Opinion
Reminder to the Mayor and City Council; 97,216 residents do not live downtown.

This situation about relocating the homeless shelter has become revealing of the inner workings at city council. Like most political arenas appeasing the corporate sector takes precedent over assisting the least fortunate.
Sure 3,628 residents call downtown home, but 97,216 residents donāt.
After months of discussions, rash decisions, even reprioritizing the matrix in seeking to legitimize a bad motion, all the city council had to do was satisfy a handful of outside bureaucrats and provincial politicians. They could not. But 100,844 Red Deer residents are expected to just accept it.
My first thought was our city council needed to look beyond their small circle of influence, think bigger but they did not.
Rather than working so hard to justify a plan that was acceptable to but a few business owners, in a designated sector, why not work at a plan acceptable to the many, in all sectors?
My sense for the delay is because the city wanted to build the homeless shelter in an undeveloped plot north of the river, which would appease the downtown people but, would be unacceptable to the many. There are over 30,000 residents living north of the river more than 8 times the number calling downtown home.
When will city council realize that they are beating a dead horse, and every decision will be unacceptable to some, every decision will have unintended and intended consequences. They need to look beyond their personal ambitions and their comfort zone and look at the destination then plan the route. Destination being what is the best solution for everyone.
What do the experts say? Provincial experts are giving a pass to our councilās shenanigans.
Council needs to expand their inner circle before this happens again.
Just saying.
Garfield Marks
International
Chicago suburb purchases childhood home of Pope Leo XIV

Quick Hit:
Village officials in Dolton, Illinois, have purchased the boyhood home of Pope Leo XIV, calling it a āonce-in-a-lifetime opportunityā to bring pride, attention, and tourism to the community. The historic acquisition comes just weeks after Robert Prevost was elected pope.
Key Details:
- The three-bedroom, 1,050-square-foot home was purchased by the Popeās parents in 1949 and remained in the family for nearly 50 years.
- Initially listed for $245,957, the home was removed from the market after Prevostās election and later sold directly to the Dolton Village Board at a āsignificantly lowerā price.
- Dolton Mayor Jason House called the deal a major win for the community, with board members and residents already seeing increased interest and tour bus traffic.
Diving Deeper:
The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV has officially been purchased by the village of Dolton, Illinois, after a unanimous vote by the Village Board on Monday night. Local officials are celebrating the move as a historic acquisition that could serve as a source of civic pride and new economic opportunity.
AsĀ reportedĀ by the New York Post, the modest 1,050-square-foot homeālocated just south of Chicagoāwas originally purchased by the Popeās parents in 1949 for a $49 monthly mortgage. It stayed in the Prevost family for nearly half a century.
After Robert Prevost was elected pope, the homeāinitially listed on May 5 for $245,957āwas pulled from the market and briefly entered into an auction process. That plan was ultimately scrapped in favor of a direct sale to the village. While the final purchase price hasnāt been disclosed, attorney Burt Odelson, who handled the deal, said it was āsignificantly lower than what they thought they would get.ā
Mayor Jason House praised the acquisition as a unique chance to put Dolton on the map. āThis is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,ā House said. āWe can either seize this moment and move it forward, or we can let that moment go to an investor. I would like our community to get the benefits of this opportunity.ā
Tourism has already begun. Within hours of Pope Leo XIVās election, visitors started arriving at the home. Officials say that momentum has only grown. Trustee Edward Steave said the traffic in the area speaks for itself: āIf you ever see the traffic over there, the constant busloads in and out of our town, this is a great opportunity for us. This is a historical thing.ā
Crime
Eyebrows Raise as Karoline Leavitt Answers Tough Questions About Epstein

