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

On Marijuana Overdoses And Cleansing The DTES For Incoming Condos

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by Sean Orr | Now where am I going to get that obsolete charger for my Samsung flip phone? City sweeps Downtown Eastside vendors off the unit block of East Hastings. Because street sweeping has always worked in every city! Why didn’t we think of this sooner? /sarcasm

While the sanctioned Area 62 across the street is certainly a great initiative, what the Georgia Straight article omits is the timing. The sweep of East Hastings coincides with the opening of the Sequel 138 condo development. Coincidence? I doubt it, officialdom’s concerns of “increased level of violent crime in the area and deteriorating health conditions” notwithstanding.

Either way, the vegan bake sale to end gentrification didn’t work.

But hey, the VPD know what they’re doing, right? No more marijuana overdoses! Of course, they deleted the tweet this morning.

Meanwhile, B.C. urged to improve shelter funding after death of homeless Sunshine Coast man. “Limited funding means it will only take in guests on nights when the temperature dips below freezing, when there is snow on the ground, high winds, or during periods of extended rain. The overnight low last Saturday was 6 degrees C…”

It’s that fun part of Tea & Two Slices where I juxtapose an article about a homeless man dying with an article about rent being expensive: Rent starts at $1,300 for a one-bedroom in “affordable” south Vancouver housing project. “Staff also reported that the rents are lower than the cost of owning comparable homes…” Um yeah, shouldn’t that be the case…like, always?

I guess your only hope now is for a tribe in Africa to crown you king.

Americans threatening to move to Canada if U.S. takes in Syrian refugees. Well, they wont be very happy with this new refugee centre, or this Ian Gillespie pet project.

Because in Canada, we don’t waver in welcoming refugees.

Except, of course, when we totally do: 60% of Canadians disagree with Liberal plan to accept Syrian refugees.

And, of course, when we totally exclude the ones likely to actually be recruited by Daesh: Canada’s Syrian refugee plan limited to women, children and families. What the hell is Trudeau thinking? I mean, you’ve got his trade minister going on Bill Maher talking about how we’re so diverse and then this policy fuck up is on par with, as Nicholas Ellan reminds us, “the Bush administration banning Baathists from future employment in Iraq’s public sector in 2003. A decision that led to the birth of ISIS”.

But hey, according to the article, “Refugees will not be housed in tents in Canada”. So…er…that’s good.

I’ll just put this right here: There is evidence police acted illegally during undercover sting of Surrey couple: Judge.

Twitter exchange of the day:

Art of the day: Patrick Cruz wins $25,000 RBC Canadian Painting Competition. Attaboy, Patrick!

Booze of the day: Scotland snubbed, as Canadian whisky named best in the world.

Music of the day: Top Ten Vancouver Bands That I’d Love to See Play A Reunion Show. I especially love that this top 10 list has 15 bands on it!

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