vancouver courier april 8 2015
DESCRIPTION
Vancouver Courier April 8 2015TRANSCRIPT
OPINION
Jessica [email protected]
Nothing is served by resorting to gen-erational stereotypes. Although it’s easyto toss around labels like entitled (mil-lennials) or selfish (boomers), most ofthe time, behavioural trends among thesegroups make a lot of sense when viewed
in context of the events that have shapedtheir life experience.But some stereotypes are hard to argue
with — like the one about young peoplebeing politically apathetic.Now, I know that’s not entirely true. A
recent study from the Broadbent Instituteshowed the under-35 set have very strongfeelings on issues like the environment, edu-cation and health care that are so distinctfrom older generations they could pro-foundly shift the political landscape of thiscountry — if only they bothered to vote.And herein lies the rub.
In B.C. less than half of 18 to 24-year-olds cast ballots in the 2013 provincialelection, and 25 to 34-year-olds wereeven worse, less than 40 per cent voted.In contrast, nearly three quarters of vot-ers aged 55 to 75 showed up at the polls.This does not bode well for the prospect of
a Yes victory in the transit plebiscite, where astark generational dividemeans those who relyon transit themost, people under 40, are theleast likely to be counted in deciding its future.The Yes campaign has done an admi-
rable job to court to this group—MayorGregor Robertson even showed off his DJ
chops at a recent warehouse party in EastVan to celebrate the cause. But consideringthe stats, I’m not optimistic it’s enough.I called up Paul Kershaw to discuss my
fears. As founder of Generation Squeeze,a non-partisan lobbying group aimed atstanding up for the interests of younger Ca-nadians, and a professor at UBC’s schoolof population and public health, Kershawhas been mulling over the problem of youngvoter apathy for some time. In his assess-ment, attempts to make voting seem sexy orhip are often too little, too late.
Continued on page 9
OPINION 10Geller gets neighbourly
THEATRE 18From prison to performing
CITY LIVING 12Beer league bash
MIDWEEKEDITION
WEDNESDAYApril 8 2015Vol. 106 No. 27
There’s more online atvancourier.com
THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908
FULLHOUSE LauraQuilici, LolaandScottMasseyenjoy life in their renovatedVancouverSpecial. TheEast Sidehome is included inVancouverHeritageFoundation’s self-guidedVancouverSpecial tourApril 18.PHOTODANTOULGOET
Passionatemillennials justwon’t voteGeneration writes off politics
NaoibhO’[email protected]
The glossy white front door and sleekgrey and cedar exterior of a VancouverSpecial on East 22nd Avenue located notfar off of Main Street reflect the modernrenovations completed on the interior. Butbefore entering the home, which was builtin 1975, visitors will find a nod to its his-tory — two small lion figures that originallyguarded the home from atop brick pil-lars on either side of a gate. They’ve been“chromed” and are now nestled into theivy to the right of the doorway.This house is among those featured
on Vancouver Heritage Foundation’sApril 18 self-guided Vancouver Specialtour, which reveals how five homeownersmixed the old and new to reinvent theirhouses. It’s the organization’s sixth tourof Vancouver Specials whose popularityhas soared over the past decade.“There are a lot of people who just
really like the fact that they’re a blankcanvas. You take a Vancouver Specialand it has a big footprint and kind of abasic layout and from that you can eitherstick with the Vancouver Special styleand embrace it or you can completelychange it, make it entirely your own and
very modern. So, there’s a lot of pos-sibilities there,” said VHF spokeswomanKathryn Morrow.The possibilities are what convinced
Scott Massey and Laura Quilici to buytheir 2,278 square-foot Vancouver Specialon East 22nd in 2007. They live in it withtheir daughter Lola, 10, and have spenteight years painstakingly renovating it.“I would call myself a fairly strict modern-
ist in a lot of ways and especially architectur-ally speaking. I’m very drawn to modernistarchitecture and I can envision a diamond-in-the-rough situation. When we saw thishouse, it was all original and I knew wecould make something cool,” Massey said.“Some people have called the VancouverSpecial a poor man’s modern house becausethe task is stripping a lot of the ornamentaway. Once you’ve done that, you’re leftwith a pretty clean shell — a square cor-nered, square-roomed shell. It really doeslend itself to a modernist aesthetic.”Massey has lived in the city since 1992,
while Quilici was born in Vancouver toItalian parents.The couple was determined to buy a Van-
couver Special, but Quilici’s parents, as wellas other friends and family, weren’t initiallyconvinced it was a good idea.
Continued on page 13
‘A poorman’smodernhouse’Vancouver Specials become cultural icons
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A2 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
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News
A 22-year-old man whopleaded guilty to partici-pating in the Stanley Cupriot will not have to spendany time behind bars afterthe B.C. Court of Appealdecided to substitute a jailterm for a four-month con-ditional sentence.Andrew Patrick Lynch,
who was 18 during theJune 2011 riot downtownVancouver and had nocriminal record, was origi-nally sentenced to 45 daysin prison — to be served onweekends — followed by 12months of probation.A three-judge panel of
the B.C. Court of Appealreleased its decision April1 and ruled the sentencingjudge erred in principle byimposing a jail term withoutseriously considering ifLynch should serve a condi-tional sentence.“Having due regard
to the circumstances ofthe case, and particularlyLynch’s involvement inthe riots, his post-offence
conduct and the principleof parity, I would vary thesentence imposed on Lynchand substitute a conditionalsentence order,” wroteMadam Justice PamelaKirkpatrick, whose decisionwas agreed to by MadamJustice Nicole Garson andJustice David Harris.Lynch’s four-month con-
ditional sentence includes150 hours of communitywork, a curfew seven days aweek from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m.and he must refrain fromconsuming alcohol anddrugs and keep the peaceand be of good behaviour.The ruling came after the
provincial court heard lastfall that Lynch committed“multiple acts of criminalactivity that night [of theriot] over a one-and-a-half-hour period,” includingentering the Bay, MegoLuggage and Swimwear,kicking a window and be-ing in possession of stolenproperty.The sentencing judge
also pointed out Lynch was“drunk and combative”with police at house parties
in June and August 2013 ata time that he was warnedhe was under investigation.“I cannot put too much
weight on this, except if itdoes show something interms of the character andrehabilitative,” the judgesaid at the time. “Althoughyour references all expresstremendous surprise inyour actions that evening,
these actions afterwards areindicative that you may nothave been as clear, cleanand as good a law-abidingcitizen, as they believe oryour counsel would haveme believe.”In appealing the sentence,
Lynch’s lawyer BradleyHickford argued the jailterm didn’t fit with thosegiven to his co-accused,
Parmjot Singh Bains andMichael David Stewart,both of whom also pleadedguilty to participating inthe riot. Bains received asix-month conditional sen-tence, including 200 hoursof community work service.Stewart received a condi-tional discharge in which hewas ordered to perform 100hours of community service
work and write a three-pageletter of apology to the Cityof Vancouver.Hickford also pointed
out Lynch did not enterSwimwear but did reachthrough a window to steala pair of flip-flops, whichthe Appeal Court said was a“harmless” misstatement bythe provincial court judgegiven that Lynch admittedto stealing the sandals.The summary of Lynch’s
pre-sentencing report saidLynch was enrolled atCamosun College in Victo-ria and planned to transferto a bachelor of commerceprogram at the University ofVictoria.“Mr. Lynch has been de-
scribed by many as a quietperson who tends to keep tohimself and except for oneday has led a very pro-sociallife,” the report said. “Theindication from the peoplewho have come forwardto support him is that hisparticipation in the Vancou-ver riot is something that isvery out of his character andcame as a surprise.”
twitter.com/Howellings
Stanley Cup rioter avoids jail
The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled that a 22-year-oldmanwill not go to prison for his role in theStanley Cup riot in June 2011. PHOTODANTOULGOET
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A3
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Independent grocersand small grocery chainsare expanding acrossMetro Vancouver evenas consolidation makesnational competitors everlarger.The expansion comes
not only from longtime in-dependent grocer Stong’sMarket, but also fromthe small chain ChoicesMarkets and newcomerPomme Natural Market.Stong’s Market owner
Cori Bonina helpedturn sod at a March 31groundbreaking along withpoliticians, developers andothers involved in North-woods Village on Dol-larton Highway in NorthVancouver.Bonina plans to open
her second Stong’s store inthe development when theproject is complete early in2016. The 20,000-square-foot grocery store wouldbe the first new Stong’slocation in 26 years.“We were on the North
Shore 20 years ago whenwe had four stores,” Bo-nina said after the ceremo-ny. “We always wanted tocome back.”
