TAP Gate - Who's to blame for botched Tsawwassen Area Plan?

Will Anyone Lose Their Job Over Failed TAP Bylaw?

Editorial by Elvis Glazier - It's pretty rare that I wait so long to jump on a story as juicy as the failed Tsawwassen Area Plan debacle. It's taken me this long for the ramifications of “TAP Gate” to sink in and I really wanted to see the media reaction and political spin before weighing in. The bombshell announcement by Delta Mayor Lois Jackson to end the public hearing was like watching bugs scramble as the rock was lifted exposing them to the elements. Of course in this analogy the bugs are Delta's mayor, councilors, chief administrative officer, and planning staff.

I freely admit that I have been quite critical of the planning process from the onset. Having attended almost every meeting open to the public I have watched this train wreck unfold into this complete failure that concluded with the mayor conceding defeat and stopping the bylaw dead in its tracks.

But now that it’s over the question that is on everyone's minds, especially in Tsawwassen is:

Will anyone lose their job for this waste of taxpayer time and money?

Let's examine the people involved:

Councilor Bruce McDonald, TAP Chairman?

Watching Councilor Bruce McDonald chair the TAP committee was every bit as entertaining as watching 'Mutiny on the Bounty'. His committee didn't really come to a consensus in the end and there were even threats of minority reports by factions with the committee. McDonald's Captain Bligh character played perfectly as he took every opportunity to push through Delta's agenda, even though there were definite concerns expressed by the committee and alarm bells raised by residents. It became very clear (to me) early on that this plan was being conceived in a vacuum without any semblance of public input. If I were a member of the TAP committee I would be calling for his resignation from council (or at least a promise not to run again) for allowing this to happen. Defiant to the bitter end, McDonald chastised "crusading citizen groups" for hi-jacking his committee by seeking nothing more than some public input in their community's area plan. I don't know how the man who fancied himself mayor is going to survive TAP-Gate unscathed. My prediction is this will be the end of McDonald's tenure. If it isn't then my faith in the electorate teeming with” crusading citizen groups” will hit an all time low.

Mayor Lois Jackson?

The Mayor espoused her epiphany and called an end to the public hearing curiously right before her former mayoral adversary Krista Englland was scheduled to speak. The real question is how did this bylaw get this far in the first place? Is the Mayor not familiar with a plan that has been almost two years in the making. How many terms does it take to gauge public sentiment? Perhaps the Mayor was more interested in selling softwood lumber to the tropics than dealing with an area plan in the city she's supposed to serve. Listening to the Mayor applaud herself for killing the flawed bylaw borders on the ridiculous. Perhaps the better question is, how many terms does it take before you become completely out of touch with your constituency? Terminating the public hearing robbed the public of finally giving this Mayor proper public input in a legal forum. Praising yourself for suppressing the public is a political skill-set that can only be honed over time. To then say publicly that the area plan is committee work and not council work just goes to show that this council doesn’t work. Jackson’s apparent lack of interest and leadership on this issue signals to me that it’s time for her to have a serious soul search before penning her name on any future nomination papers.

CAO George Harvie and Delta City Planning Staff?

Since it seems that Jackson has abdicated her responsibility as mayor because she's been too busy playing the head of Metro and it's far easier to just let the bureaucracy run the city, we need to examine what George Harvie’s role is in TAP Gate. What influence did Harvie have in hiring city planners Tom Leathem and Barry Konkin? They were brought in to Delta with a background of doing large development projects. It is no secret that there aren’t many spots that would be remotely suitable for Surrey type of developments. With the fight for the Southlands lost, they were really only left with the town center and the area under the power lines.

In fact, Leathem and Konkin are both on the record as saying that the plan was a staff driven document and all they wanted was some resident input. The problem for them, in retrospect, is they didn't know what to do once the citizens actually took over the process because that wasn't supposed to happen. For that fact alone the City of Delta needs to re-examine what our land use policy should look like and hire staff that reflects this vision.

Council?

I recently read a retraction in the Vancouver Province that read, "The Municipality of Delta has not endorsed a plan for multi-family properties under the controversial power lines." It may be true that the municipality didn't endorse the idea, but I don't believe the same can be said for Council. This area plan was almost two years in the making followed by first and second reading and still this council voted to send the bylaw to public hearing. That is an endorsement in my view. When ,during the first two readings, did someone speak up and denounce the bylaw for even suggesting the idea of building under the power lines? I heard Councilor Anne Pedersen make an attempt at discussing it but nothing with vigour and stature. No desk pounding, filibustering, or finger wagging. Pedersen and King were either powerless or unwilling to take on Mayor Jackson and her council of DIVA’s. They have the numbers and they run council with an iron fist. I will exclude newly anointed DIVA councilor Ian Paton Jr. from blame as he has just had the good fortune of joining council, but fellow DIVA members Robert Campbell and Scott Hamilton have run roughshod over this council with the help of McDonald.

