Langley Politics Dotcom

Meggs Hospitalized

2010-03-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

Best wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Vancouver City Councillor Geoff Meggs, who was hospitalized after he was knocked off his bike by a car yesterday. The Globe and Mail has more details.

Online Voting, Rapid Transit, and more

2010-03-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

No baby yet...

The Tyee has an interesting piece from Michael Geist on why voting via the Internet is a bad idea for democracy. I tend to agree--there are just too many things that can go wrong. Geist is a computer guru and at the forefront of innovative thinking in the technology world, so his voice carries a lot of weight.

SFU's Kennedy Stewart thinks the Province needs to put together a group of experts to hash out a regional economic growth strategy for the Lower Mainland (Sun blog).

The Langley School District is restructuring (Advance). Insert your own deck-chairs-on-the-Titanic joke here.

TransLink wants to hear from stakeholders on the future of Surrey and Langley rapid transit (TransLink).

Sunday Soapbox

2010-03-07T09:21:00.001-08:00

Here is our weekly open thread to discuss whatever is on your mind.

Sunday Stuff

2010-03-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

No news on the Bateman baby front...

I've blogged about Barry Penner is Awesome before, but its awesomeness has reached a new level with this post:

Okay, so the Winter Olympics have come and gone, and are generally regarded as a huge success. Best ever, some would argue. Barry Penner has an idea why:
"It seems to me these Olympics have been like Expo on steroids," he said (in the Chilliwack Progress).

Way to go, Barry. I think you just disqualified the Olympics from themselves. How embarrassing.

The debate continues over what closing the Langley Centennial Museum on off-season Sundays and Mondays will actually mean (Times and Advance). Reading the Township tea leaves, I'm pretty sure the closure will be reversed by Council. Probably by a 7-2 or even 8-1 vote. The vote comes on Monday, March 15.

At that same March 15th meeting, I plan to bring back my motion to send the Township Page out for bids from the local newspapers--an idea which could save $120,000 annually. That motion failed in a 3-3 tie last month, but I'm hoping at least two of the three (Green, Richter, and Dornan) who were absent will see the wisdom of trimming that cost.

Frank Bucholtz liked the fact that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff visited Langley last month (Times).

The Langley Arts Council made a presentation to Council last week (Advance).

The Week's Best Late-Night Jokes

2010-03-06T21:24:00.000-08:00

About.com has their usual list of the week's best late-night political jokes, including this one from David Letterman: "Talking about presidents who smoked. You remember George W. Bush? Remember him? He's saying while he was president he would enjoy the occasional cigar. On a rare occasion, he would have a cigar because he said it helped him think. I want to tell you, occasions don't get more rare than that, ladies and gentlemen."

Thursday News Notes

2010-03-04T16:12:00.000-08:00

It looks like the City has sold the old Langley Prairie school site to a developer with a plan for 254 low-rise condos (Advance).

Tourism Langley has issued their latest quarterly newsletter update (Tourism Langley).

In Langley Township, we call it a long term financial plan. In Surrey, they dress it up as "Build Surrey"(Civic Surrey).

Apparently the School District is still using the antiquated accounting system that helped get them into their mess (Times).

Open For Business Newsletter #1

2010-03-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Rich Coleman and I were talking about small businesses in Langley and commiserating that, often times, we have information from our respective governments that we wish we could get out to business people.

So we decided to do something about it.

Today, we launched our first-ever Open For Business newsletter and sent it out to a number of local businesses. We hope it will be a useful tool for these business owners. Over the coming months, we plan to share information about what the provincial and municipal governments are doing to help and encourage business and economic development.

A PDF of the first issue (where Rich writes about the 2010 BC Budget, and I introduce my small business background and preview future newsletters) can be found here.

If you didn't receive it, but would like to get future Open For Business emails, sign up in the box below:

Get Monthly "Open For Business" Emails

For Email Marketing you can trust

Tourism BC Visits Langley's Torch Relay Celebration

2010-03-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

My friends over at Tourism Langley pointed out this Tourism BC YouTube video, featuring a First Nations museum in Mission, Domaine de Chaberton, and footage from the Langley Torch Relay community celebration. If you're looking to relive Feb. 8 (Torch Day in Langley), it's worth watching:

What Would A Museum Hours' Cut Actually Mean?

