The Cormac MacSweeney Blog - 660News Calgary

Stuck between a rock and a hard place… That’s where our Premier is right now after oil and gas giant EnCana gives him an ultimatum.

If Ed Stelmach decides to hike the provincial royalty rates by 20 per cent, the company says it will slash capital investment in Alberta by $1-billion next year. Although the energy company did take part in the royalty review hearings, EnCana officials were shocked when a report by the review panel suggested the hike in rates.

EnCana says most of the spending cuts would occur in areas where increases would make exploration and development uneconomic or uncompetitive. EnCana, North America’s largest natural gas producer, said it had been planning to spend $2.5-billion to $3-billion on Alberta-based activity in 2008. Officials with the company tell 660 News their announcement today is not a threat, just an economic reality and they’re simply looking for a win/win situation.

Earlier this week energy research company Wood Mackenzie said Alberta would reduce the value of oil sands projects by US$26 billion if it adopted the recommendations to boost taxes and royalties.

But some view the situation in a different way.

The controversial report by the royalty review panel said Albertans have been shortchanged by the oil patch for years. It also says oil sands projects should be paying roughly 36 per cent but high-production oil and natural gas wells should be paying higher royalties, with low-production wells paying less.

The big question is: What will Stelmach do?

Political scientist Keith Brownsey at Mount Royal College, says this move by EnCana may actually backfire on them. Brownsey says when push comes to shove Premier Stelmach may actually take a stand against the oil and gas industry and adopt the report in its entirety.

But he adds that Stelmach could easily side with the oil and gas companies on this one and keep the money where the oil is. Brownsey says it isn’t going to be easy for “Steady Eddy.” He says our Premier has the choice between going against public opinion or losing investment in the oil patch.

So what is the best move for our province and will Stelmach make that move? It seems only time will tell.

Have a great weekend mulling this one over.

If it hits home do we pull out?

That’s basically the question I was asking people this morning after a second Calgary soldier died in the war in Afghanistan. Nathan Hornburg was killed only a month after being deployed in the war-torn country. The 24-year-old died in a roadside ambush while repairing a broken track of a tank.

Nichola Goddard was the first Calgarian to die in Afghanistan. She was in a battle with Taliban insurgents in May of last year. She was 26-years-old.

It was an interesting shift because everyone I spoke with had a strong opinion on the matter. Many say it really does hit home when a local soldier is killed and they would like our men and women serving abroad to come home. But there are others, also hurt by the loss, who believe our mission in Afghanistan is a Noble one and we need to stay the course.

The argument for pulling out is simple. Too many Canadian soldiers are dying (71 since the mission began) and it seems that we are making no progress. The people I spoke with are calling for action, saying every Canadian should contact their MP or write letters and hold rallies to influence those who make the tough decisions.

On the other hand there are many who view the war quite differently. There is a large number of people in our city supporting the mission in Afghanistan. They tell me what our troops are doing in the war-torn country is helping people who are being terrorized by insurgents. They add Canada needs to help stabilize Afghanistan and not leave them in a land of turmoil.

One man, who has a brother in-law serving in Afghanistan, told me anyone who wants a pull out should take some time to talk to those who have finished their tour of duty. He says they will hear the real stories from the war-torn country like schools being built by the Canadian army, families being given protection from insurgents or Afghani children being taught English by soldiers.

No one I spoke with believes we should be extending our mission but some did say they would take a wait and see approach. If our presence is needed they feel we should hang around to help out.

So what do you think? Should our politicians be bringing our troops home or should we stay the course and finish the mission we started?

It’s the time gamers across the continent have been waiting for.

Halo 3, the highly anticipated game from Microsoft is being released at midnight. Video game fans are expected to line up outside of electronic stores when the small hand strikes twelve to get their hands on some of the first copies to be sold to the public. Listen to 660News tomorrow morning where you will hear all the action from the front lines– I’ll be hanging out with the hardcore gamers as they wait to rush into electronic stores across the city and get their beloved copy of the latest Halo game.

The first thing that comes to mind for some people is “anyone who goes that crazy for a video game is a geek.” If that is true then our city appears to be full of geeks. I spoke with many businessmen this morning who admit to being gamers who hide their addiction from some friends and co-workers. Also I spoke to the E.B. Games store in Chinook Centre and they have pre-sold 400 copies of the game. That’s just one location in the city.

Even I have been swept up in the latest craze of video games. While Halo 3 and X-Box are not my drug of choice … the Nintendo Wii is. I admit I am addicted to the Wii and have played it for hours at a time battling shadow creatures in The Legend of Zelda or hitting them out of the park in Wii Sports Baseball.

