Vancouver Courier June 10 2015

[email protected]

A new group calling itself the Coali-tion For Dispensary Free Communitiesis urging the public to sign a petition andsupport its call to oppose the city’s pro-posal to regulate marijuana dispensaries.The group, which surfaced online last

week, set up a website and has Facebookand Twitter accounts aimed at convincingcity council to oppose the city’s proposal,which goes to public hearing Wednesday.It also urges residents to write letters tocity council and news outlets.“The Coalition For Dispensary Free

Communities believes the ongoing prolif-eration of illegal narcotics dispensaries inVancouver must be stopped and exist-ing federal laws should be enforced,” thecoalition writes on its website, which has alink to a petition. “We are a group of con-cerned citizens who have come togetherto gather opposition, to stand up and say‘No’ and to tell the mayor and council toprohibit these illegal businesses.”The city wants to regulate the growing

number of pot shops, which total morethan 80 at the city’s last count, by charg-ing an annual $30,000 licence fee, re-quire criminal record checks and ensurethe businesses are at least 300 metres

from a school or community centre.The Courier attempted to contact the

founders of the group but was not suc-cessful before deadline.Pamela McColl, a director of Smart

Approaches to Marijuana Canada, said thecoalition contacted her last Wednesday,saying they needed her help because theyare worried about “the destruction of theirneighbourhoods” from the proliferation ofpot shops. McColl, a book publisher wholives in Vancouver, said the group’s mem-bers want to remain anonymous “becausethey’re very, very frightened.” She declinedto divulge the number of members.

Continued on page 7

SOAPBOX 14Doubling down on property tax

SPORTS 23Stars of track and field

URBAN SENIOR 15Vacationing in paradise

MIDWEEKEDITION

WEDNESDAYJune 10 2015Vol. 106 No. 45

There’s more online atvancourier.com

THE VOICE of VANCOUVER NEIGHBOURHOODS since 1908

Pot foes form lobby

Premierpunts toVancouver

[email protected]

Premier Christy Clark says the Cityof Vancouver could do more to createaffordable housing by resorting to bet-ter land use planning and lowering feesand levies for new homes.Clark made the recommendations in

response to Mayor Gregor Robertson’sMay 22 letter that requested the B.C.government build more housing andimplement a tax to penalize propertyspeculators and increase the propertytransfer tax on luxury homes.“Using any method of new taxation

with the goal of driving down the priceof housing could have the unintendedeffect of hurting current homeownersacross the region,” Clark said in herJune 4 letter, which was circulated tovarious news outlets, including the Cou-rier. “Driving down the cost of housingby just 10 per cent would mean a familywith a home currently worth $800,000,could lose $80,000 in equity in theirhome. That could put some homeown-ers with large mortgages into negativeequity.”Spreading that same 10 per cent

calculation across Greater Vancouver,roughly $60 billion in home equitywould be lost, according to a Ministryof Finance analysis of the real estatemarket, which was attached to Clark’sletter.While acknowledging she shares a

concern with the cost of housing inVancouver, Clark pointed to a reportdone last year by the Urban Develop-ment Institute that estimated Vancou-ver’s civic fees and levies add $76,144to the price of a new condo unit worthroughly $450,000.She added that “beyond any new

taxes to curb demand, there is also theoption of increasing supply throughbetter land use planning.”

Continued on page 14

City needs ‘betterland use planning’

Coalition creates petition against city dispensary plan

INTHEZONE “Soccer Sistas”Heidi Spect andJennifer Angeli entertained fansat theVancouver FIFAFanZone inLarwill Parkdowntownas theWorldCuparrived in the cityMonday.SeeFriday’sCourier sports section foranongoing scheduleof games.PHOTODANTOULGOET

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Megan [email protected]

Already prevented frommanaging Hastings Parkas it does the city’s otherparks, the Vancouver ParkBoard could be furtherelbowed out of governingthe so-called Stanley Park ofthe East Side.OnWednesday, the

city will decide if it willmake changes to the PNEgovernance and its boardof directors, includingeliminating one seat of thenine-person board that isdesignated for a park boardcommissioner.“The lack of elected

park board oversight forone of our city’s largestparks represents a hugestep backward,” said parkboard chairperson and NPAcommissioner John CouparonMonday afternoon. “It’scalled a park for a reason.”Perhaps only in name is it a

park. The PNE, governed bya board, which also overseesHastings Park, is a provincialcrown corporation that hasbeen independent of the parkboard since the city cleaved offresponsibility in 2004.

