Vancouver Courier February 25 2015

Cheryl [email protected]

After searching since Hallow-een for a new superintendent,the Vancouver School Boardhas hired from within.Former associate superinten-

dent Scott Robinson will replaceSteve Cardwell as superinten-dent, March 1.Robinson wasn’t sure how

many people applied for the po-

sition, but he knows he was oneof two candidates shortlisted.Trustees make the final deci-

sion on the hire, and DistrictParent Advisory Council boardchairperson Melanie Antweilersays Robinson is an excellentchoice.“He’s incredibly dedicated,”

she said. “He always seems tobe available and he’s deter-mined, and very, very respectfuland creative.”

Cardwell, who is leaving tobecome professor of teach-ing and director of executiveeducational leadership at UBC,emphasized to the Courier in thefall the importance of succes-sion training.Robinson said he was “abso-

lutely” groomed by Cardwell forthe role of superintendent.Robinson said he’s learned

the importance of really listen-ing to everyone involved in the

school system from Cardwell.“Other people’s views are

very important to him, I believe.That gets demonstrated in everyinteraction he has with people,”Robinson said. “He’s relentless-ly respectful even in situationswhere people are not necessarilybeing respectful back to him…That’s been very impressive towatch and learn from.”Robinson will have a lot of

listening to do over the next two

months as the board wrestleswith a funding shortfall esti-mated to be $17.9 million. Theprovincial budget announcedschool districts across theprovince would need to find$29-million in administrativesavings in the coming year,which means the VSB will haveto find a way to save another$2.9 million on top of its pro-jected shortfall of $15 million.

Continued on page 4

NEWS 7East Side renoviction

SPORTS 20Bulldogs unleashed

OPINION 10Sports, skirts and self-image

MIDWEEKEDITION

WEDNESDAYFebruary 25 2015Vol. 106 No. 15

There’s more online atvancourier.com

THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908

[email protected]

The ruling political party atcity hall spent $3.4 million inthe 2014 civic election cam-paign to secure its majority oncity council and ensure it wouldhave representation on theschool and park boards.It’s the most money Vision

Vancouver has spent on a cam-paign since it formed more thana decade ago when it first electedfour candidates to council in 2005.In fact, Vision has spent more

than $7 million over the past fourelections, with the 2014 campaignseeing the party outspend chiefrival, the NPA, by $1.4 million.The unprecedented spending

of cash in the 2014 campaignleft Vision with a $485,518 debt.That’s because total contribu-tions to the party amounted to$2.9 million, according to docu-ments posted Monday on theElections B.C. website.“We obviously didn’t want

to spend what we spent, butwe spent what we thought wasnecessary to make sure that wewere responding to the negativeattacks that were coming at us,and that we were connectingwith voters in every neighbour-hood in the city,” said MariaDobrinskaya, Vision’s co-chair-person, whose party accused theNPA of negative-style cam-paigning and saw Mayor GregorRobertson and Vision Coun.Geoff Meggs launch a defama-tion suit against NPA mayoralcandidate Kirk LaPointe and his

party. “We had to push back,and that’s what it costs us.”The millions of dollars spent

by Vision and the NPA wasexpected and acknowledged byboth parties when they releasedfinancial documents a few weeksbefore the 2014 civic election.Those disclosures were sparked

by LaPointe announcing that hisparty would reveal its donor listand contributions before the elec-tion. Vision, the Greens, COPEand One City soon released howmuch money they raised and whosupplied the money.At the time, Vision said it col-

lected $2.2 million and the NPA,$2.1 million. The documentsreleased Monday show Visionraised another $700,000 and theNPA another $300,000 since theoriginal release of the documents.Although COPE candidates filedindividual disclosure statementswith Elections B.C., the partyfailed to disclose its documentsfor Monday’s release and is nowsubject to a $500 late fee if it filesby March 16.Vision received most of its

money — $1.9 million — fromcorporations and more than$360,000 from unions. Individ-ual donations totaled $554,000while non-profits, including twomedicinal marijuana societies,gave more than $12,000.The NPA received the bulk

of its donations from corpora-tions, with party president PeterArmstrong, owner of Great Ca-nadian Railtour Company Ltd.,giving more than $470,000.

Continued on page 6

Vision spends $3.4million on election

NextVSB superintendent says he’s ready to listen

LIONSEYED Children react to the liondanceatWesbrookVillage’sNormanMackenzieSquare,whichwaspart of thecelebration tousher in theYearof theSheep thispast Saturday.See storyonpage8.PHOTOREBECCABLISSETT

Ruling party outspends NPA by $1.4 million

mage

m

A2 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

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MORE SKYTRAIN SERVICEExtending the Millennium Line along Broadway to Arbutus

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News

Mary Collins (second from left) and othermembers of the police boardwill soon decide on a succes-sor to Police Chief JimChu, who is scheduled to retire this spring. PHOTODANTOULGOET

12TH&CAMBIE

[email protected]

So now two of theVancouver Police Depart-ment’s three deputy chiefssay they’re “interested” inbecoming the city’s nexttop cop.Deputy Chief Adam

Palmer joins Deputy ChiefDoug LePard as “inter-ested” but whether thattranslates to either of themapplying is not somethingthey would share.But, as Palmer pointed

out when I asked himabout the job during abreak at last Thursday’spolice board meeting, theposting for the chief’s po-sition hasn’t gone up yet.In fact, Palmer and oth-

ers were about to join thepolice board behind closeddoors to discuss the board’ssearch plan for a person toreplace Police Chief JimChu, who is scheduled toretire in the spring.That plan involves a

three-member committee toconduct preliminary workassociated with a nationalsearch. The full board willconduct the final interviewsand make the selection,which could come inMay.

Executive search firmPinton Forrest Madden,which was involved in theboard’s 2007 search, washired by the board andrecently recruited chiefsfor West Vancouver andVictoria.Part of the firm’s work

will be to coordinate aplan to get feedback fromthe public on what kind ofattributes, priorities andexpectations they wantfrom a new chief.Interestingly, the firm

has set up a confidentialemail address for people toprovide thoughts/insight/concerns about potentialcandidates. A link to it canbe found on the websitesof the VPD and the policeboard.VPD employees are also

being asked to providetheir input.I wanted to ask Mayor

Gregor Robertson, whodoubles as the board’schairperson, about thesearch, but he wasn’t atthe board meeting but ison record saying that heexpects some good candi-dates to apply from withinthe department.Chu, as I reported last

month, made it quite clearin his speech announc-ing his retirement thatVPD senior staff should

be strongly considered forthe job.The posting goes public

Feb. 26.So I’ve told you about

Palmer and LePard.But what about Deputy

Chief Warren Lemcke’sstatus?Is he interested?I tried twice to ask

him at the meeting buthe moves quickly andwouldn’t give me a yeaor a nay. So I’ll put himdown for a maybe, unlessI hear otherwise.What complicates pick-

ing Chu’s successor is thefact Delta Police Serviceis on the hunt for a newchief. That force’s long-time leader, Jim Cessford,retired this month.I polled the three Van-

couver deputies aboutwhether they were inter-ested in competing for theDelta job.Palmer said he’s not

interested, LePard didn’tanswer and Lemcke washiding.Meanwhile, Chu re-

mains chief and still hasn’tdivulged what his nextmove will be, althoughspeculation is he mighttake a run at politics.We’ll find out soon

enough.twitter.com/Howellings

Hunt for top copofficially underway

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Continued from page 1“We’ve been focused on

identifying budget efficien-cies for a number of years,”Robinson said. “It’s becom-ing increasingly difficult tofind additional areas wherewe can cut without impact-ing the classroom.”Robinson intends to talk

to members of the schoolcommunity face-to-faceto inform work on thedistrict’s five-year strategicplan, which is anticipatedto start in the fall.He also wants the board

to analyze the effectivenessof its internal and externalcommunications.Just before she was elect-

ed, Green Party of Vancou-ver trustee Janet Fraser saidthe school board needs tofeel less distant to parents.She cited a lack of straight-forward access to meetinginformation and reports onthe VSB website.Robinson said he’s heard

similar concerns from par-ents, community membersand people who work withinthe VSB.Cardwell encouraged

more involvement from stu-dents in their education and

Robinson wants to advancestudent involvement morebroadly across the district.Robinson, 48, has

worked as an associatedsuperintendent for the VSBsince August 2012. He’sbeen responsible for theeducational operations andoverall supervision of thedistrict’s 110 elementaryand secondary schools. He’salso supervised the VSB’senrolment management

process, educational policyreviews and revision, dis-tributed learning programs,student safety initiatives andinternational education.The longtime resident

of Vancouver served asassociate superintendentin Richmond and has beena principal at elementary,middle school and second-ary school levels in theCoquitlam School District.

twitter.com/Cheryl_Rossi

Moreparental input sought

News

The Vancouver School Board’s new superintendent ScottRobinsonwants to be “relentlessly respectful” like outgoingsuperintendent Steve Cardwell. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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[email protected]

The Vancouver SchoolBoard and individualschools received more than$2.7 million in donationslast year and $6.8 millionover the last three years.What the board and each

school received is outlinedin a report that’s going tothe VSB’s finance and legalcommittee meeting Feb. 25.A subcommittee of the

board’s advocacy commit-tee completed a report in2013 that didn’t specifythe amounts per school.Vision Vancouver trusteeMike Lombardi said thenthat school administra-tors felt reluctant to seethe amounts they raised,which ranged from $1,000to $20,000, publicized.VSB secretary-treasurer

Rick Krowchuk said staffundertook the latest reportto see whether trusteeswant the board to fund-raise more actively.“The senior management

team is currently reviewingour policies, procedures andpractices with respect to do-nations,” the report states.

