Showing posts with label British Columbia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British Columbia. Show all posts
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An old concrete utility pole in Mount Pleasant.[/caption]
Above is a close-up of a relative rarity in Vancouver, a precast, spun-concrete utility pole; this one is in a Mount Pleasant back alley. It looks virtually brand new but it's from the 1970s. It bears a maker's label which explains that it was manufactured by the now-defunct company Spun-Beton of Kamloops, B.C. in 1979.
"Béton" is French for concrete and the French pretty much invented prefabricated, reinforced concrete beginning in the 1850s. Their engineers and companies spread the technology around the world so most major languages use the French word for concrete.
An old concrete utility pole in Mount Pleasant.[/caption]Above is a close-up of a relative rarity in Vancouver, a precast, spun-concrete utility pole; this one is in a Mount Pleasant back alley. It looks virtually brand new but it's from the 1970s. It bears a maker's label which explains that it was manufactured by the now-defunct company Spun-Beton of Kamloops, B.C. in 1979.
"Béton" is French for concrete and the French pretty much invented prefabricated, reinforced concrete beginning in the 1850s. Their engineers and companies spread the technology around the world so most major languages use the French word for concrete.
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Needle exchange kit from 2008. Tourniquet, cotton balls, cooker, condom, sterile water, alcohol swabs, needles of different gauges. Tom Huffman.[/caption]
For eight years the City of Abbotsford has dug in its heels and drawn the line against harm reduction services being offered within its city limits -- services such as needle exchange programs, medical marijuana dispensaries, or safe injection sites such as Vancouver's very successful, life-saving, Insite program.
The city appears to have changed its mind. According to a news release by the Pivot Legal Society, last night Abbotsford City Council, following a public hearing, voted to remove the eight-year-old references to "harm reduction" in their zoning bylaw; references specifically included back in 2005 to prohibit harm-reduction services in any zone of the City of Abbotsford.
According to the by-law, harm reduction use included:
Removing this language from the zoning by-law now opens the way for lifesaving harm reduction services to be legally offered within the city, such as the needle exchange program which the Fraser Health Authority has previously proposed for Abbotsford in its Harm Reduction Service Plan of 2012.
That harm reduction plan, which was pointedly predicated on the elimination of the by-law restrictions proposed a fixed-site and mobile needle exchange system -- Harm Reduction Supplies Distribution Program (HRDSP) -- including outreach services, designed in consultation with area stakeholders including drug users themselves.
Needle exchange kit from 2008. Tourniquet, cotton balls, cooker, condom, sterile water, alcohol swabs, needles of different gauges. Tom Huffman.[/caption]For eight years the City of Abbotsford has dug in its heels and drawn the line against harm reduction services being offered within its city limits -- services such as needle exchange programs, medical marijuana dispensaries, or safe injection sites such as Vancouver's very successful, life-saving, Insite program.
The city appears to have changed its mind. According to a news release by the Pivot Legal Society, last night Abbotsford City Council, following a public hearing, voted to remove the eight-year-old references to "harm reduction" in their zoning bylaw; references specifically included back in 2005 to prohibit harm-reduction services in any zone of the City of Abbotsford.
According to the by-law, harm reduction use included:
- the growing, production, manufacture, sale, distribution and trade of drugs listed in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, including cannabis marijuana, or any by-product of cannabis marijuana, or any substance held out to be cannabis marijuana;
- Methadone treatment clinics and dispensing facilities, except where administered by a Provincially registered pharmacist;
- Needle exchanges, mobile dispensing vans, safe injection sites, and any other similar uses.
Removing this language from the zoning by-law now opens the way for lifesaving harm reduction services to be legally offered within the city, such as the needle exchange program which the Fraser Health Authority has previously proposed for Abbotsford in its Harm Reduction Service Plan of 2012.
That harm reduction plan, which was pointedly predicated on the elimination of the by-law restrictions proposed a fixed-site and mobile needle exchange system -- Harm Reduction Supplies Distribution Program (HRDSP) -- including outreach services, designed in consultation with area stakeholders including drug users themselves.
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A living homeless Nativity display. Unfortunately the Chihuahua ran away.[/caption]
Last night it was a bit colder for homeless people in Vancouver than in Abbotsford, but I'm only referring to the temperature -- Abbotsford is being plenty cold to it's homeless people -- and at Christmas time to boot. For shame!
