City Columnist for @VancouverSun & @TheProvince // Please send tips, story ideas & sandwich recommendations to dfumano@postmedia.com
Vancouver, BC
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Is the only hope for this little-known country — a barren, God-forsaken frozen wasteland with desperately low levels of razzle and/or dazzle — this pair of attractive, wealthy foreigners?
Many Canadians are giddy at the prospect that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be moving to Canada, injecting some razzle dazzle to the sprawling, bone-chillingly cold country. nyti.ms/309RJhP
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We got 2 new roommates last week! Say hi to Francesca & Leo Fumano!
Thank you to my beautiful wife Megan who did the (literal) heavy lifting, and to all the caring, dedicated staff at BC Women's Hospital, who were amazing during what must be an incredibly difficult time...
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Residents mounted campaign against allowing 8 more kids to play in their neighbourhood for ~45 hrs/week
Homeowners complained re: parking, noise of “children playing” & threatened to sue the City if they approved a daycare
City hall rejected the daycare
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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Local First Nations have expanded their plans for Jericho Lands, unveiling new vision today that’s less like a typical real estate development and more like a whole new neighbourhood.
13,000 homes would be more than most existing Vancouver neighbourhoods
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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BREAKING - BC government will be putting signs along the Alberta border telling travelers to not travel into BC unless it is for essential travel. #bcpoli
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When Brady Leavold emailed me last year, he didn’t know if I’d remember him.
But I did right away. I was the only one, other than his parents, in court when the once-promising hockey pro was sent to jail in 2016.
A comeback story 6 years in the making:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Walking home alone last night, heard some commotion as I crossed Cambie Street — a car stopped at a red light, full of girls shouting excitedly, a celebrity sighting!! I looked around, but couldn’t see anyone nearby. The girls were shouting to me, asking if I was Seth Rogen.
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Just now: Vancouver Aquarium no longer owned by local non-profit Ocean Wise Conservation Association, now transferring 100% ownership to a US corporation called Herschend Enterprises, which owns zoos, the Harlem Globetrotters, & Dollywood, the Dolly Parton-themed amusement park.
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NEW: A B.C. Conservative candidate awaiting the results of a recount that could determine who forms the provincial government used a racist slur to describe Indigenous Peoples, among other comments, during an election-night interview.
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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RIP Philip Owen, the “silk tie Shaughnessy silver spoon guy” who became a champion for the downtrodden, fighting to open North America’s first safe injection site for drug users, which probably cost him his political career — and saved countless lives.
vancouversun.com/news/former…
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I'm glad our newspaper asked 9-yr-old girl harassed at recent BC track meet to share story in her own words
And not unhappy to learn other kids there that day nicknamed the grandpa who started the incident "tomato dude" & "creepy crazy carrot"
Kids rule
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Vancouver’s surprise decision this summer to allow natural gas heating in new buildings followed behind-the-scenes discussions & lobbyist meetings that included the top adviser on the Mayor’s payroll, who is also director of 2 private natural gas companies
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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On the reluctant leader who became B.C.'s most-loved premier, Vaughn Palmer writes: "Of the 11 premiers I’ve covered, none were held in such high affection as John Horgan."
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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8 days after huge fire at East Van apartment building rendered 70 people homeless, a realtor was advertising the property as a development site: “I am delighted to share some exciting news with you: we currently have a vacant lot available for sale”
thetyee.ca/News/2023/08/11/T…
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This scoop is because of the work of Vancouver Island University student Alyona Latsinnik, who interviewed the candidate on election night and asked some good questions!
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This morning: Vancouver park rangers, with the assistance of police officers, removing people’s tents and belongings from Oppenheimer Park, where some homeless residents have been living for months. Story to come.
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The other day, my wife was looking at the designs for Broadway Subway stations & she asked: “Why isn’t there a bunch of housing above these stations? How is that ‘highest & best use’?”