“This will include methodsto improve communicationsand awareness, and man-agement of donated funds.”Krowchuk said money

raised wouldn’t be used toaddress the board’s annualshortfall, which is projectedto be $17.9 million for2015-2016, or to replaceprovincial funding.“But at least it could be

some positive things in oth-er areas, like the computerreplacements, or technologyor field trips,” he said.“It could be building up

relationships with variousorganizations that want

to donate and buildinga relationship with thosepeople who may continueto donate year after year,”Krowchuk added.NPA board chairperson

Christopher Richardsonand NPA trustee PennyNoble both hail fromfundraising backgrounds.Noble said in the lead-upto the November electionthe board needs to seekother sources of funding inaddition to money from theprovincial government.Krowchuk said the

donations report wasn’tspurred by these trustees

or controversy during theelection about whether theboard should have acceptedmoney from Chevron.Richardson said the Sur-

rey school district includesa business developmentoffice, and perhaps theVSB should have a revenuedevelopment office to rampup rentals. He’s heard theOttawa school district oper-ates a development programthat focuses on individuals,bequests, bursaries andscholarships.A foundation previ-

ously raised money for theVSB but was disbanded,according to previousVision Vancouver boardchairperson Patti Bacchus,because its operation wastoo costly. Krowchuk said

the board wouldn’t neces-sarily need a foundation toattract donations.The VSB received $2.4

million in donations overthree years for multi-schoolinitiatives that includebreakfast, artist in residenceand Project Chef programs.Individual schools receiveda total of $1.6 million overthree years, according to thedonations report.David Thompson sec-

ondary received the greatestamount of donations ofany school in the district —$170,000 in 2013-2014,with major gifts given fromtwo alumni.Hamber secondary in

the Oakridge area reportedreceiving the lowest amountof all the high schools —

$3,400 for 2013-2014, withno donations reported inthe preceding two years.The amounts included in

the report are only those forwhich the VSB issued tax re-ceipts. Funds raised throughbake sales are not included,and the report states the ma-jority of donations to schoolscomprise a large number ofsmaller amounts.Grandview elemen-

tary received the greatestamount of money per stu-dent last year at $502 perstudent; Queen Alexandraelementary received thesecond highest amount at$233 per student. Largedonations typically fundbreakfast programs andplaygrounds.


Donations becomebigger part of funding schools

Over the past three years, the VSB and individual schools havereceived $6.8million in donations to pay for such things as fieldtrips and playground equipment. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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#5

Continued from page 1Robert Macdonald,

former vice-president ofthe NPA and owner ofMacdonald DevelopmentCorp., donated $165,000.The Courier left a mes-

sage for Armstrong Mon-day but didn’t receive

a reply before deadline.In an interview duringthe campaign, he said hegave almost a half-milliondollars because “I believein this city and I thinkthere’s a lot of things thatneed to go right in thiscity.”

Vision’s biggest corpo-rate donor — at $130,000— was David Aisenstat,the former chairpersonof the Vancouver ArtGallery’s board of trust-ees who campaignedfor a new art gallerydowntown. Aisenstat’s

donations came via KegRestaurants, Joe FortesSeafood and Chop Houseand The Charles WhiteCorporation.Joo Kim Tiah of Hol-

born Holdings, whosecompany is redevelop-ing the Little Mountain

public housing site andworking with billionaireDonald Trump on adowntown tower, gave$105,000 to Vision.Other large corporate

donors to Vision included:• Amacon Management

Service Corp: $75,000

• George Wong andMagnum Projects:$75,000• Concord Pacific and

its subsidiaries: $61,250• Aquilini Develop-

ment and Construction:$60,000• Peter Wesik and Wes-

group Properties: $55,000• MCL Motors 2010:

$50,000• Reliance Properties:

$47,650• Lululemon founder

Chip Wilson of Low TideProperties: $37,500CUPE B.C. and two

of its city workers’ locals,1004 and 15, led allunions with its contribu-tions to Vision, giving atotal of $230,900. TheInternational Union ofOperating Engineers,local 963, gave $22,700and Canadian Office andProfessional Employees’Union, local 378, donated$19,250.The Courier left a mes-

sage for CUPE spokes-man Paul Faoro but didnot receive a reply beforedeadline. Faoro, who isCUPE B.C.’s secretarytreasurer, told the Courierin a story prior to the elec-tion that CUPE’s relation-ship with city hall wasmuch better under Visionthan the NPA. But Faoroemphasized the union’sdonations did not influ-ence that stronger bond.“It’s not ‘We’ll give you

this money and you’ve gotto do this.’ It doesn’t worklike that, it’s never workedlike that,” Faoro said. “It’sabout investing in some-one who we think is goingto do the right things forthe city and for publicservices in Vancouver.”The Green Party

raised $117,845 andspent $112,215, accord-ing to documents filedwith Elections B.C. TheGreens’ Adriane Carrwas re-elected to councilwhile Janet Fraser won aseat on the school boardand Stuart Mackinnon onpark board.Vision, the NPA, the

Greens and COPE are allon record of wanting newrules that limit spend-ing and contributions topolitical parties, includingbans on corporate andunion donations.The provincial gov-

ernment has said it willimplement spending limitsfor the 2018 election buthas not committed to con-tribution limits or banson union and corporatedonations.

twitter.com/Howellings

Bulk of donations fromcorporationsNewsA6 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015

News

[email protected]

When she received theJan. 28 eviction notice,Christiane Helzel also losther job of 20 years as theresident manager of a 30-unit East Vancouver apart-ment building.The couple who owned

1925Woodland Dr. for 20years, Ole and Jytte Han-sen, is retiring and sold thebuilding to a company con-nected to Jameson Develop-ment Corp. It couldn’t havecome at a worse time forHelzel, who is undergoingcancer treatment.“We don’t blame [the

Hansens] for selling it, weblame the guys that boughtit,” Helzel told the Courier.Helzel, whose one-bed-

room suite rents for $740 amonth, said Jameson’s JohnPappajohn told her the planwas to convert the laundryroom and storage room intobachelor suites.“He said that they’re

just doing a few renova-tions, we could all stay inhere,” she said. “A weeklater we all got registeredletters saying we had to be

out of here by April 30.”Because of the “renovic-

tion,” Helzel said she fearsfor elderly tenants who havelived in the building longerthan her and the futureof affordable housing inGrandview-Woodland.According to Canada

Mortgage and HousingCorporation, the citywideapartment vacancy rate fellto 0.5 per cent last Octoberand monthly rents averaged$1,176. The East Hastingszone that includes 1925Woodland Dr. had an 0.8per cent vacancy rate and$957 average rent.Tenant Pam Burge

provided the Courier a copyof the eviction notice from“1925Woodland DriveLLP,” signed by TonyPappajohn. It came with acopy of a Jan. 21, 2015 civicbuilding permit for renova-tions to increase floor areaby 520 square feet, result-ing in two new residentialunits, a seismic upgrade andadditional storage and com-mon areas. The Hansensoriginally applied last Junefor a development permit.The Residential Tenancy

Act requires a minimum

two-month notice to vacateand one-month free rent.After tenants complainedto Vision Vancouver Coun.Geoff Meggs, the new land-lord revised the offer to twomonths free rent and a $500moving allowance.Meggs said the building

would remain within the

city’s rental stock, but con-ceded future tenants wouldpay higher rents.“[Rental housing] really

is an area under provincialjurisdiction, not the city’s,”Meggs said. “It’s very upset-ting for those tenants, Iunderstand that. But thereis nothing in the city’s laws

that could prevent upgrad-ing of apartments. In manycases we would like to seeupgrading.”Hansen declined com-

ment when contacted bythe Courier. Neither Tony,John nor Tom Pappajohnresponded to interviewrequests.Vision Vancouver’s

pre-election donationdisclosure showed theparty received $125 fromboth Tony and Tom Pap-pajohn, and $20,000 fromJameson. The Pappajohns’marquee downtown resi-dential, office and retaildevelopment, JamesonHouse, was put undercourt protection fromcreditors after construc-tion halted amid the 2008credit crunch. It was even-tually completed in 2011by Bosa Development.Tenant Little Woo said

most of her neighboursare resigned to moving butare joining a ResidentialTenancy Branch complaintout of principle. She saidthe building was well-kept,with a low turnover rate.Ole Hansen kept rents lowand fostered a community

atmosphere in an alreadydiverse neighbourhood, shesaid.“He’s taken in people

that have been throughviolence and needed anaffordable place to live.He’s got a big heart, theprevious landlord, we allappreciate him very much,”Woo said. “There is a hugecontrast, what the two typesof landlords can be like inVancouver. It’s the secondone, the developers thatare growing because of theB.C. tenancy act that allowsthis type of thing to happenand Vancouver city hall.We keep hearing that it’sthe provincial legislationthat allows this, but they’reoffering these developmentpermits and not creatingaffordable housing.”Burge said the location

was ideal, with spacioussuites and walking distanceto Broadway, Commer-cial Drive and SkyTrain,after she experienced poorconditions at social housingprojects in downtown andthe Olympic Village.“I’d hate to leave here,”