2010-03-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of letters and columns over the suggestion that the Township close the Langley Centennial Museum on Sundays and Mondays during off-peak seasons. I thought it might be helpful for you to see the actual memos and facts from Township staff on the idea.

The original February 2 memo is here.
Another memo, with more operational details, dated March 1, is here.

Some relevant excerpts:

Historically the museum was closed Mondays from Thanksgiving Monday to the first Monday in May through 2003. Monday openings in the off season were added in October 2003. The museum has been open Sundays from 1:00 - 5:00 pm since before 1987.

During the years when the museum was closed on Mondays two professional staff continued to work that day. If Council approves a Monday closure two professional staff will continue work on Mondays. Museum staff will be available to:

- oversee any Recreation Worker led registered Monday programs
- maintain Lochiel School commitments
- coordinate pick-up and drop-off for offsite self-guided tour options
- organize and plan for school programs scheduled from Tuesday to Friday
- do conservation or exhibit related work

The in-museum self guided program "Discovery Cupboards" would no longer be available on Mondays but would remain available on Fridays.

As noted in the Memo to Council dated February 2, 2010 closing on Mondays only would shift one regular part-time clerical position to other recreation facilities, reducing auxiliary hours at those facilities. Maintaining the current operating hours on a seasonal basis would require auxiliary staff to supplement the full-time clerical position during the defined summer season. Closing on Sundays and Mondays would shift both regular part-time clerical positions to other recreation facilities, reducing auxiliary hours at those facilities. Maintaining the current operating hours on a seasonal basis would require using auxiliary staff to supplement the full-time clerical position during the defined season. In both scenarios there is an allowance made to provide eight hours per week of auxiliary clerical support throughout the off-season.

The draft budget is in the public consultation stage, and will come back to Council later this month for bylaw readings.

February's Most-Read Posts

2010-03-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

Another month is in the books, and it's time to look back at the top 5 posts on Langley Politics Dotcom in February 2010:

1. Taking Photos of the Torch and Local Torchbearers
2. Mayors Chat at Chamber
3. Fassbender Chairs TransLink's Mayors' Council
4. Marilyn Boswyk Has Passed Away
5. Cancel Fraser Highway? No Thanks.

And here are our Township Council meeting reports:

February 1 Afternoon Evening
February 4 Budget

Langley Township Council Meeting Report--Monday Night, March 1, 2010

2010-03-02T08:53:00.000-08:00

Notes from Langley Township Council's regular meeting, Monday night, March 1, 2010. Click here for the full agenda and reports.

Alan Thain of the Langley Arts Council made a presentation to Council on his group's activities. Council unanimously passed a motion to write a letter asking the provincial government to restore arts and culture grants (moved by Fox, seconded by Richter) and to have staff work with Arts Council on some partnership possibilities (moved by Richter, seconded by Green).

Fred Pepin of the Langley Heritage Society asked Council to restore a proposed $31,000 funding cut to the Langley Centennial Museum. This will be discussed later this month as part of our 2010 budget cycle.

We voted unanimously to send a bylaw subdividing 0.93 acres at 6846 197B St. for four lots to public hearing (moved by Bateman, seconded by Fox).

Council voted unanimously (moved by Ferguson, seconded by Fox) to send a land se contract amendment to public hearing. The amendment would allow Eagle Wind RV Park at 26920 52 Avenue to add 13 RV pads, three bed and breakfast units, and increase the maximum stay to 30 days.

Council gave unanimous three readings to a bylaw notice enforcement bylaw amendment (moved by Fox, seconded by Ward).

We voted unanimously (moved by Bateman, seconded by Ward) to give final adoption to a new pavement cut policy and fee.

Council voted unanimously (moved by Ferguson, seconded by Bateman) to give final reading to rezoning 3.23 acres at 56th and 210A for 236 apartments. An accompanying development permit was also unanimously approved (moved by Fox, seconded by Ward).

Council unanimously endorsed sending an invitation to Langley City for a joint Council meeting (moved by Kositsky, seconded by Ward).

