Media Roundup

City Hall isn't on summer vacation yet, and neither are we!

Here are a few media hits over the last week or two.

Naheed was on CHQR 770 talking about City Hall priorities. The interview can be downloaded here.

The Herald has been doing a series on citizen apathy municipally, which can be accessed here. It includes stories on campaign finance reform and making City Hall more accountable and transparent, as well as surprisingly mild editorials from the Herald itself, and luminaries such as Heather Douglas, the CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Naheed's response, and our attempt to put campaign finance reform back on the agenda, is in today's Herald, here.

Today's Herald Op-Ed

Today, Naheed discusses NIMBYism.

Naheed on Sounds Like Canada

Here is Naheed on Sounds Like Canada, with Fo Niemi of the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations. You do have to listen to a bit of k.d. lang on either end, but that's a pleasure.

Sounds Like Canada interview

Naheed on Sounds Like Canada today

He's actually on the CBC twice today, once on Sounds Like Canada discussing cultural diversity in cities, and once on Wild Rose Forum talking about shopping (!) but the first is likely more interesting to readers of this blog. We'll post a link as soon as the CBC gets it up online.

This week's Herald Op-Ed

Naheed is still wondering about all the attention being paid to the West LRT when the NE LRT design is even worse.

Today's Herald Op-Ed

Today in the Calgary Herald, Naheed goes off on the proposal for the NE LRT extension

Property taxes and living wage

How odd that these two things came to Council on the same day. Naheed's been doing some media rounds on this, and should be on QR as well as the Eyeopener on Radio One tomorrow at 8:15 AM.

In short, he's been saying that both debates miss the point a little. On property tax, we should spend a bit less time discussing a tenth of a percent here and there and more time talking about whether the property tax is the right way to fund a city.

Similarly, instead of getting hung up on the concept of the living wage, should we not be thinking about the true goal, which is to make sure that people working for the city and its suppliers are not living in poverty? How does ensuring every part-time lifeguard and day camp assistant is paid $13 per hour accomplish that?