--- On Mon, 10/17/11, Manny Jacob <railbus@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Manny Jacob <railbus@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [winnipegbusnews] Assiniboine ad, Downtown Peggy
To: winnipegbusnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Monday, October 17, 2011, 6:56 PM
Downtown Peggy is not a real person.
Will Downtown Peggy protect all the weaponless office workers from becoming
victims at the hands of downtown criminals?
Downtown Peggy knows nothing about all the panhandlers, and various scourge.
\downtown Peggy only knows about various shopping opportunities available
amongst the few retailers that remain downtown. The number of those retailers
is dropping. I was once accosted at McDonalds by a disheveled aboriginal
reeking of stale alcohol, who wanted me to give him money. I don't know what
led him to believe he'd be successful at this, and nobody in the restaurant
would give him money.
Now I haven't seen any of the really abhorrant behaviour that is quoted by
those complaining about the problems downtown. Those who think that closing all
the bars downtown will correct this are wrong. Most of the panhandlers merely
sit on a corner with their hat in front of them.
Winnipegs' problem is that they let this sort of mindset develop by not
combatting crime in the first place. I've been in many cities and rarely have I
seen so many cops just driving around, and in the downtown there isn't many of
those, either.
If there were regular street patrols by real cops this wouldn't have been
allowed to develop. Every city has the same problems, but to a much lesser
degree because the police are out doing their jobs. Here in Winnipeg various
groups seem to have decided to concentrate all the problems in a small space
(Main and Higgins, and Portage downtown) and so they are far more visible. This
ought to make them easier to control, if only the cops did their jobs. Winnipeg
isn't the only city with poverty problems.
Neglect by the city government also figures in a lot of the problems. Nowhere
have I seen necessary city government promotions taken over by a private BIZ.
Nowhere have I seen the need for so many BIZ organizations, and all here seem
to provide patrols, which are basically useless. They feel the need to provide
patrols because they recognize that the police are not doing their jobs, and
thus they are taking on activities that can be construed as acts against the
civil and constitutional rights of individuals (which are normally restricted
to the police).
Now the city has created the Cadets program to extend the very same mindset,
and the city has their very own patrols. I see them driving around downtown
too, but not stopping and not doing anything directly to reduce the incidence
of crime in the downtown.
At some point to root problem needs to be addressed, and that is that the cops
are not out there doing their jobs.
The real reason they promote downtown so much is so the Mayor can make more
money on taxes and keep his developer friends happy. The rest of us are just
pawns.
Good areas do not need this type of promotion as they draw people naturally.
The downtown thing here is a game. It's not safe.
Manny
-----Original Message-----
From: winnipegbusnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:winnipegbusnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Jim Bowman
Sent: Monday, October 17, 2011 6:29 PM
To: winnipeg bus news
Subject: [winnipegbusnews] Assiniboine ad, Downtown Peggy
The new ad I referenced recently is for Assiniboine Credit Union.
I read in one of those industry publications that sits on coffee tables in the
front offices of Nova Bus an interesting fact.......of all urban Business
Improvement Districts and their various campaigns, the one that Downtown
Winnipeg Biz runs (Downtown Peggy, that know-it-all web mistress) has won a
award for promotional campaigns. This in a magazine that could be forgiven for
not knowing where Winnipeg is, let alone first place.
