Wednesday July 23, 2014 – 10am
Posted Jul 23, 2014 12:54:08 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
10:00- Keir Giles, Expert in Russia and international security at Chatham House, former pilot and aviation correspondent
Two military aircraft carrying the first bodies of victims of the Malaysia Airlines disaster have left eastern Ukraine today, bound for the Netherlands for positive identification. The Dutch government has declared today a day of mourning. All 298 people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed — most of them Dutch citizens — when the plane was shot down last Thursday over a rebel-controlled area of eastern Ukraine. 1 Canadian was among the victims. Meanwhile, Two Ukrainian military fighter jets have been shot down in the east, according to the country’s Defence Ministry. The Sukhoi-25 fighters were shot down 1:30 p.m. local time Wednesday over an area called Savur Mogila. The Defence Ministry says the planes may have been carrying up to two crew members each.
@KeirGiles w/ @ChathamHouse
10:30- Sidewalk controversy in Kitchener
Kitchener’s ideal of creating a city that’s walkable and welcoming to all users had a dramatic collision recently with residents who didn’t want sidewalks on their street. The result: a $1.3-million project was thrown into limbo over plans to install $36,500 worth of sidewalks. It’s the only time in at least a decade that an entire project has been put on hold over sidewalks. The City of Kitchener has had a pedestrian charter since 2005. Several key documents stress that making the city a welcome place for pedestrians and cyclists is a top priority. Because of that priority, the city requires all new streets to have sidewalks on both sides. Existing streets without sidewalks on both sides get them when the city rebuilds the street. Rebuilding Kennedy and Palmer avenues is a priority project for the city. The sewer and water mains in that area could be 80 years old; replacing them and rebuilding the street were a priority project that now can’t be tackled until at least 2015 or 2016. The Kennedy/Palmer project had been before council three times for a decision. The first time, council voted to stick with its sidewalk policy. The second time, council rejected a motion to reconsider the issue. Then on June 16, a council vote on the awarding of the tender for the entire $1.3-million project was lost on a tie vote. Ross said the vast majority – 42 of 44 – of the residents on the two streets objected to the plan to add sidewalks on both sides of the street.
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