Burge said. “It’s my home.”twitter.com/bobmackin

East Side tenants soundalarmover ‘renoviction’

Enrica Orazietti, Denise Luke and LittleWoo (left to right) are threeof the tenants being evicted from their Woodland Drive home.PHOTODANTOULGOET


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Community

CITY LIVING

Rebecca [email protected]

The soul of a neigh-bourhood typically growsover time through thebuilding fibres of summerblock parties, kids band-ing together for back-alleystreet hockey, or womenmeeting for a bottle of twofor wine under the guise ofbook club night.Or, in the case of the

newish Wesbrook neigh-bourhood, the developershire somebody like Chris-tine Chan to speed thingsalong a bit.“It’s great to know

people by name, it’s great

to know faces, and peopletell me they walk by andwave to each other. It hasthat community feel,” saidChan, who works underthe title of “communityengagement manager” forUBC Properties Trust, aprivate company ownedby the university thatmanages its developments.Revenue generated by theleased land goes to theuniversity’s endowmentfund that supports pro-grams such as scholarshipsand research grants.Wesbrook is located

off a roundabout nearThunderbird Stadium,just off West 16th Avenuenext to the lush PacificSpirit Regional Park. It’sdesigned with walking in

mind with its mix of retailand residential, and Chansaid it’s an ideal canvas tobuild social capital.“It’s a growing com-

munity and we see there’sa large Asian populationhere — that’s indicativeof Vancouver as well, butwe do have all types ofpeople here —Europeans,Koreans, Japanese, and sowe wanted to bring someliveliness and engagementhere to the village,” saidChan. “This is my firstcommunity project, and Ilove it. I tell people, ‘I putfun things on for people!’That’s my job.”Chan brought seasonal

celebrations to Wesbrook,including Saturday’s thirdannual Lunar New Year.

As the village grows, so doits celebrations with liveperformances from variouslocal dance groups such asthe Crazi Club, a pop songand dance group, partici-pating for the first time.While the village has a

projected 10 more yearsof development before itis completed, there arestill enough existing shopsthat it takes a full hour forthe Chau Luen AthleticClub’s lion dance team toperform at every door.After each stop, the

stores were inundated bythose seeking the LunarNew Year red envelopes;it took just a couple ofminutes for UniversityBarbershop’s Bobby Cal-lahan to hand out 100 of

them. Included in the en-velope was an entry formto win a village shoppingspree to the tune of $88,a numeric figure that isconsidered to be lucky inChinese culture.“For me it’s about lucky

happenstance,” explainedMichael Tan, Chau LuenAthletic Club presidentwho led the lion dancethroughout the village.“My apartment number is2701. My birthday is the27th and then my birthmonth is October so if youswitch the 1 and the 0, it’sclose enough!”Speaking of luck of the

New Year, above eachstore’s doorway hung ahead of lettuce, whichthe lion grabbed with its

mouth to toss into thecrowd to spread goodfortune. Lettuce is usedbecause the Cantoneseword for it is “sang choy,”which can also mean“rising fortune” when thetone of the second charac-ter is changed.“Because of that, when

they say the lettuce is spreadto everyone, it’s spreadingluck,” said Tan. “I alwaysjoke around that Chinesepeople are really into puns.”Wesbrook was one of a

few stops for Tan’s team,and good endurance practicefor Sunday’s 42nd annualVancouver Chinese NewYear Parade, which wove itsway through Chinatown infront of a crowd of 100,000.

twitter.com/rebeccablissett

Newneighbourhood spreads luckand lettuce for LunarNewYear

1. Chau Luen Athletic Club lion dancers perform in front of Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle house to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year this past Saturday atWesbrook Village. “Lion dancing is reallyabout bringing luck and prosperity, it’s a blessing for the store or event,” said club president Michael Tan. 2.Dancers with the Crazi Club perform at theMBAHouse. 3. Luck and lettuce are intertwined atLunar New Year festivities. The Cantoneseword for lettuce is “sang choy,” which can alsomean “rising fortune”when the tone of the second character is changed. 4. The lion dance team visits University Bar-bershop. The lion dance lasted an hourwith variousmembers of the club and supporting club switching fromdancing to drumming duties. Most of the lion dancers are also kung fu practitioners. 5. KabroSalon’s AmandaGilkes hands out lucky red envelopes during the popular event. See photo gallery online at vancourier.com. PHOTOS REBECCA BLISSETT

1 2

3 4 5


DEVELOPINGSTORY

NaoibhO’[email protected]

ADunbar “castle home”at 3815West 39th Ave. isthe latest character housefeatured on Caroline Ad-derson’s Facebook pageVancouver Vanishes. It wasknocked down Saturday.Built in 1936, it was firstowned by Jack and BeatriceWood. Wood was managerof Dunbar Heights Realtyand built all the Dunbarcastle homes. Adderson saysit was in excellent condition.Since she started her page,

Adderson has chronicledthe demolition of about 240character homes, whichshe said is a fraction of thetotal number that have beentorn down—993 demoli-tion permits were issued lastyear, mostly for single familyhomes.Concern about the loss of

Vancouver heritage homesis why she’ll be among thoseoffering feedback at openhouses about the city’s Heri-tage Action Plan andChar-acter Home Review. Thefirst of three open houses washeld Tuesday evening, buttwomore are scheduled Feb.28 andMarch 4.Brian Jackson, the city’s

head planner, said the goalis to cover three topics.First, the city will

present options for FirstShaughnessy. Last June,council approved a one-

year prohibition on demol-ishing pre-1940 homesin the First ShaughnessyDistrict so the city couldreview the area’s officialdevelopment plan and de-termine what steps can betaken to conserve heritageproperty in the district.“[Options] would include

the designation of the areaas a heritage conservationdistrict, which other citieshave done under the localgovernment act,” Jacksonsaid. “There’s actuallyabout 70 of them through-out British Columbia.”While people have the per-

ception that heritage designa-tion affects the value of land,Jackson said Vancouver hasbeen able to do it throughdensity bonuses and allowingpeople to achieve as muchdensity as they would haveby knocking a house downand rebuilding.“So, we’re trying to find

ways to allow for housingto be designated heritage oreven to be saved as characterhomes without affecting itsvalue and that is the nub ofthe tricky issue we’re tryingto deal with,” Jackson said.“We’re trying to deal with itso it’s not a punishment. Itbecomes an incentive.”The city’s second objec-

tive is to talk at a high levelabout character homes. Thecity will present a menu andask for feedback on differenttools that it can use to betterprotect character homes suchas stratification of single-family lots, density bonusesand allowingmore flexibility

with building forms.“Thirdly, we want to

review the best practiceswe’ve observed in othercities throughout NorthAmerica on how they pro-tect heritage resources andobtain public input on howthey think it applies to theCity of Vancouver,” Jack-son said, noting possibilitiesinclude ideas such as taxdeferment, tax abatementand waiving fees.Well known heritage

expert Donald Luxton isthe city’s lead consultant

for the Heritage ActionPlan. Luxton is also work-ing with other consultantson legal and economicaspects of the plan.The next open house is

at city hall, 453 West 12thAve., in the ground floortown hall meeting roomfrom 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,Feb. 28.The third open house is

from 4 to 8 p.m., March4. It’s at the HellenicCommunity Centre, 4500Arbutus St.

twitter.com/naoibh

Heritage subject of openhouses

News

The City of Vancouver is hosting open houses about how to betterpreserve the city’s character homes. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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Theweek in num6ers...

3.4Inmillionsofdollars, the

amountofmoney rulingpartyVisionVancouver spenton the2014civic election campaign,$1.4millionmore than theNPA.

2Outof apossible three, thenumberof VancouverPoliceDepartmentdeputy chiefs

whohaveexpressed interest inreplacing retiring chief JimChu.

20In thousandsof dollars, the

amount JamesonDevelopmentdonated to Vision Vancouver’s2014 campaign. Several

tenants claim they arebeing“renovicted”by the company.

