The green, green grass of home

Here is a copy of the commentary I read to kick off tonight's show:

Good evening. I’m Mark Leger. Welcome to ‘Serf City’ on CFMH 107.3 FM.

Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden was a hero of mine when I was a kid. One day, I read a story about how he made money on his own for the first time. He told his dad that he’d rid the lawn of dandelions, plucking them one by one out of the grass. His dad said yes, and agreed to pay one or two cents for every one he picked.

I can’t remember the amount exactly, but I do remember that he picked enough to buy a set of encyclopedias and a globe. The story was meant to inspire kids about the value of hard work and spending your money wisely.

I made the same proposal to my dad, but he turned me down flat, saying the dandelions would be dead in a few weeks anyway. He was right, especially with us kids tromping all over them playing baseball in the back yard.

Some years later, dad would start paying to have them removed by lawn companies that sprayed herbicides and pesticides.

He’s since grown wary of the health risks and now uses more environmentally friendly ways of attacking bugs and weeds.

But that’s not true of everyone, including the church across the street from my parent’s house. My nephew and I played hockey in the churchyard one day last fall, much like I did when I was a kid.

At that age, though, I don’t remember having to stay off the grass to avoid chemical residue.

These days, there are signs posted on many lawns, warning people to keep kids and pets off grass that has just been sprayed. Playing hockey that day with my nephew, we had to be so careful not to shoot the ball onto the lawn. But of course it happened many times by accident. The poor little guy was terrified of touching the grass and getting it in his mouth, and so was I.

So why do we still spray lawns with potentially dangerous chemicals just to keep our lawns bug and weed free?

On Earth Day, Ontario announced a ban on the practice. Will New Brunswick follow Ontario’s lead? On tonight’s show, we’ll talk with two people about this subject. They have both tried to have chemical spraying banned here.

We’ll also talk to Cory Richardson about his recent trip to Uganda, where he taught people how to make hammocks, for their own use and to sell them to buy essentials like food and clothing.

But first up, we’re talking with artist Glenn Hall about his upcoming show of new work, 'Paintings off the Grid'.

Tonight on 'Serf City'

Off The Grid With Glenn Hall: A conversation with the artist about his new series of paintings. Plus: a conversation with Cory Richardson about his recent trip to Uganda, and a discussion about whether the province should follow Ontario's lead and ban cosmetic pesticide use. Tune in to 'Serf City' at 6 pm tonight on CFMH 107.3 FM. You can also listen online at: shoutcast.com

A wealth of reports on wealth creation

This is a copy of the commentary I read to open tonight's show:

Good evening. I’m Mark Leger. Welcome to ‘Serf City’ on CFMH 107.3 FM.

I became interested in Joel Plaskett and municipal development issues around the same time.

I imagine you wondering to yourself, “What is the connection between an ECMA award-winning musician and tedious civic discussions about fixing potholes and sewage systems?”

Well, let me explain.

It was 2003 and I was the editor and co-owner of here. It was the early days of the public angst about the brain drain, and city leaders were holding meetings and conferences and press briefings about how to keep our young people from leaving for the big cities in Canada and the U.S.

At here, we saw ourselves as the voice for that lost generation – lost, that is, by the city to more prosperous and interesting places. City leaders were anxious about the situation, and there was plenty of hand wringing at heretoo. We published ad nauseam stories and editorials about the problem and possible solutions.

Joel Plaskett was an inspiration in that context, because he was so committed to staying in Halifax rather than pursuing a music career in a bigger city. I remember seeing him in 2003 for the first time, before a packed house at the old Il Fornello restaurant on Canterbury Street. He struck a chord in me when he played, “Work Out Fine,” which contained a verse about his friends moving away to Montreal and Toronto.

All my friends, where did they go?
To Montreal, Toronto
All my friends, they split too soon
They split town with the fork and the spoon
They all split town and they left me
Sitting with a bottle of wine
Gonna pop the cork
Say my goodbyes
And everything'll work out fine

Halifax is a bigger urban centre than Saint John, but it still suffers from the same small-town anxieties.

Not much has changed since then. We seem to be marking progress more by issuing reports than by making concrete changes to the city that would make it a better place for young people to live and work.

