Verry...Interresting

From day one, the media had the election decided. Well, they have their polls don't you know. It always interests me how they make elections their own.Of course, if I didn't watch the  media, I woudn't know that, would I ?

It's almost like  there's a lottery prize for predicting the winner. They are at it before the electorate  even realise an election  has begun.

We all know the impact the social media had on the Obama election. I'm not sure  it could happen here.It hasn't been tested yet. Those of us who use the internet assume more people are on than are. I think it's growing but it's not as big as we think it is.

The discussion on the Citizen Blog is thoughtful and lively and civil too. Of course that could be the  influence of the moderator.

Fifty million dollars spent in the conservative riding of Huntsville is big. Not just because the money was earmarked for another purpose  but because.....well  fifty million  is big.

It's hard to spend that much money in one place, in a short time without somebody paying attention.

I remember reading about Huntsville shopkeeper's concerns at the time of the conference. Nobody was talking about  the shot to the local  economy of fifty million dollars of federal funds.

I saw the Mayor last night on television in a press conference. He seemed to be emphatically denying any involvement. How could he not have been involved?

Stimulus funds called for municipal investment as well. Fifty million would require  a substantial municipal share. Huntsville  wouldn't have it.

Think  of the  public planning,  meetings,zonings , design specifications, tendering, site plans, contract awards, how could  all that happen without municipal involvement.

Who authorised the spending ? Things don't move that fast at the municipal level.

Look at our own meagre experience with the federal Department of National Defence. We spent $175Ks  before occupancy of  the hydro building , which we needed ourselves ,when we leased it to the feds . It swallowed up the first year's rent and more. We heard the lease was signed prior to the election. Then in March, we learned the rent didn't start until February. Then we were informed we couldn't see the lease because those are the  federal rules.

Municipalities don't usually have much to do with the federal government. It's often a three way deal  through  the Provincial government.

If I were an opposition party leader, I would be digging around at the local level in the absence of the precise wording of auditor general's report.

Deerhurst Inn was featured in photos in the news yesterday. Is that still privately owned or does the Province have a stake in it?

They showed pictures of a cinder block public washroom. A few hundred of them could be built with fifty million dollars and plenty left over for other stuff.

Another beautiful building looked like an arena and conference centre.Who owns that I wonder?

I gotta check the news.