August 31, 2012
31/08/2012 04:46
Welcome To SAP And Good Morning!
Pull up a chair, grab a cuppa
hot coffee and spend 10 minutes to start your day with St. Albert's only daily news site.
Not from St. Albert? Not to worry, there's plenty for you too.
A great way to put a smile on your face before you begin your day.
Have an opinion, gripe or grin to share? Use our Live Chat feature below to share it with other readers. Try our frequent recipes. Give our puzzles a whirl or a game of hangman. Check out our outstanding linked photos. Got a story or photo to share? Want to wish someone happy birthday or anniversary? We love your stuff from any location. Go ahead, send it in. We dare you!
Best of all, it's all free thanks to our advertisers. Enjoy and please, tell your friends. And be sure to check back often each day as the site can be updated as events occur. Follow @mybirdietweets
City Of St. Albert Proposed Water Bylaw
Unfair And Punishing To Larger Families
Not factoring in family size before imposing penalties nothing short of
a cash grab on larger families
We announced here on St. Albert's Place on Tuesday that the city would be adopting a new water usage bylaw in an effort to cut water use by residents. No one is going to argue that is not a good thing.
The Gazette ran a story on the plan on Wednesday which raises some serious questions of both administration and a blind council who rubber stamped this particular plan.
In that Gazette story, environmental co-ordinator Kalen Pilkington stated, “The plan is designed to help the city address a number of challenges affecting the supply and treatment of water.” “We can have measures in place so we are prepared.”
“We do not want to penalize the average rate,” Pilkington said. “We want to make the incentive rate attainable by a large percentage of the population. We want people trying very hard to pay for only what they use.”
That of course is nonsense if you think through the plan as it now exists and it is obvious members of council didn't bother to grasp the effect the plan will have on city families.
Is everyone involved from administration through city council brain-dead or what?
If an average family of say four for example, two adults and two children currently use about 200 litres of water per person per day according to the city, that family would consume a total of 800 litres per day.
A family of three would then only consume a total of 600 litres per day and a couple would only use 400 litres per day, but what about larger families?
Think about a family of five or six. The usage would jump to 1,000 and 1,200 litres per day, some 20 and 50 percent higher than the average family of four, automatically triggering a penalty on rate.
Under the city's cockeyed thinking, those larger families would be penalized by having to pay a higher rate for their water, even though they are not using any more per family member than smaller families.
How can the city be naive enough to think that is somehow fair, or that it will cut down on water consumption?
If they do not factor in family size before imposing penalties, it is nothing short of a cash grab on larger families and that folks, is what is wrong with this ill-thought-out plan.
Has any member of council even tumbled to that fact? We doubt it or they would immediately have repealed that portion of the obviously ill-conceived bylaw by administration. It's not only unfair, it's dead wrong.
How about it council? Are you going to go along with penalizing your citizens who use no more than average water amounts with this regressive new bylaw? Or will you do the right thing and repeal that penalty portion?
The Photography Of Paul Dicaire
Don,
This is a picture of Vancouver taken from Jericho Beach in Kitsilano.
Paul Dicaire
St. Albert
St. Albert Mayor Launches Blog
Mayor Nolan Crouse, an avid user of social media to stay in touch with the community, is adding a blog to his communication tools to reach out and stay connected with residents.
“Being in touch with residents is critical to me. I decided to do a periodic blog post about my views and opinions, as the blog format allows for a more in-depth expression of ideas as well as for dialogue with residents,” says Crouse. “I am at as many of the events I can get to in the community and I speak to many residents; but there are many residents with whom I may not have had the opportunity to connect.
“I am excited about having a venue where I can express my thoughts and get specific feedback and discussion going. It is important to me to hear the diverse opinion in the community so I can do my very best in addressing issues and concerns and have a better sense of what is on people’s mind. As a public representative, it is incumbent upon me to find ways to be accessible and I invite St. Albertans to also connect with me on my blog. ”
His first blog is about trees. Read why “Trees Matter”. The blog also can be accessed through a link on the City’s website. The Mayor’s blog represents his own opinions and does not necessarily represent the view of City Council, other Council members or the City of St. Albert.
SINC SAYS:
Just what we need. More Crouse.
READER RESPONSE:
"Mr. Communication," what a joke! He could care less what anybody thinks. Really hard to tell there's an election coming, isn't it?
MyEyesOnCouncil
St. Albert
__________________________________________________________________
BBC News Feed:
Welcome To St. Albert's Place Live Chat
Links To Other Stories In The News:
Loud TV ads must be turned down by tomorrow - CBC
Gun swap aims to show long-gun registry was 'useless' - CBC
Did Mitt Romney gain ground? - CNN
Second woman's torso found in Niagara River - CTV
Redford raised and spent most in spring election - Edmonton Journal
STARS braces for worst ever year - Edmonton Sun
__________________________________________________________________
The Things That People Send Us
Check out this strawBEARy . . .
That Was
Really Something!
Beauty And The Beak
Beauty, the bald eagle with her beak shot off, gets a helping hand at life with technology.
