City Limits Press 2

Council attacks radical newspaper
Don on the warpath

By Peter Miller
Staff Writer

City council is demanding the publishers of a radical Calgary newspaper pay back a $10,000 grant-because the paper "kicks the hell out of aldermen."

But the funding agency that handed out the city grant insists the money was never used to finance the paper, City Limits.

The Calgary Region Arts Foundation (CRAF), which helps supervise city arts grants, gave $10,000 to Syntax, the arts group that publishes City Limits. Council yesterday demanded CRAF get back as much of the $10,000 as it can because aldermen were riled by the paper's sharp tongue. "It's a garbage paper that kicks the hell out of aldermen," stormed Ald. Don Hartman. And he bitterly complained Syntax chief Brian Dyson is also a leader of 9A St. N.W. residents who are threatening to take council to court to keep northwest LRT off the street. Dyson, tipped by supporter Ald. Elaine Husband, showed up at yesterday's council session, but wasn't allowed to speak. Husband dismissed the charges of Hartman and other aldermen.

City Limits has sharply criticized the 9A St. route proposal, as well as other council moves. It ran a headline "Deutschland uber alles" (Germany over all) when council approved purchase without tender of 35 C-Train cars from West Germany.

CRAF president Ouida Touche told council the $10,000 grant was given to Syntax to help the group stage an international visual arts workshop last fall. But Syntax cancelled the event and instead spent the money on office expenses, Touche said.