It seemed like just another Christmas party, but clearly there was a lot going on Saturday night at the traditional gathering, hosted by Bill Tieleman, Harvey McKinnon and Vanessa Geary among others, of the green/progressive/media/COPE/Vision/NDP crowd — which has also attracted NPA councillors Peter Ladner and Gordon Price in the past — frequently called “the […]
Traditional lefty party precedes NDP make-up, school-closure delay, rent protest
December 6th, 2010 · 28 Comments
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Queen of Vancouver art: Catriona Jeffries
December 6th, 2010 · 13 Comments
Every so often, it’s great to take a break from Vancouver politics and do something totally different. This time, I got to spent time with gallerist Catriona Jeffries at her unique art space in the False Creek Flats — a little like going on a mini-trip to Berlin or a quiet corner of the Tate […]
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Toronto’s new mayor declares “transit city is dead” as he takes aim at streetcars, not just bikes
December 3rd, 2010 · 77 Comments
Yikes, we think road rage against nasty cyclists who take up pavement space is bad here. Didn’t realize that anyone who got in the way of cars, i.e. light rail or streetcars, might be next on the list. Watch out, people in crosswalks! Your days may be numbered
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Virginia Greene dies
December 3rd, 2010 · 5 Comments
So sad to hear this news about Virginia Greene, the former head of the Business Council of B.C. I met Virginia years ago at a party, not having a clue who she was. We spent half the evening swapping stories about dealing with difficult teenagers. Her utter frankness about how hard it was (she didn’t […]
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Vancouver employee survey shows lack of confidence in leadership — but people want to stay working at the city
December 1st, 2010 · 12 Comments
Didn’t get this up last night, but here is my story on the Vancouver city hall employee survey that popped up as a surprise item at the last minute for yesterday’s council meeting, with city manager Penny Ballem doing a two-hour presentation and Q and A with council on the survey plus a report on […]
Tags: City Hall Talk
The Olympic village sales strategy: Rennie
November 30th, 2010 · 9 Comments
Trying to get a struggling real-estate project to start smelling like a rose again is one of the more difficult jobs in marketing. The Olympic village hasn’t suffered from just cost overruns and being built on an incredible timeline and some tussles with the city over design and green stuff. It’s also become everyone’s favourite […]
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Another day, another poll, a jump in disapproval for Mayor Gregor Robertson
November 30th, 2010 · 42 Comments
This year promises to be the most-polled ever in advance of a civic election, as various polling companies pile on to what promises to be a hard-fought battle for Vancouver city council in 2011. The latest out, another Justason Market Intelligence poll, showing that some noticeable fraction of people are moving from undecided to disapproving […]
Tags: 2011 Vancouver Civic Election
Death of the livable region plan, says Peter Ladner
November 29th, 2010 · 27 Comments
This thoughtful column from former city councillor Peter Ladner.
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News today: Foreclosure on Millennium’s West Van development; shelter opens; the other Robertson blasts park board
November 26th, 2010 · 71 Comments
Quick links to news today. – The lenders for Millennium Development’s Evelyn Drive project have gone to court to start foreclosure proceedings, according to the CBC. A real blow for Millennium, even more than the village receivership in a way. It came the morning after Bob Rennie praised them for all the work they’d done […]
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After some nail-biting at Vancouver city hall, money for shelters is announced
November 24th, 2010 · 28 Comments
There was huge anxiety at Vancouver city hall the last two months over whether Housing Minister Rich Coleman would come up with the money to fund the four extra winter shelters that operated last year. In fact, people I talked to sounded sincerely dismayed at what seemed to be an uncompromising message from the province […]
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