Council's Feb. 13 meeting was marked by the 70-odd people who turned up to advocate for the continued funding of the Kootenay Columbia Trails Society, which triggered an idea by Coun. Cary Fisher that grabbed the rest of council. In other news, the city is now preparing for imminent 2013 budget discussions, a grant for...

Conservation Officer Ben Beetlestone arrived in Rossland at 8 a.m. last Saturday morning to meet with the owner of a dog that had been attacked the night before in Lower Rossland. Minutes later, another resident phoned in a sighting and, at 8:45, Beetlestone found and shot a cougar. "It was thin and had some sort of illness,"...

In my Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) column (Part I) I gave a general description of this Inter-Parliamentary Forum held in Vladivostok, Russian.  During the meeting, resolutions were adopted that will be presented to each of the countries represented at the APPF and it is possible that these statements will wind up...

The last section in the Municipal Act calls on the Minister to “establish a process for the review of this Act” within 10 years after its adoption. The Act was adopted in 1998, and by the time the Minister complied with section 371, that deadline had long ago expired. However, the review process is now underway and although...

It was standing room only in council chambers yesterday evening—crammed on all sides of council and spilling out the hallways—as the Kootenay Columbia Trail Society (KCTS) presented to council about the value they bring to Rossland.A draft financial document used in an exercise by council to consider future tax implications...

Staff have calculated the tax implications for four scenarios in which Rossland funds School District No. 20 (SD20) as part of a larger deal to secure K-12 schooling in Rossland. The SD20 board recently voted against K-12 schooling in Rossland, and will likely give third reading to a resolution for K-9 at RSS with the closure...

The Brazeau affair — sad, repugnant and bizarre all at the same time — shines a light on two aspects of Canadian politics that desperately need some exposure. One is what it reveals about the state of “official” aboriginal politics and its relationship to the Canadian state. The other, the almost exclusive focus of the media,...

Back over Christmas, I eagerly unwrapped the gift of enormously diverse input given by respondents to December's DemocracySTORM survey. Now we’re in the second, more exciting phase of the storm—we’re asking you to vote on your favourite Budge the Budget ideas. You need not have participated to jump in right now and vote, so...

Below are 58 categories into which  I put people’s responses to the question, What key points should council consider before passing the budget? Separate articles address the questions: What should Rossland spend MORE money on? What should Rossland spend LESS money on?  And we also address concerns people have raised about ...

Below are 50 categories into which I put people’s responses to the question, What should Rossland spend LESS money on? Separate articles address the questions: What should Rossland spend MORE money on? What other key points should council consider before passing the budget? And we also address concerns people have raised about...