Dear Editor,  This letter is in response to (a series of articles and commentary in local media, inlcuding a letter written by Roland Vogel). Mr. Vogel, as far as I am aware, appears to be the voice of people in the Glenmerry area. He is fairly representative of the views of Trail concerning Trail’s place […]

In true GCC style, I present to you a list of things I’d love to see happen in Rossland and the area in 2011 but in reality most likely won’t happen. Apart from maybe a couple of weather-related items on the list, I don’t think I’m asking for anything terribly outrageous, though, and most of the things here I think many of ...

What kind of year in politics is 2011 going to be? Very likely another year (or at least ten months) of gridlock at the federal level, with no sign of any so-called game changer on the horizon.   A spring election is looking less likely as the Conservatives try to make a deal with the […]

I never would have thought that an innocent, one-person Olympic protest would result in a pretty sweet writing gig, but that’s exactly what happened in January 2010. My only aim with my little protest was to have my voice heard, and I think I accomplished that. But I also was, as a result, given the opportunity by the Telegraph...

PART II: This past year, my staff and I had the privilege of assisting constituents faced with federal bureaucratic problems – unfair treatment, misinterpretations or just plain despair at not seeing any hope in their particular plight.  For the most part, I find the federal public service is exceptionally professional, knowledgeable and helpful, and should not be […]

What a way to spend a morning! (See Cops get radio hosts drunk …for a cause story by clicking here). First, I want to say thanks to the Mountain FM team for allowing me to sit in on their unorthodox “social experiment”.   I’ll confess that, as I drove down to the radio station this […]

Introducing a new column for The Nelson Daily: Greening Up – What can I do? Michael Jessen has been following energy issues since the 1973 oil crisis. He has authored more than 700 newspaper and online articles about sustainable lifestyles, waste reduction, and climate change. Currently, Jessen is an efficiency and renewable energy advisor and operates […]

The day after the Rekindle the Spirit of Christmas event on Dec. 4, a person calling him/herself Dirty Hippo posted a long, strongly-worded message on Bhubble criticizing the Charlie Brownness of the Christmas tree in the town square. I wouldn’t refer to it as a tirade, just a firmly-stated, humourously-toned, panning of the organizers’ choice […]

I think it’s fair to say that children are most sensitive to the magic that Christmas can bring, and I know from my own experience that some of my fondest childhood memories are from around this time of year. Also some of my oddest memories come from Christmas, too. Things I remember with such vividness that they are hard to...

 A year ago I wrote a column reflecting on the activities of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA), the Canadian branch of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism. The latter is an international pro-Zionist group whose sole task is to redefine anti-Semitism to mean virtually any criticism of Israel. It developed at the behest of […]