Bonina has lived inNorth Vancouver fordecades and believes thatdemand for an indepen-dent grocer is strong.She is a fourth-genera-
tion owner of the com-
pany and is also preparingto move her longtimegrocery store on DunbarStreet into larger prem-ises. Her family has oper-ated a 14,000-square-footgrocery store at 4560Dunbar St. for decades,but the location is slatedfor redevelopment.Bonina secured a lease
until Feb. 28, 2016, andintends to move up thestreet a few blocks to be-tween West 26th and West27th avenues on March31, 2016.Her future Dunbar
Street store would belarger, at around 20,000
square feet, she said.Other grocers are simi-
larly expanding.Upstart Pomme Natural
Market, for example, hasfour owners who aim toopen 10 stores in 10 yearsand are already ahead ofschedule.The Victoria-based four-
some of Rasool Rayani, EdLow, Dave Arnsdorf andCraig Hermanson openeda 16,000-square-foot loca-tion in Port Coquitlam inJanuary 2014, and thenadded a 5,000-square-footsecond store on DavieStreet in Vancouver earlierthis year.
Both of those stores in-volved buying an existinggrocer and then renovat-ing and rebranding.A third Pomme Natural
Market is slated to openthis summer in Nanaimo.The ownership team
earlier this year boughtNanaimo’s 5,000-square-foot Island Natural Mar-kets, which they intend torebrand.“There are no more
openings in the immediatefuture,” Hermanson said.“It’s been a lot with threein the last year and two inthe past two months, sowe’re in a bit of a con-
solidation phase. But 10stores in the Lower Main-land and on VancouverIsland is our goal.”Choices Markets has
also been expanding bybuying existing grocersand then rebranding them.For example, the Van-
couver-based companybought the Drive Organ-ics on Commercial Driveearlier this year.When Drive Organ-
ics rebrands, it will raiseChoices Markets’ storecount to eight locations —seven in Metro Vancouverand one in Kelowna.All of these small and
independent operationscompete against grocerymonoliths such as EmpireCo. Ltd., which boughtmore than 200 Safewaystores for $5.8 billion in2013 and added them toits Sobeys division.Sobeys previously had
bought the VancouverIsland-founded ThriftyFoods for $260 million in2007.When those mega-deals
happen, other grocers alsoget bigger.That’s because the
Competition Bureau usu-ally requires the acquiringgrocer to sell some of itsstores to maintain a com-petitive landscape.That independent law
enforcement agency, forexample, required Sobeysto sell 29 of its stores inorder for the Safewaytransaction to complete.Sobeys then sold 15
stores to OverwaiteaFoods and 14 others toFederated Co-op.
twitter.com/GlenKorstrom
Stong’s Market owner Cori Bonina believes the demand for independent grocery stores is strong. PHOTOCHUNGCHOW
News
Independent grocers gain groundStong’s North Shore location first in 26 years
A4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
On Now atThe Brick!
For more details go instore oronline @thebrick.com.
Deanna [email protected]
At this time of year, theoolichan would be plentifulin the Fraser River.But not now, according
to environmentalist andfisherman Terry Slack,who said you could oncesee them passing by at thefoot of Cambie Street.“Stocks are so low now.
There’s a risk of themdisappearing forever.”Slack will be speaking at
a walking tour during EarthWeek about how rehabilitat-ing the area by the river willhelp restore oolichan runs.Held April 18 from 11 a.m.to noon, it will start at thelower level ofMarine Gate-way station by Cambie andSouthwestMarine Drive.Slack said the biggest
contributor to their demiseis habitat loss, somethinghe has witnessed over thelast 65 years.Slack, who is also the
director of the FraserRiver Sturgeon Conserva-tion Society, said ooliganis part of a complex foodchain. “There used to behundreds and hundreds,
thousands and thousandsof fish. They’d feed themarshes. They’d feed thebirds. There’s over 24 dif-ference species by the riverthat benefits from this fish.”White sturgeons would
swim down the FraserRiver to meet the oolichanin a feeding frenzy clashbut now the sturgeons aredisappointed. “It’s a hugesituation where this speciesdepend on this fish. Theyswim all the way fromHope, down to the FraserRiver bridge,” said Slack.He called the area the
“Serengeti of the river.”Or it used to be.“Now I see starving ea-
gles. I see starving ducks.I see starving waterfowls,”he said.Having the area expand-
ed and recovered wouldmake a great difference tooolichan, said Slack.“This piece of land looks
abandoned, broken downwith concrete. It’s a hugemess, really, but it hasthree streams and we wantto daylight the area.”Daylighting means the
redirection of a streaminto an above-ground
channel with the goal ofrestoring riverbanks.Slack said another way
to help the oolichan recov-er is to get control over theshrimp fishing off the westcoast of Vancouver Islandwhere the fish is bycatch.Oolichan is the Chinook
term for a type of oceanfish, a smelt, which getsfat during spawning. It iscommonly known as “can-dlefish” because, when thefish is caught, dried andhung on a wick, it can beburned as a candle.It is also known as the
“saviour fish,” said Slack,because it would be thefirst fresh food after winterthe indigenous peoplewould have.A Royal B.C. Museum
report said oolichan werepreserved in many waysbecause they were highlycoveted as a food sourceand as a trade item. Theywere boiled, baked or friedto be eaten right away orthey were preserved to beeaten throughout the year.Rendered oolichan
grease was used for me-dicinal purposes.
twitter.com/writerly_dee
Restoring the oolichan
News
Environmentalist Terry Slackwill be speaking at awalking tour during EarthWeek about howrehabilitating land on the Fraser River near Cambie Street will help restore oolichan runs.PHOTODANTOULGOET
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A5
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12TH&CAMBIE
I went for a stroll Mon-day to see what all thefuss was about regardingsome movie star hunk/heartthrob and the shut-ting down of the Georgiaviaduct for a 20th CenturyFox production.You’ve probably heard
that Vancouver-born actorRyan Reynolds is back intown to run around in ared-and-black action herooutfit and make a pile ofmoney while he stars incomic book film Deadpool.Kind of exciting, if you’re
into that kind of thing.But it may not be ter-
ribly exciting for motor-ists who depend on theviaduct, which will shutdown on weekdays from5 a.m. to 3 p.m. untilApril 16 to accommodatefilming. This Saturday,the span out of downtownwill close from 5 a.m. to 5p.m. and may carry overto Sunday. The film com-pany has options to shootApril 17 and 18, too.Who agreed to this?The City of Vancouver
because, as its communi-cations people pointed outin a news release, the pro-duction intends to spendmore than $37.5 millionand hire 1,100 workers.Good for the economy,
people.At least that’s what May-
or Gregor Robertson saidwhen the city announcedthe closures of the viaduct,which runs parallel to theDunsmuir viaduct, which
remains open for vehicles,bikes and pedestrians dur-ing filming.What the mayor didn’t
say was the Georgia andDunsmuir viaducts willlikely be demolished atsome point in the future.To make that happenthough, the city will needsome evidence that Van-couver can survive withoutthe 1970s-era hulkingstructures and success-fully reroute the 43,000vehicles per day that usethe viaducts.I’ve already heard Vision
Coun. Geoff Meggs say howthe closure of the viaductsduring the 2010WinterOlympics didn’t have a dra-matic effect on traffic.I’ve also read the city re-
ports that say the viaductswould cost up to $120million to retain, if reha-bilitation, maintenanceand eventual replacementcosts are factored in over40 years.I’ve also heard city staff
say they’re confident theycan design a new streetsystem to replace theviaducts that will ensuretraffic continues to flow inand out of downtown.Here’s a telling quote
from one report: “In everycity’s evolution, there arerare opportunities to takebold city-building stepsto advance the city’s goalsand livability, or correcta past planning wrong.The potential removal ofthe viaducts provides anopportunity for the City ofVancouver to do both.”So, yep, it’s pretty clear
city staff wants the via-ducts down.Which brings me to this:
How much do you wantto wager that this movieshoot will also factor intothe city’s decision to de-molish the viaducts?I’m confident that when
the city does an analysis ofwhat effect the closure ofthe Georgia viaduct hadon traffic, it will be mini-mal. I’m also confidentwe’ll hear how it was goodfor the economy.As for my stroll to the
set Monday, I never didsee Reynolds, although hetweeted later in the day tothank motorists for put-ting up with the closure.What I did see was anoverturned SUV, heardthe rat-tat-tat of automaticweapons and saw lots ofpeople running aroundwith portable radios.While taking it in, I had
a come-by-chance briefconversation with a cyclistwho was rolling by on theDunsmuir viaduct bikelane. It was Sadhu John-ston, Vancouver’s deputycity manager.“I guess it hasn’t shut
down the city, so that’sgood,” he said, beforepedalling downtown.See what I mean, con-
fident.Note: I realize Monday
was a holiday for some andthe rest of the week willbe busier for motorists.But no busier than it wasin 1965. Huh? The city’sdirector of transportation,Jerry Dobrovolny, toldme a couple of years agothere were fewer vehiclestravelling into downtownnow than in 1965. And, hetoo, was confident whenhe said that.
