This just in from city hall, folks, as leaks continue to sprout at city hall. (For those who don’t realize the intricacies, the Globe’s Saturday story about chief financial officer Estelle Lo’s severance pay was information that came from, yes, yet another in-camera meeting. I’m beginning to wonder when we’re all just going to get […]

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The wheels are starting to turn with Vision Vancouver’s big homelessness plan. As part of that, mayor-to-be Gregor Robertson, Councillor Raymond Louie and Housing Minister Rich Coleman had a meeting on the weekend to talk about what’s possible and what’s not. You can read my Globe story here.

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In keeping with my recent post about slow blogs, my former Vancouver Sun colleague Lee Bacchus is coincidentally launching a blog — Splinter in Your Eye — which is a minimalist “slow” blog (, composed almost entirely of images that focus on Vancouver in transition. Photos are by Lee, illustrations by Bernie Lyon. A great […]

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My latest column in Vancouver magazine looks at the way cities around the world are trying to reproduce Vancouver — some of them right down to the street names and hand railings, others in a more nuanced way.

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I have this story in today’s Globe and Mail about Tony Pappajohn, a local guy, who has been caught in the economic downdraft and credit squeeze. That’s put in jeopardy the beautifully designed new tower he was building on Hastings Street, a sad chapter for a family that’s part of the history of Vancouver.

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I know it’s hard for almost anyone to pay attention to anything but the riveting Gregor Robertson two-zone SkyTrain ticket uproar, but a short station break to let you know that the Non-Partisan Association’s announcement today was that it would support spending $33 million to fix the Burrard Bridge to make it safer for cyclists. […]

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City planners and fans often like to brag about the way Vancouver is a poster city for compact living downtown. The West End, our first downtown neighbourhood, is frequently (and mistakenly) referred to as a neighbourhood with a density equivalent to Manhattan’s, but more attractive with its leafy and quiet streets. False Creek North is […]

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There isn’t a business or operation around that hasn’t got a story to tell about the impact of the current economic turbulence. The Courier this week reported on the impacts that charities are seeing in donations. A friend who runs a bookstore told me last night that he’s had a couple of calls in the […]

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When Peter Ladner and the Non-Partisan Association launched the party platform last week, they also kicked off a round of commentary about Ladner’s supposed new emphasis on dealing with crime and boosting police and other security measures. Some saw it as a surprise. I didn’t. I said in a story I wrote in the first […]

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There’s a lot of hysteria out in Developer World, with all the rumours flying about whose projects are in trouble and whose aren’t. Adding to the problems, people are transferring the details of one project to another as they pass rumours around. As a result, the news that the Infinity Towers project in Surrey has […]

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