Big feature today in the Globe by Lisa Rochon on Surrey and its big plans for the future, after her visit out here for the TownShift competition.

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TransLink officials have been hoping that the Games would let them show off what they could do with a healthy budget and a million riders. That hope is being realized. The system is actually hitting 1.5 million riders — almost double the normal 800,000. (My Globe story here.) I know (thanks to gmgw) that not […]

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Most of the flag-bedecked partiers here don’t have a clue that we’re being trashed in the international media and, even if they did, they probably wouldn’t care. But it’s a big topic among the inner circle of Olympics diehards, reporters and news junkies. I got invited to give a local perspective on the Games and […]

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1. It was a beautiful day, with crocuses blooming and people shedding too-warm jackets everywhere as they buzzed through the city. 2. It’s nice to see the city hasn’t cleaned up the Downtown Eastside. It’s there in all its usual glory: drug dealers around the Carnegie, people smoking crack in the alleys, more people selling […]

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Oh, you may all be thinking you’re having a great time out there in your Canadian-flag capes, having a great time crying when our medal-winners make their charming, modest speeches  and then partying your hearts out at various live sites, bars, and overcrowded buses. But, didn’t you know, things are not really so great. We’re […]

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This just in from the Vancouver police. I’m not sure this is going to make Quebec, currently fulminating over the lack of a French presence at the opening ceremonies, feel any better. Vancouver – Vancouver Police with support of the V2010 Joint Intelligence Group are announcing more arrests in connection with the protests last weekend. Police have arrested a man they suspect […]

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Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson caught the media’s attention today with a brief answer he gave at a scrum after a totally different newser (Olympic village gets certified as greenest neighbourhood in North America by U.S. agency). Yes, he was concerned about the cauldron being inaccessible to visitors. And he made a call to John Furlong […]

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This statement, sent to the Georgia Straight, is rapidly making the rounds here and there. In defense of the black bloc: A communique from Olympic resisters February 14th, 2010 – Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories   On February 12th and 13th, 2010, thousands of courageous individuals came together to resist the 2010 Olympic police state and […]

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No black hoodies or newsbox-stand throwing today. Instead, activists who organized the rally and march in the Downtown Eastside today did a lot of smart things. 1. They held the rally at Pigeon Park, where there are lots of local people easily available for news crews to interview, people who were happy to talk about […]

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In the last two days, I’ve heard from two kinds of people: those who are over-the-top thrilled with the experience of the Games so far and those who are trying to be thrilled, but who have spent a lot of time roaming aimlessly in the streets, sometimes lining up for hours to get into venues […]

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