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Entries from January 2016

What were the top stories of 2014? What were the important but uncovered ones? And what are the stories to watch in 2015?

December 28th, 2014 · 3 Comments

Why should only the paid media pundits get to do this? I’m sure this group has thoughts. So do I, actually, but my brain is far too goose-and-turkey-logged to formulate them into anything coherent. But I can tell from the sporadic comments even over Christmas that many of you are still firing on all cylinders. […]

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Next experiment in shipping-container social housing: seven storeys

December 27th, 2014 · 8 Comments

The housing non-profit Atira built a three-storey building out of shipping containers a couple of years ago. Now Atira is launching an even more ambitious effort, a seven-storey building composed out of 80 to 90 shipping containers. My Globe story is here, with a render. You can also look at the rezoning proposal on the […]

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Is the sales tax the best way to pay for transit? No, but it’s politically sellable, says LA

December 17th, 2014 · 30 Comments

For those who don’t follow me on Twitter (are there any?), I was in Los Angeles recently. Yes, one of my favourite cities, which I’ll explain another time. But while I was there, observing the anguish of house monsterization (a real word, it appears), the worry about gentrification brought on by bike lanes (a real […]

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Mayors appear headed for .5 per cent sales tax to fund 10 years of transit improvements

December 11th, 2014 · 83 Comments

We’ll be hearing any hour now what the final wording and funding choice is for the regional mayors, as they head into the referendum. But all indications I’ve had the past two weeks is that it’s the sales tax only, as I wrote in my Globe story. Fuel tax is seen as a losing proposition […]

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The 2015 Lower Mainland transit referendum: hang on for the ride

December 2nd, 2014 · 23 Comments

Okay, go ahead and comment. What more can we say? The new mayors’ council is about to see this Friday the proposed preamble and question that will go to the province for approval. By next Friday, they have to sent their tweaked version on to the province and cabinet. Everyone is gearing up to take […]

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Mayor promised to do things differently. Now what about everyone else?

December 2nd, 2014 · 16 Comments

We are all on pins and needles, awaiting word any day now from the mayor’s office about the radical changes in communication, accessibility, and general user-friendliness about to take place as a result of the mayor’s pre-election apology and post-election promise to do better. I ran into an old city-hall fellow traveller recently, who reminded […]

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