Mike Farwell

I can’t count the number of interviews I’ve heard over the years where the subject acknowledged her or his family as the reason for their success if not their entire reason for being. You can have the best job in the world but, when it comes right down to it, more and more of us seem aware that it’s the people back home that matter the most. The older I get, the better I understand this.

I have a close-knit family and I’m a happier person for it. Last night, without a major holiday or anniversary to mark, my family got together for an impromptu gathering. We were celebrating the occasion of my cousin’s graduation from the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts. What a terrific way to spend a few hours on a mid-summer’s night. And way to go Jessica! You’ve done us all so very proud.

If there is a worse road to travel in this part of the province, I’m yet to find it. If you’re not trying to steer clear of distracted drivers and street racers, you’re dodging potholes or sitting in traffic caused by crashes or construction. There was a day that the 401 quite ably got you from Waterloo Region to Toronto. Those days are long gone. I understand that, at one time or another, road work has to be done. But it seems to me that there is just no good time to close down even a single lane on the already overcrowded highway. But all three?

I had a very enjoyable evening at the ballpark last night. A good friend of mine and I got together with our Dads to enjoy a Jays game and some good conversation. We were headed home from Toronto around 10:15 and as we approached Guelph Line around 11 PM, we came to a dead stop. No warning, no signage, just a dead stop. Two hours later we were at Highway 6 South and using the left shoulder to squeeze past construction. All three lanes of the highway had been closed without so much as  a sign telling us what lay ahead. Are you kidding me? In my opinion, a detour was the least that could have been set up. Truckers were pulling off to the side of the road to call it a night while the rest of us, presumably with places to go or people to see, simply wasted two hours sitting on the highway.

If this is an example of “moving our economy forward” as some highway construction signs would have us believe, we are headed in the wrong direction in a hurry.

I have to admit to getting a little excited and feeling a small flush of pride whenever I hear our region mentioned by someone outside our region. Such was the case last week when the federal and provincial governments announced a combined six billion dollars in infrastructure funding — and singled out Waterloo Region and our rapid transit initiative — as one of the priorities for that funding. What rapid transit system, you ask? You’re not the only one with the question.

It was a little more than four years ago, and with much pomp and circumstance, that the project was first revealed to the public during a news conference at the Grand River Transit terminal on Charles Street in Kitchener. The first phase, we were told, would involve an environmental assessment. Four years hence, we still await the completion of that assessment. But that hasn’t stopped politicians from posturing and using this project as a means of suggesting they’re doing something for the environment and that the future of this region is very green indeed. My question is, how distant a future are we talking about?

If in four years all we can muster is an environmental assessment, how long will it take us to actually build a functional system? At this point, we are still trying to decide between rapid trains and buses as our future transit options. But it is no secret that trains are the preferred choice for many. Which is all well and good, but what about the tracks? If the first stage of this transit system will connect north Waterloo to south Cambridge, how long does it take to get the infrastructure for a rail system like that ready for use?

Regional chair Ken Seiling says if everything checks out with the environmental assessment, we could see construction ready to begin by 2012. That’s another four years from now and eight years after the project was first announced. It’s also assuming Chair Seiling’s projections are accurate, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. And for eight years’ work we will have a study, a decision on trains or buses and, presumably, a route. If that’s what we have to show for eight years, is it fair to extrapolate another eight at least to get the first phase of construction finished? If you find that unfair, consider Highway 7 from Kitchener to Guelph. We’ve been promised a new road connecting these cities for almost 15 years and after assessments and route plans, we’re told the new link is at least eight more years away. Using the same math, we’re looking at 2025 at the earliest before the first stage of Waterloo Region’s rapid transit is ready for its first passenger.

I guess what I’m saying is that I hope my kids enjoy Waterloo Region’s new rapid transit system because if it’s one thing that seems evident so far, it’s that there’s not very much rapid about it at all.

I pulled into the parking lot of the Tim Horton’s at Weber and Bridgeport in Waterloo on Friday night. From a distance, it appeared as though there was a person hunched over on the ground outside the entrance. But considering it was late and there was little light I just assumed my eyes were playing tricks on me. They weren’t.