twitter.com/Howellings
Deadpool tests lifewithout viaductsCity believes roadways should come down
The Georgia viaduct will be shut down for several days thismonth to accommodate the filming of amovie starring Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds. Fan Ryan Sullivan (in costume)watched some ofthe actionMonday from the Dunsmuir viaduct. PHOTODANTOULGOET
RyanReynolds tweetedhis thanks toVancouverites for their patience.PHOTODANTOULGOET
A6 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
Windarrives intunnelIt’s taken three years, but
dropped calls and unsenttext message are now athing of the past for WindMobile customers travellingon the Canada Line.Beginning April 6, the
wireless carrier can nowoffer uninterrupted servicethroughout all the under-ground portions of theSkyTrain system linkingRichmond to downtownVancouver.The Canada Line opened
in the summer of 2009and Telus spent $2 millionbuilding the infrastructureto support underground
wireless service throughoutthe tunnels.While other carriers such
as Rogers and Bell paidTelus to use the infrastruc-ture, Wind complained thecost was too high.The company filed a
petition with the CanadaRadio-television Telecom-munications Commission(CRTC) in 2012, request-ing access to the tunnels tobuild its own infrastructure.But InTransitBC and the
City of Vancouver askedthe CRTC to dismiss thepetition, saying Wind wasunderestimating the techni-cal challenges of install-ing its own infrastructure.
Instead, it said the companyshould go back to negotiatewith Telus.Wind has now joined the
Telus infrastructure insteadof building its own under-ground wireless system.Newly appointed Wind
CEO Alek Kstrajic said in astatement that offering un-interrupted coverage is “thenext step” toward expand-ing its network.In March, the Ministry of
Industry announcedWindpaid the minimum bidamount of $56 million in awireless spectrum auctionfor AWS-3 spectrum inB.C., Alberta and southernOntario.
Cityframe
POLEPOSITION ArtistMarcusBowcott’sTransAmTotem, a 10-metre-high sculpture curatedbytheVancouverBiennale, hasbeen installedatQuebecStreet andMilrossAvenueand is composedoffive real scrapcars stackeduponanoldgrowthcedar tree.PHOTODANTOULGOET
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A7
A8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
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Continued from page 1“Part of the answer
rests, ironically, with notfocusing so much of ourattention on voting per se,but actually stepping backmany months and yearsbefore one’s asked to voteand talk about what hap-pens then,” he says.In appealing to younger
demographics only whenthey want something fromthem, political machinesof all stripes feed into a“broader cultural malaiseof discontent” that hasshaped the political viewsof young people.“We’ve actually reared
a bunch of people in their40s and younger to thinkpolitics is irrelevant to theirlives,” Kershaw said. “Wedon’t motivate people topay attention to the detailsof decisions that are takingplace in politics.”
If younger people hada better understanding ofthe political back story thatbrought us to the referen-dum in the first place, Ker-shaw believes, they wouldrealize how their own inac-tion has played a role.“I think it’s critical for
younger people to ask:‘why the heck do we evenneed a referendum to raise$250 million to invest intransit when the provincialbudget that was just tabledfound more than doublethat for medical care?’ Wedidn’t need a referendumon that,” he said.“I would say the answer
is largely, well, 50 cents ofevery medical care dollargoes to the 15 per cent ofthe population over 65, andolder British Columbiansare more likely to vote.”And so goes the circular
logic of the young voter
issue: political parties andgovernments don’t try to ap-peal to us because we don’tvote, and we don’t vote forprecisely that reason.But Kershaw contends
we can break the cycle.His Generation Squeezeaims to redirect the narra-tive on politics away fromdistrust and disgust andtoward the considerablepolitical clout we couldgain if we were educated,organized and active.“We need to learn from
the wisdom of our elders,”he said, citing the lobby-ing efforts of the CanadianAssociation for RetiredPersons, which, at 300,000members, is bigger thanmany political parties andhas successfully demandedaction on issues affectingCanadians over 50.“However, we haven’t
been doing the same thing
as younger Canadians,and until we do, we willhave so much less influ-ence on the platforms thatthe left, the centre and theright campaign on.”Kershaw hasn’t com-
pletely written off a Yesvictory yet, and neitherhave I. But we both agreethat younger people willshoulder a substantial partof not just the burden,but also the blame, in theevent of a defeat.“I’m hopeful we can
turn it around, but if itdoesn’t we’ll all haveto look in the mirror asyounger Vancouveritesand say: it could havebeen different.”No matter the outcome,
we also need to answer thecall of Generation Squeezeand start proving this ste-reotype wrong. For moreinfo, visit gensqueeze.ca.
YoungCanadians have cloutDo young voters consider politics irrelevant to their otherwise busy and distracted lives? PHOTO JASON LANG
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A9
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Operated by
Theweek in num6ers...
10Inmetres, theheightof anewsculpture involving five scrapcars stackedon topof anoldgrowthcedar stump locatednearQuebecStreet andMilross
Avenue.
4Thenumberofmonths inanewconditional sentencehandedtoStanleyCup rioter AndrewLynch, reducedonappeal fromanoriginal 45-day jail sentence.
26Thenumberof years sinceanewStong’s grocery storehasopened. The local chain isexpanding toNorthVancouver
in 2016.
11Thenumberof craft brewerieswhoentered teams in theinauguralBeer LeagueBASHtournamentheldSaturdayat
BritanniaRink.
1Thenumberof military
invasionsof theUnitedStatesfoiledbyChuckNorris inthe1985 film InvasionUSA,screening tonight at theRio
Theatre.
14Thenumberof trees thatwillbe cutdown inorder towidenthe cyclingandpedestrianpathalong theStanleyPark
Causeway.
Michael [email protected]
Do you know your neighbours?In last week’s column, I wrote about
a talk I was giving that evening at SFUcalled “Twelve Great Ideas for Vancou-ver from Around the World.”I was gratified by the turnout, but
even more pleased with the discussionthat followed.Of the 12 ideas presented, one that
generated considerable interest was theneed to make Vancouver a friendliercity. Many in attendance commented onhow difficult it can be for newcomers tomake friends.Suggestions were offered on how to
design friendlier apartment buildings,including putting a residents’ loungenear the entrance, rather than in someleftover hidden space.One speaker suggested that instead of
having Family Day in British Columbia,we should have Neighbour Day, whenneighbours could meet in one another’shome or at a block party. Far too manyof us do not greet neighbours when theymove in, and after a while there does notseem to be a good justification to intro-duce ourselves.I facetiously responded we’ll all get to
know one another when the earthquakehits us, and we’re dependent on eachother for survival.I also suggested, since I doubt the
premier will replace Family Day withNeighbour Day, that we might designatean arbitrary date, say the third Saturdayin May, as Neighbour Day.On this day we would introduce our-
selves to new and old neighbours andorganize a block party, spring clean-upor other community activities.One of the attendees noted that some
streets in Kitsilano are now organizingregular block parties, and this is alsohappening in other parts of the city.Whenever I think about the friendli-
ness of a neighbourhood, I am remindedof one of my late father’s stories. A manwas thinking about buying a new house,but wondered what the neighbourhoodwas like. The realtor pointed out a mancutting his lawn across the street. “Whydon’t you go and ask him.”The lawn-cutter responded by asking
his potential neighbour what it was likewhere he was currently living.“Oh we all get along very nicely,” he
replied.
