- Kash Heed did the absolute right thing by stepping down again yesterday, even after his idiot leader couldn’t figure out the basics, as pointed out by Vaughn Palmer in this morning’s Vancouver Sun. And although it took him an evening to discuss it with family and the dolt of a Premier we in BC currently have to suffer over, you can’t blame him for being shell shocked by the whole affair. Knowing Heed personally, and having worked along side of him in the past, I know that above all else, the man doesn’t lie. So when he says he didn’t know anything about the pamphlets, the financing of the campaign, or who was tasked with what, I believe him, even if initially it sounds implausible. Heed is not the kind of guy that is going to function in a job where a cloud of suspicion hangs over his head, and so he is again going to have to sit in political limbo while this mess gets cleared up. One thing is for sure – there are several heads that are going to roll for all of this, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it isn’t going to be Heed’s. Here’s hoping its the Premier’s.
- Park Board Commissioner Raj Hundal has penned a thought provoking oped in today’s Vancouver Sun regarding the Park Board’s park/beach/playgrounds/trails ban on smoking. I have never really thought about this debate through the frame of “a historical precedent for municipalities taking a leadership role within the anti-smoking movement in this country that has been more effective in changing behaviours than the efforts of any other level of government.” The piece also does a good job of squashing the critics and their lame objections to the bylaw. The fact is that if I walk by someone in a park and am forced to breathe in their second-hand smoke, it has a negative impact on my health. Period.
- A fascinating comparison between Tokyo and Vancouver living. Yes, I am well aware of the high quality of living we all enjoy here. But as someone who is just as concerned with people and sentiment as much as surroundings, I am still trying to figure out what defines Vancouverites as a group…what is at the core of our soul as a city? Other than incessant and endless love for our beautiful city, what else unites us?
- This writer asks “Where is he [the Mayor] now” when it comes to the plight of small businesses along the broadway corridor when it comes to future construction of some kind of transit line. Well, first off, like I have been saying for many months, getting shovels into the ground will likely be about a decade down the line, rendering all of this recent hype moot – particularly when it comes to getting the funding together. I highly doubt that the Cambie Canada Line experience will ever let another project of this size to go through without extensive – and I mean extensive – consultation with businesses. However, let’s talk to the businesses that are going to be up and running within a few years of construction, not those that currently sit along Broadway fearful about little more than a pipe dream at this point.
- Good move by the Vancouver Athletic Commission to request that David “The Crow” Loiseau be added to the UFC 15 card slated for June 12. He really got screwed with Montreal, being cleared by Quebec Boxing Commission to fight just a little too late – the UFC moved on to another fighter to take his spot literally hours before the decision. The Crow was always one of my favourites (the back flips from GSP started with Loiseau), and although the Montrealer finds himself at the twilight of his career, it will be nice to see him fight in his home country on a UFC card again.
- He wants to talk about patterns? How about the one on that god-awful shirt he is wearing. Another good chuckle, for sure. And Alex, how about that invitation to say these words to you in person? What happened to that? I am still awaiting the location and time to meet you, big man.
