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Entries from January 2016

Battle for Vancouver council shows a tight fight between Vision, Greens at bottom of list

October 31st, 2014 · 10 Comments

Yes, I know, polls. But they remain, as imperfect as they inevitably are, a good way for us to understand what is going on with campaigns beyond the spin and headlines. This Justason poll, which I wrote about here, is the first attempt to get online panelists to look at something resembling a ballot to […]

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Robertson stumbles as he tries to answer LaPointe question about union deal

October 27th, 2014 · 46 Comments

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson can be forceful about the issues he has convictions on, but something I’ve noticed over the years is how poorly he handles questions where he thinks he might be accused of doing something wrong but he isn’t quite sure. That was on display full force Sunday, when the mayor was asked […]

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This week in the Vancouver civic election campaign 2011

October 25th, 2014 · No Comments

A look back in history: Oct. 20 Mayor Gregor Robertson pledged Wednesday a Vision Vancouver council will institute a moratorium on expanded gambling in the city if reelected on Nov. 19. Saying citizens had made it clear they don’t favour destination casinos, Robertson said his council “would ignore” any future studies that support the expansion […]

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Campaign pressures strip some of the veneer off mayoral candidates LaPointe, Robertson

October 25th, 2014 · 8 Comments

It’s tough to be on the political stage. A real testing ground where previously unknown (to the public) aspects of someone’s personality come out. Some critics say campaigns are a terrible process for deciding on candidates, since they’re scrutinized for the smallest and sometimes most picayune things. On the other hand, the campaign crucible does […]

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The NPA transportation plan: counterflow lanes on major arterials, more buses, an “affordable” subway

October 24th, 2014 · 21 Comments

I’m a few days late with this, I know. Getting kind of hectic out there. Anyway, the NPA’s Kirk LaPointe presented the party’s plan on transportation, which was mainly more buses, an “affordable” subway built within five years (or at least aim for that), and something a lot of reporters were intrigued by — counterflow […]

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Tags: 2014 Vancouver Civic Election

Some residents near Granville Bridge surprised, dismayed by city decision to open shelter, hotel for homeless

October 21st, 2014 · 2 Comments

The city’s swift move to open a shelter at 900 Pacific Street, in advance of any provincial decisions about winter-shelter funding, and to lease the Quality Inn for two years, in the absence of any conversations with the province about support, is a sign of Vision Vancouver ramping things up even further in its aggressive […]

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Province has a Friday surprise for Metro Van: Turns down bylaw on garbage-shipping ban, announces review

October 21st, 2014 · 2 Comments

Bad news always comes on Fridays in the media world, so there it was on Friday last week, the long-awaited decision from Victoria on whether to approve Metro Vancouver’s new bylaw 280. That was a measure designed to stop garbage trucks from taking waste out of the region to get it buried at cheaper landfills […]

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Four years after CityPlan, two areas adopt Visions, but Dunbar opposed major change

October 20th, 2014 · 6 Comments

Council accepts Dunbar’s vision for neighbourhood: Planners said rejection of the report, which was opposed by some residents, would have undermined the future of the CityPlan.: [Final Edition] Ward, Doug. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 11 Sep 1998: B4.

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COPE called CityPlan ‘weak, vague’

October 20th, 2014 · No Comments

CORE summary finds CityPlan `weak, vague’: [FINAL Edition] Bula, Frances. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 31 May 1995: B.5. Turn on hit highlighting for speaking browsers by selecting the Enter button Hide highlighting Abstract (summary) Translate Abstract CityPlan: Vague, too general and weak? Or a broad vision of what people in Vancouver want that will […]

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A look back in history: CityPlan is finalized December 1994

October 20th, 2014 · No Comments

Kinda scary, but apparently I was covering CityPlan 20 years ago. A look back in time at some of the real debates going on.   Reaction to city’s urban-village vision of the future not all neighborly: [FINAL C Edition] Bula, Frances. The Vancouver Sun [Vancouver, B.C] 06 Dec 1994: B3. Turn on hit highlighting for […]

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