Page Nine  

20 OCTOBER 2004

Daylight breaks late these days.  The grey skies and dreariness blanket the area with raw temperatures and the sort of humidity that sends arthritic patients hobbling for the Celebrex and heating pads.  The quintessential autumn day in Rochester New York.

Doom and gloom seem to be easier to find these days with the spectre of layoffs, rising taxes, decaying social order, crumbling health care and neighbourhoods becoming part of life's daily challenges.  Fun, in all its permutations, is a passing fancy which lasts momentarily until reality washes over.  The quintessential experience of living today in the Rochester New York area.

Not all is attributable to the climate however... it's just that the greyness adds a certain blandness and is no more inspirational than a drab olive footlocker.  Small wonder why denizens of Drab Land look to other places which count sunlight by hours instead of minutes.

No... the weather is no more an indictment to the Fun Factor than a hurricane is an indicator of the joys of living in Paradise.  Both places are very much what one makes them out to be.  Walk around hating snow and cold and invariably, living in Upstate New York becomes more of a prison sentence to be coped with in the best manner possible.  Walk around shrugging off the snow and cold, and this region is no better... or worse... than any place else.  It's all what you make it.

The Rochester community has seen better days... MUCH better days.  The heyday of the 1960's were Fat 'n Happy Times.  Eastman Kodak came out with a fairly ingenious product called the Instamatic camera which sold like 10-cent beers on a hot day.  A small hometown company called Haloid was growing into a a little place called Xerox (perhaps you've heard of it) and Bausch & Lomb was cranking out Aviator sunglasses and soft contact lenses.  This locality was jumping.

Heady with success and convinced "these times, they aren't about to change", the Rochester community strutted along confidently and happily.  The numbers said it all, or so they were told, and Rochester's higher than average educational levels combined with higher than average wages pointed to Good Times and even Better Neighbourhoods.  The American Dream.  In living Kodacolor.  Tidy.  Orderly.  But most of all, predictable.  The Conservative enclave where 'alternative' meant 'nasty' and 'different' meant 'not in my neighbourhood'.  And, you know... it worked for a while.

Fast forward to the 1980's.  International competition rears its ugly head and suddenly, a new team shows up on the marketplace.  We'll call them 'Fuji', but 'Minolta', 'Konica' or 'Canon' will work the same.  And people were no longer 'Xeroxing' documents; they were 'copying' documents on a variety of machines.  And 'B&L SoftLens' were no longer the only game in town.  Worry.  Angst.

Those petulant consumers, a fickle group if ever there was one, were looking at other brand names which not only delivered the same results but were cheaper.  UH-oh.  This is not good news for the country club set who felt sitting back on their well-padded butts was the key to riches, happiness and the winter condo in Boca Raton.  Half-baked ideas like some DISC CAMERA (which produced photos reminiscent of paint-by-numbers) were shoved to the marketplace and bombed miserably.  Inflated copier machine prices - which were more interested in spreading a red 'X' around the office place than in being a value-driven quality product - were justified by an appeal to purchase The Original, The One And The Only.

The greying lifers began to look at the alternatives; harder work to reach the Golden Retirement Ring - or - an early retirement supplemented with a cake job until full retirement was possible.  Unaccustomed to cut-throat competition, the early retirement held a lot of appeal and local companies jumped at the chance to ditch these oldies in favour of young blood who'd work harder at half the wage.  Economics, doncha know?

The retirees stuck around, the youth looked south to a milder climate with lower costs of living and the presence of adjectives such as 'new', 'different', 'innovative', 'progressive' and 'competitive'.  The Research Triangle in North Carolina, the Atlanta megaplex, and the Sunshine State appealed to younger workers who wanted to skip the 30-years of drudgery and get right to the retirement perks while still gainfully employed.  The exodus of U-Haul's was non-stop and the Upstate New York region began to slump.  Buffalo got hit first, followed by Syracuse and finally, the Grand Dame called The Flower City of Rochester.

