After years of failed fund-raising efforts, and on the brink of demolition, Vancouver developer Peter Wall and the city struck a deal to save the historic York Theater in Commercial Drive.
Mr. Wall will spend $12 million to purchase, restore and hand ownership of the York Theater back to the City of Vancouver, in exchange for development rights to build a 20-story building in an yet-undetermined area.
For more details, please see the Vancouver Province.
Showing posts with label city of vancouver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city of vancouver. Show all posts
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Uniformed police officers to be redeployed at SkyTrain stations
TransLink says it will address longstanding security concerns by redeploying uniformed staff and police officers at key SkyTrain stations.
The move is meant to give a more visible staffing presence at four stations that were perceived to be the most dangerous in a series of public opinion surveys and focus groups. TransLink says there will now be a round-the-clock presence at Surrey Central, New Westminster, Broadway and Main Street stations. Staff will also be hovering during the evenings at Metrotown.
“This is what I could call reassurance policy,” said Transit Police Chief Officer Ward Clapham. “[It’s] reassuring the public that they are safe.”
Transit Police have already trained 11 officers to patrol using bicycles and hope to add 10 more in 2009, with the belief being that officers on bike can cover more ground than regular officers on foot.
Other safety measures, some of which are already underway, include improving lighting at stations, opening more shops at key hubs and looking into whether using police dogs could improve safety.
Vancouver Kingsway NDP MLA Adrian Dix, a frequent critic of SkyTrain safety policy, said the move is a good step, but wondered how effective it will be without an overall increase in resources. “If you have the same number of person hours and you’re redeploying them, some places are going to have less of a presence,” Dix said, pointing to Nanaimo and 29th Avenue stations, both stations in his riding that have seen high-profile assaults happen in the surrounding areas in recent years. “Those are stations where you can go an entire evening without seeing any staff person or police,” he said. The Transit Police have 154 sworn officers. Source: 24 hours
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Campagnolo opens Friday
The much-awaited Italian restaurant Campagnolo—owned by Fuel Restaurant’s Robert Belcham, Tom Doughty, and Tim Pittman—is scheduled to open at 1020 Main Street on Friday, November 28.
There’s a wine bar at the back, and the menu focuses on simple pizzas, pastas, and house-made salumi, influenced by the Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy.
For hours, call 604-484-6018.
Source: Straight
There’s a wine bar at the back, and the menu focuses on simple pizzas, pastas, and house-made salumi, influenced by the Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy.
For hours, call 604-484-6018.
Source: Straight
Monday, November 17, 2008
4 Low Rent Artist Studios Up For Grabs by Nov. 21
In 1996, the City of Vancouver created its first live/work Studio Award. This studio, provided free of rent, recognized distinguished artists like Teresa Marshall, Steven Shearer, Myfanwy MacLeod and Kevin Schmidt and enabled them to explore their creative practice.
In 1999, a second studio was added (made available at below market rents) and this year, two additional studios have been made available.
These four studios will be leased to Vancouver-based, low-income professional artists for a 3 year term beginning February 1, 2009.
The city will accept applications until Nov. 21.
"It's a small but important gesture," said Jacquie Gijssen, senior cultural planner with the city. "We can actually help with the tool kit that we have without people arguing about how much money it costs or doesn't cost."
The city has secured live/work spaces for artists through community amenity contributions that developers make when the city allows them increased building density or relaxed zoning. It owns two of the spaces and leases the other two for $1 a year. They're all in artist live/work buildings with two near Cambie, one near Main and the largest on East Pender near Knight Street. The Artist Studio Award Program was initiated by the city in 1996, and the Contemporary Art Gallery picks the jurors and coordinates the selections.
Professional artists in any discipline can apply for the award. The winners will be announced mid-December and can move in Feb. 1.
The jury of local arts and culture professionals seeks artists who are serious professionals, not hobbyists, Gijssen said. Although most, if not all, of those selected in the past have been emerging artists, senior artists can also apply.
Applicants must show financial need. Three of the four spaces are studios and one is a one bedroom. To qualify to win a studio, artists much prove they earn $29,000 or less per year, and to win the one bedroom, they must earn $32,500 or less.
