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Vancouver Courier July 8 2015
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OPINION 10Realtors need reassessing
SPORTS 20World Cup runneth overer
THEATRE 14King Lear looms large
MIDWEEKEDITION
WEDNESDAYJuly 8 2015Vol. 106 No. 53
There’s more online atvancourier.com
THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908
Megan [email protected]
Vancouver Park Board commissionersembraced public displays of affection onMonday but are still deciding which parkwill be the best place for “sweethearts” tolock up their love and throw away the key.Commissioners approved commissioning
a “love lock” sculpture, but had reserva-tions about installing it in one of the threehigh-traffic parks proposed by staff. In ad-dition to English Bay, Kitsilano Beach Parkand the plaza at Queen Elizabeth Park,commissioners are seeking suggestions for
more intimate, less-visited parks in orderto spread the love — and tourist traffic —around the city.Commissioners were concerned about
tarnishing views and worried about theenvironmental impact of a rise in visitorsand if keys, which are thrown away after apadlock is snapped shut, would be tossed inthe water at shoreline parks.Staff will suggest additional locations, and
the public can weigh in later this summer tohelp decide which park will become a citylove-in. Artists can submit proposals.Initially, staff recommended five loca-
tions. Prospect Point and the wooden wharfat Jericho were also on the list.By installing a designated place for “love
locks” at one a high-traffic, high-touristlocation in the city, the park board will join
cities such as Toronto, Seoul andMoscow indirecting lovers to amade-to-order sculp-ture. The city doesn’t allow locking padlocksto random pieces of civic infrastructure,regardless of the site’s personal meaning,and has cut locks from the Burrard Bridgeand from fencing near the Plaza of Nations.Many locks are painted with names, hearts,significant dates and promises of lasting loveor hope for a lower divorce rate.In some cities, the padlocks are attached
to sanctioned fixtures, such as the rowof identical iron sculptures onMoscow’sLuzhkov Bridge. In Toronto, locks havebeen cut off the Humber Bridge about oncea year since 2011, but the Ontario capitalnow has a designated place to lock downlove in the Distillery District.
Continued on page 9
Lockingup love locations
Streethomelessnessdeclines
The number of people counted overtwo days inMarch living on the street inVancouver decreased slightly over a previ-ous homeless count done inMarch 2014,the CEO of B.C. Housing saidMonday.But Shayne Ramsay wouldn’t reveal sta-
tistics on the homeless population, sayinghe didn’t want to “steal the thunder” ofthe city’s chief housing director, MukhtarLatif, who was to deliver a full report onthis year’s count to city council Tuesday,after the Courier’s print deadline.“Sheltered homeless is about the same,”
said Ramsay, referring to the number ofpeople who have sought refuge in a shelteror a form of temporary accommodationuntil permanent housing is available.Statistics for 2014 showed Vancouver’s
homeless population reached its highestoverall level in history, with 1,267 peopleliving in some form of shelter and 536 onthe street for a grand total of 1,803 people.Ramsay made the comments after
taking reporters on a tour of several B.C.Housing buildings in the DowntownEastside, including some of the 13 single-room-occupancy hotels under renova-tion, a 147-unit complex for women andfamilies and an innovative project thatturned the former remand centre on Cor-dova Street into a mix of affordable andsupportive housing.Ramsay denied his unprecedented
walkabout with reporters was tied tothe release of this year’s homeless countstatistics, which often end in Vancouvercity council pointing the finger at the pro-vincial and federal governments for notdoing enough to address homelessness.Ramsay said he recently gave the same
tour to Housing Minister Rich Cole-man’s director of communications, whowas impressed with the breadth of theinvestment in housing and programs inthe Downtown Eastside, which is wherethe city’s homeless population is tradi-tionally the largest. That tour triggeredthe walkabout, he added.
Continued on page 7
Shelter populationremains the same
Park board mulls over“love lock” sites
ZIP IT First-time visitors to Queen Elizabeth Park Karen andNateWhistler, with daughters Hazel and Fiona, wanted a family photograph taken in frontof the park’s temporary zipline Saturdaymorning. PHOTOREBECCA BLISSETT
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A2 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A3
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A4 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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News
Elizabeth [email protected]
The Vancouver ParkBoard hopes a food truckwill temporarily meet parkgoers’ appetites at TroutLake after the longtimeconcession closed justbefore Canada Day.The concession, typically
open from April until Sep-tember, closed because theoperator retired a monthago, according to Vancou-ver Park Board commu-nications manager MargoHarper. She said a replace-ment is in the works.“We’ve put the word out
through our concessionoperator network,” saidHarper, meaning the boardis both advertising to thosewho are running conces-sions as well as other opera-tors who may be interested.As many as 13 conces-
sions in Vancouver’s parksand beaches are contractedto third party operators, saidGordon Barber, the parkboard’s manager of revenueservices. However, thepark board refused, basedon what it says are privacyconditions, to release a list
of which locations wererun by third parties whenrequested by the Courier.Vancouver’s park conces-
sions have seen numerouschanges in the last decade.One of the most prominentchanges was at KitsilanoBeach Park where a simplebeachfront concession standmorphed into the Water-mark restaurant and theninto The Boathouse, allwithin the last 10 years.In July 2013, the park
board brought forth anotherchange in its Local FoodAction Plan to providelocally sourced food to itspark and beach visitors.The plan is still in processaccording to the City ofVancouver’s website, as
the board hopes to fullyintegrate local food into thesystem by 2018.Earlier this year, Green
Party park board commis-sioner Michael Wiebe pro-posed a motion to get rid ofbottled water at concessionstands to reduce waste. Thepark board rejected the ideabut the motion sparkeda discussion on installingadditional water fountainsin parks.As for whether conces-
sion closures may be a trendbeach and park goers willhave to deal with in the nearfuture, it could depend onthe success of these ongoingtransformations and howwell the public receives it.
@bettylu_2
Concession search still on
Theconcession standatKitsBeach.PHOTO JENNIFERGAUTHIER
12TH&CAMBIE
So someone is officiallycomplaining about the Van-couver Police Department’salleged lack of enforcementon the city’s illegal mari-juana dispensaries.That someone is Pamela
McColl of Smart Approach-es to Marijuana Canada.She received some media
attention about her com-plaint, which was filed withthe Vancouver Police Boardand, by extension, the Of-fice of the Police ComplaintCommissioner.I left a message with Mc-
Coll on her cell last weekbut I hadn’t heard back atthe time of writing this.As readers will know
who have read the com-ment section at the bot-tom of many of my onlinestories pertaining to the potshops, McColl certainly hasher opinions. Essentially,she can’t believe the copsare not raiding the illegaldispensaries and shutting
down all 90-plus of them.So her complaint wasn’t
a surprise.What was a surprise is
nobody —McColl andmedia included— seemedto know the police boardalready answered the al-legation by way of anothercomplainant. I don’t knowwho that person is — theboard won’t tell me becauseof privacy reasons — but Ido know a complaint waslodged two years ago.The board dismissed that
complaint at a public meet-ing in October 2013.It did so after reviewing a
report by Sgt. Jim Prasobsin,whose conclusions about theVPD’s approach to deal-ing with the pot shops havebeen paraphrased repeatedlyby Jim Chu when he waschief, by new chief AdamPalmer, by Supt. MikePorteous of the major crimesection and by the VPD’smedia liaison officers.Their message: Pot shops
are not a priority becausethe focus of the departmentis to go after the scumbagsselling heroin, cocaine andharder drugs.
So, for the record, theVPD’s position hasn’tchanged since Prasobsinwrote his report.What has changed are
two things: Pot shops grewfrom 29 when the boarddismissed that complaintin October 2013 to al-most 100 today; and city
council recently passed abusiness licence scheme toget some form of controlon the dispensaries.The board will obviously
take those factors in mindwhen it decides in the fallwhat to do with McColl’scomplaint. But my pre-diction is the board will
simply refer to Prasobsin’sreport and note city staffconsulted with the VPD indrafting the new regula-tions for pot shops.And then they’ll dismiss
McColl’s complaint.If the board doesn’t,
I’d sure like to hear itsmembers’ rationale forgoing against the viewsof the police departmentand city hall. You shouldknow the cops executednine search warrants overan 18-month period and,so far, only three peoplehave been charged and theshops remain open.So that everybody is
absolutely clear on theVPD’s policy related topot shops, I’ll leave youwith two quotes fromPrasobsin’s report. Here’sthe first one:“VPD drug investigative
priorities target persons orgroups that prey upon thevulnerable and use vio-lence in the commissionof offences. Marijuanadispensaries have not beena high priority becauseother drug offences thatpose a greater risk to
public safety have beentargeted with the VPD’slimited drug enforcementresources.”Here’s the second:“It is the view of the VPD
that police enforcementagainst marijuana dispen-saries in the first instancewould generally be a dis-proportionate use of policeresources and the criminallaw. The issue requires abalanced enforcement strat-egy that considers a con-tinuum of responses fromeducation to warnings,to bylaw enforcement, toenforcement of the criminallaw, when warranted.”Are we clear, people?Note: I checked with the
City of Vancouver Mondayto get a tally on how manypeople applied to get abusiness licence for a potshop. Apparently, a com-munications staffer tells me“some gaps exist in the ap-plications we have receivedto date” and it would be“premature to provide anaccurate number at thistime.” The deadline for ap-plicants is Aug. 24.