Fast forward to 2000.  By now, Rochester was waking up and seeing a ton of For Sale and For Rent signs everywhere.  Houses, retail and commercial space, restaurants, auto dealerships, entire manufacturing facilities... everywhere one looked, the dirty windows fronted a vacant space.  "Hey, we need to do something... quick".

Theory takes precedence over reality and in a move more a case of justifying the means, the local leaders figure dumping millions upon millions of dollars into 'attractions' will most certainly do some attracting of tourists.  A tired and decaying warehouse district along the Genesee River in downtown becomes gentrified as a historic 'entertainment district' of fairly useless shops, overtly pretentious restaurants and bars and a dark, dingy stone canyon one might find in a certifiable Skid Row area.  But it had nifty street lights.  Isn't THAT special?  Unfortunately, no business has been able to attract enough patrons to even come close to being declared a modest success.

'Borrowing' liberally from the downtown ball park of Buffalo, city leaders think "Shazzam.  We need one of those" and the over-budget and under-attended Frontier Field is slapped up with all the charm of a Disneyworld Main Street.  Plastic, concocted and fully exposed to the elements, Frontier Field has yet to turn a profit since the day it opened in 1996 to the  tune of $35.3 million.  Sitting empty for more than half of each year (strange... nobody seems interested in sitting in 20°F weather in the middle of January - go figure) the White Elephant shows no prospect of ever turning a profit... despite a last stab attempt to stretch the season with a haunted house extravaganza in October.

Convinced that professional soccer is infinitely more important than public education, a dedicated undomed stadium is about to be built within sight of the undomed Frontier Field which was deemed not adequate for playing a game of soccer.  Another $30+ million sports venue which will also sit unused for more than half of each year generating zero income.

Attractions which don't have any signs of actually attracting are considered 'good for business' in the Rochester area.  The Good 'Ol Boy network stuff their pockets with taxpayer money from the construction contracts which were never voted on by the taxpayer.  Furiously nodding their heads, community leaders ask the residents, "You want this ____, don't you?  You need this ____, don't you?" and the slack-jawed yokels nod in unison as has always been the case.  Then when the projects go bust, the locals scream at the politicians they voted into office in the first place.  It's a great case of circular logic.

Along comes the Golden Goose called the Rochester-Toronto Fast Ferry which leaders are convinced will have the area swamped by Canadians willing to shell out cash for the extreme pleasure of patronizing perfectly ordinary 'attractions'.

The heydays of Rochester have long since faded into the local history books, yet locals are still desperately clutching to The Good Old Days with a death grip.  Change, for all its benefit and uncertainty, is resisted tooth and nail and the local voter - terrified of trying anything 'new' or 'different' - just keeps on shoving the same 'politics as usual' into office while whining pathetically about initiatives which bomb before they've even opened.  A downtown rally of ten anarchists is Big News filmed more for comic relief than any serious consideration.  The Green Party is a laughing stock, and alternative political views are duly ignored so as to not ruffle the sensibilities of Our Way Of Life.

And the point to this latest petulant tirade?

Keep voting as you've always done, Rochester and Monroe County.  You're SURE to keep 'business as usual' that way. 

Just the way you want it.  Enjoy your lassitude.

Wednesday   October 20, 2004

Ferry remains in custody at port. CATS Takes Over For US Marshals by Jim Aroune and Lisa Carino File photo Published Oct 19, 2004 U.S. Marshals are no longer guarding the Spirit of Ontario. A judge has relieved the federal government of its watch over the ferry and turned it over to CATS, the ferry’s operator. Amerada Hess, the company that provides fuel for the ferry, took CATS to court last month over past due fuel bills. A judge ordered the vessel seized while the payment to Amerada Hess was being worked out. This latest decision is an effort to hold costs down while the ferry remains in custody. The decision to remove marshalls comes on the heels of a business plan announced on Monday. The judge called it a money saving ruling made possible by CATS efforts to restart the ferry service suspended in early September. CATS President Cornel Martin says the plan focuses on trucking, advertising, and on board revenue. (ed.  Uh-huh.  A $40 million high-speed truck barge.  Just what the developers had in mind, no doubt.  'On board revenue'?  Like expensive drinks, t-shirts and souvenirs?  Sounds like a real plan there.) CATS also plans to create an advisory board made up of partners and government entities. This seven member board of directors will include three or four members chosen by investors. Martin did not give details about investors or how much money they plan to put into the business. It is hoped the plan will help the ferry return to service and provide for payment of back debt to creditors, like Amerada Hess. CATS has still not projected a date for the restart of ferry service.