17.9Inmillionsofdollars, theestimated funding shortfallnewVancouverSchoolBoardsuperintendantScottRobinson

is facedwith.

10Thenumberofprizes theVancouverCourier is up forat theupcomingBCYCNAMaMurrayCommunityNewspaperAwards ceremony inApril.

5Inmillionsofdollars, the

amountMinister of AgricultureNormLetnick recentlypledgedtogive to theB.C. SPCA to help

expand its services.

Michael [email protected]

Doctor, we need to talk. I am be-coming obsessed with the forthcomingtransportation referendum.Last week, I travelled to Aruba via

Newark. On every leg of the journey Icould not stop comparing my trip withtravels on TransLink.Leaving Vancouver, the Air Canada

computers were not working properly.We were then delayed because a con-veyor belt was broken.Even though the oversized baggage

had been screened and waiting on thebelt, no one had the sense to let pas-sengers go to the gates until mechanicsfinally got the equipment working.Despite these breakdowns, I did

not hear anyone complain about thecontinuous Airport Improvement Feesor excessive Airport Authority CEOsalary.We eventually made it to New Jersey.

It was very cold and the hotel shuttlebus was late.But no one was complaining. I told

waiting passengers that if this was aVancouver TransLink bus, these daysthe delay would be frontpage and radionews.I boarded a New Jersey Transit train

to Penn Station. After 10 minutes, thetrain stopped and over the loudspeakerwe were told there would be a delaybecause the drawbridge was up.Then we were told the bridge was

not closing properly and we wouldhave to get off and board a waitingtrain on Platform 2.We all climbed up the stairs since the

escalator was broken and took seats onthe new train.Then a voice over the loudspeaker

told us to return to the original train.Eventually we made it Penn Sta-tion, but I doubt this incident wouldhave made the news the following daybecause other passengers told me thissort of thing happens all the time.I wandered down Broadway where

neon lights and illuminated billboardsrevealed colourful tables and chairsset out in what were once traffic lanes.It was delightful, but all I could thinkabout was how this would not happenin Vancouver since a growing major-ity do not want to approve a transitimprovement referendum that couldhelp reduce congestion like recent New

York initiatives.Over the past few weeks, I have taken

to Twitter to express my growing frus-tration.On Valentine’s Day, when I should

have been spending time with my wife,I tweeted about a $30-billion crowd-funding campaign in Boston aimed atfixing the city’s failing transit system.Since the state cannot come up with

even a fraction of the $3-billion main-tenance backlog, let alone $30 billionneeded for capital improvements, a lo-cal citizen is trying to raise the money.Vancouver’s system is so much better

run.Two days later, Metro Chairman

Greg Moore was talking with RickCluff on the CBC Early Edition. As“no” side voters took to Twitter Ihad to ask, “Will no transit tax votersplease show me where $ comes from tofund transit improvements. It soundslike a property tax increase to me.”One of my followers replied, “I think

they will try a vehicle levy and anincrease in gasoline tax as an alterna-tive.”Is that what the “no” voters want?Next up was the TransLink Chair

speaking with CBC’s Stephen Quinn. Iwaited for her to justify the dual CEOsalaries, but she struggled.Most intelligent people know what

the board was trying to do, but itfailed. Nonetheless, I had to tweet thiswas still not a good reason to vote no.That weekend, the Globe and Mail’s

Gary Mason and Stephen Quinn bothcriticized the TransLink Board deci-sion. I had to agree and tweeted, “Itsure is hard to defend the yes side ex-cept for one thing. The need for transitimprovements.”The next day I tweeted, “It now

seems like the transit funding debateis inextricably linked to the TransLinkCEO salaries. Think about this whenwaiting for a bus or stuck in traffic. It’snuts.”I wondered aloud on Twitter, “Will

people soon stop contributing to cancerresearch because of past problems withthe BC Cancer Agency’s CEO salary?”Yes doctor, I am saddened and

depressed. But I am also optimisticabout a yes victory since it now seemsas unlikely as a Liberal governmentwin a month before the last provincialelection.

twitter.com/michaelgeller

Confessions of a transitplebiscite supporter

Opinion

Megan [email protected]

At a meeting hall near turf fields inBurnaby last week, I watched a womanroll her eyes skyward and exhale. Morethan once, the shake of her head told theroom she’d had just about enough.For the fourth time in three years,

members of the country’s largest recre-ational field hockey league gathered totalk about shorts. The Vancouver Wom-en’s Field Hockey Association (VWFHA)was asking if they’re part of a woman’suniform or not.Can you blame one woman for her

quiet frustration? Yes, I can.She was listening, as we all were, to a

coach read a letter from a 20-somethingVancouver athlete. At one point in her dis-tinguished career, she was a provincial andnational team field hockey goaltender. Shewas unable to be at the mid-week meetingbecause she’s studying at and playing for atop-flight university in Toronto.In her letter, the player recounted how

this clothing control predated her everpicking up a hockey stick. “After only acouple seasons, I was faced with havingto wear a skirt if I wanted to continueplaying the next year, so I quit,” shewrote. “I hated wearing skirts.”Recently, wrote the athlete, “I started

an eight-week treatment program for aneating disorder that I have had for the pastsix years. An eating disorder isn’t going todevelop just because someone is uncom-fortable in a skirt, but […] something likethat can be a serious trigger.”Then, across the room, another slow,

sky-high eye roll.The letter is more than empty rhetoric

over the difference between a uniformwith or without an inseam. Unhealthybody image is one reason girls and wom-en stop playing sport. Sadly, for womenwho leave and don’t return, the exercisethey didn’t get might have been one ofthe best ways to lift their self-esteem.In Canada, only 19 per cent of women

play recreational sport — that’s less thanone in every five of us — while one inevery three men is active. Women andgirls from low-income families are evenless active than their more affluent peers,especially compared to male participationrates, according to the public health office.Any barrier to playing — that includes

gendered typecasting, discrimination,sexualization and a uniform that makesan athlete unrecognizable to herself — is

problematic and even damaging. KaityCooper was threatened with penaltiesand expulsion if she didn’t conform tothe VWFHA rules and compete in a skirt.She plays on the Vancouver Jokers andis, along with other athletes, simply notcomfortable playing in a skirt. There isa chance she will walk away from fieldhockey if she has to wear one.The International Hockey Federation

does not stipulate women wear skirtsalthough many players identify them withthe women’s game. For the women whochoose to wear a skirt, all the power tothem. Those who want to wear shortsdeserve the same power.But the majority of VWFHA mem-

bers are committed to the conformiststatus quo, the heteronormative ideal.If they say — and they do — that skirtsare professional and traditional, whatdoes that mean for a woman who doesn’twear one? It’s worth asking if a womanin shorts is really that threatening to youand your game.Last week, the league denied individual

women the right to wear shorts by asubstantial margin: 190 opposed, 51 infavour.Even the international rules for beach

volleyball are better on this issue. In thatsport, women can opt to cover their tor-sos and thighs nearly to the knee. Maybeno one chooses to do this, but it’s still herchoice.The VWFHA struck a compromise and

decided no individual can wear shorts,but an entire team will be able to dress allplayers in shorts. It’s the uniform uni-form. The league settled for incrementalchange: everyone in shorts or everyone inskirts. On this question, the vote countswitched: 141 in favour, 80 opposed.I applaud the women and the few men

who gathered to debate their values insport. League president Victoria Bryan,who didn’t have a vote, was efficient andpersonable as she ran a matter-of-factmeeting that was more collaborative thanRobert’s Rules of Order. But in the end,the league got it wrong. The compromisemight signal incremental change to some,but to others, it’s a message to conformor get out of the game.It’s hard to imagine, but the shorts-

shunners decided they are more commit-ted to a piece of clothing with occasionalpleats than they are to growing the num-ber of girls who pick up their sport and theranks of women who play into adulthood.

twitter.com/mhstewart

Women’s field hockeyskirts shorts debate


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COUR IER ARCH IVES THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Feb. 25, 1971: In an away game versus the Boston Bruins, 22-year-old VancouverCanucks goaltender DuncWilsonwas lit up three timeswithin 20 seconds to set astill-standing NHL record for the fastest three goals by one team. John Bucyk, EdWestfall and TedGreen each scored during the third period of an 8-3win over theCanucks, whowere playing their first year in the league and finished the seasonone point out of last place in the East Division. Wilson, one of three Canucksgoalies that year, posted an unfortunate 3–25–2 record in 35 appearances.

Canucks set enduring NHL record

WEB vancourier.comFACEBOOK TheVancouverCourierNewspaperTWITTER @vancouriernews

have your say online...

