Pathways to be Locked all day Tomorrow

The povertarians are taking off early. The doors of Pathways Employment Center at Hastings & Main will be locked all day tomorrow.

Brian Adams' Music Studio just before a White Christmas

A meteorologist on the radio said that Vancouver has a white Christmas about once every ten years. This is one of those unusual years.

This photo of Brian Adams' studio in Vancouver was sent to me just after it was taken this afternoon at around 2:30 p.m.

In previous years, I've seen Christmas lights in the windows when I walked by Adams' studio, but the photographer said there don't appear to be any this year.

Orca Sculpture Snowed Under

The Spirit of Vancouver Orca sculpture in downtown Vancouver, Saturday evening, Dec. 20/08

Central Library Evacuated due to Fire Alarm on Roof

At around 8 p.m. this evening, a loud bell started ringing - bing bong, bing bong -- at the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library. A woman came on the loud speaker to say that the fire alarm on the roof had gone off and she would keep us posted.

Later she came on the loud speaker again and in a more excited voice told us to evacuate. She said something about "the roof" but I didn't hear exactly what, because of the noise the alarm was making.

I asked one of the staff persons putting on an orange neon vest where the fire was and she said, "I don't known, one of the upper floors".

Patrons came down the elevators and streamed into the lobby. As seen in the above photo, two firemen entered the library.

Suddenly there were staff everywhere wearing orange neon vests. It was obvious that staff have emergency response training.

One staff person, a middle aged woman without an orange vest, zipped into the washrooms to make sure there was no one in them. She kept leaning on people lingering over the first floor computers to get a move on.

I wasn't paying close attention but it seemed to me that the entire library was evacuated in under five minutes. At the risk of sounding like I have Stolkholm Syndrome after being a taxpayer held hostage by library staff this summer, I will say I was impressed by the performance of library staff.

Some staff and patrons went outside and stood on the snowy steps. From the steps, billows of what looked like steam or smoke poured off the roof. People were saying it was probably just steam. One guy looked around and said that none of the other buildings had it.

At about 8:40 p.m. staff were allowed back inside the library. A few patrons were lined up in the lobby in front of the locked doors at about 8:45 p.m. when I left.

Drug Addict Slapped Around by Drug Dealer

This afternoon at about 4 p.m., I was walking by First United Church at Hastings at Gore St. A man I presumed was a drug dealer grabbed a known addict and marched her to alley behind the church.

She was yelling that it was just three dollars that she owed him, and he didn't seem to dispute that. She was yelling at people in the vicinity, "Could somebody give me three dollars!" He was holding her tightly by the arm in the alley, yelling at her, shaking her. Finally he swatted her and threw her to the ground. In the above photo, you can see her on the ground in the alley behind First United Church, as a car passes on Gore.

This woman is one of the few Asian addict-panhandlers I see on the streets. She walks through McDonalds restaurant at Terminal and Main regularly to panhandle customers. She has a sense of entitlement that leaves my jaw dropping. Once she approached a couple sitting at a table in McDonalds and asked for money. They refused and she insisted that they should give her something, "I didn't walk all the way up here for nothing!"

But I've never seen her be violent.

Let Them Eat Turkey: The Sequel

Last year, I wrote,"Let Them Eat Turkey", about the annual Christmas dinner hosted by the film industry at Oppenheimer Park on the Downtown Eastside. This year's Christmas dinner took place today.

The annual dinner is Hollywood North's way to "give back to the community" which is a magnet for filming due to the 'gritty' nature of the area. Unlike residents of more affluent areas such as Kerrisdale, Downtown Eastsiders are not paid for filming disruptions. They are reminded that there will be turkey at the park at Christmas.

"And so this is Christmas and what have you done?" The film industry delivered another Christmas dinner today, as tasty as last year's: peas, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, dressing with mushrooms, and cranberries. The workers continued to be cheerful. The line-ups for turkey continued to be long.

The film industry has continued it's less than stellar performance on health and safety regulations when it comes to Downtown Eastside residents. One woman in the line-up told me that Muriel Honey at the City Film office is still giving permits to the film industry to park film trucks and dressing rooms with generators outside her only window, even though they promised to stop after she got ill from fumes. (She promised to send me photos of the trucks and dressing rooms that she took when they were parked there on Remembrance Day.)

Photo above: This woman was in a festive mood, wearing Christmas bows on her hood.

One man who had waited in line in the cold for half an hour -- not everybody had to wait that long -- called out to to the staff working over the steam trays, "You guys have the warmest spot."

It was cold outside today. Note the bunny ear muffs on the female server on the right of the photo, standing by the window of the catering truck.

There were a total of three catering trucks from which the turkey dinner was served. One can be seen in the center of this photo on Dunlevy St. with a line up of people headed toward it. (Oppenheimer Park is to the right of the line up.) Another catering truck, an orange one, can be seen in the top left of this photo. The line up for that truck was along Powell St.


A worker gives out plates of desserts. In the background of this photo is Oppenheimer Park.

There was a variety of cookies and cakes for dessert. I got a chocolate cookie with real chocolate chips, an almond cookie, and a date square. They seemed to have been made from scratch. Later a young woman came around and gave out muffins, the large ones that they often sell near the cash register in corner stores.

Along with cookies, there was also hot chocolate.

The pink building on the right of the photo above is a permanent park building. The tents seen in the photo were set up by the film industry for this event. There was one tent where women could pick up donated clothing, another where men could pick up donated clothing, and another which acted as a dining room.

At the beginning of the event, there was a small tent in the middle of the park where a couple of bands played.