Tomorrow morning a B.C. Supreme Court judge is expected to rule whether to grant an injunction ordering a group of 20-or-so homeless people to clear out of Jubilee Park and an adjacent parking lot in downtown Abbotsford.
The City argued in a New Westminster court on Tuesday for a sweeping injunction not only to clear out the camp but also to keep homeless people out of parks and other city-owned spaces across Abbotsford.
The "Shitty City in the Country" is trying to solve its homeless problem by forcing all its estimated 117 street people to simply leave town.
A living homeless Nativity display. Unfortunately the Chihuahua ran away.[/caption]Last night it was a bit colder for homeless people in Vancouver than in Abbotsford, but I'm only referring to the temperature -- Abbotsford is being plenty cold to it's homeless people -- and at Christmas time to boot. For shame!
Tomorrow morning a B.C. Supreme Court judge is expected to rule whether to grant an injunction ordering a group of 20-or-so homeless people to clear out of Jubilee Park and an adjacent parking lot in downtown Abbotsford.
The City argued in a New Westminster court on Tuesday for a sweeping injunction not only to clear out the camp but also to keep homeless people out of parks and other city-owned spaces across Abbotsford.
The "
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Tent city! A leaky condo on 7th Avenue.[/caption]
As I rode towards my sleeping spot last night -- past the gently dilapidated apartment buildings of Fairview, running down like old clocks, with their mildew smells and their small, $900-plus suites -- and then past a few of the tent cities, oops... leaky condos, on 7th Avenue surrounded by scaffolding and draped in green mesh -- I couldn't help but reflect on how lucky I was to be homeless. When I arrived at my parkade, cozy and dry and smack up against another leaky condo... let me just say that gladness filled my heart.
Tent city! A leaky condo on 7th Avenue.[/caption]As I rode towards my sleeping spot last night -- past the gently dilapidated apartment buildings of Fairview, running down like old clocks, with their mildew smells and their small, $900-plus suites -- and then past a few of the tent cities, oops... leaky condos, on 7th Avenue surrounded by scaffolding and draped in green mesh -- I couldn't help but reflect on how lucky I was to be homeless. When I arrived at my parkade, cozy and dry and smack up against another leaky condo... let me just say that gladness filled my heart.
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A Google Map showing the Jubilee Park exodus to an adjacent parking lot.[/caption]
A group of homeless people who have been camping in Abbotsford's Jubilee Park -- some for 50 days -- have picked up and moved -- again. This time to an adjacent parking lot. And by the time you read this they may have been moved again -- forcibly by the City of Abbotsford.
Thursday morning, by 10:30 a.m. an early news report described how dozens of homeless people were dismantling their tent city in Jubilee Park and moving it piece-by-piece to a parking lot across the street on private property, where a huge eight-foot wooden wall was erected to screen the new camp from the elements.
The plywood wall designed to act as a windbreak for the new camp is made in triangular, free-standing, sections which reportedly surrounds the camp on all four sides. There are gaps between the sections to act as doorways which can be covered with tarps. A local company donated their expertise and labour to build the wall, which was entirely made using donated materials.
A Google Map showing the Jubilee Park exodus to an adjacent parking lot.[/caption]A group of homeless people who have been camping in Abbotsford's Jubilee Park -- some for 50 days -- have picked up and moved -- again. This time to an adjacent parking lot. And by the time you read this they may have been moved again -- forcibly by the City of Abbotsford.
Thursday morning, by 10:30 a.m. an early news report described how dozens of homeless people were dismantling their tent city in Jubilee Park and moving it piece-by-piece to a parking lot across the street on private property, where a huge eight-foot wooden wall was erected to screen the new camp from the elements.
The plywood wall designed to act as a windbreak for the new camp is made in triangular, free-standing, sections which reportedly surrounds the camp on all four sides. There are gaps between the sections to act as doorways which can be covered with tarps. A local company donated their expertise and labour to build the wall, which was entirely made using donated materials.
Living in a rain forest climate we're used to letting nature wash our streets and buildings and, apparently our mountains. Since we haven't had anywhere near our normal rainfall for months, some things are beginning to look a little unkempt. I'd have thought we'd have stepped into the breach by now.