I believe a good case could be made to get rid of any number of politicians and bureaucrats involved in TAP Gate. To see such an expensive process take so long and come up with a solution so far removed from the will of the people that the entire exercise is destroyed must not be allowed to go unpunished. Will TAP Gate be the rallying point for the electorate to demand drastic change with their municipal politicians? If the electorate decides to vote against wasteful spending and shutting out the public from civic process, then I believe Delta will follow the nationwide trend and demand change.

The only question now is who, besides the taxpayers of Delta, will pay?

DVD Releases Tuesday November 9, 2010

This Week's Top Pick:
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World photo Meet charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). A bass guitarist for garage band Sex Bob-omb, the 22-year-old has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It's getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart's ass -- and now is back in town -- to the teenage distraction he's trying to shake when he finally meets the woman of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), love hasn't been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes controls her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor. As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues gallery from her past -- from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsomely identical twins -- all told, seven evil exes who are coming to kill him. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over. Vitals: Director: Edgar Wright. Stars: Michael Cera, Alison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brandon Routh. 2010, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 112 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $30.438 million, Universal.
THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:

Antichrist (2009) Lars von Trier ("Europa," "Breaking the Waves," "Dancer in the Dark") shook up the film world when he premiered "Antichrist" at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. In this graphic psychodrama, a grief-stricken man and woman -- Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg -- retreat to a cabin deep in the woods after the accidental death of their infant son, only to find terror and violence at the hands of nature and, ultimately, each other. But this most confrontational work yet from one of contemporary cinema's most controversial artists is no mere provocation. It is a visually sublime, emotionally ravaging journey to the darkest corners of the possessed human mind; a disturbing battle of the sexes that pits rational psychology against age-old superstition; and a profoundly effective horror film. New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Lars von Trier and supervised by director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle. Extras: Commentary by von Trier and professor Murray Smith; video interviews with von Trier and actors Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg; collection of video pieces delving into the production of "Antichrist," including interviews with von Trier and key members of his filmmaking team as well as behind-the-scenes footage; "Chaos Reigns at the Cannes Film Festival 2009," a documentary on the film's world premiere, plus press interviews with Dafoe and Gainsbourg; booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Ian Christie. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).

Barney: Best Fairy Tales (2010) Nine classic fairy tales as only Barney could tell them: "Jack and the Beanstalk," "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," "Three Billy Goats Gruff," "Shoemaker & Elves," "The Sharing Hen," "Little Boy Blue," "Three Little Kittens," "Tortoise and the Hare" and "Girl Who Cried Wolf." $14.98. Extras: "Super-Dee-Duper Shape" game. (HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate).

The Boondocks: The Complete Third Season (2010) Three-disc set with 15 uncensored episodes of the Adult Swim series, $49.95. Extras: Commentaries, "Slink on the Street: Who is Your Favorite Character?", animatic to screen comparisons, Seung Eun Kim sketch photo gallery. (Sony).

The Brazen Bull (2010) Michael Madsen, Jennifer Tisdale, Rachel Hunter, David Frank Fletcher Jr. Trapped in an abandoned warehouse, a woman and her real-estate investing fiance inadvertently fall prey to a terrorizing killer on the loose. Extras: Making-of featurette, interviews. (Virgil Films & Entertainment). Californication: The Third Season (2009) Two-disc set with 12 episodes, $42.99 (Showtime/CBS/Paramount).

Californication: The Third Season (2009) Two-disc set with 12 episodes, $42.99 (Showtime/CBS/Paramount).

Californication: Three Season Pack (2007-09) All three seasons, $117.98. (Showtime/CBS/Paramount).

Car Bomb (2008) Forget about nuclear missiles; the decisive weapon of the 21st century is the car bomb. With just a trunk load of home-made explosives and a battered old car, terrorists can intimidate a goverernment and a population. Featuring footage of car bomb attacks and interviews with car bombers, ex-CIA agent Robert Baer reveals how the century of the car turned into the century of the car bomb. And, surprisingly, he starts the story with what may be the first "car" bombing of them all: a horse drawn wagon laden with dynamite that was detonated outside the J.P. Morgan bank on Wall Street on Sept. 16, 1920. $19.98. (The Disinformation Co.)

