"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Monday 10 November 2014

Two Birds With One Stone.

Aurora Highlands Golf Course was sold by the Nisbet family in the sixties. Joe Shaw was the new owner.. Word was he was a champion body-builder .He was also a developer. It was anticipated the land would be developed.

Yonge  Street  frontage was developed in the eighties. A fine Club house was demolished and Highland Gate  Condominiums rose from the ground.

Half the golf course remained . Any time a golf course exists within an urban area, it may be assumed that ultimately it will be developed. Everything happens later in Aurora. We have been fortunate.

The town has been informed the golf club has closed because it is under-performing.

It cannot be  developed until services are available.Likely when the Region builds  the sewage treatment plant  they plan at Lake Simcoe..

I figure that's what the huge increases in water bills is about.

**********************
Ka-non extends an invitation I can't resist. Where do I stand on the ban on smoking in public spaces?

First, I don"t smoke.  I did smoke and when I did I deeply resented being told I couldn't.

I stopped smoking when Brian Mulrooney introduced federal sales tax.

I sometimes wish I could still smoke.  I remember the pleasure. But I share the distaste  for the acrid smell of stale cigarette smoke.

I still love the smell of wood smoke.How,long wilol it be before the righteous among us decide that can no longer be allowed.

But  apart from all of that, Ii find lack of  depth at the senior level of government disturbing.

When a bylaw is  contemplated, the first thought must be about practical enforcement.

Next is how will it hold up to a challenge?

What are our rights? How much  denial is reasonable? When is the line crossed?

Many bylaws  are not  intended  nor can they be enforced. The intent is to convey a  community standard.

For the most part  the bluff works.

I think that's an abuse of legislative authority.

The Province has referenced heavy fines for illegal of smoking. How can they do that while collecting taxes from the sale,of tobacco?

Are they going to be responsible for collecting the fines?


Would jail time be the next step for failure to pay ?

Who pays the cost of jail time?

When was the last time the per diem rate was checked ?

The cost to keep a person locked up in jail is many times multiplied  over making sure  EveryGrade 5 students has learned to read and write.

Prisons are chock-a -block with people who can't earn an honest living because they don't  have those basic skills.

By the way, is that not what schools are supposed to be about.

Oops !!! there I go again.
Veering off topic.
Suggesting perhaps society's values might be in  need of perspective.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

edit: Nisbet

Anonymous said...

"I stopped smoking when Brian Mulrooney introduced federal sales tax."

Maybe my history is screwed up but Mulroney stopped the federal sales tax when he brought in the GST.

Anonymous said...

A golf course uses a lot of precious water. Does it pay a huge premium over and above what residential users pay?

Golf is a large business, but according to financial and other reports golf is falling on hard times; the number of active golfers is down, the sale of golf equipment and clothing is down. Some golf courses are even closing. Some claim that this is the Tiger Woods effect. This golfing superstar has had a few bum years and no one of his magnitude has replaced him atop the games' leaderboards.

Smoking is an interesting subject because it is essentially a matter of air pollution. Oh, I realize there is a faint odour but that soon dissipates.

The province assesses a humungous tax on cigarettes and other smoking materials. Maybe all smokers should switch to the chewing variety of tobacco and so long as they did't spit onto the ground but rather into their personal cuspidors everyone would be happy.

But could cars, trucks and buses operate on the equivalent of chewing tobacco? These essential parts of our lives are also licensed by the province. Is there a sliding scale of fees or fines for those vehicles that produce greater amounts of pollutants? I realize that pollution reduction goals are all the rage these days, not just for vehicles but also for power generation plants, from wind turbines to coal burning boilers.

I find there is a great deal of hypocrisy when it comes to pollution, but there is little coherent policy. The planet's survival is in danger yet we have no national policy or objective. This week the G20 leaders are going to be gathering in Beijing where on many days you cannot see across the street and people wear masks over the mouth and nose to filter out the crud.

This has gone a long way from a little white ball and a cigarette.

Anonymous said...

A golf course uses a lot of precious water. Does it pay a huge premium over and above what residential users pay?

Golf is a large business, but according to financial and other reports golf is falling on hard times; the number of active golfers is down, the sale of golf equipment and clothing is down. Some golf courses are even closing. Some claim that this is the Tiger Woods effect. This golfing superstar has had a few bum years and no one of his magnitude has replaced him atop the games' leaderboards.

Smoking is an interesting subject because it is essentially a matter of air pollution. Oh, I realize there is a faint odour but that soon dissipates.

The province assesses a humungous tax on cigarettes and other smoking materials. Maybe all smokers should switch to the chewing variety of tobacco and so long as they did't spit onto the ground but rather into their personal cuspidors everyone would be happy.

But could cars, trucks and buses operate on the equivalent of chewing tobacco? These essential parts of our lives are also licensed by the province. Is there a sliding scale of fees or fines for those vehicles that produce greater amounts of pollutants? I realize that pollution reduction goals are all the rage these days, not just for vehicles but also for power generation plants, from wind turbines to coal burning boilers.

I find there is a great deal of hypocrisy when it comes to pollution, but there is little coherent policy. The planet's survival is in danger yet we have no national policy or objective. This week the G20 leaders are going to be gathering in Beijing where on many days you cannot see across the street and people wear masks over the mouth and nose to filter out the crud.

This has gone a long way from a little white ball and a cigarette.

Anonymous said...

Beacon Hall have their own well which is also used by condo residents. They are not charged & it does not impact town water supplies.

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine that they are going to wait to sell this property after a treatment plant is going to be built. In fact I can bet the town has known about this for some time now. I'm sure they've already calculated how much in development charges can be made and the tax revenue that can be collected from this potential development. I just hope that our town will be a little bit more forthcoming with information than the town of Newmarket was with its residents.

KA-NON said...

Evelyn, I am as supportive of a person's right to smoke as the next guy. As long as you can do it without it impacting me IN THE SLIGHTEST, then fill your boots. (Don't mean to shout, just the only way to add emphasis on you blog sight is to capitalize - would prefer bold or italics).

Allowing people to smoke in public does not achieve that, for reasons stated, one being a matter of physics, and the other, a matter of behaviour.

Anonymous said...

"(Don't mean to shout, just the only way to add emphasis on you(r) blog sight (sic) is to capitalize - would prefer bold or italics)."

But you can, KA-NON - read the line below the comment window re: HTML tags.

KA-NON said...

Thanks, @12:11.

Imagine my surprise!

Hope this works!

Anonymous said...

We have neighbours who still heat with wood. They are actually a bit nervous about some of the rhetoric including what emerges from Aurora's council.

Anonymous said...

13:47

As long as they put the ashes into clear garbage bags they should be okay.