Does it matter?  At this point, I'm not sure too many people care.  Those that are seriously intent on traveling to Toronto seem to still be able to make the drive up.  Those that need to rely on the Ferry aren't all that interested in a trip to see Toronto when a slick boat ride is the only thing keeping them from visiting a REAL city.  Not sure, but I think that's called  L A Z Y .

And 'all' the Torontonians left bereft from a high-speed link to Rochester must be pining their hearts out.  The daily few dozen or so who aren't able to hop a ferry to Rochester have to be anxiously worried that they'd actually be saving both time and money by driving.  An additional worry, no doubt the Toronto economy will suffer by the lack of Rochester visitors in the middle of the week.

What's that?  Toronto's economy is roaring along without a daily influx of Rochesterians?  Gee, who could have possibly imagined that??  That might tend to indicate Rochester 'needs' the service more than Toronto does and would explain the greater urgency on the south shore to get the boat moving again.  Right now, Toronto's greatest concern is to decide how to sink the Toronto Port Authority for getting involved with the fiasco in the first place.  "The ferry's dead?  Geewhattashame, now how're we gonna torpedo the TPA?  No fast route to Rochester?  Who cares?"

Which, of course, is a real blow to the Rochester ego.

The dreariness of the season becomes even more so.  These are not the cheeriest of times in Rochester.

A cold rain is still falling.  It's gonna be a long winter.

21 OCTOBER 2004

Thursday, October 21, 2004
Home > News > Local News	Rochester Time: 5:56 pm

News beat   (October 21, 2004) — Ferry ready to refund fares Would-be passengers who had hoped to hop a ride on the high-speed ferry across Lake Ontario to Toronto will be getting refunds, ferry operator Canadian American Transportation Systems announced Wednesday. CATS halted operations on Sept. 8, citing mounting expenses and debt. "CATS will begin processing refunds for passengers booked on cancelled trips scheduled for departure beginning Sept. 8," said a release. Sysco Food Services of Syracuse filed suit Tuesday in Supreme Court, saying CATS has failed to pay for "certain goods, wares and merchandise." Sysco is owed $24,910 and wants CATS to pay an additional $6,227 for attorneys' fees, according to the suit. The lawsuit is the third filed against the ferry company since it suspended operations.

CATS can't even pay for the coffee they sold its passengers??

Is there any wonder why people are asking if CATS even knew what a 'business plan' was... prior to ramming through some hackneyed and supremely amateurish undertaking?

What IS this???  Can't pay for the fuel bills, can't pay for the customs fees, can't pay for the pilotage fees, can't pay for the terminals, can't pay for the lease agreements, can't pay for refunds until more than six weeks after the service shuts down... now CATS can't even pay the concessionaire's bill.

Oh YEAH.  This sure looks like a real winner of an idea, yet legions of Ferry Fans STILL insist the Ferry can work.  I'm sure no economist, but this project has failed to demonstrate even the slightest hint of being successful to me.

Presently, at 6:15pm EDT on Thursday October 21 2004, the ambient air temperature is 48°F (feels like 44°F), winds are SSW at 10 mph, it's raining and the mean lake surface temperature is 48°F.  Humidity is 100%.  This is October and November gets even rawer.  After that and until early April, the Great Lakes environment contains some of the grimmest navigable waters in the world.

Sounds like fun?  Feel like a cruise on the Lake?  No?  Well, how about if it's in a climate-controlled environment?  Still sounds sort of grey, wet and outdoorsy?  Let's not forget there's a nice unsheltered terminal at the Toronto terminus for you walk-on passengers; you drivers will pay dearly for the privilege of having wheels at your disposal upon arriving at the Cherry Street pier.