“Then I think you will find the samething here!”Other ideas also resonated with at-
tendees, both during the Q&A and insubsequent discussions. For example, Inoted that in Freiburg, Germany, whichI consider one of the most sustainablecities in the world, many new apartmentbuildings have stairwells with large win-dows and colourful finishes to encour-age residents to use stairs rather thanelevators.After all, it is healthier.Compare that with most Vancouver
apartment buildings where stairwellsrarely have windows and are often noteven finished other than some yellowstripes on the stairs. Moreover, securityprovisions often prevent neighbours go-ing from one floor to another, either bystairs or elevator.As a result, these buildings are terrible
places to go trick or treating at Hallow-een, something I have often considereda measure of a building or neighbour-hood’s friendliness.Other ideas that appealed to the audi-
ence included the need to create pedes-trian-only streets in Vancouver and safercrosswalks.Some wanted us to bring back the
“scramble intersections” we once had,which allow pedestrians to take over anintersection in all directions, even on thediagonal.One speaker responded he liked all the
ideas presented, but feared municipalauthorities would not be willing to makethe necessary changes. While I appreci-ated his concern, I did point out that ifenough people ask for changes, they mayeventually happen. Laneway housing isjust one example.This prompted a traffic engineer in
attendance to suggest we need to do abetter job of improving the appearanceof our lanes and in the future use themnot just for laneway houses, but otherforms of infill housing and neighbour-hood uses.In his concluding remarks, SFU City
Program director Gordon Price notedit was evident that a lot of people careabout the city and have many goodideas to improve it. We just need moreopportunities to have such discussions,preferably with city officials and politi-cians in attendance, to increase thelikelihood that good ideas are eventuallyimplemented.
twitter.com/michaelgeller
Some suggestions fora friendlier city
Opinion
Megan Stewart [email protected]
How complex is your identity when itends with wife and begins with what yourhusband does for a living? This is thequestion behind Hockey Wives, a surpris-ingly sympathetic, grounded and real (not“real” à la Real Housewives) reality TVshow about the WAGS of NHLers. It airsWednesday nights on the W Network.These Wives and Girlfriends of sports
stars are varying degrees of self-impor-tant, independent and industrious. Insome cases, the women are very indepen-dent and the relationship suffers. Or, youcan almost hear some of the wives won-dering… “What’s independence? Howwould he get out the door with pants onif I didn’t pull them up for him.”One sensitive, doe-eyed woman whose
husband is bouncing around below theNHL and its six or even seven-figuresalary, puts words to her deepest doubts.“Every time [he] gets sent down, I startto wonder what did [he] do wrong, whatam I doing wrong as his wife? Did I nottake away enough of his burdens and hecould only focus on hockey?”Another, a down-to-earth but oblivious
homemaker who is married to the captainof the L.A. Kings and his eight-year con-tract worth $48 million, says she is “count-ing down the days” until he retires. “I don’treally have a choice though, do I?”Says one likeable, entrepreneurial woman
whose husband made his career with hisfists, “The girls who think everyone wantsto be their friend because of their husband,that’s because they’re obsessed with theirhusband and have nothing else going on.”I watch the show and will keep watch-
ing. But I realized I already knew a few“hockey wives.” One organizes drop-inice time at the West End rink on Fridaynights. Another runs during her lunchbreak to stay in shape for playoffs.Maybe you know a few women like this
or have seen them at the Kitsilano arena,on the ice at Hillcrest or at Burnaby 8Rinks. It’s not like professional hockey isan option.Let me introduce you to two Vancou-
ver hockey wives, neither of whom ismarried to a Canuck.A graduate of Western Washington Uni-
versity where she was a varsity field hockeyplayer, Teresa Schwartz is a high schoolteacher living in South Cambie who playson three ice hockey teams, one full-time asan all-position skater, two more as a spare.
“The reason I play on so many teamsis I know I can’t make all the games,”said the recreational mountain biker andformer ultimate player with hall-of-famePrime. If she misses a hockey game, it’slikely because she’s making sure her12-year-old son and nine-year-old daugh-ter get to their ice times. “I can still makeit for one team so don’t feel like I’ve lostout on a game for that week,” she said.Does Schwartz identify as a hockey wife?
“No, I identify myself as a hockey player.I would, if anything, say I feel more like ahockey mom because, first and foremost,my children’s hockey and ringette is priorityand then I’m second as a hockey player. It’sbeen a while since I’ve actually gone to seemy husband play hockey.”Mandy Hillier, a right-handed, left-hand-
ed shooter, rarely misses a game with herIce Queens. “I’m guaranteed, once a week,both exercise and time to chat with the girlsand have a beer afterwards,” she said.Hillier likes that her teammates range in
age from their late teens through to their40s, are single, attached, have multiple kidsor are child-free, and work in diverse profes-sions. “You can’t cancel on the team,” shesaid. “One of the best ways to make a sociallife work is to commit to a team.”Does she identify as a hockey wife?
“No. Hockey wife implies that the womanjust sits around while her husband plays,which is not a bad thing. I used to watchmy husband play as well. I would saywe’re more a hockey family,” said Hillier.“We both play 12 months a year.”In eight years, 13 babies were born
amongst Hillier’s teammates. “Ourgoalie has had two — that was hard toget a goalie, and then another goalie waspregnant. There are not a lot of womengoalies,” she said.Hillier was back on the ice six weeks after
having her children. “It’s a good sport forthat because it looks high-impact but it’snot. When they’re that young, that’s whenthe husband brings the baby to the rink soyou can nurse before you go on.”With so many kids on the team and
two kids of her own under the age of five,Hillier’s games are often boosted by asmall cheering section.
“A few of us, our husbands play to-gether and we will take the kids to theirgames. Some days, the husbands willbring them to watch us, so watching ourgames will be six kids and three dads.”Husband cheering from the stands?
That’s my definition of a hockey wife.twitter.com/MHStewart
Meet twoof the realwives of hockey
A10 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
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COUR IER ARCH IVES THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
April 6, 1886: Vancouver is incorporatedasacitybyBritishColumbia’s legislaturewithanamesuggestedbyCanadianPacificRailwayveepWilliamVanHorne tohonourexplorerGeorgeVancouver,who first sailed into town94yearsearlier.MalcolmAlexanderMacLean,a realtor,wasvoted inas thenewcity’smayoronemonth later,beatingsawmillmanagerRichardH.Alexanderby17votes inanelectionmanybelievedwas rigged.However, anypossibilityofa recountwentup insmokeshortlyafterward in theGreatVancouverFire thatburnednearly theentire city to theground.MacLeanwas re-elected in thecity’s secondelectiononDec. 13, 1886,defeatingnewopponentThomasDunnbyamore respectable34votes.
Vancouver incorporated as a city
WEB vancourier.comFACEBOOK TheVancouverCourierNewspaperTWITTER @vancouriernews
have your say online...
LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR
Yes vote canhelp offsetboomers’ bungled legacyRe: “Plebiscite participation difficult
to predict,” March 27.If enough of us selfish, self-centred
“no more of my money” boomers dovote No for the tiny 0.5 per cent salestax, perhaps we can leave the follow-ing generations even more of a mess toclean up after us — on top of the $614plus billion national debt and esti-mated billions in toxic messes like theGiant gold mine fiasco, as well as thecatastrophic costs of climate changeissues coming at them.On top of all of this, the boomer-
echo generation has been warnedto prepare to pay for an exponen-tial increase in health care costs towarehouse a tsunami of Alzheimeredboomers.Gee! I wonder if they’ll eventually
find a far less expensive final solutionto relieve that problem to help thempay for all the other inherited chal-lenges we’re leaving them?Just to be fair, I voted a resounding
Yes to better transit and bike access.Lance Read, Langley
Some suggestions forbuilding better communitiesRe: “Foolish not to learn from other
major cities,” April 1.Last Wednesday, Michael [Geller]
gave a talk at SFU to illustrate thepoints he raised in the Courier. Kudos toMichael for sharing his idea-provokingphotos and the lessons learned fromother major cities. Here are two moreideas based on his statement, at the talk,that the Vancouver Foundation’s surveyof residents had revealed a concern overloneliness and lack of community.First idea on community build-
ing: Build community infrastructurewithin high density buildings. Commonrooms or amenity rooms should be onthe ground floor and open to residentspassing from the front door, basementparkade or mail box to the elevator.Adjacent outdoor green space for sum-mer evening gatherings and for childrento play in sight of their parents from theamenity room would be an excellentdesign feature and will further encourageinteraction between building residents.Amenity rooms hidden in the basementon upper floors overlooking the back laneshould be considered as poor design.Second idea on community building:
Build street boulevard infrastructureto encourage neighbourhood interac-tion. Mid-block curb bulges (I callthem boulevard bulges to emphasizethe non-vehicular space) designed with
a tree swing, a bench or two, free bookexchange box or perhaps a communityvolunteer flower garden would providegreat opportunities for impromptustreet conversation and play.If the boulevard bulge was compli-
mented by another bulge opposite,leaving space for one vehicle lanebetween, the proposed Canada Postcommunity mail boxes could also beaccommodated and thereby increasethe chance of impromptu interaction.By default they would become the lo-cation of choice for annual neighbour-hood block parties.A few guidelines would be necessary
such as agreement by residents withinthe block on location and the facilitiesto be incorporated. And, of course, apermit would likely be necessary.
David Grigg, Vancouver
ONLINE COMMENTS
Blame it on the rainmeasurements andYes adsRe: “Foolish not to learn from other
major cities,” April 1.Why is Vancouver city hall spending
millions of taxpayer dollars on trying toget people in the region to fund theirBroadway subway to Arbutus when theycan’t be bothered to clean up the publicplanted areas all over the city?Is the wild and overgrown look all
trendy again, as it was in the 1970s? Isthe overgrown and untended look goingto extend to the parks? Are they brokeafter spending everything on trying toconvince voters with this massive ad cam-paign and that crazy rain-measuring and200-year rain forecasting study?Lysenko’sNemesis, via Comments section
Computer upgradefiasco yetanother B.C. Libs failureRe: “ICM upgrade mess deemed a suc-
cess,” April 3.Sounds like a lot of gaffe guard and po-
litical speak for a cover up of governmentmismanagement and inept supposed ITprofessionals. Deeming it a success provesonce again it is government it doesn’t haveto make sense. Meanwhile more taxpay-ers dollars down the drain and delivery ofservices riddled with problems.
Preop, via Comments section• • •
The incompetence of this governmentnever seems to rile up the general popu-lace enough to have a revolt. They act likespoiled kids who never get in trouble nomatter how badly they behave. It’s gettingto the point now that we, the taxpayers,are so disgusted with all this bad news thatwe are disengaging at an alarming rate. Wedon’t want to read it anymore but I guessthat is the goal of these doorknobs.
Rick Clarke, via Comments section
Cops deploy against DTES dealersApril 7, 2003: Vancouver police chief JamieGraham launches a controversialthree-month crackdownondrug dealers operating near the corner ofMain andHastings streets. Sixty officers of the City-Wide Enforcement Team (CET) kept aheavy presence in the neighbourhood that required diverting 40 officers awayfromother duties. New York-basedHumanRightsWatchmonitored the campaignand later released a report alleging instances of police “beating andotherwisemistreating drug users in custody, conducting public strip searches andusing pettyallegations such as jaywalking to justify stops and searches.”
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A11
Community1
2
3
CITY LIVING
Rebecca [email protected]
If another Slap Shotmoviewere to ever to bemade, thecasting scouts would havemissed a wonderful op-portunity to fill the roles ofhockey fans Saturday nightat Britannia Rink.Men, many of themwith
bushy beards that wouldn’thave been out of placebehind the counter of aturn-of-the-century hardwarestore, bellowed and guffawedwith equally raucous womenabout 100 strong all in thestands of the East Vancou-ver rink. The racket, whicheither spurred or rattled theirfriends on the ice below, wasa novelty in itself for mostof the players who wouldbe lucky to have a girlfriendcome out to one regularleague game. Even thenshe’d probably be playingCandy Crush on her iPhone.It was the first-ever Beer
League BASH tournament,hosted by Bomber Brewingwhich set up shop a blockfrom the rink just over ayear ago. As any grown am-ateur hockey player will tellyou, beer and hockey haveequal footing on a healthyday, which is how BomberBrewing was born. It grewfrom post-game, home-brew beers in the parkinglot of a North Vancouverrink into a bonafide busi-ness. Player and BomberBrewing creative directorCam Andrews wasted notime in planning a fund-raiser involving fellow craftbeer breweries and hockeywith money raised goingtowards the Britannia AfterSchool Hockey programthat gives underprivileged
teenagers an opportunity tolearn and play the game.“The people around here
support our brewery likecrazy so it’s a way to giveback which sounds totallycliché without even trying,but it’s true,” said Andrewsbefore jumping on the icewith the Bombers to face theeventual tournament champsRed Truck Beer Company.“We go to all these beerfestivals and you standaround. You’re just drinkingbeer, talking about beer andthere’s nothing happening atthem really. So I thought itwould be fun to have a beerfestival with hockey gamesgoing on at the same time. Itbrings us as a community to-gether.We’re all hanging outwith our friends, they’re all inbreweries. Beer and hockey— they go together.”The tournament came
together so smoothly thatAndrews is already planningnext year’s version. Britan-nia welcomed the idea anddonated six hours of ice time,referees, timekeepers andother staff. Even the storybehind the tournament’sgleaming championship cupis onemeant for an East Vanhockey tournament.“I found a big trophy in
the back alley of my condoduring Grey Cup week.Somebody had brought itas a prop I guess and leftit there,” Andrews said.“I ran down four flightsof stairs and grabbed it.When I took it in to getengraved the guy was like,‘This is a $400 trophy!’”Britannia Rink was built
during a time when peoplewere hardier and thoughtnothing of showing up witha blanket to watch the localgame. Without the separa-tion of the glass of overheadpubs and flat-screen televi-
sions in every corner presentin many newer commercialrinks, the building’s old-fashioned design lent itselfwell to a beer festival.Eleven local breweries sold
tasters in the concourse justfeet above the stands, mak-ing it convenient for bothbeer fans as well as playerswho were stripped down toweathered hockey pants, T-shirts and flip flops to have abeer between games.BASH head instructor Jay
Aikenhead was thrilled withthe tournament turnout asmost of the 200 beer ticketswere sold along with dona-tions for hockey gear theBombers arranged throughtheir hockey connections.“Already we’ve gotten,
and we’re two hours in,30 sticks. It’s just great,”he said. The tournamentraised $2,500 to go towardsmore gear, staffing costs,snacks for kids, and pro-gram expansion. BASHstarted in 2010 with justone camp and donationshave provided the meansfor three camps, one duringspring break and two in thesummer.It’s not just through
Britannia’s programs suchas BASH and the women’slearn-to-play where play-ers step on the ice for thefirst time. Even the tour-nament had one first-timeron the Craft Beer All-Starsin Stefan Lillos, a hopsdistributor when he’s notwearing ICBC’s Learnersticker on the back of hishelmet while on the ice.“I bought all my hockey
stuff two weeks ago so Icould play,” he said. “Ican’t stop out there, Idon’t really know whatI’m doing. It’s just fun.It’s a great group of guys.”