(The racecourse isoperated separately by theGreat Canadian GamingCorporation and the parkboard maintains gover-nance of Plateau Park andEmpire Field.)The city laid out a mas-

ter plan in 2010 to guide

capital investment for thecultural, economic andentertainment develop-ment of the roughly 150acre site. In 2013, despitepushback from citizensgroups that the park boardmanage the land, indepen-dent auditors upheld the

city’s plans.Now, in recommenda-

tion from city staff, coun-cil is encouraged to updatethe bylaws that govern thePNE to “align with theBusiness Corporations Actof B.C. and to assist thenew [Board] of Directors

in the management of thebusiness and affairs of thePNE and Hastings Park.”The report says the

“significant update” isrequired for bylaws thatwere written in 1995.Coupar said oversight

is more important than

ever because of the city’sunknown yet ambitiousdirection for Hastings Park.“For many decades, the

Vancouver Park Boardhas been looking after the[master] plan to turn itinto more of a park andless of a fair and you cansee those results with thesanctuary, with the Italiangarden, with the green-ways that run through thePNE,” said Coupar. “Twoyears ago, against thewishes of the park board,[city counsellors] votedto keep jurisdiction of thepark from the park boardand give control, or mostof it, to the PNE.“Now were seeing the

final step, which is removalof a park board memberfrom the PNE board. It’sa step back, as far as I’mconcerned. Quite honestly,I’m concerned about whatis the plan there.”If the recommendations

are approved, the nine-person PNE Board wouldinclude four city employees,four representatives notemployed by the city and anelected city councillor.

@MHStewart

Park board chair bemoans loss of PNE seatNews

The park board has tried to turn Hastings Park into “more of a park and less of a fair,” according to board chair John Coupar.PHOTODANTOULGOET

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015 THE VANCOUVER COURIER A3

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NaoibhO’[email protected]

Construction on the con-troversial Beach Towers de-velopment in Vancouver’sWest End is not proceedingat this time, according to anotice sent to existing BeachTowers residents.“Devonshire Properties

has decided not to proceedwith the construction of thenew rental units and newrecreation centre proposedfor Beach Towers. As a resultthere will be no demolitionactivity, nor any requirementto relocate tenants’ parkingstalls and storage lockers atthis time,” the notice, whichwas dated June 5 and signedBeach Towers PropertiesthroughDevonshire Proper-ties Inc, reads. “Should theproject be reactivated, amplenotification will be providedand tenant informationmeet-ings will be held.”Brian Jackson, the city’s

head planner, confirmedthe news.“We met with the owner

on Friday who said that he

has decided, for now, tocomplete the paperworkassociated with the develop-ment permit application,but not proceed to con-struction at this time. The

development permit wouldbe in effect for two yearsfrom date of issuance,” hetold the Courier.The developer could not

be reached for comment

before the Courier’s printdeadline.City council approved

a rezoning application forthe project in February of2013. The project involved

adding new buildings to the1960s-era Beach Towerscomplex, which currentlyfeatures four highrises over-looking English Bay.Beach Towers Proper-

ties planned to construct133 new rental units spreadover the site— a four-storeyresidential building withtwo-storey townhouses alongBeach Avenue, as well as anine-storey residential build-ing at the corner of HarwoodandCardero streets. Therental units would includestudios renting for $1,195 amonth, one-bedrooms for$1,495 and two-bedroomsfor $2,155, according to theplan.The project was approved

after three days of publichearings. Affordability wasone of the issues raised.Christine Ackermann,

then a member of the WestEnd Residents Associa-tion, a group that recentlydisbanded, said in 2013 thatthe development of rentalunits was a good thing inVancouver, but she wasdisappointed by the lack of

affordable rentals includedin the project.Randy Helten, a member

of West End Neighbours,posted the news about theproject not proceeding onthe group’s website.Helten, speaking on his

