Allegheny, BC: transformative theatre that shirks corporate culture
With six internationally acclaimed albums and a well-received book of poetry to his name, Rodney DeCroo is turning his talents to the theatre. I met with Mr. DeCroo in Vancouver…
Vancouver
Minimum Wage: Not Just for Kids Anymore!
The 1% and their media apologists and think tank lackeys would have us all believe that minimum wage is for kids. It’s for unskilled labour in entry level jobs.And it’s…
Vancouver Sun Letter
A letter of mine in the Vancouver Sun today, this one about the “Disappearing Palestine” ads on public transit here in the city. I try to defend the ads against…
An Open Letter to TransLink Regarding the “Disappearing Palestine” Ads
Dear TransLink: I am writing to express my wholehearted support for your decision to display the pro-Palestinian transit ads recently unveiled at the Vancouver City Centre Skytrain station and on…
At The Squamish Nation Powwow This Weekend!
Enrich your understanding at the Squamish Nation Powwow this weekend. In the quest for a better Canada, one that is more democratic, inclusive, consultative and less rejecting of science and…
15-Year Study: Stop Drug Use Through Harm Reduction
The American style “war on drugs” undoubtably ruins more lives than it saves (all while militarizing North American police forces), yet some people think that punishing drug users is sound…
Anti-Gentrification Pidgin Protesting: Bad Urban Planning but Potential for Good Social Movement Building
This is a fifth instalment to the gentrification series- discussing the Protests and pickets in Vancouver’s DTES Thus far I haven’t been too clear about where my commitments lie. I…
Vancity & Anti-gentrification CCAP Protests in DTES: When social economy work gets messy
Vancity is a co-operative bank that has been a long time funder of the Carnegie Community Action Project. On April 13th Vancity released a statement on their stance on CCAP…
Vancouver symposium explores commodification of Aboriginal culture
By: Simon Fraser University | Press Release: Simon Fraser University archaeology professor George Nicholas is joining international scholars at a Vancouver symposium May 2 to explore the commodification of Aboriginal…
Seamy Underbelly, Part II
Visiting the Downtown Eastside (DTES) has churned up some contradictions for me, and resolving those contradictions requires re-thinking some questions I thought I already knew the answers to: 1) To…
My visit to the seamy underbelly
At the harbour, outside my hotel So…I went to Vancouver for a whirlwind business trip. I arrived Wednesday afternoon and left Friday morning. I was working most of the time,…
Eliminating clubland: Planning for the right dance & social spaces in the city
Eliminating clubland: Planning for the right dance & social spaces in the city I’m going to respond to this article from an Urban Planning point of view, but also from…
CAW Reaches Tentative Agreement with Dynamex
By: Canadian Auto Workers Union | Press Release: VANCOUVER, April 2, 2013 – The Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) has reached and signed a tentative agreement with Dynamex, a division…
Will new businesses help the DTES?: A much needed lesson on the definition of gentrification
Apparently it looks like this has become a series on Gentrification in the DTES: 1) Are the Anti-Gentrification Front protesters wrong to “vandalize” Save-on-Meats? 2) Anarchy, the Anti-Gentrification Front and…
Anarchy, the Anti-Gentrification Front and Violence
Now, I never passed Anarchy 101 and have never painted a haphazard “A” within a circle in red paint. Ever. Never even thought about it. But I’m going to take…
The Pidgin Picket, the Housing Crisis and the State
The Role of The State in Gentrification, the Housing Crisis, and its Ability to Relieve or Maintain the Current Situation by Rachel Goodine Pidgin, a new fine-dining restaurant located on…
Are the Anti-Gentrification Front protesters wrong to “vandalize” Save-on-Meats?
My facebook feed went crazy last night with my Vancouver friends posting about a stolen sandwich board. Why is this important? Context: Save-on-Meats is kind of an iconic butcher in…
Rising rhetoric of a new “yellow peril”
The 1921 “Ethnic Outreach” Campaign(Courtesy Past Tense Vancouver) The complaints are familiar – “Asian immigrants are taking our jobs,” “Asian immigrants are buying our property and keeping us out.” Instead…
#SpinAlert: Light Rail for the Valley Instead of a UBC Subway
Who Framed Roger Rabbit reminded us all of the Great American Streetcar Scandal: cars over mass transit. Now, in the lower mainland we have the UBC tunnel over light rail…
Open Data Day 2013 in Vancouver
Better late than never, I’m going to do a few posts this week recapping a number of ideas and thoughts from Open Data Day 2013. As is most appropriate, I’m…