Snowing in March

It was snowing this afternoon in Vancouver.  This photo was taken from the Georgia Viaduct with BC Place on the left.

Fire Whitty

Ethel Whitty is not delivering.  

This afternoon the poor were locked out of the City-funded computer room at Carnegie ...yet again. The door to the room was locked and the lights were out, as Whitty sat just a few metres away in her office.  Two low income people have confirmed that they were denied this "service" today. The funding for the computer room is simply not consistently reaching the poor.

As residential taxes are about to be hiked as much as 11% and City Manager Penny Ballem must create more efficient service delivery, it's time to fire Whitty.  

Trail of Blood in Gastown

Early this morning there was a trail of blood on the sidewalk in Gastown.   I've seen trails of blood on two previous occasions when walking through Gastown in the early morning.

Gang Unit Searches Vehicle near Richards on Richards Nightclub

   

On Friday, Mar. 6 at 2 a.m., the Gang Unit stopped the white vehicle in the photo above on Richards St. near Nelson, on the same block as Richards on Richards nightclub.  They handcuffed the passengers, both men and women, and searched the car.   

Before searching, a middle-aged officer turned to the passengers now sitting on the sidewalk and asked if they knew of anything he was going to find in the vehicle.  They said no.  The officer did not appear to find anything. 

The Gang Unit travels in black SUVs.

The officer standing in the center of the above photo watching the passengers seated on the sidewalk, attempted with his arm to wave away the photographer standing on the other side of the street. Shortly afterwards, the officer turned around and said, "Please put your camera away."

A complaint the public is often heard making is that there is too much respect for the Charter rights of gang members.  Apparently there is not enough for the Charter rights of photographers.   

Waves of Gentrification

photo: Waves coffee shop at Main St. & Cordova, Mar. 2/09

They say that with gentrification comes dog walkers and specialty coffee shops.

Another Waves coffee shop is opening on the Downtown Eastside, just two blocks from the first one that opened last year at Main & Pender.  The new Waves at Main and Cordova will open on March 16th, in the now renovated space that used to house Vic's Coffee Shop, where you could get good coffee and the occasional bout of e coli.

There were lots of staff in Waves today, all wearing the same dark uniforms.  At first, I thought the place was swarming with cops.  

The new location may prove profitable if the Vancouver Police building across the street once again becomes police headquarters, a move Chief Chu supports.  Chu told the media last month that he would like to move VPD headquarters back to the Downtown Eastside, as the move to Cambie St. allowed the Downtown Eastside to deteriorate.  Even police officers driving to and from work in the neighborhood, Chu said, can deter open crime.

Waves has free internet access which there is never enough of on the Downtown Eastside.  An increasing number of Downtown Eastsiders, frustrated with the unreliable access to Vancouver Public Library computers at the Carnegie Center computer room where Director Ethel Whitty too often allows staff to lock the poor out, are purchasing netbooks now that the prices have come down. But often they don't have internet connections at home.

Collision at Main St. & Georgia Viaduct

There was a two car collision at roughly 5 p.m. today on Main St. at Prior St., just across the street from the entrance to the Georgia Viaduct.  

There appeared to be no serious injuries.