As I got out of my car, I realized my sight had not betrayed me. There was a person, on all fours, on the ground outside the door. A medium-sized black dog was curled up next to him. As unusual as the sight was, what struck me as even more odd was what the man was doing. He had, spread out in front of him on the sidewalk, a series of architectural drawings. I recognized a front elevation of a house, and the “architect” had his rulers and slides in an array in front of him. Why he chose to make this his working space I’m not entirely sure. And though I’m certainly no expert, the drawings looked pretty good from where I was standing.

I guess when someone launches “Canadian Idol: The Architect’s Edition,” I know where they can begin their search for talent.

Summer is supposed to be the time of care-free lazy days and nobody, especially a politician, is uninformed enough to interrupt that. So consider this a friendly reminder. All I ask is that you pick up a pen, or pull out that BlackBerry, and make a little note to yourself for November. Because by that time, if not a little before, we will almost certainly be headed for the polls. And a little advance notice never hurt anyone.

I know that predictions are the stuff of fools but I’ve never let that stop me before, and I’m not about to let it now. So here’s the method to my madness. Prime Minister Harper has just declared a trio of byelections — two in Quebec and one in nearby Guelph. And believe me when I tell you that the Guelph riding is one in which the Conservatives believe they can steal a seat. The party won’t say it too loudly, of course, but the fact is that the Tory banner will be carried by current Guelph city councillor Gloria Kovach who is not only known municipally, but who also has experience at the national level with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. A political neophyte she is not, and winning this riding that has been Liberal red for 15 years would be a Conservative coup — and a riding with some weight if the Harper Conservatives have any hope for a majority the next time around.

The second sign is as clear as this week’s announcement that Waterloo Region has been identified as a priority when it comes to more than three billion dollars in federal infrastructure money. The dollars from Ottawa will flow directly into our region’s rapid transit initiative. At last count, that amounts to a minimum of 100-million dollars — the federal share for a third of the cost of the first phase of the system. But that estimate came four years ago, so it’s a conservative estimate at best. The thing to remember here is that the federal money was always assured. It was just never announced. The Conservatives were waiting for the politically opportune time to make it known that they were behind this plan. If this, indeed, is the opportune time, can an election be far behind? If you think not, consider that the announcement shows the Conservatives are moving on the economy and that the announcement was made in London, a swing riding that almost went Green in a recent byelection. How London votes is generally how the province votes and if this isn’t shoring up support in key Ontario ridings, I don’t know what is.

Political strategy does not take a summer holiday. So enjoy the rest of your lazy, care-free days. And remember to mark your calendars because come Novemeber, if not before, you’ll be asked to make a very big decision. It wouldn’t hurt to go to summer school, just to be ready when the inevitable occurs.

It’s not just me, right? You’ve also noticed that here we are, almost at the end of July, and lawns across the city are still lush and green? I used to look forward to this time of year not only because I love the summer heat, but also because lawns would have turned from green to brownish yellow by now. And that meant the weekly outings with the lawnmower had become bi-weekly at best.

Without even looking up the local stats, it seems obvious to me that we’re on pace for one of our wettest summers on record. Reports out of Toronto today say that’s already the case there and, really, can we be that far behind? As I type, the skies outside look threatening once again. And I honestly had intentions of cutting my lawn this afternoon. Lord knows with all this rain it needs it. Again.

Let me make one thing clear from the start: I do not endorse drug use, whether you inhale or not. Getting involved in drugs is just dumb and it leads to bigger problems than one seems able to imagine from that first toke, injection, or snort. That said, I also recognize it for what it is. And that’s a sign of a much deeper personal issue.

So can we all just back off Steven Page? Just a little? I understand our fascination, especially in Canada, with tearing down those whom we have previously built up. And I also understand that Page (and The Barenaked Ladies) has made a tidy living off a reputation of being clean, almost to the point of squeakiness (hence the new album of kids music and the Disney show booking). But am I the only one that senses a double standard here? In many cases, drug use by a rock or pop star is seen as a rite of passage and in many more, their popularity increases because of it. How else do you explain the legendary status of Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones or the fact that Kurt Cobain may well be more popular in death than he was in life? David Bowie admits today that he was in such a drug-induced stupor when recording “Space Oddity” that he can’t remember even being in the studio. And yet the album is generally regarded as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

Again, I’m not saying what Steven Page did was even remotely right. But did we really need to see his mug shot on the front page of a national newspaper last week, alongside the faces of the two women he was found with? The guy has just gone through the disintegration of his marriage and a host of other personal problems. Not that it gives him license to do drugs but shouldn’t we perhaps be seeking to help him rather than hurt him?