Peter Doocy asked directly, āWhat happened to the Epstein client list that the Attorney General said she had on her desk?ā Hereās how Leavitt tried to explain it.
The Epstein client list was supposed to be SITTING on Pam Bondiās desk for review.
But months later, the DOJ says no such list even exists.
Karoline Leavitt was just asked why there was such a reversal in so little time.
Her responses today are raising eyebrows.
On February 21st, Pam Bondi told the world the Epstein client list was āsitting on [her] desk right now to review,ā explaining it was part of a directive ordered by President Trump.
Shortly afterward, she and Kash Patel pledged to end the Epstein cover-up, promising to fully disclose the Epstein files to the public, hold accountable any government officials who withheld key evidence, and investigate why critical documents had been hidden in the first place.
But ever since late February, it seems the cover-up wasnāt exposed but buried even deeper by those who promised transparency.
First, they handed out the so-called āEpstein filesā to influencers like golden Willy Wanka tickets, only for everyone to discover that almost all of the contents inside were already public and contained no new revelations.

Fast-forward to May, and suddenly Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are declaring firmly that Epstein killed himself.
āIāve seen the whole file. He killed himself,ā Bongino stated bluntly to Fox Newsās Maria Bartiromo.
Today, the Trump-appointed DOJ and FBIĀ released a new reportĀ thatās turning heads and raising plenty of questions.
They concluded that Epstein had no clients, didnāt blackmail anyone, and definitely killed himself.
FBI Concludes Epstein Had No Clients, Didn’t Blackmail Anyone, and Definitely Killed Himself
This article originally appeared on Infowars and was republished with permission.
They also released surveillance footage and claimed it showed no one entered Epsteinās cell area, supporting the suicide ruling.
But people arenāt convinced.Ā Some allege the video cuts off, with a minute of footage missing between 11:59 PM and midnight.
Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to questions about the Epstein client list in light of these new DOJ and FBI statements.
A reporter asked, āKaroline, the DOJ and FBI have now concluded there was no Jeffrey Epstein client list. What do you tell MAGA supporters who say they want anyone involved in Epsteinās alleged crimes held accountable?ā
Leavitt replied, āThis administration wants anyone who has ever committed a crime to be accountable, and I would argue this administration has done more to lock up bad guys than certainly the previous administration.ā
She continued, āThe Trump administration is committed to truth and transparency. Thatās why the Attorney General and the FBI Director pledged, at the presidentās direction, to do an exhaustive review of all the files related to Jeffrey Epsteinās crimes and his death. They put out a memo in conclusion of that review.ā
āThere was material they did not release because frankly it was incredibly graphic and contained child pornography, which is not something that is appropriate for public consumption,ā she added.
āBut they committed to an exhaustive investigation. Thatās what they did and they provided the results of that.ā
āThatās transparency,ā Leavitt said.
Leavitt was also pressed about Attorney General Pam Bondiās comments in February when she claimed she had the Epstein list āon [her] desk.ā
Peter Doocy asked, āOkay, so the FBI looks at the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein. According to the report, this systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. So what happened to the Epstein client list that the Attorney General said she had on her desk?ā
Leavitt responded, āI think if you go back and look at what the Attorney General said in that interview, which was on your network, on Fox Newsāā
Doocy pushed back, āI have the quote. John Roberts said: āDOJ may release the list of Jeffrey Epsteinās clients, will that really happen?ā And she said, āItās sitting on my desk right now to review.āā
Leavitt explained, āYes. She was saying the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper in relation to Jeffrey Epsteinās crimes, thatās what the Attorney General was referring to. And I will let her speak for that.ā
āBut when it comes to the FBI and the Department of Justice, they are more than committed to ensuring that bad people are put behind bars.ā
So, after months of patiently waiting, the American people get a nothing burger that simply repeats the same old claims we heard under Bill Barr.
Even worse, itās purported that this is what ātransparencyā and āaccountabilityā look like.
The story went from saying the Epstein client list was āon my deskā to āactually, there is no client list.ā
And the newly released video footage raises questions and, in the age of AI, proves nothing.
If thereās really nothing to hide, why does it still feel like theyāre hiding everything?
And most importantlyāwhoās still being protected?

Thanks for reading to the end. I hope you found this timeline of events and recap helpful.
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