Tourism is a big part of the B.C. economy; the guests have a right to see a clean house don't they? I mean, we should have "people" to look after this sort of thing -- a little dusting, a little sweeping. It's not rocket science.
Just look at the picture below of Grouse Mountain, on the north shore of Burrard Inlet -- dust-bunny central! It's so bad you can see it from Broadway and Cambie in Vancouver -- over 15 kilometres away. Click the image to enlarge.
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Gouges, scratches, and dust everywhere. We're not taking good care of the place, are we?[/caption]
Encorp Pacific is testing a pilot program called "Return-It Express" at a Kensington Square location -- little more than a kiosk where people can drop off their pre-bagged containers.
Encorp Pacific, the industry-based group that oversees the Return-It bottle depot system, unveiled the new Express concept last year to depot operators, and described it as an important new way to further increase beverage container recycling rates. Encorp described the Express experience like so:
Payment is through the customer's online account.
Encorp say the Express concept will increase container recycling, and points to the success of similar systems in Newfoundland, Maine and Oregon. The key to the Express depot is a major change behind the scenes: a central counting centre.
Blah, blah, blah. Under this kind of scheme, recycling rates could increase dramatically, but so would costs. All the sorting that is currently done by customers for free, would become paid work. Is this where the binners come in -- as low-paid sorting labour? Because under this system they certainly can't be customers.
Another benefit Encorp envisions is reduced space requirements for depots (note that Encorp doesn't refer to bottle depots -- just depots).
How could centralizing sorting -- which will actually add new expense to the system -- increase "potential revenue streams" and profitability?
The 17 industry-based Product Stewardship groups are charged under legislation with implementing post-consumer recycling plans for a huge range of consumer products. Each group needs to have drop-off points. Naturally they're turning to the existing network of Return-It bottle depots. That's potentially a lot of money in handling fees for depot operators -- if they can make some room.
Encorp Pacific, the industry-based group that oversees the Return-It bottle depot system, unveiled the new Express concept last year to depot operators, and described it as an important new way to further increase beverage container recycling rates. Encorp described the Express experience like so:
"Return-It™ Express will offer a fast "in depot" experience. Customers create an online account from home, collect empties in a standard blue recycle bag, bring them to an Express location, confirm their name and the number of bags on a touch screen and drop off the bags at the Express window. The customers Depot visit is complete."
Payment is through the customer's online account.
Encorp say the Express concept will increase container recycling, and points to the success of similar systems in Newfoundland, Maine and Oregon. The key to the Express depot is a major change behind the scenes: a central counting centre.
"The goal of the Count Centre is to remove the depots' labour requirement to sort and count single stream material by leveraging efficiencies and technology for greater performance."
Blah, blah, blah. Under this kind of scheme, recycling rates could increase dramatically, but so would costs. All the sorting that is currently done by customers for free, would become paid work. Is this where the binners come in -- as low-paid sorting labour? Because under this system they certainly can't be customers.
Another benefit Encorp envisions is reduced space requirements for depots (note that Encorp doesn't refer to bottle depots -- just depots).
"Our goal is to help increase potential revenue streams for depot owners and increase their profitability."
How could centralizing sorting -- which will actually add new expense to the system -- increase "potential revenue streams" and profitability?
- Removing bottle sorting from individual depots reduces redundancies and increases throughput, allowing depots to handle more potential volume.
- Removing bottle sorting frees floor space so depots can earn fees accepting more kinds of recyclables on behalf of other B.C. Product Stewardship groups besides Encorp.
The 17 industry-based Product Stewardship groups are charged under legislation with implementing post-consumer recycling plans for a huge range of consumer products. Each group needs to have drop-off points. Naturally they're turning to the existing network of Return-It bottle depots. That's potentially a lot of money in handling fees for depot operators -- if they can make some room.
Never mind second-hand cigarette smoke, Vancouver's poorest smokers care about finding second-hand tobacco, in the form of cigarette butts. Now those poor nic-heads doing their butt runs downtown have a potentially new obstacle or opportunity, depending, thanks to the City of Vancouver's pilot program to recycle cigarette butts.Yesterday, The Cigarette Waste Brigade pilot project began with the installation of 110 recycling receptacles in four areas of the downtown business district. These will naturally be the areas identified as being commonly littered with the most butts -- and, they will, just as naturally, be well-known hot spots for people looking for butts for the tobacco. Now some or all of that potential bounty will be in locked, steel receptacles -- bad for the casual seeker, but good for the hardcore picker who's "handy" with locked boxes -- "Thanks for keeping our butts dry, suckas!"
