Update On The House Falling In On Itself

As you may know, there is a house down the street from me that has a roof caving in on itself.
I reported this house to 311 on April 27, 2011 with a comment that I was concerned the roof may fall in on the older gentleman I believed to be living in the residence. Well, it turned out that the house was only used for storage, and the old guy had a different residence he lived in. Further, I learned that I was not the first person to report this residence for By-Law infractions. Another concerned citizen had already notified 311 of several By-Law infractions regarding the house and yard at this address.
The 311 report that I sent in on April 27 was re-directed to City Planning at the end of April, as it was an issue regarding the house structure. I spoke with a City Planning person in late July regarding the status of the issue. I was told the home owner had until the end of September to demolish the back of his house, where the roof was caving in. The city planning person said the City would be taking care of the demolition after that, if nothing was done.

Well, nothing has been done, at least not with the roof.

What I did notice, though, was that the fence has been painted.
I guess we have to be thankful for the little things.
At least the fence got painted.
The city sure has been on top of the By-Law infractions against this house, and have enforced the painting of the fence. I am so glad my tax dollars are being spent where it is really needed. Because Lord knows fresh paint on a fence is far more important than the structural integrity of a house.
Let's hear it for the City.

The Politics Of An Election, Status Quo Or No

Tuesday is the day. That's when we vote in our Provincial Representative, the people who will decide our fate for the next four years or so.
I wonder how the province will vote. Will we vote in the status quo? Historically, that is the way things generally go. People are most comfortable with the way things are. But is that true today? Are we comfortable with the status quo, with the way things have been going these past 12 years? Are we comfortable with the way the NDP have handled our provincial matters? That is the real question. And if we are not pleased, what are we going to do about it? Do we vote for the same and hope for a change, or do we change the way we vote?
I, for one, am changing the way I vote this time around.
I have always been a socialist, believing the state should ensure everyone is taken care of, and that makes me an NDPer. So here I am, knowing the NDP have been in power for the last 12 years, and issues that concern me are not being taken care of. Crime in my area is out of control. And the NDP just keep adding social program after social program to the problem. I wouldn't have an issue with social programs if crime rates were going down. But they are not. It seems all these social programs are doing is educating the criminals that they just have to say they had a troubled past and they are free to commit any crime they want.
I am sick of the status quo of being so darned caring about the upbringing of murderers, and coddling criminals as they stab and murder each other and innocent by-standers.
Somebody has to have the b*lls enough to stand up and take a tougher approach to these crimes and the criminals behind them. And somebody has to take a hard look at the way we treat Young Offenders. A third of our murders this year have been committed by youths. That is an absolutely horrific statistic, and we need to take a serious look at it.
In this next election, we cannot just vote for the status quo, and we cannot just vote for social programs. We cannot expect the same leaders and the same policies to have different results just because we cast another vote. The only way to truely make change is to change what we are doing, and that means to change the way we vote.
Enough of the Status Quo of the NDP. I am ready to vote PC and vote for a different approach to crime and punishment. I never thought I would ever vote PC, but this time around, they seem to be the ones speaking my language. McFayden seems to be the only one, of any of the leaders, who is talking about crimes being committed, and our status as Murder Capital of Canada. During the televised debate he quoted stats on crimes since the election started, and crimes during the previous debate downtown. The guy is aware of, and seems to show a real concern for violent crimes being committed around us.
I am tired of hearing sirens, and seeing police. I am tired of hearing about break-ins, robberies, assaults, stabbings, shootings, and murders. I am tired of reading about our youth committing violent crimes. And I am tired of hearing that criminals committing violent acts deserve compassion. I am tired of the status quo, and I am tired of the NDP.
Call me crazy, but I am voting for a change from the status quo. I am voting against the NDP on Tuesday and I am voting PC this time around. Mr. McFadyen, you better not let me down. I expect you to take our crime issues seriously and take real measures to turn this trend around. Make our streets safe again, please.

Shot In The Head Several Times

Homicide #32 has been registered in the City, and it has happened in my neighbourhood.
The news reporter just said "shot in the head several times". Oh my God. What is going on here. What the heck. The person was found lying on the ground, and someone called the police to check on the "well-being of the individual".
What is going on in this city? And what is being done to fix these issues?
What are the politicians promising about crime, and what do they actually know about it?
Selinger did a photo op with known gangsters from Heatbag Records. That is not showing any form of crime awareness. He seems more interested in photo ops than he does in identifying criminals, nevermind correcting the issues with crime in this City.
I think we need to have someone running this province who is a little more aware of their surroundings than Mr. Selinger.
I am damned sick of watching the homicide numbers going higher and higher every few days. We are averaging just shy of a homicide a week, and that is just not acceptable. It is not acceptable for me, and I highly doubt that it is acceptable to you.
Demand change, and demand it now.

Dumpster Fires Galore

I just got back into town from a day trip to Dryden, Ontario.
As we were driving back home, we passed two police cars stopped at a scene on Talbot, and another cruiser coming over the Redwood Bridge. The icing on the cake was seeing another police car at the corner of our street as we were arriving home.
It turns out that they were looking for a few suspects setting garbage bins on fire. Apparently someone has been setting a rash of dumpsters on fire in the area. The police made a comment that these fires are 'out of control'. What the heck is happening.
When we were in Dryden today, we were talking to one of the locals there. He said he reads the Winnipeg Free Press, and commented about all the stabbings. He said it sounded like we had 10 stabbings a day here. I guess we are not the only people in this country who think Winnipeg is out of control. Someone 400 km to the east of us thinks Winnipeg has just gone crazy.
So, what I want to know is, when will the government catch on that things are out of control. When will the government take action to fix these issues and restore our city to a state of reasonable peace. Selinger seems so clueless that he decided to catch a photo op with local gangsters, the Heatbag Records guys. We don't need clueless politicians. We need ones who can recognize serious issues and make real plans to resolve them.