Charlie St. Cloud (2010) Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan, Kim Basinger, Amanda Crew, Augustus Prew, Donal Logue. Extras: Deleted scenes, "On Location With Zac Efron." "Zac Efron: Leading Man," "The In-Between World," commentary by director Burr Steers. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Universal),

DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection Four animated shorts featuring characters from the celebrated DC Comics vault: "Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam," "The Spectre," "Jonah Hex" and "Green Arrow." Extras: Four additional bonus TV series episodes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, which adds commentaries. (Warner).

Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series (2010) Six-disc set with 13 episodes, $79.98. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan star as the new Doctor (the 11th) and his companion Amy Pond. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (BBC/Warner).

Don't Look Back (2009 -- France) Sophie Marceau, Monica Bellucci, Andrea Di Stefano. Jeanne (Sophie Marceau) is a successful biographer, who, against the advice of her publisher, decides to write a novel based on her own life experiences. As she becomes consumed by her work, she starts to uncover a series of disturbing changes happening to her life. The world around her -- her home, her family, her life -- are beginning to transform into something beyond her recognition. Then she realizes that she too is changing ... her body is beginning to change, and her physical features are slowly morphing into that of another woman (Monica Bellucci). Yet, no one around her seems to notice. (IFC/MPI Media Group).

The Dry Land (2010) Ryan O'Nan, America Ferrera, Melissa Leo, Jason Ritter, Wilmer Valderrama. A U.S. soldier returning home from war struggles to reconcile his experiences with the life and family he left in Texas. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Maya Entertainment).

Elia Kazan Film Collection. Eighteen-disc DVD gift set of Elia Kazan films, including "A Letter to Elia," Martin Scorsese's new documentary exploring the life and talent of the director, which will air on PBS' "American Masters" On October 4. The full collection, in addition to the documentary, includes: " A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945), "Boomerang!" (1947)," Gentleman's Agreement" (1947), "Pinky" (1949), "Panic in the Streets" (1950), "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), "Viva Zapata!" (1952), "Man on a Tightrope" (1953), On the Waterfront (1954), East of Eden (1955), "Baby Doll" (1956), "A Face in the Crowd"(1957), "Wild River" (1960), "Splendor in the Grass" (1961), and "America, America" (1963). Of the collection, 5 films have never before been released on DVD: "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," "Viva Zapata!", "Man on a Tightrope," "Wild River" and "America, America." $199.98. Includes a commemorative book.(Fox).

Elmo and Friends: The Letter Quest (2010) Three magical adventures, $12.96. (Warner).

The Golden Girls: 25th Anniversary Complete Collection (1985-92) Twenty-one disc set with 180 episodes, $149.99. Extras: "Thank You for Being a Friend" featurette; "Go for the Gold" trivia challenge; "Golden Moments" compilation of the biggest laughs; "The Golden Girls" scrapbook of each Golden Girl's funniest moments; exclusive insights and commentaries with Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Betty White; fashion commentary. (Disney).

Grown Ups (2010) Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Rob Schneider, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, Maya Rudolph. Available as a single disc Blu-ray and DVD and a Blu-Ray/DVD Combo pack. Extras: Bloopers, gag reel, "Laughing is Contagious" and "The Cast of Grown Ups" featurettes. Blu-ray adds Deleted scenes, "Riff-O-Rama" blooper reel, commentary by director Dennis Dugan, "Dennis Dugan: Hands on Director" featurette, "The Lost Tapes of Norm MacDonald" featurette, "Busey and the Monkey" featurette, movieIQ+sync and BD-Live. Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack includes a digital copy. (Sony).

Hunt to Kill (2010) Steve Austin, Marie Avgeropoulos, Gil Bellows, Emilie Ullerup, Eric Roberts, Michael Eklund. Steve Austin stars as U.S. Border Patrol agent Jim Rhodes, a tough divorcee mourning the loss of his murdered partner while struggling to raise his rebellious daughter in the mountains of Montana. When a crew of trigger-happy fugitives takes Rhodes' daughter hostage and leave him for dead, all hell breaks loose. Extras: Commentary with director Keoni Waxman and actor Michael Eklund, "Behind-the-Scenes of Hunt to Kill" featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Anchor Bay Entertainment).

Ice Blues: A Donald Strachey Mystery (2008) Fourth installment in the critically-acclaimed series featuring America's best-known gay private investigator, based on the best-selling novels by Richard Stevenson. (Entertainment One).