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Even secret agent Maxwell Smart knew better than to talk on his shoe phone while driving. Get Smart people! It's dangerous.[/caption]
Our public auto insurance authority, ICBC, has teamed up with British Columbia's police for a province-wide, month-long campaign against distracted driving. Operating a handheld electronic device such as a cellphone, while driving a motor vehicle, has been illegal in BC since January 1, 2010. Penalties include a $167 CDN fine and three penalty points on a driver's license, which affects their auto insurance rate.
Distracted driving is no laughing matter, but people are always good for a chuckle. According to this item in The Vancouver Province newspaper, a B.C. Provincial Court Judge has brushed aside one defendant's claim that he wasn't even holding his cellphone, but rather his wallet.
Even secret agent Maxwell Smart knew better than to talk on his shoe phone while driving. Get Smart people! It's dangerous.[/caption]Our public auto insurance authority, ICBC, has teamed up with British Columbia's police for a province-wide, month-long campaign against distracted driving. Operating a handheld electronic device such as a cellphone, while driving a motor vehicle, has been illegal in BC since January 1, 2010. Penalties include a $167 CDN fine and three penalty points on a driver's license, which affects their auto insurance rate.
Distracted driving is no laughing matter, but people are always good for a chuckle. According to this item in The Vancouver Province newspaper, a B.C. Provincial Court Judge has brushed aside one defendant's claim that he wasn't even holding his cellphone, but rather his wallet.
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See -- the "5" is an "S." Very tricky. Take that NSA! Click the image to enlarge it.[/caption]
See -- the "5" is an "S." Very tricky. Take that NSA! Click the image to enlarge it.[/caption]
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Something old, and something new and blue.[/caption]
Encorp Pacific has begun planting new container bins along West Broadway. The bright blue, steel bins are plonked down right beside city garbage bins, with two clear goals: Give the public an easy way to keep their drink containers out of the garbage, and, make it easy for binners to collect those containers.
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They look like competitors. The new blue container bin is designed to be an improvement over the gray city garbage bin with it's afterthought container tray.[/caption]
Encorp Pacific is a not-for-profit product stewardship, run by soft drink bottlers, like Coke, and Pepsi, as well as the major supermarket chains. It is tasked by Provincial legislation to encourage people to want to recycle their drink containers, and then make it easy for them to do so. Educate, and facilitate. Encorp set up, and oversees the network of Return-It bottle depots across British Columbia, and they run advertising campaigns to "educate" people about recycling their containers.
This new blue bin is very sturdy. It appears to be a careful, and informed design:
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A close look at the removable plastic bin, and one of the magnets which holds the door shut.[/caption]
Something old, and something new and blue.[/caption]Encorp Pacific has begun planting new container bins along West Broadway. The bright blue, steel bins are plonked down right beside city garbage bins, with two clear goals: Give the public an easy way to keep their drink containers out of the garbage, and, make it easy for binners to collect those containers.
[caption id="attachment_5250" align="alignnone" width="497"]
They look like competitors. The new blue container bin is designed to be an improvement over the gray city garbage bin with it's afterthought container tray.[/caption]Encorp Pacific is a not-for-profit product stewardship, run by soft drink bottlers, like Coke, and Pepsi, as well as the major supermarket chains. It is tasked by Provincial legislation to encourage people to want to recycle their drink containers, and then make it easy for them to do so. Educate, and facilitate. Encorp set up, and oversees the network of Return-It bottle depots across British Columbia, and they run advertising campaigns to "educate" people about recycling their containers.
This new blue bin is very sturdy. It appears to be a careful, and informed design:
- Top hole, big enough for containers, but small enough to discourage garbage.
- Open grill sides allow full ventilation, and a view of the contents.
- Two simple magnets hold the access door shut. Takes a good pull to open it.
- Removable liner bin, which seems the weakest part of the design.
- Instruction stickers, instruction stickers, instruction stickers!