The gaming culture is definitely making an impact on the entertainment industry. Microsoft expects to take in more than $200-million from Halo 3 in the first 24 hours. If that is true the game would demolish the opening record of any entertainment franchise in any medium. That makes it bigger than any Harry Potter book, Britney Spears album or Spider-Man movie.

Some pop culture experts are making some risky claims leading up to the release of Halo 3. They believe the game will become a cultural phenomenon on par with Star Wars, Harry Potter and even (this is where it gets controversial) Beatlemania.

Whether you agree with the experts or not, you can’t disagree with the numbers and when 11:59 P.M. hits today we may see a new record set in the entertainment industry.

Stay tuned, I’ll let you know how it turns out.

You may not have noticed (I hope) but over the past two days I have been dealing with burning sinuses, a stuffy nose, a sore throat and a pounding headache.

Yes we’re at that time of year where viruses spread like wildfire and a box of kleenex is a must in every office. Unfortunately I have had some sort of bug that has been making my life a sick mess.

It’s not easy doing my job when I’m feeling ill because not only do I have to talk to dozens of people each day, but I also have to go live on the air every half hour.

As a part of my job I need to get reaction from you, the listener, on the news of the day.
When I’m sick, fewer people seem to want to talk to me because they feel I could pass on my germs…which makes my already tough day even harder. I understand though, because I’d feel the same way.

After getting my audio I need to get my clouded mind together and make sure I sound like my regular self on the air. Trust me, it’s hard to sound normal when I’m stuffed up and it hurts to talk.

If you were listening to my 7:00 A.M. live hit you would have noticed a pause after my second clip. There is a reasonable explanation for this. Just as the second clip was about to finish I had a strong feeling I was going to sneeze. Thankfully I fought it off and continued with my report after the three seconds of dead air.

So make sure you have your hand sanitizer in your pocket because it seems like cold and flu season is beginning and for me the near future is… well, a little stuffy.

Good health to you all.

Believe it or not, just because I work in radio doesn’t mean everyone knows my name. What it does mean is that many people want to give you a piece of their mind on everything from the news of the day to how your co-workers sound. They may have never heard of me before but they definitely want to make their opinion heard.

I have no problem talking with people about anything they wish. I like to talk, which is why I’m in radio, and if I know enough about the subject I will talk your ear off. Anyone who has met me probably knows that as long as I’m not doing live hits on the Morning Show, I’m good for a chat. While I can say some pretty silly things myself, it’s also amusing to hear what subjects people bring up.

Politics is always a good topic. Everyone has an opinion, and some think they can voice them on the airwaves by giving me a piece of their mind. I have had a few political junkies approach me and urge me to call them for their views on political affairs or some who tell me how to write my stories. I always play devil’s advocate and challenge whatever they say just for fun, which sometimes generates some heat. Once or twice people have given me their cards or written down their numbers with hopes of getting on the radio. Unfortunately this will not get you on the air!

Once after talking to one man on Stephen Avenue he began ranting about City Council and its “secret plan” for a good ten minutes. I eventually had to start walking away from him apologizing because I had a story to write. Before I could get away he told me to call him and handed me his card. His card said his occupation is “International Man of Mischief.” I’m not quite sure what that meant and I’m not sure I want to find out!

At one point, a woman began speaking to me about how she couldn’t stand most commercial radio. She ranted about a music station in our city and how much she hated the on-air staff. Then she told me how commercial radio is on a downward spiral, probably not realizing that an all news radio station is a commercial radio station. It was when she started using profanities to describe some of my co-workers and friends that I started to tune her out.

If you’re not a fan, you’re not a fan. That’s fine, everyone has their own preference in personalities and music. But attacking someone and their on-air abilities by cursing like a sailor is just not fair. The jocks and newscasters I know are simply doing their job to the best of their ability.

Finally there are always the stories about what others think of you.

I once had a friend say “You’ll never believe what happened to me last night. I was driving with some guys who are construction workers and they were listening to 660News.” At this point I figured it was going to be another story of someone who really likes the station, and it was…kind of. She went on to say, “They all love the station and say they listen to it all the time while working at the site. So I yelled, ‘I know someone who works at that station!’ Just after I said that one of your reports came on the air. Before I could point out that I knew you, one of the guys yelled “Cormac Mac Sweeney?…I HATE Cormac Mac Sweeney.’” They then changed the station.

Obviously the story took an odd turn and was not what I expected — or hoped for — at all. I know that when you take a job that puts you in the public eye (or ear) you are not going to be liked by everyone. The man was straight and to the point, but didn’t swear or make fun.

Why my friend chose to tell me that story I really don’t know, but it is actually refreshing to get those reality checks every now and then. One thing I never want to become is one of those media personalities who lets their local celebrity go to their head. Believe it or not, I think someone politely hating me keeps me in line.

