Central Station Location Preferred (costs more too,.what a surprise)

                                                                             MONTREAL - The city of Montreal's decision Thursday to support the more expensive option of Central Station as the downtown terminal for the long awaited train shuttle to Trudeau airport has set off a firestorm of reactions.

Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay said he has confidence in Aéroports de Montréal, the airport operator with plans for a $1.1 billion plan that would run on 40 kilometres of tracks, including CN and CP tracks, linking the airport to Central Station.

Central Station is connected to the métro, commuter trains, hotels and office towers, the mayor noted.

"The choice of Central Station is the result of a large consensus, by commuters, partners of the Montreal metropolitan community, the business community and the tourism industry," Tremblay said.

Within a few hours, the city's chamber of commerce and Montreal's transit agency added their support, too.

"It's important to make a decision now so we can quickly obtain the support of the federal government on this project, which is a priority," said Michel Leblanc, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.

Michel Labrecque, president of the board of the Société de transport de Montréal, said the Central Station option is superior because it is "a much more pertinent hub for commuters because it allows better integration of various modes of public transit... The station has direct access to both the Orange and Green lines of the métro and about 10 routes."

The city and its allies don't have the final say, but their support will likely add credence to the airport operator's plan, and factor into the final decision that will fall to the provincial and federal governments, major funders of the project.

The city's pick flies in the face of a 311-page PricewaterhouseCoopers study that said an alternative plan presented by commuter train operator Agence métropolitaine de transport would be cheaper and provide more transit options for West Island commuters. That $786 million plan would use 34 kilometres of CP tracks and end at Lucien L'Allier station, a few blocks west of Central Station. The AMT route would connect Lucien L'Allier station to transit hub for South shore buses that has yet to be built and estimated to add another $260 million to the tab.

In both of the scenarios studied, there would be two separate train services on the new tracks.

The Central Station route would attract more riders for both the airport train and the commuter train than the other route - 631,000 more people would use the airport shuttle annually and 381,000 more would ride the commuter rail, according to the study.

More details to come.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/business/City+prefers+Central+Station+terminal/3165804/story.html#ixzz0r8E93Df4

Smoked Meat Recalled Over Lysteria Fears.....

              Just a word of warning , Maggie alerted me to a Montreal Gazette report in today's paper,about a recall of Lester's Smoked Meat .over fears of Lysteria.......So be careful ,we have posted links to Lester's in the past ,as they provide delivery to most places .So right now you might want to curb your appetite for their smoked meat right now........  So this is a message for some of our members who use this service & also to alert our Montreal area members as well, to be carefull...

              

OTTAWA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Quebec-based Lesters Foods Ltd. are warning the public not consume some Lesters brand Montréal Smoked Meat pouches because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Smith's Quality Meats is recalling the meats as a precautionary measure, the food safety agency said in a news release.

The products have been distributed in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

The affected product is sold in 2 x 100 gram packages bearing UPC 0 57730 01098 4, establishment number 289 and a best before date between July 16 and July 24 inclusive.

Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled. Eating contaminated food may cause listeriosis, a food-borne illness. Listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. 

Pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness, however, infections during pregnancy can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn or even stillbirth.

© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Smoked+meat+recalled+over+Listeria+fears/3160358/story.html#ixzz0r3Nvztzj

 

.....................Yup , I added the graphics...........hahahaha  Be Careful..     HF&RV

                                                ........Merci to Maggie for the heads up & concern for some of our members ,who do use their order/delivery, service ,,Also Thanks Maggie , I also emailed my sister who is on a 4month stay in montreal right now,to be aware of this announcement:

                         ......Now if any of you are the 'glass half full' type then you might see this as an opprtune time to place an order & get a good discount.

                                          

    

--"TouchDown Jesus"-- Astalavista Baby

Now I didn't name this thing,the locals did,.........but in anycase it's 'toast' now......

Heaven-bound: Giant Jesus Statue

Monroe, Ohio

NEWSFLASH!! During a storm on June 14, 2010, the giant "King of Kings" styrofoam and fiberglass Jesus statue was struck by lightning and burst into flames. The statue was reported to have been completely destroyed.

Before that meteorological portent, this was our visit story:

Jesus has risen near the interstate north of Cincinnati. A 62-ft. high sculpture of Christ appears to explode from the dirt behind the amphitheater at Monroe's Solid Rock Church. From the waist down, he's underground....

Enormous flea markets on both sides of highways at this exit make for large weekend traffic jams. Traders World is right next door. But Jesus faces west towards I-75 -- highly visible -- and you'd be crazy not to get off at the first off-ramp to worship and snap a photo.

The Big J. is a symbol of devotion for the congregation of 3,000 at Solid Rock, a nondenominational mega-church. Pastor Lawrence Bishop presides; his wife Darlene also founded the church and she evangelizes with her own tidy set of ministries. You can buy Darlene's new book, "Your Life Follows Your Words," or hear the Fire Choir "Worship on Fire" to get a sense of what you're missing inside.

Outside, artist James Lynch was commissioned to render a fiberglass and styrofoam over metal frame depiction of Christ after the Resurrection looming over the Baptismal Pool. The figure was completed in September 2004.

Lynch has created other larger-than-life sculpture in places such as Las Vegas (Caesar's big Neptune) and Disney World. Church leaders believe it is the World's Largest Christ (or at least the W.L. half-buried Messiah) and have submitted it for consideration for a Guinness World Record.

