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No one is immune to change The recommendation was i0 approve the development of 300 hectares of land for employment/jobs in the north end of Cambridge with na ramewil of Cambridge with no commitâ€" ments or policy regarding the This is silly of course because th least six months. And besides, they men ... although the dark suits are req Am I worried? Sure, I have some c ever, I‘m not one to worry about thing have no control. he Region of Waterloo is pro I ceeding with very important policies and programs that will affect us all, but there are seriâ€" ous inconsistencies that are not being addressed. Tough questions need to be asked. Un June 20 the regional planâ€" ning and works committee considâ€" ered a report on the future of the 3.700 hectares (9,300 acres) of land east of the Grand River from north of Breslau to the northern part of Cambridge. This is the third time I‘ve beer every time it‘s the same. There a tions from people who appear dark suits will soon swoop down jobs. Bell also owns CTV, including the B local outlet, which we all used to call BC CKCO TV, and the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper which, so far, they have not changed the name of, although I‘m sure that‘s comâ€" ing. And last week, quite out of the blue. it was announced that we had been sold to Bell Globemedia, as they call the phone company these days. We need to ask region the tough questions on local growth I know several people who work at Most are around my age, so they are in a better position, have a few years in the system. and in the pension, under.their belt. But the uncertainty is difficult It‘s a lifeâ€"changing moment, whether that be for the good or for the bad. None of us is immune. A reminder of that, again, for me in this past week. As some of you may know, the comâ€" pany for which I toil each morning, KOOL EM Radio, is part of the CHUM group of broadcasters. Om- door closes. and another door opens. One of those long trotted out cliches that comes to mind this week, for a couple of reasons. The closing of the Uniroval Goodrich plant to start with. More than 1.000 people losing their jobs as the parent company, Michelin. shifts production to other plants. I‘m sure a year ago, most of those people had never even considered the possibility. What would you do if faced by the same situaâ€" tion? Have you even thought about? Even though we‘ve been told for years there are no more "jobs for life." we all tend to get comfortâ€" able in what we‘re doing. â€" third time I‘ve been part of a sale al people who work at Uniroval ite, ‘ have some concerns. How worry about things over which suits are required / ve been part of a sale. And There are numerous quesâ€" appear convinced men in and wipe out their are in a somewhat that will take at re not always housing should not be approved for this area. The committee approved the original recommendation which did not incorporate housing or any of the Smart Growth policies. Comments were made that In my conclusion. 1 recomâ€" mended that the region established a policy for the study area which conformed to the above policy, ie. a plan for a complete community including housing and opportuniâ€" ties for the trip to work to be by transit and cycling. This plan is about building com plete communities that are well designed. offer transportation choices, accommodate people at all stages of life and have the right mix of housing, a good range of jobs and easy access to stores and services to meet daily needs. out that the report w with the provincial S policies which say tuture of the hectares In my prese s. Howâ€" * Hear more of Brian‘s thoughts on life with the which 1 _ KOOL Morning Crew every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on Waterloo radio station 105.3 KOOL FM. to The people here pay me by the word, and there‘s still lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of things I can write about which some people may find interâ€" esting, and I can keep doing this for a very, very, very. very, long, long, long, long time. There. That should pay for a tank of gas. I‘m sure, even at r something else to do. And besides, I have Chronicle. At worst, I suppose. they could teach us all to talk like that annoving woman who comes on to remind you to dial 519. And then, after our onâ€"air shifts, we could take customer service calls for fi satellite systems. ntation. | pointed M e n s enc neat At best, they‘ll do what CHUM has done over the years. leave us alone and let us do the things we believe the community wants in order to be sucâ€" cessful. )4 Will there be changes? I would think so. but 1 would also like to think this company didn‘t buy up a large swatch of profitable, highly rated radio staâ€" uons just to blow them up and start all over. At some point, someone could come in and ask, "Why are we paying you to do this?" I will be prepared for that moment because there are individuals at the station who ask me that all the time! remaining COMMEF was in conflict Smart Growth However, as someone very wise once told me, companies rent our skills, and when they decide that rental is no longer worth the cost, there‘s not a lot one can do about it. even at my advanced age, 1 can find This time? Who knows? I still enjoy doing what 1 do, even with getting up at 3:30 a.m. When we were sold to CHUM, about 12 years ago. I decided it was time for me to move on, and informed a couple of the people in power that I was interested in exploring that option. They told me to wait. that something good was coming. I‘m glad 1 took that advice. 