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (2010) In his short life, Jean-Michel Basquiat was an international superstar in the art scene and pop-culture, creating thousands of paintings, dating Madonna, befriending and collaborating with Andy Warhol, walking on the runway for Comme des Garcons, and appearing in a Debbie Harry video. He became notorious for his graffiti art under the moniker Samo in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side scene. Appreciated by both the art cognoscenti and the public at large, Basquiat was an international star. Directed by Basquiat's friend, filmmaker Tamra Davis ("Billy Madison"), this is the definitive documentary on one of the most captivating figures of the contemporary art world. Containing one of the only full-length interviews on film or video Basquiat ever made, the film captures the legendary artist at the height of his career -- which was cut short when he died due to a heroin overdose on August 12, 1988, at the age of 27. Extras: Interview with the director. (Arthouse Films/New Video).

Lie to Me: Season Two (2009-10) Six-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.99. Extras: Deleted scenes, Dr. Ekman's blog, "Dr. Ekman/Dr. Lightman -- Lie Detection Tutorial," "Eli Loker-- An Honest Man." (Fox).

Light Gradient (2009 -- Germany) Sebastian Schlecht, Eric Golub. A young gay couple travel to the countryside to get to know each other better, and find paradise -- or so they think. (Strand Releasing).

Love Ranch (2010) Dir.: Taylor Hackford; Helen Mirren, Joe Pesci, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Gina Gershon, Scout Taylor-Compton, Bai Ling, Taryn Manning. Fictionalized account of the incredible true story of the proprietors of Nevada's first legalized brothel in the late 1970s. Extras: Commentary by Mirren and Hackford, deleted scenes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (National Entertainment Media).

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XIX (2010) Four-disc set featuring never-before-released MST3K Episodes "Robot Monster," "Bride of the Monster," "Devil Doll" and "Devil Fish," $69.97. Extras: New introduction by J. Elvis Weinstein; cult filmmaker Larry Blamir's full-fledged geek-out on "Robot Monster," new featurettes on "Bride of the Monster" and "Devil Doll," "MST3K: Origins and Beyond from CONvergence 2009," original movie trailers, four exclusive MST3K mini-posters by artist Steve Vance, figurine of Gypsy, the perfect companion to the Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo figurines included in previous year-end Mystery Science Theater 3000 box sets. (Shout! Factory).

Ramona and Beezus (2010) Selena Gomez, Joey King, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel, Jason Spevack, Sandra Oh. Coming-of-age comedy -- based on the best-selling books by Beverly Cleary -- follows the misadventures of grade-schooler Ramona and her older sister Beezus. Available as a single-disc standard DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack. Extras: Gag reel, deleted Scenes, "My Ramona" with author Beverly Cleary, "Show & Tell Film School" with tips and tricks on how kids can make their own movie. Blu-ray adds "A Day in the Life of Joey King," Selena and Joey audition footage, "Fox Movie Channel Presents Life After Film School" with director Elizabeth Allen, digital copy. (Fox).

Robin-B-Hood (2006 -- Hong Kong) Jackie Chan, Michael Hui, Louis Koo, Charlene Choi, Biao Yuen. Jackie Chan plays a gambler who turns to burglary to pay his debts. But when his buddies try to score a big payout by kidnapping a baby, he finds himself in an entirely new mess. (Vivendi Entertainment).

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Machine Limited Edition Collection. Seven-disc set with 41 episodes, plus an eighth disc of bonus features, housed in a molded-plastic Mystery Machine case, $79.95. (Warner).

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) Michael Cera, Alison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brandon Routh. Extras: Commentary with director/producer/co-writer Edgar Wright, co-writer Michael Bacall and author Bryan Lee O'Malley; technical commentary with director/producer/co-writer Edgar Wright and director of photography Bill Pope; cast commentary with Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong and Brandon Routh; cast commentary with Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Kieran Culkin and Mark Webber; trivia track; deleted and alternate scenes; "Scott Pilgrim vs. the Bloopers"; behind-the-scenes photo galleries including Edgar Wright's photo blog; production photos, art galleries and marketing concepts. Also available as a Blu-ray Disc/DVD Combo Pack, which adds U-Control: storyboard picture-in-picture; insider documentaries; alternate footage and alternative edits to the film; pre-production featurette that takes a look inside the film's pre-production process including storyboards, pre-visualizations, animatics, motion capture tests, rehearsal footage, casting tapes, hair/make-up tests and more; "The Music of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,": including four complete music videos and video remixes from DJ Osymyso; visual effects; sound work; Adult Swim: "Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation"; "Scott Pilgrim vs the Censors": TV-safe version; behind-the-scenes production blogs by Edgar Wright from the set trailers and TV spots; Pocket Blu; and BD-Live. (Universal).