LETTERS TOTHEEDITOR

Bemoaning owning thepodiumafter five yearsRe: “Are we better off five years after the

games?” Feb. 18.There is little doubt that the Olympics

were a wonderful 17-day spectacle forthose wanting to wrap themselves in themaple leaf and cheer on Canada’s eliteathletes. However, is our city better offfive years after the Games as suggested bycolumnist Michael Geller? The provincialLiberal government, VANOC and themainstreammedia did a masterful jobin selling the Games to Vancouverites.Premier Gordon Campbell, clad in his redmittens, boasted that there would be $10billion in economic spin-offs for our econo-my. Former VANOC chair John Furlongdeclared the Winter Olympics came inon budget. Both claims proved false asmany of the cost overruns were cleverlyoff loaded on various levels of governmentand the promised economic benefits nevermaterialized.What we do know is that the Olympics

and all the related infrastructure projectscost in the neighbourhood of $7 billion.The cost overruns were startling. Forexample, security was originally budgetedfor $175 million but mushroomed to$900 million by the time the cauldronwas lit. The ill-conceived Trade andConvention Centre was a $900-millionboondoggle. It was a whopping $400million over budget and was built despitethe fact that there has been a long-termdecline in the number of conventiondelegates coming to Vancouver. The Cityof Vancouver is out $130 million dollarson the sale of publicly owned land to Mil-lennium Developments for the AthletesVillage. The promise of 252 subsidizedunits was slashed by 50 per cent after thetorch left town.It is telling that the provincial govern-

ment never undertook a transparent andcomprehensive cost analysis of the Games.The publicly funded VANOC has sealed itsrecords until 2025. A PricewaterhouseC-ooper study revealed that the Olympicsgenerated only a fraction of the GDPgrowth touted byMr. Campbell. Of the $7billion taxpayers shelled out, the VancouverGames generated a paltry $2.5 billion inreal economic growth; a lousy return that isignored by boosters like Mr. Geller.Therefore, we are not better off five

years after the games. We are the secondmost expensive city in the world for hous-ing and have done little to address the issueof affordability. We have thousands ofhomeless in the metro area and 20 per centof our kids live below the poverty line. Wehave a public transit system struggling tomeet a growing demand. The Olympics di-verted vast sums of public funds that could

have otherwise been used to enhance thequality of life for ordinary residents.I liken the Olympics to that demanding

out of town guest who expects to be winedand dined and then packs up and leavesyou with a pounding head ache and maxedout credit card.

Jodie Johnson, Vancouver

Tupper teen’s tale terrificRe: “From Afghan refugee to scholar-

ship winner,” Feb. 20.Thank you to Cheryl Rossi for her

excellent article about Tupper studentSomaya Amiri, whom I have the plea-sure of teaching in Mini-English 12 thisschool year.With deftness and compassion, Rossi

highlighted Somaya’s accomplishmentsand how she is inspiration to all studentsand staff here at Tupper. Now, thanksto Rossi, her story can inspire others.

Jennifer Braun, Vancouver• • •

I enjoyed reading your article aboutSomaya. That young lady at Sir CharlesTupper secondary is remarkable andshould inspire other immigrants andrefugees to excel in their new country,Canada.I am afraid she puts many Canada-

born young people, who have had manymore opportunities handed to them, toshame.

Tim Gibbs, Vancouver

ONLINE COMMENTS

Plenty of fish fans of videoRe: “Video: False Creek herring rescue”

online only.JonnMatsen and his bunch did so much

of this for Squamish and the rest of HoweSound. It’s a shame that stupid peoplewho park these leaking boats that sink andspill diesel fuel everywhere aren’t dealt withmore haste.

jhenry922, via Reddit• • •

If there was a healthy herring popula-tion off of Vancouver, the Chinook fishingwould rock and roll. There would be morefish, fatter fish and just general awesome-ness. The coho would enjoy it quite a bittoo, I suspect.

AdiposeFin, via Reddit

Mission toMars ismoronicRe: “Kudos & Kvetches: Mission impos-

sible,” Feb. 18It’s pretty unlikely to happen. And scien-

tists who actually looked into it have saidthat they expect the colonists will likelyonly survive for 68 days.

MultiTwentyOne , via Reddit• • •

Let’s try to live one month on the moonbefore we try to live a lifetime onMars.

JustSomeGuy654, via Reddit

Hovercraft service to Nanaimo startsFeb. 23, 1969: A newpassenger ferry service between Vancouver andNanaimolauncheswith a Norwegian-made, 35-seater hovercraft that had previously beenused to cross the English Channel. Pacific Hovercraft offered hour-long crossingsacross the Strait of Georgia aboard the “Sure” for $7, less than half the time ittookmuch larger B.C. Ferries vessels, which charged the same rate. Powered bya 900-horsepower Bristol Siddeley gas turbine, the 15-metre-long SRN-6wascapable of speeds of nearly 100 km/h regardless of whether it was travellingon land, snoworwater. The transit service lasted only fourmonths before thecompany declared bankruptcy, and the amphibious vessel was sold for seismicsurveywork in the Beaufort Sea.


urbansenior

COMMUNITYCALENDAR

[email protected]

GrandviewWoodlandDuring a tour of the Van-

couver branch of the B.C.SPCA last week, Minister ofAgriculture Norm Letnickannounced the provincialgovernment will provide $5million to support the soci-ety’s Facilities Developmentand Services Plan.Craig Daniell, chief

executive officer of the B.C.SPCA, says this financialsupport helps ensure com-panion and farm animals, aswell as wildlife, will continueto receive the best possiblecare at the society’s facilities.

The facilities plan isan eight-year strategy,totalling $50.4 million, toreplace or renovate agingB.C. SPCA infrastructurein 10 communities acrossB.C. — the largest capitalplan in the organization’s120-year history. Theupgrades at SPCA facili-ties will vary depending onthe specific needs of thelocal community. Projectsinclude new communityanimal centres, facilities tohouse seized farm ani-mals, storefront adoptioncentres and facilities topromote increased com-munity access to spay andneuter services.This contribution will

also enable constructionor planning for facili-ties in Vancouver, WestKootenay, Dawson Creek,

Prince George and Kam-loops to potentially beginin 2015/16.The SPCA is also look-

ing for volunteers to helpwith fundraising, advo-cacy and education roles.These critical individualsassist branches throughactivities such as dogwalking, cat wellness, rab-bit and small animal care,administrative support,special events, fundrais-ing, education, volunteercoordination, fostering,advocacy and much more.Canine, cat, rabbit andsmall animal companionsare also needed. Volunteerpositions vary from branchto branch so visit spca.bc.ca/about/volunteer formore information.

MountPleasantQueer black women

performers will celebrate

the last day of Black His-toryMonth this Saturday,Feb. 28, at the HeartwoodCommunity Cafe, 317 EastBroadway, with playwrightVimalasara, poet AdeleneDa Soul, grand slam poetrychampion Jillian Christmasand artist DonnaMayhem.Doors open at 6 p.m. fordinner and drinks, andthe show starts at 7:30p.m. Tickets are on a $12to $20 sliding scale withaudience members asked topay what they can afford.Visit soundsandfuries.com/concerts. Seating is limited.

DowntownOdlum Brown Limited

presents The Sound ofMumbai in partnershipwith Room to Read andIndian Summer Festival atDjavad Mowafaghian Cin-ema at SFU Woodward’sMarch 5.

The Sound of Mumbaiis a documentary filmthat follows a group ofslum children in Mumbai,India, who are were givenan opportunity to performThe Sound of Music with aclassical orchestra.Under the direction of

Johannes Steinwender, anAustrian music professorwho travelled to Mumbai toconduct the performance,the children learned andcreated a choral perfor-mance of The Sound of Mu-sic. The results underscorethe magic and transforma-tive power of music.Although the classic

film, with its imagery ofmountains and edelweiss,may not seem like a natu-ral fit for Mumbai, theBombay Chamber Orches-tra begs to differ.Bramwell Tovey, music

director of the Vancouver

Symphony Orchestra,will introduce the filmand share his insights onthe impact of music onchildren’s education. Allproceeds from the eventbenefit Room to Read’seducation programs in In-dia, which provide librar-ies, books and educationfor girls in both rural andsemi-urban communitiesand urban slums. Room toRead launched programsin India in 2003 and hassince established 6,500libraries and providedfunding for 6,000 girls toattend school.The cinema is located

at SFU Woodward’s, 149West Hastings. A VIP re-ception takes place at 5:30p.m. followed by the 7p.m. screening. For ticketinformation, visit event-brite.com.

twitter.com/sthomas10

SPCAextends apaw topotential volunteers

Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick, with three-month old Boston terrier “Bueller,” was joined by Jane Thornthwaite, MLA for NorthVancouver (left) for a funding announcement at the Vancouver SPCA last week. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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urbansenior

[email protected]

We’ve been litigating theright to die issue for morethan two decades.Back in the early 1990s

Sue Rodriguez, a B.C. wom-an with ALS, demanded butwas denied the right to havea doctor help end her life.Lengthy court battles in

B.C. involving Gloria Tay-lor and Kathleen Carter,both now deceased, ledthe British Columbia CivilLiberties Association andothers to take their case fordoctor-assisted death all theway to the Supreme Courtof Canada. Their argumentwas simple. Attempted sui-cide was decriminalized in1972. Able-bodied peoplecan end their life if theychoose to do so. The dis-abled often can’t. The lawdiscriminates against thosewith a physical disabilitywho might need physicalassistance to exercise theirright to take their own life.Two weeks ago, the

Supreme Court of Canadaruled that the Canadian

Charter of Rights andFreedoms’ “right to life”doesn’t require an absoluteprohibition on assistancein dying and ruled that thelaw that makes it illegal foranyone to help people endtheir own lives should beamended to allow doctorsto help in specific situations.The court has given the

federal government andrelated federal agencies 12months to craft legislationto respond to the ruling.The current ban on assistedsuicide stands until then.If the government doesn’twrite a new law, the court’sexemption will stand.We’ve been down this

road before. In 1988 thecourt struck down Canada’sabortion law and gaveparliamentarians time tocraft a new law. They neverdid. As a result, abortions inCanada are legal and a mat-ter between the patient andthe physician.Is there a lesson here?

