How to win friends and influence people

1. Decide to build a new hospital in the middle of the Botanical Gardens.
2. Wait for public outcry.
3. Announce that you will hold public meetings to discuss the issue in a room that only seats 60 people, and that everyone else will be turned away.

There are going to be an awful lot of angry people at KEMH this evening.

» UPDATE - The Bermuda Hospitals Board has wisely decided to move tonight's meeting to the North Hall of the Bermuda College, to accommodate the large number of people expected to attend. The meetings on Friday evening and Saturday morning will still be held at KEMH, however.

Comments

[Bob Lablaw on 21.09.06 at 09:20]

Don't worry, the minister will be in the parking lot leafletting the cars.

[Full Fullish on 21.09.06 at 09:46]

Personally I that if enough people go, the electorate should demand that it be moved to the botanical gardens where "EVERYONE" can attend.

As Wayne so correctly says "The MP's are the servents of the people". End of discussion.

[ace on 21.09.06 at 10:19]

My wife has ben takin our kids to play at the botanical gardens regularly throughout this summer. It is their favourite place.

Every year we fly kites there on Good friday.

She and I were both near tears talking about how it would be destroyed the other night.

I sure hope government listens.

Does any one know when the "sit in" is scheduled?

[Tony B on 21.09.06 at 10:23]

SIT IN....

MMMmmmmm

Have do to something.....

Maybe this is when BERMUDA MARCHES TOGETHER

[V on 21.09.06 at 10:46]

They've just announced a change of venue for tonight's meeting. It's now to be held at the North Hall at Bermuda College. The other meetings, however, are still scheduled to take place at the manifestly inadequate KEMH conference room ...

[srp on 21.09.06 at 10:57]

Well...I they represent a very vocal minority here...rather than what the majority really feels...cause really the hospital will benefit us all...it has to be central and I really don't care if some of the botanical gardens is used up...it's for a good cause. I never went there anyways...so to all the tree huggers...get a grip

[ABP on 21.09.06 at 11:07]

srp I agree, damn hippies!!!! I couldn't care less what they do with the hospital situation. I won't miss Botanical Gardens like that either and the AG show can be put somewhere else.

[sandgrownan on 21.09.06 at 11:11]

SRP - first off, the not all the hospital functions need to be central. Other threads on this site have discussed the idea of out-patient clinics at each end of the island. This is good for a whole host of reasons: redundancy of services, less traffic, care where it's needed, accessibility after Hurricane's etc etc. It's been suggested that the existing KEMH footprint, if look at all the land is big enough for redevelopment WITHOUT encroaching on the Botanical garden. It will cost more money, and it will take longer and it will be disruptive. However, it will preserve a preciousp iece of open space of which there is already too little.

To all other posters - in order to successful in the campaign to save "The Gardnens", we need to produce an alterntive, workable solution to the issue of regenerating the hospital.

[Tiggy on 21.09.06 at 11:35]

Use Government House and its grounds for the new hospital! It's central!

[sandgrownan on 21.09.06 at 11:40]

Tiggy - There is no need to use GH gardens. If you want to make some political statement, why don't you campaign for the GH Gardens to be opened to the public as a park?

[Raptor on 21.09.06 at 11:47]

Sandgrownan, A number of people have been brainstorming and considering other options. GH is not necessarily a political statement. It’s a large block of land, centrally located, although there might be good reasons not to choose it.

[sandgrownan on 21.09.06 at 11:54]

Raptor - Referring to those that want to save the gardens as "tree hugging hippies" is counterproductive. The use of GH was brought up by the whatsisface yesterday, and it's purely a political statement that will inevitably lead to linking of this to Independence. GH should be open and preserved for the people, as should the Botanics.

SRP and ABP should be looking deep for alternatives rather than decrying those that are trying to save our open spaces.

[ace on 21.09.06 at 12:21]

"I never went there anyways...so to all the tree huggers...get a grip "

lol...so YOU never went there and those of us who use it regularly are tree huggers who need to get a grip?