In the early part of the decade, the Growth Strategy and waterfront inner-harbour land use plan were the blueprints for economic growth and regeneration of the city core.

These days, it’s the Benefits Blueprint, which we talked about on last week’s show, and Uptown Saint John’s new wealth creation strategy, which we’ll talk about on today’s show.

We’ll also speak with Joel Plaskett. He’s playing two sold-out shows in Saint John this weekend.

Also on the show tonight: an interview with Saint John native R.M. Vaughan. Vaughan is a successful writer and video artist living in Toronto. He recently published “Troubled,” a collection of poems about a failed relationship he had with his psychiatrist.

- Mark

Joel Plaskett and R.M. Vaughan on 'Serf City'

Thursday, April 17, on 'Serf City': feature interviews with ECMA award-winner Joel Plaskett, who is playing shows in Saint John this weekend; and Saint John native R.M. Vaughan, author of 'Troubled' - a book of poems about a failed relationship with his former therapist. Plus: a wealth creation strategy for uptown Saint John. Tune in to 'Serf City' at 6 pm Thursday night on CFMH 107.3 FM.

Resourceful companies spread the wealth

When I was living in Ghana, West Africa, last year, I visited Nigeria, a large and notorious oil-producing nation.

It’s notorious, for those of you that don’t know much about the country, for the pollution and human rights issues that plaque the Niger Delta, the region where all of the oil exploration takes place.

It’s also notoriously dangerous for foreign oil workers, who are often kidnapped for ransom or as a form of political protest. The day before we arrived, four Chevron employees were abducted there.

I stayed in capital city Lagos, and visited the city’s largest daily newspaper while I was there. In a meeting with news editors, I asked if it was safe to visit the Niger Delta. Initially they all laughed, and then said ‘yes’, of course, would you like to go there? I laughed nervously, not knowing if they were serious or not. As it turned out, I would have no such opportunity to test my courage. The Niger Delta was eight hours away and we were leaving the country the next day.

Nigeria has become a symbol for everything wrong with oil exploration. The Niger Delta is heavily polluted, and the residents are very skeptical about promises from the government and oil industry to make things better; to clean up their villages and share the wealth that would help lift them out of crushing poverty.

For other African countries that have since discovered oil themselves, Nigeria’s experience serves as a cautionary tale, a reminder that natural resources often further impoverish countries, rather than enrich them.

I went back to Ghana after my visit to Nigeria. A month later, oil was discovered offshore and the Ghanaian government and the people celebrated the find. A major community rally was held at the central square in the capital city of Accra.

They have not yet begun to extract the oil. It remains to be seen if they indeed do learn from Nigeria’s experience.

I tell this story for two reasons. One, it’s a reminder of where our oil comes from. We can become so consumed by the issues that surround the refining of oil in Saint John. It’s good to bear in mind that the negatives aspects of the oil business are much worse in the developing world.

Two, it reminds us of the importance of sharing resource wealth, at home and abroad.

On the show last night, we tackled both of these issues.

We talked about Benefits Blueprint, the industry and government initiative to ensure that all New Brunswickers, not just the oil companies, share in the wealth that will be created by projects like the proposed second oil refinery.

We also discussed the politics of oil in Africa with John Ghazvinian who published a book called Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil. He spent time in Angola, where Irving Oil’s partner BP drills for oil offshore.

- Mark

Benefits Blueprint for Saint John...and Africa

This Thursday on 'Serf City': a benefits blueprint for Saint John and Africa. Feature interviews with Bob Manning, chair of Benefits Blueprint; Kurt Peacock, UNBSJ Crabtree Scholar; and John Ghazvinian, author of "Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil". Plus: Gordie Tufts talks about Backstreet Records' climb to the top of the charts of independent record stores. That’s ‘Serf City’ Thursday, April 10, at 6 pm on CFMH 107.3 FM.

The publisher, the curator and the activists

This Thursday on 'Serf City': feature interviews with Ken Langdon, the publisher of the Carleton Free Press, which has filed an unfair competition complaint against Irving-owned Brunswick News; Peter Buckland, who is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his art gallery in uptown Saint John; and community activists from the Crescent Valley neighbourhood group in the north end. That’s ‘Serf City’ Thursday, April 3, at 6 pm on CFMH 107.3 FM.