twitter.com/rebeccablissett
Beer andhockeygo great together
1.Red Truck Beer Company faced offwith Bomber Brewing during Saturday’s Beer League BASHtournament at Britannia Rink. Red Truckwent on to take home the championship trophywith a 5-1win over Parallel 49 Brewing Co. The fundraiser featured four teams and 11 local craft breweries andmoney raisedwent towards the Britannia After School Hockey program that gives underprivilegedteenagers an opportunity to learn and play the game 2. Supporting No. 73, Craft Beer All-Stars’Stefan Lillos, were friends LindsayMclaughlin and Chelsea Pellerin. 3. Amy Scott, left, and AmandaBarry-Butchart of Bridge Brewingwere one of 11 local breweries serving tasters on the concourse.4. Lillos played his first-ever hockey game during Saturday’s Beer League BASH tournament at Britan-nia Rink. See photo gallery online at vancourier.com. PHOTOSREBECCA BLISSETT
4
Brewery tournament raises money for Britannia program
A12 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
Continued from page 1“[Her parents] worked
so hard to get away fromthe aesthetic and culturaldefinitions that come withthe Vancouver Special as ahousing style,” Massey said.“So when we were lookingfor a Vancouver Special,there wasn’t a lot of enthu-siasm for sure, but they’vecome around now.”The renovation was
completed in two phases.Massey did much of thework to cut costs andwhen necessary called infavours from tradespeoplefriends and family. Thecouple rented out theground floor for the firstseven years, only takingit back for their own userecently.During the years-long
project, the house wasgutted down to the studs,electrical and plumbingsystems were replaced,and new insulation added.There was no budget formajor structural changes,but some non-structuralwalls were taken down
to create open-plan liv-ing on the second floor,which features a spaciousL-shaped kitchen, diningand living area.Some original elements
were retained, includingwhite oak floors upstairs,which were refinished, thepopcorn ceiling and twobrick fireplaces that werecleaned up and paintedpure white.“The big factors were
there were these twofunctioning fireplaces thatwe could keep. They’reexisting non-conformingand to have an open fire-place in the city nowadaysis really rare. And theywere beautiful. They werehorrendous to look at untilwe cleaned them up andpainted them, but they’rethese beautiful elements ofthe ’60s/’70s architecturethat we were happy toretain,” explained Massey,who’s more than satisfiedwith the home’s final look.“It’s very open-plan.
It’s very clean. It’s verywhite… It’s very bright.
There’s so much light thatfloods into the house, it’samazing. There were dif-ficulties and changes andunexpected things alongthe way, but overall I’mthrilled with the house. Ilove it. We love it. And it isvery much what I originallythought we would accom-plish. [But] I didn’t think itwould take this long.”
Quilici is equally happy,but acknowledges thestyle is not necessarilyfor everyone. “But if youappreciate a modernistaesthetic, it works.”She said they learned “a
ton” from the project andshe’s pleased they real-ized the potential they firstenvisioned.So what does Quilici
love best about the house?“That it’s done,” she
said.For more information
and tickets for the Van-couver Heritage Founda-tion’s Vancouver Specialself-guided tour, go tovancouverheritagefounda-tion.org.
Renovatedhomefloodedwith light
Feature
Preserving historic homesVancouver Specials may be bland —
neither beautiful nor ugly, accordingto former city councillor Gordon Price,but he’d still like one of them, or even astreetscape, preserved.“The definition of [heritage] has
broadened out to what is cultur-ally significant to a community as it isexpressed in how they build,” he said,adding that the Vancouver Special hasprofound cultural significance and isan example of how builders and buyersduring that time tried to achieve hous-ing affordability.“In so many ways it’s a remarkable
testament to the energy and strategy ofpeople who have shaped this city andthis region. Really, they were lookingfor a way to maximize the density witha simple form of construction thatwould be affordable, particularly forimmigrants’ extended families who wereputting down roots in Vancouver andbecoming Canadians.”While there is no shortage of Vancou-
ver Specials in the city today, Price, whowrites a blog called Price Tags and is di-rector of the city program at Simon Fraser
University, said thatmight not always betrue, especially ones that haven’t beenrenovated by subsequent generations.“It would be expensive to do. Prob-
ably the way it would be done today, ifit was so decided that it was a seriousidea worthy of merit, and a developerhad acquired, say, a row of VancouverSpecials, maybe you could save one ofthem and allow increased density ofthe rest of the site,” he said.Price would like the house to be fur-
nished in the style of the time and for itto include the story of its inhabitants.“I think it would be important, for
whatever Vancouver Special that wasretained, that it should keep its context.It shouldn’t bemoved and indeed astreetscape of Vancouver Specials wouldeven be better — so that you could actu-ally see what the impact was of that formof building. You don’t have any problemfinding it at themoment, but in the futureabsolutely. Maybe not in our lifetime,but certainly in the next century it will behard to find a remaining Vancouver Spe-cial as it was originally built,” he said.
twitter.com/naoibh
Scott Massey and Laura Quilici spent eight yearsturning their Vancouver Special, whichwas builtin 1975, into a bright,modern, open-plan home.The couple, who favour amodern aesthetic,retained some elements, including thewhiteoak floor, popcorn ceiling and original fireplaces.PHOTOS SCOTTMASSEY
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A13
An antique phone boothoutside Skylark’s
in Fairhaven.PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS
The lobby of the Best WesternPlus Lakeway Inn in Bellingham.
PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS
Ken Ryan opened theBagelry in downtownBellingham 30 years ago.PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS
SANDRA THOMAS [email protected]
BELLINGHAMWhile Portland, Ore., hasgained what can almost be
considered a cult following, itscloser cousin Bellingham, Wash.
is enjoying a resurgence of its ownthanks to a growing craft beer, food
and culture scene.
Andwhile it’s certainly not all Portland-style hipsters flockingto this waterfront city, located an hour fromVancouver,we certainly saw enough plaid shirts and beards to be surethey’re paying attention. This was the first timemy partnerand I had ventured past the BellinghamAirport on our wayto Vegas or Hawaii or Bellis FairMall in search of bargainsto check out the city’s downtown core. And tosay we were pleased is an understatement.
For our weekend of exploration we set upbase camp at the BestWestern Plus LakewayInn, which was not only central to everythingwe had planned, but also takes Canadianmoney at par for its rooms and throws inbreakfast for good measure. The hotel alsooffers seniors discounts.
This Best Western is home to Poppes360,which, as we discovered upon arrivalThursday night, is famous for its handcrafted cocktailscreated by award-winning mixologists. The lounge is sopopular, it placed first in the “cocktails” and “bar andlounge” categories in the 2014 Best of the NorthwestAwards. It’s also indicative of just how sophisticated thefood and drink scene is becoming in Bellingham. Evenafter a weekend spent largely eating and drinking, it wasclear we had barely scratched the surface when it comesto the city’s food scene. Be sure to check out Old TownCafé for breakfast and brunch, which was packed the daywe visited. The buckwheat pancakes I tried, and loved,
were made from flour hand-milled that morning on site.The café has an emphasis on local ingredients and enoughvegetarian and vegan options to accommodate a crowd,despite anyone’s dietary restrictions.
We also checked out the Bagelry, aBellingham institution opened 30 years agoby transplanted New Yorker Ken Ryan andwife Marguerite. Despite the impromptuvisit, Ryan immediately invited me for atour of the back of house where hundreds ofbagels are made fresh all day, every day. Wetook a bag to go, the contents of which mademy previously non-bagel eating partner anenthusiastic covert. (We froze some and he’sactually eaten a couple every weekend sincethat visit.)
The fact we visited Bellingham just days before St.Patrick’s Day added a real sense of celebration to the city,and we enthusiastically joined the green-clad throngs linedup to take in the annual parade, a sign that for all its growththe city still maintains and clearly enjoys some small towntraditions. And in keeping with tradition worldwide, St.Patrick’s Day also meant the local brewpubs and wateringholes were packed with partiers. Boundary Bay Brewery isa popular spot with locals and visitors due to its tap roomand family-friendly bistro. The fact it’s housed in a restored1922 warehouse only adds to the brewery’s charm.
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A14 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
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Walking tours of Fairhaven visitmany historical buildings.
PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS
Bellingham is also home to theMount Baker Theatre, housedin another refurbished, vintage building and adjacent to apopular eatery we checked out, TheTable, which specializesin home-style Italian food and a select wine list, which aftera long day of exploration wasmore than welcome. Kids andadults will definitely want to check out the SparkMuseum,whichmy partner, a retired engineer, was enthralled with.Personally, I wasmore interested in checking out themanyindependent retailers that call the downtown core home.And, despite our weakenedCanadian dollar, I still foundenough bargains to justify some serious shopping.
