WEDNESDAY
June 17 2015 Vol. 106 No. 47
ANALYSIS 5
Lululemon vs. FIFA FEATURE 12
Luxury condos for locals SPORTS 24
Rugby player on the rise There’s more online at
vancourier.com MIDWEEK EDITION
THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908
Off to UBC at 15 Students benefit from advanced program
Cheryl Rossi
crossi@vancourier.com
ITALIAN DRIVE Il Centro executive director Mauro Vescera and a friend danced in the sun while the Cory Weeds Quartet kicked off their set during Sunday’s Italian Day on Commercial Drive. The annual event attracted thousands to the Drive. See story page 8. PHOTO REBECCA BLISSETT
VSB needs new chairperson NPA’s Christopher Richardson resigns Cheryl Rossi
crossi@vancourier.com
The Vancouver School Board will elect a new chairperson June 24. The NPA’s Christopher Richardson announced his resignation as chair at the start of Monday evening’s board meeting. Green Party of Vancouver vice chairperson Janet Fraser assumed the role of interim chair. Nine trustees form the Vancouver School Board: four from the NPA, four from Vision Vancouver and the one Green. Fraser is considering whether she wants to be chair. “I was a definite no when I was first elected and now, I’m not sure,” she said. “I’ve been in the job for six months and
I’ve seen Christopher in the role as chair and I’ve learned a lot about the way the board works and part of that is seeing how hard it is to be chair.” Vision Vancouver’s Patti Bacchus, who served as chair for six years, said she isn’t sure whether she wants to resume that role. “There are pros and cons and I would have to talk to my caucus about where we see we can be most effective,” she said. “I certainly have enjoyed being out of the chair. The last six months [have] given me a little more freedom in terms of being able to speak out in terms of advocacy towards government and that has been helpful… What is best for the district needs to be the next question. We have some huge challenges coming up and we need to really think through what that’s going to take in terms of leadership in the chair to navigate the next steps.” The Ministry of Education released its
Considering your
Next Move?
special adviser’s review of VSB finances, asset management, administration and governance June 9. The report includes 52 recommendations for potential changes that EY, formerly Ernst and Young, says could save the board $250 to $750 million in one-time savings and $72 million in annual savings. The report suggests with 10,000 empty seats, the district could close up to 19 schools. A Vision Vancouver motion to extend a moratorium on school closures until December 2018 was defeated by the four NPA and lone Green trustee in January. Bacchus said she respects Richardson’s decision to resign. “There have been a number of incidents that have been challenging that I would say he made the right decision, but it’s up to him to really explain why he did it,” Bacchus said. “It doesn’t surprise me and I think it’s appropriate given what has occurred.” Continued on page 12
In September, Rex Chen will reach two milestones. He’ll enroll as a university student. And he’ll turn 15. Chen is one of 38 students enrolled in University Transition Program located at UBC. He and other academically gifted students in the Transition Program complete high school in two years. In January, Chen saw a paper he wrote about his science project published in Harvard’s Journal of Emerging Investigators for middle and high school scientists. For his class science project that won a silver medal at the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair, Chen designed a solarpowered desalination plant that could also serve as a waste-water facility. Chen’s father, a physics professor in Taiwan, discovered the journal and encouraged him to submit a paper. Dr. Lucy Shepelev, physics and math teacher at the Transition Program, tasked Chen and his physics classmates to choose a scientific paper on a topic they didn’t understand and to find a professor at UBC to participate in their presentation. “Networking is important,” said Chen, who spoke to the Courier with his coat zipped to his chin, ready to bike the sea wall around Stanley Park with his recreation class after his interview Friday. Chen said recreation class offers needed stress relief from his studies. Absent from the Transition Program are physical education, drama, art and music courses. But a student was leaning on a locker, strumming an acoustic guitar in the entrance to the Transition Program’s second-floor space in a building surrounded by tall trees on West Mall at UBC when the Courier visited. The Vancouver School Board and UBC initiated the University Transition Program in 1993. It’s funded by the Ministry of Education as a Provincial Resource Program and half of the students accepted are from outside Vancouver. Continued on page 7
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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News
A Vancouver story: Pot, housing and bicycles
12TH & CAMBIE Mike Howell
mhowell@vancourier.com
News got in the way of news last week. I hate when that happens. So, unfortunately, I didn’t get around to writing about news on the housing and cycling fronts. It’s semi-interesting stuff. I’ll get to what you need to know in a few sentences. First, let me explain that I didn’t spend last week lollygagging, dawdling or goofing off on the company dime. No, ladies and gents, I did some hard time at city hall listening to pot smokers, owners of pot shops and lawyers who represent pot smokers and pot shops. Even heard one guy break into a rap, and another guy speak in Chinook. This is what democracy looks like, people. Anyway, over two nights and one day, city council heard from 80 speakers on the city’s proposal to regulate the 90-plus illegal marijuana dispensaries. Another 30
or so people are on the list to speak when the hearings resume June 22 at 6 p.m. I’ll probably be there. Now to some housing news … The city announced June 10 that its new “affordable housing agency” plans to build 800 units of housing on seven city properties. At least 45 per cent of the homes will be for families with children, 40 per cent for singles, couples and seniors on low or moderate incomes and 15 per cent for single-roomoccupancy hotel tenants. Like me, you probably want to know what “affordable” is. The mayor’s office put it this way in a release: “Target affordability is to be 70 per cent below market [including 15 per cent at shelter rates] and 30 per cent at market rent.” The city has set aside $62 million in its 2015 capital plan to invest in affordable housing and expects to leverage up to $300 million from “other partners.” That would be governments, foundations and any other agencies or
Lawyer Kirk Tousaw was one of the 80 people who spoke during two nights and one day of public hearings called to hear views on the city’s proposal to regulate illegal marijuana dispensaries. The hearings continue June 22. PHOTO ROB KRUYT
people with deep pockets. Five of the seven sites are in the River District (East Fraser Lands), with one in Kensington-Cedar Cottage and another in the Downtown Eastside. The plan builds on a steady stream of announcements from the city highlighting its efforts to build more three-bedroom
units in Vancouver. The city is considering a city-wide rezoning policy to allow for the development of family housing near parks, schools and community centres. City council also recently voted to continue with a program that waives developers’ fees for construction of rental projects.
Amendments to the Rental 100 program are aimed at encouraging the construction of three-bedroom places. And in cycling news … As was foreshadowed in a story I wrote in February, the city finally severed its ties with Alta (now called Motivate) to set up a multimillion dollar bike rental
system in Vancouver. The city issued a statement June 11 saying it is looking for another company to set up a bike share program. Over the past couple of years, Alta’s preferred supplier of bikes for Vancouver, PBSC Solutions, filed a notice of intention to seek protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act related to its Montreal bike share system and growing debt. The original agreement with the city was to have Alta own, finance and operate the system and provide customer service. Alta also had to secure corporate sponsorship and donation contracts, and create a system that adheres to B.C.’s mandatory helmet laws. The city statement explained it this way: “Both Alta and their partner BIXI [operated by PBSC Solutions] have undergone major restructuring and corporate change. As a result of these issues, the city and Motivate [formerly Alta] have not reached agreement and no funds have flowed to the company.” @Howellings
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
“It was Peter Rabbit that taught me to love good books.” Few things in life are more rewarding than a thirst for knowledge. At Tapestry Retirement Communities, we provide you with exciting opportunities to continue learning and stimulate your imagination. Whether it’s attending our seminars and classes, discovering new hobbies, or pursuing cultural and volunteer activities in the local community, Tapestry offers the encouragement and support you need to help keep you sharp. Call us today and see what kind of individualized programs we can offer to help keep your body, mind, and spirit healthy, vibrant, and young at heart.
