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B.C. Liberal Party’s high-profile fundraiser, Bob Rennie, steps back, saying he’s done his job

January 16th, 2017 · 3 Comments

I’ve been covering B.C. politics for more than 30 years. In that time, the fundraisers for various parties have been part of the scene. But none of them has achieved the high profile or hostile public reaction that Bob Rennie has. (Back in the Gordon Campbell days, Marty Zlotnik used to be the chief fundraiser. […]

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Vancouver election time: $50,000 dinners, $25,000 lunches, candidates coming and going + more

April 8th, 2014 · 397 Comments

Tried to wrap up all various things going on election-wise with the two big parties these days, which is a fair amount. This is all I could cram in to my Globe story. But to sum up what’s in there, plus more: – NPA fundraiser/gala May 7, where they will announce some candidates. Apparently no […]

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The Bob Rennie annual event: “I told you so” + “Two markets, one paycheque”

May 21st, 2013 · 8 Comments

My account of condo marketer/power broker Bob Rennie’s speech to the development industry, which began with him saying “I told you so” and continued from there. (For those recently living under a rock, Rennie was one of Premier Christy Clark’s most vocal backers, convinced to the last minute she would win.)

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Do you want to know what’s going to happen with the Vancouver Art Gallery’s pitch to move to a new site? Read this for some clues

March 14th, 2013 · 115 Comments

When VAG director Kathleen Bartels made her pitch in late January to an international and local panel assessing whether the City of Vancouver should give the gallery the right to build on the last open block in downtown — a piece of city land — I was there. Sort of. (No, not right in the […]

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Architect Busby, marketer Rennie debate cost of green building

October 6th, 2010 · 13 Comments

The Globe asked me to bring together architect Peter Busby and condo marketer Bob Rennie to talk about building green. Although the two have worked together on more than one project, Peter is a passionate crusader for green buildings and he keeps pushing forward with new strategies all the time, while Bob has come to […]

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The Arthur Erickson legacy: Beautiful buildings and messy drama

May 5th, 2010 · 21 Comments

One of the stranger news items that popped up earlier this year was the report that Arthur Erickson’s brother and executor had filed suit against the woman who was Arthur’s steadfast promoter and champion in his later years. The lawsuit was just the latest chapter in all kinds of messy tussling that had preceded his […]

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Vancouver art gallery abandons False Creek site, still pushes to move

March 4th, 2010 · 49 Comments

Lots of fascinating debate swirling around the Vancouver Art Gallery, as it officially puts an end to the idea of moving to False Creek but continues to look at moving to the old bus depot site on Georgia. Marsha Lederman and I have a story today in the Globe on the decision and what gallery […]

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A squeaker on whether Olympic village condos will sell for enough to save us from debt

February 22nd, 2010 · 15 Comments

Oh, surely with all these wonderful pictures of Vancouver being beamed around the world 24/7, we can rest assured that those Olympic village condos will sell for top prices and ensure that the Malek brothers/Millennium Developments will pay back all the money the city loaned them. Don’t be celebrating too quickly. Even the city’s chief […]

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Vancouver Art Gallery might have to bail on False Creek

June 3rd, 2009 · 20 Comments

As I mentioned in my previous post, there are lots of simmering undercurrents in the city’s attempts to plan Northeast False Creek. One of the biggest is what is happening with the Vancouver Art Gallery. If you’ll recall, Premier Gordon Campbell made the strangest announcement of all time last May when he said the gallery […]

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Rennie: Market coming back, but it’s not the same one

May 21st, 2009 · 6 Comments

Influential city shaper Bob Rennie, who masquerades as a condo marketer, will be giving his annual address to the Urban Development Institute today where he analyzes the market and sales based on statistical research that he gets done for this talk every year. The speech will have lots of facts and figures, along with Bob’s […]

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