I’m (belatedly) posting my story in the Globe this week about the competition to get and rent party sites downtown for the many, many groups that want to have a presence at the Olympics. What really hit home to me for the first time, as I was researching this story, was just what a carnival […]

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I know that some people in this city like to imagine that Vancouver is the only city plagued with advocacy groups that demand social housing, inclusion, and other benefits from the Olympics. But as this story from Chicago makes it clear, other pesky groups elsewhere also push for the same as they see the Games […]

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The premier’s office is sending out the word that he will be announcing big bucks tomorrow. That will likely include at least the first of the city’s 14 new social-housing sites, which Housing Minister Rich Coleman told me would be under way by April 1. Let the stimulating begin. VANCOUVER – Premier Gordon Campbell will […]

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Okay, we all need a break from city hall gossip so here it is. I went to hear Jan Wong, the former Beijing correspondent for the Globe and Mail, give a talk the other night at the library and then read her book, Beijing Confidential, the last two nights. Both were lovely experiences. Jan, who […]

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I understand there’s quite a bit of chatter at city hall these days about who might be planning to take earlier-than-really-necessary retirement. A few posters here have speculated about Mike Flanigan, the head of real-estate services. Mike contacted me to make this definitive statement: “There is absolutely no truth in the rumour. I remain very […]

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Dave Rudberg, the former head of engineering and, the the last few years, manager of the city’s preparations for the Olympics, has sent city manager Penny Ballem a letter saying that he is retiring. The retirement will be effective this spring. Not a shock to city hall insiders, who are aware that many senior staff […]

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Not all the financial disclosures are in yet — still waiting for many of the Non-Partisan Association candidates — but there’s now enough in to show that the spending reached unbelievable new levels. Vision Vancouver spent almost $2 million, as I report in the Globe this morning. (The documents will be filed with the city […]

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I keep hearing stories about why the intersection at Cambie and Broadway has had to be dug up repeatedly (much to the dismay of those who thought the torture was over). The city says it’s just an ongoing process of work because there are so many utilities at that intersection that had to be dealt […]

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Vision Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson got to deliver HIS speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade today, right after Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts’ speech to her board yesterday. Like Dianne, he promised lots of things to stimulate developers and construction: speeded up processes, some vague stuff on fee concessions that I couldn’t get a tight […]

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A month ago, I did a story about cities thinking about ways to entice developers into building again. At that point, there were a lot of rumblings coming out of Vancouver about bold new possibilities for luring developers into building, especially building affordable housing, while Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts was still pondering. Yesterday, Dianne came […]

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