@Howellings
Police’s viewonpot shops is old news
News
The Vancouver Police Department’s rationale for not shuttingdown the city’s 90-plus pot shopswasmade clear two years ago.PHOTODANTOULGOET
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A5
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News
DEVELOPINGSTORY
NaoibhO’[email protected]
The Kettle Society’syears-old dream to expandits services in Grandview-Woodland is still in limbowhile work on the neigh-bourhood’s communityplan continues. Proponentsof the expansion remainoptimistic their vision willone day be realized.The non-profit soci-
ety, whose main site is inGrandview-Woodland at1725 Venables St., provideshousing and support topeople with mental illness.The Venables site needsto expand because it lacksenough private space forpatient counselling, suffi-cient room for clients’ mealsand overall space to provideother services and support.
Although the KettleSociety owns its building,it couldn’t get money fromhigher levels of governmentto expand, so it formed anarrangement with devel-oper Boffo Properties. Thedeveloper owns buildingson either side of The Kettle— the former Astorino’s lo-cation and the dry cleaningsite at the southwest corner.The city owns the parkinglot to the north. Boffo hashad discussions with the cityto amalgamate the parkinglot with the redevelopment.The proposal for the site
envisions 12-to-15 storeys atits highest and five to sevenstoreys at its lowest. It wouldinclude amix of markethousing, supported housingfor TheKettle to own andoperate and a larger space forthe society’s other services,particularly its drop-in.But Grandview-Wood-
land residents are dividedon what height is appro-priate on the site. It was acontentious subject in citi-zens’ assembly discussions,according to the group’sexecutive director RachelMagnusson.Ultimately, the 48-mem-
ber assembly couldn’t reachconsensus on that point inits recently released report.“TheKettle height was a
very sticky issue for assemblymembers, which I think re-flects the difference of opin-ion in the community itself,”Magnusson told theCourierlate last month. “There’s alot of common ground thereas well— it very quicklybecame clear that assemblymembers were in favour ofsupporting the Kettle’s workand the idea of supportedhousing in Grandview-Woodland. That was never apoint of contention.”A “minority report”
signed by 16 assemblymembers is included in theirfinal report, which states theKettle-Boffo partnershipis “an appropriate way toaddress the needs of peoplewho are most easily forgot-ten by markets and votersalike” and it calls on the cityto do everything in its power“to advance the Kettle-Boffo project speedily.”Nancy Keough, execu-
tive director of The KettleSociety, said the non-profithas tried to work alongsidethe community plan andcitizens’ assembly processes.“I’m still hopeful that
it will happen. I think it’s
a really important projectand I think it’s a really goodproject that will fit into thiscommunity and that it willmeet the needs of many ofthe community’s members,”she said, adding the need forexpansion is high. “It’s whatwe’ve been saying for thelast four years. Our buildingis inadequate for the num-ber of people we’re currentlyserving, so the quality of ourservices [is affected]. It’svery hard when people arecrowded together in a spaceto offer the depth of servicethat we would like to offer tosome of our most vulnerablefolks in Grandview-Wood-land. And the housing—every new unit of affordablehousing is a gift. It’s reallyneeded.”Keough doesn’t think the
project would work with alower height.“According to everyone,
including the city, it doesn’twork out financially withlower height unless there’ssome other monies thatcome forward. And we’vecertainly looked at all kindsof avenues over the yearsand this seems like themostrealistic [plan] and it’s a verypositive partnership thatcouldmake this happen.”Daniel Boffo of Boffo
Properties told theCourierhe was encouraged bymanypoints made in the citizens’assembly report and thatmany of the themesmatchedthose the redevelopmentproject is trying to achieve interms of housing and socialservices support, in particularmental health support.“Although there are many
that may speak against theheight, there are also manythat are supportive of theproject as a whole even ifthat requires more heightand density to be allowed toachieve the model and theprogram that we’re propos-ing,” he said.Boffo noted that in their
15-minute presentation tothe citizens’ assembly, theyindicated they’re prepared tomake the project work witha 12-storeymaximum heightbased on current assump-tions, although that can beadjusted up to 15 storeys ifcircumstances change.City council accepted the
citizens’ assembly reportJune 24 and referred it backto staff for review. The finalplan likely won’t go back tocouncil before next spring.
@naoibh
Kettle hopes toreachnewheightsTower a contentious issue in Citizens’ Assembly debates
A6 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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News
Continued from page 1“It’s just an opportunity
to tell that story, and whatbetter way to do it than onthe ground when you’rewalking around the neigh-bourhood,” he said from aboardroom inside a B.C.Housing satellite buildingon East Hastings.Vision Vancouver Coun.
Kerry Jang, who has beenhis party’s point personfor the mental health andhomelessness files, saidMonday he hadn’t seenthe statistics for this year’scount. But Jang said he wasencouraged by news of adecrease in the homelesspopulation.“What it means is that
we’re holding our ownagainst homelessness,” saidJang, who attended theopeningMonday of a 110-unit B.C. Housing-fundedbuilding at 1249 Howe St.“But what’s more importantis how long these peoplehave been on the street.From what I’ve heard an-ecdotally and from our staffreports, that many of thepeople who are on our streetcurrently have been home-less for less than a year or ayear, which indicates there’smore people coming.”Jang said many of the
city’s long-term homelesshave moved off the streetbut Vancouver is nowseeing a new generation ofhomeless people, particu-larly young people.Mayor Gregor Robertson
had set a goal to end so-called street homelessnessby the March 2015 count.But the mayor, who partici-pated in this year’s count,acknowledged people werestill living on the street.“It was a big challenging
goal to set for the city andI have absolutely no regretsabout doing that,” Robert-son told reporters in Marchafter participating in thecount. “We’ve pushed veryhard and had great successgetting many people in off
the streets. We have to con-tinue that work. It doesn’tend today. That was neverthe intention of this.”When the Courier asked
Jang if the mayor’s goalwill ever be met, the50-something councillorsaid he hoped it wouldcome in his lifetime.To do that, he said, the
provincial government hasto continue to invest inhousing and begin a secondphase of developmentwhere supportive housing isbuilt on city property.Coleman has said many
times the province has builtmore supportive housingin Vancouver than anysimilar-sized jurisdictionin Canada. Supportivehousing is defined as socialhousing in which tenantscan access health care andother services on site.“The reality is, since the
count, there’s probablybeen 300 new units open,”said Coleman, who also at-tended the official opening
of the B.C. Housing-fundedbuilding on Howe Street.The province funded the
construction of the buildingwhile the city provided theland. Streetohome foun-dation also donated $2.2million to the project.It is one of the so-called
14 sites the province agreedto fund on city propertiesdesignated for supportivehousing. Asked whetherthere will be a second phaseof such development, Cole-man said “we’ve always saidthat we will look at opportu-nities where there’s projects,and municipalities want tocome and work with us.”Coleman said he hasn’t
seen a proposal from thecity for a second phase ofdevelopment. He pointedout, however, that theprovince’s strategy toreduce homelessness alsoinvolves rent supplementsto get people off the streetand to work with healthagencies, outreach workersand other social services to
prevent homelessness.Whatever the homeless-
ness statistics may be,Coleman said his mea-surement on whether his
government’s investmentsare having an effect on thestreet population is doneby walking the streets ofthe Downtown Eastside
every three to four weeks.“And it’s better down
there — I can see it,” hesaid.
