Biz Blogs

Richard Rosenthal

Go Eddie Go!

Posted July 22, 2010 @ 1:12PM

I know that the Mayor had a very difficult decision to make - lead the community and sacrifice a significant amount of time away from a young family or join the private sector and earn at least twice the money with half the hassle.
Its a tribute to his sense of responsibility and commitment to this community that he chose to continue to serve us another four years. I am confident that the majority of the electorate appreciate his efforts on our behalf and recognize the tremendous accomplishments, in a very difficult economy, that he and the City Council have been able to produce.
The arguments over style and outsourcing are nit picking annoyances in comparison to the successes achieved on on our behalf. Red herring arguments about private sector delivery served up by a union trying to protect its membership dues are just that. Government should not be any business competing with the private sector if at all possible. Its the private sector that pays the taxes and makes the government jobs possible.
The City has acted overly responsibly by not laying off the affected workers and using attrition to reduce the work force. If the company hired to do the work does not perform at the highest level they can be replaced without any long term residual labour costs. We save taxes, approximately the same number of people will be hired by the private sector to do the work so the money stays in Windsor, for the most part, and the current employees still have jobs. Talk about a "win, win" for everyone.
Now Eddie, please remember that a good leader develops a successor - you should have four more years to work on that and it will make it easier next time around.
Thank you for being there for us.

by Richard Rosenthal

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Eddie Francis - the big decision

Posted June 26, 2010 @ 12:48PM

Today's Windsor Star editorial accurately reflects my view of how Eddie Francis has served his community so well during his tenure as our Mayor. There are few during my lifetime in this City who have led as well, honestly and energetically.
From a very selfish view, I would like to see him run again but from a personal view Eddie has to make a choice that suits the needs of his young family and his future career.
He will have no trouble finding an alternative career path that can earn him substantially more money than what is accorded the Mayor. He can move into the corporate world and lead a company or practice law.
But this is a choice for his family to make. There will be pressures in any other path he chooses and they may be as daunting or more so. But again, its his choice.
And what about the City? Can we survive without Eddie? Of course we can. There will be others who will come forward and while their style and philosophy may be different they will rise to the challenge and serve our community as past Mayors have.
We have had great Mayors before like David Croll and Bert Weeks who had different political priorities but led the entire community not just their political consituency.
So, thank you Eddie from this Windsorite. Make the choice you need to make for you and your family. I for one will always respect and appreciate your leadership, whatever that choice is.
by Richard Rosenthal

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Do we really need all these different chargers?

Posted June 16, 2010 @ 1:04AM

by Richard Rosenthal
I was looking for my cell phone charger today and it suddenly occurred to me that I had far too many chargers that all do the same thing. every new cell phone, every digital camera, every portable device had a different charger. Some have a car charger as well. So why do we need all these different chargers? They all do the same thing and, for the most part, appear to be interchangeable except for the different connectors that plug into the device to be charged.
Just think of all the waste involved in this. The extra electrical garbage going into our landfills or collecting dust on our shelves. Why can't these devices be standardized like other electrical devices so we only need one, or possibly two?
Maybe its time for us to start writing letters to the government and the manufacturers to insist on a change in their approach. It could save millions of dollars and be good for the environment.
While we're at it. What about the various non-standard rechargeable batteries is laptops, digital cameras and other devices? Do they really need to all be different?

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Windsor Elvis Fest

Posted March 27, 2010 @ 9:55AM

Windsor Elvis Fest has been held on the waterfront for the first 4 years of its existence. This has brought significant business to the downtown area including thousands of guests from outside of Windsor. The benefit to downtown merchants has been positive but there has not been a lot of support for Elvis Fest from these same merchants in terms of sponsorship money necessary to put on events of this type.
This year, Windsor Elvis Fest is still downtown but has moved to the Capitol Theatre and will be held June 18th to the 20th. Once again it is being sponsored by The Centres For Seniors Windsor, (519) 254-1108, and is designed as a fund raiser to support services for Windsor's seniors.
Many volunteers work countless hours to bring dozens of great entertainers to our city as well as build Windsor as a tourist attraction. The fans love the weekend and spend money downtown.
So, merchants, please show your support for an event that helps your business by signing up as a sponsor of the 2010 Windsor Elvis Fest. We need each other and we're staying downtown!
by Richard Rosenthal

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Let he who is without sin...

