Some Interesting Border News

Here are some news flashes of interest

WINDSOR BRIDGE IS FOR SALE, REALLY

Remember when someone bought the London Bridge to rebuild it in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Many thought that it was mistaken for Tower Bridge but the developer denied the allegation.

I wonder if I could arrange a similar deal involving a Windsor bridge and sell it to Prime Minister Stephen Harper since he issued a secret mandate letter to buy the bridge in Windsor.

"Windsor man has a bridge that he’d like to sell to you

WINDSOR (AP) — Tim Cordes has a bridge in central Illinois he’d love to sell you.

And if you’re waiting for the catch, there isn’t one. That is, if you exclude the $20,000 to $30,000 you would have to spend to move the 30-foot limestone span from his property in Windsor. That’s about 60 miles southwest of Champaign.

Cordes’ father bought the old railroad bridge and the lot its sits upon about 20 years ago, but he can only guess on its age. According to Courdes, the bridge shows up on a map from 1854.

Courdes says one man was interested in buying and moving the bridge. Then he heard about the cost."

 I wonder if that was Stephen since Canada has never offered the Bridge company a price that makes sense.

IT’S TOUGH TO RAISE P3 MONEY

 There is some around but:

"Goldman Sachs closed this week its second infrastructure fund at $3.1 billion, Preqin said. People familiar with the matter told Reuters in March that Goldman was forced to cut its fundraising target from $7.5 billion after failing to secure enough commitments…

Infrastructure funds invest in assets such as roads, airports and power grids. In the first quarter of 2010, fund managers reported 28 deals involving such assets, a drop from the 41 deals in the first quarter of 2009, Preqin said.

This indicates it is still difficult to secure the debt in the credit markets that is needed for those deals, Preqin said."

And only the top-paying, riskless deals will be financed, not a DRIC Bridge with fallen traffic volumes, huge costs and Matty Moroun competition.

HABLAS ESPANOL

CBC news  reported

"U.S. senator wants Mexico-like Canada border

Congress should force the White House to create an anti-drug-smuggling strategy for the northern border, similar to one in place for the southern border, Senator Charles Schumer says.

The New York Democrat cited U.S. Justice Department statistics Wednesday showing large increases in cocaine, heroin and marijuana seizures along the U.S.-Canadian border since 1997.

Most of the club drug ecstasy enters the United States over the Canada-U.S. border, he said…

he will seek support for a bill from colleagues in other border states…

Schumer’s legislation would mandate the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to devise and implement a comprehensive counter-narcotics plan for the 6,437-kilometre Canada-U.S. border. New York Representative Bill Owens is expected to sponsor a similar bill in the House.

DON’T CROSS SECRETARY CLINTON

Hmmm, wasn’t she a Senator from New York too? If you thought Janet was tough, well CBC news reported:

"U.S. fighter jets buzzing Ont. border city

First it was an American spy balloon floating over Sarnia, Ont., that irked the city’s mayor, now it’s American fighter jets.

 "I think the American government at least owes people on this side of the border an explanation of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it…"

In the summer of 2009, Bradley complained to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about a U.S. government surveillance balloon flying over his city…

This year, Bradley has written to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, asking him to investigate the fighter jets.

"I think the American government at least owes people on this side of the border an explanation of what they’re doing and why they’re doing it," Bradley said."

HERITAGE AND WHERE IS COUNCILLOR JONES

I don’t hear the Councillor lashing out about the possible destruction of artifacts in the Peace Bridge construction. Just against the Ambassador Bridge Company. I wonder why not

"The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority needed a complete reorganization of its site as well as the consolidation of its commercial customs operations under one roof. Drive aisles, parking areas, and queue lanes were relocated and reconfigured to reduce traffic back-up on the bridge. The building’s exposed green frame echoes that of the Peace Bridge. Corrugated steel cladding reinforces the image of strength and durability.

The site has an archeological history that stretches back 4,000 years. Raising the building on caissons 1.2 meters above grade lessened the need for excavation and minimized the impact of foundations on archeological artifacts. Archeologist Dr. Ronald Williamson and his crew removed a cubic meter of soil at the location of each of 90 caissons before the contractor began work. All the soil was screened and artifacts recorded and photo-documented. Similarly, to avoid disturbing the existing soil during landscaping, berms were created on the eastern edge of the site and densely planted with trees and shrubs."

It is said that

"archaeologist Ron Williamson… spent more than a decade uncovering millions of artifacts from the site"

Councillor Jones no longer need be concerned and can put the issue to bed. There are ways to handle any construction or demolition to preserve our history.

NO DEMOLITION ISSUES FOR DRIC

Amazing, huge payments to Windsor for Brighton Bridge, big sums to Windsor for the DRIC road sell-out and Tunnel Plaza improvements and demolition problems for Matty but none for DRIC. I wonder what it all means:

"DRIC construction well underway

WindsorOntarioNews.com

There has never been any formal announcement but construction of the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) freeway is well underway.

And this is not "pre-construction" such as the relocation of utilities, as has often been reported.

This is the real thing…

Construction started in December and will take about a year to complete…

Mero Ave., just south of Howard Ave. and west of Hwy. 3 – a block with several handsome and relatively new homes – now seems ghostly since the houses have been abandoned to make way for the Parkway.

"All of the homes on Mero Avenue were acquired amicably under a property purchase agreement and are owned by MTO," Grondin said.

 They are expected to be demolished this summer or fall."

 This cannot be. Aren’t there issues about the DRIC EA and lawsuits started?

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