Glenn Kubish

We finally met and tied one on tonight. The encounter had been years in the making. I just didn't think it would involve me and the mayor of Edmonton and my wife with a video camera in front of a washroom mirror in an artist's colony on 118 Ave. The Nina Haggerty Centre is a wonderful hub of hope in the Alberta Avenue neighbourhood. Tonight it hosted the Alberta Artists With Brain Injury Society on the happy occasion of its 10th anniversary. Shelagh serves on the Nina board, so I get to hang out there every now and then. Tonight, artists, board members, community leaders met to celebrate the event and there were beautiful words spoken by those who help artists with damaged pathways get around their obstacles and to a place where they again, in paint, plastic, glass, fabric and ink, can make their voices heard and imaginations felt. Mayor Stephen Mandel dropped in again and praised the work of all involved. When he and I had a chance to talk, I took the opportunity to a...

Here is what Mayor Stephen Mandel has taught me about political leadership: arrive in your own vehicle.  Here is what I mean.  A few years ago, when I was still working at CTV, our newsroom had a travelling slo-pitch team. The idea was we would get a side together and travel out to your community diamond, bring a news camera along, shoot some "highlights" (usually Dan Kobe making a good play) and plug your neighbourhood or agency initiative in the process. It was a lot of fun. But that's not the item. One evening we were playing the good people at the Mustard Seed Church on the inner-city ball field in Boyle Street. Shopping cart poverty pushed past. There was some despair sitting in a small circle in right field. I removed a couple of hypodermic needles from the base path between first and second base. We had invited the mayor to join us and, with the warmup under way, he roared into the parking lot in his late-model Mercedes Benz and jumped out.  That...

Note: I have now lived through two will the Oilers go? how can we keep the Oilers? municipal psychological dramas.  I will leave to those who are better analyzers the task of finding words and arguments for each side. I suppose there are words and arguments for both sides. I hope the sides come up with a fair deal for Edmontonians. For some reason, I have chronicled the twists and turns of the latest saga through the imaginary lens of songs that might have been written by McCartney and Katz. Katz has chosen not to speak publicly, at least not out of extremely controlled situations. So, what might he come up with if he composed songs with a partner who was trying to achieve some harmony? These are the greatest hits from Twitter -- so far! 1.  Glenn Kubish  ‏ @ Kub64 He's Leaving Home.  # mccartneykatzsongs   # yegarena   2.  Glenn Kubish  ‏ @ Kub64 Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Katz.  # mccartneykatzsongs ...