Secret Origins: The Story of DC Comics (2010) A look at the history of the comic book publication that launched such legendary characters as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman; $24.98. (Warner).

Sherlock (2010) Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman. BBC modern-day update of the famous sleuth. Extras: Commentaries, making-of featurette, pilot episode. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (BBC/Warner).

Stuck! (2009) Starina Johnson, Karen Black, Jane Wiedlin, Susan Traylor, Mink Stole, Stacy Cunningham. Homage to film noir women-in-prison films, faithfully re-producing the genre with a modern, tongue-in-cheek twist, with all the hallmarks of a classic prison movie complete with a wrongly accused heroine, hard boiled dames, diabolical alliances, forbidden love, cat-fighting cuties, a sadistic warden, and corrupt prison guards. The film centers on Daisy, an innocent young woman framed for killing her mother, who's sent to death row. (MTI Home Video).

The Super Hero Squad Show: Quest for the Infinity Sword! Volume 2 (2009-10) Six episodes. Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Silver Surfer, Thor, Falcon and their friends protect Super Hero City from the wild, weird and even wacky villainy of VillainVille's most infamous baddies, led by the sinister Dr. Doom. $14.93. Extras: Interview with Tom Kenny, hero profiles, concept art gallery. (Shout! Factory).

thirtysomething: The Complete Final Season (1990-91) Six-disc set with 23 episodes, $59.97. Mastered from new high defintion transfers. Extras: New introduction by Edwrad Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. (Shout! Factory).

Three and Out (aka A Deal Is a Deal) (2008 -- U.K.) Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney, Imelda Staunton, Gemma Arterton. Following two accidental deaths under the wheels of his train, a London subway driver discovers a loophole: a third accidental death will result in his early retirement with gigantic benefits. To make it happen, he finds a young man with a death wish and persuades him to jump under his train -- after a weekend to remember. Dark comedy. (Entertainment One).

The Trial (2010) Matthew Modine, Randy Wayn, Rance Howard, Robert Forster, Bob Gunton. A small-town attorney who is left devastated and purposeless by the horrific death of his wife and two sons in a tragic accident agrees to take on one final case before committing suicide. Defending accused murderer Peter Thomason against capital punishment, the lawyer begins a trial that transforms his life and the lives of those around him. (Fox).

You Lucky Dog (2010) Natasha Henstridge, Harry Hamlin. Hallmark Channel original movie follows a working woman as she returns to her hometown of White Tail Creek to pay respect to her late mother, where she sticks around to help the struggling community, which has fallen on hard economic times. (Vivendi Entertainment).

Cancer Society Applauds Delta's New Pesticide Ban

Editor:


The Canadian Cancer Society would like to congratulate the Mayor and Councilors and residents of Delta for their enactment of a Pesticide Use Control bylaw which will come into effect on November 16, 2010. We would also like to applaud the Corporation of Delta for their exhaustive efforts to educate the community on pesticide-free lawn and garden maintenance.

In Canada, more than 130 municipalities have taken a leadership role in banning pesticides in their communities. Many more will soon follow. By taking its first step toward becoming a pesticide-free municipality, Delta will be able to join this list of progressive communities and further enhance its image as a family-friendly and healthy community.

The Canadian Cancer Society would also like to congratulate the members of the Delta Pesticide Coalition, who for over three years have contributed their time and energy to raising awareness in the community about the risks of pesticide exposure and what we can do in our families, neighborhoods and community to make a difference.

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national organization, which along with providing community programs and funding research, advocates for cancer prevention and healthy public policies. The Canadian Cancer Society is very concerned about the use of potentially carcinogenic substances for the purpose of enhancing the appearance of private gardens and lawns as well as parks, recreational facilities and golf courses. We base this concern on the conclusions of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which states that some substances used in pesticides are classified as known, probable or possible carcinogens. Studies have linked pesticide exposure to both adult and childhood cancers.

The list of cancers includes childhood and adult leukemia, childhood brain cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, neuroblastoma, brain cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and some lung cancers. Further, the use of pesticides to beautify lawns and gardens is non-essential.

Therefore, because of the association between certain substances in pesticides and cancer, and because the cosmetic use of pesticides has the potential to cause harm, the Canadian Cancer Society calls for a ban restricting the cosmetic use of pesticides on private and public lands.

There are numerous non-toxic alternatives to pesticides, and research tells us that in regions where pesticide bylaws are in place, businesses have not only shifted successfully to non-toxic alternatives, but that sales and offerings of non-toxic alternatives are growing.

Once again, congratulations to the Corporation of Delta and residents of Delta!


