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

On Airbnb Still Sucking and the Donnelly Group Getting Ready to Ruin Weed

Tea & Two Slices is a long-running local news round-up by NEEDS frontman and veteran dishwasher Sean Orr, who lives and works in Gastown, deeply aware of his privilege.

Oh weird, the Speculation and Vacancy Taxes actually work! ‘Is this real?’: Hundreds of Vancouver mansions for rent, for cheap. My brother used to live in a mansion with 14 other people and it was basically a constant episode of the The Young Ones. Sadly, I fear young people in Vancouver will never get to experience that.

I mean, as Fun and Wacky™ as Andrew Wilkinson would have you believe renting is, imagine the horror if everyone owned a house: Realtors warn that if housing market collapses everyone could one day afford house. Imagine dropping out of school, working only one job while your spouse looked after the kids, and still being able to own a house. What a hilarious piece of … oh dear god … wait, that actually happened.

Vancouver’s unofficial Airbnb watchdog says he’s found 100s of bylaw violations. He refuses to say how his algorithm works so AirBnb can’t figure out the loophole. That’s good praxis.

It’s like Christy Clark was an expert in corruption or something:

Donnelly Group to launch nine-store Hobo cannabis retail chain. I know! Let’s name our pot business after poor people, even though drug-related offenses disproportionately affect the poor. And hey, remember how we ruined Vancouver’s nightlife by buying up all the independent dive bars and turning them into shitty “public houses”? Just wait until you see what we do to weed! It’s gonna suck so hard you’ll wish it was illegal again!

“The Hobo logo is iconography based on the ‘Hobo Code,’ a communication system that was used by these travellers and symbolizes a “good road to follow”. We hope that this conveys the inclusive message that all are welcome to come in and join us, and supports Hobo’s “Not All Who Wander Are Lost” tagline.””

That’s not your tagline. It’s from a poem in The Lord of the Rings. People who smoke weed know this. Why don’t you?

Related: the cops just raided another dispensary on the DTES.

Let’s hear from a guy who doesn’t smoke pot talk about how pot is legal now and that there is nothing left to protest: Vancouver’s 4/20 event is half-baked and irrelevant.

Move over No Fun City, a new contender has emerged: Why the City of Burnaby says this cafe can’t have chairs and tables. I see an opportunity for some strategically-placed pallets and coffee beanbag chairs.

Shame the lack of johns: Vancouver desperately needs more public toilets. I’ve been saying this for 12 years now! And pee stoppers and urine splashers be damned.

Can we expropriate the airport please: Why the Person Serving You at YVR May Soon Be Jobless. It’s so rare that you find a food service job that appears to have some semblance of job security only to have it ripped away from you. Shame on you, YVR.

Oh hello, I’m never flying again: ‘Oh, my God, something bit me’: Scorpion stings student on Toronto to Calgary flight.

Vancouver police warn of roof sliding dangers after video posted. I want to make some pithy comment about the Darwin Awards and the gene pool, but I think this points to a disaffection of youth fuelled by a gutted housing economy and the spectre of climate change vis-a-vis the hyperreality of an algorithmic echo chamber and the sheer boredom offered up to young people by late capitalism in the form of endless consumption, but I won’t.

RIP: Friends mourn B.C. environmentalist Micah Messent after Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Bonus: Raccoon steals lunch, takes nap in BC Hydro truck. Big mood.

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.