@Howellings
Citywantsmore supportive housing
B.C.HousingCEOShayneRamsay led reportersona tourMondayof severalbuildings in theDowntownEastside fundedby theprovincial government.PHOTOJENNIFERGAUTHIER
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A7
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CITY LIVING
Rebecca [email protected]
Brides and grooms fly forfree on the Queen Elizabethzipline. That’s a deal notonly because the onsite priceto take the 30-second tripacross the quarry gardens is$20, but because harness-ing up a dress made withenough material to makeenough pillows to outfitevery bridal suite in NiagaraFalls is a lot of work.“Yeah! It’s definitely
a technique!” said RobHicks who was trainingtwo Greenheart Interna-tional Development Corp.employees on the art of thebraking system on the lowertower during Saturday’sgrand opening. If there is amaster’s degree equivalentof wedding dress tucking,the Fremont Street ziplinewould be the place to re-ceive it and that’s where theLas Vegas-based Hicks gothis experience.“Lots of experience with
the wedding dresses, maybe100 of them. I don’t know,I lost track. As soon as youhike up the harness, thedress goes right with it. Yougotta take care, start fromthe bottom, tuck it in, workit out, tuck it in, work it out.It’s all about taking care ofthat person in the dress.”The QE Park zipline is
600 feet long and, at itshighest point, 100 feet upso brides — and others indresses — need not worryabout the thrill-seekers onthe garden paths below.“Flashing? They don’t
after I get done with them.They’re all tucked in,” saidHicks. “You know, you justgot married and you have abeautiful woman and youdon’t want to be giving ev-erybody else a peep show.”It’s not just the newly wed
who view the park’s tempo-rary zipline as an added bo-nus of getting married in the75-year-old gardens, saidRandi Thomas, businessdevelopment lead for the lo-cally owned Greenheart. It’speople who’ve never triedriding a zipline, which hasincreased in popularity sinceits inception 20 years ago asan ecotourism adventure inCosta Rica.“A lot of locals just have
never been and they’vetold me they’re so happyit’s in their backyard. I’msurprised by the percent-age of guests that havenever been before,” shesaid. “This is not anadrenalin zipline whereyou’re traveling down at60 miles an hour. This ismostly taking in the scen-ery and bringing familiesout. It’s more of a gasp asyou leave the tower ratherthan a scream.”Although some locals
were concerned the park’szipline is both destructiveand disruptive, the onlynoise from the grand open-ing was a quiet buzzing thatwas as unobtrusive as yournext door neighbour bring-ing in laundry from theiroutdoor line. Adventureseekers would get more of athrill heading to Whistler forthe terrifyingly fun CougarMountain ziplines, andthat’s perfectly all right withGreenheart, said Geoff Bell,
one of the partners.“It’s interesting that we
even get negative commentsbut we’re totally accept-ing of it,” he said whilehis eight-year-old son Jacklaunched down the steelcable from the top tower.“We’ve had people ask,‘You guys are here tempo-rary, right? OK, we’re goingto buy a ticket.’ You’ll neversee the park from this angleever again.”The Vancouver Park
Board agreed to receive therevenue sharing from thezipline on a sliding scale.The board will receivea 10 per cent return onrevenues between $75,001and $250,000, 35 per centbetween $250,001, and$400,000 and 40 per cent ifmore than $400,001.Aside from pruning trees
near the lower tower, Bellpointed out that the ziplinecauses no harm to the park.“This is not only to showthat this is another way ofgenerating an income with-out ripping up soil, tearingdown trees, and having animpact on the park, but it’sabout creating memories.Our role as a companyis conservation-based at-tractions and conservationcomes from education andawareness. If all this does isbring people up here, it’s awin already.”The zipline is open every
day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.until Sept. 30 and tickets canbe purchased online at tick-etleader.ca/events/flightlinez-vancouver for a two-dollardiscount that also providesa discount into the nearbyBloedel Conservatory.
@rebeccablissett
QEzip line says yesto the dress
1.Randi Thomas is the business development lead for Greenheart International Development Cor-porationwhich brought the zipline to Queen Elizabeth Park. Thomaswas born and raised in BritishColumbia, having studied at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. “I have a doublemajor intheatre and economics so nowonder I ended up running a zipline,” she said. 2. & 3. TheQueen Eliza-beth zipline officially opened to the public Saturdaywith children and adults lining up to check outthe 600-foot long ride over the quarry garden. As soon as the zipline hits the $75,000mark in profits,revenuewill be shared on a sliding scalewith the Vancouver Park Board.See photo gallery online at vancourier.com. PHOTOSREBECCA BLISSETT
1
High-flying attraction about conservation and creating memories
2
3
A8 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
Continued from page 1In Amsterdam, pad-
locks have spontaneouslyappeared on the manyfoot bridges that crossthe Dutch city’s canals,and thousands of lockshave damaged the Pontdes Arts in Paris. In theSerbian town of VrnjackaBanja, where the traditionmay have begun a centuryago, an intimate, war-time expression celebrat-ed in poetry has become asource of civic pride.The Vancouver Park
Board is taking thesanctioned route, whichit calls a “custom ap-
proach.” Public consulta-tion will begin later thissummer.The five locations
initially recommended bystaff included:Prospect Point,
Stanley Park: Thislookout over the Lion’sGate Bridge has scenicviews of North and WestVancouver and is a heav-ily visited scenic spot,especially for those trav-elling by car or charteredtour buses.English Bay Beach:
This accessible water-front offers panoramicviews of the busy har-
bour and sunsets. It is apopular place for touristand locals alike, and isaccessible by foot, bicycleor public transit.Queen Elizabeth
Park Lookout Plaza:the lookout plaza offerspanoramic views of theCity of Vancouver, theNorth Shore, Burnaby,and points further east.It is accessible by vehicle,foot, and bicycle or tourbus.Jericho Beach: This
wooden pier is a popular
destination for viewingthe ocean, mountains anddowntown Vancouver,and fishing and crabbing.The pier is aging andunder review for replace-ment due to its conditionand rising sea levels.Kitsilano Beach Park
Plaza: The plaza west ofthe pool offers a sceniclookout over the Bur-rard Inlet and the NorthShore. It is also locatedon pedestrian, cyclingand transit routes.
@MHStewart
Love locks have Serbian origins
News
Apadlockon theBurrardBridge.PHOTOJENNIFERGAUTHIER
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A9
On Now atThe Brick!
For more details go instore oronline @thebrick.com.
Theweek in num6ers...
5Thenumberof locations
beingconsideredby theparkboard forpeople toattach
“love locks” symbolizing theirundyingaffection for their
partners.
2Inmillionsofdollars, the
amount theU.S. soccer teamearned forwinning theFIFA
Women’sWorldCup, 33millionless than thewinnersof themen’s tournament in2014.
2Thecurrent level ofwaterrestrictions inplaceacrossMetroVancouver,whichasksfor voluntary reductions fromresidentson things like lawn
watering.
2.25Indollars, theamountofmoneymulti-nationalcorporationNestlépays toextract onemillion litresofwater fromB.C. per year.
45Thenumberof yearsSoniaManzanohasplayedMariaonSesameStreet. She recently
announcedher retirement fromthe long-runningPBSchildren’s
program.
10Theduration, indays, of thefifth annual IndianSummer
Festival,which runs July 9 to18across the city.
Michael [email protected]
Last week, I looked at new legisla-tion in Ontario that now makes it illegalfor real estate agents to use fictional orphantom bids to encourage someone topay more for a property.I also promised to look at outdated real
estate commissions, alternative approach-es to buying and selling homes, and whatI learned about real estate agents fromthe 2005 book Freakonomics.Just the reference to “outdated real
estate commissions” prompted an emailfrom a Vancouver agent who claimedthat in the Lower Mainland we have thelowest commissions in North America.He added that while the public seeslarge and easy commission cheques,they forget about the brokerage andlicensing fees, commission-splitting andabsence of any cushy benefits.Not knowing the agent, I looked at
his website. This is what he had towrite about his industry:“I tell it like it is, and that is a rare
commodity in the real estate busi-ness. It’s a part of what differentiatesme from the rest in a business wheremost are focused on getting the nextcommission cheque rather than doingonly what’s in the best interest of theirclient.”Hmmm.Given the price of housing, and the
impact of the Internet on how we buyand sell things, I think it’s time to re-consider how real estate agents chargefor their services.The current recommended fee
structure is typically seven per cent onthe first $100,000 and 2.5 per cent to3.5 per cent on the balance. I shouldemphasize that this is a recommendedstructure and agents can charge moreor less.A number of things intrigue me about
this. The first is the $100,000 bench-mark. Surely it dates back to a timewhen the average home sold in the hun-dreds of thousands, not in the millions.However, rather than revise the
benchmark, I would suggest it’s time torethink the entire fee structure. Afterall, why should the first $100,000 or$1,000,000 be at a higher rate?Why isn’t it the other way around?We now have in British Columbia a
comprehensive Property AssessmentSystem. If you go online at evaluebc.