Natasha Raey,

Health Promotion Coordinator - White Rock, Delta, Surrey
Canadian Cancer Society

Vicki Huntington Hosts Town Hall Meeting Tonight

November 8, 2010 - Town Hall meetings may not be a new political idea, but it’s a proven one, and it's happening in Tsawwassen tonight! Vicki Huntington's Delta South Constituency Association will be hosting a Town Hall meeting with BC's only elected independent MLA. The event begins tonight at 7PM at the Tsawwassen Longhouse near the South Delta Recreation Centre.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to met Vicki and ask the questions that matter to them,” said Association president Billy Mitchell. “It seemed like an appropriate time to invite everyone to come, and open up the evening to questions for our MLA. We hope to pack the place.”

The evening should be a quite lively with Mitchell, a local media personality and stand up comic moderating the event.

Huntington wrote herself into the history books last election when she successfully campaigned as an Independent in the May 12, 2009 provincial election defeating Liberal Attorney General Wally Oppal. Since then, others have departed from the Liberal ranks to become independents.

“I know we’re all looking forward to what Vicki has to say,” said Mitchell. “I’m sure her insight into provincial politics will be what the constituents of Delta South will want to hear about. A town hall meeting seemed like the way to bring it all together.”

Memberships in the Delta South Constituency Association will be available at the meeting.

“We look forward to seeing new members join the Association,” said Mitchell. “Before too long, we’ll be into another election, and we plan to have Vicki win again.”

BC Charities Not Receiving Fair Share fof Gaming Revenues

Attention: Editor

The Hon. Rich Coleman’s letter needs clarification and correction. The Burns Bog Conservation Society did not receive $120,000 between September 2008 and August 2010.  The Society received a letter dated September 8, 2008 for $90,000.00 for a three year period.

The Society is not the issue. The issue is that the BC government has not been honouring agreements made with the BC Association for Charitable Gaming, the UBCM and the BC Government on June 17, 1999. This agreement set in place the permanent revenue sharing formula for all three parties.

1.    Municipalities: per the 1999 White Paper on Gaming recommendation of 10% net revenues from community casinos, and 16.7% of the net of destination casinos (Delta has no destination or community casinos that I am aware of);
2.    Charities: 33.3% of net gaming revenues of community casinos.

The agreement was in two parts of the same whole. The Meekison Report, 2000, treated them as foundational and binding on the BC government.

In 1995, based on a Vancouver staff report on the White Paper on gaming, charities received $131 million (35% of the net) and in 2010 (per BC Lottery Corporation Annual Report) charities received $112.5M (10.42% of the net). The $120 million for 2011 does not come up to the agreed 33.3% in 1999.

In spite of a 292% increase in annual gaming revenue over 1995, the BC government shocked the entire charitable sector in 2009 by unilaterally cutting the share allocated to charities by tens of millions of dollars to $112.5 million or $18.5 million below the 1995 levels (not adjusted for inflation) in 2009.

In 1995 charities received 35% of gaming proceeds. In 1999 when they signed the MoA they were guaranteed 33.3% as a permanent share. The current BC government has stripped this to 10.43% of the proceeds.

The bottom line is the BC Government is reneging on its legal agreement with BC Charities and forcing them to either close or drastically cut their services to BC communities all over the province including Delta.

The BC Government owes BC charities $1,279,566,670.00 in accrued arrears, not including interest.

I look forward to the BC Government recommitting itself to honouring the MoA signed in 1999 and immediately restoring gaming funds to all BC charities. I cannot think of a better way for the BC Government to honour charities, the volunteers and staff who toil for the good of the community.

Sincerely,

Eliza Olson
Director
BCACG

Traffic Stop Results in 50 Pound Seizure of Marijauna

Traffic Ticket the Least of the Drivers Worries

On Wednesday, November 03, 2010 at approximately 2:30 p.m. a Delta Police traffic officer conducting patrols in the area of 10900 blk of Kitsen Park Way observed a vehicle traveling above the posted speed.

The officer initiated a traffic stop to deal with the moving violation. On approach of the vehicle and interaction with the driver, an odor consistent with marijuana was emanating from the pick-up truck. Upon further investigation and with the assistance of a K-9 team, a large quantity of marijuana (approximately 50 pounds) was discovered in the covered box of the pick-up truck. The box of the truck had a tonneau cover in an effort to prevent detection.

The driver, and lone occupant of the vehicle, was taken into custody without incident. The 30 yr old male from Surrey faces charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance. He was later released on a Promise to Appear compelling his court appearance at a later date. The estimated street value if sold by the pound is in excess of $100,000.
The Delta Police continue to work to keep our roadways safe and drugs off our streets.

