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.

Global News: Metro Vancouver living wage dips for first time in 11 years. Say what you want about Horgan, but he’s making it better for everyone. Childcare, speculation tax, ending MSP premiums, free college textbooks, even free menstrual products in school washrooms. Oh, and it’s not like it went down 11 years ago under the Liberals. That’s just when we started counting.

But yeah, gas prices high = John Horgan bad: Martyn Brown: Andrew Wilkinson’s dishonest gas tax blame game.

Does your party really support imposing legislated price controls? At what level and under what circumstances should that happen, precisely?

If you don’t believe in allowing the market to determine gas prices, do you believe they should be regulated by the B.C. Utilities Commission or some other body?

You were dead against that idea when John Horgan proposed that solution in opposition, through his private member’s bills. Back when you, Christy Clark, Rich Coleman, Shirley Bond, Todd Stone, Mike de Jong, and all B.C. Liberals were touting the unfettered “free market” as the best solution to every problem under the sun.

Reductions in provincial fuel taxes, Andrew?

Great stuff. Most motorists would cheer.

So how much of the $2.7 billion that those fuel taxes currently raise in revenue would the B.C. Liberals proposed to forsake in the name of temporary or permanent tax relief?

Would you cut the additional two pennies in carbon tax that the NDP has imposed? More? Which taxes and how much?

Oh wow! Who would have thought that Jason Kenney would be breaking his sabre-rattling campaign promise only two days in: Alberta’s premier says he won’t ‘turn off the taps’ to B.C., yet. I love how there are like, no actual taps to turn off; coupled by the fact that this will just hurt Alberta’s refineries; tripled by the fact that the oil sands needs our LNG to operate; quadrupled by the fact that this isn’t ever going to happen.

Meanwhile, Vancouver just gave Walmart a huge tax break: Vancouver council votes to shift 2% of businesses’ property tax to homeowners. NPA I can see, but what the fuck, Pete Fry?

“COPE Coun. Jean Swanson: “When I crunch the numbers, it really doesn’t make sense to me. For example, the person who cuts my hair would save about $45 a month, the price of one haircut. I don’t think that’s enough to make or break a business. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart, which is owned by four of the 10 richest people in the world—the last time I checked—is going to get thousands of dollars from this.”

Tech bubble? ‘It’s not a surprise’: Vancouver-based Hootsuite lays off dozens of employees. Fernando Medrano: “Weasel wordage: ‘organizational changes in order to drive greater alignment with our growing company’s strategic priorities that best serve our customers.’ AKA over valued tech company that no one wants to buy and they missed their IPO window”.

Meanwhile, tech bros be like: Billionaire Marc Benioff donates $30 million to research homelessness. This is not satire. Tech companies displacing thousands of homeless in San Fran, wholesale gentrification of neighbourhoods, raising $85,000 to block a homeless shelter, writing open letters to the Mayor complaining that he shouldn’t have to see the pain, struggle, and despair of riff raff, kicking children off of soccer fields, et cetera. Buddy, you need $30 million to look in the fucking mirror.

Unintended consequence of the housing crisis: B.C. sees biggest changes in maternal age.

Yup: Public transit should be free, Victoria council says.

Meanwhile, TransLink says it’s currently not possible to sell SkyTrain station naming rights. But that won’t stop us from picturing potential names: Bosa Station, Uncle Fatih’s Commercial Drive, Uniqlo Metrotown, Shaw Open VCC, Joeys Burrard, The LuluLine, et cetera. I could go on.

Bonus: Google Earth releases timelapse of Vancouver over the last 35 years.