buzz around it. But with an election less than seven months away and with Francis still pondering whether to take on CUPE and its allies and seek a third term, it's too late to advance that "red flag" issue.”

Now you know why Junior must be ignored at all costs. If Junior’s truth was known, Edgar would have to leave town too.

Pitying Spanky

The poor man. Another major hurdle to overcome on his long road to possible success.

He is being scooped big time. The tragedy for him is that he knows it and can do nothing about it. His Chamber speech will be nothing more than allowing him to make our Mayor to be seen as a hero at his expense. For such a supposedly smart politician, he is looking awfully silly.

No matter what you may think of him personally or as a politician, one has to feel sympathy, or perhaps pity is the better word, for the Minister of Finance, Dwight Duncan.

My suspicion is that the Premier will resign before the next provincial election and our Spanky would like nothing more than to take his job. I assume that he has a pretty good shot at it but one of the concerns he must have is what our Mayor might do to prejudice his run for the job.

How else to explain the sight of a 98 pound weakling, a small-town Mayor, kicking sand in the face of the second most powerful politician in Ontario, the Minister of Finance, and getting away with it.

How else to explain Dwight being forced to eat humble pie continuously, fearing an attack the way Sandra was dealt with, as our Messenger spreads the Edgar (aka Eddie) gospel.

To be direct, if I was going to be one of Dwight’s opponents at the Liberal leadership convention, I would point out how weak Dwight has been in how he has dealt with the Mayor of Windsor.

Now you can see why I have nothing but pity for Dwight. Damned if he fights with Edgar because the Star might crucify him and perhaps cost him his seat and damned if he does not because then his leadership opponents can do so.

Don’t forget also that he has to walk a tightrope because a good chunk of his riding is in Tecumseh and the last thing that he can appear to be is pro-Windsor. That gives the Tecumseh Mayor some leverage over the Minister as well to ask for some goodies soon.

There is no doubt that some kind of announcement is going to be made during Dwight’s speech to the Chamber of Commerce. What it will be exactly, who knows. In fact, we’ve been down this road before where we have expected to Dwight to say something significant but he has backed off because Edgar has pulled some kind of a dumb maneuver that has infuriated the Minister. Will it happen again on Friday if Dwight gets mad at the Edgar hijinks?

That something has been in the works for a very long time is obvious. Gord has told us:

• "As mayor of Canada's unemployment capital, Francis is itching to announce early in the new year success on three "files" the city has been pursuing, each involving non-government investments with the potential to inject large numbers of new jobs into Windsor."
  


• "There's one other bit of good news on the way.
  
  Stay tuned for an announcement by the end of this month on a "very significant" new office tenant for our vacancy-plagued downtown."
  
  
• "What's interesting is that the confirmation of his [Edgar's] intentions, originally slated for March, might now be pushed back to late April or early May, after a handful of key tasks, especially related to border infrastructure, might be wrapped up."

Leaks, what leaks?

Moreover, in the Star stories the emphasis has been on economic development, however, with just a hint about the border.

• "Economic opportunity eyed
  
  Mayor Eddie Francis has called a special meeting of city council for tonight to discuss an economic development opportunity so pressing it can't wait until council's next regular meeting April 12...
  
  The session starts at 5 p.m. behind closed doors and will include an update on the city's negotiations with the province over the new border route.
  
  The mayor has been holding discussions with Windsor's two cabinet ministers to try to get the province's Windsor-Essex Parkway to more closely resemble the city's Greenlink plan, which would see more of the new border expressway located underground.
  
  "Over the past several months ... we've been making very good, steady progress," Francis said of the talks.

But here’s the part that has to be so galling to Dwight. Nothing can be done in this City without Provincial money and assistance. Nevertheless, Edgar gets the glory.

We saw that play out with the Sutherland announcement where it was made to appear that Edgar was responsible for the jobs that came here in the call centre when the reality was without Sandra’s involvement there would have been no deal whatsoever.

Now it is Spanky’s turn to see the same tactic worked on him.

Look at the drama that we are seeing. We are going to see several days of Edgar’s face in the paper talking about this huge mysterious deal that he has been working on for so long.

• "Windsor council meeting on 'economic development' shrouded in mystery
  
  Mystery continues to surround a new “economic development potential” that necessitated a special meeting of Windsor city council behind closed doors on Tuesday."

Councillors have already been warned to keep their mouths shut or face the consequences. (That means only Edgar can have the glory or else). At the least, Edgar has learned to call in the Councillors in advance and in private, even though it is last-minute again, so that we cannot have another “your arrogance has no bounds” attack on him personally.