A motion for a staff review on the Township's policies, bylaws, and enforcement strategies on soil deposits was referred to our Council Priorities Committee meeting in April (original motion moved by Fox, seconded by Ward; referral moved by Bateman, seconded by Kositsky and passed 7-2 with Fox and Green opposed). I wanted this put over to CPC so our lawyer and staff could be present for the discussion, and so those of us with ideas could bring them forward.

Langley Township Council Meeting Report--Monday Afternoon, March 1, 2010

2010-03-02T08:17:00.001-08:00

Notes from Langley Township Council's special meeting, Monday afternoon, March 1, 2010. Click here for the full agenda and reports.

Neighbours Jasmir Walia and Lucy Baratta made delegations requesting that, while they do have some outstanding issues and concerns, Council move the Jericho Sub-Neighbourhood Plan on to the next step. Later in the meeting, Council voted unanimously (moved by Long, seconded by Ward) to endorse the terms of reference for the Jericho plan, and proceed with an open house based on a conceptual land use plan. This will happen later this month.

Recreation, Culture and Parks Advisory Committee chair Suzan Guest presented her group's 2010 work plan, which was approved unanimously by Council (moved by Bateman, seconded by Ferguson).

The application to exclude a 16.6 acre portion of 7645 and 7669 Glover Road and 22423 Labonte for a Trinity Western University district was unanimously endorsed (moved by Ward, seconded by Bateman). Despite some inflammatory and exaggerated comments in the press over the past few weeks, the TWU application was actually a very thoughtful and elegant response to their long-term housing and building needs. The plan contemplates three parcels at the southern end of the property, buffered from the working ALR land to the west by existing trees, rivers, and marshes. They contemplate adding a number of outdoor natural and classroom environments to study in, and cluster their buildings near Glover Road. Having worked on this for ten years, they have investigated every possibility, including trying to go up on their own property, but geotechnic analysis ruled that out. They have also looked at ways to provide benefits to agriculture, including adding new agricultural learning programs and looking at innovative ways to remediate our Jackman Pit landfill for agricultural purposes. Considering they could have asked for the moon, TWU was very careful and intelligent in their planning and application. I have publicly supported a University District during my 2005 and 2008 election campaigns, and the Township's own Rural Plan has endorsed it for many years.

Council voted 8-1 (moved by Long, seconded by Bateman; Fox opposed) to advise the Agricultural Land Commission that an ALR subdivision application for 56th Avenue and 238th Street complies with our zoning bylaw. This is not an exclusion, nor did we vote to support it; the motion (different than the one on the original order paper) was merely to acknowledge that it did conform to our zoning. Indeed, the zoning for that property predates the arrival of the ALR. The proposal is to subdivide 18.14 acres into 16 lots.

We voted unanimously (moved by Fox, seconded by Ward) to continue a $60,000 rural resident toilet rebate program for another year. During the six-month pilot project last year, 285 toilets were replaced at a cost of $33,050.

Council voted unanimously (moved by Bateman, seconded by Ward) to approve a Development Coordinated Works project to replace some old water mains under 208th Street (from 80 to 84) while some roadwork takes place. This will save us $150,000.

The 2010 parcel tax roll review panel will sit on Monday, March 22, at 9 a.m.

Council approved a presentation request from the CKNW Anti-Bullying Campaign for March 15 (moved by Kositsky, seconded by Ward; passed unanimously).

Council voted unanimously to endorse a Community Safety Advisory Committee recommendation to write the provincial government in support of more drug and alcohol treatment options for youth (moved by Kositsky, seconded by Bateman).

After an amendment, Council unanimously approved the Heritage Advisory Committee's 2010 workplan. The amendment deleted the HAC's suggestion that they work on a "Mayoral Chain of Office for the Township of Langley." (Amendment moved by Richter, seconded by Bateman; passed 5-4 with Green, Dornan, Long, and Kositsky opposed). After some questioning, the Mayor indicated that he was behind this suggestion. A mayoral chain of office is an ornamental necklace that some municipalities have, with names of mayors inscribed on them. They are generally only worn at inaugural meetings or very formal municipal events. They are quite expensive, with each engraved square (usually one per mayor) costing $500-$1,000; the Township has had 21 mayors in our history. Further, the Township, as one of the oldest municipalities in BC, has never had a chain of office, as our government predates them. Often, chains of office have been donated by retiring mayors, but this never occurred in the Township (possibly due to the modest nature of the community in the early days, the number of mayors who were defeated at the polls, and the ones who died shortly after--or even in--office). This seemed like little more than an expensive vanity project, so I was glad to see it taken off the HAC's radar.

