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DAY SEVEN – a look back at the week of April 28th to May 4th

And so, we come to the end of another week … a week where the topics of discussion included terrorist bombings … on-going arguments over Bills C-48 and 69 … hypocrisy of Greenpeace … Ageism … protect ring Mother Earth … and so much more. Thank you for dropping by the blog-site, and reading the work of all who provide their commentaries – and remember, you are welcome to comment on any story you agree, disagree, or simply wish to make a statement on. Now, without any further delay, here are the 10 most read commentaries of the week: #10 … JOHN TWIGG: Notre Dame and Sri Lanka offer new insights into mankind’s precarious prophesied future #9 … ANDERSON -- This is not a homeless issue; it is a drug and/or mental health issue . Until we are willing to at least be honest about it, we stand no chance of curing it #8 … Please don’t be ashamed. Just own it. Stop preaching to the masses . When your organization and personnel are willi...

Hopefully residents of the city will be more inclined to see the value of a performing arts centre, much as they finally did when it came to building the coliseum at Riverside Park

Proposed Kamloops Performing Arts Centre According the BC government, more people will have the opportunity to enjoy B.C.’s community festivals and visual artists, thanks to the latest BC Arts Council grants, just recently announced . “ Arts and culture connect, challenge and inspire us. They make our communities vibrant and resilient, creating great places to live and raise families ,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “ Through our increased investment in the BC Arts Council, we are working to enrich our neighbourhoods, improve peoples’ lives and attract even more visitors to B.C .” More than $1.5 million in provincial funding will be distributed through 191 grants in the latest round of funding administered by the BC Arts Council. This includes 102 grants to support community festivals (up from 77 last year). As well, there was an increase in grants to individual artists through the Visual Arts Awards program. Grants announced in my own commu...

ROTHENBURGER – The big difference between listening and empowering -- “We’ll listen to you but that doesn’t mean we’ll do what you say.”

ENGAGEMENT, CONSULTATION AND TRANSPARENCY are big words in governments at all levels right now. Issues like pipeline expansion, electoral reform and First Nations rights come to mind but let’s stick close to home. The McArthur Island issue has made Kamloops City council sensitive to the meaning of communication with citizens. There’s another important word to add to the list — empowerment. It means giving someone the authority to do something. At this week’s Kamloops City council meeting, during a report from Communications Manager Wendy Heshka about recent “engagement” activities, Counsellor Bill Sarai urged — in view of the experience — that people be told their input “is just part of the bigger picture.” He called public engagement “a double-edged sword.” Mayor Ken Christian has said, “There’s a big difference between not listening and not agreeing.” So, expect some sort of warning on the City’s website which, translated, will mean “We...

ROTHENBERGER: Elected leaders sometimes they pass the test sometimes they fail. Sometimes, too, vision is as much about saying no to something as saying yes

O NE OF THE TOUGHEST QUESTIONS we ask our politicians is, “What is your vision for Kamloops? More often than not, the response has something to do with a clean, safe city with good amenities and well-paying jobs. When was the last time a politician said, “ I really think we need more street crime, litter and graffiti, and we should bring in more minimum-wage employment and close down some parks ”? The real test of vision, though, comes in the details. Elected leaders and residents alike are asked from time to time to put their money where their vision is. Sometimes they pass the test, sometimes they fail. Sometimes, too, vision is as much about saying no to something as saying yes. Image Credit ... kamloopspublicmarket.org The proposed farmer’s market building at the entrance to Riverside Park is one such vision that divides people. An informal survey was released this week on what people think about it and I’ll get to that in a minute. First, ...

Kamloops City Councillor Tina Lange; “It's the next step to Kamloops coming of age.”

While Canadians debate the right or wrong of Canadian coffee / donut icon Tim Horton’s pulling ads for Enbridge (by the way they were indeed wrong), all is still quiet in Kamloops when it comes to discussions and debate regarding the new proposed Performing Arts Centre for Kamloops. Meantime the former Kamloops Daily News building and parking lot, site of the centre, continues to look like a bigger and bigger eyesore in our community. Downtown Kamloops It would seem Kamloops City Councilor Tina Lange agrees, telling me that a new performing arts centre would provide us with many benefits including giving our downtown a jump start … providing an amazing anchor … creating quality jobs to build it … and because Seymour street is pretty dismal at the moment, it would drive investment in the existing properties . As the preliminary report of the performing arts centre states, the discussion on the need in our community for a facility of this kind, h...