The pose of the statue as generated plenty of discussion. The upraised arms familiar to "praise" service attendees conjures different images for locals, who refer to the big Savior as "Touchdown Jesus," or "Drowning Jesus."

Soon after the statue's completion, tipster Lori Baker wrote us: "I found it interesting that a poll taken of locals concerning the statue of Jesus in Monroe had the following results: 25% feel that it is a 'Godsend, good for Monroe,' while 75% found that it was an 'Eyesore, bad for Monroe.'

..............I've tried to warn everyone about those Lightning Bolts,they will get you & they don't discriminate who gets 'em.................hahahahha           HF&RV

.....................................................................................................................hf&rv

This Just In------NO MONEY to be made the OIL Business.......hahahahaha

Well there you have it, no sense picking on the Oil Company's ...here is the Shell Refinnery in the East-End of Montreal ( remember when Canada had plenty of refineries ?) Well this one is now the largest in Canada ,but alas there just isn't any MONEY to be made selling refined oil,you know that stuff at the pumps for 6 bucks a gallon........and they expect us to believe this, & I suppose we should as I would doubt that Honest Respectable Oil Executives with political infleunce up the yin yang, would LIE to us would they........   Yikes ,no money in Oil ....whoda thunk it !      hahahahahaha

Shell Canada is keeping the door open for last-minute offers to buy its troubled Montreal plant, even as the deadline for its closure approaches fast, leaving hundreds of employees at the waterfront refinery in the lurch.

Shell told employees earlier this year it planned to shut down the east-end refinery on June 1 at 5 p.m. because it wasn't profitable.

On Monday, the Calgary-based petroleum company said it had recently received a purchase offer from an unnamed company, but the terms were "unacceptable, and far from our expectations," said Shell spokesman Larry Lalonde.

Two other unnamed companies are said to be interested in the refinery, but Shell wouldn't provide any details before the Tuesday deadline. A teleconference between Shell and the potential buyers, was slated for Tuesday, but the oil company said it didn't want to create false hope that a solution could be achieved.

About 300 employees at the refinery are meeting with union representatives before the Tuesday deadline arrives, hoping another offer will materialize.

Union president Jean-Claude Rocheleau said workers who gathered at a meeting Monday were nervous about what could transpire.

"It's their bread and butter," he said.

Under union pressure, a committee headed by former senator Michael Fortier contacted about 100 potential buyers for the refinery from around the world. Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay urged Shell to give potential partners the extra time needed to conclude a deal for the site in the city's east end.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest said his government took steps to help find a new buyer in order to keep the refinery in business.

About 800 people work at the 76-year-old refinery, which is the largest one operated by Shell in Canada and processes at least 130,000 barrels of crude oil every day.

Shell said it wants to transform the plant into a distribution centre

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/06/01/shell-montreal-refinery.html#ixzz0qwRle9Ky

"Practice what you Preach" --does that come to mind here.

Well here is a sign found at a BP Station.........

                       

               .......Hmmm , not  a bad idea really................................HF&RV

                             

Finally Computer ERROR messages you can Understand

 

 

 

 

              -------Have Fun and Remember Verdun-----               Cheers !!!

Avro's Maiden Flight

              The much storied Avro Arrow a Canadian built incredible plane takes to the air on it's maiden flight..............many (if not all) of the Arrow's engineers went on to be a big influence in Flight History contributing their know how to create some of the worlds most exciting & powerful aircraft..............too bad the Conservative Govt' didn't have the guts to stick with the program: HF&RV

 

  What fantastic aircraft for it's day, much of it's technology is still used today,.....although the computers are far more efficient of course...................      HF&RV

Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup Champions

Congrats to this years Stanley Cup Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks 49 years in the making........................................................Cheers !!           HF&RV

 

BP BUYS SEARCH TERM "OIL SPILL" from Google how's that folks (BP=Bye Planet)

          LONDON June 9 (Reuters) - BP Plc has bought terms such as "oil spill" from search engine providers including Google Inc to help direct Internet users to its website as it attempts to control the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

A spokesman said BP would pay fees so its own website would rank higher or even top in the list of results when Internet users search on terms such as "oil spill", "volunteer" and "claims".

BP did not say how much it was paying for the service but President Barack Obama has criticised the company for spending $50 million on TV advertising to bolster its image during the crisis.

BP said it wanted to help people who were trying to access information on the BP website to find it more readily, rather than intending to draw away hits from other sites.

"We know people are looking for those terms on our website and we're just trying to make it easier for them to get directly to those terms," the spokesman told Reuters.

The largely green and white BP.com website has a large red button at its centre highlighting the "Gulf of Mexico Response". The right hand side of the response site has a list of buttons advertising information on claims.

BP is trying to control oil spewing from a ruptured well on the seabed in the Gulf of Mexico by using a containment cap. (Reporting by Tom Bergin and Sarah Young; Editing by David Holmes)

Some Vintage ,Some Vanished

             Plenty of places in & around Montreal that most of you will remember I hope....includes shots from Fort Blunder (Montgomery) a place we went as teens to camp & have a party for the weekend ,maybe hit the Drive -in close by too..(the Saxony Lounge too of course)....anyway have a look at all the photos, you can try full screen but some of the pics may not have the pixels to be enlarged too much,but give it a try anyway,..most of the photographs I may have possted before or you may have seen before,but I thought I'd do my share to contribute to our collective memory's ..........hahahahah   HF&RV

 ps: the complete album will be in the first post.