We voted unanimously to endorse a Community Safety Advisory Committee recommendation that the Township make a presentation to the School Board on traffic safety around schools (moved by Bateman, seconded by Ward).

Council voted unanimously (moved by Richter, seconded by Ferguson) to ask staff to consider a community pump station as part of the 41st Avenue Brookswood sewer project.

We voted 7-2 (moved by Bateman, seconded by Ferguson; Ward and Richter opposed) to fly the Lions' Club flag at Township Hall during Lions' Week, March 22-26.

Sunday News Notes

2010-02-28T08:40:00.000-08:00

As a nation waits for a puck to drop at noon today, here are some items making local news:

The old municipal hall site in Murrayville is for sale. It will be good to get this dealt with, as moving the Township out in 2005 left a hole in the heart of the neighbourhood (Times and Advance).

Is John Furlong the next mayor of Vancouver (City Caucus)? I don't buy it; John has never seen terribly comfortable with the public engagement aspects of running VANOC, and the mayoralty is basically ALL public engagement.

The South Fraser's top 10 car crash sites can be found here (Province). Interestingly, there were more crashes as 232/Hwy 1 and 264/Hwy 1 than at 200/Hwy 1--despite 200th having more traffic and being reviled by drivers.

The Township has a new Operations Manager, David Pollock (Times).

Peter Fassbender is offering up his mustache for charity (Times).

Monday and Tuesday are Township budget open house days--I suspect we will see several people ask us to reverse the plan to close the Langley Centennial Museum on off-season Sundays and Mondays (Times).

This is a really thoughtful and interesting piece on the challenge facing federal finance ministers (Ottawa Citizen).

The Township is looking at the feasibility of district heating in the Murrayville area (Times).

More School District News

2010-02-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

The School Board voted 6-1 to roll back their recent pay raises as a symbolic gesture. City Trustee Rob McFarlane, always the critic apparently, voted against the motion, claiming it was insulting to School District staff, pay raises should be done at arm's length from the board, and he wants to attract qualified people to run for office. I think Rob made a mistake there. Voting for the rollback was the right thing to do, from where I sit, even if it was basically symbolic in the grand scheme of things. Anyways, the Advance and Times both have stories.

Meanwhile, the school communities of County Line and Glenwood continue their push to keep their schools open (Times).

The Times also has a follow-up on the ballooning District deficit.

Olympics Winding Down

2010-02-27T08:46:00.001-08:00

What a couple of weeks this has been--the Olympics, and the Canadian fever around them, have exceeded all of my expectations. What were your favorite events? Houses? Experiences? Any thoughts for history?

My friends have been teasing me that this Vancouver Province editorial cartoon should be dedicated to me:

However, I would like to point out that my baby boy isn't due for two more weeks--and as of 30 seconds ago, Jenny is still pregnant.

The hockey game last night was great fun, and Jenny even picked up a souvenir, courtesy of her quick hands and a deflected Canadian dump-in:

Thursday News Notes

2010-02-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

Many months ago, Jenny and I entered the VANOC ticket draw and bought a package that included a couple of hockey games, curling, snowboarding, and a victory ceremony. It's been awesome, but I think the best is yet to come: we have two Row 1 tickets for tomorrow night's Canada-Slovakia men's hockey semi-final. Go Canada Go!

Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is the guest of honour at a hockey viewing party at the Langley Events Centre tomorrow night (Times). The event is being put on by local Liberal candidate (and total hockey nut) Rebecca Darnell.

BC Liberal MLA Jane Thornthwaite is facing drinking and driving charges. What a stupid, dangerous, selfish thing to do (The Tyee).

The LMH Foundation is preparing for their 25th annual gala (FV Pulse).

Over on his blog, Bob Groeneveld and I have been going back and forth on museum funding (Advance).

And a group of energy communications professionals have launched a new blog called PowerlineBC, examining regulatory and political issues around BC's all-important energy sector. It's good stuff and worth keeping an eye on.