I thought that was a good question, & I asked some experts about it:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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New: 2nd column about city hall (twice) rejecting 8-kid daycare, when most Vancouver kids needing full-time care can’t get it
This daycare wouldn’t solve the bigger crisis, but its rejection doesn't bode well for city's progress on shortfall of 14k spaces
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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Here's a look at what it's been like raising a pair of newborns in the middle of the #COVID19 pandemic -- with a special appearance from my wife Megan and, making their newspaper debut, our 3-week-old twins, Francesca & Leo:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Asked where he spent the night after his tent on Hastings was removed, Weir said he walked around all night.
“I eventually fell asleep on a bench outside Costco,” he said. “There wasn’t enough space for me at the shelter"
by @SarahGrochowski @njgriffiths:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Just in: Vancouver's new Mayor Ken Sim will miss the chance to chair his 1st Vancouver Police Board meeting next week -- where the board will consider the VPD's annual budget request -- because he'll be on vacation in Qatar watching the FIFA World Cup:
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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New year, new you (and you, and you)!
The population of our household is set to double in 2020. Whoah!
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As someone who played team sports his whole life right up until the pandemic stopped everything, I’ve been getting into jogging a little bit recently to try and get a little exercise... and I have to say, it’s really terrible!
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Exclusive: World's luckiest City Columnist to marry girl of his dreams this weekend, will be honeymooning for next 3 weeks.
See you in August, and hopefully nothing interesting happens in Vancouver City Hall or politics in the meantime!
Ciao!
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No public announcement yet, but LinkedIn shows that #Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has hired his new director of communications: Harrison Fleming, who comes to BC after recently working in governments of Premiers Jason Kenney (Alberta UCP) & Doug Ford (Ontario Conservatives).
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Some new Vancouver condos held empty as long as 5 years, FOI docs show.
Developers say this strategy can help make projects viable.
But previously they had to pay millions per year to affordable housing fund to keep unsold condos empty -- now, they won't.
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Like my colleagues, I too, of course, am appalled at that racist op-ed that ran in the Sun. Feels terrible to think of how that kind of bullshit causes real harm to our readers and people in our community.
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NEW: Canada's housing minister has asked Metro Vancouver to pause proposed tripling of development fees, warning "drastic" hikes could deter housing supply.
"Metro Vancouver's success is integral to the success of the country," the minster writes.
Story: vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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As the sun sets on 2020, the front page of the year's final edition of the @VancouverSun features this @RichLamPhoto shot of a couple of dudes enjoying the heck out of an English Bay sunset with a Thermos, some lawn chairs, and cozy sweaters.
Let's take this energy into 2021.
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Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) just posted a virtual grad speech to Class of 2020 at his alma mater (& world's best high school), Kitsilano Secondary. The former @VancouverSun paperboy (turned Hollywood icon) also threw in a Nat's pizza for every grad!
piped.video/watch?v=alMD_8lA…
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Can 4-storey apartment buildings peacefully co-exist with detached houses on Vancouver's quiet side streets just off of arterial roads?
Why or why not?
The City is seeking feedback on this question (among others), and I wrote about it for today's paper:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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#Vancouver is trying to build rental homes that are affordable for median-income households.
But some residents oppose these efforts. One told me the 5-storey apartment building she’s fighting is “like the ghetto. You’re dropping the ghetto in Kitsilano.”
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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“Because it is on Indigenous land, the project is relatively free from city constraints.
As a result, planners are looking at providing parking for only 10% of the apartments, far below the usual minimum.”
Squamish Nation’s planned development on reserve land in Vancouver doubles in size, includes 11 towers dlvr.it/RHfMtr @GlobeBC
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Here’s something new: Vancouver’s police union will get active in this municipal election like we’ve never seen before, registering as 3rd-party advertiser & endorsing candidates.