bcassessment.ca you can find the as-sessed value of your property, yourneighbour’s properties and every otherproperty in the province.While assessments do not take into
account the latest sales or whether aproperty had a kitchen or bathroomrenovation, they usually provide a goodbasis for property evaluation.This prompts me to question why
real estate commissions are not per-haps tied to property assessments. Fora sales price up to assessed value, thecommission might be quite low. Ashigher prices are achieved, the commis-sion rate would increase.While this may not bring down the
price of housing, it might more equita-bly reward agents who work harder toachieve higher prices.This brings me to what Steven Levitt
and Stephen J. Dubner, the authors ofFreakonomics, wrote about real estateagents.They looked at real estate commis-
sions and the amount of time propertieswere on the market. They concludedthat while a small increase in a salesprice benefits a seller, it does not sig-nificantly benefit the real estate agent.They examined the sale of nearly
100,000 houses in suburban Chicagoand discovered that more than 3,000 ofthose houses were owned by the agentsthemselves.Using the data from the sales of those
homes, and controlling for any numberof variables, it turned out that real-estate agents kept their homes on themarket an average of 10 days longerand sold their properties for an extrathree-plus per cent.Recently, Toronto realty service the
Red Pin also looked at real estate com-missions and the time properties wereon the market. It argued that while sell-ing commissions have ballooned alongwith Toronto housing prices, the effortrequired to sell a house has not.To make its point, the Red Pin calcu-
lated that for 8,477 home sales last yearthat were on the market for three daysor less, Toronto realtors made an aver-age of $1,000 an hour.This study concluded that we all
know many homes take much longer tosell; however, it doesn’t seem right thatmany agents make on a sale what therest of us earn in a year.Hmmm.
@michaelgeller
Reassessing the valueof realtors
Opinion
Megan StewartSports [email protected]
My friend was recently watching sportshighlights with her daughter when thetoddler looked at her mom and asked,“Where are all the girls?”At three years old, this little sports fan
could see what was missing. She wassmart enough to ask. She’s smart enoughto grasp the discrimination and internal-ize the absence of people on T.V. wholook like her and her mom.This is why — as much as players,
coaches and most of the people involvedwith women’s sport wish it were other-wise — the Women’s World Cup is stillpolitical. The tournament has earnedits clout in spite of the double standardsevery match.U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd scored one
of the most cunning and audacious goalsin the sport’s history by knocking in ashot from the half-way line to notch a hattrick against Japan and win the WorldCup this weekend at B.C. Place. Buteven in praising her, the president of theU.S. Soccer Federation bungled his com-pliment. “Carli’s performance,” he said,“was as good as any performance in aWorld Cup Final by any man or female.”A man is a man, but a woman is
a female. Used like this, the word isdehumanizing, but let’s appreciate theapplause because in Brazil no one ishonouring that country’s superstars.Instead, Marta is still — heartbreakingly— mocked by some, ignored by mostand has to put up with ludicrous excusesfrom her own nation’s representativeswho tsk tsk’ed players they claimedlacked “a spirit of elegance, femininity”but cheer those who wear tighter shortsand do their hair. See, my heart breaks.There was no coverage in Brazil after shescored her record 15th World Cup goal,but there was a front-page spread on afriendly between the seleçao and Hondu-ras. More heartbreak.Despite the record growth of the
tournament — 52 soccer matches playedby 24 teams over 30 days — it still hasthe distinction of happening on artificialturf. The plastic was sometimes so hot,players were dousing their feet in waterand opting for boots that were any colourbut black. More than 40 of them suedFIFA and the host Canadian SoccerAssociation, but neither would budge.This disgrace will be borne indefinitelyby executives Peter Montopoli and Victor
Montagliani, who also have the distinc-tion during this tournament of snubbingthe pioneers who once played for Canadawhen they had no uniforms of their ownbut dressed in borrowed boys jerseys.Veterans Andrea Neil, Tracy David andothers should have been prominent andcelebrated by the hosts. Instead, very fewCanadians know their names and this is aterrible shame. Christine Sinclair, an iconfor millions, had those women as her rolemodels.Add to this the fact that the U.S. team
received $2 million for winning the Cup.Contrast that to the $35 million the Ger-man team received for winning the men’sevent last year.This disparity is changing. In the
meantime, the leaders of the Cana-dian Soccer Association are hinting theNational Women’s Soccer League mayexpand in this country from two teams inQuebec to … more? Join me in crossingyour fingers.This is exactly what is needed to
capitalize on the attention, interest andinvestment that has poured into Canadafor the World Cup.The amount of broadcast coverage
dedicated to women’s sports, in the U.S.at least, has not increased in 25 years andit still hovers around two per cent, a dropfrom five per cent in 1989, according toa long-term study by the University ofSouthern California. A quarter-centuryof stagnation was blown aside to makeway for the FIFA Women’s World Cup,at least temporarily. The question has al-ways been rather chicken and egg: wouldinvestment in professional women’sleagues increase if the media paid moreattention? Or will the media pay attentiononce there are leagues to cover? Audi-ences are saying they will watch.In 1999, when the U.S. hosted and
won the World Cup, 1.1 million peopleattended matches at stadiums much big-ger than ours. This summer, ticket salesjumped to 1.35 million, and more thanhalf of all Canadian girls aged two to17 watched the World Cup, an increasefrom one in three in 2011. Women’sWorld Cup audience records were set forboth national languages in this country aswell as in the U.S., France, Japan, Aus-tralia, China, Korea, Norway and, yes,even in Brazil.And in my friend’s home, a three-year-
old girl watched people like her playingsports on television.
@mhstewart
Women languish in aleague by themselves
A10 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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COUR IER ARCH IVES THIS DAY IN HISTORY
July 8, 1934:More than 10,000 peopleturn out to hear the VancouverSymphonyOrchestra give the firstperformance insideMalkin Bowl, anew live venue in Stanley Park paidfor by businessmanW.H. Malkin.Unfortunately, rain forced the
inaugural concert to endmidwaythrough.The outdoor facility, a smaller
replica of the Hollywood Bowl,was built after lobbying by VSOconductor Allard de Ridder over theneed for a place for summer concertseries.In 2011, extensive renovations
in order towinterize the facilitywere added, including the addition of new heating systems, a new floor, aweatherproofed orchestra pit, a retractable stage door and other improvements.
Stanley Park concert venue opens
WEB vancourier.comFACEBOOK TheVancouverCourierNewspaperTWITTER @vancouriernews
have your say online...
LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR
City’s residentialwateringrestrictions are allwetRe: “Worry over water levels,” July 1Thank you for the article on water
levels/use.I don’t think municipal governments
are particularly concerned about resi-dential water use. After my neighbourhad the sprinkler on her lawn/gardenfor three hours for the third time, Iasked the city about water use. Al-though the 311 person said lawn water-ing was restricted, there is no restrictionon hosing/cleaning concrete decks,sidewalks and cars. My neighbours dothis cleaning on a daily basis.Apparently this kind of water use is
totally permitted, no matter how fre-quent or for how long.
Annelies Reeves, Vancouver
Negative reactions to storywere poor responsesRe: “West Side teens chose East Side
public school,” June 26.In response to the letters of July 3 by
Daniel Twa and albinocastro (whoeveror whatever that is) about the Bhullarfamily sending their children to JohnOliver, I would like to say that theircomments are mean-spirited, judge-mental and irrelevant.The two letters focus more on the
fact that the family has money which isnot the point of the article. Rather thearticle focuses on the positive experi-ences the teens have had in the school.Who cares if the school was ranked
193rd by the Fraser Institute? The Fra-ser Institute is a right-wing think tankand carries no merit in my books.The two writers obviously have some-
thing against people who are wealthyand their letters smack of resentment.
Barbara Bawlf, Vancouver
Thanks for the LOLRe: Letter: “A bridge too far,” June 17.I’d like to say thank you for the
unexpected laugh I had from Mr. WillKlassen’s June 17 letter regardingrecreational yoga on the Burrard Streetbridge.The letter made me laugh out loud.
I’ve never had that experience with theletter page before.
Alison Peyman, Vancouver
ONLINE COMMENTS
Readers split over plebisciteverdictRe: “Premier to blame for plebiscite
failure,” July 3.
Blame? You mean credit! The peoplehave spoken. Democracy prevailed.TrippingPoint , via Comments section
• • •No, blame is a far more appropri-
ate term. The city and the region needinvestment in transit. The transit planthat was presented was a good one thatserved the region’s needs at a reasonablecost. We’ve lost that, because Clark andthe provincial Liberals, for all intentsand purposes, set up the process to failrather than acting like the leaders they’resupposed to be.ACMEsalesrep, via Comments section
• • •Failure?!? Success! NO to letting them
steal and rob more of our money. Man-age it right, then maybe I’ll say you canhave more.