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W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
News Lululemon scores as yoga beat soccer Aborted Burrard Bridge event benefited crafty sponsors ANALYSIS Bob Mackin
bob@bobmackin.ca
Om the Bridge is off the calendar, but it stole attention from the biggest event to hit Vancouver since the 2010 Winter Olympics. Sponsors Lululemon and AltaGas, by luck or by design, were engaging in a soft form of ambush marketing in the city that hosts nine FIFA Women’s World Cup matches, including the July 5 final. “These guys pulled this off pretty nicely,” Simon Fraser University marketing professor Lindsay Meredith told the Courier after a public backlash cancelled the June 21 event. “The only brand that took a hit on this was Christy [Clark]. Did they get better coverage than FIFA? I would say so. They didn’t pay a bloody penny for it either.” On June 5, the eve of the Women’s World Cup kickoff, Premier Clark announced the $150,000 plan to close the Burrard Bridge for seven hours to celebrate the first International Yoga Day. Later on June 21, Canada could be hosting a round of 16 match at B.C. Place Stadium, where logos of sponsors like German sportswear giant Adidas and Russian state natural gas company Gazprom are displayed on pitch-level signs.
Lululemon has a history of advertising gains through controversy, including an aborted sponsorship of International Day of Yoga on Burrard Bridge. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
The B.C. government contributed $2 million as one of six FIFA host provinces. Gazprom’s 30-year, $400-billion deal in 2014 to export natural gas to China via pipeline dealt a blow to Clark’s ambition to ship B.C. shale gas to China. Calgary’s AltaGas is a partner in two B.C. north coast liquefied natural gas proposals with Japan’s Idemitsu. Adidas supplies FIFA game balls, outfits tournament volunteers and the German and Japanese national teams. It also boasts a yoga division. Kitsilanobased Lululemon’s 2014 annual report stated: “We are in direct competition with wholesalers and direct sellers of athletic apparel, such as Nike, Inc., Adidas AG and Under Armour, Inc.”
Adidas Canada category brand planner John Febbraro said “no comment” and a FIFA representative, who declined to be named, said no FIFA permission for the Burrard Bridge event was needed because the bridge was away from B.C. Place and there was no apparent claim of commercial association with FIFA or the Women’s World Cup. FIFA’s agreement with City of Vancouver bans marketing activities in a so-called “controlled area” directly adjacent to the stadium’s outer perimeter. That would explain why Lululemon and AltaGas didn’t sponsor the International Yoga Day event planned for the Plaza of Nations. The Burrard Bridge was the only False Creek
span without the Women’s World Cup banners bearing logos of Adidas, Gazprom and other FIFA sponsors. Meredith said it should be no surprise that FIFA and Adidas would shy away from commenting. A negative reaction would make them appear “like greedy bastard foreigners” and play into the hands of publicityhungry Lululemon. “Lululemon has had a history of making a lot of advertising gains all based on controversy, whether it was having nude access to their stores, whether it was [founder] Chip Wilson talking about fat women and Lululemon pants,” Meredith said. “In the end that name keeps getting out there and keeps getting mentioned.” Lululemon famously enraged Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics organizers with the cheeky “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 and 2011” line of hoodies and toques. VANOC’s attempt to protect official clothing sponsor Hudson’s Bay Company backfired. Lululemon’s global public relations director Kate Chartrand did not address the question of ambush marketing and said executive vice-president of brand and community Duke Stump, a former Nike executive, was not available for an interview. @bobmackin
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
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W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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News
‘Ready to explore’
Continued from page 1 Transition Program students are exposed to rigorous curriculum, career exploration and a culture of scholarship excellence. “Typical applicants are within the ages of 13 and 15, currently completing Grades 7, 8, or 9, and achieving beyond the 99th percentile in standardized tests in mathematics, reading, writing, and reasoning/problem solving,” reads a description on the VSB’s website. Transition Program students work in university labs and are expected to complete lab work to university standards. They also venture out on multiple excursions. Transition Program students saw the Dalai Lama speak at the Chan Centre in November and heard anthropologist Wade Davis speak about sustainability in northern B.C. They hiked the West Coast Trail, spent a week in Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and last November celebrated Remembrance Day in Ottawa. “Travel, it’s very important for maturity,” Shepelev said. “They’re going to get the marks, it’s not a worry.” The Transition Program aims to nurture collaboration among and social responsibility in its students. Chen volunteered at the Vancouver Aquarium last summer and he is volunteering with TRIUMF, Canada’s national
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• TILE • CARPET • LAMINATE • HARDWOOD • VINYL and AREA RUGS Rex Chen, 14, will enroll at UBC in September. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
laboratory for particle and nuclear physics at UBC, this summer. Chen is proudest of surviving the intense Transition Program, of seeing his paper published and of starting his own robotics club. Chen felt socially isolated when he attended middle school in Coquitlam. At the Transition Program, he interacts with likeminded peers. Shepelev says teens in the Transition Program judge each other on their knowledge and interests, “not how much time you spend playing videogames.” The Transition Program celebrated its 20th reunion last month with members of its first graduating class of 1995 attending. Chen said meeting alumni was inspirational. “Alumni include the head of Microsoft’s Extreme Programming
division, a 20-year-old entrepreneur generating millions of venture capital for innovations in electronic communications, and a young Assistant Professor of Philosophy at UBC with a doctorate in Classics from Oxford,” reads a VSB news article from November 2014. Chen is interested in studying computer science, perhaps to study biological data through bioinformatics. He’s also keen on paleontology. “Most people lose their passion for dinosaurs by this age,” he said. Not him. The top male student in his year, Chen is concerned too many educational programs encourage students to be average. He wants programs to help students reach their full potential. “Ready to explore all that they are.” @Cheryl_Rossi
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
Community
Italian Day celebrates Drive family CITY LIVING
Rebecca Blissett
rvblissett@gmail.com
It’s noon Saturday, and in 24 hours the ploddinglyslow car traffic outside the window where Michael Cuccione is sitting in Federico’s Supper Club will transform into a street party of wall-to-wall people that will stretch 13 blocks. Cuccione is a well-known name, recognizable by his work with the Michael Cuccione Foundation, named for his nephew, his years as president of Il Centro, Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre, and years earlier, the help he gave to introduce Canadian life to new Italian families after he arrived here in 1958 with his parents and younger siblings. On June 2, Cuccione was awarded the Cavalierato-Italian knighthood by the Italian consul general. On Saturday, Cuccione talked about the importance of celebration for Italian families, and how Italian Day on Commercial Drive
Loretta Laurin (in costume) poses for a photograph during Sunday’s Italian Day on Commercial Drive. Organizers were expecting 150,000 people but believe they doubled that number. See photo gallery at vancourier.com. PHOTO REBECCA BLISSETT
is a larger extension of that same concept. “To me, when you have a birthday, it’s about celebrating having that cake and coffee but it’s also an opportunity to keep that family united,” he said. “Italian Day is a larger example of getting together as a family. Italians are warm and if you’re fortunate enough to
be a neighbour of Italians you’ll know they like to celebrate around the kitchen table — that’s the favourite spot — with a glass of wine and reminisce and talk about the good things.” It was talk that revived Italian Day on Commercial Drive, which marked its sixth comeback year on Sunday. The original ver-
sion had begun sometime in the 1960s when many Italian families put down roots after emigrating here after the Second World War. The festival stopped in 1982 mostly because of an unfortunate combination of unruly behaviour and the high cost of policing that came along with it, possibly fuelled by Italy winning the
FIFA World Cup that year. Cuccione is part of the founding group that brought back Italian Day, and added it would not be possible without a passionate Italian Day Festival Society committee headed by Brunella Guadio and sponsorship that pitched in to pay more than $100,000 in associated festival costs. “To me, it’s about sharing and not forgetting the history of the Drive,” Cuccione said. “The Drive, for a lot of people during the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, knew they would find good restaurants and knew it was an area a lot of Italians were. You were new to a new country where you didn’t know anyone, well, it made you feel like you were a part of home.” To honour the area’s history for the Italian community, NPA Coun. Melissa De Genova wants to officially name a part of Commercial Drive “Little Italy” (the motion goes before council June 23). Some love the idea while others say the area is too culturally diverse to be named for one group.
