Deadline still looming for Marshall Lake dam
With rumours growing about a deadline for Marshall Lake’s ultimate demise activists, politicians and land owners continue to meet with key provincial staff to save the lake. Greenwood resident Christopher Stevenson, one of the key people leading the charge to protect the small lake which lies between Grand Forks and Greenwood...
Nelson Councillors Join B.C. Colleagues in Voting for Marijuana Decriminalization
Delegates at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities conference, including several from the West Kootenay, voted this week in favour of the decriminalization of marijuana. “It was a good debate,” Nelson City Councillor Donna Macdonald told The Nelson Daily by phone from the conference on Wednesday, “and it was a substantial...
BC mayors met at the annual local government gathering in Victoria
Mayors from across BC met in Victoria today to examine the challenges of BC’s communities and to share best practices in moving forward. On the topic of infrastructure the 140 member strong BC Mayors’ Caucus endorsed the following statement: “We agree that our communities require immediate action to provide stable, predictable,...
OP/ED: Déjà vu at the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference
Over 1,000 delegates from 189 municipalities and districts across B.C. are gathering this week in Victoria for the annual conference of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. And for many of them the recent appointment of Bill Bennett as Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development may very well seem like déjà vu. Bennett...
CUPE Local 2262 sets up information pickets lines at NDCC
Talks have been replaced with information pickets after bargaining between the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) and CUPE Local 2262 broke down Friday. Unionized staff at the Nelson and District Community Complex set up information picket lines outside the entrance to the pool entrance Friday at 4 p.m. As this was...
COMMENT: Tar sands? No tanks!
I live on a sailboat. My “backyard” is Georgia and Johnstone Straits. And, yes, I am a NIMBY. To anyone who wants to transport Alberta’s tar sands oil through BC’s pristine wilderness to load onto tankers, I say: Not In My Backyard. We all know what the dire environmental consequences will be if several hundred oil tankers ...
COMMENT: CETA trade deal and Jumbo resort proposal
Ever since the BC Liberal government surprised residents of BC’s Kootenays with its March 20, 2012 approval for the controversial Jumbo Glacier Resort, people have been asking: Why now? After all, the Jumbo Resort proposal has been around since 1989 and has been successfully opposed by local people for more than twenty years....
OP/ED: A Few Observations about the 41st Parliament
With Parliament back in full swing I would like to reflect a bit on the 2011 general election which for several reasons was quite historic. The 41st Parliament obviously changed our party by thrusting us into the role of Official Opposition for the first time, but it also changed the face of the House of Commons, by making ...
Nelson Council Begins Planning for Extreme Weather
On the assumption that the number of extreme weather events will continue to increase as a result of climate change, City Council intends to start planning for them. “The downtown flooding in July was a prompt to get moving on this,” Councillor Donna Macdonald told The Nelson Daily. “It doesn’t appear that we, as a global...
Council Plans to Improve Nelson’s Bicycle Paths and 'Walkability'
The City of Nelson plans to create interconnected bicycle pathways and bike parking facilities throughout the city. That’s a goal that will be incorporated into a new draft of Nelson’s 2008 Official Community Plan (OCP) at a council meeting in October. The city will also “establish direct and accessible, human-powered...