It would be great if the proposed Gondola did not costs the taxpayers more money

Garfield Marks

Published

3 years ago

2 minute read

A Gondola over our river is definitely an attraction. Everyone will talk about it. I hope it is a success.

If private developers finance it, build it, operate it and taxes are earned from it, then I am on board. We could use an attraction.

Not a gimmick but a real attraction. The city has a habit of financing gimmicky things and events that never deliver anything close to the promises made.

The part that concerns me is the Bower Ponds part. The environmental impact building the tower there. The cost to the taxpayer or are we selling part of Bower Ponds to the developer? In case of business failure, maintenance failure, who pays?

I think it is great to finally see real action on those 23 acres of the former public works yard. It has been a long time coming but the costs have been high, totaling from numbers I have read about, $230 million to move, upgrade and repair the yard, to realign roads, upgrade and bury services, etc. so it would be nice to see money coming in and not just more talk of potential tax dollars.

Perhaps if this is successful, utilizing our river as a tourist attraction, we could look at utilizing Hazlett Lake as a tourist attraction, like Lethbridge did with Henderson Lake. 2 miles of shoreline for staycation tourists?

So, I am hoping that this Gondola idea is real and not a “Bait and Switch” scam that will cost taxpayers money.

Fingers crossed.

Garfield Marks

Related Topics:#GarfieldMarks #GondolaTaxpayers #RedDeerGondola

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Crime

Time to call Antifa what it is — a terrorist organization

Published on September 17, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Trump announced Wednesday he will designate Antifa a “MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” calling it a “sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and vowing to investigate its funders. The move follows Charlie Kirk’s assassination by a suspect tied to extremist leftist ideology.

Key Details:

On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
Trump added that he would recommend “those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.”
Antifa, short for “anti-fascist,” has no formal leadership structure but is known for violent clashes with police and for stoking riots at protests. Trump said earlier this week he was “100%” in favor of labeling the group as a terror organization.

Diving Deeper:

President Trump on Wednesday escalated his administration’s push against violent left-wing groups by declaring that Antifa will be designated as a “major terrorist organization.” Posting the announcement on Truth Social, Trump described the group as “a sick, dangerous, radical left disaster” and emphasized that investigations into Antifa’s backers should begin immediately. “I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices,” Trump said.

The decision follows mounting calls for action in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination last week. Authorities have identified the suspect, Tyler Robinson, as a 22-year-old who was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.” The tragedy has intensified pressure on the administration to act against groups viewed as fueling extremist violence.

Antifa, which stands for “anti-fascist,” is less a formal organization than a loose movement. Its members, often dressed in black and masked, are notorious for showing up at protests to provoke violent clashes with law enforcement and political opponents. While its supporters describe the group as anti-authoritarian, critics point out its consistent record of property destruction, rioting, and violent confrontations.

Trump had previewed the move earlier in the week, telling reporters he was “100%” supportive of officially designating the group as a terrorist organization. The announcement also aligns with Trump’s longstanding campaign promise to crack down on lawlessness and protect communities from radical ideologies.

By targeting Antifa not just in name but by directing legal scrutiny toward its funding networks, Trump is signaling a more aggressive federal posture toward violent left-wing movements. The designation would allow federal authorities to treat Antifa’s activities with the same severity reserved for foreign terrorist groups, widening the scope of investigations and penalties against those linked to its operations.

(AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus)

International

FBI Director Patel challenged on handling of the Epstein files during oversight hearing

Published on September 17, 2025

Todayville

From The Center Square

By Morgan Sweeney

House Democrats drilled down on FBI Director Kash Patel’s handling of the Epstein files during an FBI oversight hearing Wednesday, after their counterparts in the Senate focused many of their questions on Patel’s “politicization” of the agency.

Several times on Wednesday, Democrats showed footage of comments Patel made about the case files of disgraced financier and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein before Patel became FBI director.

In 2023, Patel appeared on The Benny Show, a politics podcast hosted by conservative commentator Benny Johnson, where Johnson asked him why the FBI hadn’t released the alleged Epstein client list.

“They’re sitting on it….. That seems like an evil thing to do, regardless of who may be embarrassed in the release of that list. Why is the FBI protecting the greatest pederast, the largest-scale pederast in human history?” Johnson asked.

“Simple, because of who’s on that list,” Patel replied.

“Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are,” Patel said to Johnson in another clip, referring to the FBI.

Patel also spoke to Glenn Beck, former Fox News show host and founder of Blaze Media, about the Epstein files in December 2023.

“Who has Jeffrey Epstein’s…” Beck started.

“Black book?” Patel asked. “The FBI.”

“But who?” Beck prodded.

“That’s under direct control of the director of the FBI,” Patel quickly responded.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., used Patel’s prior comments to challenge how the FBI has handled the files thus far under his leadership.

“You were sworn in as director more than 200 days ago. Now the black book is under your direct control. So why haven’t you released the names of Epstein’s co-conspirators in the rape and sex trafficking of young women and girls?” Raskin pressed.

Patel said the “Rolodex” had been released. Raskin challenged Patel further.

“Oh, no. You’re talking about what the journalist got five years ago? No, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about what you were talking about there: the black book under the direct control of the FBI director,” Raskin said.

Patel responded by highlighting that the FBI under his direction has released more material than prior administrations that had access to the same information.

“We have released more material than anyone else before. The Biden administration, the Obama administration had the exact opportunities to release this material. They never did,” Patel argued.

So far, Patel’s FBI has provided more than 33,000 pages pursuant to requests from Congress, according to Patel, including what has “got to be thousands” of pages of the Epstein files. His predecessor, Chris Wray, provided less than half that many in seven years of heading the FBI compared to Patel’s seven months, Patel said.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Patel repeatedly said that the FBI had released everything credible that they are legally permitted to share. He has claimed that court orders stand in the way of releasing more.

Later, Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who, like Patel, has a legal background, accused the director of gatekeeping files that court orders don’t prohibit the FBI from disclosing.