Latest news with #RickBell
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Opinion: Cynicism masquerades as insight, but at heart, it's a defence of disengagement
Rick Bell's recent column (G7 protest in Calgary: One hell of a goat rodeo on the streets, June 15) is a classic entry in a long-standing tradition: the takedown of public expression of discontent. Whether it's community members gathering at city hall to protect an urban wild space they've come to know as a commons, or protesters rallying against injustice in Palestinian territories, this column performs the same move — it belittles them. Article content Article content With phrases such as 'play-acting and posturing,' the writer seems to ask: What's the point? Article content Article content Article content But here's what's telling. In these dismissives, the heroic figure is always the one who does not. Not the one who protests. Not the one who speaks at city hall. Not the one who marches. Article content The hero is the one who stays home. Who says nothing. Who drinks their beer undisturbed while the world burns on the livestream in the background. Article content It's not insightful to mock protesters for being performative. All protest is performance. It always has been. But it's also effort, presence and sometimes desperation. It's what people do when all the other doors are closed — when letters, meetings and 'appropriate channels' fail. Article content What Bell fails to address is the kind of dissent that erupted in Fort Macleod at the UCP 'town hall' on coal — where 70 per cent of the crowd took vivid, emancipatory glee in tearing apart the optics of a 'consultation,' whose real purpose was to manufacture a media image of monolithic consent. Article content Article content That was protest in its unruly, disruptive form. And yet, even that kind of collective defiance is dismissed when it doesn't fit the right caricature. Article content And still, I find myself partially in agreement. A young Communist I met two weeks ago said something that stayed with me: That once upon a time, power didn't know what to do when the streets flooded with people. That unpredictability disturbed them. Article content Now, norms and containment define protest. Marches follow routes agreed upon with police. Cordiality reigns. The site is remote from where decisions are actually made — just as Calgary City Hall is from Kananaskis. Article content And yes, the recent protest was a bazaar of causes. That's what happens when people are told they have one designated chance to be heard — when the system reduces democratic expression to a side-stage act, offered once every few years.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The latest on Lebanon restaurants The Goat, Split Bean, a coffee-prayer house, Chipotle
Lebanon has a number of new restaurants that have recently opened, are getting close to opening or changing how they do business. Adding restaurant choices has been a priority for Mayor Rick Bell and Economic Development Director Sarah Haston. Here's an update: Olivia Cocktail & Oyster Bar: Nick and Audra Guidry officially opened the restaurant at 112 E. Main St. on the town square in December. The concept focuses on craft cocktails, a curated wine list and finger seafoods like baked oysters and peel-and-eat shrimp, with some cured meats and cheeses. The Guidrys are also involved in the ownership of Pelican & Pig in East Nashville, Slow Hand Coffee + Bakeshop in East Nashville and Lebanon, and Leon's Famous Deli in Mt. Juliet. The Goat: The Lifestyle Communities restaurant is part of a mixed-use plan approved in Lebanon that includes about 590 multifamily units on Franklin Road, south of Interstate 40 and near South Hartmann Drive. Plans are to break ground on the project in either the first or second quarter of 2025, according to Lifestyle Communities. A completion estimate was unknown. Chipotle Mexican Grill/Chase Bank: A site plan has been approved to construct a 5,658-square-foot building that would house both a Chipotle Mexican Grill and Chase Bank in the Hickory Ridge shopping center anchored by Publix on State Route 109. The Planning Commission's approval did not include a requested variance about trash dumpster placement. Tim Hortons: Business owner Naren Patel is moving forward on a new Tim Hortons franchise at 1459 W. Main St. near an Arby's and another on the corner of South Hartmann Drive and Franklin Road that would be part of a future commercial development called Franklin Corner. Franklin Corner would also include Teriyaki Madness, Dosbros Fresh Mexican Grill, a liquor store and a BP gas station at 1500 Franklin Road, Patel said. Patel estimates opening the Tim Hortons on West Main in the second quarter of 2025. The location at Franklin Corner is estimated to open in the third quarter of 2025. Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken & Wings: The Nashville-style chicken franchise opened in December as part of the Western Plaza redevelopment along West Main Street, owner Sam Patel said. Hangry Joe's has several spice or heat levels that start with no heat or seasoning and max out at "angry hot" with chicken sandwich, chicken fingers and chicken waffle listed as the brand's top menu items. East Nashville Beer Works: The East Nashville Beer Works expansion in Lebanon opened in its new 16,000-square-foot production facility and taproom on Callis Road in October 2024. The Lebanon brewery, near State Route 109 just south of Interstate 40, includes a 30-barrel brew system, brewery and taproom, and beer garden. A full bar is offered in the taproom, with an outdoor bar and an upstairs mezzanine area with a bar that will also be available for rent, co-owner Anthony Davis said. The original brewery opened in 2016 on Trinity Lane in Nashville and will remain open. Aubrey's Restaurant: Work is underway for a 7,636-square-foot restaurant and patio at 1648 W. Main St., after the City Council and the Industrial Development Board unanimously approved a $1.5 million incentive. A second $500,000 installment is tied to a completion date of May 1. Aubrey's is established in East Tennessee with multiple locations. In-N-Out: The West Coast burger brand has initial site plan approval to build on 3.45 acres at the corner of South Hartmann Drive and Franklin Road. The company did not project an opening date but stated in an email that In-N-Out has been working with the city in the pre-development phase and restaurant construction itself usually takes around nine months. Waffle House: A site plan is approved for a new, 1,840-square-foot restaurant at 20 Blair Lane near West Main Street. A tentative estimate from the company is to open in spring, but the timeline is subject to change. Jonathan's Grille: The latest plans for a new restaurant that will be part of a mixed-use development on the northwest corner of Hartmann Drive and Barton Village Boulevard is to start construction after another future Jonathan's Grille opens in Jackson, estimated for March. Hopes are to open around October, co-owner Mason Revelette said. Split Bean Roasting Co.: Split Bean closed its business on the Lebanon square in September after opening in 2018 with plans to move to a space on West High Street in Lebanon. However, the move wasn't going to be cost-effective and owner Chris Cox has been 'working to restructure our business model' to focus on direct to consumer shipping orders from the website and expanding retail and corporate partners locally and outside the state. Split Bean is the roaster for the Black Sheep Cafe & General Store inside The Mill at Lebanon. Split Bean is also available at the Corn Crib Health Store and Puckett Supply Co., Crazy Gnome Brewery in Nashville and Modern Revival in Watertown, Cox said. Split Bean will also do select public and private events with its mobile trailer. Online orders are at Lebanon Coffee House: A new coffee-based business opened in late November at 110 E. Main St., where Split Bean Roasting Co. was previously located. The business description says it intends to be a coffee and prayer house and is an extension of the Lebanon House of Prayer, which has operated for about three years on an upstairs floor. Husband and wife Chad and Brooke Seabright are the owners. Hours are 6 a.m.-2 p.m., with coffee and specialty drinks, breakfast bowls and breakfast sandwiches and deli style sandwiches and soups for lunch. Prayer time is 7-8 a.m., and there is a stage for music. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@ and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Lebanon restaurants: Chipotle, In-N-Out, Aubrey's among new eateries
