News
Red Deer’s Recommended 2017 Capital Budget Released
By Sheldon Spackman
“Planning for Sustainability, People and Infrastructure”. That’s the theme of the 2017 Capital Budget and Ten Year Capital Plan for the City of Red Deer. The recommended budget and correlating plan were released on Wednesday, with City Council to review it in detail starting November 22nd.
Council will consider a proposed Capital Budget of nearly $107 million dollars for 2017, with the focus over the next few years being on preparing for the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. Proposed major Capital projects for 2017 include water utility infrastructure replacement and rehabilitation and future growth planning of the North Red Deer Regional Water Services Commission Supply Line project, totaling nearly $15 million dollars. Roadway reconstruction, pavement rehabilitation, crown paving and future growth planning for Ross Street expansion from 20th avenue to 10th avenue, totaling nearly $15 million is also being considered, as are improvements to the Taylor Drive intersection. Some fleet replacement for Red Deer Transit to the tune of $3.4 million dollars is also being proposed.
Other proposed Capital projects for 2017 include the Riverwalk Phase 2 and Plaza for over $2 million dollars. It’s planning and visioning stage is nearing completion, so the project will now focus on marketing, land sales, economic development, construction of amenities and further site development. A new playground is also being proposed for Mattie McCullough elementary school next year. It’s a $500,000 price tag and would be funded by the Rotary Club.
Last year, Council approved in principal the 2017-2025 Capital Plan that projected an over $128 million dollar budget for 2017 but some projects have now been moved out of the Ten Year Capital Plan to realign with the current economic conditions in Red Deer. Those projects moved to the 11-20 year Capital Plan include more dry space for the Collicut Centre, (with that need to be partially accommodated by the field house in the new St. Joseph’s High School), a Performing Arts Centre and Concert Hall, another Collicut Centre, (with that need to be addressed by the new North Red Deer Community Centre which will see construction start next spring) and a new larger outdoor concert site. These moves bring the proposed 2017 Capital Budget down to the current $107 million dollar budget. City officials say this will still maintain the amenities and infrastructure Red Deer has in place, while dealing with reduced growth and development in the economy.
Red Deer’s Capital plan for 2018-2026 currently totals $1.27 billion dollars, with transportation and the 2019 Canada Winter Games being key drivers of that document. However, projects in that plan mean city council is simply considering it, planning for it and considering financing options for it.
Longer-term capital projects include trail upgrades to River Bend Recreation Area, the site of Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon events for the 2019 games, enhancements to Great Chief Park which will house a future long-track speed skating oval and turf on the new football field. Renovations to Canyon Ski Resort, the home of free-style skiing and snowboarding events for the 2019 games. Also the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre already under construction at RDC. Other highlights include a new Multi-Use Aquatic Centre which could see design begin in 2019 and construction start in 2021 and expansion of the ice surface at the GH Dawe Centre with a twin rink to be added and an outdoor spray park at the facility as well. Construction for those proposed projects would start in 2024.
Members of the public can now review the proposed 2017 Capital Budget and provide feedback to council before they consider it. The feedback submission deadline is November 16th. Check it out at:
http://reddeer.ca/city-government/budget-and-annual-financial-reports/
(Photo courtesy of the City of Red Deer)
Media
Top Five Huge Stories the Media Buried This Week

NEERA TANDEN: “The military requires accountability. It’s the most accountable organization. You are supposed to be accountable to higher-ups. Politics isn’t supposed to have to do with any of this, and the fact that that’s happening, that they’re just basically saying nothing to do here, is a big problem, I think, for those who believe in accountability.”
@ScottJenningsKY: “I think Republicans aren’t interested in any lectures on accountability in the military after the Biden administration. I mean, the bar for getting rid of a Secretary of Defense is apparently pretty high. You can get 13 people killed and go AWOL and not tell the commander in chief, and that’s not a fireable offense.”
“But these lectures about accountability and national security after letting 10 million people into the country who raped and murdered and committed violent acts and no remorse or accountability.”
NEERA TANDEN: “What are you talking about? They closed the border.”
#4 – Bill Gates says we won’t need humans “for most things.”
During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon asked Gates a pretty direct question: “Will we still need humans?”
Gates responded, “Not for most things. We’ll decide … There will be some things that we reserve for ourselves, but in terms of making things and moving things and growing food, over time those will be basically solved problems.”
VIDEO: @TheChiefNerd
REP JORDAN: “Is NPR biased?”
MAHER: “I have never seen any political bias.”
JORDAN: “In the DC area, editorial positions at NPR have 87 registered Democrats and 0 Republicans.”
MAHER: “We do not track the voter registration, but I find that concerning.”
JORDAN: “87-0 and you’re not biased?”
MAHER: “I think that is concerning if those numbers are accurate.”
