Category Archive: Vancouver

Krall, Costello, EJ...How cool is that, Vancouver?

Posted by Mike Klassen on February 17, 2009

James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, Elton John, Diana Krall & Elvis Costello (Vancouver Sun photo)

In spite of all the depressing news about gang shootings Metro Vancouver is facing these days, there is some good local news, such as Diana Krall's event last night raising $2 million for hospitals. It just tickles me that EJ and Elvis were on the same bill, and hanging out in town.

I'll always be the fan, I suppose.

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Vancouver East side "terrorists" step up their campaign

Posted by Mike Klassen on February 13, 2009

Ah, don't you love Vancouver. Apparently running a volunteer-oriented community safety office puts you in league with The Man. Yes, the giant jackboot is coming down on Vancouver's rebellious Commercial Drive district with the help of a middle-aged office coordinator and a bunch of youth and seniors in reflective vests.

For those who haven't followed the story of what's happening at the East side Community Policing office, it's basically the F*** the Police crowd smashing front window panes at $3000 a pop. They've already broken the window three times, forcing the office with it's tight annual operating budget to raise money on their own to replace the glass.

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Tagged: commercial drive, east vancouver

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Hell hath frozen over: Vancouver gets a decent modern music station

Posted by Mike Klassen on November 28, 2008

So many good radio stations have come and gone in the Cascadia corridor that I've practically given up the ghost on anything good happening in this tired old medium. Right now it's a Friday evening, I've got the laptop fired up after watching WALL-E with my daughter, who's off to bed now. I shut off the set and turned on 100.5 Peak FM, an entirely listenable radio station.

I was over at friends last weekend pouring wine down my gullet. They were old college radio vets like me and Stacey. They said you've got to check out this new station. Skeptical, I pulled out my iPhone to find out that in fact the Pattison media group had axed 600AM and upgraded to an FM license.

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Tagged: jimmy pattison, radio, vancouver media

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Vancouver votes from its heart

Posted by Mike Klassen on November 16, 2008

Gregor Robertson is Vancouver's new mayor. The city, as it usually does, has voted from its heart rather than from its head. Mr. Robertson evoked stronger empathy than his opponent Peter Ladner, who was strong on the issues but couldn't make an emotional connection with Vancouver voters.

Province newspaper editorial writer Jon Ferry agrees with my assessment.

As someone who likes to balance head and heart politics, I'm a disappointed voter. Today, the people have spoken (albeit in yet another record low voter turnout), and we have 3 years to see how this mayor and council will perform.

Charlie Smith of the Georgia Straight, one of the best analysts on civic politics in print, offers his own views on the NPA's future choices.

Tagged: vancouver politics

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Campaigns that understand Vancouver's multicultural mix

Posted by Mike Klassen on November 12, 2008

There's something that I really like about this video. It's dead simple...a young Vancouver woman sitting at a table. She's clearly reading from some notes so she can sound coherent in her second language English. It's on YouTube on a channel set up by a supporter.

This is the reality of campaigning in Vancouver today. Use the modern tools at your disposal to get the word out, and focus on the voters who get forgotten by mainstream politics.

Tagged: political ads, politics, vancouver east

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When political campaigns go negative...

Posted by Mike Klassen on October 22, 2008

It looks like the civil political campaign promised by all candidates earlier this summer is off. I received this mail piece today (carefully balanced on a couple of pumpkins from my garden -- not yet carved!!). It yells at me that Peter Ladner is a bad guy who hates homeless people. Ugh.

Oh well, believe it if you want. Peter is a pretty nice guy, almost too nice for politics. Are we doing enough to solve homelessness? After you read a few media releases from the province's housing ministry, you wonder if there is any other issue. City Councillor Suzanne Anton attempts to cut through some of the opposition rhetoric.

Vancouver voters get to decide on November 15th.

Tagged: vancouver politics

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Vancouver civic candidates court ethnic voters

Posted by Mike Klassen on October 20, 2008

This video showing NPA Mayoral candidate Peter Ladner touring Victoria Drive alongside City Council candidates David Lee, Kanman Wong and Daljit Sidhu typifies where politics is today in our city. The NPA have always been the political force who have worked best with Vancouver's diverse ethnic communities, as Georgia Straight editor Charlie Smith once described on his blog:

Vancouver has experienced monumental demographic changes since the city hosted the World's Fair in 1986.
[Left wing party] COPE was slow to adapt to those changes, and did a poor job of recruiting candidates from the growing communities of Chinese, Filipino, South Asian, and Latin American immigrants.

The NPA fared much better in this regard. Even though many of those candidates weren't elected--and particulary those of South Asian descent--the NPA paid more attention to multicultural communities in the 1990s.

It's good to see Peter and the NPA keeping up this important tradition.

Tagged: east vancouver, npa, vancouver politics

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Arbutus Line red abandoned shopping cart

Posted by Mike Klassen on October 12, 2008

I love this shot taken with my iPhone. The bright red cart stuck in these verdant surroundings feels absolutely timeless.

It's so regrettable that there has not yet been a real push to get rapid transit down the Arbutus Line again. The tony Kerrisdale neighbourhood that surrounds most of it might object, but there are many who would use a tram or streetcar between Marpole and through Quilchena and Kits.

Let's hope that common sense prevails and we get this line working again for our city.

Tagged: arbutus line, vancouver neighbourhoods

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