Fact Check: Willoughby's needs are growing

2010-02-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Times editor Frank Bucholtz has a new column up on growth in Willoughby, and I have to correct a few of his statements, as they simply aren't factual.

Frank writes:

Most of these developments are located near the 208 Street corridor. The Township has no plans at present to widen the street or help move traffic better, yet the street is now congested at many hours of the day, particularly in rush hours.

Yes we do, actually. At our last budget meeting, Council approved my motion to include funding to improve the intersections of 208th/80th and 208th/72nd in the 2011 budget year. Why 2011 and not 2010? Because in 2011, the road goes into the TransLink Major Road Network, as part of the deal struck on decommissioning the Albion Ferry. This means that TransLink will fund up to 50% of the improvements anywhere on 208th (including a future, four-lane freeway overpass improvement). Doing this work in 2010 would not be getting good value for the Township tax or Development Cost Charge dollar. By waiting until 2011, we can do twice as much work. For someone who has been as critical of TransLink's funding in Langley as Frank, it is odd that he would turn that money down.

As for plans for 208th, we have a full transportation strategy for Willoughby with lots of information on the future of 208th--and every neighbourhood plan that touches 208th includes further details right into greenways, sidewalks, bike lanes, and medians. There IS a plan.

He also claims:

In fact, the Township does not even have current population projections for Willoughby. About a decade ago, when development in the area was starting, population projections called for about 50,000 residents when the area was fully developed. That was later boosted to 60,000.

Given the trends in housing today and the exorbitant cost of land, it would not be surprising to see Willoughby have an eventual population of 70,000 or more. It now has less than 20,000.

We certainly do have population projections for Willoughby. As the Willoughby OCP says: "A total population of about 65,000 people is anticipated in the Willoughby community."

Schools Deficit Grows

2010-02-24T14:12:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't you love to wake up one morning, check the newspapers, and find some positive fiscal news from the Langley School District? I know I would.

But then I read something like this in the Advance:

$8.2 million deficit plus $5.31 million projected additional deficit equals $13.5 million... and a whole lot of cuts needed for the Langley School District. Current financial figures - showing a rapidly expanding shortage - were at Tuesday's school board meeting.

In addition to the $8.2 million deficit from 2008/09, due to mostly errors and miscalculations, the school board faces a $5.31 million projected deficit for the 2009/2010 school year.

It never ends, does it?

News Notes

2010-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Our condolences to the family and friends of Gord Yerkie, the Township's first full time fire chief. Gord died in Okanagan Falls last week (Advance and Times).

Why should we slow traffic down in residential and pedestrian areas? Because it's safer (Next American City). To that end, we have three neighbourhood traffic calming open houses scheduled for next month (more details here):

Willoughby Way: Winston Court to Wakefield Drive
Date: Tuesday, March 2
Time: 5-8 pm
Place: Langley Meadows Community School (Gymnasium)
Location: 2244 Willoughby Way

32 Avenue: 270 Street to 272 Street
Date: Wednesday, March 17
Time: 5-8 pm
Place: Parkside Centennial Elementary School (Gymnasium)
Location: 3300 - 270 Street

Nash Street: School Road to St. Andrews Avenue
Date: Tuesday, March 23
Time: 5-8 pm
Place: Langley Fine Arts School (Gymnasium)
Location: 9096 Trattle Street

The Chiefs have named an award after former Township Mayor Kurt Alberts (Birthplace of BC Gallery)

Every open hour is precious, says a Langley Centennial Museum booster (Advance). So is every tax dollar, says I. Closing the Museum on Sundays and Mondays in the off-season can save more than $30,000 a year. Those dates average 21 visits a day. Most tour groups book ahead, and can be handled Tuesday-Saturday.

Reunification just as much a Press Issue as a Political One

2010-02-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

The papers are back trying to stuff the Langley reunification issue back into the bottle this week. Both editors dedicate their columns to it (Advance's Bob Groeneveld and Times's Frank Bucholtz), pooh-poohing the idea with the disclaimer that a business case should be done.

I, as a Township Councillor, totally agree that a business case should be done. Indeed, we have offered to do one before, but the City has refused to participate. Without their cooperation, there is no point in doing a study, as the City would no doubt reject it as biased (as Bob notes in his column).

