The raging debates over the snow and city responses to it continue. I’m finding it fascinating how much of the attention is focused on Vancouver, where the whole issue has turned into a debate along political party lines. I guess the snow in Surrey, Coquitlam, North Van and so on is truly non-partisan. I heard […]

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I noticed this article in the New York Times on the weekend, suggesting that San Francisco is considering a congestion tax (in the first part of the story) but then (in the second part of the story) hinting that there’s less enthusiasm for it in these economically troubled times. Nothing like a recession to work […]

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Just got back (near midnight at this point) from several of hours of driving around the main streets in Vancouver. Don’t ask. Clearly an act of insanity, but the point is that I’ve been on the road for several hours since the snow started falling around 5 p.m. The streets were and are at the […]

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Vision Councillor Raymond Louie seems to be the go-to guy on all things snow these days, along with Murray Wightman from city hall staff, so I called him up early this morning (just before he was going out to shovel snow!) to get the update. I am not going to announce breathlessly that I have […]

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My last post elicited a few comments, including this interesting one from Michael Geller about the condo projects that haven’t properly cleared their sidewalks et al. (See below my intro comments.) Since the snow is now coming down even more heavily (I can’t believe it, actually), I thought I’d just continue with the snow postings. […]

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Okay, it’s Saturday morning, we’re at Day 22 of snow in Vancouver, it’s snowing again and I’ve definitely had it. (The record, btw, is 33 days in 64/65. Our first snowfall landed Dec. 13.) I like snow and I’m not a complainer. (The last few weeks have brought home to me, once again, the reality […]

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That’s what developers are saying in my Globe story, which was published Dec. 24. Economy has builders eyeing a return to rental apartments Frances Bula. The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ont.: Dec 24, 2008. With the British Columbia condo market in a deep freeze, developers are looking at constructing a form of housing that hasn’t […]

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From: Graves, Judy Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 11:44 AM To: [Removed] It looks like you have had unprecedented success with the expanded shelter openings. It has been well over a decade since there have been so few people sleeping rough in the DTES overnight during Extreme Weather. The whole area was quiet, very few […]

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I’ve heard some people fretting that the province may be stalling on construction of all its fancy new social housing projects, specifically the 12 fast-tracked ones in Vancouver. But, au contraire, it seems as though they’re just working out a better deal. As the construction industry crashes in B.C., it’s not all bleak news, it […]

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Someone sent me a link to this New York Times article extolling the virtues of Vancouver as a second-home base for non-Canadians. Hmm, I guess the world economy isn’t dead yet. And how nice to see this early indication of the Olympics sell.

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