For the last several years, Vancouver businesses have seen their taxes significantly lowered and even, in some years, frozen, as a result of the city’s policy of shifting the proportion of taxes between businesses and residents. It appears that’s going to change significantly this year. Many people understood during the election that a new Vision […]

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I’m just reading an interesting paper published this year by UBC law professor Douglas Harris about the rise of the condo in North American and particularly Vancouver. As of the 2006 census, he noted, 37 per cent of all residents of Vancouver lived in a strata condo. I can only imagine what the percentage will […]

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In case anyone feels they haven’t had a chance to fully express themselves yet about the story of the bear that road into town on a garbage truck and popped into the media eye someone around the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library. I see one of our regular bloggers here got the first, […]

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For those who missed it in the paper, here in my late link to the story in last Friday’s paper, detailing concerns from the within the board of First United and the executive of the Vancouver-Burrard presbytery about the shelter at First United. Rev. Ric Matthews did not return a couple of calls I made […]

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The election season was so much fun that now I need to sleep somewhere for a solid week. So here I am, living in a campsite yurt on the beach in north Oahu, surrounded by feral chickens and a limited selection of local surfers who have hunted out this little gem, a perfect, building-free cove […]

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One of the priorities that Mayor Gregor Robertson set out for this term is to explore new ways to create affordable housing in Vancouver. That will be one of this administration’s toughest challenges. The other goals he has — promoting a Vancouver economy, pushing to become “the greenest city,” and more — are relatively easy […]

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Talk of rising sea levels always sounds so far away, Al Gore-ishly distant. But in the last few months, it’s come right to home for people all around the province as they’re coming to terms with new provincial guidelines that now set projected future levels significantly higher than past projections did. My story on what […]

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This is what some might call abusing your role as a public commentator and others might say is courageous investigative reporting, but I just have to gripe momentarily about annoying policies — some new, some old — in the city’s money-making parking department. One is: Have you noticed that the city has shortened up its […]

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It’s painful to watch the strange argument that erupts every fall as the city and ministry can’t seem to agree on funding new winter shelter beds. It ended Friday, with Housing Minister Rich Coleman’s announcement that he’s funding two new shelters (as well as announcing the eventual phasing out of the sometimes controversial First United […]

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Another strange winter of tussling between the city and province over funding winter-shelter beds. As my story here outlines, the province is going to open some winter-shelter beds, but not in the areas where city staff say they’re needed. The last two years, the city has asked for — and eventually received, after some struggle […]

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