My view is that a person’schoice to seek assistance toend their life should alsobe legal and be between a

patient and their physician.The best response to the

court ruling, in my opinion,is for the government to donothing and let the exemp-tion for doctors stand.The court ruled that a per-

son granted a request for as-sisted deathmust meet fourconditions. Theymust be inintolerable pain. Theymusthave a permanent condition.Theymust be legally capableof consent.”It’s not the court’s job to

tell the government or Ca-nadians how to make theirruling work and in this casethankfully the court didn’t.We do need safeguards in

place to ensure that whenit comes to end of life deci-sions the most vulnerablepersons in our society areprotected. Conservative MPStephen Fletcher’s proposalto create a Canadian com-mission on physician-assist-ed death, an independentbody that would establishthe practical rules orguidelines for administeringphysician-assisted death, is astep in the right direction.There will always be

those who are opposed.Those who have watcheda loved one suffer for anylength of time at the end oftheir life will welcome theSupreme Court’s decision.A combination of allow-

ing some doctors to helppeople end their own livesin specific situations, withthe proper oversights inplace, may be the best wecan do. We could certainlydo worse.

Court decision onphysician-assisted suicide long-awaited


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Not many plants arepest-free, give us greatdesserts before winter’send and grow large andfast with almost no care.The exception is rhu-

barb, sometimes calledthe pie plant.But rhubarb stalks

make a lot more thanpies. They’re also usedfor jams, tarts, puddings,wines, pies, preserves andstewed and baked dishes.Rhubarb is said to

have originated in Siberiawhere it was mainly usedby healers in days longpast. But, it appears thatno one then consideredeating it. Rhubarb leavesand roots are very poison-ous due to a high concen-tration of oxalic acid. Thestalk is the only part ofthe plant that’s edible.American pioneers

loved the stalk becauseit’s prairie-hardy, shadesout weeds, resists slugsand virtually all otherpests and diseases. Thestalks can be cut untilearly June though there’sdivided opinion amonggardeners how long tocontinue. The stalksgradually get tougher andmore acidic as the sum-mer gets drier.This is the time of year

rhubarb plants begin ap-pearing in garden centres

and gardeners withoutthe plant start consideringwhether to make roomfor it. Because this plantloves rich living, one of itsfavourite spots is an oldcompost heap or an oldmanure pile.In those two places,

it’s quite possible to digthe large-size holes somegardeners suggest sizablerhubarb roots need. A45-cm-deep hole seems towork reasonably at first,but as the plant grows itenlarges and, after a fewyears, moving it will taketime and muscle.In most other loca-

tions, rhubarb does wellif you give it a mulchingwith manure or compostwhen harvesting is over.Rhubarb also likes to bewatered often.If that’s not possible,

it helps if you can mulchwith grass clippingsthrough summer.Generally rhubarb

adapts very well to partialshade. In full shade thestems tend to be thinnerbut still tasty and edible.Grown in full sun, thestems emerge early inspring but die down earlyunless you keep up withwatering.There’s an art to har-

vesting rhubarb — pullstraight up and twist toone side while keeping thestalk straight. Not every-one gets it right the first

time, but any little piecesof stalk wasted should beremoved because they cantrigger rot in the crown.As these plants age,

they sometimes throw upa giant spectacular headbearing hundreds of tinywhite flowers followed bytiny, flat lily-like seeds.These stalks can grow toup to two metres tall. Ibrought a stalk inside onceand spent the next weeksweeping up flower bits.Most rhubarb sold in

Canada has red, verytender stems and a mildflavour. Some of the mostpopular varieties include,Canada Red, GermanWine and Honey Red.One old-fashioned typeis Victoria, which hasvery large, greenish-redstems and is more acidicthan most of the reddervarieties. The Victoria isthe one often passed overbackyard fences fromneighbours or relatives.It is possible for adven-

turous gardeners to growrhubarb from seed andone source is Chiltern inEngland.One type, Glaskin’s

Perpetual, is said to becuttable the first yearfrom seed.Anne Marrison is happy

to answer garden ques-tions. Send them to her [email protected] It helpsif what city or region youreside in.

Nobad rap for rhubarbThere’s an art to harvesting rhubarb—pull straight up and twist to one sidewhile keeping the stalk straight.


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1.Dance fans with short attention spans,you’re in luck. The Dance Centre’s 12Minutes Max series showcases innovativenew works lasting 12 minutes or less fromfour emerging artists — Julia Carr, DarioDinuzzi andNatalie Gan in collaborationwith Francesca Frewer — Feb. 25, 6 p.m.at the Scotiabank Dance Centre. Admissionis free. Details at the dancecentre.ca.

2. It’s not often you see a literary event thatincludes a magic show. Local author Ste-ven Galloway joins magician David Gif-ford for the latest installment of theBeyondWords series to “collaboratively explore themotif of magical misconception.” It all tiesin nicely withGalloway’s latest novelTheConfabulist, about the life and suddendeath of Harry Houdini. Check it out Feb.26, 7:30 p.m. at the Chan Centre. For tick-ets and details, go to chancentre.com.

3. Surprisingly, hometown melody-makerstheGay Nineties aren’t named after thestonewash denim, capri pants and Rachel-hairdo-friendly 1990s, but the 1890s,which were “characterized by societal scan-dal, suffragette movements and decadentart.” Perhaps that means the band willwear pantaloons when they play the FoxCabaret Feb. 26 to celebrate the release oftheir new album Liberal Guilt. Tickets atZulu, Red Cat and Eventbrite.com.

1

Arts&Entertainment GOTARTS? 604.738.1411 or [email protected]

2 3

Feb. 25 to 27, 2015

1


Arts&Entertainment

STATEOFTHEARTSCheryl [email protected]

Choreographer andperformer Tara CheyenneFriedenberg noticed manyof us are constantly ques-tioning ourselves, so sheset out to investigate howwe think we and others“should” be with dance,theatre and comedy.She and dancers Kate

Franklin and KimberlyStevenson will perform partof a piece in progress that’scalledHow To Be as partof Boca Del Lupo’s MicroPerformance Series Feb. 26to March 1 at the intimateAnderson Street Space onGranville Island.“We’re always like should

I cut my hair? How shouldI behave? Should I extendmy vocabulary? Should I goto graduate school?” saidCheyenne Friedenberg.“It’s a first-world problem

and it’s kind of debilitatingfor people,” the womanwho’s in her 40s continued.“We’re constantly in thisstate of anxiety.”Cheyenne Friedenberg

gathered Franklin, Steven-son, theatre artist MarcusYoussef, and dancers andchoreographers Justine A.Chambers and Josh Martinto create the piece that sheexpects to complete in 18months.They explored ideas

that include how a personshould look, how much they

should talk about them-selves and how much theyshould listen, along withthe feelings that arise whenyou hear how others thinkpeople should be.“It’s like this big psycho-

logical experiment,” she said.

Audience members willbe close to the action duringthe 10 performances.“It’s almost like being

on a subway car, whensomething odd happens,that we’re all kind of impli-cated because you can’t get

away,” she said, adding theproximity will offer audi-ence members a chance tosee subtle movements.“We can focus on the

little shifts in the body thatbetray what we’re thinking,that betray emotion.”

The Anderson StreetSpace holds only 25 audi-ence members, CheyenneFriedenberg said. She’s de-signing the performance toallow onlookers to move asthe piece progresses throughthe space. The more re-

served can watch from thesecurity of a chair.Boca Del Lupo specializes

in experimental theatricalproductions and spectacularoutdoor presentations whilefocusing on collaborationswith international, nationaland regional artists. Thetheatre company mounts itsMicro Performance Serieson and near Granville Islandto support the creation anddevelopment of new worksin intimate and small-scaleforms. Boca Del Lupo start-ed theMicro PerformanceSeries in 2011 andHow ToBe is the first production forthe 2015 series.Another excerpt, which

includes Youssef, who re-cently returned to Vancou-ver from a run of the stagedconversationWinners andLosers off-Broadway in NewYork, will be presented atthe Dancing on the Edgefestival at the Firehall ArtsCentre in the beginning ofJuly.How To Be hasn’t been

fully formed but CheyenneFriedenberg has alreadybenefited from new insights.“We’re all kind of strug-

gling with the same ques-tions, which is profoundlycomforting,” she said.“What if we dropped thequestions and just felt howwe need to be moment-to-moment?”Tickets are $10 and

there’s a talkback after theFeb. 27, 8 p.m. perfor-mance. For more informa-tion, see bocadellupo.com.