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A close look at the removable plastic bin, and one of the magnets which holds the door shut.[/caption]
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Elections BC official removes signs from a Polling Place in the riding of Vancouver-Fairview. George Heyman won the riding for the NDP with 47% of the popular vote. Photo by sqwabb. Click to enlarge.[/caption]
In British Columbia, the politics is like the weather -- unpredictable, and unexplainable. Monday it rained in Vancouver; at one point, standing on the South-East corner of West Broadway and Granville, got you soaked by rain, but just two doors east on West Broadway, you were dry, and puzzled.
Yesterday British Columbians went to the polls and defied pollsters and pundits by re-electing the governing Center-Right B.C. Liberal party to an amazing fourth consecutive term, but turfed the Premier herself.
The B.C. Liberals won a majority of 50 seats in the Provincial Legislature. The Center-Left B.C. New Democratic Party (NDP), touted as sure-winners for weeks, stayed in Opposition with 33 seats. The B.C. Green Party, in an historic win, earned it's first-ever Provincial seat. The dreaded B.C. Conservative Party wasn't a factor, with less than five percent of the popular vote, and no seats at all. One seat was won by an Independent.
However, the Premier, and leader of the B.C. Liberals, Christy Clark, lost her own seat in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey to NDP challenger David Eby .
Clark had first won the riding, two years ago, by narrowly beating Eby, after she had been named B.C. Liberal Leader, to replace three-term Premier Gordon Campbell, who'd resigned following a backlash over his government's introduction of a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
Under Clark, the HST was extinguished, and she distanced herself from Campbell's policies and people, but was still expected to suffer the wrath of voters who were seen as just plain tired of the Liberals after 12 years. For virtually all the run-up to yesterday's vote, The NDP, under it's appealing, and clearly competent leader Adrian Dix, were seen as sure winners over the inexperienced Clark and her tired Liberal party.
The same pundits who earlier predicted The Liberal loss, will now explain to us why they won, but increasing uncertainty over the B.C. economy probably played a big part -- devil you know, and all that.
Comprehensive election results are everywhere, including here.
Elections BC official removes signs from a Polling Place in the riding of Vancouver-Fairview. George Heyman won the riding for the NDP with 47% of the popular vote. Photo by sqwabb. Click to enlarge.[/caption]In British Columbia, the politics is like the weather -- unpredictable, and unexplainable. Monday it rained in Vancouver; at one point, standing on the South-East corner of West Broadway and Granville, got you soaked by rain, but just two doors east on West Broadway, you were dry, and puzzled.
Yesterday British Columbians went to the polls and defied pollsters and pundits by re-electing the governing Center-Right B.C. Liberal party to an amazing fourth consecutive term, but turfed the Premier herself.
The B.C. Liberals won a majority of 50 seats in the Provincial Legislature. The Center-Left B.C. New Democratic Party (NDP), touted as sure-winners for weeks, stayed in Opposition with 33 seats. The B.C. Green Party, in an historic win, earned it's first-ever Provincial seat. The dreaded B.C. Conservative Party wasn't a factor, with less than five percent of the popular vote, and no seats at all. One seat was won by an Independent.
However, the Premier, and leader of the B.C. Liberals, Christy Clark, lost her own seat in the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey to NDP challenger David Eby .
Clark had first won the riding, two years ago, by narrowly beating Eby, after she had been named B.C. Liberal Leader, to replace three-term Premier Gordon Campbell, who'd resigned following a backlash over his government's introduction of a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
Under Clark, the HST was extinguished, and she distanced herself from Campbell's policies and people, but was still expected to suffer the wrath of voters who were seen as just plain tired of the Liberals after 12 years. For virtually all the run-up to yesterday's vote, The NDP, under it's appealing, and clearly competent leader Adrian Dix, were seen as sure winners over the inexperienced Clark and her tired Liberal party.
The same pundits who earlier predicted The Liberal loss, will now explain to us why they won, but increasing uncertainty over the B.C. economy probably played a big part -- devil you know, and all that.
Comprehensive election results are everywhere, including here.
Vancouver-Fairview results.
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Aaron didn't let the rain stop him from bringing a load of bottles into an otherwise empty depot, except for that fine-looking bike pannier on the table ... Click image to enlarge.[/caption]
Not Erin with an "E." That's how Aaron explained his name to me, when I first met him eight years ago. I think he was homeless then. These days he lives in the Downtown Eastside. He is a member of the Lil'Wat Nation, and was born and raised in the small Lil'Wat community of Mount Currie, 164 kilometres north-west of Vancouver and 40 kilometres north-west of Whistler along Highway 99.
