ChangeCamp is coming to Windsor-Essex on May 8th 2010

ChangeCamp is coming to Windsor-Essex this May, and you can be part of it!

What is ChangeCamp, you ask?  Cooquially known as an “un-conference“, ChangeCamp is a face-to-face gathering of citizens interested in exchanging ideas and plans for their urban political landscape.

Still lost?  Watch this video!

ChangeCamp conferences have been held in many cities across Canada over the past two years.  From Edmonton, to Vancouver, Toronto, to Halifax, citizens have attended and discussed their approaches to influencing change in their areas.

Windsor-Essex ChangeCamp is billed as a way to “re-imagine Windsor-Essex as a stronger and more vibrant community”.

To find out more, visit the WE ChangeCamp website, follow WEChangeCamp on Twitter, or RSVP to the event on Facebook.

ChangeCamp Windsor-Essex takes place on Saturday, May 8th 2010 between 9am and 4:30pm at the Fred Israel Auditorium, Central Branch of the Windsor Public Library.

CSC_0111 by xero4 from the windsoriteDOTca Flickr pool.

A loophole in the current taxation process for condominiums could cost Windsor “millions” in revenue if not addressed. Multi-dwelling buildings that are classified as condos (after being “converted”) are taxed as a single-family home, resulting in a rate that is 2.55x lower than regular multi-dwelling buildings.

More bad news for area hospitals. The provincial recruitment project known as the Underserviced Area Program, which provides incentives for health care workers to set up shop in regions in need of doctors, has been revised. This means $55,000 in tuition grants will be re-routed from southwestern Ontario to northern Ontario.

Again, in hospital news, the surgeon accused of unnecessarily removing a Leamington woman’s breast wants her hospital privileges back. Dr. Barbara Heartwell, who voluntarily stepped away but then changed her mind and was consequently suspended, will find out tonight if she’ll be reinstated. A meeting with seven hospital board members and the newly created Medical Advisory Committee is set for 5pm this evening.

A novel writing contest, with Windsor as the setting and a sleuth Paul Martin Jr. as the protagonist, has been launched by Fireside Publishing House. The novel will be part of the “Legends and Legacies” series focusing on the lives of our Prime Ministers. With the fictionalization of our leaders young lives, Fireside hopes to spark interest among youths in Canadian history. The contest is open to all students enrolled in Canadian schools.

Transit Windsor is reducing rates for students over the March Break. The annual Ride For A Buck program began in 2007 and has proven to increase ridership on public transit during a normally slow season. The special discounted fare program will run from March 14th to the 20th, 201, and all students with a valid student ID card can ride the bus for a buck.

The Bangladesh Peace Clock is somewhat obscured by a Median Ahead sign

Windsor City Councillors received a communication on Monday stating that a median-ahead sign was obscuring the sightline of Windsor’s newest downtown clock, the Bangladesh Peace Clock, located at Wyandotte and Ouellette.

tbq8 by kaspetto from the windsoriteDOTca Flickr pool.

The 101-year-old rail tunnel that connects Windsor and Detroit may soon be getting a $400 million face lift. The Detroit River Tunnel Partnership (DRTP) says an environmental assessment is set to begin within the next couple of weeks.

An update to Hotel Dieu’s latest kerfuffle, and a testament to the media’s tendency to kick ‘em while they’re down, reveals that a drunk ER doctor entered the emergency room early last Thursday and made sexual advances on two nurses. It’s not known if the advances were threatening in any way.

A grade 10 student from Holy Names High School pulled a knife in an after-school fight yesterday, and stabbed his opponent in the arm. He turned himself in shortly after the altercation, and will be charged with assault with a weapon. It’s assumed that the knife-wielder is a common subject of bullying.

Windsor city councilors will now be held accountable for their absenteeism from meetings. Monthly reports on the city’s website will show Windsorites which of their elected officials is missing the various meetings they’re required to attend, along with their reasons.

Butcher Engineering, packers of Ford car parts and a blip in my own employment history, may have to close its doors. Ford has decided to consolidate operations with their U.S. workforce, leaving Butcher with only a couple of smaller contracts that may, or may not, allow the plant to stay open.

365.185 by jodigreen from the windsoriteDOTca Flickr pool.

The Ontario Labour Relations Board turned down a litigation request made by CUPE over a bad-faith bargaining complaint against the city. CUPE claims details were leaked after an in-camera council session, and this (among other things) caused the strike to continue. The OLRB says pursuing litigation will just “reopen old wounds”.

Scandal at Hotel Dieu once again. This time, an emergency room doctor allegedly arrived at the hospital Thursday night intoxicated and proceeded to make advances on a nurse. The accused doctor has been barred from the hospital, and has voluntarily given up his  privileges. The hospital has decided to delay a funding request to the city until they can focus their energy on it, instead of damage-control.

A bold day-light robbery at the CIBC on Tecumseh Road, and a getaway car crash, resulted in the arrest of 5 people from Toronto. Toronto police had been following one of the suspects, but they failed to prevent the hold-up since it happened without warning.

A man trapped under a vehicle after falling from his bicycle was freed by a crowd of helpful down-towners on Friday night. The man was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to his shoulder. It’s not known if the injuries were caused by his fall, or from the vehicle.

100.7’s Craig and Matt in the morning are sharing more than necessary on the rock radio station’s most recent set of billboards. The ads have been called classless, but the station defends them, saying they “lighthearted” and “wacky”.