Stockwell came to town today.
Along for the ride were Loyola Hearn, the federal fisheries minister, Conservative member of parliament Fabian Manning, and Norm Doyle, soon-to-be double pensioned.
Stockwell, a minister in the federal government, took a few moments from traipsing around a provincial prison and a few other choice spots not featured in the usual tourist itinerary to pass out some federal dough with the local boys.
$279, 349 in money from the federal disaster fund, f'rinstance.
For a disaster that happened in 2000.
The merry band handed out another cheque; 280-odd thousand to let communities tally up crime numbers.
Local reporters asked the moneybags about the $150 million in cash for a federal prison. Some enterprising souls, you see, are one step ahead of the local daily. They have hit on another island on which to model for our future, this time Alcatraz, using an election goodie floated out before the last time the Tories held power in Ottawa.
Stockwell assured the reporters that no decision had been made yet on the future of the provincially-owned and operated Lakeside Hilton, a.k.a Her Majesty's Penitentiary.
You can tell there's an election coming, can't you?
It's not quite the Summer of Love, but then again it hasn't been much like summer this summer in St. John's so it all fits.
There's another announcement scheduled for tomorrow with Stockwell and Norm. More public cash, no doubt, for something called "flood recovery".
-srbp-