Still others say the area has changed over the years and the Italian flavour has faded somewhat — perhaps not realizing that Italian landlords own roughly 80 per cent of the area’s buildings. “Look now,” said Cuccione, pointing out the window. “There’s (La Grotta Del) Formaggio, the Italian bakery Fratelli, Café Calabria and that’s just from looking out the window at Federico’s right here. The Drive is still there and there’s a lot of connection with the next generation.” Italian Day organizers said Sunday’s festival was the largest one yet with an estimated 300,000 attendees taking in the umpteen food stands, temporary restaurant patios, and stages featuring song and dance. June is Italian Heritage Month, so Il Centro will be hosting an array of celebrations in addition to its regular programs, which can be found at italianculturalcentre.ca. In true Italian fashion, all are welcome. @rebeccablissett
W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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News
Bike share partner goes flat
Jen St. Denis
jstdenis@biv.com
The City of Vancouver is changing gears on its plan to roll out a bike share system. In 2013, the city made the preliminary decision to contract bike share operator Alta Bicycle Share, now called Motivate, and equipment provider Bixi to run a system for Vancouver. The companies had partnered to run large bike share systems in New York, Toronto and Chicago, but both businesses ran into financial problems throughout 2013 and 2014. In January, the city was still trying to negotiate with Alta, but Vancouver is now looking for alternate providers, according to a press release. The city had planned to spend $6 million on the system and have it up and running by the spring of 2015. Business in Vancouver was unable to reach the City of Vancouver for more information. “As a result of these issues, the City and Motivate (formerly Alta) have not reached agreement and no funds have flowed to the company,” reads the release. “Recently, significant evolution and innovation has occurred in public bike share industry, including new proponents, technologies and operating models — through all of which the City of Vancouver expects to achieve significant cost efficiencies.” The owner of a Richmond, B.C. business
The city’s proposed bike share system has hit another bump in the road. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
that was rejected in favour of Alta and Bixi says he’s ready to take another shot at bidding for the contract. SandVault Group Global Solutions has made several bike share systems for Miami Beach, Long Beach and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Back in 2011, the small engineering company had partnered with several local businesses, such as Modo Car Co-op and SAHN Bike Helmets, to submit a joint
bid to the city. “The available technologies have changed a fair amount over the last number of years,” Murray said. Those changes include adding tracking technology to bikes to make the bikes “smart.” “We’re in transition from old designs to new designs,” Murray said. “There are some very new and quite exciting opportunities. So new in fact that I haven’t
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told anybody exactly what we’re doing.” Vancouver’s proposed system faced a significant hurdle because of British Columbia’s mandatory bike helmet law, which are not in place in most other jurisdictions. SandVault had designed and built a helmet vending machine, which it demonstrated to the city in early 2013. The city paid $50,000 to develop that machine. Murray confirmed he still has the equipment in his warehouse. “I’m going to have see what they’re up to and what they want to do,” Murray said.
OPEN HOUSE: McBride Park Playground Renewal The Vancouver Park Board is upgrading the playground at McBride Park. Potential improvements also include a community garden and park expansion. The public is invited to an open house to view the playground design and learn more about the proposed garden and park expansion opportunity. Saturday, June 20, 2015, 11 am – 3 pm Waterloo Street (in front of the fieldhouse at McBride Park) TAKE THE ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE: vancouver.ca/mcbride FOR INFORMATION: L. Hache at 604-257-8472 or phone 3-1-1
Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
Opinion
Youth feel disturbing sense of isolation
School sites offer housing opportunity
Jessica Barrett Columnist
Michael Geller Columnist michaelarthurgeller@gmail.com
Jessica.Barrett@gmail.com
Well. That was a wild ride. I was a little surprised by the reaction to my last column musing over whether it’s time to leave Vancouver. Housing is a hot-button issue in this town, of course, and bound to spur passionate debate. But many of the responses I received pointed to issues that run much deeper than differing opinions over which should be lowered: housing prices or expectations. I got dozens of emails and read hundreds of comments from younger (and a few older) people who felt they have been forced out of this city, or who are right on the edge. What surprised me was the sense of isolation among them, despite the fact that so many clearly face the same challenges. That’s the conundrum with my generation. We are a disconnected one. Unlike boomers who — if movies, TV, and my parents’ recollection of the ’70s are anything to go by — were united in their youth against “The Man,” today’s younger folk don’t seem to share that solidarity. We may privately feel the toll of instability, housing costs being just one part of a complex puzzle of pressures, but publicly, we appear utterly apathetic. It’s a pickle for those trying to organize us. Statistics and studies consistently show we are being squeezed from all sides, yet outwardly, we seem more interested in our devices than in urging ourselves to take action. So, the conclusion goes, we mustn’t be all that concerned about it. Ironically, new research indicates the inverse may be true. According to Shari Laliberte, a PhD candidate in the faculty of nursing at UBC, young people in Vancouver are feeling pinched by a variety of socioeconomic factors, and what’s more, their tendency to turn inward isn’t a sign of indifference; it’s a coping strategy. A former children’s mental health nurse, Laliberte interviewed 30 Vancouver area youth between the ages of 15 and 28 for her dissertation, focusing on the relationship between socioeconomic conditions and mental health. Though based on a small sample, the qualitative research yielded some interesting insights. Of the 30 subjects, ranging from homeless high school kids to university educated young adults, not one reported getting their mental health needs met. All of them felt like they were in survival
mode. “That for me was a big insight,” she says. Standing in the way of mental health is the terminal instability young people here face on many fronts, financial, social and environmental. Furthermore, treading water in our profit-oriented society had left many with a heightened sense of individualism — that is, they felt alone in dealing with these pressures. From social media to corporate advertising to the coping skills taught in mental health programs, young people are steeped in a culture that tells them that if things aren’t going their way in life, they are primarily to blame, Laliberte says. While authority figures may acknowledge some of the external factors behind this stress, young people are almost universally encouraged to deal with them on an individual basis. “Change your thinking is a big one,” she says, explaining they’re often told to focus on the bright side, or adjust their attitudes. When young people do speak publicly about what’s stressing them out, they are often shamed. “The system orients you inward,” says Laliberte, noting many felt so much pressure to project an image of affluence and confidence — online and off — they felt they couldn’t speak with peers about common challenges or issues. “We focus a lot of attention on helping young people to manage and control their emotions,” she says. “But what I’m arguing in the research is we need to listen and really attend to how their emotions are showing us how their broader environment threatens or enables their mental health needs.” To start, we could pay attention to the deeper messages inside divisive public discourse, like the housing debate. We spend so much time batting around the question of whether young people have a right to feel stressed about housing that we ignore the more pressing fact: many of them just do. “This is something I continue to contemplate,” she says. “What is good enough? Is it good enough for young people just to be surviving? Or do we want them to flourish?” Laliberte thinks we should reach for the latter. I agree. To share your story with Laliberte, visit her blog: youngmindsecowellnesscollective.com. @jm_barrett
The week in num6ers...
80 800 1
The number of citizens who’ve stepped up to the mic at city hall to voice their opinion at an ongoing public hearing about the city’s plan to regulate marijuana dispensaries.
The number of new units created through the city’s new “affordable housing agency” to be built on seven different city properties.
The number of new deputy chiefs sworn in at a ceremony held at the Vancouver Police Department’s headquarters Tuesday morning.
