Journalistic ethics, the BC Press Council, and the mayor's attack on the Rossland Telegraph
In light of the Mayor Greg Granstrom's vehement public letter—attached below—charging me and the Telegraph with "defamatory" comments, I contacted Rollie Rose, executive director of the BC Press Council, for comments he might offer on the matter.Rose said he had received the city's complaint and had written a response—also ...
Council approves higher densities on small lots outside the Infill Zone
Council has adopted a zoning amendment bylaw to give small lots outside the Infill Zone the same parcel coverage and floor area ratios as small lots within the Infill Zone. “Small lots” are defined as less than 550 square metres or 5920 square feet. No residents chose to speak at the public hearing held on Monday evening prior...
City sells sliver of boulevard to allow homeowner to subdivide
Council agreed on Monday evening to sell Tim Manke, owner of 2213 Fourth Ave, a roughly 16-inch by 100-foot strip of city boulevard so his lot will meet the minimum size required for subdivision. The strip runs along the western edge of his lot—the St. Paul side. In return, the city would receive a 3-metre wide snow storage...
Nelson Council Debates Legalization of Pot
Nelson City Council, normally quite an amiable group, descended into a tense stalemate Monday during a long discussion about the legalization and regulation of marijuana. The discussion included some acrimonious exchanges between Mayor John Dooley and Councillor Donna Macdonald. Council was debating a motion that, if passed, would have had the mayor sign a […]
BC Transit to unify services across RDCK and RDKB
The vision of a unified transit system covering both the Kootenay Boundary and Central Kootenay regions is a step closer to reality, according to Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff. Chernoff is also chair of the newly-formed West Kootenay Transit Committee, which had its first meeting Wednesday. “We met yesterday with BC Transit, and that’s when it […]
WestJet one step closer to Castlegar?
WestJet has asked representatives of the West Kootenay Regional Airport Advisory Committee to meet with airline staff later this month to discuss why WestJet should come to Castlegar (see also: http://castlegarsource.com/news/westjet-clarifies-invitation-19383). Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff, Nelson mayor John Dooley, city manager John Malcolm and former MP (and air traffic controller) Jim Gouk will be among the […]
Mene. Mene. Tekel. Upharsin.
The words that title my piece are biblical and mean, roughly, “number, number, weight, division.” They are apt to this moment. I believe that numbers, judgment, and a state of feeling divided, are clues to our malaise as Canadians right now. To say that Stephen Harper divides Canadians like no other prime minister before him...
Shadrack Elected President of Regional Municipal Association
Andy Shadrack was recently named President of the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments (AKBLG). He is in his third term as the representative of Area D in the Regional District of Central Kootenay. The AKBLG is composed of municipalities and electoral areas of southeastern British Columbia. It is a regional affiliate of the […]
Taylor puts marijuana back on the table at city council
A challenge to step up leadership was given to Grand Forks city council when mayor Brian Taylor asked them to join the campaign to end the prohibition of marijuana in Canada. Taylor wants council to join in with the other B.C. municipalities, now over 13 of a possible 160 and growing, in the Stop the Violence campaign. The ...
SYRIA: Arm the rebels
This was published at Foreign Policy. There are some, perhaps many, Syrians who detest their government and are entirely aware of its treasonous nature — yet wish for the demonstrations and the guerrilla actions of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to stop and for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime to regain control as soon as...