The first place winner is awarded a free studio apartment for three years and the other recipients will pay $375 a month.
Sculpture artist, Rhonda Weppler, paid $325 a month for her 450-square-foot studio at Cambie and West Eighth Avenue for the past three years. The artist live/work building also includes a workshop. Previously, she rented small studios on the East Side.
"A lot of studios in Vancouver are in bad areas because it's cheap rent," Weppler said. "It was nice to be in a place that you could walk downtown and I wasn't scared to be alone at night or walking home at night."
When her tenancy expires and the end of this year, Weppler expects to move to an artist's space in Railtown Studios or in The ARC on Powell Street at the foot of Commercial Drive.
"Even though it's in a bad area it's around $1,000 a month for rent," she said.
Myfanwy MacLeod, who won a space in 2002, recently won a juried international competition held by the city to create the first Olympic and Paralympic legacy art commission for the main plaza in the Olympic Village in Southeast False Creek.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL 2008
This is a once a year opportunity to meet many diversely talented artists and view their creations in the studios where they work. Be part of this exciting event, which brings people from all over the Lower Mainland, and share in the imaginations that enrich our neighbourhood and lives. get more details...
painters | potters | |||
illustrators | writers | |||
jewellers | printmakers | |||
furniture makers | photographers | |||
musicians | glassblowers | |||
weavers | sculptors |
From emerging artists to those of international fame... these are just a sampling of the exciting talents featured during this unique chance to meet local artists in their studios. details...
Purchase something that strikes your fancy, commission something to be uniquely yours, or just browse through the studios and meet the artists, learning about their specific works of art, materials and tools, approaches and techniques. details...
FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY |
November 21st | November 22nd | November 23rd |
5:00pm - 10:00pm | 11:00am - 6:00pm | 11:00am - 6:00pm |
It's Western Canada's largest studio exhibition and sale, and it's absolutely free-- don't miss it!
www.eastsideculturecrawl.com
Vancouver Archives Fundraising Event; Celebrate BC's first 150 Years
Come out and support this very important fund raising event for the Friends of the City of Vancouver Archives. This is a five hour history symposium on BC's first 150 years by three renowned BC historians and includes a catered lunch.
Cost is $50, and a $25 receipt may be issued for tax purposes.
Three speakers are scheduled to attend:
Sylvia Van Kirk will talk about 1858
Terry Eastwood will talk about 1908, and
Robert A. J. Macdonald will talk about 1958
Catering is by Sherilee Dee Catering Ltd., and that means Yummy!
For more information contact James Johnstone - househistorian@yahoo.ca
Cost is $50, and a $25 receipt may be issued for tax purposes.
Three speakers are scheduled to attend:
Sylvia Van Kirk will talk about 1858
Terry Eastwood will talk about 1908, and
Robert A. J. Macdonald will talk about 1958
Catering is by Sherilee Dee Catering Ltd., and that means Yummy!
For more information contact James Johnstone - househistorian@yahoo.ca
Monday, October 27, 2008
Recycling happens less in multi-family dwellings; Metro Van to instill changes
City will have to look for ways to make recycling easier if waste reduction targets are to be met
Nicole Tomlinson, Special to the Sun
Relatively poor recycling habits in townhomes, apartments, and condo units could trash Metro Vancouver's ambitious waste reduction goals if they don't improve soon.
Residents in multi-family dwellings recycle a quarter of their waste -- less than half the proportion of material that people who live in single-family homes throw into the blue bins.
Metro Vancouver has identified improving this "underperforming" sector as a key element to successfully upping recycling rates to 70 per cent within the next five years.
But experts and critics say it's going to take more than increased regulation and changes to the waste program to get multi-family unit recycling rates out of the garbage.
AN AMBITIOUS PLAN
Metro Vancouver unveiled a strategy to up the total amount of waste being recycled by close to 20 per cent across the region earlier this year after a proposal to build a landfill in the Interior was scrapped because of potential First Nations land claims.
To realize this goal, the region will have to do three main things -- recycle more organic waste, reduce refuse from construction projects, and get multi-family units turfing less, said Marvin Hunt, chair of Metro Vancouver's waste management committee.