So while Bellinghammay not yet be considered as “weird”as all things Portlandia, its growing arts, culture and foodscene make it ideal for a great weekend getaway or longerholiday, whether you’re a plaid-clad hipster or babyboomer from Vancouver.
FAIRHAVEN“Just turn right.”
That was the phrase we heard over again from Fairhavenlocals in response to our admission we’d only previouslydriven past the town on our way to Chuckanut Drive.
It didn’t take long for us to realize the error of our ways,particularly during a tour of the town led by local historian
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A15
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Dirty Dan, a.k.a. Jim Rich,leads walking tours ofhistorical Fairhaven.
PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS
“Dirty Dan,” a.k.a. Jim Rich. Who knew Fairhaven hadsuch an interesting and scandalous past? Visitors can alsoenjoy a self-guided tour of the town using readily availablemaps and pamphlets, but I highly recommend teaming upwith Rich, who supplied us with anecdotes, gossip, ghoststories and tales likely not found in any guide book.
Points of interest are marked by paving stones offeringsnippets of history, including these gems, “Site of SamLow’s OpiumDen, 1904,” “Policeman Phil DeFriesshot at 23 times 1899— 1905,” or “Site of FairhavenPharmacy 1890.” The reason there’s no end date on thestone dedicated to the pharmacy is that it’s still open. Andwhile the pharmacy has changed hands several times overthe decades, one of the early owners has set up a quirkymuseum in the basement. We were lucky enough to visit ona day when retired pharmacist and historian Gordy Tweitwas holding court to a group of enthralled baby boomershome for a class reunion. Tweit’s collection is extensive and
ranges from old syringes and pills to hair curlers and vintagedriers to maps, postcards and magazines.
Rich also took us to Fairhaven Rug Gallery, a hole in thewall with an absolutely jaw-dropping collection of Persianand exotic rugs. While these masterpieces are pricey, a visitto the store is like stepping back in time and well wortha visit. We also enjoyed a great lunch of fish and chipsat Skylark’s Hidden Café where Rich continued to sharestories of his home.
Another highlight of our visit was the hour we spent atVillage Books, a block-long homage to everything that iswonderful about print. My partner, who honestly onlyreads factual books about the SecondWorldWar, wassurprised to find several hardcover volumes he’d neverseen before. The price for all three? — $25, a bargain whenyou consider he typically pays that for one here at home.The town boasts only one hotel, the Fairhaven Village Inn,but has a thriving bed and breakfast industry.
So don’t forget when you’re cruising south along the I5past Bellingham, “just turn right” at Fairhaven. You won’tbe disappointed.
SEMIAHMOOIt seemed fitting that on our first visit to the picturesqueSemiahmoo Resort we were driving a brand new LandRover LR4 on loan for an extended road test.
As we travelled the winding road to the remote resort, theskies opened, the wind picked up and the waves begancrashing onto the rocks lining the shore along our drive.Throw in the eagles circling overhead and we could haveeasily been shooting a commercial for the luxury vehicle.Luxury aside, it was also reassuring to know we not onlyhad four wheel drive to depend on in case of emergency,but that we were so much better protected than we wouldhave been driving my 1986 Nissan Pulsar.
It was also nice to arrive instyle to the resort where weenjoyed brunch at PiersideKitchen. The floor-to-ceiling windows of therestaurant offer breathtakingviews of the ocean, DraytonHarbour and the shores ofWhite Rock. On this day,a seal played in the wavesjust metres from where weenjoyed fresh oysters andshrimp and shared a burger.
We were also given a tourof the resort, which is nearcompletion of a massiverenovation project. Andwhile the project means theresort is enjoying a face lift,attention to detail meansthe nautical and PacificNorthwest look and feelremain entrenched in thefabric of the property.
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A16 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
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Delay dementia—couldhearing aids be the answer?
Seniors who have untreated hearing loss maybe at an increased risk for developing dementia,a loss of brain function that can affect memory,thinking, language, judgment and behavior.This is the finding of a study conducted byresearchers from the Division of Otology atJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The study included 639 people whose hearingand cognitive abilities were tested over aperiod of time, starting in 1990 and concludingin 2008. Researchers found that study partic-ipants who had hearing loss at the beginningof the study were significantly more likely todevelop dementia by the end of the study. Howmight hearing loss and dementia be connected?Investigators aren’t sure, but they think acommon pathology may underlie both condi-tions, or possibly the strain of decoding soundsover the years may overwhelm the brains ofpeople with hearing loss, leaving them morevulnerable to dementia.
The article concludes that, whatever the cause,these findings may offer a starting point for fur-ther research as to whether interventions, evenas simple as hearing aids, could delay or pre-vent dementia by improving patients’ hearing.
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1. Indie pop actBelle and Sebastian dis-cover their groove on their latest and appro-priately titled albumGirls In PeacetimeWant To Dance. Expect a love-filled showwhen the Scottish lads and lass make theirlong-awaited return April 8 at the VogueTheatre. Perfume Genius opens. Tickets aresold out, but a few may be released at thedoor on the day of the show.
2. The Gentlemen Hecklers, a.k.a. come-dians Eric Fell, Patrick Maliha and ShaunStewart, provide live commentary to one ofthe mostChuck Norris-y ofChuck Nor-ris films, 1985’s Invasion U.S.A., starringthe denim warrior as a heavily armed, ass-kicking one-man army who must protecthis liberty-lovin’ country from—whatelse? — a communist invasion. Taste thefreedom April 8, 7 p.m. at the Rio Theatre.Details at 7 p.m.
3. Rumble Theatre presents the worldpremiere of Indian Arm by Hiro Kanaga-wa (The Patron Saint of Stanley Park) April9 to 19 at Studio 16. Directed by StephenDrover and based on Henrik Ibsen’s LittleEyolf, Indian Arm transports Ibsen’s tense,19th-century family drama to present-dayVancouver as a family deals with an un-speakable tragedy. Tickets at universe.com.Details at rumble.org.
4. Aaron Bushkowsky adaptsRaymondChandler’s 1940, Los Angeles-set, hard-boiled detective novel Farewell, MyLovely, complete with crooks, dames,smoking guns, crystal balls and private dickPhilip Marlowe. Check it out at the ArtsClub’s Granville Island Stage until May 2.Details at artsclub.com.
Arts&Entertainment GOTARTS? 604.738.1411 or [email protected]
April 8 to 10, 2015
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A17
Arts&Entertainment
THEATREREVIEW
Patrick Keatingmay bethe only ex-con who refusedto leave when he was due forrelease.Why?He’d been castinUbu Roi insideMatsquiCorrectional Institutionwhere he was serving time forthe armed robbery of a TDbank and he didn’t want tolet the rest of the cast down.When pressed by the prisonofficials, he replied that oneof the things he’d learned injail was to take responsibility.“This,” he told them, “is mebein’ responsible.”He stayed, the show went
on, and he left Matsqui Cor-rectional when he was ready.Bitten by the theatre bug, heenrolled in SFU’s School forthe Contemporary Arts.Keating has gone on to
become an actor with a longlist of credentials includingTV (Stargate, Smallville andThe X-Files) and stage (ALie of the Mind, Cold Com-fort,Glengarry Glen Ross andPenelope, amongst a long listof other critically acclaimedshows).Presented by Neworld
Theatre, Main StreetTheatre and Urban Crawl,Inside/Out is a very candidmemoir of a little more thana decade in Keating’s life. A“shy little boy,” accordingto his teachers, by the age
of 12 he had used “grass,hash and acid” and wassoon addicted to heroin. By16, he was picked up by thecops for possession of stolenproperty — taking the rapfor a friend who would havebeen tried as an adult. Thatwas the beginning of Keat-ing’s period of on-again/off-again imprisonment. Inside/Out is not a “poor me” pieceof theatre nor does it glam-ourize prison life.
