Winter Blunderland

For those of you who need to set your clocks...

1. Snow falls.

2. Local media run the "fighting the good fight" snow removal story, complete with the same tried-and-true cliches they trot out EVERY time they run this story, which is 3-4 times per year:

"City crews have been on the road non-stop since before the white stuff began falling"

"Our crews are working around the clock on the roads"

"65 plow-equipped sanders and nine graders spent all of yesterday clearing Priority 1 and 2 routes"

"snow removal crews will continue to prepare for further inclement weather and will make sure extra crews are on overnight"

... and you know what? It's still going to suck, just as badly as it did in December and January. And people will still be driving into each other on icy roads, both major and residential, that they pay taxes to have cleared. There will be injuries, and deaths, and increased insurance premiums across the board, because even the insurers know that snow removal in Calgary is a bad joke (that's the snickering you hear when you call them to say you're moving to the city, right before they tell you how much your premiums have jumped as a result of your change in address). In about a week, we'll get in irate Bronco in front of a camera, telling us we're all bad people for complaining about the hard-working snow crews. A few days later, we'll get a tired looking head of that department telling us they're doing all they can, but the city administrators set the budget and the priorities, and their hands are tied. And do-si-do.

But you'll still get a ticket if you don't shovel your sidewalk. Which, by the way, is city property.





Meanwhile, back in the Bronco Cave, the most important question the mayor can ask in the face of this destruction, chaos, and loss of life and limb gets asked:

"How can we blame this on Ed Stelmach?"

Now THAT'S leadership.