Last week two Courier stories caught my attention. The first addressed the need for more family housing in the city. The second reported on a study commissioned by Education Minister Peter Fassbender concluding that 19 schools could be closed down due to low enrolment. While I did not initially connect the two stories, my friend Ed Korbin did. Korbin is the founder of Instafund, a 30-year-old Vancouver company that arranges financing for developers. He, like many others, is concerned that families with children are being forced to leave the city since they cannot find suitable, affordable accommodation. He told me about 1950s developments that clustered family oriented housing around children’s play facilities. Sadly most, like Dolphin Court in Kerrisdale, have been replaced by highrises or other buildings catering to empty nesters and seniors. Given the high cost of land, he thought the Vancouver School Board properties might offer a solution. Most should be retained for future educational facilities, but they could also used to generate longterm income from family-oriented rental housing. He was confident that funding could be arranged to make this happen. As we looked from our Granville Island restaurant table southward across False Creek, I was reminded of the early planning concepts for our city’s False Creek development and Toronto’s inner city St. Lawrence development. From 1975 to 1979, I served as the federal government’s special coordinator for both projects, each of which offers some interesting lessons about integrating schools and residential development. In Vancouver, then-mayor Art Phillips was concerned that families would not move into the somewhat controversial south shore False Creek neighbourhood unless a school was completed with the first housing. The city therefore commissioned Henriquez and Todd Architects to design a cooperative housing development and adjacent elementary school. Today, if you walk or cycle along the south shore False Creek waterfront walkway, you will notice that with their orange and red metal roofs, supposedly reminiscent of railway cars, the school and cooperative housing look very much alike. Over the subsequent years, with its
mix of one-third low-income, one-third mid-income and one-third high income households, the South Shore False Creek community has become one of North America’s most highly acclaimed inner city neighbourhoods. In Toronto, former mayor David Crombie also wanted to see school facilities incorporated into the first phase of its St. Lawrence project. It too was a comprehensively planned community being built on former industrial lands, offering a mix of uses and market and nonmarket housing. At St. Lawrence, it was necessary to accommodate both a public school and separate Catholic school. Since the site for the new community was relatively small, Crombie proposed that the two schools be built side-by-side, and be required to share one gymnasium, something that was unheard of. He also demanded that the playing fields be part of the neighbourhood park system, another innovation. If that wasn’t enough, he also instructed the planners to design a mid-rise, non-market family housing development above the two schools. Despite these challenges, the project was built and upon completion was named in honour of Crombie. While the federal funding that contributed to the success of False Creek and St. Lawrence is no longer available, I believe it would be feasible to redevelop many of the 19 school sites identified by the province’s study with a mix of market and non-market housing catering to families and seniors, while still maintaining room for existing and future educational facilities. In some cases, the new housing could be built beside the schools, with shared play areas and parks. In others, new housing might be constructed above the schools, as it was in Toronto. In a few cases it might make sense to sell sites to generate much needed revenues to fund new educational facilities. However, the majority of sites could be leased for both non-market and market family housing. Some leases might be pre-paid. Others would provide for payments over time. The result would be some immediate funding, and a long-term income stream. More importantly, new suitably sized and priced housing would ensure that families with children can remain in the city, and the classrooms will remain full. @michaelgeller
30 5.8 14
The anniversary celebrated this year by the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, which kicks off June 18 at various venues across the city.
In millions of dollars, the amount TransLink spent on its Yes campaign for the transit tax plebiscite. Results of the vote are expected to be released later this month.
In dollars, the cost of a seat on the Hey Y’all Porch, the expanded left-field bleachers at Nat Bailey Stadium. The first home game is June 26.
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Inbox LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A bridge too far
Re: Kudos & Kvetches, “Ohm the podium,” June 10. At first I thought the announced June 21 closure of the Burrard Bridge for yoga purposes was surely a hoax. May I say I fully support yoga as a wellness pursuit, but this poor old putupon bridge that is the flashpoint for the bicycling wars will now indeed also serve as the absurd and incongruous stage for...ummm, I guess you call it a mass yoga event? Yes, Premier Clark, yoga is “the exact opposite of busy traffic.” Yoga is also the exact opposite of many other things, too, like irrationality, for instance. This Monty Python-esque misuse of public space will surely have future generations guffawing as they read about “On this day in Vancouver” in some years-distant news feed. Stefan Forrestal, Vancouver
•••
CO U R I E R A R C H I V E S T H I S D A Y I N H I S T O R Y
Nineteen die after bridge collapses
June 17, 1958: Vancouver experienced the worst industrial accident in its history. Seventy-nine construction workers plunged 30 metres into Burrard Inlet after the southern section of the Second Narrows Bridge collapses. Eighteen men were killed in the accident, many of whom likely drowned due to their heavy tool belts, along with a scuba diver who died trying to recover bodies. A subsequent Royal Commission inquiry found the disaster was due to Nineteen people died due to the 1958 accident. miscalculations by bridge engineers PHOTO WORKSAFE BC and that a temporary crane arm was too light to bear the weight of one of the spans. The bridge was officially renamed the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing in 1994. ADVERTISING
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What was the big deal about shutting down the Burrard Bridge few hours on June 21st for U.N. International Yoga Appreciation Day? Italian Day shuts down Commercial Drive, Greek Day shuts down blocks on Broadway, cyclist races shut down Gastown, numerous parades and protests shut down the Burrard Street Bridge every year. Are we only allowed one official celebration per day? The Shakespeare festival, the jazz festival, the dragonboat festival will also be running on June 21 and there will be midsummer solstice celebrations. I’m not a believer in transcendental meditation, but let’s be fair. This seems to be a tempest in a teapot stirred by the media. Why didn’t they tell us how often this bridge is shut down for public events, and why haven’t they shown those costs? It’s the media’s job to inform us of the whole picture not just inflammatory pieces, fanning flames. Shame on you! This smells like just another media-driven attack on a targeted leader. Gloria Kieler , Vancouver
•••
Bridges are for travelling over water. Parks are for recreational activities like yoga. We have many suitable parks but few bridges. Stop this nonsense. Where will it all end? Tennis on the airport runway? Hide and go seek in the SkyTrain tunnels? Street hockey on the number 1 highway? Critical Mass bike rides that literally go nowhere but impede everyone else... oh wait, sorry, we already have one of those. Will Klassen, Vancouver [Editor’s note: The provincial government announced the event’s cancellation June 12.]
Dee Dhaliwal
Barry Link blink@vancourier.com
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DIRECTOR SALES & MARKETING
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Anti-marijuana coalition stirs the pot
Re: “Pot foes form lobby, June 10. An anonymous group gets three likes on their Facebook page and it’s a news story? Let’s be real. There is no coalition against dispensaries. If this is the best the anti-pot crowd can do then I think we’ll be just fine. Dana Larsen, via Comments section
•••
This “new coalition” is really Pamela McColl and whoever else she can muster from Project SAM Canada and the Drug Prevention Network of Canada. Asking these people how they feel about medicinal cannabis is like asking Answers in Genesis how they feel about teaching evolution in science classes. Technically speaking, cannabis is not a “narcotic,” but alcohol and many prescription painkillers, available in countless bars and pharmacies near you, are. The dispensaries are under-regulated, but it is in their interests to respect communities and operate responsibly to maintain their fragile truce with the VPD. The same is not true of the black market dealers patients will turn to if they cannot access dispensaries and non-profit compassion clubs. Matthew Elrod, via Comments section
•••
No I am not. They came to me as a group of individuals who are concerned for this city and for their neighbourhoods. You know nothing and all you can do is attack me. We will oppose the normalization, commercialization every step of the way. Pamela McColl, via Comments section
Real scepticism meets real estate body’s claims
Re: “Foreign investment ‘not significant,’” June 10. Let’s see actual statistics not compiled by the very industry that has been riding a wave of obscene profits for years. Travis Bourque, via Facebook
•••
The weekly preposterous claim from the development money machine claiming that overseas money has nothing (nothing!) to do with Vancouver’s housing prices. This just in, a new report indicates that all these multi-million homes are being purchased by Starbucks employees and people from Brandon, Manitoba. Thanks for clearing that up! Amazed100, via Comments section
Straight answer not in the pipeline on Kinder Morgan
Re: “Pipeline politics in play at city hall,” June 10. You actually thought you were going to get a straight answer from a politician? Vicntc, via Comments section
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
News
Wanted: Nice, rich and local
A luxury condo developer looks for a certain kind of homeowner Jen St. Denis
jstdenis@biv.com
“We’ve had some not-nice people looking at the penthouse,” Bruce Langereis said in a stage whisper during the elevator ride up to the unsold $18 million penthouse at the top of the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia. Langereis, president of Delta Land Development Ltd., is on the hunt for a very specific kind of luxury condo buyer. They need to be wealthy. They need to be nice. And, preferably, a full-time resident of Vancouver. “We’ve avoided this trend to go to China and offer sales in China or elsewhere in the world,” Langereis said. “We’ve stayed home because it’s our belief — it’s something I learned in school — real estate markets are very local in nature.” Langereis is on a last push to sell the remaining seven unsold units in the 48-storey building. Pre-sales for the high-end condo tower began in 2007; then the global financial crisis hit. The building was completed in 2012, one year later than planned. Luxury condos in several high-end buildings lost value during the recession, leading to lawsuits from buyers, including those who had bought pre-sales at the Hotel Georgia development. Langereis’ strategy contrasts with that of other luxury condo developments in the city, such as the under-construction Trump International Hotel & Tower Vancouver, which is being marketed in Asia to buyers there.
