aterloo city council Wdesignated the McNally lands in the city‘s northwest corner as environmentally sensitive lands on Monday night, ending a long dispute with local environmentalists. City staff will now embark on a process to reâ€" Council votes to preserve McNally lands By Grec MacDonaL Renewing your Beauty UltraShape > Skin Rejuvenation > Veins Botox & Filler e Laser Hair Removal 519.578.2828 Victoria at Westmount Continued on page 7 Chronicle Staff New uptown pastry shop brings a taste of France to Waterloo. Abby Marshall shows off some moldy beans at Centennial public school‘s scientific inquiry day last week. Marshall, a Grade 8 student, placed beans in various locations around her house and tracked the different types and amounts of mold that they grew. . ' Ice Dogs Festival coming to uptown Waterloo/Page 10 Jazzbirds take flight at Waterloo Entertainment Centre/Page 19 Full of beans ATERLOO Pusuc UBAA GREG MACDONALD PHOTO The Kâ€" W Granite Club‘s Daryl Shane is in the hunt at the 2008 TSC Tankard. Waterioo‘s CAOQ is city‘s jetâ€"setter e City of Waterloo‘s chief administrative officer was the biggest spender on travel in 2007, amassing almost $30,000 in expenses. Simon Farbrother spent more than any councillor and the mayor, racking up a total of $28,747.62, close to three times the expenses he had in 2006. His largest expense was a $16,000 trip to China as part of the Intelliâ€" gent Waterloo award. _ _0 "I think when you look at the expenses . . . a significant portion of that was related to (the China trip) and the Intelligent Waterloo initiaâ€" tive," Farbrother said. "I think counâ€" cil sees that as a great investment." _ The CAO points to the award to explain his high travel costs. _ © _ Farbrother‘s counterpart, Bob Mavin, the city‘s chief financial offiâ€" cer, spent $2,000 on travel in 2007. But Farbrother‘s job description calls for more travelling and he needs to connect with other comâ€" munities in order to do his job, said Mayor Brenda Halloran. "He‘s out there finding out what other municipalities are doing, lookâ€" ing at initiatives, and he brings back those ideas to us," she said. Halloran also went on the trip to China and spent just over $13,000. Her total expenses for 2007 came in at close to $26,000. The costs were justified by the profile the city gained by being named the world‘s most intelligent By GrEc MacDonaLp Chronicle Staff Continhed on page 6