As for the border, it probably has to do with the DRIC Road and Greenlink. But it will not be the Province winning. It will be portrayed as the Premier, Dwight, and Sandra, if her name is mentioned at all, bowing down to Edgar and conceding everything to him:

• "Hatfield cites tax fight in bid for Ward 7 seat
  
  In the next session Hatfield said council should put the border file behind it, adding he is now optimistic the province will make enough concessions to "wrap it up."
  
  
• "The mayor has been holding discussions with Windsor's two cabinet ministers to try to get the province's Windsor-Essex Parkway to more closely resemble the city's Greenlink plan, which would see more of the new border expressway located underground."

How embarrassing for Senior politicians. Imagine being part of the mountain coming to Edgar. It is THEIR project being made to look like his, not the other way around. How pitiful.

What could the solution be? Various possibilities:

•  unlikely that there would be any significant changes to the Windsor Essex Parkway because that would require another Environmental Assessment process
  
•  perhaps some additional green space so that the Mayor can claim that it is now healthy for the community
  
•  an upgraded E C Row is a good possibility both as a detour when the DRIC Road is being built and as a connection to Edgar’s airport transportation hub mind’s vision (no wonder Sandra paid for the Lufthansa study). This is even more likely now since CBC told us that Edgar is going to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday as part of a plan to " set up a cargo hub at Windsor International Airport."
  
•  as an inducement to the Mayor, expect the Province to pay for a good chunk of the seemingly dead Tunnel Plaza Improvement project since work is being started on the other side for some improvements there. (Oh expect the Feds to throw in some money too because there is the opportunity now to buy the rights to the US side of the Tunnel cheaply because Detroit is in such a financial mess. That would help the DRIC Bridge P3 operator).

In reality, an Edgar failure will be spun by the sycophants to make it appear that he won. And then the sell-out after the elections, both municipal and provincial later, for the cheap DRIC road. Who cares what happens then, IBG...YBG.

Let's see how it plays out. It is only a few more days.

And please, do not snicker when you see Dwight, even behind his back. He is a very proud man. I do not want to see his feelings hurt even more than they are now.

A Few More Border Stories

Here are some things you may not have known

THE BORDER DISTRACTIONS

Focus on a DRIC bridge not terrorizing the Ambassador Bridge Company; focus on full tunnelling, Greenlink and the Windsor-Essex Parkway not upgrading E C Row to be our border road and on a cheap road solution; focus on building a DRIC bridge not buying the Ambassador Bridge; focus on P3s taking over key border crossings so there is no Dubai Ports incident, not Canada.

All of these matters jumped into my head when I saw this quote from John D. Podesta, a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton.

• “It was almost illusionist, drawing your attention to something that isn’t important, so that you’re not watching what’s happening, which really is important.”

CAN MATTY REALLY RUN A BORDER CROSSING

Take a look at how the Sarnia Mayor describes the Blue Water Bridge:

• "Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley has seen the same trend in his border city. He said traffic on the Bluewater Bridge has been down every year since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, even though the bridge has been twinned and substantially upgraded."

What is also true is that tolls at the BWB were kept artificially low for years to try to take away business from Moroun. They were finally almost doubled recently to the chagrin of OTA's David Bradley who likes taxpayers paying the costs not truckers who actually use the bridge.

Remember that the Ambassador Bridge with all of its supposed negatives already takes traffic from Sarnia.

No wonder no one wants Matty to build his second bridge in the same manner as in Sarnia. Truckers would go where the operator really knows how to run a border crossing!

MORE BAD NEWS FOR SEAN O'DELL

A glimmer of hope for the man and then this:

• "Region facing new reality
  
  LOONIE: Tourism, retail and manufacturing are being hit with a double whammy from the higher Canadian dollar and tighter border security
  
  Get used to it.
  
  With a tighter border and the loonie poised to eclipse the American dollar in value, Southwestern Ontario's tourism and manufacturing sectors are adjusting to a new economic reality.
  
  Both Americans and Canadians are more reluctant to make quick cross-border hops to hunt bargains or see a show.
  
  Cross-border traffic with the U.S. sank 9.2% last year and the number of Canadian visits to the U.S. was down by 10%.
  
  That trend was seen at the Stratford Festival, where ticket sales to Americans have fallen to about 30% of the market.
  
  "The days of Americans coming down to see one show and have dinner are almost over," said Anthony Cimolino, general director of the Stratford Festival.
  
  Cimolino said the explanation is more than the soaring loonie. New U.S. regulations requiring passports at the border and the depressed economy in Michigan, a key market for Stratford, are discouraging casual cross-border tourism...
  
  The higher loonie has also caused a major shakeup in the manufacturing sector.
  
  Paul Hogendoorn, head of the London Region Manufacturing Council, said many of the manufacturing plants in the region that were dependent on a low Canadian dollar to drive export sales have gone under.
  
  "If you're just reliant on coming in at the lowest price, there's always someone, somewhere, who is going to beat you," he said...
  
