IntenseDebate - Terry McGinn

12 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - #ygkChallenge: Turn th... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'm in, too... but mostly because we've still got our windows open.

12 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Six Questions for Mary... · 0 replies · 0 points

Freezing fees for transit sounds great - how are you going to pay that? How long are they going to be frozen for? Are you going to freeze the wage increases for the unionized transit workers? How are you going to pay for those pay increases? The answer: higher taxes. So, yes, the users will pay the same, but the taxpayers will pay more.

I'm all for making public transit work, but how about making the cost of transit fees worth the service that is provided? More routes, more frequent buses, etc, etc, etc would go a lot further to making transit work than freezing fees. I don't mind paying the price for something whose value is commensurate.

Also, since I nitpicked the other candidates on style I've gotta say that it's either "member of provincial parliament" or "member of Provincial Parliament", if you cannot choose whether or not the Provincial Parliament is a proper noun I'm not sure whether you're up to the job.

12 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Six Questions for John... · 1 reply · +1 points

While I'm not a fan of Mr. Gerretsen's answer to question 4, it shows a great understanding of the education system, the local make-up of our school districts and issue at hand. And that, I think, is important for an elected representative.

Constituents can influence their member to vote in a way that is in keeping with the views of the constituency, but it shouldn't be up to the population to teach the member of the issues. Mr. Gerretsen shows that we need not teach him about the issues faced by this city and the province. He speaks clearly and effectively and knowledgeably about the issues and speaks not only as a top-down member of a party, but as a bottom-up member of the community.

This, I think, is an important trait for a representative for Kingston.

Although he did misuse the apostrophe a couple of times... which drives me crazy!

12 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Six Questions for Rodg... · 0 replies · +2 points

Oh for sure I'm not saying that everything should have been about him... but you'll notice that I also clearly pointed out "not a single use"... i wasn't looking for him to have some sort of self-love session in his answers... but something that spoke to motivation for political aspirations or what *he* sees as Kingston's future in the province.

So, no, I don't think that using the "I" at least one time would have been a negative.

12 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Six Questions for Rodg... · 0 replies · +2 points

Not a single use of the word "I" in his entire response. Which I think is a shame. No "I believe", "I feel", "I want"... nothing personal or emotional. No hint of what moves him to political action, to standing for the community. No sign of personal motivation at all. We need a representative who thinks for himself and is willing to put Kingston first and talk about our needs - not the party's wishes.

Unless, of course he, was using the royal "we"... in which case: yikes.

And I'm pretty sure that the answer to question two got turned inside out. The Debt Retirement Charge got added in 2002... not the HST.

13 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Literary Kingston · 0 replies · +1 points

I think this is being a little nit-picky. I'm not trying to rob Wolfe Island of part of its history but, I guess, I misinterpreted the masthead graphic of Kingstonist - which includes silhouettes of the wind turbines also located on Wolfe Island - as being inclusive of the area around Kingston as well as the city proper.

He was born on Wolfe Island, yes, but it's not like he lived through to some ripe, old age there either. He left Wolfe Island when he was 13 and was educated abroad in the United Kingdom and France. He died in Surrey, in the UK having never returned to Wolfe Island after he left.

Mr. Allen was Kingston-area-born more precisely, I suppose. I certainly thought him relevant to the topic of Literary Kingston - whether precisely Kingstonian or only so by approximation.

13 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Literary Kingston · 0 replies · +1 points

I stand corrected on the eligibility for the Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award; I had added those two facts at the last minute and should have checked my facts more closely. I had recollected it being an award solely for young women authors for some reason. My bad.

13 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - City Hall Clock to go ... · 0 replies · +1 points

This should absolutely not be done.

An LED may be "electricly friendly" but that's not the only consideration for environmental friendliness. I am not a fan of light pollution, for one thing, as it has been shown to adversely effect health and it obscures the stars and negatively impacts astronomy. Also, unnecessarily replacing the four faces of the clock with something new in spite of the fact that the clock works just fine is not exactly in keeping with "reduce" (as the first of the 3 Rs).

And, of course, it will look ghastly. The city would look very, very bad if it went forward with this and then attacked CN for not maintaining the original structure of the Outer Station.

13 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Weekly Poll: Alt Landm... · 0 replies · +2 points

The Martello Towers are worth considering for sure. As is City Hall and Confederation basins, which have previously been mentioned. Or even Collins Bay Penitentiary - which many people briefly assume to be a castle of some sort. There's also Bellevue House, the Olympic Harbour, the Pump and Steamhouse Museum, The Spirit of Sir John A, the Gaskon Lion or even the very new Wolfe Island Wind Farm.

I think it's pretty obvious that *the* landmark in Kingston is City Hall, but what is second to City Hall is up for grabs.

13 years ago @ Kingstonist.com - Weekly Poll: Alt Landm... · 1 reply · +1 points

There are plenty of horror stories that have taken place in amusement parks, for that matter.

A landmark is a landmark for better or worse. A gallows could be a landmark, for instance.

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