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Entries from January 2016

An outsider architect helps add to the fabric of Vancouverism

February 29th, 2012 · 11 Comments

We don’t get many prominent non-Vancouver architects doing business in this city. Our best-known ones — Arthur Erickson, Bing Thom, James Cheng, Peter Busby, Gregory and Richard Henriquez — have generated a lot of star power on their own. But the city is about to see a radically new element in its downtown fabric, with […]

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Jim Green unites his friends and enemies in death

February 29th, 2012 · 5 Comments

Our yesterday’s tributes to Jim Green, who made an indelible mark on Vancouver. My story and Tom Hawthorn’s lovely obituary. Many more tributes in numerous places elsewhere.

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Rize tower chapter 2: Public opponents make arguments from sublime to ridiculous

February 29th, 2012 · 32 Comments

Night two of the public hearing got through about 50 people on the speakers list. Only two or three were in support, the rest opposed for reasons that ranged from reasonable to conspiratorial. I heard, at various points, that the Mount Pleasant Community Plan was no longer a valid document, because it was the result […]

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Comparisons of heights, density of other Mount Pleasant buildings

February 28th, 2012 · 14 Comments

In response to a request from another poster, Joe Just Joe has done heroic work in digging up some numbers for people to compare to the Rize project. They’re buried in a string, so I’m re-posting here. 298 East 11th Avenue (2725 Sophia) 8 stories, 3.0FSR. 350 Kingsway 13 stories (126ft), 3.0 FSR 96 East […]

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Rize tower public hearing: Chapter 1 reveals developer originally pitched a tower of 340 feet

February 28th, 2012 · 33 Comments

A quick resume of last night’s festivities at the first stage of the public hearing for the Rize project at Kingsway and Broadway, which includes five buildings altogether, one of them a 19-storey tower. This is a hearing that many think historic for a lot of reasons. This hearing will set the stage for how […]

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Vancouver park board up against the wall again to trim budget

February 28th, 2012 · 4 Comments

Another year, less lawn-cutting, more tiny cuts. My story on what was being considered by park board. Latest update is that they did not go through with elimination of lifeguard positions.

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The dilemma of the tower outside the downtown: RIZE at Kingsway/Broadway

February 26th, 2012 · 105 Comments

Monday night, council will start hearing speakers on the proposed new tower at Kingsway and Broadway, one that promises to be a landmark and precedent (or, some say, eyesore and negative force) for the booming Mount Pleasant area. The project has also given birth to an extremely vocal and effective opposition group that says the […]

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Did people in Vancouver election get strange (fake) calls from COPE campaign?

February 24th, 2012 · 7 Comments

I’ve been reading the coverage in the Ottawa Citizen about phone calls that were made during the federal election that appeared to be trying to suppress the Liberal vote, either by having the caller pretend to be with the Liberal candidate’s campaign and making harassing calls or through other tactics. That put me in mind […]

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Jim Green: “I hope I’ve made the city a better city.”

February 24th, 2012 · 4 Comments

My story on a conversation with Jim as he looks back on a life that he filled to the brim.

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City Plumber answers two new questions

February 22nd, 2012 · 3 Comments

Do any of those TransLink fare-evading bums ever pay their fines? And would Vancouver consider setting up its own power company? Enjoy.

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