I’m not usually one to break stories on my blog (leave that to the newsies) however this one hits very close to home.
The condo developmentQuattro, that claimed it was going to “bring Yaletown to Surrey”, is up in flames this afternoon (a message on Twitter from Airdrie led me to look in to this story).
“Surrey firefighters are battling a massive blaze on 138th Avenue near 107-A Avenue in Whalley. The red brick apartment building under construction went up in flames around 4 this afternoon… …It’s believed there’s a large crane in the middle of the fire, and Hydro poles in the area have also been caught in the blaze.” [News1130]
This isn’t the first time that a new condo block has been taken down by fire. Hopefully no one was injured and that this isn’t too much of a step back for development in the area.
Update: You can now read more about this on CTV as well as the Surrey Now that reports: “Quattro made news in May when pre-sale buyers snapped up 109 suites valued at $23 million the first day the project went on the market. Fortunately the building was not yet occupied.”
News1130 continues: “Around 100 customers are without phone and internet service and 4,400 customers are without power right now. The Quattro development was being built in several stages on a 10 acre site and would have included almost 400 condos, most of which had been sold out.”
Although I don’t often discuss political issues on my site, being a citizen of Vancouver I am fully aware that on November 15th we will have a civic election and even sooner than that on October 14th, we have a federal election. I always try to stay informed, keep up with the issues, and find out as much as I can so that I don’t have to “eeny meeny miny mo” my way around the ballot.
Update: Lisa sent this video around on Twitter and I thought right here would be a good spot for it in my post from this morning.
Even though this applies to the elections south of the border, the message is the same. Visit Elections Canada for more info.
When it comes to the federal elections, only two weeks away, here’s some quick info I was able to gather purely from the websites of those running in my riding, Vancouver Centre (I’m using the candidate websites as examples because well, my life and career revolve around the online realm and being present on the web):
Liberal Party – Hedy Fry, who has been our MP since 1993
Website notes – Hedy appears to have a Drupal-powered blog, which is cool but it doesn’t have comments enabled and each post ends with “sent from my Blackberry”.
Talking points – Seniors’ issues, GLBT equality, universal child care and early learning, arts and culture, Liberal plan for greener living, doctors and nurses, catastrophic drug coverage. [issues]
Website notes – The site is nice enough, I like the simple layout, however the issues section features a bunch of pdf downloads then it redirects to the general NDP website for any other information.
Talking points – As collected from the main NDP website there is a focus on jobs and affordability, health care, environment, and other priorities which include: strong communities and safe neighbourhoods, protecting Canadian sovereignty and the North, First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples, supporting culture, the arts and our Canadian cultural identity, international trade: fairness at home and abroad, Immigration, Canadian federalism and public institutions, ethics and accountability, defending human rights, women: moving forward on equality, people with disabilities: opportunities for all, Canada: global leadership in peace and justice. [issues]
Conservative – Lorne Mayencourt, whom I saw recently at the Keall Fundraiser.
Website notes – Despite there being a php error on Lorne’s main page, the issues section appears to be working.
Issues Outlined – The economy – Mayencourt outlines what Harper and the Conservative Party has already done for the county (ie. 5% GST). Insite / DTES / housing / mental health and addiction – long term and permanent solutions are needed. The environment / the green shift – he has a lot of criticism for the carbon tax, and the last issue on the website is Afghanistan. [issues]
Website notes – Very “clean” looking website with a lot of useful information about the election in general.
Issues Outlined – Catching up to the Global Green Economy, implement a comprehensive plan on climate change, affordable housing, GLBT – moving beyond just rights, better transit – no more congested Gateway roads, forward-looking immigration policy, improving our health (food, environment, care), protect our environment, international leadership. [issues]
Website notes – Basic, yet it’s one of the easiest to navigate with the large menu buttons on the left.
Issues Outlined – Property rights, free enterprise, individual rights, socialism and interventionism, and Big Brother: “Do you remember George Orwell’s 1984? We do and that’s a large part of what we’re trying to prevent.” [issues]
Website notes – They have a daily online newspaper and the yellow is a bit hard on the eyes. I haven’t yet found a site for the candidate. Issues can be found listed under “briefs”, click through to the individual pages.