Aaron is good-natured about the ribbing he takes for being, well, a really prodigious alcoholic. He told me his distinctive, Karl Malden-like nose -- a result, he admits matter-of-factly, of years of drugs and alcohol -- began to take on its present form when he was only 18-years old, which is about the time, he says, that he started collecting bottles in Vancouver.
Aaron didn't let the rain stop him from bringing a load of bottles into an otherwise empty depot, except for that fine-looking bike pannier on the table ... Click image to enlarge.[/caption]Not Erin with an "E." That's how Aaron explained his name to me, when I first met him eight years ago. I think he was homeless then. These days he lives in the Downtown Eastside. He is a member of the Lil'Wat Nation, and was born and raised in the small Lil'Wat community of Mount Currie, 164 kilometres north-west of Vancouver and 40 kilometres north-west of Whistler along Highway 99.
Aaron is good-natured about the ribbing he takes for being, well, a really prodigious alcoholic. He told me his distinctive, Karl Malden-like nose -- a result, he admits matter-of-factly, of years of drugs and alcohol -- began to take on its present form when he was only 18-years old, which is about the time, he says, that he started collecting bottles in Vancouver.
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Bobo doesn't have a leg to stand on! -- Credit: Les Bazso/PNG[/caption]
Used to be that that phrases like, "it's a dog's life," and, "working like a dog," stood for a hard life. We might want to consider "working like an under-paid Filipino in Canada on a limited work visa," instead, because, a "dog's life" is pretty cushy these days. My morning paper wanted me to know the sad plight of Bobo. Under the headline: SPCA hopes public can help save poodle's leg, Cheryl Chan reported how the British Columbia SPCA is appealing to the public to raise $2000 to save Bobo's leg from the chopping block. It might have been covered in your paper also. The story really had legs.
I know two fellows, one formerly homeless gent who, I'm told, probably will have a leg amputated, and another, who is homeless, who has one good leg, and one which has been a growing disaster from below the knee down, for a few years. In the latter fellow's case, it's always been"treat-then-on-the-street," though his care providers have known his leg couldn't really heal in his living conditions. A more common scenario -- which I've heard of many times -- is typified by the case, a few years ago, of homeless dumpster diver Bradley, who came down with an ugly-looking spreading rash. I strongly urged him to get to a hospital, which wrote him out a prescription for antibiotics and told him to go find a way to pay for them. That's what happened with my Bell's Palsy diagnosis. The pharmacist said the four medications in my prescription "were covered," so I was lucky, particularly as I kind of think they really weren't.
So what point could i possibly have? I'm not saying Bobo should be put down, as would've certainly been the case 20 years ago, but also I don't believe, in this day and age, anyone is going to the public to raise even a dime to improve the chances that a homeless person's leg can be saved from amputation, whereas, I believe that 20 years ago the health care system would've given him a better level of care in the first place so his leg never got so bad as to potentially require amputation.
Conservative Free Traders used to say a strong tide floats all boats, and it seems now, that Bobo and my homeless friend Limpy (soon-maybe--to-be Stumpy), are in the same boat, only Bobo's in First Class, and Limpy's in Steerage.
Budgets are tight, and attitudes, and priorities have changed. It's just one of my pet peeves, I guess.
Bobo doesn't have a leg to stand on! -- Credit: Les Bazso/PNG[/caption]Used to be that that phrases like, "it's a dog's life," and, "working like a dog," stood for a hard life. We might want to consider "working like an under-paid Filipino in Canada on a limited work visa," instead, because, a "dog's life" is pretty cushy these days. My morning paper wanted me to know the sad plight of Bobo. Under the headline: SPCA hopes public can help save poodle's leg, Cheryl Chan reported how the British Columbia SPCA is appealing to the public to raise $2000 to save Bobo's leg from the chopping block. It might have been covered in your paper also. The story really had legs.
