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Entries from January 2016

Not sure whether to spend or scrimp? How about giving it away?

December 16th, 2008 · No Comments

It seems like every time I go out these days, my pals and random acquaintances are agonizing about what to do in the present economy. To date, no one is my immediate circle has lost a job or seems likely to imminently, though there’s a lot of worry. So the dilemma becomes, since we are […]

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The new power bloc has its Christmas party

December 15th, 2008 · 3 Comments

As I’ve written in years past, there are two big “leftie” parties in Vancouver that have a certain gravitational pull on the social scene here. The first one, usually the first weekend in December, is organized by one group and tends to bring out a few more union/standard NDP types. The other is organized by […]

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Tags: City Hall Talk

The movie scene at city hall the day of the “transitioning”

December 14th, 2008 · 3 Comments

Unfortunately, all of the news coverage you’ve read or are likely to read about yesterday’s kick-off of the French Revolution at city hall (city manager Judy Rogers replaced with former deputy health minister Penny Ballem) can’t quite capture the scene down at 12th and Cambie. A couple of us got the word last night that […]

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Tags: City Hall Talk

Judy Rogers-Penny Ballem 3

December 14th, 2008 · 2 Comments

The party talk this weekend is all about the Visionista’s move to replace Judy Rogers with former deputy health minister Penny Ballem, a highly unusual move at a local government level. It’s not unusual to get rid of a city manager. It is unusual to put in someone with zero experience in city issues. Typically, […]

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Tags: City Hall Talk

Early story on Judy Rogers’ dismissal

December 12th, 2008 · 3 Comments

Here’s my early file to the Globe on this. Stay tuned for more.

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Tags: City Hall Talk

The official press release from city hall re Judy Rogers/Penny Ballem

December 12th, 2008 · 1 Comment

And I’ll have a story on the Globe and Mail’s website shortly about my interviews with Gregor Robertson and Judy Rogers. Mayor and Council Members Announce New City Manager Mayor Gregor Robertson today announced that Dr. Penny Ballem will join the City of Vancouver as City Manager, taking over from Judy Rogers, who has served […]

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Judy Rogers out. Penny Ballem new city manager

December 12th, 2008 · 18 Comments

More to come.  Watch this space.;

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Vision homelessness efforts need to be solid

December 12th, 2008 · 10 Comments

My last CTV blog post looked at the debate over whether homelessness is worth trying to tackle (some people feel like it’s too big a job for the city) and also a warning about scrambling together homeless shelters too quickly. As people in the Downtown Eastside know too well, those who have been sleeping on […]

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City to put $300,000 from contingency fund into homeless effort

December 12th, 2008 · No Comments

I see from this story by my Vancouver Sun counterpart Catherine Rolfsen that NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton is objecting to the city (or, to be more precise, Vision Vancouver) putting $300,000 from its contingency reserve into funding shelters, which it hasn’t typically done in the past. She’s right on that. However, the city has been […]

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The revolution has its offices at Hastings and Cambie

December 12th, 2008 · No Comments

It came to my attention recently while I was researching another story, that Joel Solomon’s Renewal Partners and Tides Canada have moved into the Flack Block, that beautifully restored heritage building at the corner of Hastings and Cambie. (A Robert Fung project.) Those two groups, which are focused on investing in social-change businesses and non-profits, […]

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