Residents in townhomes, condos and apartments are only recycling 25 per cent of their waste, compared to 52 per cent of people in single-family homes, according to Metro Vancouver's strategy for updating their waste management plan.
And with some 150,000 units classified under the multi-family umbrella in the city of Vancouver alone, the issue shares sustainability ranks with adding composting to residential pickup services and overhauling construction bylaws.
"It's simply a challenge of our convenient living," Hunt said. "We have to find ways of making recycling more convenient in those buildings."
Continue reading Vancouver Sun article.Thursday, June 12, 2008
Council Approves EcoDensity Charter
Vancouver City Council unanimously voted on June 10 to adopt the EcoDensity Charter.
The EcoDensity Charter commits the City to make environmental sustainability a primary goal in all city planning decisions - in ways that also support housing affordability and livability.
The first two actions to be implemented by the City immediately are:
1. Rezoning policy for greener buildings: Applications for new rezoning will need to meet a minimum LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver rating, or similar equivalency in green design. The City will also be expecting that energy performance, water efficiency and storm water use be considered.
2. Rezoning policy for greener larger sites: Changes to rezonings for land that is two acres or more. A number of sustainability measures will be required for these rezonings, and for sites with housing, a range of types and tenures must be considered to increase affordable housing opportunities.
Longer-term actions that will receive priority include: an interim EcoDensity rezoning policy; options for backyard/laneway housing; more options for secondary suites; and removal of barriers to green building approaches.
Council initiated the EcoDensity program in July 2006. The final Charter and Actions incorporated public input from a Special Council Meeting that lasted seven sessions, amongst numerous other public consultation opportunities.
To view the EcoDensity Charter and Initial Actions and for more information: vancouver.ca/ecodensityMonday, June 2, 2008
Who Needs Insight on Insite?
Federal Government Health Minister Tony Clements prefers overdoses leading to death, than safe injection interventions that could lead to health. Appallingly, the Federal Government has made a decision to take the province to court after the BC Supreme Court's decision to support Insite.
Living in Vancouver, it is clear that drastic measures, services, and programs are needed to solve the issues. What is seen on the surface, is rarely ever the cause. While Insite may not be perfect, and it may leave a lot to be desired, it is the first positive step taken in Canadian society to move further forward with progressive and proactive measures that could lead to recovery.
Saving lives from this affliction is far more complex than a safe injection site. That safe injection site, however, becomes a valuable gateway to intervention; coaxing jaded and cynical people off the street who have been abused repeatedly. They might consider surrendering their negative lifestyle to the possibility and hope that our society's limited programs and services can help them get their lives back together.
Change is work, and it is hard work. Every healthy person recognizes this, and when we have bad days, we know how much more difficult - sometimes impossible - it is to succeed with change. If society wishes for the addict, street person, prostitute, and other at-risk individuals to "do the work," then society and government at all levels had better be prepared to do-the-work that creates the systems and structure that ensure success.
Insite, with an average of 600 daily visits, intervened to resuscitate 900 overdoses since opening. Liz Evans, who runs Insite in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health says, "If those injections were taking place in back alleys, those people would go under. There would be no nurse there to help save their lives."
"I don't think anyone has ever said that Insite is a magic pill that will resolve all the issues around mental health and addictions," says B.C. Health Minister George Abbott.
"No one has ever said that. I see, and the government sees, the provincial government at least, sees Insite as part of a continuum of services aimed at assisting addicts through their life issues."
Regarding Ottawa's drug policies, Abbott said: "I don't think they yet appreciate that it is useful to have the opportunity to bring some stability into the lives of people who have tragically very little stability in their lives."
Local enforcement professionals also expressed varied opinions on the subject, both for and against what Insite offers. The against position rightly expresses the overwhelming level of 'tolerance' that allows inappropriate behaviour to continue unchecked and without adequate consequences (if any). A significant reason our social issues have spun out of control is the lack of accountability, along with actionable and achievable goals that empower change.
Our own complacency had most of Vancouver turn a blind eye to the issues, and the escalation we're experiencing has resulted in more discontentment. As people become discontent, therefore less tolerant, the voices are likely to start clamoring for change. Even so, as expressed by some residents, some professionals, and some government offices, 'we don't want to encourage that here!'