This morning I headed to the NW and chatted with many who thought the people of Calgary are losing their good manners. Of course they all had examples of people not holding doors open, others cited chewing with your mouth open, cracking knuckles, popping gum, and of course, burping or passing gas in public.

So what’s getting the blame for all of this? As always it’s the economic boom. People believe the population increase and rise in economic activity has many in our city stressed out and running around like chickens with their heads cut off. And when chickens get their heads cut off, that apparently means there is a decline in good manners.

Unfortunately, we all mess up when it comes to manners at one time or another. Whether it’s forgetting to say please and thank you or putting your elbows on the table at a restaurant.

I know that I may not be perfect in the manner department and my girlfriend will probably be the first to point that out. Actually she was. When I got back to the station she had sent me an e-mail with a list of some of the bad manners I have.

I won’t bore you (or embarrass myself) with the details but I will let you know my girlfriend wasn’t happy when she was leaving for work and I kissed her goodbye while still playing my Nintendo Wii.

I have learned my lesson (after getting an earful) and I assure you I will never do it again.

Some advice: Avoid the temptation of the Wii when your significant other is heading to work or you’ll be trying to get comfy on the couch at bed time.

This is where bad manners get you.

Have a good well-mannered weekend.

In just over a month, Calgarians head to the polls to vote for a new (or old) municipal goverment.

Monday is nomination day when hopefuls line up at city hall to file their papers and pay their nomination fee. This year we will see some intense battles for representation of the wards and possibly for the top spot.

Already the race has been given a jolt with veteran Alderman Barry Erskine announcing his retirement. Erskine, representing Ward 11, held a news conference today to let us know of his decision which has caught many city hall watchers off-guard. Erskine has maintained, up until now, he was running for the spot.

The odd twist is that Erskine says he isn’t going to close the door to provincial politics…which means some in Calgary may be putting an “X” by his name in the spring.

Without an incumbent running in Ward 11, we’ll have at least one new member in council…and that member may be green.

Brian Pincott of the Sierra Club of Canada has already announced he will run. Pincott is running his campaign on green power (in more ways than one). To power his campaign office, he is using 100% green, carbon-free electricity generated in Alberta.

This is not the only high profile race. Joe Ceci will (or might?) get a run for his money when the Calgary Police Association boss, Al Koenig, battles him to represent Ward 9.

Koenig’s announcement wasn’t as big a surprise as Erskine’s, with the rumour mill churning weeks before Koenig confirmed he is running.

Besides those two wards, it doesn’t seem many current aldermen are facing a high profile challenge except perhaps Druh Farrell. Merle Terlesky will be running in Ward 7. Terlesky is a leukemia survivor who grew up in B.C. and unsuccessfully ran for the Alberta Alliance Party in Lethbridge. He may be the one to stir the pot in this election.

Now to the mayor. It isn’t easy to beat an incumbent but it’s not impossible. While I only know of a handful of people running against Mayor Dave Bronconnier, the wonderful world of Wikipedia claims there are quite a few.

Alnoor Kassam was the first to throw his name into the hat. The local businessman is getting his name known through ads on the LRT with a green stop sign….that simply says “GO”.

Alexander Jenkins, a seismologist and geophysical consultant is running on a campaign of putting the downtown C-Train line underground.

Harry Heck..yes Heck…is running an ad campaign that appears as a black sign on the front of busses saying things like “What if…”. Heck is a real estate agent.

Jeremy Zhao is a 19-year-old U of C student who believes he can become mayor, despite being the youngest candidate (despite his lack of experience).

According to Wikipedia, Doug Service (who has run for municipal office previously), Oscar Fech, and Barry Eldridge are the other three candidates running for mayor.

Who knows what is going to happen in this year’s election, but we already have some political fun to look forward to…and at least one change in office.

This list of candidates isn’t set in stone though. Remember we may get some more surprise announcements considering we still have about five days until nominations close.

After all, Ralph Klein didn’t decide to run for mayor until the last minute and people were calling him “Your Worship” after the votes were cast. Wait a minute…Klein was a journalist too. King Cormac…I like the sound of that.

On Friday I wrote my blog about how safe the city is or isn’t, but more importantly how easy it was to do the story. A new angle fell right in my lap and the people I spoke with were very opinionated, allowing the great clips to tell the story.

I love those days when I feel I don’t even have to work, but reporting isn’t always a walk in the park … or the city centre for that matter.

Today I faced the disgusting reality that it is not always easy to get people to talk with you. During the morning show I went to three different locations just to develop my story. Normally (if you are familiar with the format) I only go to one location and report from that spot. But I was having serious issues with a lack of people in the area … let alone people who would talk to me.

My first destination was a gas station on MacLeod Trail. Generally in the early morning there are always a few people who provide me with tape while we chat when they are fuelling up. But of course, with my luck, the place was deserted.