Global Environmental Issues Can Distract Us From Local Problems

By Susan Jones - I'd like to share my current thoughts on the use of the terms “climate change” and “global warming”. My comments are triggered after watching coverage of the excellent demonstration “Dig in for Climate Change” and while it appears to have been a great success, from my point of view, the use of the term, “climate change” distracted from the real issues of the South Fraser Perimeter Road.

I'm concerned about the use of the terms “climate change” and “global warming” as it is my opinion that they are too broad in scope and are not good labels to consistently use. It is simple to call me a “climate change denier” and ignore this, however I request that you give me an opportunity to share my thoughts.

I think debating the truth about “climate change” and “global warming” is a way of distracting people from looking at specific issues. People are being “sucked into” using these terms. It prevents people from examining the direct impact of actions and developments that are destroying the environment. To me, the worldwide loss of habitat is devastating. The loss of species, farmland, and natural environments along with the pollution of soil, air and water are critical issues. In some cases, the causes are change in climatic conditions and these should be specifically cited as caused by warming or cooling conditions.

I suspect our governments, and “destroyers of the environment” like nothing better than to use “green rhetoric” to avoid the truth about what they are wilfully doing for power and money. They love to use the terms, “climate change”, “global warming”, “greenhouse gases”, “sustainability”, “alternate energy”, “green buildings”, “ecodensity”, “growth” and “balance”. It is my opinion that these terms have become green rubbish.

It is important to avoid the rhetoric and point out the specific impacts of actions and developments that are destroying the environment.

In the case of the South Fraser Perimeter Road, the Project will destroy some of Canada’s best farmland, habitat for species at risk, Burns Bog hydrology, transitional habitat, a highly-significant archaeological site and the quality of life. It will result in air pollution and over 50 kilometers of environmental degradation.

Prince Charles who in a recent interview declared his aim is to be a “defender of nature…, makes a more accurate statement as to what our goals should be.

The debate about “climate change” is ongoing. I am alarmed about the information that is coming out. It is so easy to use the terms as if they are the “cause” of all evil. I haven’t read anything that would help me use these terms with comfort and have a sense that I know what I am talking about. Using these labels is a lazy way of avoiding doing proper homework on the issues facing us and sidetracks the debate about the real issues of willful environmental destruction.

I'd like you to consider the following article. It is articles like this that make me uncomfortable using terms that I know so little about. One can go on the internet and find excellent arguments on both sides of the debate. How many of us really know and understand the science? What we do know is that we need to continually speak up against deliberate environmental degradation.

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US physics professor: 'Global warming is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life'

Harold Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Here is his letter of resignation to Curtis G. Callan Jr, Princeton University, President of the American Physical Society.


Dear Curt:

When I first joined the American Physical Society sixty-seven years ago it was much smaller, much gentler, and as yet uncorrupted by the money flood (a threat against which Dwight Eisenhower warned a half-century ago). Indeed, the choice of physics as a profession was then a guarantor of a life of poverty and abstinence—it was World War II that changed all that. The prospect of worldly gain drove few physicists. As recently as thirty-five years ago, when I chaired the first APS study of a contentious social/scientific issue, The Reactor Safety Study, though there were zealots aplenty on the outside there was no hint of inordinate pressure on us as physicists. We were therefore able to produce what I believe was and is an honest appraisal of the situation at that time. We were further enabled by the presence of an oversight committee consisting of Pief Panofsky, Vicki Weisskopf, and Hans Bethe, all towering physicists beyond reproach. I was proud of what we did in a charged atmosphere. In the end the oversight committee, in its report to the APS President, noted the complete independence in which we did the job, and predicted that the report would be attacked from both sides. What greater tribute could there be?

How different it is now. The giants no longer walk the earth, and the money flood has become the raison d’être of much physics research, the vital sustenance of much more, and it provides the support for untold numbers of professional jobs. For reasons that will soon become clear my former pride at being an APS Fellow all these years has been turned into shame, and I am forced, with no pleasure at all, to offer you my resignation from the Society.
It is of course, the global warming scam, with the (literally) trillions of dollars driving it, that has corrupted so many scientists, and has carried APS before it like a rogue wave. It is the greatest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud I have seen in my long life as a physicist. Anyone who has the faintest doubt that this is so should force himself to read the ClimateGate documents, which lay it bare. (Montford’s book organizes the facts very well.) I don’t believe that any real physicist, nay scientist, can read that stuff without revulsion. I would almost make that revulsion a definition of the word scientist.

