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If it doesn’t rain all night, we are in trouble

January 5th, 2009 · 22 Comments

Just got back (near midnight at this point) from several of hours of driving around the main streets in Vancouver. Don’t ask. Clearly an act of insanity, but the point is that I’ve been on the road for several hours since the snow started falling around 5 p.m. The streets were and are at the […]

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A thought for teachers in the new year

January 3rd, 2009 · 6 Comments

I’m prepping for classes, as are tens of thousands of people around this province, and found this thought-provoking quote in a book I’m reading as part of that prep: “Significant learning and critical thinking inevitably induce an ambivalent mix of felings and emotions, in which anger and confusion are as prominent as pleasure and clarity. […]

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Why the side streets aren’t being ploughed etc: the Louie report

January 3rd, 2009 · 24 Comments

Vision Councillor Raymond Louie seems to be the go-to guy on all things snow these days, along with Murray Wightman from city hall staff, so I called him up early this morning (just before he was going out to shovel snow!) to get the update. I am not going to announce breathlessly that I have […]

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A sign of healthy condo projects — cleared sidewalks

January 3rd, 2009 · 9 Comments

My last post elicited a few comments, including this interesting one from Michael Geller about the condo projects that haven’t properly cleared their sidewalks et al. (See below my intro comments.) Since the snow is now coming down even more heavily (I can’t believe it, actually), I thought I’d just continue with the snow postings. […]

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The snow keeps falling … and I’m going on strike

January 3rd, 2009 · 14 Comments

Okay, it’s Saturday morning, we’re at Day 22 of snow in Vancouver, it’s snowing again and I’ve definitely had it. (The record, btw, is 33 days in 64/65. Our first snowfall landed Dec. 13.) I like snow and I’m not a complainer. (The last few weeks have brought home to me, once again, the reality […]

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The Non-Partisan wars continue

January 2nd, 2009 · 5 Comments

There’s been a fair amount of opinionating about the recent Non-Partisan Association board meeting, which saw a struggle between two slates for the 11 directors positions that were open. There are posts here and here, giving two quite different perspectives on what actually went on at that meeting. Not sure how many people will be […]

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A new light in the Downtown Eastside

January 2nd, 2009 · 6 Comments

To start the new year on a (somewhat) cheery note, I saw in my travels through the Downtown Eastside around Christmas Day that the beautiful new neon sign for the Pennsylvania Hotel — a replica of the sign that used to be on the building in the 20s — has gone up at Carrall and […]

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