Noteworthy: A wait-and-see approach seems a bit more prudent regarding Division Ave. redo

By Bruce Penton on November 6, 2024.

The hottest topic in Ticked Off-Tickled Pink these days – a fairly accurate reflection of citizens’ views and concerns – is the redeveloped Division Avenue. Many people have complained about the narrowing of one of the city’s main north-south arteries and how turning on or off the avenue will be made more difficult, and snow plows will have trouble with the narrowed motorway.

True, it is definitely narrower, but I’m assuming city planners, who are specialists in the field of streets and roads, know what they’re doing. I’m just not sure what it is. The narrower space for vehicle traffic has been replaced by enlarged pathways for walkers and bikers and, as one submission to Ticked Off/Tickled Pink pointed out, “maybe making our sidewalks wider will promote more humans to to be active and bike, walk, rollerblade, skateboard to their destinations. Let’s get more people moving and becoming healthier.”

Now that’s a positive approach I like. However the naysayers outnumber Mr. Positive by about 10-to-1, with many saying they expect the city will be forced to “redo” the job in a couple of years after its abject failure is evident.

Under the heading ‘Transportation Safety’ on the city’s website is the sentence ‘We implement various strategies to reduce risks and promote safety on our roads.’ Perhaps the powers-that-be determined that speeding vehicles had become a problem on Division Avenue and that a narrower road would slow things down a bit.

People generally dislike change and this Division Avenue situation has certainly caused a furore. I say give it a couple of years, find out if there truly are impossible-to-fix problems, and cast judgment at that time.

â€¢ Could this possibly spread to Canada? A New York Times story recently reported that several states in the U.S. are considering elimination of wages for workers who earn tips. Tips are automatic at most restaurants, with some starting at 18 or 20 per cent. I’d imagine most restaurant owners would support such a proposal, considering it would save them thousands of dollars a year. But it seems wrong. Dead wrong. A tip is a monetary thank-you for exceptional service, not merely part of a worker’s wage.

â€¢ Some internet clips from days gone by are classics. Such as one I saw recently when comedian Red Skelton, who died in 1997, was a guest with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show.

“You should date one of my sisters, Lassie or Hortense,” a man said to Skelton.

“But Lassie’s a dog.”

“You should see Hortense.”

â€¢ November is National Novel Writing Month and the Medicine Hat Public Library scheduled three creative-writing workshops for November.

Unfortunately, the adult one was yesterday, but the other two, for younger people, are coming up. A workshop for tweens will be held Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. and one for teenagers will be held Sunday, Nov. 24, at 2:30 p.m. Always had that great Canadian novel in the back of your mind? Here’s your chance.

â€¢ The U.S. election is now over but one of the interesting aspects of it was the reluctance of a number of major newspapers to write a traditional endorsement editorial. A firestorm erupted over the Washington Post’s refusal to do so, and it led to a number of staff members resigning in protest.

It’s easy to understand the reason why. Republican candidate Donald Trump has vowed, if elected, to seek retribution against his ‘enemies’, perhaps even going as far as criminal prosecutions or, in the case of TV networks, cancelling their broadcast licences. So why would a newspaper editorial publisher who thought Kamala Harris was the right choice go out of his or her way to endorse the candidate who might not win and risk the wrath of a vengeful Trump?

A classic case of bullying. Welcome to politics in the 21st century, where the word ‘politics’ has been added to the phrase ‘All’s fair in love and war.’

â€¢ Short snappers: There have been movements, all unsuccessful, to add to the four iconic carvings on Mount Rushmore (currently former presidents Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Theodore Roosevelt). Names of potential additions have been Ronald Reagan, Susan B. Anthony and Elvis Presley. … Nice to see the Tigers’ Gavin McKenna in the Western Hockey League scoring race where most people predicted he’d be: No. 1. … The world’s most valuable company is Nvidia, an artificial intelligence computing company that is reportedly worth $1 trillion. For those keeping score, $1 trillion is one million million. That would buy a lot of Big Macs. … Sign on the board at the Medicine Hat Sign Works location: “I have an on- and off-relationship with clothes.”