A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

On Weed Pride & Special Interest Windbags Hijacking The Transit Vote

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by Sean Orr | This: Stephen Hume: Anti-tax group has hijacked transit debate.

How is a minuscule, Prairie-based, fundamentally non-democratic special interest group that operates like some self-appointed secret society able to develop such traction in framing the current Metro discussion of public transit funding?

As we saw previously with the HST, pretension and panic have clouded the issue here. But so is the public’s general hatred of Translink (which I’m personally really great at). This isn’t a tacit vote of approval for that wretched carcass of bureaucratic hubris. It isn’t even a vote of approval for the Liberals, because “you’re only voting because your cowardly provincial government seeks to evade difficult decisions which arise when its narrow ideology founders on the reefs of reality…”

Oh, and it’s not going to be a separate tax, either.

Speaking of bloated former public corporations that everyone hates: The 20 most loved brands in B.C. 2015: our ranking. ICBC at #20? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Again.

Speaking of crazy pills: Vancouver park board wants adults out of Mount Pleasant skateboard park. “The park board seems to be bending to a handful of households that has complained about noise since the skate spot opened in spring 2012…” There it is. I live in a half-million dollar condo sandwiched between The Cambie and Shine. Every night in summer the alley is filled with bros pissing, girls shrieking when they see a rat, crackheads screaming at the voices in their heads, and binners slamming dumpsters shut. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Roll up the Reefer: Vancouver has more medical pot dispensaries than Tim Hortons. This gives me a rare rush of intense pride.

And then it all comes crashing down: Man severely injured in 2009 gaybashing at Fountainhead dies.

Think piece: Do we really want to Stop Harper? The year ahead in progressive partisanship. Jesus. Am I a communist?

Meanwhile, Four Canadian senators discovered to have died months ago. Thank God for Syrup Trap.

Obligatory Nicholas Ellan link of the day: Did The Vancouver Sun Just Quietly Die? “How many people were fired? What’s left behind now? Does anyone still buy this thing? Who knows. Whatever. Bye, guys…”

Our government’s liquor idiocy is trending: California wine producers claim B.C. liquor reforms violate NAFTA, GATT, and EU-Canada Agreement.

Not Portlandia: Vancouver’s local food video goes viral on Facebook.

On Ken Sim’s So-Called “Swagger” and ABC’S Class War

Sean Orr is back from his hiatus with a rundown of the local headlines that have been running on a ticker tape through his mind over the past six months...

On Post-Election Recuperation, Platform Paradoxes and Refund Communities

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds irony in "safety, affordability, and sustainability", and shouts out a bunch of amazing local organizations working on the frontlines.

On Running for City Council, Playing Whack-a-Mole with Homelessness, and the Public Washroom Deficit

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr finds a park ranger with a grudge, a gross misuse of air quotes and Tripadvisor slander.

On Living in a City Preoccupied with Street Cleaning, Chandeliers, and Campaigns Against the Homeless

In his latest read of the local news headlines, Sean Orr hones in on the recent Langley shootings, and the ongoing criminalizing and dehumanizing of the homeless population.