Ryan Baumer, via Facebook• • •
Blamed for its failure? She should beapplauded for it. A disaster that shouldnever have occurred.
Kelly Ewaski, via Facebook
Criticismof CondoKing goesbeyond the paleRe: “Chinatown changes not about
decline,” July 3.Thank you for the wonderful article.
Just one point of clarification: I actuallyfeel my quote was taken out of context:“‘guys like [real estate marketer] BobRennie, the benevolent white guy type.’She doesn’t like the idea of a ‘whiteguy’ swooping in to save a communityby becoming a collector who preservedits cultural artifacts.”This statement was made after the
film discussion in response to [a ques-tion asking] “What resonated with youin the film?”Calling Bob a “benevolent white guy”
is a reference to the way Bob referencedHIMSELF in the film.I want to make this clarification be-
cause it seems insensitive and I wouldnever say that white people can’t/aren’tmaking real contributions to Chinatownin a meaningful and respectful way.My view is that Bob Rennie accused
the Chinese community of not helpingto save Chinatown and the fact thathe’s painting himself as some saviourbecause he has the capital to create a“Chinatown museum” is pretty con-cerning. Rennie’s treatment of theWing Sang building (and the neigh-bouring properties in the film) is co-lonial, imperialist and orientalist. Andthat is what deserves resentment — nothis whiteness.Melissa Fong, via Comments section
• • •Ironically, Vancouver is becoming
more Chinese except in Chinatown.@kirkjong, via Twitter
Aerial viewofMalkinBowl in 1953.PHOTOCITYOFVANCOUVERARCHIVESCVA392-34.1
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A11
Opinion
Trish [email protected]
It’s hot — stupidly hotin the city as I write this.The heat is affecting mymood, and it’s makingme anxious about mydinner plan. Whetheryou’re ready to attributethis record breaking dryspell to climate change,or still want to chalk itup to weather anomalies,the truth is it’s having animpact on our local foodsystems. Most local cropsare early, and high tem-peratures are threaten-ing some harvests. Fromsalad greens and berriesin the city to local salmonstocks in nearby waters,what’s on your plate thistime of year has changed.Vancouver urban
farmer Ilana Labow saysher fields are six weeksahead of schedule inthe harvest. Labow’sFresh Roots Urban FarmSociety partners withthe Vancouver SchoolBoard to provide educa-tional farms at schools.The food grown is soldinto the school commu-nity via school cafeterias,food access programsand markets. When Imet Labow in 2009, shewas a recent transplantfrom Chicago. I askedher what it was like to begrowing here in Van-couver. She smiled andglanced up at the heavycloud cover and said,“It’s good. I’m learn-ing how to grow withoutsunlight, that’s all.” Fivegrowing seasons ago, thatwas an astute joke. Thisyear, Fresh Roots is hav-ing to adapt their season,starting programs aheadof schedule and hiringhelp earlier.As anyone who dared
to blink in June knows,the strawberry season
came early and is done.Blueberries are now attheir peak, and RandyHooper of DiscoveryOrganics, a local pro-duce house that dealswith many B.C. farms,says blueberry crops areripening quickly, withseveral varietals all readyat the same time. Thiswill mean lower prices,which is good for usshoppers, but bad forthe bottom line of localfarmers. It also meansthe season will be shorterthan normal, as each va-rietal is intended to ripenconsecutively to extendavailability. Get themand freeze them whileyou can.If you’re looking to
pick wild, Cease Wyss, alocal indigenous ethno-botanist and food securi-ty activist has noted someberries actually dryingright on the bush. She’shopeful by the time thesalal berries arrive, we’llhave had rain.At sea, the salmon
return could be affected.Sonia Strobel is man-aging director of Skip-per Otto’s CommunitySupported Fishery. Sheworks with 15 fishermanacross B.C. In a recentupdate to CSF members,Sonia cautioned that hotdry weather means someriver systems have watertemperatures too highand water levels too lowfor salmon to make itback to spawn.In Barkley Sound,
48,000 sockeye salmonalready travelling upriverare expected to die beforespawning. Meanwhile,the rest of the Barkleysalmon are circling inthe Sound, waiting for agood rain to raise riverlevels and cool the water.“If we don’t get somegood rainfall and if we
have low spawning num-bers, then we can expecta lower return of sockeyesalmon in 2019,” Strobelexplains, “and we canexpect it to take two orthree four-year cycles forthe numbers to recover totheir normal levels.”Last week, Metro
Vancouver raised wa-ter restrictions to level2, a level that asks forvoluntary reductions onthings like lawn watering.An increase to level 3would see restrictions onbackyard garden water-ing, and if we hit level 4,even commercial farmswould be cut off. Maybethis can be a wake-upcall. We need our pro-vincial government tobetter protect our watersupply so that drier yearsin the future won’t becompounded by madden-ing corporate deals, likethe one Nestle currentlyutilizes to extract onemillion litres of waterfrom B.C. annually forthe fee of $2.25.While reducing our
water consumption is animmediate concern, wealso need to think aboutprotecting our localfood system. Right now,for those so inclined, itwould be appreciated ifyou would pray for rain.More practically, we
can go to the marketor grocery store to buywhatever local crops wesee, and freeze or storewhat we can. Let’s makesure local producers havea market for any bumpercrops the heat causes.Then, invite the neigh-bours over for a localfood themed dinner, pullout your smartphones,and send Premier ChristyClark a tweet or two de-manding a food securitystrategy for B.C.
@trishkellyc
Local foods sufferingfromhotweather
Recordwarmweathermeans blueberry crops are ripening quickly, with several varietals all ready atthe same time. This will mean lower prices, which is good for shoppers but bad for the bottom line oflocal farmers. PHOTO JENNIFERGAUTHIER
A12 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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MIDNIGHTJULY 10HURRY!
FINAL DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY!ABSOLUTE
Development PermitBoard Meeting: July 13The Development Permit Board and AdvisoryPanel will meet:
Monday, July 13, 2015 at 3 pmVancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th AvenueGround Floor, Town Hall Meeting Room
to consider the following development permit application:
401 Southwest Marine Drive: To develop this site with 21- and 27-storey towersand a seven-storey rental building over two levels of underground parking.
Please contact City Hall Security (1st floor) if your vehicle may be parked atCity Hall for more than two hours.
TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM: 604-873-7770 or [email protected]
Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1
Proposed changes to the SingleRoom Accommodation By-lawOn July 22, 2015, a Standing Committee of Vancouver City Council will consideramendments to the Single Room Accommodation By-law (No. 8733), which,if approved, will be enacted by Council. At the Standing Committee meeting,anyone interested may make their views respecting the proposed amendmentsknown to Council. You can sign up as a speaker by emailing the City [email protected]. The amendments would clarify the definitionof “conversion” or “convert” so that any repairs that involve the relocationof a permanent resident during the repairs would not be considered a minorrenovation and would require a conversion permit. The by-law amendmentswould also increase the amount Council may require as a condition of approvingan SRA permit for the removal of the room from the SRA By-law from $15,000to $125,000, as well as provide other recommendations to improve buildingconditions, provide supports to tenants and maintain affordability.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: 604-871-6046 orvancouver.ca/people-programs/protecting-single-room-accommodations
1. Anyone who’s ever wanted to see a bikerchick Chewbacca bumping and grindingwhile piloting the Millennium Falcon orHan Solo sans pants, you’re in luck. Popculture-obsessed burlesque troupe theGeekenders remount its popular, non-George-Lucas-approved Star Wars parodyANude Hope, July 8 to 19 at GranvilleIsland’s Waterfront Theatre. Tickets atnudehope.brownpapertickets.ca. Details atgeekenders.ca.
2.TheArts Club has dreamed a dreamand is bringing back LesMiserables. Thelarge-scale musical, which will have yousinging “Do You Hear the People Sing?” fordays, is at the Stanley Theatre until Aug. 16.Tickets and details at artsclub.com.
3. As part of its apprentice showcase,Stone’s Throw Productions and ClockworkTheatre bringThe Stonewater Rap-ture to the stage. Pulitzer Prize winnerDougWright’s play about sexual awakeningwithin a strict, religious society, starsKaylaHeselwood and Kenton Klassen and runsJuly 8 to 11 at Pacific Theatre. Details atclockworktheatre.org and pacifictheatre.org.