I know two fellows, one formerly homeless gent who, I'm told, probably will have a leg amputated, and another, who is homeless, who has one good leg, and one which has been a growing disaster from below the knee down, for a few years. In the latter fellow's case, it's always been"treat-then-on-the-street," though his care providers have known his leg couldn't really heal in his living conditions. A more common scenario -- which I've heard of many times -- is typified by the case, a few years ago, of homeless dumpster diver Bradley, who came down with an ugly-looking spreading rash. I strongly urged him to get to a hospital, which wrote him out a prescription for antibiotics and told him to go find a way to pay for them. That's what happened with my Bell's Palsy diagnosis. The pharmacist said the four medications in my prescription "were covered," so I was lucky, particularly as I kind of think they really weren't.
So what point could i possibly have? I'm not saying Bobo should be put down, as would've certainly been the case 20 years ago, but also I don't believe, in this day and age, anyone is going to the public to raise even a dime to improve the chances that a homeless person's leg can be saved from amputation, whereas, I believe that 20 years ago the health care system would've given him a better level of care in the first place so his leg never got so bad as to potentially require amputation.
Conservative Free Traders used to say a strong tide floats all boats, and it seems now, that Bobo and my homeless friend Limpy (soon-maybe--to-be Stumpy), are in the same boat, only Bobo's in First Class, and Limpy's in Steerage.
Budgets are tight, and attitudes, and priorities have changed. It's just one of my pet peeves, I guess.
Former B.C. Conservative candidate Mischa Popoff was dumped by the party ahead of the upcoming May vote, so his ranting against the Conservatives, and their Leader John Cummins, wouldn't be too surprising, except he's done it on You Tube ... Okay, still not so surprising, just funny.
The Boundary-Similkameen MLA hopeful Mischa Popoff was turfed by Cummins last week for comments he made to a newspaper criticizing single moms for having children “without a man by their side,” and calling the Missing Women’s Inquiry a “waste of time.”
I wonder about all of us who "act local and post global." According to WikiAnswers, less than one half of one percent of the world lives in Canada, and, according to another Website, only 13.2 per cent of Canadians live in British Columbia, so B.C.'s population probably fits comfortably within the margin of error for the estimated world population. It's amazing that people in Upper Slovonica can take an interest in local affairs in my Lower Mainland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFj6musCO4
The Boundary-Similkameen MLA hopeful Mischa Popoff was turfed by Cummins last week for comments he made to a newspaper criticizing single moms for having children “without a man by their side,” and calling the Missing Women’s Inquiry a “waste of time.”
I wonder about all of us who "act local and post global." According to WikiAnswers, less than one half of one percent of the world lives in Canada, and, according to another Website, only 13.2 per cent of Canadians live in British Columbia, so B.C.'s population probably fits comfortably within the margin of error for the estimated world population. It's amazing that people in Upper Slovonica can take an interest in local affairs in my Lower Mainland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UFj6musCO4
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Papa Emeritus II, second from right, and Ghost B.C. play Vancouver, B.C. on Monday -- Getty Images[/caption]
When I saw that a metal band named Ghost B.C. will be playing The Commodore Ballroom tonight, I took it as read the B.C. stood for British Columbia; apparently though they are from Sweden, which is probably not anywhere near Smithers. They formed in 2008. and their debut 2010 debut album Opus Eponymous, was nominated for a Gramis (a Swedish Grammy). They've even covered ABBA'a I'm a Marionette. Their online petition to have lead singer Papa Emeritus II elected pope garnered 10,000-plus signatures. -- Ghost B.C. spread doom rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj2l9q9Y1Io
Papa Emeritus II, second from right, and Ghost B.C. play Vancouver, B.C. on Monday -- Getty Images[/caption]When I saw that a metal band named Ghost B.C. will be playing The Commodore Ballroom tonight, I took it as read the B.C. stood for British Columbia; apparently though they are from Sweden, which is probably not anywhere near Smithers. They formed in 2008. and their debut 2010 debut album Opus Eponymous, was nominated for a Gramis (a Swedish Grammy). They've even covered ABBA'a I'm a Marionette. Their online petition to have lead singer Papa Emeritus II elected pope garnered 10,000-plus signatures. -- Ghost B.C. spread doom rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj2l9q9Y1Io
The 40th British Columbia general election goes down May 14th. In this corner the Honourable Christy Clark, leader of the B.C. Liberal Party and the incumbent Premier. In that corner, Honourable Adrian Dix, leader of the B.C. New Democratic Party, and leader of the Loyal Opposition in the B.C. Legislature. Sitting somewhere on the sidelines is B.C. Green Party Leader Jane Sterk. While I cannot say who will win, I am certain the voters will lose!