A walk through a local green-space on the edge of Strathcona and Chinatown often reveals many reasons for this attitude's survival. Mere steps into the park space, right along the sidewalk, a mound of hypodermic needles still fresh in their packaging, is found. On the way to work in the morning, homeless are now found sleeping and bundled in filthy blankets on common property on residential streets. Walking across town, men and women alike are accosted on almost every block by those wanting, needing, and even demanding a handout. Could this why Insite is not recognized as working?
On one hand, the Federal Health Minister Tony Clement wants it shut down. This is looking like a political battle, not a battle for lives nor solutions. With the majority of the Conservatives backed by tough-on-crime critics, supporting Insite may have offended their reelection. Here in Vancouver, the Mayor, Chief of Police, and others are in support; likely also seeking the popular vote of Vancouver residents and business.
What are your views, your expertise, or opinions about these people, this issue, and how it can be solved? Are politicians and our systems capable? If not, why and what can we do?
Living in Vancouver, it is clear that drastic measures, services, and programs are needed to solve the issues. What is seen on the surface, is rarely ever the cause. While Insite may not be perfect, and it may leave a lot to be desired, it is the first positive step taken in Canadian society to move further forward with progressive and proactive measures that could lead to recovery.
Saving lives from this affliction is far more complex than a safe injection site. That safe injection site, however, becomes a valuable gateway to intervention; coaxing jaded and cynical people off the street who have been abused repeatedly. They might consider surrendering their negative lifestyle to the possibility and hope that our society's limited programs and services can help them get their lives back together.
Change is work, and it is hard work. Every healthy person recognizes this, and when we have bad days, we know how much more difficult - sometimes impossible - it is to succeed with change. If society wishes for the addict, street person, prostitute, and other at-risk individuals to "do the work," then society and government at all levels had better be prepared to do-the-work that creates the systems and structure that ensure success.
Insite, with an average of 600 daily visits, intervened to resuscitate 900 overdoses since opening. Liz Evans, who runs Insite in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health says, "If those injections were taking place in back alleys, those people would go under. There would be no nurse there to help save their lives."
"I don't think anyone has ever said that Insite is a magic pill that will resolve all the issues around mental health and addictions," says B.C. Health Minister George Abbott.
"No one has ever said that. I see, and the government sees, the provincial government at least, sees Insite as part of a continuum of services aimed at assisting addicts through their life issues."
Regarding Ottawa's drug policies, Abbott said: "I don't think they yet appreciate that it is useful to have the opportunity to bring some stability into the lives of people who have tragically very little stability in their lives."
Local enforcement professionals also expressed varied opinions on the subject, both for and against what Insite offers. The against position rightly expresses the overwhelming level of 'tolerance' that allows inappropriate behaviour to continue unchecked and without adequate consequences (if any). A significant reason our social issues have spun out of control is the lack of accountability, along with actionable and achievable goals that empower change.
Our own complacency had most of Vancouver turn a blind eye to the issues, and the escalation we're experiencing has resulted in more discontentment. As people become discontent, therefore less tolerant, the voices are likely to start clamoring for change. Even so, as expressed by some residents, some professionals, and some government offices, 'we don't want to encourage that here!'
A walk through a local green-space on the edge of Strathcona and Chinatown often reveals many reasons for this attitude's survival. Mere steps into the park space, right along the sidewalk, a mound of hypodermic needles still fresh in their packaging, is found. On the way to work in the morning, homeless are now found sleeping and bundled in filthy blankets on common property on residential streets. Walking across town, men and women alike are accosted on almost every block by those wanting, needing, and even demanding a handout. Could this why Insite is not recognized as working?
On one hand, the Federal Health Minister Tony Clement wants it shut down. This is looking like a political battle, not a battle for lives nor solutions. With the majority of the Conservatives backed by tough-on-crime critics, supporting Insite may have offended their reelection. Here in Vancouver, the Mayor, Chief of Police, and others are in support; likely also seeking the popular vote of Vancouver residents and business.
What are your views, your expertise, or opinions about these people, this issue, and how it can be solved? Are politicians and our systems capable? If not, why and what can we do?
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