So, I guess St. Catharines isn’t going to get any provincial or federal money for the puck palace, huh?

Not, I hasten to add, that anyone was expecting such financial help, other than perhaps the eternally optimistic Brian McMullan. Nah, not even him.

Still, it became clear with the release of the provincial budget there’s no money to be had for frills. Presumably, the federal budget will deliver the same message.

If only the city could have sold this as a Pan Am game thing! A hockey arena that could be converted into an indoor baseball field.

Speaking of the Ontario budget, I actually guffawed reading the reaction of Daniel Peat, the union boss for local public high school teachers.

Peat said a two-year wage freeze on teacher salaries would hurt the economy.

Hilarious.

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Spent last week in Florida, no thanks to Direct Air.

Never ceases to amaze me how much the tourist areas along the Gulf Coast are dependent on the automobile. Six-lane ribbons of asphalt endlessly lined with malls and plazas. It’s commercialism on steroids.

Nice drinking beer while gazing at palm trees, though.

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The Leafs are officially out of the playoffs. Pity. There’s always one or two Leaf zombies in the office playoff pool who are programmed to select Toronto players, making my chances for victory higher. At least I think that’s what happens. It’s been a long time, and my memory’s not what it used to be.

But enough of my Leaf trashing. In fact, I heard recently that there’s a Niagara guy who was at Maple Leaf Gardens the last time Toronto won the Stanley Cup. Sounds like a column worth doing on the 45th anniversary May 2.

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Hey, what’s with the IceDogs?

Tuned into the game Sunday with about a five minutes to go and the Dogs up 4-3. Next thing you know they lose 6-4. At home!

Sorry. I panic easily.

I’m sure they’ll roar back Wednesday and take a 3-1 series lead.

If not, I’m panicking!

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Interesting story this week about garbage blanketing south St. Catharines. Kudos to resident Jim Finley for bringing the situation to council’s attention. Be interesting to know whether it’s a problem unique to this south-end neighbourhood due to the presence of two nearby high schools and Brock student housing.

I’m not clear what the city is expected to do, though. It’s hard to legislate civil manners, particularly for something one would reasonably expect to be known proper behaviour.

Reading this week’s story reminded me of something that was seared into my memory bank several years ago. I was driving north on Glenridge Ave. near the tracks when I noticed a couple of tweeners walking on the sidewalk. They had obviously just come from the Avondale store and were unwrapping a couple of chocolate bars. Once the bars were in hand, they tossed the wrappers on the ground. What struck me was the casualness of the littering. It seemed as natural to the tweeners as breathing.

I’m at a loss to think how such attitudes form. Sure, we can look at other factors that contribute to the messy landscape — lack of public waste bins, the tardy emptying of such bins, overpackaging by manufacturers, our love affair with junk food. But it seems to me that unless the above, seemingly ingrained indifference to tossing wrappers on the ground is successfully addressed, citizens like Finley will be shooting trash videos for years to come.