JORDAN: “October 2020, the NYPost had the Hunter Biden laptop story, and one of those 87 Democrat editors said, ‘We don’t want to waste our readers and listeners’ time on stories that are just pure distractions.’ Was that story a pure distraction?”
Video + Transcript via @Kanekoathegreat
While you’re here, don’t forget to subscribe to this page for more weekly news roundups.
#2 – Utah becomes the first state to officially BAN fluoride in all public drinking water.
For decades, fluoride was accepted as a safe way to prevent tooth decay. Few questioned it.
But last year, in a dramatic legal twist, a federal judge ruled that fluoride may actually lower children’s IQ—and cited evidence that could upend everything we thought we knew.
That ruling sent shockwaves through the public health world.
Judge Edward Chen pointed to scientific studies showing a “high level of certainty” that fluoride exposure “poses a risk” to developing brains.
He ordered the EPA to reexamine its safety standards, warning that the margin for safety may be far too narrow.
At the center of the case: dozens of peer-reviewed studies linking everyday fluoride exposure—even at levels found in U.S. tap water—to reduced intellectual capacity in children.
It wasn’t just one paper. The National Toxicology Program, a branch of the U.S. government, also concluded that higher fluoride levels were “consistently associated” with lower IQ in kids.
They flagged 1.5 mg/L as a risk threshold. Some communities hover right near it.
In response to the growing evidence, Utah passed HB 81, banning all fluoride additives in public water.
The law takes effect May 7. It doesn’t ban fluoride completely. Anyone who wants it can still get it—like any other prescription.
And that’s the point: Utah’s lawmakers say this is about informed consent and personal choice.
This issue is no longer on the fringe. Across the country, cities and towns are quietly rethinking water fluoridation—and some have already pulled out. Utah is the first state to take bold action. It may not be the last.
The conversation surrounding fluoride has shifted from “Is it helpful?” to “Is it safe?” And for the first time in nearly a century, that question is being taken seriously.
VIDEO: @TheChiefNerd
#1 – RFK Jr. Drops Stunning Vaccine Announcement
Kennedy revealed that the CDC is creating a new sub-agency focused entirely on vaccine injuries—a long-overdue shift for patients who’ve spent years searching for answers without any support from the government.
“We’re incorporating an agency within CDC that is going to specialize in vaccine injuries,” Kennedy announced.
“These are priorities for the American people. More and more people are suffering from these injuries, and we are committed to having gold-standard science make sure that we can figure out what the treatments are and that we can deliver the best treatments possible to the American people.”
For years, the vaccine-injured have felt ignored or dismissed, as public health agencies refused to even acknowledge the problem. Now, there’s finally an initiative underway to investigate their injuries and to provide support.
Thanks for reading! This weekly roundup takes time and care to put together—and I do my best to make it your go-to source for the stories that matter most but rarely get the attention they deserve.
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International
‘Lot Of Nonsense’: Kari Lake Announces Voice Of America Is Dumping Legacy Outlets

From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Hailey Gomez
Special Adviser for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Kari Lake announced Friday that Voice of America (VOA) will terminate its contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.
VOA, an international broadcasting state media network, is funded by USAGM, with former President Joe Biden requesting in March 2024 a budget increase for the 2025 fiscal year to further support the radio network. In an X post on Friday, Lake announced USAGM will end its “expensive and unnecessary newswire contracts,” adding that some of the major agreements included “tens-of-millions of dollars in contracts” with AP News, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
“USAGM is an American taxpayer funded News Organization with an 83-year history. We should not be paying outside news companies to tell us what the news is—with nearly a billion-dollar budget, we should be producing news ourselves,” Lake wrote. “And if that’s not possible, the American taxpayer should demand to know why.”
During a meeting with VOA staffers Friday, employees were reportedly told to “stop using wire service material for their reports,” according to Newsmax. Notably, audio, video, and text reports have often been used to supplement coverage from locations where reporters are not present, the outlet reported.
In an interview with Newsmax prior to the official contract cuts, Lake discussed how the agency was finding “a lot of nonsense that the American taxpayer shouldn’t be paying for.”
“Today, I started the process of terminating the agency’s contracts with the Associated Press, Reuters, & the Agence France-Presse. This will save taxpayers about 53 million dollars. The purpose of our agency is to tell the American story. We don’t need to outsource that responsibility to anyone else,” Lake wrote in an X post regarding the interview.
Disputes between The AP and the White House began in February after the corporate media outlet was revoked press access for refusing to call the Gulf of America by its new name. The AP filed a lawsuit on Feb. 21 against White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich for injunctive relief.
Lake was sworn in as USAGM’s special adviser on March 3, saying she’s “looking forward” to serving America and “streamlining” the agency. The cuts from the agency follow President Donald Trump’s push for his second administration to review the government’s wasteful spending.
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