Frank's case that reunification is some sort of untouchable issue in local politics is ridiculous. He claims it hasn't received any media attention since Glen Tomblin's ill-fated City mayoralty run in 2002, yet in my first term (2006, maybe?), he dedicated a full front page to my thoughts on the issue. I have found that generally the only people who don't want to talk about it (or even study it) are on the City of Langley payroll.

Further, he claims the City and Township "aren't that far apart" in property taxation. Invest BC begs to differ:

City of Langley residential mill rate: 5.8596
Township of Langley residential mill rate: 5.1595

That's a substantial difference, working out to $350 a year more to live in Langley City (on a house assessed at $500,000).

Anyway, despite what the editors are trying to peddle--that this sudden burst of reunification news and commentary is politician-driven--it started because they reported on the question asked at the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce. If it was such a non-issue, they would have sloughed it off and not done a story--but the editors love this debate as much as anyone else.

Mayors Chat At Chamber

2010-02-19T09:54:00.000-08:00

The Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce welcomed the two Langley mayors, and the papers have loads of coverage. It seems City Mayor Peter Fassbender, answering a question about reunification of the two Langleys, made a passionate case for his City's continued existence. From the Times:

"A business case needs to be made in order to amalgamate the two communities," and he added that he doubts that is possible. "The rationale is that it would be cheaper, and it isn't. In Abbotsford (where Matsqui and Abbotsford amalgamated more than a decade ago) the cost of government has gone up 40 per cent, and citizens are not getting as good a service as they were."

He also noted that large-scale amalgamations of municipalities in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal have been very costly.

Fassbender also repeated something he says frequently - there would be little mention of amalgamation if the two municipalities were not both named "Langley."

I'm disappointed Township Mayor Rick Green didn't take the opportunity to deconstruct Peter's statements, but I will: comparing the reunification of the Township and City to what happened back east is ridiculous. With Toronto, you're talking about a government larger than most provinces. That's hardly a model we're talking about when we consider putting a community of 20,000 people (with no geographical separation) back with a Township of 100,000.

His claims about Abbotsford are also off-base--where would Matsqui be today if it stood alone? Bankrupt, or paying much higher property taxes--like the City of Langley already does today (in comparison to the Township).

Peter should also be reminded that the Township has a standing offer to do a "business case" look at reunification--but he and his Council reject all such suggestions. We could go ahead and do one without the City's input, but it would do little to convince them.

The reason reunification continues to pop up, over and over and over and over again, has nothing to do with sharing a name--and everything to do with common sense.

I'm not sure why Mayor Green didn't at least address the question. Last year, he took a lot of criticism from Chamber members for calling Peter the "little Mayor from the little City," so perhaps he wanted to give Peter a bit of space. That's disappointing; I have found Peter to be pretty gracious when disagreed with in public. He certainly isn't afraid of debate or disagreement (Dave Hall aside, maybe). He'll make his case passionately (and usually in a very strong way), but those of us who want reunification should too.

Just a quick note: while reunification is a long-term interest of mine, it's certainly not the most important thing burning in Langley right now. But it is an issue I'm happy to talk about, anywhere, any time.

Recaps of the speeches can be found in both the Advance and Times, but I find this post on Advance editor Bob Groeneveld's blog to be most enlightening:

As for their talks to the Chamber, as I said, both mayors said little of consequence. They were both rah rah about their municipalities, and raved about bright futures, for each of the Langleys and for the region as a whole. I thought Peter was a bit better at promoting the City - he went into the City's vision for the future, and unlike Rick, actually offered some ideas as to how the City WILL get there. Rick's approach was more about expressing future challenges and emphasizing that everyone has to be "proactive" in order to take part in the opportunities that those challenges represent - offering no concrete pathways to the future.

That last comment captures a lot of my frustration with the Mayor: he is quick to loudly point out flaws and his concerns, but offers very few concrete or viable solutions to resolve any of them.

Gary Johnson Officially Gone

2010-02-19T09:52:00.001-08:00

Well, the news finally came down from the Salvation Army, and former Envoy Gary Johnson has been let go by the charity (Advance and Times). This is disappointing for the thousands of us who greatly respect Gary, and are grateful to him for his tireless effort to get the Gateway of Hope homeless shelter up and running. Gary is one of the good guys, and I hope he'll stick around Langley. It sounds like he and Linda will be retiring, and I wish them all the best.

