Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Four More Good Reasons to Be Hopeful About Kamloops' Future...

 

Following a March 2010 community meeting,  Tuula, Ann, Krystal, and Gisela are working on a web site and email newsletter that will help people find about different sustainability related initiatives in Kamloops. The web site should be ready soon, under the name the Thompson Environmental Network. And I will link to it when it is. Exciting stuff!

Kamloops Energy Fair, June 19th 2010 - Live Stream...

Live from the show floor at the 2010 Kamloops Energy Fair!!

Interviews, Demonstrations, and Much More....

Feed will be live on June 19th 2010...

Watch live streaming video from yourkamloops at livestream.com

Reflections on John O'Fee's Council Comment on Government Debt...

 

Councillor John O'Fee's latest column in the Kamloops Daily News deals with government debt. It's a pretty solid piece, in my opinion, explaining the benefits and costs of the practice.

A couple of things struck me.

This first is a bit of tangential point. John partly justifies government debt by saying "Like any enterprise, improvement requires investment." I personally would hate to think this is true. Sometime, improvement might mean cutting when budgets are getting too high or when programs are no longer working. John makes a similar point, seems to me, in the last sentence of his column in saying "It’s certainly not a problem we can afford to ignore."

Second, and this is more of a question, I'm wondering why John used TNRD (our regional district) aggregate figures rather than City of Kamloops figures. It would probably made the column a lot stronger if people had a better picture of what is happening locally.

Kudos and Constructive Criticism for Cathy...

Our MP Cathy McLeod has again asked for public input. This time the meeting focused on the reform of the federal pension system. I praised Cathy for holding public consultations on the federal budget, and I continue to be very impressed.

I hope Cathy will consider changing her mind on another issue, though. I was surprised to read that she did not support Canada's auditor general examining MP expenses. When I served on Kamloops City Council, it was sometimes scary to subject my own judgments on conference and travel spending to public scrutiny, but ultimately citizens need to know how their money is being spent. If everything can be justified, why should it not be examined and made public.

TRU Looking for Business Partnerships...

Do you have an idea for a great new product? Starting a business but don't have a lot of resources?

No, this is not an infomercial.

Yesterday, Dr Lincoln Smith who works at Thompson Rivers University spoke to my Rotary Club. Lincoln was promoting TRU as a partner for local businesses. They already do a lot of work with manufacturing and technology companies, but are open to talking to any business about possible opportunities. Lots of interesting opportunities!

Making Money Without the (Dreaded) Drivethrough...

Jeremy Deutsch must really love Burger King. Writing in today's Kamloops This Week,  Jeremy writes:

The king is back.

After years without the Whopper in Kamloops, Burger King will once again rule over the kingdom of the Tournament Capital....

To be fair, the start of the article might be an attempt to be catchy and attract our attention. It got mine.

The article is not just an announcement of some new restaurants. It actually focuses on the inability of the restaurant owners to construct a drive through in the commercial centre of North Kamloops (in more official language, "the North Shore Town Centre"). The North Shore neighbourhood plan bans drive throughs in this area. I sat on the neighbourhod planning committee and support this policy because I believe it helps create a more pedestrian friendly, more environmentally friendly area.

Now, I sometimes will make use of a drive through. Rarely, but it does happen from time to time. They are certainly very convenient. I wonder, however, if I didn't have a drive through option when I was looking for one, would I actually go somewhere else or would I park my car and walk inside?

This seems to be the major concerns of those who promote or build drivethroughs - that if this convenience is not offered, people would go somewhere else. But, personally, if I am going to a certain restaurant or coffee shop, it's because I have made quite a specific choice. I really want a Tim Hortons' sandwich or I really want a Starbucks grande latte. Sometimes, I really want a A&W double mozza burger.

I wonder what kind of research there is to illustrate people would go somewhere else if a drive through option was not available. Me, I almost always park and walk in.

A column in the same issue of the paper as this article extols the benefits the joys of "walk-throughs" or "walk-tos"

Do fast food franchisees and coffee shops really need to worry?

Interesting Reads to Start the Week?

Honestly, I am still getting back into community blogging after submitting a (successful!) MA thesis proposal and attending the Northern Voice conference this weekend. In the meantime, I've found these articles, posts, and conference sessions quite interesting:

 - Mel Rothenburger: Why Politicians and Journalists are the Same

 - Jeremy Deutsch: From Farms to 2000 Homes: Transforming Tranquille

 - Arjun Singh: My Attempt at Live Blogging: Northern Voice Gov 2.0 Session

Donation of Naval Artifacts Welcome...

In celebration of 100 years of the Canadian Navy, the Kamloops Museum is taking donations of naval artifacts. More on the special display and donation program at the Museum from the Kamloops Daily News.

Committed North Shore Volunteers Need Your Help...

I am a huge admirer of Tom Hammer, Shannon Hammer, and Betty Nelson. They have all played such significant roles in the health of North Kamloops. We shouldn't burn these people out. Kamloops This Week has the story here. I hope they will get some back up support.