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Internal report on Vancouver casino shows who spends on gambling in the region

March 28th, 2011 · 48 Comments

We haven’t been able to see detailed marketing projections for the Paragon/Edgewater casino until now because the company has kept its own reports on this confidential. But the B.C. Lottery Corporation report commissioned to check out Paragon’s revenue projections, put in as part of their bid, is (sort of) available to the public. (And the […]

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New technology hits Vancouver streets: parking meters, countdown lights

March 25th, 2011 · 34 Comments

After years where Vancouver seemed to be behind other cities I visited, where you could pay for your street parking with a credit card while locally you still had to dig out coins (what’s that?), the city started to catch up a couple of years ago by implementing a cellphone-pay parking system. Ooh, modern. In […]

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Civilized crowd says: “We welcome density, but not 26-storey tower.”

March 22nd, 2011 · 57 Comments

A proposed tower at Kingsway and Broadway is the latest of many struggles going on in the city over new density in established neighbourhoods (West End, Marpole, Arbutus, Shannon Mews). Fights about density are often portrayed in simplistic terms: NIMBY residents who won’t accept the city is growing or evil planners colluding with developers to […]

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Vancouver city manager: There is no building moratorium in the Downtown Eastside

March 22nd, 2011 · 28 Comments

Everything ground to a confused halt in the Downtown Eastside last month, after city council — apparently bowing to pressure from a Mike Harcourt-led community group plus others — delayed voting on a public hearing to increase allowable building heights in DTES. Since then, city manager Penny Ballem has been working with the two main […]

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Another round of lawsuits from buyers at Olympic village

March 17th, 2011 · 28 Comments

Buyers of pre-sale condos frequently have complaints when they move into the suites that they had only seen on paper when purchasing. From parking-garage leaks to countertops that stain to units whose views are not what was expected, I’ve heard all many stories over the years. Buyers at the Olympic village, though, are claiming that […]

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BC Place renos don’t depend on casino money

March 15th, 2011 · 68 Comments

That’s the word from PavCo CEO Warren Buckley, as he spelled out for me exactly how the $563-million renos are being financed for BC Place. My story is just one small effort to isolate some of the actual facts in the pile-up of information and misinformation debris that has been accumulating around this project. There […]

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Who would you choose as your top pick for a person who has shaped Vancouver?

March 15th, 2011 · 53 Comments

The 125th birthday is approaching and people are planning all kinds of commemorative events. Ive been asked to be on a radio program to talk about a person I think has made a major contribution to shaping the city. I have some ideas of my own but would love to hear yours while I’m making […]

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How would Vancouver perform in an earthquake?

March 11th, 2011 · 58 Comments

Watching the non-stop news on Japan and thinking of the earthquake in Christchurch, you have to wonder what exactly would happen in Vancouver if there were a similar earthquake. The tsunami rolling through the Sendai airport made me wonder about our airport. The stories of buildings pancaking in Christchurch made me think about how buildings […]

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Casino workers’ union glum about pile-on of opposition, fears that all jobs will be lost

March 8th, 2011 · 64 Comments

Another round of speakers Tuesday night, ably tweeted by several at the meeting. Earlier in the day, I spoke with the president of the casino workers’ union and others about the wave of opposition that has emerged. Story here. As well, just to try to sort out some of the past, I am appending here […]

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Wanted: Your personal stories about Christy Clark, good, bad, indifferent

March 7th, 2011 · 25 Comments

Christy Clark has touched a lot of people’s lives, from her time as a student at Burnaby South to her junior-politico days as head of the Young Libs at Simon Fraser University, and from MLA to talk-show host. I’m working on a long-term profile of our premier-designate. I’ve talked to a lot of the usual […]

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