Saturday, April 20, Surrey, British Columbia was the place to be for over 200,000 people attending the 12th annual Vaisakhi Parade. Vancouver, wasn't much to anyone in particular, until the evening, perhaps, when the Vancouver Canucks beat the visiting Detroit Redwings.
I spoke to two fellows who fairly gushed at how wonderful the parade was; how it was an entire day of every kind of free food; how people came from around the world; how there were "two million people" in attendance. ... Okay, they got that last bit wrong, but the rest was apparently bang-on. It's a big, fun, family-oriented event which thousands mark on their calendar and attend every year. Vancouver, the 800-pound gorilla of British Columbia, has a hugely-attended Pride Parade, but Surrey has one of those also. Vancouver now only leads Surrey in semi-annual hockey riots.
The City of Surrey is Canada's largest municipality, and it looks to compete with Vancouver to become B.C.'s centre of gravity in the near future, fuelled in part by a steady influx of immigrants, who continue to make Surrey their home as they make a new life in Canada. Surrey's popular mayor, Diane Watts, appears to be successfully re-branding and reshaping Surrey. Image-wise, it is now officially referred to as "the city of Surrey," with the slogan, "The future lives here," rather than "that sprawling suburb, where people keep cars up on blocks in their front yard." To back up the claim to city-hood, the Watts administration has adjusted zoning to encourage the development of dense urban cores; they have also tackled the reality and perception of Surrey as a crime capitol.
Vancouver's earnest mayor, Gregor Roberson, who gets a mixed report card for his eviro-friendly agenda to make Vancouver a "green" city, may be a bit green with envy the way his regional peer Watts has gone from success to success as she works to pull Surrey out from under the shadow of Vancouver.
The 2010 Winter Olympics surely helped Vancouver shake it's reputation as "no-fun city," earned for a decade of squashing large scale public events, but it's also true that Vancouver got to "host" the games which were, for the most part, not actually staged there, because Vancouver had the best-known, and most marketable, brand name in the Lower Mainland. The City of Surrey is clearly working to change that; their Vaisakhi Parade, which is the largest outside of India, is one more piece in successful campaign to make Surrey a world-class destination in its own right.
I spoke to two fellows who fairly gushed at how wonderful the parade was; how it was an entire day of every kind of free food; how people came from around the world; how there were "two million people" in attendance. ... Okay, they got that last bit wrong, but the rest was apparently bang-on. It's a big, fun, family-oriented event which thousands mark on their calendar and attend every year. Vancouver, the 800-pound gorilla of British Columbia, has a hugely-attended Pride Parade, but Surrey has one of those also. Vancouver now only leads Surrey in semi-annual hockey riots.
The City of Surrey is Canada's largest municipality, and it looks to compete with Vancouver to become B.C.'s centre of gravity in the near future, fuelled in part by a steady influx of immigrants, who continue to make Surrey their home as they make a new life in Canada. Surrey's popular mayor, Diane Watts, appears to be successfully re-branding and reshaping Surrey. Image-wise, it is now officially referred to as "the city of Surrey," with the slogan, "The future lives here," rather than "that sprawling suburb, where people keep cars up on blocks in their front yard." To back up the claim to city-hood, the Watts administration has adjusted zoning to encourage the development of dense urban cores; they have also tackled the reality and perception of Surrey as a crime capitol.
Vancouver's earnest mayor, Gregor Roberson, who gets a mixed report card for his eviro-friendly agenda to make Vancouver a "green" city, may be a bit green with envy the way his regional peer Watts has gone from success to success as she works to pull Surrey out from under the shadow of Vancouver.
The 2010 Winter Olympics surely helped Vancouver shake it's reputation as "no-fun city," earned for a decade of squashing large scale public events, but it's also true that Vancouver got to "host" the games which were, for the most part, not actually staged there, because Vancouver had the best-known, and most marketable, brand name in the Lower Mainland. The City of Surrey is clearly working to change that; their Vaisakhi Parade, which is the largest outside of India, is one more piece in successful campaign to make Surrey a world-class destination in its own right.
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