Normally in camera meetings are used only to discuss legal,personnel and real estate issues.Normally discussion regarding appointments to committees are discussed in open council meetings.For some reason council went in-camera (secret closed meeting) to discuss appointments to the Arts and Culture Committee.....one can only see this as an attempt to hide personal agendas when discussing committee appointments....
In the past it has become apparent that if you speak out in public there will be a price to pay....citizens that are critical of this regime are often excluded from committees....
Many people are critical of the "anonymous " comments on this blog and I hope they are just as critical of council hiding in a closed meeting so that discussion regarding committee appointments remains "anonymous"....
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Rip Curl Stew Surf Contest !!
While it's great to see Rip Curl (multi-national surf company) putting on a contest in Tofino , it's too bad to see that they are offering a $5000 first prize for male surfers and only a $1500 prize for the top female surfer !!
What is Rip Curl trying to say to the female surfers ? I don't think it would be well received if the Olympic Federation decided that only men could compete for Gold but they'd let women take home a Bronze ?? So much for equality !
The Rip Curl Stew takes place on Cox Bay on June 11 and 12 2011.
What is Rip Curl trying to say to the female surfers ? I don't think it would be well received if the Olympic Federation decided that only men could compete for Gold but they'd let women take home a Bronze ?? So much for equality !
The Rip Curl Stew takes place on Cox Bay on June 11 and 12 2011.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tourism Tofino
Sorry , I don't have any info on the reorganization at Tourism Tofino. It is a private entity..
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Guest Editorial on Tofino Water Rates by Jackie Windh
Confirmed: Tofino water rates highest in country, and residents pay more than businesses.
It is confirmed: Tofino water rates are the highest in the country, and residents do pay more per unit volume than businesses.
Well, I knew that already.
Two years ago I presented a huge whack of data (using the District’s own numbers as well as researching those from other communities) as council was reviewing water rates and voting in a new rate structure. I volunteered a huge amount of time and analytical expertise hoping that the information that I presented would help our council with their decision-making process, and to advocate for fair water rates, where residents (who use water to support life) pay less (or at least the same, and not more) than businesses (who use water for profit-making activities and can write off their water bills at tax time).
But council ignored the data and analysis that I presented, and so did most of the people in this town. Even though being silent costs you hundreds or possibly up to a thousand extra dollars every year.
Anyway, I got a very interesting comment on the old Tofino Residents blog today (where all of my old water articles and analyses are still posted). An independent group called WaterWatchBC has undertaken an analysis of water rates across Canada, and they have confirmed that:
- Tofino has the highest water rates in the country
- Tofino has the most complex water rate system (which is why our councillors don’t understand it)
- Tofino residents do pay more per volume than Tofino businesses
You can read my original article comparing Tofino’s water rates with those of other towns, with today’s comments by WaterWatchBC here:
http://tofinoresidents.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/lets-compare-tofinos-residential-and-commercial-rates-with-other-districts/You can read my analysis of how much residents pay relative to various business categories here:
http://tofinoresidents.wordpress.com/2009/08/02/new-proposed-water-rates-residents-will-still-pay-more/#more-100
You can read my article about how complicated our rates system is here:
http://tofinoresidents.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/more-complicated-rate-system/You can review WaterWatchBC’s ranking of water rates here:
http://theinnovationarena.com/water/(Look at their chart - a $311 water bill in Port Alberni, my new home town, would be a $1098 bill here in Tofino, for the exact same usage.)
There are also lots of other articles on the Tofino Residents site that I wrote over summer and fall 2009 about our water rates, if you are interested.
And, if anyone is wondering, I gave up on that website (tagline: For people who care about community) because no one else contributed to it. I’ll leave the info on it posted, though - just like all the tsunami info I am leaving up there for y’all too. Maybe some day you guys will start standing up and speaking out, and these things might be useful to you.
It is confirmed: Tofino water rates are the highest in the country, and residents do pay more per unit volume than businesses.
Well, I knew that already.
Two years ago I presented a huge whack of data (using the District’s own numbers as well as researching those from other communities) as council was reviewing water rates and voting in a new rate structure. I volunteered a huge amount of time and analytical expertise hoping that the information that I presented would help our council with their decision-making process, and to advocate for fair water rates, where residents (who use water to support life) pay less (or at least the same, and not more) than businesses (who use water for profit-making activities and can write off their water bills at tax time).
But council ignored the data and analysis that I presented, and so did most of the people in this town. Even though being silent costs you hundreds or possibly up to a thousand extra dollars every year.
Anyway, I got a very interesting comment on the old Tofino Residents blog today (where all of my old water articles and analyses are still posted). An independent group called WaterWatchBC has undertaken an analysis of water rates across Canada, and they have confirmed that:
- Tofino has the highest water rates in the country
- Tofino has the most complex water rate system (which is why our councillors don’t understand it)
- Tofino residents do pay more per volume than Tofino businesses
You can read my original article comparing Tofino’s water rates with those of other towns, with today’s comments by WaterWatchBC here:
http://tofinoresidents.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/lets-compare-tofinos-residential-and-commercial-rates-with-other-districts/You can read my analysis of how much residents pay relative to various business categories here:
http://tofinoresidents.wordpress.com/2009/08/02/new-proposed-water-rates-residents-will-still-pay-more/#more-100
You can read my article about how complicated our rates system is here:
http://tofinoresidents.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/more-complicated-rate-system/You can review WaterWatchBC’s ranking of water rates here:
http://theinnovationarena.com/water/(Look at their chart - a $311 water bill in Port Alberni, my new home town, would be a $1098 bill here in Tofino, for the exact same usage.)
There are also lots of other articles on the Tofino Residents site that I wrote over summer and fall 2009 about our water rates, if you are interested.
And, if anyone is wondering, I gave up on that website (tagline: For people who care about community) because no one else contributed to it. I’ll leave the info on it posted, though - just like all the tsunami info I am leaving up there for y’all too. Maybe some day you guys will start standing up and speaking out, and these things might be useful to you.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Slow weekend May 23,2011
Not news but this is the slowest May long weekend I have seen in at least 15 years....
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