I got to do a fun story in BCBusiness on why we’re hard-wired to believe the Olympics will save us or ruin us, as the new science of behavioural economics has helped us understand. My research also helped me understand why now is the moment when we’re all in the worst possible mood we’re likely […]

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As the Pappajohn brothers desperately look for ways to salvage their Jameson House tower project downtown, they’ve found themselves fighting not just to get financing but also fighting to keep their unhappy pre-sale buyers on board. Derrick Penner’s story in the Sun this morning details the current state of legal affairs among all the parties […]

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Oops, forgot to post my story from the Globe today earlier than this. But here it is. A look at what’s going on, as the city and province try to figure out where all those 500 people now camping out at First United and a warehouse near Great Northern and in city buildings under the […]

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The rumbling started this morning about the announcement that Housing Minister Rich Coleman was going to become the Downtown Eastside czar. As it turns out, it’s a little more than that. He’s actually being put in charge of figuring out what all is going on with homelessness, mental health and addiction in five different communities, […]

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Don’t ask me how I know but I do. THe deal is still on to redevelop the Little Mountain social housing site near Queen Elizabeth Park.  Housing Minister Rich Coleman, BC Housing staff and others had a meeting Friday with the new CEO of Holborn, Joo Kim Tiah, and Tiah confirmed he’s not leaving. Holborn […]

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I didn’t realize how strongly people felt about the question of One Big Police Force until I did some calling among mayors this week. The question of regional policing is not academic for these people, as they argue for and against, as you can read in my Globe story here.

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Councillor/journalist Geoff Meggs has another interesting tidbit from city hall, the latest report on development permits continuing the downhill slide. By the way, his post below that one is also pretty interesting — a dramatic account of the city meeting over a Fraser Street re-development project, which includes people crying and fainting. Who ever thought […]

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One of my very favourite things about Vancouver (heavy irony, folks) is the way we always think the problems here are unique to us and not actually part of a large trend hitting many cities. So I just love it when readers pass on to me interesting stories about how other cities are tackling exactly […]

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This post is a little belated, since NPA types told me early last week that a new executive was going to be chosen and on Thursday, just on schedule, the list of new names came out, which you can read, along with new president Michael Davis’s message, here. It’s interesting that the new executive is […]

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After years of court battles between the owners of the Lee Building and the city over the billboard on the top of the building, the city finally won last year. The sign at Broadway and Main has been getting slowly dismantled since then. Now, with that out of the way, city staff are ready to […]

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