“We’ve avoided this trend to go to China and offer sales in China or elsewhere in the world,” says Bruce Langereis, president of Delta Land Development about his downtown Vancouver project. “We’ve stayed home because it’s our belief — it’s something I learned in school — real estate markets are very local in nature.” PHOTO JEN ST. DENIS
The developer clarified that what he means by “local” is someone who has lived in Vancouver for at least five years and has a commitment to making this city their home.
East Van born
Langereis’ own roots in the city are deep. He grew up in a working-class family in East Vancouver and worked as a heavy-duty mechanic before deciding to take the real estate program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. “I applied one day in my coveralls — I was working at Neptune Terminals on bulldozers,” he recalled. He has two children, both in their early 20s, neither of whom are interested in following his footsteps into
real estate. “My daughter’s all about permaculture and my son is [training] to be a machinist,” he said proudly. As comfortable as Langereis is in his well-appointed kingdom — bantering with the concierges and greeting building residents cheerfully in the elevator — he also regrets how some things have changed. Langereis is working on planning a new community in the Soo Valley near Whistler, which he hopes will provide an affordable alternative to the internationally renowned ski resort. “I went to Whistler in the ’70s and there was a beautiful culture there and sense of community,” he said. “But that sense of community’s been pushed away.
… The main centre of town is retail, it’s become a very coveted place, it’s become monster homes. It’s lost a lot of that original charm.” While many have suggested that government could curb the erosion of housing diversity and sense of place by limiting foreign ownership or by trying to influence the market through taxation, Langereis balks at the idea. “I believe in the free market, that notion of globalization,” he said. “The moment you do anything that infringes on what that notion of globalization is, I think you’re fighting nature.” It’s not difficult to sell Vancouver to the world, he said. “Think of the world as
one big Monopoly board. The most coveted locations — everyone wants Boardwalk and Park Place. If you think of every city that you know, every city has a place to work, a place to shop, a place to do industry and a place to live. “So if you think of the world as a city, well, we’re the nice residential district of that city.” But he acknowledges that, as attractive as Vancouver properties are, it can take patience to connect with the right buyer. During a tour of the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, Langereis showed a reporter two four-bedroom units on the 47th floor, both priced at $8 million. “The person who bought [unit] 4701 paid $8.8 million in 2012. I’ve had offers for these for $6 million or $7 million, but what am I doing to that person? I won’t sell it,” Langereis said. “I like to make sales, but I also have my integrity.” The building’s 6,830-square-foot penthouse on the 48th floor is being sold in a mostly unfinished state, leaving the final design largely up to the future owner. Langereis said he is in talks with a potential buyer he describes as “a prominent local business guy.”
“Not realistic”
Malcolm Hasman, a realtor who specializes in the luxury market, and who sold a penthouse at the Fairmont Pacific Rim for $25 million in the summer of 2013, questioned Langereis’ insistence on finding locally based buyers. “That is not realistic at
all,” Hasman said. “Many of the buyers that I see in the high-end luxury real estate market reside in Vancouver two to six months a year and have international business.” Very wealthy buyers who will plunk down upwards of $20 million for a penthouse are rare, Hasman said, and there are more luxury condos on the market now than there were a few years ago. He cited the Trump tower, which has three penthouse units; Vancouver House, the “twisty tower” designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, now under construction at Beach and Howe; and resale units that come on the market from time to time from buildings like the Shangri-La Hotel. Hasman said the $25 million penthouse, sold to “a Middle Eastern royal family,” isn’t the most expensive property he’s ever sold. That honour goes to a $52 million Point Grey house he marketed that sold to a businessman from China.
Sense of community
Langereis, who lives at the Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, maintains he’s trying to create a community in the building, not just sell to the highest bidder. He previously developed three buildings in Coal Harbour and lived in one of them, and he said he’s seen how condo culture can go bad. “In any building, whether it’s luxury or mid-market, if the building is really, really unfriendly and litigious and toxic in terms of its culture, it doesn’t matter how nice it is,” he said. @jenstden
Speculation about ‘rough ride’ from province Continued from page 1 Bacchus wouldn’t specify what she was referring to. “Some of this is in public, some of this is not in public and there have been some recent incidents that I would assume had an impact,” she said. “It was my opinion he needed to take this step, but it was a step he decided. I have not discussed it with him.” Richardson said he resigned for the good of the board. “As we’re moving forward at this complex time, we’ve got the budget to finalize, we’ve got the seis-
mic submission to make by the end of June, that for the best of the board moving forward, which has been the most important thing that a trustee can look out for, that I should step aside and allow them how they want to move forward in terms of governance,” he said. Richardson didn’t shed light on the incidents to which Bacchus referred. “I’m not at liberty as a trustee to confirm or deny anything that may have occurred or didn’t occur in camera,” he said. “I just thought it in the best interest of the board, for the good
governance of the board, that my stepping aside would be the right thing to do.” Richardson said some would speculate he’d had a “rough ride” with the Ministry of Education appointing a special adviser after the board had contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers to complete a review of the VSB. He also referred to the sharp reaction he received from councillors when he spoke to city council June 11. The Courier reported online June 12 that Richardson irritated Vision Vancouver city councillors and trustees when he
recommended on behalf of the VSB that the city increase the distance between licensed marijuana stores and schools from the proposed 300 metres to 500 metres, stick to its proposed ban on the sale of marijuana-infused goods and direct a portion of licensing fees towards preventative education for youth. Those recommendations had been discussed at VSB committees but Bacchus believed those recommendations were only to be forwarded to the city in written form, were devised by a committee that didn’t include
Vision Vancouver representation and weren’t approved by the whole board. Bacchus was also upset the ministry briefed Richardson on the special adviser’s report on the evening of June 8, while other trustees had to wait until the media release June 9 to learn about it. Bacchus told the Courier in December Richardson offered her the vice-chair position on the board and a committee chair position, both of which she declined in favour of a stronger advocacy role. The school board is final-
izing its facilities plan for the end of the month. Richardson said it’s working on a seismic submission and the board must submit a report that demonstrates the board considered the recommendations in EY’s report prior to adopting the 2015-2016 budget. “We already had an extremely busy June ahead of us, so this is really going to make a busy end of the year for the school board,” Fraser said. The June 24 meeting starts at 5 p.m. at 1580 West Broadway. with files from Mike Howell @Cheryl_Rossi
W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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Family
Celebrate solstice with dance and lanterns CALENDAR
Diane Park. There are two performances, about 25 minutes each, at 7 and 9 p.m. The entrance is located at 5455 Fraser St. For more information about this free, accessible event, visit littlechambermusic.com.
Sandra Thomas
sthomas@vancourier.com
Riley Park
Celebrate summer solstice in Mountain View Cemetery with music and dance Sunday, June 21, with an event presented by the Little Chamber Music Series that Could. Summer Solstice in Mountain View Cemetery celebrates the circle of life, death and renewal by bringing community together to mark the longest day of the year with art, live music and performances by local dancers, including the Vancouver Courier’s arts reporter Cheryl Rossi. The audience will gather near the cemetery’s Celebration Hall to hear music by Arvo Pärt, local powerhouse musician Sarah Wheeler and a new work created for the occasion by composer Mark Haney. The 35 com-
Trimble Park with stage performances, activities and exhibitors. Carnival rides in Trimble Park are in operation Friday through Sunday until 5 p.m. As well, the Ecumenical Church Service takes place in Trimble
Park at 10 a.m. With the exception of the carnival rides and midway games, the fiesta’s entertainment and children’s activities are free. For a complete schedule, visit pointgreyfiesta.org. @sthomas10
West Point Grey
The Point Grey Fiesta takes place June 19, 20 and 21 with events for the entire family, including a carnival.
munity dancers, choreographed by Jessica Barrett (who also writes a column for the Courier), will move
through the beautiful green spaces of the central part of the cemetery and past an art installation by
The Point Grey Fiesta, the community’s annual start-of-summer celebration for families and friends, takes place June 19, 20 and 21 with events for the entire family. The weekend fiesta begins Friday with carnival rides in Trimble Park (West Eighth and Trimble) from 3 to 10 p.m. and a bike decorating event at Jericho Hill Centre from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday’s celebration begins with the Village Pancake Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at Safeway (4500 West 10th Ave) followed by a parade along West 10th to Discovery starting at 10 a.m. The celebration continues in
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E D N E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
W E D N E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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2015 YVR SUMMER FESTIVALS SCHEDULE YVR launched its two-year planning and consultation program to help create YVR’s new Master Plan, a roadmap that guides us to our future destination. As a community-based organization, the YVR Flight Crew will be taking our new Master Plan activation to 32 different summer festivals in your neighbourhood for feedback. Join the conversation and be a part of building your future airport. Make sure to connect with us online via Twitter at @YVRairport, using the hashtag #YVR2057.