own behalf, notWEN’s, saidhe hopes the project doesn’tgo ahead in the future. Hemaintains there are severalprojects in the pipeline fortheWest End, so the loss of133 rental units isn’t overlysignificant. He also saidconstruction would createconsiderable noise, trafficand disruption for tenantsand the neighbourhood.“The delay hopefully

would be a permanent can-cellation and Beach Towers,with all its wonderful viewsfor the neighbourhood andthe renters, will stay thisway and the demolition andthe construction will neverhappen,” he said. “The lossof the planned 133 units Idon’t think is a major prob-lem. There’s a lot of stuff[projects] happening.”

@naoibh

West Endproject beached for nowDeveloper delays construction at Beach Towers

News

Plans to build 133 rental units on the Beach Towers site in Vancouver’sWest End, have been put onhold— for now. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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CLASSNOTES

Cheryl [email protected]

The EY report com-missioned by EducationMinister Peter Fassbenderon the Vancouver SchoolBoard estimates 19 schoolscould be closed due to lowenrolment.Fassbender said so at a

press conference Tuesdaymorning before the media,VSB staff and trustees hada chance to see EY’s 225-page report.The formerly Vision

Vancouver-dominatedschool board consideredclosing five school sites in2010. Vision Vancouvertrustee Mike Lombarditold the Courier earlier thisyear once parents learned in2010 that the board wouldsave less than $1 million byclosing all five sites, they ar-gued closing schools wouldbe unacceptable.Asked whether the minis-

try would force the VSB toclose schools, Fassbendersaid he wouldn’t speculate,

but he said the VSB shouldinvest in student outcomesinstead of extra seats.Fassbender repeatedly

referred to the existence of10,000 empty seats in Van-couver. The Vancouver Sunreported last month thereare 9,000 empty seats.Fassbender said EY’s re-

port says the VSB could find$72million in annual savingsand revenue. The reportalso said the VSB could find$750million in one-timesavings. The VSB could seesavings and revenue in notcompleting seismic upgradesand deferredmaintenancefor closed schools and thesale of property.Fassbender announced

March 12 theministry wouldappoint a special adviser toconsider the VSB’s budgetdevelopment and forecast-ing, accumulated surplusesand deficits, management ofassets including all build-ings, leases and real estate,opportunities for adminis-trative savings and boardgovernance. He noted theVSB held an accumulatedsurplus of $28.4million as ofJune 30, 2014, the equivalent

to six per cent of total districtexpenditures.Former Vision Vancou-

ver school board chairper-son Patti Bacchus arguesthis claim is misleading be-cause most of the moneywas allocated, just notspent, on that date.But Fassbender main-

tained Tuesday morningthis accumulated surplusexists.

Lombardi’s motion toextend a moratorium onschool closures until De-cember 2018 failed to passat a school board meeting inJanuary. NPA trustees andthe Green Party of Vancou-ver’s trustee Janet Fraseropposed the motion.Fassbender said the gov-

ernment has extended thedate for the VSB to respondto the report to June 30.

The VSB previouslyscheduled a special meet-ing Wednesday eveningto discuss the report withstakeholders. The meetingis to start at 5 p.m. at 1580West Broadway.

Band standIt was music to thou-

sands of ears at John Oliversecondary June 4, whenDave Genn and Neil Os-

borne of Vancouver’s 54-40performed and JO musicstudents received $10,000worth of musical instru-ments.MusiCounts presented

a $10,000 grant under itsBand Aid Program alongwith its partner, radio sta-tion LG 104.3.JO was one of three

Lower Mainland recipi-ents of the grant Thursdaythat’s meant to sustain thegrowth of music programsin public schools. SirWinston Churchill second-ary received $10,000 andPrince Charles elementaryin Surrey received $5,000.MusiCounts, a music

education charity associatedwith the Canadian Acad-emy of Recording Arts andSciences, aims to ensurethat children in Canada, re-gardless of socio-economiccircumstances or culturalbackground, have access toa music program throughtheir school.LG 104.3 has contributed

$875,000 to MusiCounts’Band Aid Program since thestation’s launch in 2009.