Toronto's going to build a slick terminal?  Great.  What about between now and then?  Like today for example?  How many passengers would still be rushing to buy tickets today if the service were up and running?

CATS has backed itself into the proverbial corner; it's losing tens of thousands of dollars each day by the Ferry sitting still, yet it's almost foolhardy to even think about restarting service until the Toronto terminal is completed and the weather becomes more conducive to an expensive lark on the Lake.  If it waits much longer, the mounting debt will be so onerous it'll take several round trips per day with maximum capacity for several weeks in order to bring the balance sheet above the red ink.  That's never going to happen.

Commercial traffic will save the day?  Not likely.  Where's the benefit?  The savings in truck fuel are offset by the truck fares on the ferry and certainly no time savings are realised.  Truck traffic in Charlotte/Port of Rochester?

Lake Avenue doesn't make much of an 18-wheeler truck route through residential areas.  The Lake Ontario State Parkway empties out at Lake Avenue... very close to the Ferry terminal, but there's no commercial traffic allowed on the Parkway which severs the connection to the interstate systems.  The Cherry Street extension is exceptionally wide and provides easy truck access to the Gardiner and the DVP.  The Toronto dockland is very much a commercial truck terminal; Charlotte is a nice place to grab an ice cream cone and listen to marching bands.

Anybody bother asking the residents of Charlotte if they minded commercial truck traffic rumbling through their neighbourhood?  What about the Paramount Concern of  home owners - Property Values?  Would YOU want a steady stream of 18-wheelers pounding past YOUR home and kids' school?

How presumptuous of me: this is the States where the good of the few takes precedence over the good of the many.

That's a major philosophical shift from Canada.  Thank God I'm Canadian.  

22 OCTOBER 2004

Hey -- speaking of the Good Guys....

October 22, 2004 10:22 PM
Poll Results What do you think are the odds that the fast ferry will soon resume service between Rochester, NY and Toronto? ·Good, it seems they now have a plan.: 8.6% ·Fair, there's been other plans before.: 8.9% ·Not good, the project seems doomed from the start.: 24.0% ·I really don't care anymore.: 37.2% ·I'll believe it when I see it.: 21.3% For entertainment purposes only. Not a scientific poll.		Canadian Customs Fees May Still Stall Ferry  Mike Doria (Rochester, NY) 10/11/04 -- If restarting the fast ferry service hinges upon an agreement with the Canadian government over customs fees, then it may be weeks before the ship moves again. On Monday, a Canadian cabinet minister visiting Rochester said right now the issue is dead. This pronouncement comes as Australian lenders calling the shots on restarting service are expected to make a decision this week. Those lenders have said customs fees must be resolved. With service suspended and the ship standing still, Canadian cabinet minister Joe Volpe said it's hard to make a case to his government on behalf of CATS. "What kind of customs fees do you waive--if there's no body using customs," he said.  (ed. Ouch; Unfair use of Solid Logic.) Furthermore, he says, CATS built much of the $2,500 a day fee into its original budget and business plan, the remainder owed he says--works out to about $300 a day. "It seemed a little difficult for me to accept that there was a multimillion dollar investment hinged upon a couple hundred dollars worth of," Volpe said.  (ed. My kinda guy, Joe..  Oh, and Mike... not ending a sentence with a preposition was taught in English Comp 1.  Plus it doesn't make a lot of sense or. ) CATS president Cornel Martin said, "either they want to cooperate and assist us with getting the ship up and or they don't."  (ed. Shades of George W.  Frankly Cornel, a phrase comes to mind: 'Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part'.) CATS would not say what fee would be reasonable to restart service, but it's well below $2,500 a day. Martin says he and lenders were assured the customs fees would be resolved right after Canadian elections, which have passed. "We did not have it in our budget long term…we addressed it temporarily," he said. The Canadian government is a little miffed it was never formally notified of service suspension, but says it will work out a customs agreement. "We're trying to do everything we can to make sure that the government of Canada isn't an obstacle," Volpe said. He also said making a case the treasury would be easier if the ferry was running. Australian lenders could allow service to restart without the customs fees issue resolved, but CATS officials said they're not sure that would happen. They say lenders would probably want an interim fee agreement in place. CATS has scheduled a meeting with Australian lenders for Tuesday night.