4. Gurpreet Chana and his tabla help kickoff the fifth annual Indian Summer Festi-val, a 10-day gathering of movers, shakers,culture and ideas, including provocativetalks by literary stars and social entrepre-neurs, genre-bending concerts, a look atwhen ’30s era Bombay met American jazzand a special series of free public art proj-ects. The opening gala takes place July 9,7 p.m. at the Roundhouse and features livemusic courtesy of Chana, electronic artistAdham Shaikh, sitar virtuoso Uwe Neu-mann and the Surya Brass Band, as wellVikram Vij challenging some of Vancouver’stop chefs to create Indian-inspired streetfood. For the full lineup of events and topurchase tickets, visit indiansummerfest.ca.
Arts&Entertainment GOTARTS? 604.738.1411 or [email protected]
July 8 to 10, 2015
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A13
Arts&Entertainment
THEATREREVIEW
King Lear is one ofShakespeare’s biggest plays:big tragedy, big emotionsand big weather. It beginswith the old King (BenedictCampbell) magnanimouslylaying some property onhis two daughters Regan(Jennifer Lines) andGoneril(ColleenWheeler) after theyassure him that they love himin a very big way. Cordelia(Andrea Rankin), his young-est andmost beloved by him,refuses to play the game andtells her father, who is gettingon in years, that she loveshim as a daughter shouldlove her father. Nomore, noless. Lear is angered bigtimeand banishes Cordelia sansdowry. TheKing of France(Craig Erickson) steps inand, dowry or no dowry, heloves Cordelia and whisksher off to France.Mocked and rejected by
Regan and Goneril (oncethey’ve got his lands), Lear
goes mad with anger andgrief. And he does this forthe entire rest of the play.It’s all just so big.Directed by Theatre
Calgary’s artistic directorDennis Garnhum, Bene-dict Campbell (son of thelate Douglas Campbell, aCanadian theatre icon) hitsan emotional peak early andhis performance escalatesfrom there. His performanceis very Shakespearean in atime-honoured, traditionalway: declamatory and bom-bastic with a lot of gesticulat-ing— even foot stomping.He stops short of pulling hishair. Contemporary dramaticstyle, however, tends towardnuance andmore subtlety.Take Scott Bellis, argu-
ably giving the best perfor-mance on that stage. Bellisplays Lear’s Fool dressedin a sort of chicken outfitcomplete with a coxcomb.But as with all the Fool’s inShakespeare this one is nofool and his affection for hisdoddering but ceaselesslyranting old king is profound-ly affecting. He puts himselfphysically between Learand any suggested threat;
he chides him— but fondlyand gently. Bellis, as always,brings complexity to thisrole in every gesture, everyphrase and every quip.Runners up for stealing
this show are JohnMurphy,as the Earl of Kent, andNathan Schmidt, as theEarl of Gloucester’s legiti-mate son Edgar. Murphyis equally strong in comicand dramatic roles; his Kent— both disguised as a Scotwith a thick brogue andundisguised — is a compas-sionate rendering of anotherloyal supporter banished byLear for insubordination.Schmidt, as Edgar, starts
slowly, but by the timeEdgar pretends to be a dirty,half-nakedmadman (PoorTom), his performancesteps up. And finally, whenEdgar reveals himself to hisrecently, brutally blinded fa-ther (played byDavidMarr),themoment surpasses theimpact of the reconciliationbetween Lear andCordelia.Veteran Bard on the
Beach performers Lines andWheeler, dressed in sumptu-ous gowns by Deitra Kalyn,are a well-matched pair of
nasties. Lines is passivelyaggressive while Wheelerstrides across the stage like asergeant major.A very fine King Lear
was mounted years agoat Studio 58, featuringAntony Holland who at thetime was close to 80. Thepenny finally dropped forme: Lear is a doddering oldfart who’s losing his grip onreality. I did truly feel forHolland’s Lear.Campbell’s Lear, on
the other hand, seems lessworld-weary, less existen-tially destroyed than ener-getically and petulantly furi-ous — and finally rambling.In a recent CBC radio
interview, Campbell said hewas attempting to get his fa-ther’s performance of KingLear out of his head. But theelder Campbell was noted,too, for his big, larger-than-life performances, and itwould seem the apple hasnot fallen far from the tree.For more reviews, go to
joledingham.ca.King Lear is at Bard on
the Beach until Sept. 20. Fortickets, call 604-739-0559 orgo to bardonthebeach.org.
Bard goes bigwith Lear
A14 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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Arts&EntertainmentKUDOS&KVETCHESHowdoyou solve aproblem likeMariaretiring?Before Janet andChrissy
onThree’s Company, beforeBlair on Facts of Life, beforePrincess Leia, before DaisyDuke, before Julie fromLove Boat and before CBC’sgossamer of lovelinessGloriaMacarenko, there wasSesame Street’s feisty fix-it-womanMaria. Likemanypeople who grew up in the’70s and ’80s,Maria was ourfirst love.Was it the way sheconjugated verbs? Or howshe handled perennial grumpOscar? Or her sage advice toBig Bird and Elmo? Or herseemingly sexless and thusnon-threatening onscreenmarriage to fellow Fix-ItShop proprietor Luis?What-ever the case,Maria becamethe benchmark to which weheld all future crushes.So it was with both shock
and sadness that we learnedthat SoniaManzano, the65-year-old Puerto Ricanactress who has playedMariafor the past, gulp, 45 years,is she’s retiring from thelong-running PBS children’sprogram. Shock because wealways assumedMaria was
her real name, and sadnessbecause the intricately con-structed world of our child-hoodmemories has cometoppling down like SesameStreet’s beleaguered chef whocould never hold onto cakeswhen walking down stairs.Granted, we haven’t
watched Sesame Street inmore than 30 years, butwe always thought Maria’spresence on the show wouldbe eternal, like a flickeringflame, refusing to be blownout by the winds of time.But that is not the case. Sheis moving on. And for thatwe are sad. S-A-D sad.
Haze against themachineEvery summer, K&K
eagerly awaits forest fireseason and the subsequentonslaught of media cover-age that it — wait for it— ignites. Adding to our
anticipation has been thesepia-toned skies and Endof Days vibe cloaking thecity in hickory smoked eeri-ness these past few days.Unfortunately, our thirst
for smoke-related puns andprint-induced terror has notbeen quenched by the mea-sured approach of Vancou-ver’s normally alarmist dailynewspapers.To the best of our knowl-
edge, no one has taken thegift nature has given themand ran with the awesomeheadline “Hazy shade ofsummer,” which is justembarrassing. Same goes for“Hazy from the heat,” “Hell‘n haze,” “When smokegets in your eyes” and “IsVancouver at risk of becom-ing human kindling for thedeath infernos that rage allaround us?” Such a wastedopportunity.
@KudosKvetches
Maria fromSesameStreet is retiring, R-E-T-I-R-I-N-G, retiring.
Estate planning. For a lotof people it rates right upthere with a root canal or atax audit.
If you’vemade an estate plan andare wondering if you’ve done it right,this column is for you.My estate planisn’t perfect, but I’ll use it as an exampleto help get us started. I’ve got a willthat appoints an executor to administermy estate after I’m gone, an enduringpower of attorney formy legal andfinancial affairs, a representationagreement for health care and personaldecisions and an advance care directivethat will speak forme if I am alivebut unable to speak formyself. Four
documents. That’s it.Well, almost. Ialso use a record keeper booklet to helpkeep track ofmy personal and financialdocuments. They’re usually availablefrom your financial institution, at nocharge.My concern is that a number ofestate plansmany seniors have in placewill probably not do what they expectthem to. That’s especially true if they’vehad their estate plan drawn upmorethan, say, a decade ago.
Typically, those plans might containa will, a power of attorney and astatement of wishes or a living will.That might have been adequate a fewyears ago but not today. Experts tellus that if you want your wishes to belegally binding you need to have aproperly appointed alternate decisionmaker in place. In B.C. this can be
done by having a representationagreement. I’ve heard from a numberof seniors who think a representativeagreement and an advance directiveare useless and as evidence they citethe example ofMargot Bentley.
Bentley is a senior with Alzheimer’sdisease and was involved last year in acourt case with Fraser Health aroundher ongoing care and the validity of
her living will. I’ve writtenextensively about that caseand I won’t repeat myselfhere. Suffice it to say thejudge found that Bentley’sliving will was not a valid
representation agreement oradvance directive. The judge also
found, to the surprise of many, thatBentley was capable of providingconsent and therefore her living willdid not apply.