Issues Outlined – Electoral reform and party financing, social security reform, citizenship and immigration, Quebec, Canadian unity and identity, foreign policy.
On Friday, October 3rd there is an “all candidates debate”on Art, Culture and Heritage from 8:00am – 9:30am at the BCIT Downtown Campus, 555 Seymour Street and there is another this Sunday, October 5 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at the Christ Church Cathedral, 690 Burrard Street.
For a round up of local political blog coverage check out the VoterMedia selection.
In an effort to raise funds for her to Team Diabetes campaign, Tanya Davis will be hosting a comedy night at the Jupiter Cafe on October 8th (featuring Paul Breau, Seth Perry, Ivan Decker, and headliner Simon King).
Honestly, this will be the first live comedy I have seen in about 8 years, which is a crying shame since I love to laugh (who doesn’t, really). However, when it rains it pours as I’ve been invited to two other comedy events in the coming weeks. Unfortunately I’m unsure if I can attend but they are definitely both very noteworthy regardless.
The Metro Vancouver region has its own version of the hit TV show, Last Comic Standing, with its search for the next big amateur comic in Last Joker on Deck.
“The competition is broken into seven “First Round†events, occurring once a week for seven consecutive weeks. Contestants and shows will be subdivided into different groups according to their geographical regions.”
Show starts at 7:00pm, doors are at 6:00pm, tickets are $10 and you can get them by emailing lastjokerondeck [at] gmail [dot] com.
The next event is also happening this Saturday, presented by Simon Ogden of The Next Stage as a fundraiser for his upcoming production of The 21st Floor by Lyric Studios. The event is an XperiencE party (which have a reputation of always being a good time) and the theme is Laugh Riot.
“Saturday October 4th, Laugh Riot starts at 8:00pm and Cabaret and DJ start at 11:00pm at 341 Water Street, 3rd floor. Your admission donation will be matched by an anonymous donor.”
Aside from having some of the city’s best comics, there will also be a silent auction that will include a signed and framed jersey of our new team captain, Roberto Luongo.
I’ve been hearing about Vancouver’s underground comedy scene for quite some time (mostly from Bradley) so it would be great to not only go out an support these folks, but have a fun night out enjoying their talents.
As a blogger, and someone who writes about Vancouver, events, music and pretty much everything else under the sun, I often get approached to review products and services. On the other hand, sometimes I am the one requesting a review product in exchange for a write up on my site (ie. Fitness World). I wouldn’t exactly call this “selling out”, this is moreso using my public platform to pass on information that may be useful to others (as usual). I feel that as long as I fully disclose my intentions (and all transactions) that my readers can still benefit from this type of content. As such, I have a few reviews I need to catch up on, so here they are in lovely roundup form. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
What do Orland Kurtenbach, Andre Boudrias, Chris Oddleifson, Don Lever, Kevin McCarthy, Stan Smyl, Dan Quinn, Doug Lidster, Trevor Linden, Mark Messier, and Markus Naslund have in common? They’ve all worn the “C” for the Canucks since we entered the league in 1970.
This morning at a press conference at GM Place the organization announced that goalie Roberto Luongo will be Captain for the 2008-2009 season. I swear, it’s gotta be the new haircut as this has taken a few by surprise. Not that he’s not a leader, but a goalie being captain is pretty much uncharted territory.
Congratulations also go to Ryan Kesler, Mattias Ohlund and Willie Mitchell who will wear the “A”.
Update: As of today, Naslund will still be the last person to wear the “C” in Vancouver. According to TSN: “By league rule, the Canucks goaltender cannot wear the “C”, but he can be named captain.”
Update: From Alanah at Canucks and Beyond (who pasted an entire section of the rulebook on her post): “Bottom line he can’t act as captain during the course of the game, so his assistants will take those responsibilities.”
Update: You know, we should have all clued in when us Fan Zone folks were in the suite last week. The marketing department was saying Nazzy’s Suite had been renamed using Luongo’s name.
