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Mayor Brenda Halloran has real ly shown her lack of experience, once again. As reported in the July 11 edition of the Chronicle, Halloran is claimâ€" ing that there was information regarding the westâ€"side developâ€" ment that was not available to her at the time of the last municipal elecâ€" tion. This is nothing short of a poor excuse for her actions, as all of the information compiled since 1992 has been completely available to the public. Was it because she could not understand the information until it was "summarized" by regional planning commissioner Rob Homne in a 39â€"page report last week? Or is it more likely that Halloran did not take the time to fully investiâ€" gate and inform herself on the largest topic she used to win the last mayoral election. Had the electorate of this city known that they were being "patronized" into winning Mayor demonstrates lack of experience Maybe I‘m just thinking too much. But the more 1 stay in the business of news, the more 1 wonâ€" der, really, has everyone lost the capacity for indeâ€" pendent thought? Or, at the very least, just a little bit of analysis. There are a variety of reasons this comes up, but in particular, a study I received via email this week, saying there was a growing trend of people text messaging on their cellphones while driving. j This of course immediately led to a call for a law banning such activities while in the car. Education, not laws, are key Which follows hot on the heels of the longtime calls to ban talking on phones in the car. I often annoy my coâ€"hosts by remind ing them there were car accidents long before cellphones became popular, and they will continue even after they are banned, if that ever happens. Not that I think everyone should be k. texting and talking like mad while they drive around, but really, is such an idea even enforceable? After the fact of an accident, perhaps, when phone records can be checked. But that‘s the same time as one could be hit with careless driving, so I‘m really not sure what the point of 1 another charge would be. When there aren‘t enough police officers around to stop people from speeding or committing other dangerous behaviour on the roads, what possibly makes anyone think they‘ll be able to crack down on this kind of law. I‘ve gone through the distracted driving simulaâ€" tor, and it really is an eyeâ€"opener on just how easy it is to be taken away from the business of driving. But passing a whole series of laws banning talking on the phone, texting, eating, drinking coffee, havâ€" ing the dog in your lap or dealing with the kids is just not necessary. The laws are in place. What‘s missing is the respect for the attention driving takes. And every one of us is guilty. We did it when we were young, and many of us continue to do such things as we are older. Passing laws about things doesn‘t necessarily make people stog, If it did, we‘d have that crime thing all wrapped up, wouldn‘t we? Education is the solution, but some people take a long time to get educated. Speaking of education, I think we‘ve all been told their votes, I somehow think that Halloran would not be our mayor. Unfortunately, when it comes to elections, our city constantly wants to remove the incumbent, and "try someone new," never knowing what we might end up with. This has been especially true with Halloran, who came to us with absolutely no political experience of any kind â€" we definitely know what we have now. At least with Herb Epp we knew what we had â€" a mayor who always did what was best for the city, made a decision and stayed with it and never made excuses for his actions. { will definitely be siding with the majority again in the next election by voting out the incumbent. Could we please have a little perâ€" Enough about uptown parking COMMENT how much brighter, more aware and better educatâ€" ed the latest generation of young people are. But I‘ve also just gone through the hiring process for a new person for our department. And yes, while there were a handful of qualified candidates, out of the more than 40 applications I received, there were also a lot of people who just made me sad. You have to recognize broadcasting is a very speâ€" amaammames) . Cialized field. You need to be able to M BM | write coherently and also read that E OF [ same materia) on the air in a way that #‘Q NBR people can understand. I know many people in their early 20s and there‘s no doubt some of them fit into those categories. Is that important? Spelling and grammar don‘t play a huge part on the a radio, but if you‘re a journalism graduâ€" ate, and neither one of those things is AN important to you, then it shows me a RKE lack of attention to detail, and that‘s a really big problem. I‘m saddened by a number of things. It‘s disappointed to have all these people send off applications, many of them without much hope of ever getting a job in the business since the competition is fierce and the supply of willing peoâ€" ple far outstrips the number of opportunities. It‘s also disturbing to see the number of appliâ€" cants who knew little about this area. I make it a point to contact every applicant, and let them know about the outcome of the search. One young man from Toronto replied and made a point about how difficult it is to get a start even