  Douglas Porter, an economist with BMO Capital Markets, said Southwestern Ontario manufacturers have had some time to adjust to a higher loonie, but "the jury is still out" on how well they can cope.
  
  "I think it's still going to be a real burden. It's one reason to believe Ontario will have a sub-par economic recovery in comparison to Western Canada, in particular."

CANADA HELPS OUT A PRIVATE WINDSOR BORDER CROSSING OPERATOR

Can you imagine, the Canadian Government spending taxpayer dollars to help out a private border operator even though his business would surely disappear if a DRIC Bridge was built

One day the Government of Canada will be called upon to explain this discrimination. Why it helped one private border operator in Windsor but not another:

• "Major revamp for Windsor-Detroit ‘hazmat’ ferry dock
  
  Despite its four-month construction time frame — and November start date — by late January more than half the work had been completed at the Detroit-Windsor truck ferry dock in Windsor’s Ojibway Industrial Park...
  
  The Ambassador Bridge and the Windsor Detroit Tunnel are the two major crossings between Windsor and Detroit. Lesser known is the hazardous goods ferry.
  
  Since Earth Day 1990 the ferry, a barge pushed by a tug, makes several trips a day and lately it’s been up to 14, carrying five tractor-trailers each time across the almost two-kilometre international river crossing.
  
  The privately-run ferry carries trucks with hazardous goods which are banned by the bridge and tunnel and oversized loads...
  
  The $8.8 million project is included in $300 million of special federal-provincial infrastructure money, announced in 2005, to alleviate some of existing traffic congestion leading to the border...
  
  After landscaping is completed in spring the Detroit-Windsor ferry will no longer look like the poor cousin to the area’s other crossings, finally getting the infrastructure respect it deserves."

WHY EDGAR HAS NOT ANNOUNCED

Remember that Edgar (aka Eddie) and Dwight were to have meetings on the border. Remember that Edgar was having conversations with people about whether he should run again.

That was months ago and nothing has happened since. No one got suckered in to announce that they were running as the E-Machine tried to accomplish.

Just in case you were wondering why nothing is going on, or rather nothing is being mentioned publicly, Gord told us back in mid-February.

• "What's interesting is that the confirmation of his [Edgar's] intentions, originally slated for March, might now be pushed back to late April or early May, after a handful of key tasks, especially related to border infrastructure, might be wrapped up."

Oh, I guess that announcement will be made right after long-delayed Fahri's February announcement. Here is what Farhi said on December 5:

• "Windsor's battered downtown is getting a much-needed vote of confidence from larger-than-life London developer Shmuel Farhi, who has been opening his wallet to scoop up properties here and hopes to make an announcement in February of his plans for the core area.
  
  "I don't want to say too much much right now. But it's going to be good news," said the former Israeli soldier whose Farhi Holdings Corp. owns and manages four million square feet of office, retail, industrial and residential space across Ontario, including a significant chunk of downtown London.
  
  "Over the next two months we'll be expanding our interest in Windsor and hopefully early in the new year we can come with an announcement in regard to my future business there," said Farhi."

If he can delay, then so can Edgar. Here is what Farhi said on February 23:

• "But Farhi promised "very, very exciting news" coming soon for downtown Windsor.
  
  The year after acquiring the 100-acre Lear property for $8 million.
  
  Farhi traded 40 acres of the land in 2006 to the city for its new arena, in exchange for a prime 1.1-acre site west of the Art Gallery of Windsor plus $1.5 million in cash.
  
  Farhi wouldn't say what those downtown plans are but promised an announcement "very, very shortly" involving "my plan for the downtown."
  
  There are rumours Farhi Holdings Corp. has been actively acquiring, or negotiating for, more downtown Windsor properties to add to its portfolio. Farhi won't divulge details, but said in December he was optimistic about the city's future and would be "expanding" in Windsor in the next few months to take advantage of "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunities."

Delays happen. Remember when Farhi said in August, 2008:

• "London-based developer Shmuel Farhi will demolish the former Lear Corporation plant on Lauzon Road this fall, clearing the way for a massive development that could top $100 million and include a hotel, restaurants, retail outlets, apartment towers and senior-citizen residences.
  
  Farhi, who owns much of downtown London through Farhi Holdings Corp., which has real estate assets of more than $500 million across Ontario, confirmed in a phone interview that he's finalizing plans to tear down the sprawling 43-year-old factory, with demolition beginning as early as October, and is working on long-term development plans for the 60-acre site that could, over the long haul, exceed 500,000 square feet and would benefit from close proximity to the city's WFCU Arena complex.
  
  "It would complement the great work the city has done."
  
  "I see mixed use. Commercial. Anything and everything we can build there. We can do whatever...
  
  He said he's been in discussions with hotel firms that could build and operate a hotel...
  