Fri 12 & Sat 13
FAT CAT CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL Kelowna —fatcatfestival.ca
Sunday 14
SAPPERTON DAY STREET FESTIVAL New Westminster —shopsapperton.com/SD2015.html
JUNE Saturday 6
MARPOLE COMMUNITY DAY Vancouver —marpoleoakridge.org/community_day.htm
Saturday 6
UPS PLANE PULL Richmond
Saturday 6
HATS OFF DAY Burnaby —burnabyheights.com/events/hats-off-day/
Saturday 6 & Sunday 7
DOORS OPEN RICHMOND Richmond —richmond.ca/culture/about/events/ doorsopen.htm
SEPTEMBER
JULY
Saturday 5
Wednesday 1
Richmond World Festival Richmond
STEVESTON SALMON FESTIVAL Richmond —stevestonsalmonfestival.ca
Saturday 19
Friday 10
THOMPSON COMMUNITY PICNIC Richmond —richmond.ca/parksrec/centres
Fri 7, Sat 8 & Sun 9
RIBFEST Kamloops —kamloopsribfest.com
Saturday 11
KHATSAHLANO FESTIVAL Vancouver —khatsahlano.com
Sat 11 & Sun 12
CARNAVAL DEL SOL Vancouver —carnavaldelsol.ca
Friday 17
Sat 8 & Sun 9
RICHMOND MARITIME FESTIVAL Richmond
AUGUST Sat 1 & Sun 2
Fri 19, Sat 20 & Sun 21
DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL Vancouver
BARD ON THE BEACH Vancouver —bardonthebeach.org
WHITE ROCK SEA FESTIVAL White Rock —whiterockseafestival.ca
Sunday 21
Saturday 18
Sunday 2
NATIONAL ABORIGINAL DAY Richmond —rysa.bc.ca
MARPOLE SUMMERFEST Vancouver
Fri 26, Sat 27 & Sun 28
FUSION FESTIVAL Surrey —surrey.ca/fusionfestival
GOLDEN SPIKE DAYS Port Moody —goldenspikedays.ca
Sunday 28
Sat 18 & Sun 19
BURKEVILLE DAZE Richmond
Mon 29, Tues 30 & Wed July 1
Sat 25, Wed 29 & Sat August 1
SHIPS TO SHORE STEVESTON Richmond —richmond.ca/discover/events/ShipstoShore
* Omitting Monday August 24 and Monday August 31
SHOREFEST/CELEBRATION OF LIGHT Vancouver —hondacelebrationoflight.com
RIVERFEST New Westminster —fraserriverdiscovery.org
Wed 12 until Sun 16
Sunday 16
RAPTOR FESTIVAL Richmond —richmond.ca/parks
Sat 22 until Mon September 7*
THE FAIR AT THE PNE Vancouver —pne.ca
Thursday 6
Sunday 23
GARLIC FESTIVAL Richmond —garlicfestival.sharingfarm.ca
Sunday 19
WALK WITH THE DRAGON Vancouver —successfoundation.ca
Fri 25 & Sat 26
BC NORTHERN EXHIBITION Prince George —bcne.ca
PRIDE FESTIVAL Vancouver —vancouverpride.ca
BARD ON THE BEACH Vancouver —bardonthebeach.org
GREAT CANADIAN SHORELINE CLEANUP Richmond —shorelinecleanup.ca
$ www.yvr.ca/blog
! community_relations@yvr.ca # VancouverInternationalAirport " @YVRairport
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is managed by Vancouver Airport Authority, a community-based, not-for-profit organization. As Canada’s second largest airport, we are proud of our role as an economic generator for the local community and as a key connecting hub to the world.
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
Wear plaid for dad this Father’s Day Martha Perkins
mperkins@glaciermedia.ca
Don Cherry’s doing it in a way that only Don Cherry (thank goodness) can pull off. Dave Thomas says you can do it with a toque. And the vice-admiral of the Canadian Navy salutes everyone who’s about to do it. On June 19, the Friday before Father’s Day, they’re taking part in Wear Plaid for Dad. This new nation-wide initiative by Prostate Cancer Canada is both a celebration of dads and call to action.
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Don Cherry is wearing plaid for dads this June 19 as a way of raising awareness of and funds for Prostate Cancer Canada. PHOTO HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
The premise is simple: challenge your office or team to start a campaign at wearplaidfordad.ca, set a goal and start fundraising. Host fun challenges at work — pin your baby photos on the staffroom bulletin board and see if co-workers can guess who’s who, host a bake sale or a pub night or let your friends and family know you’re involved and ask them to donate. Encourage your boss to buy you all a pizza lunch if you reach your target by
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tion of the one in eight men who will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. • Donate the equivalent amount of your dad’s age. If your office isn’t involved, that doesn’t have to stop you. You can pledge to wear plaid on the website or you can go to prostatecancer. ca/doitfordad to start your own personal crowdfunding campaign. The donations go directly to Prostate Cancer Canada and donors will be emailed a tax receipt. @Fund_Aid
Summer Street Soiree in support of Burn Camp sthomas@vancourier.com
Affordable , esthetic dentistry for seniors
Father’s Day or, better yet, match the funds you raise. Then, on June 19, wear plaid. Plaid shirts, plaid ties, plaid dresses, plaid socks — it’s a chance to reveal your inner square. Here are a few other ideas: • Make a donation to your team’s campaign in honour or in memory of your dad • Make a donation as your Father’s Day gift – send Dad a link so he knows that you’re showing the love and care about his health. • Donate $8 in recogni-
Social entrepreneurs Modern Fort and Elena Murzello, author of The Love List, have been working hard to organize a summer market scheduled for June 27, with partial proceeds dedicated to the B.C. Professional Fire Fighter’s Burn Fund in support of Young Burn Survivors Camp, which runs in July. (The goal of Modern Fort is to help build social awareness through design and fund projects that support the social, emotional, mental wellbeing and self-
worth of those in need.) The Summer Street Soirée includes local vendors who also wish to make a difference in the community. The camp helps hundreds of young burn survivors from across the province by giving these kids the opportunity to get to know each other, have fun and forget about their cares, even if for just a little while. Every year burn unit health professionals, adult burn survivors and professional fire fighters donate their time to help these young burn survivors get through both their physical
and emotional scars. The Burn Fund pays for each camper and for the operating costs of the camp. The Summer Street Soirée, a family-friendly event that brings local businesses together to make big differences, will include retail vendors, food carts, food trucks, live music, a DJ, face-painting and more. The market runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Beaumont Studios, located at the corner of West Fifth Avenue and Alberta St. Visit burnfund.org/camp-for-youngburn-survivors for more information about the camp. @sthomas10
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W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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Davidicus Wong
davidicuswong.wordpress.com
I have a funny habit of buying the occasional lottery ticket and not checking the numbers, knowing full well that winning tickets are worthless after one year. Lotteries foster magical thinking. We like to dream. What would you do with an extra $1000, $10,000 or $100,000? What would you do with a million dollars? Those really big numbers both delight and confuse us. We forget about the teeny tiny numbers – like our odds of actually winning. Lotteries can be a tax on the poor. As a kid, I remember seeing desperate looking people spending $20 or more for the improbable chance of winning big and improving their lives. The feeling of imagining winning really is enjoyable and to some it can be an addiction. That magical feeling, and optimistic thinking that goes along with it, instantly deflates when we find out we’ve lost. That’s probably why I wasn’t keen on checking my soon to be unlucky numbers. But even if you don’t buy lottery tickets, you’re still a player in the big lot-
We don’t take stock of what we have when we have it and this is what limits us most.