The union president told me: “Now’s the time to get a little more political”
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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my resume describes me as a Pulitzer Prize winner (not the journalism thing, but my friend Sid Pulitzer told me one time that I make the best nachos)
"She also is a Rhodes scholar," Trump's @PressSec says of Amy Coney Barrett, who did not receive a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, but instead received her BA from Rhodes College in Tennessee.
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… The MST Nations’ new concept for the 90-acre Jericho Lands includes 13,000 homes (30% below-market rentals), a public school, community centre, cultural space, retail, light industrial, hotel, grocery, daycare, 20 acres of parks & 10 acres of sports fields/open space…
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"Here’s to the longshoremen who planted grapes, figs & plum trees in East Vancouver decades ago. Here’s to the widows living alone in the homes where they raised families."
I really loved this column by our wonderful editor Lora Grindlay. Worth a read!
vancouversun.com/opinion/op-…
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For the 1st time, BC gov uses legislative powers to push through housing development on land not owned by the province.
Asked whether the province might use similar legislative hammer for other housing projects, he said "we’ll have to see"
@katiederosayyj:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Hey @fabulavancouver @Howellings @j_mcelroy @JenStDen — Good news, you guys! The restaurant across from City Hall is finally open, and the set menu is only $588 per person!
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In an exclusive #Vancouver neighbourhood full of massive mansions, some of which sit empty for years, squatters are camping on vacant property that was on the market last year for $80 million.
Fascinating story by @joanneleeyoung:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Contrary to Mr. Mussio’s use of the word “contrary,” his tweet does not contradict anything I reported.
The story says he supported anti-mask protests (which is true), but says nothing about whether he wore a mask (as required) to attend an NFL game on Sunday with 12,500 people.
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… new Jericho concept includes 13.6 million sq ft of floor area (more than 2x whole Oakridge project) with towers up to 49 storeys. Would more than double population of surrounding West Pt Grey area, which has some of Vancouver’s least dense & Canada’s most expensive real estate
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Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has spent less time than past mayors in public meetings, and more time (& public money) travelling
Supporters say Sim's globe-trotting is good for the city; critics disagree
New story with graphics & data analysis by @njgriffiths:
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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#Vancouver Council just approved application to re-open historic Hollywood Theatre in Kits as 594-person event space w/ liquor-primary licence.
I saw many cheap 2nd-run movies there as a kid! The butteriest popcorn.
@nickeagland story on the application: vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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🇨🇦 I was thinking about Canada’s greatest culinary contributions to the world when @nytimes made a list a couple years ago & the subject recently came up in discussion w friends
My top 5 (in no order):
- California roll
- Ginger beef
- Salmon candy
- Hawkin’s Cheezies
- Tourtière
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New: Massive Jericho Lands project inches ahead as polls show vastly different views
1st 3 images: new renderings of 13,000-home project from local First Nations
4th image: from City report, shows 2 surveys producing divergent views of proposal
Story: vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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image #1: thrilling to see that someone else out there is also watching Vancouver Council's first public meeting of the year
image #2, less than a minute later: on my own again
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NEW: 5 days before Christmas, Vancouver's governing party, ABC, returned $116K in prohibited donations made before the 2022 election the party won.
ABC's financial agent says they had believed they'd followed the rules. Now they know that was not the case.
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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Hmmmm there’s something about this new movie “Long Shot” — where Vancouver’s @SethRogen plays a schlubby, nerdy newspaper journalist who falls in love with an out-of-his-league blonde bombshell (played by Charlize Theron) — that feels kinda.... familiar??
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"... And no one calls it tyranny."
A thought from @ty_olsen in this morning's @currentfv newsletter:
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“This place has everything:”
100 cheeseburgers, mood lights and exotic dancers: Search warrant details alleged pandemic penthouse party cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c…
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Vancouver ABC council opts to take $3.8 million in empty homes tax already levied & earmarked for social housing, & send it back to developers
ABC councllrs say this sends signal to developers: city hall wants them to build
Non-ABC councllrs not impressed
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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Now: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim arrives at #Halloween city council meeting dressed as another well-known Ken, hands out candy to council colleagues, city staff, members of the public.