100 > my plum position here at the We all deserve direct answers to these questions. Why did the region. which is rightfully proud of participating in the formulation of the Smart Growth policies, vote against these policies at the first opportunity? It raised certain questions. Why is the region enthusiastically in tavour of transitâ€"oriented develop ment west of the Grand River but strongly opposed to the same pol cy cast of the Grand River? Why does the region want to deny those who will work on the east side the choice of liv ing close to their jobs? Why is the region going down the road to a potentially massive number of jobs on the east side â€"â€" where people will be forced to commute â€" which in turn will genâ€" erate demand for more roads and bridges? Brian Turnbull Waterloo NT Marshall%rdisapm@orin the fine arts program at Wil frid Laurier University. Email is welcome at mward@wlu.ca. "Concrete Family in particular is founded upon the scribâ€" blings of a neighbour‘s twoâ€"yearâ€"old daughter," Griffin told me. "This conveys the urban, messy and graffitiâ€"strewn wasteland of a parking lot. The carts are huddled together in their natural defensive herd mentality. Protected in numbers, an enveloping white spirit keeps them safe against the creeping darkness and hostilities surrounding them." Christopher Griffin‘s painting obviously got me thinking. With all its expressive and primitive markâ€"making, the painting spurred me to ponder a subject 1 had previously seen only as a necessity and, at times, a pervasive eyesore. His imaginative take on the subject matter brought into focus a real issue â€" that‘s the power of good art. In some states, municf[;a;i‘a;;ihofilies have begun charging supermarkets for each dumped cart they find. Other grocery stores have installed an electronic perimeter around their parking lots. A system similar to the ones used to prevent dogs from straying from their owners‘ yards, a wire is installed underground making the wheels of the cart lock once they reach the edge of the lot. Personally, 1 like the idea of administering an electric shock to the person pushing the cart, but something tells me it won‘t fly. ~ _ In the U.S., several groce gizmos on the carts that trig premises, alerting store staff. The Food Marketing Institute in Washington, D.C. reported last year that shoppingâ€"cart theft costs the retail industry over $800 million a year. That translates to higher product prices for you and me â€" thanks a lot shopping cart thieves. Although many grocery stores hire retrieval companies to return the carts scattered throughout the city, that‘s just a bandâ€" aid reaction to the probiem. vYAnL" While some may see it as borrowâ€" % ing, I see it as theft â€" plain and simple. Regardless of whether you‘re a pedestrian or someone withâ€" out the means to drive a vehicle, there is no excuse to steal a shopping cart. The solution is simple â€" get somebody to drive you or call a cab to get your groceries home. It‘s obvious to me, driving around the city, that many of these carts never find their way back to the store. T hev‘re often abanâ€" doned on curbs, in creeks or pqssibly hiding in a business storeâ€" room somewhere. Hostilities, perhapé. like bfiughlkss thieves pe 9 DE o fo t ut utilitarian tool for hauling groceries to the car. More symbolically, they can represent urban homelessness â€" as personified by, among others, the "I Need Two Dollars" guy, Anatole Rybas, who is often seen pushing hisâ€"overâ€" stuffed shopping cart along King Street. i dnc in Coco n eetatnn en eran t tony, excess and pollution. Every viewer has an immediate reac tion to an image of a shopping cart because of its familiarity." I imagine, for most people, shopping carts represent a simnl Momoripate oo ie Sru'l.ll blocks away from Sobey‘s on ( olumbia Street. 1 recenth spotted a young man pushing a shopping cart tull of groceries home His nonchalance is what struck me surely it wasn‘t his cart but he rolled away from the store with it as if it was one of his purchases. His definition of theft differs from mune, I guess Comcidentally, 1 already had shopping carts on my mind at the time. I was dniving home from the Harbinger Gallery in Waterloo. where I had been admiring a painting titled Concrete Lamily by artist Christopher Griffin, which depicts 14 shopping carts nes tled tightly together. Beautifully gestural, the carts appear some how protective of one another in a dark and snowy parking lot. Familiar with Christopher Griffin‘s work over the years. which is often representative of his globeâ€"trotting travels, particularly through Papua, New Guinea, I was curious about his inspiration to paint, of all things, shopping carts. You can‘t keep the cart! _ . several grocery stores have installed electronic Ne uo Pnd . Eo dn e es neteieit‘s carts that trigger an alarm when taken from the a modern symbol of nourishment and susten c s his hibbiighi t Lt iriffin. "Shopping carts are also natur , shopping carts nprev:nl“d ;ivr}lple lings of consumerism, glut asinn‘t ns cart. is one of his 1 ).:llcs( my mind at ance