Posted March 6, 2010 @ 9:30AM

I have been following the news about the unfortunate errors made in our hospitals that have very seriously affected the people who were wronged as well as the doctors involved and don't understand the hysteria.
It appears that out of thousands of cases over many years, a leading professional has made a very small number of errors. Yes - they are serious, and perhaps they might have been prevented. The victims of these errors are paying a high price but I am sure the doctors and medical community are as well. And what about the current patients desperately in need of the medical services now being curtailed while an investigation takes place? How much damage will that do? Delayed surgeries could negatively affect more people than the errors did.
Every human being makes mistakes. If they were honest errors and there is no pattern of repetition suggesting incompetence they have to get past these errors and move forward. I feel for the patients who suffered unnecessary surgery and the psychological fall out that goes along with it. But I also feel for those on the waiting list, who are being denied access to needed treatment and are willing to go ahead with the same excellent doctor being kept out of the hospital.
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" should apply in this situation.
by Richard Rosenthal

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Thank You Alan Halberstadt

Posted February 2, 2010 @ 7:13PM

In this month's issue of BizX Alan has taken the opportunity to defend the city's purchasing policy and has referred to my blog. It really didn't matter what he said about my comments as long as he spelled my name right, which he did. Unfortunately, I am not running for public office so the publicity is of little value.
However, I must point out that my position was (and you can verify this in my previous blog): "The City's tendering rules obviously are flawed if a local contractor with a lower bid, who obviously built an excellent building, would have lost this contract."
The key is the word "if".
I have no argument with Alan's detailed explanation of why local preference could be a problem and could even be illegal. My issue only was as I stated and I relied on the Windsor Star report of the audit as did most people. We didn't read the audit and trusted the media for an accurate account.
However, now that he has tried to justify the policy, I must point out that local businesses in Windsor often have much higher costs, due to higher taxes, than some competitors whose businesses are in less expensive tax jurisdictions. This does seem unfair in that they are paying the taxes that pay the contractors who win the business with lower quotes.
There should be some way to compensate for this but I don't know what it is and if I did I would probably have to run for a seat on Council to fix it (and its way past my time to do that).
So Alan, you try to work that one out so it is fair for all concerned. I think you are a very good member of Council and know if anyone can come up with a solution it will probably be you.
by Richard Rosenthal

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Greed and Obscene Demands

Posted February 1, 2010 @ 8:25PM

I, for one, am tired of hearing Syd Ryan and the other government union leaders complaining that they did not cause the current economic situation so they should not be expected to help pay for it. The taxpayers did not cause it. The auto workers did not cause it either. Certainly the seniors with fixed or diminished incomes didn't cause it either. But Mr. Ryan and his pals want them to not only bear the brunt of their own hardships but be weighed down by the obscene demands of his members.
So who should pay for it? There is no alternative when income is less than expenses but to cut expenses and the largest expense in government is the workforce. The auto workers and most people in the private sector had to to accept cutbacks to survive. Seniors have had to adjust their living because pensions eroded or disappeared. Mr. Ryan and his band of merry reality deniers are just going to have to accept the fact that there is no money to pay them. Does he really think that the rest of the world should continue to award pay increases and hefty benefits out of their diminished resources?
There was a time when civil servants were paid less than the private sector but had secure jobs in exchange. Now the public sector, for the most part, enjoy higher pay, better benefits and significantly more security than the private sector.
Perhaps it is time for unions in the public sector to be banned from striking or perhaps even eliminated. College teachers turning down a 5.9% pay increase in this economy and day care workers insisting that the private sector can't handle their work are ridiculous and they are earning scorn rather than praise from the general public.
by Richard Rosenthal

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City's Audit Report

Posted December 22, 2009 @ 10:28AM

by Richard Rosenthal

It is certainly gratifying to know that nothing illegal was done in the building of a major City building and that the final product is excellent and meets the need for which it was built. The auditor's recommendations to make sure future projects are handled properly seems to omit one glaring issue. In the Windsor Star's report there is a paragraph that really needs addressing:
"The weird aspect of this report, to my mind, is that had council executed this project in a manner that would have satisfied the auditors, a local contractor would have lost and taxpayers might have had to pay millions more for the building."
The City's tendering rules obviously are flawed if a local contractor with a lower bid, who obviously built an excellent building, would have lost this contract.
That issue should immediately be addressed by City Council.

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Zero Tolerance for Violent Crimes

Posted December 3, 2009 @ 10:18AM

by Richard Rosenthal
The recent beating of a young man in downtown Windsor by three other young men is the latest example that we must do something to curb this unnecessary violence in our community. It seems that there is just far too much of this and it is getting worse.
Our court system hands out wrist slaps for many crimes and overly protects "young" offenders which does not provide any real deterrence or punishment. Perhaps its time to implement the type of penalties now in place for drunk driving. My suggestion is that there be no bail for a minimum of 7 days for anyone committing a violent crime (regardless of their age) and that the public insist on harsher penalties. I am well aware that there are those in our society who believe that jail terms do not act as deterrents but at least it keeps these hooligans off the streets and might just work. I also think it is time that we started publishing the names of youth offenders who are convicted of violent crimes as this may put some pressure on their parents to better control them.

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Support Centres For Seniors Windsor

Posted October 25, 2009 @ 12:12PM

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