[Tiggy on 21.09.06 at 12:45]

Sand, it wasn't a political statement at all! Just two people in that big house.....that's all!

[Darkside on 21.09.06 at 13:00]

just for you SRP - from Joni the "hippie"

"They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
and a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
And they charged all the people
A dollar and a half to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And they put up a parking lot"

[sandgrownan on 21.09.06 at 13:23]

Tiggy, so what you wanna do, put beds in the dining room?!

GH and the use of it's grounds is an entirely different discussion.

[Tony B on 21.09.06 at 13:53]

Yep Joni Mitchell said it so well.....

They PAVED PARADISE

[thisgrassman on 21.09.06 at 13:59]

Limey,

You should start a sweepstakes on how long this will take to become an issue of race. I am betting by the weekend the tribal politics of the island will have the camps entrenched in their polarised positions.

[Full Fullish on 21.09.06 at 14:02]

Ha! Tree hugger?!? Me?!? Man that's a first.

ABP and SRP just cause you don't hold BG dear doesn't mean that most other Bermudians do, and from the general discord there are A LOT of Bermudians against this brain fart of an idea. There are plenty of other viable solutions where everyone is happy.

[chapa on 21.09.06 at 16:01]

I cannot understand the argument that Government House grounds should be used to build a new hospital. Surely the point is that we want to protect as much open space as we can and redevelop areas that have already been developed.

I do agree that part of Government House grounds would be a wonderful addition to our national parks and could be used for various communal activities but certainly not used for development.

[Tony B on 21.09.06 at 16:37]

The plan in the Bermuda Sun to have it in town made a whole lotta sense to me.....

[Adjustah on 21.09.06 at 19:02]

Tony B - The plan in the Bermuda Sun to have it in town made a whole lotta sense to me.....

LOL! Maybe Court Street as part of the "re-development"...we could do a two for one Harbour Nights special...all caught on CCTV...

[Raptor on 21.09.06 at 20:32]

SRP writes: “I really don’t care if some of the botanical gardens is used up…it’s for a good cause. I never went there anyways.” ABP writes: “I won’t miss Botanical Gardens like that either…”

“Tree huggers” and “hippies” they gripe! Maybe if they haven’t had a real and positive experience of a place, they just can’t appreciate it. Maybe if getting by on a daily basis is the big concern in life, “environmentalism” is way down at the bottom of the list of concerns. Just trees and grass. They’re all over the place.

They don’t see that the BGardens are a central community gathering place for all Bermudians and a precious green space for now and the future. Space is in short supply in Bermuda--you have to get on a golf course or the water, which means golf fees or owning a boat. The way things are going the only other option left will be standing in the hospital parking lot!

I think the BG means different things to different people, and, as Thisgrassman suggests, there are racial issues involved. Maybe the view some of the current ministers have of the old Ag Show was years of sitting up on the hill, segregated, watching the white kids on ponies.

Personally, I don’t think race and segregation and the past should enter into it, but they are there, just as they have been there on every other topic we’ve discussed. It would be surprising if they were not part of this hospital move.

This government is out of control, and they’re making very poor decisions. Often governments seem to think the answer is to do something bold because they’re not doing too well on more difficult fronts. What they can do is spend…while we still have the money.

And, if they rebuild the hospital where it is, they are going to have trouble changing its name. Do you really think the PLP is going to keep KEVIIMH?

[Linda on 21.09.06 at 20:48]

SRP and ABP you need to study the adverse effects a lack of green space can have on a community. It aint just there for its looks. It's needed for the air we breathe and it helps our physche man. I'd rather hug a bloody tree than a hunk of cement. I really don't understand what the problem is. There is an alternative site. The old hospital, including the nurses quarters are already a wreck. Tear them down and build the new hospital there. Leave what green we have left, alone, including Gov House. CRIKEY, don't you get it?

[inBda on 21.09.06 at 21:28]

Did anyone make it to the meeting ealier this evening ?

[VB on 21.09.06 at 21:54]

Yup, I was there. At least 300 very angry people. Plenty of noise from the crowd when something rediculous was said by a panel member i.e. often.

