Maybe—just maybe—it’s actually a duck? I just couldn’t let this story go by without writing about it again. The long and short of it is that the higher (no pun intended) authorities of the Portland Hotel Society (PHS) and several of their own Board of Directors are stepping down, as ordered by the BC Government, in order to avoid receivership. So what does this mean? Well, according to the government, in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, PHS received a cool $21 million in funding. Of that money, we … [Read more...] about The Portland Hotel Society: If It Looks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck…
Addiction
Crack Pipe Vending Machines: The New Kids on the Block
So now Vancouver has crack pipe vending machines—have you heard?Actually, maybe you didn’t hear. Even if you live in the Vancouver area, you may not have heard. It seems to me that this was on the news, local and nationally, for about two nights and then it was not covered anymore—and has now been virtually forgotten about.But somehow, I am unable to forget about it.According to those scanty news reports, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) has approved the Portland Hotel in the Downtown Eastside to … [Read more...] about Crack Pipe Vending Machines: The New Kids on the Block
Addicted to Christmas Chaos? Taming the Madness this Holiday Season
Has anyone else noticed how early the Christmas Chaos began this year? Here in Vancouver, a number of people became so disgruntled by the early onset of Christmas music in some of the stores—in the middle of October—that they took to Facebook en masse and complained. One store in particular, Shoppers Drug Mart, appeased the naysayers by stopping that music, but only after they drew their line in the sand, assuring us that the carols would resume again at the end of October. And they … [Read more...] about Addicted to Christmas Chaos? Taming the Madness this Holiday Season