in "smallâ€"town Ontario." I had to remind him there were more than half a million people here, and it is one of the 10 largest radio markets in the country. And he‘s only an hour away? Makes you wonder. Sarah Brown Waterloo Brian Bourke, a member of the 105.3 KOOL FM morning crew, can be reached by email at bbourke@koolfm.com. And you should be able to think independently, analyze information and somehow match that up with the demographic you‘re serving. Much of the material I received had serious spelling errors, horrendous grammar mistakes and newscasts that parrot what 1 hear anywhere else. spective on the issue of those 66 parking spaces in uptown Waterloo, After reading yet again about the hardship these missing spaces will cause I drove down to the (twoâ€" hour free) parking lot behind the LCBO, parked in the middle of that lot (which I have never seen full} and counted off my footsteps to the front door of the Ali Baba Restauâ€" rant â€" 150 footsteps give or take a few! Fewer still if you would need to use the several very accessible disâ€" abled spots provided. _ _ Surely this is no hardship. In fact, a short walk after a meal might even be healthy. s As someone who works, shops and dines in Waterloo, I welcome the chance to walk along the main street and enjoy the interesting and varied new businesses that have come to our community â€" surely I am not alone. Mary Lou Hiller Waterloo he concert film Neil Young Live at Massey Hall will be I screened outdoors on Thursday, July 26, as part of Waterâ€" loo Park‘s Music and Movies in the Park series. Neil Young played Massey Hall in Toronto on Jan. 19, 1971, and it‘s regarded as one of his most historic performances â€" a major homecoming event for the prolific and rapidly maturing songwriter who left Canada in 1966 to begin a career that would span four decades. 1 can‘t think of a better place than under the stars to relive a performance by one of the world‘s most enigmatic musicians. To me, his music has always been about making a place in the world. It was at an outdoor concert in the summer of ‘87 that I first saw Neil Young live. For my 16th birthday, my brother David took me to see Neil Young at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. From the moment Young walked out on stage with just an acoustic guitar and harmonica, I was hooked. ()pcnfflg the show with Hey Hey My My, I can still see Youn@» dressed in torn jeans, running shoes and a jean jacket over an untucked shirt. Every aspect of the concert â€" from beach balls being bounced around by fans in the grandstand to the sweet smell of pot in@the warm evening air â€" remains vivid in my memory. Today, every Neil Young album, along with over 50 live recordings, including the five concerts I‘ve seen in person, hold a cherished place in my CD collection. It‘s really hard to put Young into any category â€" on one album he‘s country, on another he‘s bluesy, and with his band Crazy Horse, he makes downright grungy and dirty, great rock ‘n‘ roll. As a teenager, I think what conâ€" H THWHI nected me most to the music was the lyrics â€" the way Young can convey emotions through words that are both poetic and raw. The subject matter spoke to me, and there was a beautiful sadness and dark cynicism to the way he documented the culâ€" ture and politics of the time. There were some great references to Richard Nixon â€" one of my favourite lines is from the quiet and reflective album On the Beach: "I never knew a man could tell so many lies, he had a different story for every set of eyes, I don‘t know who it is he‘s talking to, but it sure ain‘t me and I hope it ain‘t you." I think those songs are still as relevant today as they were in the ‘70s. _ On albums like Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, I like the themes of escapism, of moving on, going on to something else, that Young wrote about in such a real and autobiographical way. Looking back over his career, he‘s written often about escaping a lifestyle, certain people or an entire culture. Young documented the drug culture that surrounded him in the ©70s, writing about death and darkness on the slovenly, violently raw record Tonight‘s the Night. It‘s almost like you can feel the disgust in Young‘s voice, and the music has the same kind of sleazy, rough, broken feel as the Rolling Stones‘ Exile on Main Street. Lookout Joe, a chilling song about scoring heroin, makes me shudder when 1 hear it. In the Massey Hall 71 performance, songs like Old Man and The Needle and the Damage Done spoke of hardâ€"won lessons that come with age and experience â€" and although I couldn‘t fully understand them when 1 was a teenager, 1 do now that I‘m older. Events are held in the bandshell at Waterloo Park, entrance off of Westmount (next to the fire hall). This is a free event for the community presented by Beat Goes On, Princess Cinemas and the City of Waterloo. And now that ] am older, listening to Neil Young makes me feel like I‘m 16 again. _ ______ s Music and Movies in the Park on Thursday, July 26 begins at 7:30 p.m. with a live blues performance by the Water Street Blues Band, followed at dusk by the film Neil Young Live at Massey Hall. Marshall Ward is an artist and independent filmmaker. Email is welcome at mward@wlu.ca. Crazy Horse rides again WATERLOO CHRONICLE + Wednesday, July 18, 2007 +9