Random Access

Looks like Gabriela Nowakowska's visit with her beloved Rambo, seen above in a recent picture in his play area outside the City's animal control centre, passed the sniff test.
The dog showed no ill effects of being cuddled and pampered by his owner for 30 minutes Tuesday. (Quelle surprise!)
It's quite likely that when an evaluation comes back to City councillors, Gabriela will be allowed to visit her pooch behind bars again. Depending on how that goes, it's possible that the visits could become weekly.
One very good consequence of the visits is that Nowakowska lawyer Anik Morrow will no longer have to ask for bail for the mutt, an unprecedented move which would undoubtedly have taken a lot of court time — none of it devoted to the core issue of whether Rambo is, or is not, a certain breed of dog that may, or may not exist. The three-day hearing for the charges against Nowakowska of owning a prohibited dog under the legislation now looks like it will take place in mid-May.
According to Ward 6 Councillor Parrish, the evidence is growing (see photo above) that Rambo is not a you-know-what. "You should see him now. Very tall and lanky. Very unpit bull-like," she says.
Experts for the crown and the defence will undoubtedly enlighten us in great detail on the characteristics we should be looking for in determining if Rambo is substantially similar to the banned breed.
• • •
All the fuss this week about whether the 5 per cent surcharge City councillors floated in November was a trial balloon, who was responsible for it if it was and who is the one doing the old political flip-flop all misses the essential point: it's still the right thing to do.
Infrastructure renewal is the invisible elephant in the room that no municipality wants to talk about.
Give Mayor Hazel McCallion and council credit for talking about how we should prepare to replace all of the roads, culverts, community centres and arenas that were built in a surge of development and are going to have to be replaced in a surge of capital spending.
If Mississauga, a relatively young city, is going to have these kinds of problems, imagine what Toronto's are like?
It's good to see Ward 6 Councillor Carolyn (she's everywhere, she's everywhere) Parrish has become a convert to the cause of infrastructure renewal. There was a time when, as an MP, Parrish was quite convinced that the City had hundreds of millions of dollars in "slush funds" and didn't really need federal help.
Those funds are all committed to replace public works that must be renewed and the list of additional needs and costs is much longer.
If the province and the feds don't step up, and it's unlikely they will ever be able to fund all municipalities' needs, cities will have to step up to the plate and ask property taxpayers to foot the bill. Yes it's regressive but a responsible municipality has no other choice.
If only council had started his infrastructure retirement planning a little earlier. Instead of giving ratepayers a tax holiday for a decade in relatively good times, council should have been collecting a surcharge of 1 or 2 per cent annually and putting it in reserves for the rocky post-development levy times to come.
• • •
Jazz fans are in for some fine upcoming local treats.
Sophie Milman, who records on Mississauga's Linus Entertainment label and who topped off the mayor's tribute to Oscar Peterson Valentine's Day concert with a rousing version of Sweet Georgia Brown is coming Fri. May 2 to LAC (more on that in a blog next week.)
Two local churches are also jazzing it up.
At Erindale United in Erindale Village on Sunday May 4 at 3 p.m., superb jazz saxophonist Mike Murley tops a nice triple bill with ragtime and blues pianist Bill Westcott and David Mott, who will be performing that great jazz instrument, the baritone sax. Tickets are $15.
Next weekend, the Church of Holy Spirit on Tynegrove Rd. near Burnhamthorpe Rd. and Golden Orchard Dr. holds its jazz weekend, starting with a launch of the new CD called New Every Morning by Reverend Tim Elliott Friday night. Elliott conducts his seminar Clarity and Courage on Saturday and things culminate Sunday with Elliott and a four-piece combo consisting of front-liners Perry White on sax, Brian Barlow (father of Emilie-Claire) on drums, Scott Alexander on bass and Mark Eisenman on piano.
More information at www.holyspiritchurch.ca.