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This just in: I’m hearing that Vancouverites should probably not leave their homes during #Snowmageddon2020 unless they have one of those cute St. Bernard dogs that carries a little barrel full of brandy around its neck. Stay safe out there.
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Something I’ve wondered about for a really long time: does anyone know what is the deal with this tree in the middle of this alley in Fairview?
Is there another alley-tree like this somewhere else in #Vancouver? Or in the known universe?
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Here's 4 perspectives on today's removal of tents in Oppenheimer Park:
1: @builtjustice, former VP at BC Housing
2: @kareemallam42, 2022 campaign manager for ABC & Ken Sim
3: @primetimecrime, ex-VPD officer
4: @FirstUnitedDTES, 135-year-old church & service provider in DTES
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Whoah. Look at this Tweet in JULY from @NickKouvalis, campaign manager of Rob Ford's 2010 mayoral victory:
#TOpoli
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I'm very grateful to have had the best job in the world for last 4 years, reporting for my hometown dailies, @theprovince & @VancouverSun.
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I can’t wait until we can all go sing along at duelling pianos at PNE Summer 2022, I feel like that’s when we’ll really know the pandemic is over in Vancouver. Here’s to hoping we can do it next year:
theprovince.com/news/local-n…
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Would be very interested to hear Coun. @guerra_laurie explain her previous claim of "fake news" & why she called the reporter who broke this story last week (@laurby) a liar.
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I just got off the phone with #Vancouver Councillor @rebeccaleebligh, she explained why she’s quitting @NPAVancouver — after party elected new-look board of directors, she said, “it’s clear they’ve swung quite far over to the right.”
Our initial story: vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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The feds tout $2.5 billion housing investment for BC, but a deeper look at the numbers shows 97% of that is loans, most of which is to support market rental construction, & only a small piece is grants to build affordable housing.
My last column for 2020: vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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3rd piece of this week's daycare saga: Responses from provincial & municipal politicians, incl. Vancouver councillors looking to reverse daycare's rejection -- and also pledging reform to make it easier for daycares to open in midst of child-care shortage:
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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Impossible not to notice differences between online vitriol directed towards female politicians, journalists & others, compared to their male counterparts.
I get angry emails (goes with the job!), but for one thing, no one comments on my appearance (& there's lots there to mock!)
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Now: reporting from Anti #Cannabis demonstration, outside #Vancouver Art Gallery. Counting about 8 demonstration participants, about 20 spectators (some smoking pot and/or heckling), & about 25 journalists from TV, radio & print.
#CannabisDay
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After a sports injury left me unable to run for a few weeks recently, I was starting to gain weight for a while there, but now everything is fine, because my scale seems to have run out of batteries.
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“Being addicted to a controlled substance is not a crime and should not be treated as such."
This seems like a big deal. And it should be noted that the Vancouver Police Department has long been an early adopter among North American police forces on these kinds of positions.
Police chiefs across Canada advocate for decriminalization of illicit drugs for personal use vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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New: #Vancouver council expected to discuss today whether BC’s largest city should officially join the growing calls for a public inquiry into #MoneyLaundering in the province.
The first early version of this story is here — stay tuned today for updates:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Today, Vancouver’s central downtown waterfront is “a wasteland,” in the Premier’s words (see pic #1)
But several stakeholders are discussing a potentially transformative redevelopment
New story, with 1st look at speculative designs from local architects:
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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"The truth about the Little Mountain deal, wrested from the developer w/ no help from the Liberals, suggests a combo of coverup, incompetence, disregard for the public interest & sweetheart dealing with the private sector."