Here’s to hoping that Page gets his personal life straightened out. And here’s to hoping also that when he does, we give his recovery the same level of media attention.

As I left work on Friday, this past weekend was filled with so much promise. I had a lunch scheduled with an old friend on Saturday afternoon, followed by a trip to Kitchener’s annual Ribfest and Craft Beer Show later in the day. Sunday would start with a game of pick-up football in the morning and end in the usual fashion with a game of slo-pitch at RIM Park. Little did I know how quickly things would disintegrate.

I got a text message early Friday night cancelling lunch for Saturday. On Saturday morning, the co-worker who was to join me for Ribfest also backed out. By Saturday night, I was watching an old black and white movie on TVO and doing my laundry. Sunday brought some truly miserable weather but we managed to act like the weekend warriors we are and still squeeze in that football game. By evening, despite significantly better weather, Waterloo’s Community Adult Recreation League (CARL) inexplicably called off our ballgame. Twenty-five minutes before it was to begin. Note to the league brass: get your heads out of your, uh….brass.

So in the end, I managed to follow through with one of my four weekend plans. I know Meatloaf once told us that two out of three ain’t bad but, speaking from recent experience, I can tell you that one out of four is worse. A lot worse. You know what they say about the best laid plans?

They were right.

My co-host, Kate, and I have been talking this week about the soaring cost of fuel. Well, more like I’ve been complaining and she’s been kindly listening. It all started with my $65 fill-up last Sunday. Yup, $65 to fill my Sunfire.

Kate and I have agreed that something has to give. You just don’t go putting that much money into your gas tank and not feel it somewhere else. For my part, I have cut back on my trips to Tim’s. Forgive me for being un-Canadian, but it’s just not a daily trip any more. Yet however un-Canadian that may be, now I’m going to have to start giving up my beer?

Reports today suggest that a global shortage of hops and rising costs for aluminum are putting the squeeze on breweries. And that will likely translate to higher prices for suds. So I guess the decision has been made for me. I’ll be the guy walking home from the beer store with a 2-4. If I can’t afford both gas and beer, I know which one is getting priority.

If you see me, feel free to take pity and pick me up. We can share a cold one together back at my place.

Rumours are funny things. Often times they will start with just a kernel of truth, and by the time they’ve been passed from person to person, they’ve either become so outrageous as to be completely unbelievable or so vicious that someone is forced into damage control. And then there are the rumours such as the one we heard this week, right here in Waterloo Region, that while ultimately squashed told a very interesting — and entirely plausible – story.

While we did hear the rumour in Waterloo Region, it did not actually begin here. In fact, we can credit Britain’s Daily Telegraph for first informing us on Wednesday that renowned physicist Stephen Hawking may be planning a move to Waterloo to join the Perimeter Institute. Call it outrageous if you like, but such a rumour speaks volumes to me about what this region has come to represent. The very fact that Waterloo Region is on the radar of a British newspaper suggests to me that we are a scientific force to be reckoned with. And Professor Hawking’s so called “sci-lebrity” aside, his is not the only brilliant mind at work at Britain’s Cambridge University. One other such mind belongs to Hawking’s good friend Neil Turok, who is leaving Cambridge to become the new Executive Director at Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute in October. Turok himself credits the Institute’s innovative approach with helping to attract the world’s most brilliant students and researchers to Canada. Or more specifically, to Waterloo. And so the kernel of truth fueling the Hawking to Waterloo rumour gathers a little more momentum.

Technology expert Tom Vassos, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, was quoted in the Globe and Mail as saying that “the local geography might be further down the list than other criteria like who Hawking might he be working with (in Waterloo), who the other minds are he’ll be able to tap into.” And while Vassos admits that Waterloo may not hold the glamour of New York City, he acknowledges we are known worldwide as a centre of technology and innovation.

And finally we hear from the spokesman for the Perimeter Institute, John Matlock, who says not all scientists have done Star Trek or The Simpsons like Hawking but “we already have top pre-eminent physicists who visit here regularly – they’re just not in the public consciousness.” Hawking will be one of those pre-eminent physicists in due time, as he plans to visit his friend Neil Turok after he takes over his post next fall. But what should now be in the forefront of the public consciousness, if it wasn’t already, is that we have a prominent position on the world map.

And I think it’s time we prepared for our close-up.