We were not the most polite group. We have reason not to be polite.

The only big disapointment was that the were very few black faces in the crowd. Why? Don't they care? This issue has nothing to do with race. Can't they see the folly of this project? Maybe they are waiting, in the typical Bermudian fashion, until it is too late to protest when the project is done, like Berkley.

On the positive side, the few blacks who were there made their opinions heard & for the most part presented themselves very well.

Let us hope there will be a better diversified group tomorrow. The meeting closed with plenty of hands up of people with much more to say.

We need more like this with people who have had enough & are not going to quietly take any more.

[Tiger Bay on 22.09.06 at 08:08]

"there were very few black faces in the crowd. Why? Don't they care?"

Didn't you get the memo? The PLP's 'House Negro' tirades are not really directed at the UBP, they are used to keep their own supporters in line. They warn people who are generally supportive of the PLP, but question individual actions and failures of the Party, to keep their mouths shut ... or they will be vilified as "one of them".

[weaselguard on 22.09.06 at 08:57]

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery..."

[I.B. JMC on 22.09.06 at 12:46]

How many people would have attended last nights meeting if it was held in relation to the fact that gov had decided to build on the existing site at a cost of an additional 20% (~100M) ? recall 11 Million on cricket

[ken on 14.11.06 at 08:50]

I see that the Minister of Health, Nelson Bascome has stated in the House that the hospital will NOT be built in Botanical Gardens, nor on any virgin land.

This must feel good to those that were against this proposition. This government DOES listen to the people!

But I am sure there will be those that will twist this around to find a negative, somehow, someway.

[Turtle on 14.11.06 at 10:34]

Great news, ken. This is an enlightened decision worthy of a mature government - and exactly what I expected from Dr. Brown's Cabinet.

[sandgrownan on 14.11.06 at 11:21]

Ken,
I think that Nelson's comment and Ewart's comment regarding the hospital are very welcome and fantastic news.

I do not think, however, that this single episode is evidence of a caring, inclusive, listening government. I am prepared to entertain the thought that there may be a wind of change, but I somehow doubt it and the cynic in me suggests that this was political ploy all along ahead of an election.

[I.B. JMC on 14.11.06 at 12:14]

Very happy indeed.

[Michael Fahy on 14.11.06 at 13:58]

Ken

Indeed the Government finally listened to the people. The fact remains however that the original decision to build the hospital on virgin land should never have been made in the first place! People should not have been put in the position of having to attend public hearings and expend time protesting. The announcement is all a bit ripe from a Minister who is trying to find credibility in the eyes of the electorate after having been in charge of the same portfolio when the BHC scandal hit the headlines. Also we must not forget that Ewart Brown was deputy leader at the time the decision was made by Cabinet - all of the Cabinet is tainted by the debacle (although Ms Minors took the fall). However I will give the Government credit for reversing its decision. Perhaps it will now do the same on other matters that have seen significant protest - like Independence....

Finally Ken, if it were not for strong opposition in this country, from both the United Bermuda Party and others not politically affiliated with either party the government would probably be bulldozing the gardens right now! The community should be thankful for the likes of Louise Jackson, Stuart Hayward and the www.savethegardens.com campaign (among others) for showing the PLP the light. Effective opposition creates a real democracy despite what Ewart Brown will try and make people believe.

[SmokingGun on 14.11.06 at 16:51]

"This must feel good to those that were against this proposition. This government DOES listen to the people!"

ken - as happy as I am that the "irrevocable" decision has been reversed I am absolutely skeptical about the decision process leading to the Botanical Garden being used in the first place. For starters to suggest this is proof that the government listens to the "people" is a joke. This is proof that the people who have the decision making power only listen to those who have a vested interest in filling the trough.

Please explain to me how a "final" decision on building a $500 million hospital can be made when they haven't even done the homework to determine just what exactly they need to build? This is just another day of spin cycling in reverse and it would incredibly naive of the populace to consider anything has really changed with the new regime.