There’s another reason, quite apartfrom meeting any legal requirement,to have an advance directive inplace. It’s a mistake to assumeyour family understands or sharesyour wishes. The more clearly youindicate your wishes, the easier itwill be for your family and yourhealthcare providers to follow yourwishes in the spirit you intended. Ineed to take my own advice here.I’m good with the estate planningdocuments; I’m not so good with thediscussion. I’m not sure my familyis aware of my wishes regarding myfuneral or organ donation or thatthey know the quality of life thatI wish for if I am no longer ableto speak for myself. I need to fixthat. The lesson here is that thereare really two parts to getting yourestate plan right. You need to havethe right documents in place andmake your wishes known to familymembers and caregivers. Most ofus are better at doing one than theother. I’m a perfect example of that.Finally, I’m not qualified as an estateplanner. I sought professional advicewhen I prepared my estate plan. I’drecommend others do the same.
Tom Carney is the former executivedirector of the Lionsview Seniors’Planning Society. Ideas for futurecolumns are welcome.
Don’t assume family membersare aware of your wishes.
Estate planning: Just do itYou need to have the
right documents in placeand make your wishesknown to family and
caregivers
A16 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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COQUITLAMVancouverites who want to show off theirwheels will have that opportunity July 18at the Ultimate Car Show taking placeat the Hard Rock Casino Vancouver,where more than 350 classic, muscle andspecialty vehicles will be on display.
The car show is open to anyone whowants to display their collector, specialty,exotic or muscle cars. Some of the bestcars in Western Canada will be there,including a one-of-a-kind 1970 Chevelle,which achieves speeds of zero to 60-mphin 4.5 seconds, and one of the world’smost highly modified muscle cars — a1967 Mustang Fastback with roughly700 individual modifications. Bothvehicles belong to Rick Francoeu, ownerof Abbotsford-based 360 FabricationInc., one of Canada’s top custom carcompanies and partner of the event,which runs from 2 to 6 p.m. Prizes willbe awarded in eight categories.
Car culture fans will also want to take inthe concert following the show featuringCount’s 77, with lead singerDanny “Count”Koker from theTV seriesCounting Cars.Separate tickets for ameet-and-greetwith Koker are also available to purchase.Formore information and tickets, visithardrockcasinovancouver.com. To registera vehicle, call 604-859-3608. Proceeds fromthe registration fee will benefit SHAREFamily andCommunity Services Society.
UBCWho will win the Golden Whisk Award?That question will be answered July9, when one chef will stand victoriousafter competing in Chef Challenge 2015from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Main Mall andMemorial Road.
Competing for the coveted GoldenWhisk Award in front of the audiencejudges will be chefs from AMSConferences and Catering, UBC FoodServices and Mahony and Sons PublicHouse. This year’s theme is global meetslocal and the chefs will be preparingthree globally-inspired canapés fromlocal ingredients. UBC Farm staff willalso be on hand to answer questionsabout what’s local and in season. Freshproduce from the farm will also be onsale. Click on the “Vancouver” link atplanning.ubc.ca for ticket information.
KITSILANOThe Kitsilano Community Centre isinviting bridge lovers to join their co-edgroup.
If you like to play duplicate bridge dropby the Kits Community Centre Fridayswhere the game starts at 7 p.m. sharp —so be there with your partner by 6:45.The group plays a brisk six minutes ahand until 10 p.m. The drop in fee is $2.The community centre is located at 2690Larch St.
DOWNTOWNLearn how to find and subscribe topodcasts on your computer or mobile
device. Interact with podcast creatorsand take the first step towards creatinga podcast of your own by learning moreabout this growing medium.
Podcasting 100:What’s a Podcast? takesplace at the Central Library July 20 from 11a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Inspiration Lab onlevel three. The event is free, but registrationis required by calling 604-331-3603.
OAKRIDGEHigh Spirits Choir has openings forall voices. If singing is your passion,
this may be the choir for you. HighSpirits is for experienced singerswho like a challenging and eclecticrepertoire — and enjoy polyrhythms.(According to Wikipedia, “polyrhythmis the simultaneous use of two or moreconflicting rhythms that are not readilyperceived as deriving from one another,or as simple manifestations of the samemeter.”) The choir meets Wednesdayfrom 7 to 9:30 p.m. at their new locationat West 49th Avenue and Oak Street.Visit highspiritschoir.ca for moreinformation and contact membershipcoordinator Fran Johnson.
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Q: I was wonderingwhat tea bags, coffeegrounds and eggshells dofor plants and could youapply them to any typeof plant or only specificplants?
Norma Burnett, Chilliwack
A: All three are generallygood for the garden. Thebeneficial elements in themare slow-release and presentin relatively small quantities.So you don’t have to keepany of them away from anyspecific plants. Allowingthem to break down in thecompost is one good wayof using them. Another isblending them into the soilaround various plants, butnot concentrating any onekind in one particular spot.The tea in tea bags con-
tains nitrogen. So do coffeegrounds. The coffee groundsalso have trace amounts ofphosphorous and potassium.Eggshells provide calciumto the plants they are placed
near. Calcium is especiallyvaluable for tomatoes. Theonly snag with eggshells isthat most people just crushthem (potatomashers workwell). But in the groundcrushed eggshells take agesto break down. Ground-upeggshells release calciummuch faster. An old blendermight do this job.
Q: I am planningto make a small bedapproximately 6’ x 5’(2 x 1.75m) and planttwo lilies and a bananaplant there. All are fairlysmall. Could I layer thetop layer of soil withwood chips or somethingto give it life? Also whattype of flowers would go
well with lilies and thebanana plant?
Allan L., Burnaby
A: To give your soil somelife, Sea Soil or compostspread over the bed wouldhelp the fertility immensely.If you don’t have your owncompost, garden centres sellbags of commercial com-
post. A bag of one or theother would be sufficient.On top of whatever nour-
ishment you choose, barkmulch suppresses weeds verywell.When seeds finally blowin on the wind and weeds dostart, they’re very easy to pullout of barkmulch.My top choice for plant-
ing under your banana treewould be sempervivums.Their leaves are rosettes invarious patterns and shades:reddish, blue-grey, greenwith red tips etc.These plants form a car-
pet so dense weeds seldomgerminate. In summersome of the older rosettesproduce thick stems withflowers. After flowering theold rosettes die, but newrosettes quickly fill in. Sem-pervivums are extremelydrought-resistant.Cranesbills are another
possibility. My top choicewould be the deep purple-blue flowered Rosanne.This stays blooming for avery long period. It’s dwarfand spreads into a wide, lowmound.
A pretty, mat-formingannual, which is also a greatbee plant, is sweet alyssum.This is available in mauveor white forms. They’recovered with flowers allsummer and are very sweet-smelling. They die in win-ter, but re-seed abundantlyin spring. If you prefer tallerplants you might like peren-nial Oriental poppies, whichproduce huge, spectacularflowers in red, orange, whiteor pink in late May. Theseseed themselves if you leavethe seed capsules on theplants. If you prefer springflowers, the perennial helle-bore orientalis give pleasurefor many months. Buds popup in late January, followedby cup-shaped, long-lastingflowers then interestingspiky seed heads. The helle-bore leaves are evergreen allyear until late winter whenthey should be cut back tomake way for next year’sgrowth and flowers.Anne Marrison is happy to
answer garden questions. Sendthem to her via [email protected].
AskAnne: Teabags, eggshells andbananaplantsGround-up eggshells release calcium much faster than the crushed version
Sempervivums form a carpet so denseweeds seldomgerminate.
A18 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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PRESENTS
Race starts at corner ofHastings & Carleton
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Michel Ibrahim has until July 22 to raise enough money topay the custom fees on a shipment of donated soccer equip-ment destined for Syrian children living in refugee camps inLebanan. He’s offering several perks to donors including a freehaircut at his West Vancouver Barber Shop, registration in anAugust 9 soccer workshop and an extensive soccer camp foran entire team of young players. To contribute, go to
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Megan [email protected]
One of the biggest ten-nis tournaments on thecontinent is going backto the beginning. TheLeith Wheeler StanleyPark Open is droppingthe professional side ofcompetition introducedlast year to concentrate onthe amateur singles anddoubles matches that havedrawn thousands since1931.“We’re really taking it
back to its roots as thetype of tournament peopleremember, and I remem-ber from growing up,”said tournament directorKhristina Blajkevitch, apast winner and profes-sional player who wasranked 797th in the worldon the WTA singles tour.“The focus this year is
what can we offer to theplayer right here in ourbackyard.”The tournament started
Friday and marked thereturn of various seniors’categories as well as thecontinuation of the sig-nature National TennisRating Program (NTRP)competition which allows
amateurs to rank them-selves and compete againstothers in categories from2.0 to 4.5. The open com-petition draws the mostcompetitive singles anddoubles players of all ages.The last day of competi-
tion is July 19.The ITF junior compe-
tition remains an integralcomponent of the StanleyPark Open.Hosted by Tennis B.C.
and promoted as NorthAmerica’s largest public-court competitions, theStanley Park Open alsoincreased its prize moneythis year. The $15,000purse will be divided withthe max prize of $2,000going to the top singlesmale player. The women’stop prize is $1,500, a loweramount because of thesmaller draw and fewerpeople paying an entry fee.