tery of life. There’s the genetic lottery, the random mix up of genetic traits you acquired from your mom and dad. If your parents don’t look like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, you probably don’t look like either of them. You got half your genes from each parent, but those genes were randomly distributed to you and any siblings. Nature may have thrown in a number of mutations and this all makes you a complete individual. Your unique genetic makeup, the events of your life, your childhood and your relationships are yours
alone through chance, serendipity, karma or divine intervention. You may not think of these as prizes, but they are. If you knew you had just one year, one month or one week left of life, what would you do with this time? How would you use the gifts you have been given? With your limited time remaining, who would you call? What would you say? Who would you spend time with? Where would you go? What would you do? The reality is that our lives are limited. Though we live each day with an assumption of immortality, we won’t live forever, and
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because of this, we limit ourselves. We don’t take stock of what we have when we have it and this is what limits us most. You have a unique potential in your life today. It is worth much more than the lottery ticket in your pocket and certainly more than the old ones in your drawer. Life is a lottery, but most of us don’t realize what we have won. Check your winnings now and spend them while you can. Look at your talents. What useful skills come easily to you? What can you improve and refine with practice? Look at your relationships. What can you do to appreciate and strengthen those connections? Is there anything important left unsaid? In what ways can you express your love? Look at the positive potential of each day. What small thing can you do to make someone else’s day? Who in need can you help? What great things can you do with your life? You are already a winner. Share your special gifts with others. Davidicus Wong is a family physician. You can read more about achieving your positive potential in health at davidicuswong.wordpress.com.
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GOT ARTS? 604.738.1411 or events@vancourier.com
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June 17 to 19, 2015 1. The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary with more than 1,800 artists from around the world, 300 performances and 150 free concerts at 35 indoor and outdoor venues over the course of 14 days, June 18 to July 1. That’s a lot of numbers. Here a couple more: singer Erykah Badu, who performs June 23 at the Orpheum, has a son with Andre 3000 named Seven. Other performers appearing at the jazz fest include Buddy Guy, the Bad Plus, Este Rada, Pink Martini, the Stanley Clarke Band, Adonic Puentes and the Voice of Cuba Orchestra, the Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, Banda Magda, Abdullah Ibrahim Mukashi Trio, Tower of Power and the Roots. For details, go to coastaljazz.ca. 2. The North American touring production of Disney’s The Lion King claws its way (see what we did there?) back to Vancouver for a four-week mauling (OK, that’s the last one) of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, June 18 to July 12. For tickets and details, go to vancouver.broadway.com. 3. The seventh annual Next Music from Tokyo touches town at the Biltmore Cabaret, June 17, 7:30 p.m. for an evening of imported indie rock delights from Japan. Bands include Owarikara, Mothercoat, Otori, Pens+ and Atlantis Airport. Details at nextmusicfromtokyo.com. 4. Vancouver’s Plastic Orchid Factory presents the work of Dora-nominated Montréal artist Jacques Poulin-Denis and his company Grand Poney in The Value of Things. Blurring the lines between dance, theatre and live music, performances run June 17 to 20 at Scotiabank Dance Centre. Tickets at ticketstonight.ca. Details at plasticorchidfactory.com.
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Silliness conquers love in steampunk-fashioned Bard play THEATRE REVIEW Jo Ledingham joled@telus.net
Here’s a paradox for you: when Scott Bellis is on stage, everything gets calm and quiet. It’s as if he creates a contemplative aura around himself. We hang on his every word. Early in The Comedy of Errors, Bellis, as Egeon, the distraught father of twins Antipholus of Ephesus (Jay Hindle) and Antipholus of Syracuse (Ben Elliott), gives us the backstory and it’s the most lucid delivery I’ve heard: how, when travelling by sea with his wife, identical twin sons and identical twin servants, the ship was wrecked and the family was, like the ship itself, torn apart. Egeon has spent the last couple of decades looking
for his wife and sons whom he continues to believe are alive. The paradox is that Bellis, wearing the director’s hat, introduces so much business (busyness) into this production that the story, like that ship buffeted by winds, is all at sea. But it’s fantastic looking. Pam Johnson creates a steampunk set with wheels and cogs, rivets and wrenches. At one point Dr. Pinch (Jeff Gladstone), a character described as “a cyborg and mad scientist,” wheels a contraption of jangley bits on stage and performs what appears to be lobotomies on one of the Antipholusses and one of the Dromios. Lobotomies? Gerald King lights this set with flair and invention and, as always, Mara Gottler’s costumes are fabulous concoctions — plush and metallic, leather and lace,
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Victorian and futuristic. Dr. Pinch, as a kind of master of ceremonies, wears a frock coat, mad hatter’s hat and goggles. There are a lot of goggles and shades in this production. It begins fabulously with all the characters, choreographed by the incomparable Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, coming onstage. It’s dark and shadowy and, under the power of Dr. Pinch, they move in lockstep just as if they, too, are part of the mechanical set. Elliott is outstanding as Antipholus of Syracuse. He’s long-limbed with a kind of elastic body and a hugely expressive face. Elliott’s long suit is a kind of goofy naiveté and it suits him well in this role in which, mistaken for his twin, he’s given jewelry, money and even Adriana, his brother’s wife (Sereana Malani) — which particular offer he appears especially to relish. Continued next page
W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
full of frenzied fun Continued from page 20 Dawn Petten is an alchemist: she turns every role into gold. She does it again here as Dromio of Ephesus, servant to Antipholus of Ephesus. Petten is the very definition of versatile: she can do tragedy as well as comedy. Here, she’s comic and without overworking the role, she’s a joy to watch. It’s the small, subtle stuff: a look, a gesture. Always a crowd pleaser is Andrew McNee, here gender-blind cast as Nell, Adriana’s fat cook who has set her sights on Dromio of Syracuse (Luisa Jojic). Padded out in a cook’s apron and with lank grey hair and “floured” face, McNee lum-
bers about, uttering deep growls. His finest moment might be when Nell wallops whatever live creature keeps trying to escape from the soup pot. Don’t remember that being in the script, either. But it got big laughs on opening night. Lili Beaudoin is a foxy courtesan (costumed in corsets and flounces); Lindsey Angell is a bookish-looking Luciana. And Sereana Malani makes a feisty, tough-broad Adriana. This production, which had its genesis at Studio 58 in 2011 under Bellis’s direction, is fun — if frenzied — to watch. I raved about that earlier production. On the bigger stage, however, at some distance
from the action and with so much business bordering on slapstick, the long-abiding love story between Egeon and his wife and their love for their children is eclipsed. And that’s a pity because even in Shakespeare’s silliest comedies, love conquers all. For more reviews, go to joledingham.ca. The Comedy of Errors is at Bard on the Beach until Sept. 26. For tickets and details, call 604-739-0559 or go to bardonthebeach.org.
Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors goes Victorian futuristic at Bard on the Beach.
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
Arts&Entertainment Godspell gets makeover 1970s pop musical reborn with female messiah
THEATRE Christine Lyon
clyon@nsnews.com
Andrew Cohen, Jennifer Copping and Aubrey Joy Maddock star in the Arts Club’s production of Godspell at the Granville Island Stage.