Expectations great and small exploredHow To Be employs dance, comedy and theatre to investigate how we think we and others ‘should’ be

Left to right: TaraCheyenneFriedenberg, Kimberly StevensonandKateFranklinwill performanexcerpt fromthework inprogressHowToBeaspart ofBocaDel Lupo’sMicroPerformanceSeries Feb. 26 toMarch1at the intimateAndersonStreet SpaceonGranville Island.


cbc.ca/bc @cbcnewsbc

Weeknights at5 & 6 pm6

CBC NewsVancouver

Anewpoint of view.

AndrewChang

Arts&Entertainment

THEATREREVIEW

Jo [email protected]

Portraying Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr. must belike portraying MahatmaGandhi or Jesus Christ: itcomes with a lot of respon-sibility. And we all knowhow it ends.In The Mountaintop,

under Janet Wright’s direc-tion, Dion Johnstone does afine job of humanizing Kingwho, for most of us, is moremyth than man: freedomfighter, civil rights andanti-war activist, preacher,Nobel Peace Prize winner.But King was first of all a

man: a man who, accordingto rumour, was a woman-izer. On occasion, he liedto his wife about the PallMalls he smoked. And hetook the occasional drinkof something alcoholic. Ofthese three “weaknesses,”playwright Katori Hallspins a tale of the hoursbefore King’s assassinationat 6:01 p.m., April 4, 1968on the second-floor balcony

of Room 306 (meticulouslyrendered by set designerTed Roberts) in the Lor-raine Motel, Memphis,Tenn.The title, of course, comes

fromKing’s famous speech,“I’ve Been ToTheMoun-taintop,” delivered in supportof striking sanitation work-ers, inMemphis’sMasonTemple on April 3, 1968.In the play, the writer

introduces us to King, de-spondent over the less-than-anticipated turnout at Ma-son Temple and desperatelywanting a cigarette, a cup ofcoffee (also on wife CorettaKing’s banned listed) whiletrying to write a speech thatpicks up on the elementsof his “I Have a Dream”speech. His regular compan-ion on these tours, ReverendRalph Abernathy, has goneout looking for cigarettes —Pall Malls, nothing else willdo—when King calls forroom service, which, it turnsout, has ended for the night.But, regardless, up comes

room service in the form ofpretty, flirtatious, some-times foul-mouthed Camae(Crystal Balint). She notonly brings coffee but she

has cigarettes and they’rePall Malls, wouldn’t youknow? And she’s got a flaskwith something strongerthan coffee in it. If youdon’t twig to something atthis point, you will later.There’s good chemistry

between Johnstone andBalint. He’s handsome andsexy; she’s sassy and fullof attitude and it looks likethat’s where the play is goingalthoughCamae is turned

off bymen with “smelly feet”andKing has already sniffedhis shoes in disgust. Still,there’s sexual attraction andthey are together on a bed.But The Mountaintop does

a 180 at this point and turnsinto something akin to It’s AWonderful Life. For me, thiswas a major disappointmentand, for a while, it sucks thelife out of the production.There’s a lot of talk about“God’s plans” for King

and the useful function ofmartyrdom—which, in thepresent global crisis, ringsalarm bells not church bells.Fortunately, the pow-

erhouse that wasMartinLuther King, Jr. begins tobuild again— prompted inpart by a rousing “if I wereyou” speech that Camae,in King’s jacket and shoes,comically delivers standingon the bed.She concludes with “F***

the white man, f*** ‘em.”but King’s speech— thespeech he never got todeliver — ends more peace-ably with, “The baton maybe dropped but anyone canpick it up.” The “promisedland” is almost here and his“dream” of a peaceful worldis imminent.Projection designer

Candelario Andrade putstogether an amazing collageof people and events whohave shaken the world,underscored by King, on theeve of what he knows will behis assassination, describinga world where “hunger is nomore,” where “destructionis no more,” where there isonly “love.”Johnstone is very power-

ful in these final scenes.And, of course, it’s the mes-sage we all want to hear.And then we go home

to the TV news. “Nobodysaid it would be easy,” saysCamae. She got that right.For more reviews, go to

joledingham.caThe Mountaintop runs until

March 14 at the Arts ClubGranville Island Stage. Fortickets, call 604-687-1644 orgo to artsclub.com.

MountaintophumanizesMLK, themanandmyth

DionJohnstoneandCrystal Balint star inTheMountaintop,whichputsahuman face to the toweringfigureofMartin LutherKing, Jr.—PallMall cigarettes andall.


Arts&Entertainment

MOVIE REVIEWJulie [email protected]

Kevin Costner has carvedout a nice little niche forhimself as a sports has-been.

The actor has played anancient baseball pitcher(For the Love of the Game),a washed-up golf pro (TinCup), an on-his-way-outbaseballer again (BullDurham), and a baseball fanwho never turned pro, butwho nonetheless ploughsperfectly good cornfields forthe love of the sport (Field ofDreams).Costner’s got both the

aging-high-school-jockgood looks and the au-thoritative confidence toconvince us that a come-back is always right aroundthe corner.In Disney’s latest sports

drama McFarland, Costnerplays real-life high schoolcoach Jim White, whosefootball coaching careerhas stalled thanks to analtercation with a mouthyteenaged player. Out ofbetter options, Jim moveshis family to the impover-ished town of McFarland,Calif.McFarland is one of the

poorest towns in America,in California’s Central Val-ley, almost exclusively La-tino and with a prison con-veniently located right nextdoor to the high school. Noone gets out of McFarland.“Are we in Mexico?” hisyounger daughter asks inearnest.Jim starts out coach-

ing the Bad News Osos ofhigh school football, whoseplayers have neither thesize nor the strength tocrush any of their competi-tion. What they do haveis speed and stamina andresilience against the pun-ishing Cali heat, thanks toyears spent picking fruit inthe fields before and afterschool.So rather than lose

his post, Jim talks theschool administrationinto putting together across-country team. It’s abrand-new sport in 1987,a rich-kids’ sport, theprincipal points out. Jimhas never coached cross-country, but the freeuniforms seal the deal.His eventual team of

seven includes a few decentrunners (played by RafaelMartinez, Ramiro Rodri-guez, Michael Aguero,Hector Duran, SergioAvelar), one potential star(Carlos Pratts, TV’s TheBridge) and one chubby

leftover (Johnny Ortiz) toround out the numbers,the underdog on an under-dog team.Coach is White, all

right, down to the white-bread sandwiches he packsfor lunch. The requisiteculture-clashes ensue,alongside Jim’s conflict-ing responsibilities to hisrunners and the needs ofhis family (Maria Belloplays his wife;Homeland’sMorgan Saylor is his teendaughter).While Jim is a fish out

of water in McFarland, hisstudents are unwelcomein the new, WASP-ishcross-county arena; theboys face racial slurs atthe starting line. Jim isn’tmuch better, wielding akitchen timer instead of astopwatch to log the boys’progress.Once the team finds suc-

cess, Jim’s coaching abilitypiques the competition’sinterest: cue the usual lureof something better versusthe moral imperative todo the right thing. It’s anunderdog sports movie andticks all the requisite boxesof its genre, although it feelssomewhat novel becauseof its almost exclusivelyLatino cast. Unfortunately,any gains made in onscreenequality are lost in inade-quate scripting (Jim’s wife’sassertion that nowherehas ever felt more like“home” than McFarland,with nothing convincing toback her up) or heaped-onAmericana (Latinos cansing the national anthem,too, we get it).Ultimately it’s the little

moments that hit home, likethe fact that the boys live inCalifornia but have neverseen the ocean. (One of thefilm’s new actors had thatexperience for the first timeduring filming.)No, it’s not as savvy as

Costner’sDraft Day lastyear; however, there areplenty of clap-out-loudmoments to be had, andthe high-schoolers at thepromo screening I attendedwhooped and applauded oncue, an excellent testimonialfor Disney. Stay tuned forthe amazing stats at the end,featuring many of the realcharacters portrayed in thefilm.McFarland screens at Inter-

national Village.

McFarland runsonDisney fumesCostner stars in familiar feel-good sports drama

KevinCostner coachesanunlikely cross-country team inDisney’sMcFarland.


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Senior girls basketballAA girls: Little Flower

Academy and Notre Damewill compete at the seniorgirls AA B.C. Championshipat the Langley Events CentreMarch 4 to 7. The LFAAngels return to the tourna-ment for the first time since2006, thanks to a come-from-behind surge to defeatSeycove secondary 70-60 inthe Lower Mainland semifinals. LFA forward JessicaHanson had a game-high 37 points in the win.