“I would love to makethem the same howeverthe draw sizes, you can’tcompare them,” said Bla-jkevitch. The men’s drawis at least double the sizeof the women’s, she said.To highlight some of the
best players in the tourna-ment, the Stanley ParkOpen has introduced the
Millstreet Brewery HappyHour Match of the Day,which begins daily at 6p.m.Blajkevitch, who trained
with the national team andcompeted in the NCAA,emphasized tennis is asport for anyone and theStanley Park Open a tour-nament for everyone.She expressed admira-
tion for competitors likeCora Willis, the defend-ing women’s 4.5 singleschampion, who takesevery opportunity to learnfrom coaches and improveher game.“I was a pro player up
until last year, I know whatit takes,” said Blajkevitch,also the director of playerdevelopment at TennisB.C. “For someone whostarts later on in life, theydon’t need to put them-selves through that but theychoose it. It inspires me togo hard at whatever I’mdoing today.”Willis started playing
tennis casually with herhusband but has sincecompeted for Canada atthe World Senior TeamChampionships ninetimes. Most recently,competing in France, she
and her partner MichelleKaris, from Halifax, wonthe bronze medal in thewomen’s 55 doubles.“Certainly for me, at
my age, I’m not going toWimbledon, but I do lovethe challenge of the physi-cal, the mental and theemotional,” said Willis,57, who approaches theStanley Park Open as atraining event to sharpenher skills for the nationalseniors championship,held later in the summer.At the seniors provin-
cials last month at theJericho Tennis Club,Blajkevitch stopped Wil-lis after a match to giveher some pointers. Theretired teacher who livesin Shaughnessey took noteof what the retired pro hadto say.“That what I appreciate
about a player like Cora,”said Blajkevitch. “They’realways looking to improve,no matter what. We had hada previous conversation andshe wanted to play more ag-gressive, and that’s my gamestyle. I had noticed some-thing about her movingforward, about her needingstep to into the ball.”Willis worked to put the
advice into play because,she said, good coaching isthe thing that sets the bestplayers apart from the rest.“For me, coming late
to the game, the reasonthat I’ve had some successis because I’ve had greatcoaches,” said Willis,who is a member at theArbutus Lawn and TennisClub. “There is absolutelyno doubt in my mind thatit’s all about the coaching.You’ve got to work hardand you have to put in the
time and effort, but thecoaching makes a tremen-dous difference.”Willis, who won the
women’s national seniorchampionship in 2012 in the50-54 age group and wonthe doubles title the nextyear with partner BrendaCameron, wants one thing atthe Stanley Park Open: “Towin it,” she said.Catch the tennis in
Stanley Park every dayuntil July 19.
@MHStewar
Tournament returns to amateur rootsLeith Wheeler Stanley Park Open runs to July 19
Sports&RecreationGOTGAME? Contact sports editor Megan Stewart at [email protected] or 604-630-3549
The Leith WheelerStanley Park Open con-tinues through July 19.The U18 ITF matches
run daily from 8 a.m. to5 p.m. while the juniordevelopment seriesmatches begin each dayat 8 a.m. and continueuntil dusk. The NationalJunior Open runs dailyfrom 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.The National Tennis
Rating Program (NTPR,which is for amateur play-ers ranked 2.0 to 4.5) runson weekends from 8 a.m.to dusk and on weekdays
from 5 p.m. to dusk.Some exceptions apply.The Mill Street BreweryHappy Hour Match ofthe Day features the bestplayers and begins dailyat 6 p.m. on the publiccourts at Stanley Park.Seniorsmatches run
onweekends from8a.m.todusk andonweekdaysfrom5p.m. until dusk,withsomeweekdaymatchesscheduled for theday.The Rogers Rookie Tour
is a one-day event on July17, running from 8 a.m.until dusk.
Schedule: Stanley Park Open
CoraWillis played her first competitive tennismatch in her 40s and now intends to defend her title as a Stanley Park Open champion. The amateur tennis tournament continues until July 19.PHOTO JENNIFERGAUTHIER
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A19
Sports&Recreation
Megan [email protected]
The U.S. idolizes itssports icons, and thecountry minted a newone Sunday afternoon inVancouver.As the smoke from doz-
ens of wild fires dimmedthe air inside B.C. Place,U.S. captain Carli Lloydlit a spark of her ownand scored the fastesthat trick in World Cuphistory.The U.S. led 4-0 by the
16th minute.“Pinch me,” U.S. head
coach Jill Ellis said afterthe match.“It’s the most ridicu-
lous game I’ve ever beena part of,” said MeghanKlingenberg, a U.S.defender.“I feel like I blacked
out in the first 30 minutesof the game,” said Lloyd,who added she “was on amission today.”The New Jersey mid-
fielder scored the winninggoal in both the 2008 and2012 Olympic Games, inthe latter defeating Japanin penalties. The clutchscorer, who asked herfamily and fiancé to stay
away during the tourna-ment, has learned to gofor broke in big matchesand visualize success. Infact, she didn’t see herselfscoring three goals to winthe World Cup — butmore.“I was home, it was just
my headphones, myselfand I at the field,” shesaid in a post-game pressconference. “I’m running
and I’m doing sprints,it’s hard, I’m burning. Ivisualized playing in theWorld Cup Final andvisualized scoring fourgoals. Sounds prettyfunny, but that’s what it’sall about.”In front of 53,341
spectators on July 5, U.S.talent crashed into Japanin the second minute ofthe final and didn’t relent
until they had clinchedtheir third World Cupwith a 5-2 victory.On the first corner
kick, Megan Rapinoe’scross from the right wasflat and fast, beautifullyplaced to meet Lloyd whostreaked in, uncovered,from outside the 18-yardbox. She toed the ballinto the back of the netwith a one-touch shotto give the U.S. a lead itwouldn’t relinquish.It was one of the best
goals of the tourna-ment, if only because theset play was flawlesslyexecuted, catching theJapanese off guard andsetting the course for themost important game infour years.“It seems Lloyd, she
always does this to us,”said Japan’s head coachNorio Sasaki, with a gra-cious smile. “In Londonshe scored two goals andtoday she scored three.We are a bit embarrassed,but she is an excellentplayer so I really respecther and admire her.”The two teams have
traded World Cup andOlympic titles sinceJapan edged the U.S. ina shoot-out at the 2011World Cup in Germany.The U.S. answered threeyears later when theyclaimed Olympic goldat the London Games,where they famously pliedthe referee and brokeCanadian hearts.In this latest meeting,
the No. 2 team edgedNo. 4 to finish first in theworld.In the fifth minute of
the final, Lloyd scoredher fifth goal in sevengames, crashing the netto burry an unclaimedball. Then, in the 14thminute, Lauren Holidaycapitalized on a poorlyheaded clearance. Theball spinning high above
the pitch, Holiday ex-pertly volleyed her shotinto the mesh before theball touched turf.Then a fourth goal,
another from the foot ofLloyd whose horoscopethat day said, “Just dowhat comes naturally.”In four shots, the U.S.
scored four goals.From the half-way line,
Lloyd struck a seeing-eyeshot that caught Japan’skeeper Ayumi Kaihori outof position and blindedby the sun shiningthrough the open roof. Itwas an audacious strike,one that cemented Lloydthe Golden Ball Awardas the tournament’s bestplayer.Japan answered with
one of their own in the27th minute, and in thesecond half, Homare Sawawas inches away fromputting her head on a freekick, but it didn’t matterbecause defender JulieJohnston put it in for her,scoring the own goal tobring Japan within two.One minute later,
the U.S. answered withits fifth goal. From thetouch line, Morgan Brianpassed the ball back intothe box to Tobin Heathwho scored her firstWorld Cup goal.The U.S. became the
first women’s team withthree World Cup wins.
@MHStewart
Lloydhat trick sparksUSvictoryLloyd: ‘I blacked out for the first 30 minutes’USA 05JAPAN 02
U.S.midfielder Carli Lloyd (No. 10) cuts between Japan’s Homare Sawa (No. 10) and Saki Kumagai(No. 4) in the second half of the FIFAWomen’sWorld Cup Final at B.C. Place July 5.PHOTO JENNIFERGAUTHIER
A20 THE VANCOUVER COURIER WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
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