So what has the APS, as an organization, done in the face of this challenge? It has accepted the corruption as the norm, and gone along with it. For example:

1. About a year ago a few of us sent an e-mail on the subject to a fraction of the membership. APS ignored the issues, but the then President immediately launched a hostile investigation of where we got the e-mail addresses. In its better days, APS used to encourage discussion of important issues, and indeed the Constitution cites that as its principal purpose. No more. Everything that has been done in the last year has been designed to silence debate

2. The appallingly tendentious APS statement on Climate Change was apparently written in a hurry by a few people over lunch, and is certainly not representative of the talents of APS members as I have long known them. So a few of us petitioned the Council to reconsider it. One of the outstanding marks of (in)distinction in the Statement was the poison word incontrovertible, which describes few items in physics, certainly not this one. In response APS appointed a secret committee that never met, never troubled to speak to any skeptics, yet endorsed the Statement in its entirety. (They did admit that the tone was a bit strong, but amazingly kept the poison word incontrovertible to describe the evidence, a position supported by no one.) In the end, the Council kept the original statement, word for word, but approved a far longer “explanatory” screed, admitting that there were uncertainties, but brushing them aside to give blanket approval to the original. The original Statement, which still stands as the APS position, also contains what I consider pompous and asinine advice to all world governments, as if the APS were master of the universe. It is not, and I am embarrassed that our leaders seem to think it is. This is not fun and games, these are serious matters involving vast fractions of our national substance, and the reputation of the Society as a scientific society is at stake.

3. In the interim the ClimateGate scandal broke into the news, and the machinations of the principal alarmists were revealed to the world. It was a fraud on a scale I have never seen, and I lack the words to describe its enormity. Effect on the APS position: none. None at all. This is not science; other forces are at work.

4. So a few of us tried to bring science into the act (that is, after all, the alleged and historic purpose of APS), and collected the necessary 200+ signatures to bring to the Council a proposal for a Topical Group on Climate Science, thinking that open discussion of the scientific issues, in the best tradition of physics, would be beneficial to all, and also a contribution to the nation. I might note that it was not easy to collect the signatures, since you denied us the use of the APS membership list. We conformed in every way with the requirements of the APS Constitution, and described in great detail what we had in mind—simply to bring the subject into the open.

5. To our amazement, Constitution be damned, you declined to accept our petition, but instead used your own control of the mailing list to run a poll on the members’ interest in a TG on Climate and the Environment. You did ask the members if they would sign a petition to form a TG on your yet-to-be-defined subject, but provided no petition, and got lots of affirmative responses. (If you had asked about sex you would have gotten more expressions of interest.) There was of course no such petition or proposal, and you have now dropped the Environment part, so the whole matter is moot. (Any lawyer will tell you that you cannot collect signatures on a vague petition, and then fill in whatever you like.) The entire purpose of this exercise was to avoid your constitutional responsibility to take our petition to the Council.

6. As of now you have formed still another secret and stacked committee to organize your own TG, simply ignoring our lawful petition.

APS management has gamed the problem from the beginning, to suppress serious conversation about the merits of the climate change claims. Do you wonder that I have lost confidence in the organization?

I do feel the need to add one note, and this is conjecture, since it is always risky to discuss other people’s motives. This scheming at APS HQ is so bizarre that there cannot be a simple explanation for it. Some have held that the physicists of today are not as smart as they used to be, but I don’t think that is an issue. I think it is the money, exactly what Eisenhower warned about a half-century ago. There are indeed trillions of dollars involved, to say nothing of the fame and glory (and frequent trips to exotic islands) that go with being a member of the club. Your own Physics Department (of which you are chairman) would lose millions a year if the global warming bubble burst. When Penn State absolved Mike Mann of wrongdoing, and the University of East Anglia did the same for Phil Jones, they cannot have been unaware of the financial penalty for doing otherwise. As the old saying goes, you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. Since I am no philosopher, I’m not going to explore at just which point enlightened self-interest crosses the line into corruption, but a careful reading of the ClimateGate releases makes it clear that this is not an academic question.

I want no part of it, so please accept my resignation. APS no longer represents me, but I hope we are still friends.

Hal

Harold Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, former Chairman; Former member Defense Science Board, Chairman of Technology panel; Chairman DSB study on Nuclear Winter; Former member Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Former member, President’s Nuclear Safety Oversight Committee; Chairman APS study on Nuclear Reactor Safety Chairman Risk Assessment Review Group; Co-founder and former Chairman of JASON; Former member USAF Scientific Advisory Board; Served in US Navy in WW II; books: Technological Risk (about, surprise, technological risk) and Why Flip a Coin (about decision making)