Senior boys basketballAAA boys: The Tupper Tigers clinched their seat at

the AAA senior boys B.C. Championship last week withan 83-65 win over Steveston-London in the Lower Main-land tournament. Tupper plays in a semi-final tonight butbecause the top four regional teams advance to provincials,they’ve already punched their ticket. Any additional winsdetermine seeding at B.C.’s. Tupper plays McNair 2:45p.m. at the Richmond Oval Feb. 25. The championshipgame is 6:15 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Richmond Oval.AA boys:Britannia swept through the opening round

of the AA Lower Mainland tourney with a 70-39 win overCariboo secondary from Burnaby. Yesterday evening theyplayed Palmer secondary in a semi-final and must winin order to battle for one of just two berths to the B.C.Championship. (The game was played after the Courier’sprint deadline.) The championship game is 8 p.m. Feb. 26at the Richmond Oval.A boys: St. Patrick’s,West Point Grey Academy

and St. John’s continue to draw out a fiercely competi-tive season through the Lower Mainland tournament.Yesterday, St. Patrick’s met WPGA in one semi-final whileSt. John’s challenged Richmond Christian in the second.(You now know the drill: print deadline…) The top threeteams advance to provincials, meaning all three Vancouverschools could continue their season— or, one could getleft behind. The championship game is 6:15 p.m. Feb. 26at the Richmond Oval.

UBC soccerhiresKovacsMarisa Kovacs was

named the new head coachof the UBC Thunderbirdswomen’s soccer programon Feb. 19. Kovacs, whogrew up in Windsor, Ont.,previously coached at theUniversity of West Georgiain Carrollton, Ga., and Si-mon Fraser University bothNCAADiv. II institutions.“The University of Brit-

ish Columbia is an amazing place and I hope to use mynational ties, and more importantly, my local ties to recruitthe very best from our soccer rich province of British Co-lumbia,” Kovacs said in a prepared statement. She takesover for Andrea Neil.

Thompson Trojans head coach JimmyChoi directs traffic from the sideline in a senior boys AAAA city championship quarterfinal againstthe Kitsilano Blue Demons Feb. 11. The unranked Trojans upset B.C.’s No. 10 team93-84. PHOTODANTOULGOET

BASKETBALL


The Thompson Trojansare trying on Cinderella’sslipper to see if it fits. Ifit does, you know whatthey’re wearing to the bigdance next month.The surprise team from

David Thompson second-ary is powering through thepost-season on a string ofupset wins against provin-cially ranked AAAA teams,including a double overtimewin against St. George’s toreach the Lower Mainlandtournament quarter-finalstonight at the RichmondOlympic Oval.In that win, the Trojans

pulled ahead on the tre-mendous output of HarryBrar. The six-foot-threeforward had 54 points inan 87-85 win.“Going into St. George’s

with the kids that I have,they’ve never seen anythinglike it,” said Trojans coachJimmy Choi. “Going intothat school and seeing whatmoney does for other peo-ple, they were a little in aweof everything that was there.There was a grand piano inthe middle of the hallway. Ididn’t know whether or notthey would be able to focus.It was like wonderland.”The Trojans jumped to a

double-digit lead in the firstquarter and held a sizeablespread at halftime.“We caught them off

guard,” said Choi. “Theyunderestimated us andmight have walked in with alittle too much swagger.”St. George’s sprung back

with a 10-point lead in thethird quarter and the Trojansbegan to wilt. Choi describedit as “a little bit of panic.”He pushed Brar to step

up since this will be his finalyear. “Once he heard mywords, it was bombs away.”In the second overtime,

Brar effectively demandedthe ball and cleared thecourt. He scored a lay-inand drew the foul, whichhe sunk.“He faked the pass to

Parmvir [Hyare], the de-fence bit and he drove rightdown the lane and laid it inwith an and-one.”In tonight’s quarterfinal,

the Trojans play BurnabySouth and must contendwith top prospect JermaineHaley. They play at 6:15p.m. at the same time Kitsi-lano meets St. George’s. At8 p.m., Churchill clasheswith Vancouver Collegeand Windermere meetsNewWestminster.The top three teams ad-

vance to the B.C. Champi-onship, held at the LangleyEvents Centre fromMarch11 to 14.This tournament could be

the last for Choi — at leastfor a while. After this season,he’s stepping down as thesenior boys head coach. Hemay or may not coach at ayounger level next season. Ifnot, he will be missed fromthe program he helped buildfrom almost nothing overthe past decade.The decision is one that

frustrates retired Killarneycoach and Choi’s mentor,Tom Tagami.“I would be disappoint-

ed if it was going to be hislast year because I thinkhe’s got a lot to offer theschool,” Tagami said thisweek from Arizona.“He’s developed himself

into a very good coach.The other thing is that he’saware of the entire program— the Grade 8s, 9s, 10s —and he’s concerned aboutthe development of the bas-ketball program as a wholeat Thompson, rather thanjust coaching one particularteam. If you’re going to be asenior coach, that has to besomething you’re trying todevelop.”If Choi is leaving for

good, said Tagami, “I haveno respect for him and he’scopping out. One thing Ihave always said to coacheswho have decided to movedown to a lower level orleave is don’t bail out onthe program and leave thecupboard bare.“If you’re going to be the

senior coach, you’re goingto be in charge of basket-ball for your school andit’s important […] you areconcerned for the overallprogram and are not justcoaching for your own egoand coaching the best team.If that’s what you’re doing,I have no respect for you. Isee too many coaches thatdo that — I’m hoping Jim isnot one of those people andI don’t think he is.”Choi got his start on the

court at Strathcona Com-munity Centre and thenBritannia secondary, wherehe graduated. At the time,Tagami, who is still active-ly involved with basketballin B.C., was at Killarneyand encouraged Choi totake a position, which thenled to a full-time teachingjob at Thompson as a P.E.and shop teacher.Choi and Tagami still

chat every few days, andright now it’s a lot aboutbasketball.“You’re using the sport as

a vehicle for life lessons,” saidTagami. “It’s not winningthe championship that is im-portant, it’s what the kids getout of it 10 years from now,15 years from now, 20 years.And he realizes that.”With an influence like

that, it’s hard to imagineChoi won’t be back on thebench— if not next season,then soon.

twitter.com/MHStewart

By Megan Stewart

Sports&RecreationGOT SPORTS? 604.630.3549 or [email protected]

Cinderella storyhangs in the balanceThompson Trojans surge through post-season

In dollars, the maximum non-refundable tax credit available to teachers who vol-unteer as coaches. This coaching credit was introduced with the B.C. Budget on Feb.17. Teachers who volunteer 10 extracurricular hours a year can qualify for $500 eachyear for the next three years. If that seems like a good chunk of cash, don’t be fooled.The return is a maximum $25.30 for each eligible taxpayer. Don’t take it personally,coaches— you’re worth more than this figure suggests.

By thenumbers…

25.30

Jessica Hanson

Marisa Kovacs


Sports&Recreation

BASKETBALL


The Churchill Bulldogshad one more shot toextend their post-seasonTuesday night. The seniorgirls basketball team isthe last public school stillcompeting for a berth atthe 2015 provincial cham-pionship next month at theLangley Events Centre.Four Lower Mainland

teams advance from theCrehan Cup, and theBulldogs played Surrey’sCharles Best secondaryyesterday in a wildcardgame for the final berth.

(Because of the tyranny ofdeadline, I’m sorry to saythe Courier is not able toreport the results in print.)Churchill lost their

semi-final to the RichmondMcMathWildcats, rankedfifth in B.C. last week, onFeb. 20. The next day theydropped a 53-43 game toBurnaby Mountain andwould have to fight for theirseason with a string of wins.To stay alive, the Bull-

dogs beat New West-minster 64-51, almostrepeating the score fromearlier in the tourney whenChurchill won 64-50.In their first must-win

game, Cecilia Bao fin-ished with 26 points, eightrebounds and three steals.

Grade 10 student AlexaLeynes added 14 pointsand was selected as a tour-nament all-star.Coach Jennifer Eng said

Trisha Pajayon swung mo-mentum in their favour witha surge of baskets.“We took it and never

looked back,” said Eng.“The team is ecstatic

to have made it this far intheir season,” she added.“This has been a greatlearning experience, as thisis a tough tournament andcomes down to mentaltoughness and stamina.We are also very lucky tohave such great supportfrom the Vancouver bas-ketball community.”

twitter.com/MHStewart

Bulldogs fight for season

Churchill Bulldog Katrina Kwong (No. 10) stays out of reach of her McMath defender during a seniorgirls AAA LowerMainland semi-final at NewWest secondary Feb. 20. The Bulldogs lost 67-36.PHOTOREBECCA BLISSETT


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Vancouver Courier February 25 2015