Raise the Hammer

Holee crap. Is anyone else's head spinning? For once I actually feel sorry for the councillors trying to keep up and make sense of all that's gone on in the past month. Not the shwarmy councillors, who aren't confused by any of this because they're usually part of the backroom deals, anyways - the other ones, working on behalf of us and their city. I naively thought that Bob Young was not being a shrewd business bully knob, but was maybe being pulled into certain directions, but how gullible was that.

So it's all about hosting Grey Cups? Why didn't anyone just come out and say that! That's really awesome; nice to see some financial stats, compliments of someone outside Hamilton (although it would be nice to see our own Ec Dev and Finance people supply some type of forecast). It sounds exciting, and financially rewarding for Hamilton, so count me in. But the EM is still the wrong location. Period. For the same reasons that have existed since the EM was introduced as a prospective location.

Wow, Mercanti's hotel is going to make a killing. And all the bars that Cohen mentions, that are going to be full at Grey Cup time...aren't built yet. So, that solidifies another RTH writer's prognostication about building another downtown Hamilton...on the EM. For the "prospect" of holding a Grey Cup?

I don't buy Cohen's critique of the WH area's suitability (Ticats' experts?); we still haven't seen ONE CITY OF HAMILTON staff member provide input on this. Why? In my experience...staff are supplying the data and information, but the Council motions and votes et al move around that data and it gets shushed. In fact, after reading Cohen's letter a few times, I'm pretty convinced that it's just his name at the bottom; my spidey sense tells me that he did not write that letter.

Are the current WH investors going to swing their funds towards the EM stadium, now, or stay the WH course? Why does this all feel like it was planned out months and months ago?

Does the WH count for anything against the excitement of the Grey Cup? "Pan Am Games? When were they?"

I can only be optimistic that the best scenario will roll out for both the WH and EM - in other words, for "Hamilton." Maybe we need two, uniquely successful entertainment districts within one city. The jocks and artists/music heads never got along in high school; maybe it's best if they have their own areas to play.

Okay, I don't really want it that way, but I'm just trying to find the silver linings here. Maybe the LRT will be implemented not just east/west, but north/south. Jeez, with that type of distance in-between districts, we could organize a bloody party bus!