@Cheryl_Rossi

Adviser saysVSB could close 19 schoolsNews

Dave Genn andNeil Osborne of 54-40 celebrated a $10,000MusiCounts grant for new instruments forJohnOliver secondarymusic students, June 4. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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Join us and three experts as they provide complimentary verbalappraisals for up to two of your items. Gale Pirie, an independentaccredited appraiser who previously worked as an appraiser forCBC’s Canadian Antiques Roadshow; Pierre St. Denis, proprietorof Pierre’s Antiques in Kerrisdale; and Ted Deeken, appraiser,consultant, and auctioneer with Asset Appraisers and Services,will provide their expertise. Please ensure you can comfortablycarry your items.

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News

FrankO’[email protected]

The first multi-familydevelopment under the Cityof Vancouver’s new RM-9zoning has begun marketingin Marpole.DeveloperMarcon bought

the Yukon Street land assem-bly of six single-family lots inOctober last year for $12.6million and launched the 73-unit low-rise Park&Metro onthe 34,600-square-foot sitelast month.Under the RM-9 zoning,

a floor-space-ratio of 2 isallowed, which equates toa buildable square foot costof $182 for this project, orabout $100 less than the av-erage on the West Side. Thecity also charges $24.25

per square foot in commu-nity amenity contributionsunder RM-9 zoning.It’s the first low-density

development of its kind inVancouver built off a majorstreet in more than 30 years.Marcon’s two-building

development will densifythe area but not in typical,Vancouver high-rise fash-ion. One building will bemodern; one will be heri-tage to make it look like twosmall, boutique buildingsand not one big develop-ment. Both will be fourstoreys. There are streetentrances for all row-housestyle suites.“It’s a natural evolution

from laneway homes andtownhouses and a positiveway to handle growth and

curb issues of affordability,”said Marcon’s developmentmanager Nic Paolella. Hecalled it “gentle densitywithout urban intensity.”Park&Metro is the first

project to be built under thecity’s new RM-9 zoning forMarpole that was put intoplace after the extension ofrapid transit into Vancou-ver’s west side.Park&Metro will fea-

ture courtyard entry gatesfor ground floor homes,with floor plans from570-square-foot one bed-rooms to 1,300-square-footthree bedrooms. The homesare two blocks from theMarine Drive Canada Linestation at the south end ofCambie Street. Prices startin the mid-$300,000 range.

‘Gentle density’ reshapingMarpole

FrankO’[email protected]

River District, a 120-acrewaterfront development onthe Fraser River in southeastVancouver, is an instanttown in search of a core.The project, the largest in

the city since build-out of theformer Expo 86 lands began,has seen hundreds of homessold and five kilometres ofriver front trails completed.DeveloperWesgroup alsopaidmillions of dollars to im-proveMarineWay access tothe former forestry mill sitethat is planned for a popula-tion of about 17,000.PeeterWesik, president

ofWesgroup and a veterandeveloper, confirmed it is thelargest developmentWes-group has ever undertaken.Polygon has soldmore

than 400 townhomes andlow-rise condominiums inthe project and beganmar-keting its 145-unit Rhythmproject this spring.Polygon is also planning

two more River Districtprojects that combine to

include 250 homes.Now the emphasis is

on creating a commercialtown centre.The town square will

be accessible fromMarineWay and include about140,000 square feet of retailspace with 20,000 addition-al square feet on a secondfloor, making it potentialoffice space. Wesgroup alsoplans two residential towersin the centre, with a total ofabout 700 homes.

TD Bank is the onlyconfirmed tenant, butWesgroup sales man-ager Ben Taylor said alarge food retailer and anational pharmacy haveexpressed interest. Wes-group is also seekingcoffee shops, restaurantsand other light retail for a“lively town centre.”“That is what everyone

is waiting for,” Taylor said,gesturing to the hundreds ofhomes already complete.