* Submitted by Kelly Boyd of Entwistle.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Playing Tonight At LB's Pub
Playing Tomorrow Night At LB's Pub
hot coffee and spend 10 minutes to start your day with St. Albert's only daily news site.
Not from St. Albert? Not to worry, there's plenty for you too.
A great way to put a smile on your face before you begin your day.
Have an opinion, gripe or grin to share? Use our Live Chat feature below to share it with other readers. Try our frequent recipes. Give our puzzles a whirl or a game of hangman. Check out our outstanding linked photos. Got a story or photo to share? Want to wish someone happy birthday or anniversary? We love your stuff from any location. Go ahead, send it in. We dare you!
Best of all, it's all free thanks to our advertisers. Enjoy and please, tell your friends. And be sure to check back often each day as the site can be updated as events occur. Follow @mybirdietweets
City Of St. Albert Proposed Water Bylaw
Unfair And Punishing To Larger Families
a cash grab on larger families
We announced here on St. Albert's Place on Tuesday that the city would be adopting a new water usage bylaw in an effort to cut water use by residents. No one is going to argue that is not a good thing.
The Gazette ran a story on the plan on Wednesday which raises some serious questions of both administration and a blind council who rubber stamped this particular plan.
In that Gazette story, environmental co-ordinator Kalen Pilkington stated, “The plan is designed to help the city address a number of challenges affecting the supply and treatment of water.” “We can have measures in place so we are prepared.”
“We do not want to penalize the average rate,” Pilkington said. “We want to make the incentive rate attainable by a large percentage of the population. We want people trying very hard to pay for only what they use.”
That of course is nonsense if you think through the plan as it now exists and it is obvious members of council didn't bother to grasp the effect the plan will have on city families.
Is everyone involved from administration through city council brain-dead or what?
If an average family of say four for example, two adults and two children currently use about 200 litres of water per person per day according to the city, that family would consume a total of 800 litres per day.
A family of three would then only consume a total of 600 litres per day and a couple would only use 400 litres per day, but what about larger families?
Think about a family of five or six. The usage would jump to 1,000 and 1,200 litres per day, some 20 and 50 percent higher than the average family of four, automatically triggering a penalty on rate.
Under the city's cockeyed thinking, those larger families would be penalized by having to pay a higher rate for their water, even though they are not using any more per family member than smaller families.
How can the city be naive enough to think that is somehow fair, or that it will cut down on water consumption?
If they do not factor in family size before imposing penalties, it is nothing short of a cash grab on larger families and that folks, is what is wrong with this ill-thought-out plan.
Has any member of council even tumbled to that fact? We doubt it or they would immediately have repealed that portion of the obviously ill-conceived bylaw by administration. It's not only unfair, it's dead wrong.
How about it council? Are you going to go along with penalizing your citizens who use no more than average water amounts with this regressive new bylaw? Or will you do the right thing and repeal that penalty portion?
The Photography Of Paul Dicaire
Don,
This is a picture of Vancouver taken from Jericho Beach in Kitsilano.
Paul Dicaire
St. Albert
St. Albert Mayor Launches Blog
“Being in touch with residents is critical to me. I decided to do a periodic blog post about my views and opinions, as the blog format allows for a more in-depth expression of ideas as well as for dialogue with residents,” says Crouse. “I am at as many of the events I can get to in the community and I speak to many residents; but there are many residents with whom I may not have had the opportunity to connect.
“I am excited about having a venue where I can express my thoughts and get specific feedback and discussion going. It is important to me to hear the diverse opinion in the community so I can do my very best in addressing issues and concerns and have a better sense of what is on people’s mind. As a public representative, it is incumbent upon me to find ways to be accessible and I invite St. Albertans to also connect with me on my blog. ”
His first blog is about trees. Read why “Trees Matter”. The blog also can be accessed through a link on the City’s website. The Mayor’s blog represents his own opinions and does not necessarily represent the view of City Council, other Council members or the City of St. Albert.
SINC SAYS:
Just what we need. More Crouse.
READER RESPONSE:
"Mr. Communication," what a joke! He could care less what anybody thinks. Really hard to tell there's an election coming, isn't it?
MyEyesOnCouncil
St. Albert
__________________________________________________________________
BBC News Feed:
Welcome To St. Albert's Place Live Chat
Links To Other Stories In The News:
Loud TV ads must be turned down by tomorrow - CBCGun swap aims to show long-gun registry was 'useless' - CBC
Did Mitt Romney gain ground? - CNN
Second woman's torso found in Niagara River - CTV
Redford raised and spent most in spring election - Edmonton Journal
STARS braces for worst ever year - Edmonton Sun
__________________________________________________________________
The Things That People Send Us
Check out this strawBEARy . . .
That Was
Really Something!
Beauty And The Beak
Beauty, the bald eagle with her beak shot off, gets a helping hand at life with technology.
* Submitted by Kelly Boyd of Entwistle.
Beauty and the Beak from Keith Bubach on Vimeo.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Playing Tonight At LB's Pub
Playing Tomorrow Night At LB's Pub