Everything that happenedto him, Keating tells us, wasa result of choices he made,some really regrettable,including a remark he madeto the judge who was aboutto sentence him. The offeron the table was incar-ceration or rehabilitation.“I don’t need rehab,” saidKeating too quickly. Slam.Keating has come out
of this particular closet,supported by friends, fellow
theatre artists and UBC’sStephen Malloy, whodramaturged and directedInside/Out. In his programnotes, Keating particularlyacknowledges “the MainStreet boys” (Main StreetTheatre company) whosaid if he wrote it, they’dfundraise and produce it.That was the deal and theykept it.A solo show on a simple
set by Barbara Clayden
with minimal but effec-tive lighting by Itai Erdal,Inside/Out has an inclusive,friendly, “between us” feelabout it; we could be sittingin a pub with him. Despitehow open he makes himselfon stage in this tiny, funkyvenue, he remains, at 60,a somewhat shy man witha wry sense of humour.Raised in Quebec, heretains the speech rhythmsof an anglophone raised in
La Belle Province; the final“g” is consistently droppedand there’s something akinto an Irish lilt there as well.He’s very listenable over the80-minute, uninterruptedrunning time.Peppering his work with
self-deprecating humour,Keating makes completelycomprehensible the lureof being “inside.” There is“a simplicity,” he says, inprison. Emotions—withthe exception of anger —are kept completely underwraps. Of the outside, hesays, “F***, it wears youdown when people treatyou like a regular person.”And ironically, when he wasreleased several times overthe years, no one remem-bered him or was waiting forhim.When he got picked upagain, he was royally wel-comed back by all the cons.These were his people andthey were his community.Keating has another com-
munity now and he’s madea new life in the theatre.If there’s a message here— and it’s not hammeredhome, quite the contrary —it’s that we are responsiblefor the choices we make.Writing and performingInside/Out is one of the bestchoices Keating ever made.For more reviews, go to
joledingham.ca.Inside/Out runs until April
12 at Little Mountain Gal-lery. Tickets at the door (cashonly), brownpapertickets.comor by calling 1-800-838-3006.
Inside/Out examines actor’s life in andout of jailAutobiographical one-man play proves intimate, wry and insightful
In theautobiographical Inside/Out,PatrickKeating tells of his lifebehindbars andeventually on the stage.
A18 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
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VAMSSESSION: TheStrongSessions LIVE isbilledasanuplifting, cabaret-style eventwhereacclaimedVancouver-areaprofessional performers joinmusicianswithdisabilities to celebrate themusical abilitiesof both. Performers includeRichardQuan (left), DavidSymington (right), JimByrnesandChin Injeti, amongothers. PresentedbyVancouverAdaptedMusic Society (VAMS), the concerttakesplaceApril 9, at SFU’sGoldcorpCentre for theArts (149WestHastings). Tickets at eventbrite.ca.Details at vams.org.PHOTODANTOULGOET
KUDOS&KVETCHES
In case you didn’t know,the likely not-long-for-this-world Georgia Viaduct wasclosed to traffic this week.The reason? Pretty boymovie star Ryan Reynoldsis shooting scenes for theupcomingDeadpool. Infact, the $37.5-millionfilm, based on the popularMarvel Comics character,will keep the viaduct closedduring key hours until April18. But so far there hasn’tbeen too much of an uproar.Either the inconvenience tocommuters has been mini-mal or, as we’re inclined tobelieve, a handsome moviestar playing a super hero in ablockbuster movie does notruffle people’s feathers asmuch as other films would.Think about it. Imagine
if the block-long lineupoutside Stepho’s SouvlakiGreek Taverna in the WestEnd was turned away ona nightly basis for a weekbecause a film crew wasshooting a sequel toMyDinner with Andre. Therewould be blood and tzatzikiin the streets. Incidentally,Blood and Tzatziki in theStreets would be a greatname for either an album ora food truck. Just sayin’.The same goes forWeek-
end at Bernie’s 3 closing downKits Beach for a few daysin the summer. You can beassured Terry Kiser wouldn’tbe the only dead body buriedup to his neck in sand ifthe city allowed that to take
place. (Kiser played the de-ceased Bernie Lomax for thefirst twoWeekend at Bernie’sfilms, in case you’re notfamiliar with these fine piecesof cinema, which also starredthe underrated comedy duoof AndrewMcCarthy andJonathan Silverman.)Or imagine if the beloved
Seawall or Grouse Grindwere cordoned off for afew weeks because AtomEgoyan decided to filmsome brooding, atmospher-ic drama about unhappypeople in unusual occupa-tions navigating separatebut interlinked personaltragedies. There would beriots. Albeit well-organizedriots where the participantswere extremely healthyand wearing some formof breathable fleece activewear. You get the point.
But becauseDeadpool is amega-watt film productionstarring People’s 2012 “Sexi-estMan Alive,” i.e. RyanReynolds, in a superherocostume, all is forgiven. Or atleast tolerated. Take over ourbridges, our viaducts, ourbike lanes. Need to borrowa bridge for a few hours?No problem,Mr. Reynolds.How bout this complimen-tary pass to turn Vij’s intoyour own private sex den atthe snap of a finger— hereyou go, Ryan. But politelyrequesting half an hour at theRoxy to shoot a crucial scenewhere Bernie’s corpse slowdances with a drunk womaninWeekend at Bernie’s 3 issomehow toomuch to askfor? For shame, Vancouver.For shame.We thought youweremore “real” than that.
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An inconvenience truth
WeekendatBernie’s 3won’t be filmedatKitsBeachany timesoon.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A19
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This handout from the park board showswhat changeswill bemade to the Stanley Park Causeway.
WHEELWORLD
Cyclists who regu-larly cycle through StanleyPark along the causewayand over the Lions GateBridge know how bad thisroute is to ride.Along the causeway,
which also accommodatesthree lanes of traffic, cy-clists are not only permit-ted but required to usethe sidewalks, which areshared with pedestrians.Foot traffic can proceed
in either direction whilepeople on bikes must gonorthbound on the eastsidewalk and southboundon the west, meaning cy-clists often find themselvesapproaching pedestrianswho are walking in the samedirection and not able to seethem coming from behind.Traffic noise makes it
hard for anyone to hearvoices or bells. The side-walks are narrow and thereare no barriers to protectcyclists or pedestrians fromfalling into the roadway.In 2013, this irresponsible
design led to tragedy whena cyclist died for this very
reason. She was headingdowntown to work fromNorth Vancouver, clippeda pedestrian, fell fromthe sidewalk and into thepath of an oncoming bus.Her death highlighted thesignificant safety problemswith the current infrastruc-ture and led to immediatecalls for improvements.TheMinistry of Trans-
portation, which has juris-diction for the causeway,hired an engineering firm toreview cycling and pedes-trian safety on the route.As a result, a plan was putforward in December.OnMarch 23, the news
came as a huge relief toboth cyclists and pedestri-ans: the park board unani-mously approved the plan.The new causeway
sidewalks are almost unrec-ognizable from the currentversion.The eastern sidewalk will
be widened to 3.6 metres,which will allow room fortwo cycle lanes — bothdedicated to northboundtraffic — and one lane forpedestrians that can beused by people going in ei-ther direction. The westernsidewalk will be widenedto 2.1 metres and will bereserved for southbound
cyclists with wider passinglanes at regular intervals.Most importantly, both
sidewalks will have a metalrailing installed that willprotect both cyclists and pe-destrians from vehicle trafficin the roadway.One of the biggest chal-
lenges in putting togetherthe recommendations wasthe need to balance thesafety considerations withthe ecology of the park. Therecommendations meanroughly 14 trees will be cutdown. But with the focusfor widening on the eastsidewalk, which has a grassyarea adjacent to it and fewer
bordering trees, efforts haveclearly been made to mini-mize the ecological impactof these improvements.The plan also includes
improved access routes tothe causeway from the parkitself and better signageboth on the causeway andas way-finding aids fromdowntown. No exact time-line is available, but theseimprovements are expectedby the end of the year.It’s great to see these
much-needed changes tosuch a popular route.Kay Cahill is a cyclist and
librarian who believes bikes arefor life, not just for commuting.
Applause for swift action in StanleyParkShared, unprotected sidewalks are unsafe
A20 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015
A24 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 , 2015