What we found was the debut of a unique form of transportation to Winnipeg and a most affable driver.
In this special podcast, you'll meet the owner of the first Velomobile on our streets, who has taken his love of cycling to a whole new level. Josh, (not to be confused with our longtime associate Young Josh, now of APTN) is a longtime resident of Southeast Winnipeg and although a believer in active transportation, has never been aligned with the militant bike lobby.Rather, he went about his hobby quietly and decided to invest his hard-earned savings from his job as a shipper/receiver in the most unique, cool, self-propelled vehicle imaginable, the Sunrider model manufactured in the Netherlands.
Josh describes his personal background, the reasons why he decided to buy it, the physical demands of this style of cycling, and his hopes to add sponsorships to the fibreglass hull and perhaps make guest appearances at local events and for worthy causes to help him defray the costs. He sat in for the entire show and it was a pleasure to be able to host him in the studio.
Also on today's show - Josh helps list who was hitting up our blog (thank you potty-mouth Pat Martin!) and the shout-outs to our newest followers on Twitter - including Manitoba's Top Employers, social media ace Erica Glasier, and Destiny Watt of city hall.
And speaking of city hall...
You will hear our analysis of how councillors betrayed the working class, seniors and the poor when "leadership" at city council was re-defined as ditching all public consultation to hike bus fares by 400% more than was originally asked for, thanks to the allegedly spontaneous brainstorm of Deputy Mayor Justin Swandel to fund rapid transit ... sort of.
The way the vote passed, and who supported it, exposes the deep divide between the marginalized inner city and the arrogant oligarchy at 510 Main that resorted, without shame or guilt or conscience, to procedural trickery to avoid public debate. It was like they sneered "ya, what Pat Martin said" to Winnipeg voters, and ignored their promises to make sure the people had a say after the disaster of bike lanes in 2010.
Which members deserve a pat on the back for refusing to go along with anti-democratic tactics? Do we need recall legislation to ensure elected officials do not abuse the public trust or pocketbooks again ? What was said and by whom, in the Twitterverse and on blogs? Listen and get informed.
Also reviewed (speaking of Remembrance Day) is Free Press columnist Dan Lett admitting in a blog post to his surprise (and a few other things) that a U of M student didn't swallow his attacking Mayor Sam Katz again and told him off; and the fierce debate among our Facebook group about who (beside the convicted boy) should be held responsible for the murder of a 14 year old girl stabbed through the mouth while she was passed out drunk. And it ain't Gary Filmon.
Here is the link to the Friday podcast:
http://tgctspod.podbean.com/2011/11/18/velomobile-introduced-in-manitoba-plus-city-leaders-cower-from-public-consultation-on-bus-fares/
Go Bombers !
