/blogs/tmcconnell/home.aspxTom McConnell's Blogen-usCopyright 2013, CKTB-AMSun, 19 May 2013 10:04:36 GMTWed, 24 Apr 2013 13:45:18 GMT1http://emmisinteractive.comHere's the annual video from Jim Finley of Carsmaetics that shows our garbage problem. /blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10535519tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10535519Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:45:18 GMTTuesday night, I made a speech at the District School Board of Niagara. If you want to read all material from the DSBN, here it is. Tomorrow, I'll explain why I joined this fight. Here's my speech: Good evening. My name is Tom McConnell and I am a talk show host on News/Talk 610 CKTB - which has been located in downtown St. Catharines for over eighty years.  For the sake of full disclosure, I am not a parent of children at the affected schools, nor am I a resident of the catchment area. But, I do work downtown, I am a property owner in this vibrant downtown residential area and as a member of the media it is my job to keep politicians accountable for the decisions they make. First of all, the location choice is a terrible one. Two of the three schools are what you would define .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10529376tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10529376Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:54:48 GMT Ok, we are almost there for our Adopt-a-Family. Thank you so much for your generosity so far.   Here is what we still need: Five-year old boy whose favourite colour is green Needs size 5 snowpants and coat, pajamas, socks, and underwear book, legos, dinoasur toys   Fourteen-year old boy, loves blue, black, and red and wears a men's size S and 28 waist He needs socks, and a book   $75 (3x$25) in Food Vouchers from No Frills (PC) And under the miscellaneous file: shampoo/conditioner, soap, disposable cameras, chocolates, candy, cookies, and hot chocolate or holiday napkins, wrapping paper   We also accept cash donations, and our shoppers will go buy whatever is not picked up. Believe it or not, even $5 or $10 will be a huge help. To help out, just send me an email with your commitment. Drop it off Friday afternoon or Monday before 3pm. .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10472928tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10472928Sun, 02 Dec 2012 15:26:27 GMTThis is the fourth year the audience from my show has participated in Community Cares Adopt-a-Family Program.  This is a perfect program for us to do as a group because we can divide it up into many small donations.  It's certainly not a small venture either.  The guidelines given to me outline that the overall commitment for a family of six, which is what we have, is approximately $700.  But, most donations are less than $25.  So with many small acts of kindness from our crowd, we can make one family have a great Christmas. The family remains anonymous, as do we.  All articles can be dropped off at the station and then on December 3rd, I drop it off at Community Cares.  The only thing I ask is that you email or call me with your commitment, so I can keep track of all that we have and need.  .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10469428tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10469428Wed, 28 Nov 2012 23:52:47 GMTWhen Constable Geoff Purdie pled guilty last month to smuggling steroids, I thought it would be a simple procedure to end his employment as a police officer. Dave Seglins of CBC News, and who has appeared on our program, was at the disciplinary hearing on Tuesday and filed this story. Turns out, it's not so simple to end the career of a police officer. In fact, it's the law that he keeps his job! Well, only until the sentencing is complete. At which point, the Chief can move to terminate his employment, based upon on the fact that if he's in jail, he can't fulfill his duties. Here's the relevant sections from the Ontario Police Services Act: 89(1) - If a police officer, other than a chief of police or deputy chief of police, is suspected of or charged with an offence under a law of Canada or of a .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10465647tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10465647Wed, 14 Nov 2012 02:04:51 GMTRemember after the first four years of George W. Bush, the Liberals were trying to scare Canadians with how the neo-con playbook was going to be used by Stephen Harper in an attempt to win power? Well, it turns out that Canadians were turned off more by Adscam than by Rove et al. Paul Martin got dumped, and Stephen Harper and the Conservatives slowly but surely achieved a ruling majority. They did not achieve it by creating a climate of fear. They did it by expanding their base and appelaing to immigrant Canadians who they believe shared their values. Case in point, in 2011 Canada elected 29 visible minority MPs and seven Aboriginal MPs. The Conservatives had twelve of those visible minority MPS and had five out of the seven Aboriginal MPs whereas the NDP had fourteen and two, respectively. Now, the NDP had a slightly better overall ratio, but .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10462856tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10462856Thu, 08 Nov 2012 03:34:32 GMTNewton's Third Law applies not just to objects in motion, but I believe to human relationships as well. Nothing exists in a vacuum. Including your speech on the internet. I have no problem with you being a jerk. Say jerky things, for all I care. But be prepared to live with the consequences, such as people saying jerky things back, getting punched in the nose, or getting fired. Justin Hutchings went on a memorial page on Facebook that was set-up for Amanda Todd, a fifteen-year-old girl who committed suicide last week as a result of online bullying and exploitation, and wrote, "Thank God this bitch is dead." That's about as low as someone can get. But, again, if you want to say spiteful things about a recently deceased young girl, go ahead. It shows you lack both class and empathy. But, Justin thought his comment was "protected" somehow by free .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10452285tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10452285Thu, 18 Oct 2012 10:30:15 GMTThe world I think is divided into two - those who believe Felix Baumgartner freefalling from the edge of space was stupid and those who find it fascinating. I am in the latter camp. I thought it was great to watch. Really compelling for a guy just falling. I was out Sunday around noon when I heard that the attempt was on. I got home when he was 3/4 of the way up and I stayed glued to the TV for the next 45 minutes, which is really tough for me when the NFL is on. Good for Sportsnet for getting the broadcast rights in Canada. Probably because there were the delays from last week, the story had a chance to build. I read last week all about the technical details with the attempts, such as the as balloon material being thinner than a dry-cleaner bag to save on weight, .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10450207tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10450207Mon, 15 Oct 2012 01:41:39 GMTTURKEY - A turkey can be an intimidating dish to attempt for a novice cook. Not only does it look odd, but you probably have a roomful of people counting on you to deliver the goods. Undercook it, and everyone ends up with food poisoning. Overcook it, and the turkey ends up dry and stringy. So a turkey is not an easy thing to cook. But, then again, it's not hard either. I've cooked a couple dozen birds in my lifetime. They were all delicious. Not because I'm a great cook, but because I followed the instructions very closely. Numerous experts have cooked countless turkeys to a delicious conclusion. Don't think you need to re-invent the wheel here. Keep it simple. First, start the thawing process well in advance of your dinner. The rule-of-thumb is actually 5 hours per pound, so that's usaully more than two days. The best place .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10447125tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10447125Sat, 06 Oct 2012 00:56:36 GMTI commend St. Catharines City Councilor Mat Siscoe for being one of the leaders in hopes of getting the Lincoln County Humane Society to lower their "kill rate." He appeared on the show today, along with LCHS Executive Director Kevin Strooband, and both agreed that a lower kill rate would help with donations to the LCHS. Over seventy percent of cats that find themselves there are euthanized. They are not too injured or ill. There is simply not enough space and resources to keep all the cats forever. But, the problem is not the LCHS, or most pet owners. It's the irresponsible few who allow their cats to breed and then can't get rid of the kittens. Kevin said that 70% of dogs are claimed at the shelter by their owners who have reported them lost. For cats, the answer is 1%! One freaking percent of the two thousand cats .../blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10446076tmcconnell@astral.com (Tom McConnell)/blogs/tmcconnell/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10446076Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:23:51 GMT