Good Lord.  Somebody yank the Yellow Journalism Chain.

It's one thing for some for some sarcastic Native Canadian to bash willy-nilly on a personal website; it's quite another for a 'professional journalist' to slip in thinly veiled attitude on a corporate medium.

"The Canadian government is a little miffed"??  Gee Mike, you get Premier Dalton McGuinty to admit that or was that the pronouncement of Prime Minister Paul Martin?

Pretentious little twit.  Lemme know when you've figured out the difference between a Republic and a Constitutional Monarchy, OK?  Then we'll talk.

(Cue the Poll Analysis...)

Let's take a look at the 'Entertainment Purposes Only Poll', shall we?

17.5%  of the respondents answered: 'Good, it seems they now have a plan' - or - 'Fair, there's been other plans before.'  82.5%  replied: 'Not good, the project seems doomed from the start' - or - 'I really don't care anymore' - or - 'I'll believe it when I see it'.

High praise indeed.  Of course, something called the 'statistical sample' (ie. number of respondents) might make this data marginally worth something.  We MAY assume, due to the lack of whole numbers, there were more than 100 respondents to the poll.  Still, with the overwhelming support of Rochester area residents as demonstrated by this poll, is there any question of the certain success of the Fast Ferry?

This really begs the questions: What's it going to take to end this farce?  When will CATS throw in the towel and admit it's over?  How much longer are Ferry supporters going to pretend this pig could really fly?

It's a REAL bummer that it's  W A Y  past time to exit this debacle with any modicum of grace or dignity, but those are the breaks of a tragically stupid corporate screwup.

Let's pretend for a moment that CATS actually has the guts to follow through with restarting the service at a completed undeterminable date.  Then what?  Does CATS actually imagine switchboards suddenly springing to life with wistful passengers anxious to gamble that their reservations and/or tickets will be worth anything a week later?

Probably.  The way THIS thing's playing out, anything's possible... except for the long-term viability of a dedicated Rochester-Toronto ferry service.

Ever the optimist, perhaps the Fast Ferry Fiasco will make some fine fodder for a Forbes article.  (Holy Alliteration!)  Just imagine the glowing publicity the Rochester area will receive when the post-mortem of the Ferry is written; I'd say Eastman Kodak's layoff of thousands of workers combined with a scathing review of misuse of public funds for a hackneyed private corporation's bungled attempt at The Big Time should make for some entertaining reading.

The vultures are circling in greater numbers by each passing day.

24 OCTOBER 2004

Days gone by... what a difference five months can make, eh?  From June 14, 2004:

Home > News > Special Projects > Fast Ferry > Special Section

Delightful.  Torontonians are supposed to hop a ferry to catch the same sunset from the south shore as opposed to the north shore.  Canadians are invited to take a cab from Charlotte to an aging - and by today's standards, miniscule - amusement park... which is open for some 14 weeks out of 52. 

And now that the service is all but defunct, what about the local startup businesses which are (were?) heavily dependent on a large vessel disgorging hundreds of passengers per day?  Will the City of Rochester, supremely confident the thing can still work, move forward with the proposed ramp garage next to the ferry terminal?  Why not?

Locals may whine about the amount of public funds which have just been flushed down the crapper, but what about those businesses which will also go under due the the ferry's demise?  Jobs evaporated and personal investments in everything from sandwich franchises to souvenir shops also have been trashed.  The extent and magnitude of this sorry case may never be fully accounted for, as businesses such as the Bass Pro Shop at the Waterloo Outlet Mall and realty concerns all had designs on luring the Canadian dollar.

Towns along the Erie Canal even bought into the project with high hopes that Canadians would flock to see ersatz and pretentious CanalTown architectural motifs.  In the Rochester area, slapping a polyethylene architectural  tschotchke from the Home Depot serves as Close Enough To The Real Thing (and it doesn't even need painting - a real bonus) for maintaining heritage integrity.  I mean, why resort to that expensive custom millwork when the plastic shutters look the same from the street?  Authenticity is highly overrated anyhow...