  "I can see eventually 60 acres being developed ... the equivalent of an entire downtown," said Farhi. Asked about the risks of investing in a city rocked by economic misery, including a disastrous real estate market, Farhi sounded unperturbed. He said Windsor has obvious advantages, including being located next to the U.S."

Gosh, do you think he listend to much to Sean's optimistic traffic projections?

Now he is saying:

• "While he has "great plans" for the [Lear] site, including mixed-use retail and residential, Farhi said they wouldn't be implemented in the immediate future.
  
  "In this economic climate, bankers are very conservative -- building on spec is not our forte," said Farhi, who owns a large chunk of downtown London as part of his company's extensive real estate holdings.

Where Oh Where Can He Be

The new Undevelopment Commission head. Wasn't he to have started by now?

Don't you wish you knew what he thought:

• "5.1 Board Chairperson’s Report
  
  The Chair Lindsay Boyd welcomed Ron Gaudet, and asked him to report on his perceptions/ thoughts after his initial 2 weeks in Windsor‐Essex...
  
  Moved by Joe Byrne to accept Chair’s Report, seconded by Dave Cooke."

I know he has been having "in camera" meetings:

• "It is a message Ron Gaudet repeated endlessly during his first two months on the job, as he met business and community leaders day after day. He delivered it again Wednesday and got an encouraging response during a six-hour, closed-door session with 165 of them at the Ciociaro Club."

And making speeches:

• "Windsor Essex County Engineering Week
  2010 "Engineering The Future"
  
  Guest Speaker: Ron Gaudet, Chief Executive Officer of the Windsor-Essex Economic Development Commission"

He will be speaking in Leamington too at the end of the month at the Leamington Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. The promo for the event shows that he has more prizes than even our Mayor for business:

• “Canadian Economic Developer of the Year”
• “Canada’s Top 40 under 40”
• “Top 50 Atlantic Canadian CEO’s”

To be fair, he had an interview on CKLW the day after his term started and then a seven minute CKLW interview in mid-March. [However, that was in this time-slot: "TUESDAY: 4:50pm -- Vice President Patrick Persichille from the Windsor Essex Development Commission." Why isn't Ron speaking instead?]

And truly remarkably, his colleague got a big contract here although Gaudet was not involved:

• "After hiring Gaudet, the WEEDC board's next priority was to revamp the region's roadmap for economic development, said chairman Lindsay Boyd. It used a $40,000 provincial grant to hire Moncton-based David Campbell, a former colleague of Gaudet, to do the research and complete a draft of the strategic plan by April, Boyd said.
  
  Gaudet was not involved in the decision to award the contract to Campbell's Jupia Consultants Inc., and the board considered several other proposals, he said. "By far, David's was the best."

But still, this is hardly a good sign:

Perhaps he has been in hiding, updating the Undevelopment Commission's Newsletter since the last one shown on its website is dated January/February, 2009.

My reasons for asking where he is:

• "Francis calls meeting that can't wait
  
  Mayor Eddie Francis has called a special meeting of city council for tonight to discuss an economic development opportunity so pressing it can’t wait until council’s next regular meeting April 12...
  
  While remaining tight-lipped, the mayor said the item is unrelated to the recent multibillion-dollar Samsung investment announcement for Ontario and that it is “something we’ve been actively pursuing.”

Wow, can't you feel the excitement. The City has been captivated by this hint from the Mayor!

That is the royal "we" in case you are interested. You know how much Edgar (aka Eddie) likes to share glory. Will the CEO be there to make the presentation? That should be fascinating to find out. Oh heck, maybe it is just related to a possible DRIC road settlement and the gazillions of jobs it will produce for us.

And this:

• "Plant signals solar future
  Up to 100 green jobs possible in city as German company eyes May startup
  
  Mayor Eddie Francis said he hoped Schletter's arrival in Windsor to set up shop was the first of many such green energy plant openings to come.
  
  "We've been working on a bunch of these for a while now, and it's good to finally see one come out of the hopper."
  
  Patrick Persichilli, vice-president of the development corporation, said Schletter's decision to choose Windsor for its latest plant is a harbinger of good things to come.
  
  "The significance of this investment for us is that it's among the first European companies on the component side (of solar energy) to set up shop in Ontario," Persichilli said.
  
  "And there is a reason they're here. They've got something in the pipeline, obviously. They've got a plan. And we have what they want: location and a highly skilled workforce."

Again, the royal "we" but more importantly, it is the VP speaking on behalf of the Development Commission not Mr. Gaudet.

Who knows, perhaps Ron will jump out of a cake with a big announcement for us tonight. After all, he is showing the Leamington people

• "how we can help achieve our mission to maximize economic diversity, growth and prosperity in the Windsor-Essex Region."