Newfoundland Comedy Hour

I have written previously about how St. John's doesn't have sidewalk clearing in the winter. The city itself doesn't have the funds for clearing sidewalks, and there is no bylaw that makes people shovel out the sidewalks in front of their houses. Partly this is because in heavy snowfall winters, there would be just no place to put the snow on the crowded city streets where row houses sit right on the sidewalks for blocks and blocks. The alternative for years has been for pedestrians to walk on the streets. After heavy snows, the narrow streets are even more narrow and motorists have to weave around parked cars and walkers and people waiting for buses. When the snow blower does come round to clear sidewalks, it leaves a hard packed layer that alternate rains and freezes turn to ice. It is pretty dangerous. Just before Christmas there was a public demonstration to pressure St. John's City Council to approve funding for sidewalk clearing. Last winter there was a pilot project that cleared sidewalks close to schools and hospitals for about $180, 000. Council voted to not fund that project this winter.
Then Mayor Andy Wells was given a new job. He will be the head of the Public Utilities Board in March. This lead to a whole new controversy about whether he should resign as Mayor in March, triggering an expensive by-election or staying on as mayor until September, when there will only be 12 months left until a full election and the Deputy Mayor is allowed to fill in for that time.
After news that Andy is leaving was made public, the Deputy Mayor Dennis O'Keefe decided he wanted to listen to the public opinion on sidewalks and brought the issue before council again. He proposed they fund sidewalk clearing on all major roads to the tune of $500,000. St. John's City Council meetings are broadcast on the cable network each week, and the locals call those broadcasts the Newfoundland Comedy Hour because Andy et al can get a little feisty at times. Listen to this first 3 and a half minutes of this Real audio clip from council meeting that the local CBC morning show aired the next day. It is hilarious! You can also read the CBC news item here.