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Entries Tagged as 'Uncategorized'

Debate on Burrard Bridge cycling lanes opened up

January 28th, 2009 · 23 Comments

Here we go, the debate begins. The city is holding a public session this Saturday on the bridge cycling lanes, as per this notice I just got sent. If you can’t make it on Saturday (though why you wouldn’t want to spend a sunny Saturday locked in a community centre, arguing about who gets which […]

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What are the next steps with the Burnaby Centre for the mentally ill and addicted

January 27th, 2009 · 25 Comments

Monte Paulsen asked a good question about my recent story on the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health & Addictions, which is a 100-bed facility out near BCIT that is pioneering an incredibly comprehensive and high level of care for those people whose problems with combos of mental illness, addiction, and physical disabilities are so severe […]

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Former councillor Jim Green hired to help on Olympic village

January 27th, 2009 · 10 Comments

I see my former Sun buddy Jeff Lee was the first to get this story in print about Jim Green being hired by Millennium Developments to help out with the Olympic village and possibly other projects of theirs. Of course, the sub-text is that this must be about Jim, who helped started the Vision Vancouver […]

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Civic politics on NW 9-10

January 27th, 2009 · 4 Comments

I’m on the Bill Good show this morning with Daniel Fontaine, blogger and former Sam Sullivan chief of staff, talking about all things civic civilly. I think.

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B.C.’s new centre for the homeless after six months

January 26th, 2009 · 8 Comments

I got a chance recently to go out to the new Burnaby Centre for Mental Health & Addictions, the centre that was announced last February by Premier Gordon Campbell as part of a new push to treat the mentally ill + addicted + often homeless and physically sick. It’s been open since June and taking […]

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An intermission in Seattle: Obama politics, job losses and Bob Rennie

January 24th, 2009 · 15 Comments

Sorry to disappoint those of you who thought I’d gone dark because I was in the midst of a deep investigation. Instead, all I’ve done is escape to Seattle for a couple of days — always a great way to get a new take on cities, people, art and the economy. It’s been great to eavesdrop […]

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Olympic village troubles put Vancouver in exclusive club

January 21st, 2009 · 11 Comments

Well, we always wanted to be a world-class city. And now we are, as you can see from this article in the Guardian, documenting London’s troubles in financing its Olympic athletes’ village. And what’s the deal with Whistler? Why aren’t they having the same troubles? They seem to be doing just fine, as Bruce Constantineau’s […]

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Talking turkey on the CBC about urban chickens

January 21st, 2009 · 12 Comments

That’s what a group of us will be doing this afternoon on CBC’s The Point, with Aamer Haleem. The Point panelists, including Simi Sara here in Vancouver, and I will talk about why the trend to allowing and raising urban chickens has emerged, what are the upsides and downsides of chicken raising, and other fascinating topics. It’s […]

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The Coles notes on today’s Olympic village episode

January 21st, 2009 · 18 Comments

You can read news stories with complete paragraphs in other media if you want. (My pal Rod Mickleburgh was covering for the Globe today, and pretty much everyone else was there in force.) Here’s my take on what was new and interesting, beyond the basic news that the city is gearing up to go and […]

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Vancouver inauguration costs: More than a breadbox, less than Obama

January 21st, 2009 · 6 Comments

On the occasion of Barack Obama’s historic inauguration, I was reminded that I asked the city’s communications department a couple of weeks ago for a total on the inauguration costs for the new Vancouver city council. Various Non-Partisan Association types have been muttering for weeks about the costs, with their estimate of the total going […]

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