A scorcher from @VaughnPalmer: vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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New: The long-hidden details of 1 of BC's most controversial public land sales are now closer to the light of day, thanks to a 2-year battle to unearth the provincial government’s original deal to sell #Vancouver’s #LittleMountain social-housing property:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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am I crazy for writing a column making an argument *in favour* of putting children in (just a little bit more) danger?
"Playgrounds since the 1990s may have actually been too safe, research suggests. A bit of risk makes kids more resilient."
Column: vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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Good news: After we reported this month the 60-year-old Kerrisdale Little League parade had been choked out by red tape, an about-face from city hall: the parade can proceed after all.
“It’s just a hometown parade, but it’s more… The small things count.”
vancouversun.com/opinion/col…
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Here, again, is my column in today’s @VancouverSun, about raising newborns during #COVID19 pandemic. Big thanks to my great colleagues @cherylchan, @HarrisonMooney & @risingaction (& their wonderful partners!) who talked to me about their own experiences:
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Just want to point out the prophetic @HarrisonMooney (aka Moonstradamus) penned this prescient prediction March 5, two months before little baby XÆA-12 was born: “Baby Grimes, whose given name will very likely be a bizarre tech neologism or hyperbrainy pun, is due in early May.”
Vancouver's Grimes finally confirms Elon Musk is baby's father vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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From delis to dim sum, grocers, bookstores & dive bars, Vancouver's heritage businesses make the city what it is. What can be done to save them?
Reply below with your favourite Vancouver heritage businesses (however you define the term) past or present!
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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A publicly traded national Cannabis company is appealing to Vancouver seeking a dispensary license, their application backed by 7 “letters of support” from neighbouring businesses.
But when I called those businesses, they had no idea, & they weren’t happy
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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It seems like most transit passengers in Metro Vancouver shout out "Thanks!" to the driver as they disembark, no?
Is this less common in other North American cities? Or is that pretty standard?
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This is really sad. There aren’t a lot of 112-year-old institutions in Vancouver, and even fewer that are as valuable as The Courier.
So, this is what 20 years @VanCourierNews looks like as it comes to an end. Due to #covid, the Courier has closed permanently after 112 years, but what a privilege it's been to write about this city and the people who live in it for the past two decades.
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.@JodieEmery, who's in court tomorrow morning in Toronto on drug charges, addresses crowd at #420vancouver: "Overgrow the government!"
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NEW: Vancouver city council slashed 66% of planned budget for Police Board, independent oversight body
Mayor's office says cut due to board's fast-growing spending in recent years
Ex-board member says it seems like "intentional kneecapping of the Board":
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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I guess it's possible that, during the last seven decades, West Vancouver has seen something worse happen than the expansion of transit service... but I can't imagine what that might be. Frankly, I don't want to know.
"I've lived in West Vancouver for 70+ years and this is the worst thing that has ever happened here." Local resident comments on B-line public transit proposal. Given the level of applause, only the very brave will speak in favour of this proposal in this room tonight!
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I just realized last week was my 5th anniversary of working for @theprovince & @VancouverSun.
I started as a Province summer intern, fresh-faced with lots to learn.
Every day I feel very lucky to be still writing for my hometown papers! (Less fresh-faced now, still lots to learn)
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Yogawear billionaire & real estate tycoon Chip Wilson, whose company Low Tide has snapped up several properties in East Van, is being blamed for loss of vital arts & culture spaces.
“His name is now synonymous with renoviction among artists,” says one renovicted venue manager.
Two of Vancouver's last DIY arts spaces were renovicted last weekend.
Their building was bought by Low Tide Properties, Chip Wilson's company, which has been rapidly buying industrial buildings in East Van where these venues often make their home
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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Jonny lived in a tent on Hastings until last year's decampment. Packing his tent today in Oppenheimer Park, he told me “It’s like a circle”
Asked where he'd go next, he raised his hands to say it's impossible to know
“I dunno. Every day is different, bro.”
vancouversun.com/news/local-…
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