Instant town seeks a centre

River District, a 120-acrewaterfront development on the FraserRiver in southeast Vancouver, is an instant town in search of acore. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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INFORMATIONSESSION

News

Continued from page 1“They started in one

neighbourhood, theygot together and pooledtheir resources and putit together themselves,”McColl said.“I wrote back to them

and said, ‘Why don’t youadd a crowd funding link tothis?’ Because nobody hasthe money to fight this.”Smart Approaches to

Marijuana Canada, orSAM, advertises itself onits website as “a bipar-tisan alliance of organi-zations and individualsdedicated to a health-first approach to mari-juana policy that neitherlegalizes nor demonizesmarijuana. SAM’s com-mon sense, third-wayapproach to marijuanapolicy is based on repu-table science and soundprinciples of public healthand safety.”McColl said SAM

Canada has called for theresignation of city manag-er Penny Ballem for sup-porting her staff’s proposalto regulate the pot shops.

She said “it’s no businessof the city manager ofVancouver to be decidingwhat federal drug policyshould look like.”Both groups’ views

come as the city kicks offthe first night of publichearings June 10 on thecity’s proposal to regu-late the pot shops. As ofMonday, 87 people hadsigned up to speak tocouncil. Health Min-ister Rona Ambrosehas already stated heropposition to the pro-posal in letters to MayorGregor Robertson, andthe federal Liberals haveannounced their supportfor the city’s move.Last week, marijuana

advocate Dana Larsenposted a comment on theCourier’s website regard-ing the dispensary-freecoalition, saying “ananonymous group getsthree likes on their Face-book page and it’s a newsstory? Let’s be real. Thereis no coalition againstdispensaries. If this is thebest the anti-pot crowd

can do, I think we’ll bejust fine.”The coalition says

the city’s proposal will“neither address thecontinued prolifera-tion of, nor prevent thenegative impacts” thatpot shops have in thecity. The group’s websitefeatures a map of thecity’s dispensaries andoutlines health, safetyand economic concernsrelated to the pot shops.The group cites a HealthCanada study, federalregulations and dangersof pot outlined by theRCMP.“By approving a plan

that would permit thelicensing of these illegalbusinesses in our com-munity, the police andcity government aresending a message toresidents [including ouryouth] that illegal activ-ity is not only acceptablebut that authorities wouldrather control the loca-tion of these activitiesthan enforce the law,” thecoalition writes. “In es-

sence, they are potentiallycreating crime ‘ghettos.’”Over the last weekend

in May, police reportedtwo break-ins and a rob-bery connected to threepot shops. The break-insinvolved a vehicle smash-ing through the dispen-sary’s front doors. Policealso recently temporarilyshut down a dispensary inKitsilano after a 15-year-old allegedly got sick fromconsuming a marijuana-laced product.Supt. Mike Porteous,

who oversees the Vancou-ver Police Department’smajor crime section,spoke briefly to coun-cil at the April meetingwhere city staff presentedits report on the pro-posed regulations for potshops. He told councilthat police do respond toconcerns about dispensa-ries, despite complaints tocouncil about the lack ofenforcement on the illegaloperations.The hearing begins at 6

p.m. Wednesday.@Howellings

Advocates shrug off group


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Community

CITY LIVING

Rebecca [email protected]

Ringing cowbells andcheering on strangers whowere out for their morningexercise sounded like goodfun so that’s what RobynChan and a handful ofher friends did Saturdaymorning along the StanleyPark seawall.It was one of Chan’s big

ideas for her contributionto the Vancouver portionof the 100in1Day festival,which was held for the sec-ond time in this city as partof a national community-building movement basedaround randommerriment.Chan, who is also the

project lead for 100in1Dayin Canada and works for thelocal branch of Evergreen, anot-for-profit environmentalgroup specializing in livablecities, is pleased with theway Vancouver has taken toholding individual projects(or, as the group likes to callthem, “interventions”) as away of taking one small ac-tion to improve the city.“It’s really great. The

ideas are anything andeverything — it’s anythingthat brings about positivechange,” she said. “It’s re-ally a social experiment.”Residents in Vancouver

