I’m going to do my best to make it to City Council today and provide a live audio-only stream.

I cannot guarantee that I’ll be able to make it has I have a few matters to attend to first.

I’m making a trip to Pongetti music this afternoon to purchase XLR audio lines to run into the Council Chambers audio board. Hopefully, this will solve many of the audio issues I’ve encountered previously.

I was unable to secure video for this meeting, but am working with community partners to get permanent streaming in place for the next Council term after the election.

I’ll update my website if I’m able to run audio today. If I do, I will also provide the embed code for the audio stream to allow for non-commercial sites/blogs to share the feed with their readers.

- Joey

I’m live at the Hamilton City Council meeting today. Live stream and coverage is available on RaiseTheHammer, a local community site in Hamilton.

http://www.raisethehammer.org/blog/1920/live_coverage_of_pan_am_stadium_meeting

Letter from Minister of State (Sport) Gary Lunn to Mayor Fred Eisenberger

Dear Mr. Mayor:

 

I am writing in response to your correspondence of August 12, 2010, forwarded to me by the Office of the Prime Minister, regarding federal government funding for venues to be built for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.

I appreciate being advised of Hamilton City Council’s decision to proceed with West Harbour as the site for its proposed stadium. As you are aware, now that Hamilton City Council has selected West Harbour as its preferred location, the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Organizing Committee will decide if it wants to incorporate this venue into its overall capital plan.

In the fall, the Committee will present its proposed venue plan and business plan to its Board of Directors for approval. The Board will then present its venue plan and business plan to the Multi-Party Agreement signatories, including the Government of Canada and Province of Ontario, for approval.

Our Government has committed to contribute to the capital costs associated with building or upgrading facilities for the Toronto 2015 Games. As outlined in the Multi-Party Agreement, this support is conditional on the facilities being publicly owned, being used for the 2015 Games (i.e., they can be built on time and within the allotted budget) and having a post-Games high-performance sport legacy.

With respect to discussions on the use of the stadium, it is important to note that the federal government will not get involved in negotiations between City of Hamilton, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games Organizing Committee.

Please accept my best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

The Honourable Gary Lunn, P.C., M.P.

A few friends have been sharing their stories of where they were and how they reacted when they learned of the attacks on the World Trade Centre towers.

On September 11, 2001, I slept in. I had a late night before and awoke shortly after 10 a.m. to the sounds of dance music on the local dance radio station in Hamilton, Ontario.

After the song, the announcer said that the Red Cross had set up a toll-free number for those affected “by the tragic events in Washington and New York.”

At this moment, my landline phone rang. My grandmother was saying how much she loved me and asked me to promise to write her. I was confused and asked what was going on. She told me to turn on the television.

I did.

The visual sent a chill up my spine – moments later, I realized that NATO was under attack and Canada was at war. Only 10 weeks earlier, I swore an oath to protect my nation.

I immediately told my grandmother I would write, that I loved her, and that I needed to get moving.

Within minutes, I was in my military uniform. I unplugged everything in my apartment – who knew when or if I would be back again.

I spent the rush of the day at the local Armouries preparing for who knew what.

There’s not much else to the story, I was merely a Private prepared to do as I was ordered.

A brief update, my personal blog shall remain on hiatus for one more week.

My time at The Hamilton Spectator is extended by one week to complete a mobile web project I started at the paper.

My final day at TheSpec is Friday, and I  officially end my time with the paper on Sunday.

I’ll be writing for The Globe and Mail’s higher education site once again this week. You can find my page there at: http://www.globecampus.ca/joeycoleman

I’d like to thank everyone who has contacted me or tweeted their support this summer.

- Joey