Want an example of a town which draws the crowds minus the horrendous 'imitations'?  Cazenovia, New York makes Pittsford look like some concocted movie set.  East Aurora New York makes Fairport look like an idealized town on a Disney lot.    Tourists are drawn by the authentic character of  a community which takes decades to cultivate and preserve... not by some local planning board's view of The Way Things Ought To Look.  A town's character and heritage comes from its flaws and idiosyncrasies, not its sterile perfection and bland repetition.

'New', by no means, is any guarantee of 'improved'.  Rochester area planners and leaders can't seem to grasp that concept.

Since this past June, public sentiment surrounding the Fast Ferry has dropped from a giddy high to a sardonic low and locals are finally waking up to the fact that self-professed 'experts' might actually be clueless despite reassurances to the contrary. 

Then, of course, there's the distinct possibility that Torontonians were never all that interested in Rochester in the first place.  That's tantamount to blasphemy, but it's a point I'll stand by nonetheless.

A parting thought: Did I miss something or was the highly anticipated visit from EFIC deftly overlooked by the media and/or CATS?  What was the outcome and what are the contingencies which must be met to access the escrow account?

The mischief continues....

25 OCTOBER 2004

Tuesday   October 26, 2004

Lenders going over new business plan Schumer: Progress on Fast Ferry by Rocco Vertuccio photo by Chris Coffey Published Oct 25, 2004 Rochester's Fast Ferry has been out of service now for almost two months, still no word on when service will restart. Ferry operators have found new investors, both locally and from outside the area. They have also put together a new business plan, that plan includes a new ownership and management structure, a new board of directors, and an advisory board of government officials. The new business plan is now in the hands of lenders. Lenders in Australia and the Netherlands are still looking over the plan. There is no word yet on what they think of the plan. CATS, the company that owns and operates the ferry is still waiting for a response. At a campaign stop at the ferry terminal Monday afternoon, Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer says he has spoken with the lenders almost everyday. He says, progress is being made, but the public needs to be patient. "We could get this done before 2005. That will depend on how quickly the negotiations go. There needs to be refinancing, there needs to be new money put in because of the mishaps that occurred earlier. There are people who want to put the money in," says Schumer. CATS President Cornel Martin was out of town Monday, he could not be reached for comment. Earlier he said the negotiations over the new business plan could take about two weeks. The Spirit of Ontario

Hmm.

Let's see.  Here we have a U.S. Senator popping into town to rally support for his re-election bid who reassures the locals that  ' WE could get this done before 2005 ' and then proceeds to repeat the Ferry situation as it's been told to him.

Like he's been intimately involved with the fiasco from its inception, right?  Like he really gives a damn whether the thing floats or sinks, just as long as he mouths the thing the hicks and hayseeds want to hear... with the Ferry strategically placed behind him in the media spotlight.

'...the public needs to be patient..'??  Lissen up, Chuck.  Just who in hell do you think you're preaching to?  You forget who your bosses are?  You, my hair-slicked friend, work for US and you will NOT talk down to US in any way shape or form or you can be called upon the carpet as quickly as the mailroom goof-off.

You do as WE tell you... not the other way around, as is so often the case for politicians in the States.  Personally, I'd like to enter your little insubordination in your permanent record if for no other reason to remind you of your position.  You do NOT preach to the bishops... the bishops preach to YOU.  Get it??  Got it??  Good.

And as for helping, I think the State has helped CATS enough.  So has the city of Rochester.  Guess what, Chuck?  That means the People of New York State and the People of the city of Rochester have helped CATS out enough.  It's up to CATS to sort this mess out... unless it becomes a publicly-owned service, the taxpayers have no business or obligation to bail out a privately-owned venture.  They screwed up?  Too bad; the loan payment is still due.  If they can't pay, take 'em to court.  If I come up with some harebrained business plan, will NYS rush in to bail me out?  Why not?