No one to talk about their boss and how funny or unfunny he or she is. It’s a topic I was expecting some good tape from. But the couple of souls hanging around were people who didn’t want to talk to me … and unfortunately two guys who were really nice but couldn’t speak English.

If my destination doesn’t work, or look like it will work in the next half hour, I get out of there as soon as possible and head to a better spot. So off I went.

When I arrived at my new spot, outside a convenience store on 4th St. in Mission, it was not much better. Again barely anyone was showing up and the few who did were not exactly thrilled that I wanted to take two minutes out of their day. I did get one man who was happy enough to give me a few words before screeching off to work.

So on to my 3rd “hot spot.”

It was another gas station for the 6:30 a.m. broadcast and this time I did a little better. There was a bus stop in front which saved my story. I was able to just scrape together enough reaction to get by the 6:30 a.m., 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. live hits. Things felt like they were back to normal when I spoke with two women who were bubbly and actually had good tales to tell about their bosses. They helped make a really funny story to tell for the 8:00 a.m. cast.

There is nothing more stressful than having to go live in five minutes and having practically no tape to play. It puts even more white hairs on my salt and pepper head and gives me that bad tingly feeling in my chest.

It wasn’t an easy shift but every now and then I have to deal with days like this. As a journalist I have to suck it up and give it my all and do the best with what I get.

Thankfully I survived and will live to report another day.

Energy giant B.P. has recently sent out a memo to many of its employees warning them about the dangers of the core. The memo discusses a recent spike in violent crimes in the city centre and advises workers to avoid the downtown in the early morning or the late evening hours.

The question is, is this warranted? I asked that to people heading in and out of the B.P. building to see if they feel safe around their office building. While I did find a good number of people who thought this memo is ridiculous, the majority believe it was a good move.

This was a good enough story on its own, but when you head out to report sometimes you get lucky and a whole new angle falls in your lap.

I was talking about the warning with one employee who told me that the memo wasn’t only passed around the office, but it was also sent to B.P. offices in the United States.

To my knowledge, no other media outlet had this fact which means we scooped the other stations by simply having someone down there. I was thrilled because he gave me great tape (the audio I use in my reports) telling me who disappointed he was the company would tell business travellers to beware. He made the point that compared to cities like Houston and New York, Calgary’s crime rate is nothing.

This changed the subject of debate for the people I was talking to. It moved from “should we tell people we aren’t safe?” to “Should we be telling people in other countries our city isn’t safe?”

Many who thought the in-office memo was a great idea, were outraged that a business would tell people in other cities that Calgary can be dangerous.

Many say it sheds a bad light on our city and although the company meant the memo with worker safety in mind, it may deter people from coming here.

Whether you agree with B.P.’s tactics or not, the memo has been sent and there is nothing we can do about that.

As for myself, I was born and raised in Toronto. While I won’t give you my opinion on the matter (because as a journalist I shouldn’t have one) I’m sure the stats will show…there is a lot less crime in Cowtown than there is in the “Centre of the Universe.”

This week marked the beginning of the school year and kids across the city are now sitting back at their desks dealing with text books, homework and tests. It’s the time of the year that parents breath a sigh of relief and kids grudgingly make their way to and from school each day.

On the first day back (yesterday) I had the interesting experience of watching a family as they get ready for the big day. The Luger family had to put up with my shenanigans as I reported from their kitchen as the twins Hayden and Alyx woke up, ate breakfast, and took off for their first day of Grade 2.

Mother Kim and father Scott had a bit of a busy morning trying to make sure the lunches and knapsacks were all packed and ready to go. They were also dealing with the regular parental feelings on a day like that … realizing their children were another year older and time is moving so quickly. It was an emotional day for the family with the parents sad and the twins feeling excited and nervous.

I’d say the most fun from the day, obviously, came from the kids. Hayden got up a half an hour late with his sister waking a bit early, feeling very giddy over her day on the radio. At first Alyx was extremely shy and could barely get a few words out of her mouth, staying close to her mother. After about 20 minutes of joking with her she was full of life and couldn’t stop talking.

It was rather difficult to read my reports live on the air when she would take her stuffed kitty and make it walk up my shoulder and onto my head. It was possibly the cutest thing to happen to me while on the air. Hayden wasted no time in getting his voice heard. He immediately started chatting to me and was explaining how excited he was to be heading back to school.

The touching point for me was when I received two hand drawn pictures from the kids. They also made a couple of pictures for Morning Show Anchor Lynda Parcells, who used to live next door to the Luger family.

Even though I was there for work purposes I had a tonne of fun with Hayden, Alyx, Kim and Scott. It is that rare time where I get to connect with my story on a personal level and produce some great stories while doing it. Needless to say, I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.