Before he started racking up film and television credits, Canadian actor Victor Garber famously portrayed Jesus Christ as a puffy-haired hippie in clown makeup and a Superman shirt in the 1972 Toronto stage production of Godspell
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and the movie adaptation that followed a year later. Subsequent versions of Stephen Schwartz’s pop musical about Jesus and the apostles have often represented Christ similarly, as a colourful harlequinlike figure. But Sara-Jeanne Hosie knew she wanted to take a different, more modern approach when she signed on to direct the forthcoming Arts Club Theatre Company production of Godspell. “I love the original Godspell. I love the hippie, tickle trunk version of it because at the time it was written, that was present,” she says. “I think bringing it forward is a good thing so other people can relate.” The show is comprised of a series of musical parables, based mainly on the Gospel of Matthew. “I don’t think you need to have any knowledge of the Bible to see this,” Hosie ensures. “For any belief system, I think this show works.” As director, her challenge was to make the teachings and Biblical characters relevant to modern-day audiences. “What I realized was that Jesus didn’t need to be a man, Jesus didn’t need to be a woman, Jesus didn’t need to be a child. It just needed to be a person that we would follow,” she says. She and her crew auditioned actors of all ages, races and genders for the lead role. In the end, it was Jennifer Copping who emerged as the obvious messiah. “Jen walked in the room and she spoke the words and she made the text so contemporary and we just knew we would follow her,” Hosie says. Meanwhile, Judas will be played by Andrew Cohen and John the Baptist will be played by youth performer Aubrey Joy Maddock, costumed in overalls emblazoned with a heart inside the familiar Superman shield — a nod to ’70s era productions. “There’s just certain things that you can’t escape with Godspell and you don’t want to escape,” Hosie says. The Arts Club revival takes place in a train station, a bustling hub for people from a diversity of backgrounds. Enter Jesus, who recruits a group of followers and teaches them life lessons through lively song and dance numbers. A large projection screen behind
the performance area will help to bring these parables to life. “The projection element allows us to escape the train station and go to other places,” Hosie explains. “It’s a very modern approach.” All of the 12 multitalented cast members play instruments on stage, and music director Danny Balkwill (also in the cast) has freshened up the Tony Award-nominated score, which still features fan-favourite hits such as “Day by Day,” “Learn Your Lessons Well” and “Turn Back, O Man.” “People who have heard Godspell in the past and love it, I think, will love it tenfold after hearing the dynamic that [Balkwill] has created from the music.” Though based on Biblical source material and featuring re-settings of traditional hymns, Hosie says Godspell was never meant to be about religion.
“The show is about a community where people have lost their way.” —director Sara-Jeanne Hosie “The show is about a community where people have lost their way, they’ve stopped listening to one another,” she explains. Those themes are more than relevant today in an age when technology has resulted in people being simultaneously connected and anti-social. “There’s a solitude in that,” Hosie says, “and this [musical] is about people coming together, all walks of life coming together, seeing each other, accepting each other and then celebrating what life can be. It really is a celebration of love and community.” Godspell runs June 18 to Aug. 1 at the Granville Island Stage. For tickets and details go to artsclub.com or call 604-687-1644.
W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5 THE VANCOUVER COURIER
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Sports&Recreation
GOT GAME? Contact sports editor Megan Stewart at mstewart@vancourier.com or 604-630-3549
More seats on deck at Nat Bailey Stadium Expanded bleachers accommodate at least 600 more fans CANADIANS Megan Stewart
mstewart@vancourier.com
With the new Hey Y’all Porch at Nat Bailey Stadium, baseball fans can prepare for new traditions and the echo of a southern drawl at Canadians games this summer. Record attendance and a slew of sell-out games in 2014 compelled the Vancouver single-A shortseason franchise to let more people in the door at Scotia Bank Field. “We want as many people who want to see baseball have a chance to come out and see baseball,” said C’s president Andy Dunn. “For me, I could care less about the number of sellouts. Good for us — but I would rather sell as many tickets to people who want to come watch a ball game and us have 10 or 15 tickets left in our pocket. To me that’s a perfect day. The reason we ended up having more
Canadians infielder Rolando Segovia throws to first base in the club’s opening training day at Nat Bailey Stadium June 15. The season begins on the road June 18, and the home opener is June 26. PHOTO DAN TOULGOET
seats is we just got tired of seeing people come to the ballpark and get turned away. You want to come to a game, it’s our responsibility to find a way to get you into the game.” There is additional seating for disabled spectators, added Dunn.
The bleachers got their name because the Floridian likened the 160-seat left-field bleachers to the kind of place, shaded and cool on a hot day, where you’d want nothing more than to sip ice tea and rock in the breeze while taking in the game.
“I’ve always called it a porch,” said the club president since 2010. “You can’t have a porch without a rocking chair.” Each of the four sections will have two large, black rocking chairs, and the club will sell spiked summer drinks — called Hey Y’all
Southern Style Hard Ice Teas — from beverage supplier Northam. Individual game tickets on the porch are only available for night games on three dates: June 30 against the Hillsboro Hops, July 2 against Spokane, and August 11 against the Everett Aquasox. Otherwise, groups of 30 to 160 can book the seats. The new bleachers mean the distance to the outfield wall has been trimmed by 15 feet. The foul line now extends 320 feet from home, not 335 as it did last year. The wall is six feet high instead of 30, making the park friendlier to hitters. “It’s going to bring a little more offence to the ball park,” said Dunn. “I’d love to be a right-handed hitter in this ballpark right now.” Fans can expect more than last year’s 24 homers to leave Nat Bailey Stadium, known previously as a pitcher’s park for its deep outfield and high wall. In 48 home games, batters hit the ball out of the park in 18 games.
When a hit reaches the porch, fans will have the chance to embrace one of the sport’s enduring traditions. “One of the things we’re hoping is fans who are sitting out there and might catch a visiting team home run, let’s get rid of it and throw it back on the field,” said Dunn. “It’s going to be fun watching kids make plays over the wall.” @MHStewart
C’s open on the road The Vancouver Canadians travel to SalemKeizer and Tri-City for the first eight games of the 2015 class-A short-season. The C’s first home game is 7:05 p.m. June 26 against the Hillsboro Hops, marking the first of an eight-game home stand. In the sold-out home-opener, right-handed hurler from Kentucky, Clinton Hollon, is slated to start for Vancouver.
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
The Courier presents Vancouver’s Elite Graduating Athletes of 2015
Niko Clironomos PAST
LORD BYNG GREY GHOSTS / OLD BOYS RAVENS
PRESENT
JERICHO BEACH PARK
FUTURE
UNIVERSITY OF B.C. THUNDERBIRDS
O
n an Australian rugby tour with the Grey Ghosts last summer, outside centre Niko Clironomos scored four tries in a 38-5 victory over their Gold Coast hosts. But his individual output is not what the Lord Byng captain remembers as the highlight of the trip. “It was the most fun game I’ve played in. It was the best team game we’ve ever played,” the 18-year-old said about his five years with the high school team. “Everyone was working together. It was fun to see what we could do with the ball.” Lord Byng head coach Ian MacPhee knows Clironomos as a grounded and mature player, one who sets up his teammates for success and doesn’t say much about it. “Niko’s on-field performance and character are second to none and although he is not a ‘rah-rah’ or vocal leader, he has always led by example and has the respect of all his teammates as a result,” he said. Plus, he delivers. “He is one of the most complete athletes that I’ve worked with,” MacPhee said of the player invited on an U20 national team European tour and who’s a member of the provincial seven- and 15-aside teams. He was identified as one of the best high schoolers in B.C. and was awarded a scholarship to play for UBC next year. “He doesn’t have to brag,” said Old Boys Ravens junior coach Garret Garbe. “He’s
gifted with amazing speed and he’s strong. The biggest thing is he’s humble but he has a lot of confidence.” Clironomos became the Grey Ghosts team captain two years after his older brother, Trystan, held the role. Both also play in the junior Ravens program that won the B.C. Rugby Union U19 provincial championship twice before Clironomos started his senior year at Lord Byng. “He’s the best junior player our club has seen in a long time,” said Garbe. His father died before Clironomos turned 10. His mother raised a daughter and four roughhousing sons who all play rugby. Clironomos, born third after his sister and oldest brother, grew up at a young age. “It made me be more independent. It was hard but you grow,” he said. “Pretty quickly after, you learn not everything comes easy. You have to work for what you want. It’s made me a better person in a way, not growing up spoiled.” When he suits up for the Thunderbirds next season, Clironomos will be playing for a Ravens rival and won’t hear his club teammates cheering him on. It’s a shortterm sacrifice for long-term gain, said the Ravens’ coach. “It’s an investment for our roster for when he comes back four or five years later, he’ll be better for us,” said Garbe. “All the boys he played with love playing with him.”— Megan Stewart
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THE VANCOUVER COURIER W E DN E SDAY, J U N E 1 7 , 2 0 1 5
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