Like the youths who spend all their allowance foolishly then whine for more, the Rochester area needs to learn a solid lesson in money management.  Want a downtown bus terminal-performing arts centre, nattily named 'Renaissance Square'?  Sorry kids; you already spent the cash on an idiotic ferry service.  I suspect Governor George Pataki has taken that stance by vetoing $18 million which was requested for the bus terminal-performing arts centre. ("Oh yeah?  Well... we'll go ahead and build it anyway even though (a) we don't have the money and (b) we're not sure where the money will come from to finish it.")

Makes sense in a Rochester-sort of way.  That's how the ferry was able to get as far as it has despite all the obvious signs of failure from the get-go.  Starting to get an idea of the absurdity of local 'leadership'?  Is the numb-from-the-neck-up nature of local voters becoming clearer?  They keep voting these so-called 'leaders' into office, then kvetch and whine about the predictable initiatives of the people they chose themselves.  Idiots.

Local politics need a good sweeping.  First, get rid of the Republicans and Democrats... then rebuild with progressive and innovative elected officials who'll more accurately reflect the will of the People - not self-serving private agendas.  Green Party?  Absolutely.  Socialist Workers?  Why not?  If nothing else, at least these parties wouldn't be as quick to build $30 million undomed sports meccas and fund doomed and redundant ferry services.  Perhaps some community leaders which are a tad more skeptical would  be in everybody's best interests.

From the Rochester alternative weekly, City Newspaper:

Home » News & Views » Columns SEPTEMBER 22, 2004 Restoring The Spirit   BY MARY ANNA TOWLER   We may learn, soon, whether The Spirit of Ontario will be back in operation, and if so, whether it'll be in service this fall. Critics and the media are still speculating on the causes of the ferry fiasco --- and, despite its terrific start-up bookings, on whether Spirit is viable. Sellouts in August aren't a predictor of passenger load for February, and some of the early traffic may have been due to deep mid-week discounts. Still, this thing is brand new. Start-up problems were heavily publicized. Our neighbors across the border seemed to be sneering at us, and at the ferry's owner, Canadian American Transportation Systems. But many Canadians quickly became enthusiastic ferry fans. And on this side, I have friends who tried to book passage to Toronto to see the Yankees game --- a week in advance --- and the ship was already sold out. That's impressive this early in Spirit's life. So is the public support that followed CATS' shutdown announcement. As Chad Oliveiri's extensive coverage in City last week showed, the circumstances that resulted in the shutdown are complicated. Maybe somebody knows for a certainty where to place the blame (CATS? Customs? The Toronto Port Authority?), but I don't. The shutdown inflicted great damage on Spirit. It won't be easy to overcome, but it can be done. That will require strong marketing, to be sure. But it'll require more than that. It will require restoration of public trust --- including the trust of elected officials. Hanging over Spirit right now are not only the questions of whether service can be restored and whether the ferry is viable in the winter, but also whether the CATS management is capable management. It may be that the only way to answer that third question is to see how things are handled once Spirit resumes operation. But there's also the very serious concern of financing. First, of course, there's the problem of getting money released from a CATS lender. That escrow account isn't bottomless. If CATS starts drawing it down now, will there be enough left to help CATS through the winter? Just as important is the issue of CATS' own investment. The owners have said that they have invested millions of their own money in Spirit. But they have refused to show public officials their financial records. The owners insist that they're not required to, because they're a private business. They may be able to make that case, legally, for the moment. But the public --- city government, state government --- has invested money, too. Lots of money. CATS has an ethical responsibility to open its books. Frankly, city and state officials should have insisted on seeing those records before they committed one dime of taxpayers' money. Those officials went out on a limb for CATS. Mayor Bill Johnson and Deputy Mayor Jeff Carlson in particular fought an exhausting battle to get state funding, while then-County Executive Jack Doyle sat on his hands and Doyle henchman Bill Nojay fought the ferry, tooth and nail. Significantly, Nojay contended at the time that CATS' financial plan wasn't solid. It's hard to see how CATS' principals can regain public confidence unless they prove to officials that they have the funds for long-term service, are investing adequate funds of their own, and have been honest about their financing in the past. Through this dramatic start-up, the ferry's name --- the formal one, not the breezy nickname --- has developed substantial significance. The ferry had inspired hope and joyous, almost childlike, public enthusiasm in a region plagued with a poor economy. The ferry seemed to be a can-do venture in a community littered with unrealized plans for big projects. It focused Upstate New Yorkers' attention on a natural resource on which they had previously turned their back. It had begun to reach across our Great Lake and create a community out of two important, diverse regions. In the days since Spirit was idled, public officials on both sides of the lake have expressed support for it. So have Rochester business leaders. Spirit's future now rests with CATS' lenders. And their commitment apparently hinges on their confidence that Spirit's obstacles --- the Toronto terminal, trucking, the pilots' fees --- will be solved. But even if the lenders release the funds, CATS will have to regain trust. And only CATS' principals can do that. In the past, those principals have been secretive. That has hurt the ferry, and it has to stop. Right now. There's too much riding on Spirit for them to let us down, and I don't mean the financial success of CATS and its principals