CNN: 52% say Obama doesn't deserve reelection in 2012 - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

2010-02-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you look at poll results and sum them up in one word: Wow. Who would have thought, just 15 months ago, that Barack Obama would have plummeted in popularity so quickly? CNN reports tonight that its latest poll finds52% of Americans do not believe Obama deserves reelection in 2012.

Now, it's still early. The US economy is showing little signs of life. And the Republicans haven't done anything crazy, like, say, nominate Sarah Palin. A million things can, and will, change over the next two years, but the Democrats have got to be worried that their superstar has fallen into the atmosphere so quickly.

And Republicans are licking their lips: this guy ain't invulnerable to criticism anymore.

Wow.

Yup, That Was A Big Scoop

2010-02-16T13:51:00.000-08:00

Advance editor Bob Groeneveld notes on his blog that ten years ago, I obtained an in-camera Township legal opinion which advised that the municipality to NOT pay former Councillor Heather McMullan's substantial legal bills. I'll let Bob pick up the story:

It was also 10 years ago this week that one of our reporters, a young fellow by the name of Jordan Bateman, managed to obtain a copy of a legal opinion that had been provided to Township Council in the matter of the Heather McMullan libel suit. A week earlier, an entire law firm cracked champagne bottles upon learning that the Township was going to pick up former councillor McMullan's tab in the suit that had been based on defamatory comments she had made during her (ultimately) unsuccessful run for mayor. The community was in an uproar because their tax dollars were to be spent to defend her. But the council of the day, led by newly elected mayor Kurt Alberts, maintained it had no choice: because McMullan was a councillor when she made her remarks, her legal bills had to be paid through council.

But the legal advice that Jordan came across - legal advice that had been presented to the council - was against using taxpayer money to fund McMullan's defence. The Township's lawyers argued that she had no right to indemnification, because her defamatory remarks had nothing to do with executing her duties as a councillor. The lawyers suggested refusing her request for indemnification, and at the very least, forcing her to take action in order to obtain tax funding.

We all know how it ended. Council ignored its own legal advice and the bill to taxpayers eventually came to $647,000. Worst of all was that the council apparently had tried to hoodwink the public into believing it had no choice.

I don't recall whether it was before or after he uncovered that legal document that Jordan and the Advance were added to the lawsuit as third party defendants by McMullan.

I'm 99% sure we were already in the lawsuit, because the Advance's lawyer, the late, great Barry Gibson, checked this story very carefully and asked me a bunch of a questions.

It was rumoured back then that former councillors May Barnard and Dean Drysdale were the ones to leak the opinion, but that was not the case.

Chamber Preview

2010-02-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates... Jenny and I are taking a lot of time this month to both prepare for the baby (due March 11) and enjoy the Olympics. Plus Sam is starting a new job. So it's a busy time.

Over on her blog, Advance reporter Roxanne Hooper previews tonight's Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce meeting, which will feature presentations from both Langley mayors:

Green, without question, will gloat a little louder that most because the Township pulled off four-mini celebrations and one monster party that brought together tens of thousands of people to show their Olympic spirit.

Likewise, we can expect Fassbender to anxiously share news about TransLink, given his recent appointment as chair of the Mayors' Council.

We're told both Fassbender and Green will address issues of growth in their respective communities.

Fassbender will undoubtedly rave about the new a public space plan, the next phase of the Downtown Master Plan, that was unveiled last month. This Public Realm Plan knits together the design districts envisioned for Downtown Langley with an attractive and pedestrian-friendly network of streetscapes and plazas, and Fassbender will be extolling its virtues.

Meanwhile, Green has a presentation called Moving into a decade of progressive change. He claims the Township is at a critical point in its maturity, and will explain how it must be managed to ensure protection of quality of life.

I won't be there, but feel free to post a comment if you attend. It will be interesting to hear how it goes.

In other business news, Brenda Alberts has set up a blog for her Birthplace of BC Gallery. Visit the new website at birthplaceofbcgallery.wordpress.com. With special appearances by James Bond, Captain Canuck, and King Richard. Really.