January 4, 2010 - 10:59 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
This is what Sharon Urton's email to Suzanne Anton communicates loud and clear.
In spite of never signing up to receive her updates, I am a willing member of lone NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton’s mailing list, and thoroughly enjoy her gramatically creative opinions about “the country’s most greenest” community or her kind invites to exciting events like the NPA’s AGM, where my participation alone could have ensured a 2 per cent increase in attendance.
Not everyone, however, is as enamoured with these emails.
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December 14, 2009 - 1:52 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Oh, the injustice of it all!
Wow, what a discovery! Hey Charlie, maybe if you continue your investigation, you will be able to grab a comment from one of the Councillors, particularly any of the Vision persuasion, who have no doubt been muzzled on such an emerging scandal. You might also discover an incongruence between the colour schemes of the many sections on the City of Vancouver website.
December 7, 2009 - 11:01 am |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
Direct from the desk of what is being called the “Mayor’s blogosphere spinmeisters” (oh how I wish that a paycheque was included in such an exalted distinction!) by those who no longer work within the halls of power, here’s something to consider…
In a land where research is dwarfed by political spin, the motif above costs $239,000. Thankfully, only a few embittered individuals live there.
Does $239,000 for a logo and a slogan sound reasonable? Of course not, making such an assertion the basis for a fantastic and infuriating story that plays to the public’s worst sensibilities about politics and government.
Instead of such a shallow and manipulative interpretation, let’s examine this kind of expenditure in contrast to what was doled out by the last administration in moving the VEDC forward, and then make a judgement on whether Vancouver citizens are getting value for their money.
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December 3, 2009 - 12:31 pm |
Posted by Jonathan Ross
A magnificent structure on the Vancouver landscape that has been badly neglected for many successive incarnations of the Park Board.
In observing the opposition to the Park Board’s decision to cut subsidies to the Stanley Park petting zoo and the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park, it seems as though the loss of the latter is a lot more painful for those interested parties.
And why not. The historic Bloedel Conservatory was constructed in 1969 as a result of Seattle-based lumber magnate and avid art collector Prentice Bloedel, who made a substantial contribution that transformed an abandoned basalt quarry into a magnificently sculpted public-use plaza with an intriguing, futuristic (at the time) centrepiece. The conservatory came together through a 1967 City of Vancouver Canadian Centennial project that evolved and took on a life of its own.
The plexiglass paneled geodesic dome is home to hundreds of varieties of tropical trees, shrubs and flowers as well as pathways, water features and animals, including over 100 species of birds who call the dome home.
But with a crack in the famed dome, this structure is not only in need of a new marketing plan as some have suggested.
On top of this dramatic structural damage, 80 plexiglass bubbles on the roof are also in desperate need of replacement.
A new roof for the heritage-protected building is expected to cost an astounding $1.5 to $2-million.
But if we look into the past, it is easy to understand how we have ended up with the conservatory’s current sorry state.
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