First, a mea culpa for not having included City Newspaper sooner.  It's a relatively fresh and innovative perspective which bucks the status quo and gives a faint ray of hope and voice of reason for the Rochester area.

Having said that, the above commentary is about as spicy as white bread and water.  Much to my dismay, Mary Anna Towler is reflecting an altogether too common affliction of the Rochester community called Provincialism.  My advice to Mary Anna?

Get the hell out of town.  Venture forth, my dear.  It's a big world out there and regardless of how busy you are, you still can't see the forest because of the trees.  Step back.  Spend at least one weekend a month at least one hundred miles away from this area.  Every month.  Visit places and communities you've never seen before and gain a fresh view of the community you call home.  I do.  That's how I'm able to see this Banana Republic called Rochester in all its ludicrous colours.

"The ferry had inspired hope and joyous, almost childlike, public enthusiasm in a region plagued with a poor economy."

Well, not exactly.  It's a fine line between 'public enthusiasm' and 'public naiveté'.  'Childlike' is right on the money, but I'm not sure I'd trust children to properly manage amounts in the $40 million range.  Just as a suggestion, might part of the reason for this 'poor economy'  be due to this 'almost childlike' behaviour which isn't realistic or pragmatic in the least?

Just a thought. 

You want Liberal and Progressive?  I'LL show you Liberal and Progressive; try sprinkling copies of Toronto's Now alternative weekly around the area and watch the support-hose curl.  And fer cryin' out loud, cranking up the journalistic passion a few notches isn't going to frighten away Merle and Betty.

They don't read City Newspaper anyway.  It's... it's.. well... it's an alternative paper and you know how much 'alternative' scares away Joe and Mary Suburbanite.  Remember the local credo:  Different Is Bad; Change Is Feared.

Parting jab from the Pudgy Politician Files:

Good Grief, you local community leaders!  You people ever meet a Ding-Dong you didn't welcome with an open mouth?  You guys own stock in Krispy Kreme yet?  Do you believe the RDA for Twinkies is somewhere in the 4 to 5 dozen range?

Obesity is no longer a sign of wealth; I thought we laid that archaic belief to rest a few decades ago.  You people DO realise your double- and triple-chins are being viewed across the Lake, don't you?  You'll forgive Canadians for giggling at the wobbling fat under your chin as you talk... some of you community leaders are are dead ringers for the Pillsbury Dough Boy.... only not as firm.  Men and women alike. 

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks' turkey wobble and basset-hound jowls are visual testaments to  the ravages of gravy and gravity.  Assemblywoman Susan Johns has morphed from pleasantly healthy to ponderously porky.  Monroe County Republican Chairman Steve Minarik's double-chin is the size of a saddle of sirloin.  Congressman Tom Reynolds must need industrial rivets for shirt buttons.  CATS President Cornel Martin might want to cut his daily jambalaya intake by a few platters or so.  None of these people are all that old.

Fat is NOT where it's At.  Thin is In.  Nobody's demanding buff hardbodies, but when chins and necks disappear under inches of blubber, it might be time to ditch the donut 'n danish routine.

"Just Say Salad."