Thursday, October 31, 2013

Worth Reading - October 31, 2013



Happy Hallowe’en all! Hallowe’en is my favourite holiday on the calendar. I could go into detail extolling its virtues, but I have to write this in between dishing out candy.

I do not consider myself a teacher anymore. I work in education but I do not stand in front of children and run a classroom or impart wisdom. However, I still like reading about education and have opinions about what the system should be doing and look like. This article best described, I think, what I would like public education to look like. 

From poor Detroit, a forest is about to appear within it. A for-profit forest, strangely enough.

Toronto City Councillor Karen Stintz announces her intent to challenge Mayor Ford in the next election. 

This was a very interesting piece. Richard Reep suggests that the type of protests we have seen in the Middle East and urban conflict elsewhere in the world might be a new reaction to globalization he calls localism. He cited Marxist social analysis, so I was intrigued immediately.

Sad news from home, Brampton has a massive budget shortfall this year. Mayor Susan Fennell wants to make draconian cuts to transit to fill in the gap. City Councillors want her to start with her own budget.

The United Kingdom prorogues their parliament once a year, but it is used entirely differently than ours. 

Conservative support has dropped to the lowest point in years, suggesting that the Senate scandal is wearing down the Tories’ core support. 

If you need a synopsis of the Senate scandal Robert Fife does a good job here. It definitely helps that he initiated much of the reporting.

Premier Wynne of Ontario floats the idea of green transit bonds. If it meant better transit I could definitely imagine investing in them. Seems like a great way for passionate advocates to show support.

The city of Mississauga continues to lobby for its independence from the Region of Peel


2 comments:

Jon Houle said...

I think Green Bonds are a great idea. I mean, if people are opposed to taxes in general for transit (usually those who drive) then at least those who DO use transit on a regular basis and want to see the system grow in the GTA and beyond can contribute.

Furthermore, since this is a 'out of market' funding solution, the government is likely able to raise the capital at a lower interest rate than what would be required by 'A grade' level investors out in the open market.

Thanks for the blog. Will keep reading. There are some interesting ideas in here.

SJL said...

Thanks for the feedback Jon. I hope you enjoy it.