and in other areas of theLowerMainland partici-pated by leading their own

events that, Chan said, helptransform the way peopleinteract with the city. Somehad stronger messages thanothers. Stacey Forrester andSarah Foot set up the Admi-ration Station at theMountPleasant Library where theidea was to complimenta stranger in a respectfulmanner. Others, such as theSilent Disco at GrandviewPark where anybody couldshow up, sync playlists ontheir phones orMP3 players,throw on some headphonesand dance, was about com-munity connection. Others,still, were historically andenvironmentally motivatedsuch as the informativewalk on St. George Streetwhere a historic stream,one of many paved over asVancouver grew, still flowsunderneath. The walk waslead by women who are partof Lost Rivers Vancouver, St.George Rainway Project andthe False CreekWatershedSociety.“Wewant to use rainwater

to bring life back to cities,”said landscape architect SarahPrimeau before walking downthe street with the group thatheld long stretches of bluefabric between them to repre-sent a stream.100in1Day started

three years ago in Bogotá,Columbia, when somestudents were asked tocome up with six ways topromote civic engagement.While brainstorming ideasover beer, the students

decided to tackle 100instead, which, miracu-lously, ended up being 250.The idea spread to othercities around the globe andMetro Vancouver jumpedon board with 83 events indifferent neighbourhoodslast year. That figure grewto 105 this year.It wasn’t just individual

participants, either. Oneof the stations that workedup an all-day buzz wasthe Kensington branchof the Vancouver PublicLibrary where the mechani-cal clacking of typewriterkeys springing onto paperwas enough to stop pass-ersby. Much fuss has beenmade of the innovationlab and other technologi-cal advances at the centrallibrary of late, but there’sa tactile appeal to old-fashioned typing which fallssomewhere between penand parchment and letterselectronically imprinted ondot-matrix paper.“We’re promoting high-

tech stuff but that doesn’tmean there’s not a place forthis,” said Sarah Green, theVPL employee responsiblefor rounding up the threetypewriters outside thelibrary in a temporary livingroom featuring her ownfurniture from home.“People have been ex-

pressing all day that they lovehow the typewriter sounds.It’s using a lot of senses andit sounds comforting.”

@rebeccablissett

101ways to improveVancouver

1. Julia Fryer set up a bubble-blowing station outside ScienceWorld for Vancouver’s 100in1 day Saturday. “I want to bring joy through bubbles,” said Fryer. The goal of the international festival is to focus onthe role of people and public spaces, and to prove that anybody has the power to improve a community. 2. Three typewriters set up outside Kensington Librarywere in constant use throughout Saturday aspart of Love and Letters in the Library Lounge. Sarah Green, the Vancouver Public Library employee behind the idea, said people couldn’t resist the sound the oldmachinesmade. 3. Sarah Primeau (inwhite)was one of thewomenwho led theWomen andWaterWalk Saturday. Thewalk, whichwas focused on stories of the St. George Rainway and other buried streams in the city, was a collaboration by LostRivers Vancouver, St. George Rainway Project and the False CreekWatershed Society. 4. Thewooden nest in Olympic Villagewas occupied byMeharoona Ghani (second from left) and other Nested Conversa-tions volunteers who invited passersby to pick a handmade crane, unfold the piece of paper tucked into its tail, and share their thoughts onwhat themessage read.See photo gallery online at vancourier.com. PHOTOSREBECCA BLISSETT

100in1Day mounts second round of ‘interventions’

1

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Community

Kathleen [email protected]

Jenny Story is a collegegraduate, professional anima-tor and best-selling author.What makes Story particu-larly unique is that she’s also22 and lives with autism.As Story is celebrating the

success of her first novel,book one of a plannedtrilogy, her mother, JanetWalmsley, is celebrating herown writing debut, with abook about what it was liketo raise Jenny.Walmsley said she first

noticed something wasamiss with Story when shewas about two. At first,she thought it was herhearing, before eventuallycoming to the often-grimdiagnosis of autism.“Her speech had stopped,

she wasn’t talking and she

wasn’t sociable,” Walms-ley said. “When she wasassessed at three [years old]we were told it was autism.”Although the diagnosis

was hard at first, it didn’tstop the family frommov-ing ahead with the job ofraising a daughter. Storywent on to discover art anddrawing became a routineas she grew up strug-gling with extreme socialanxiety. Walmsley, on theother hand, toyed with thethought of a book.“Autistic children are

fixated on routine, they likethe same thing over andover again,” Walmsley said.“She loved animation mov-ies. She could totally actthem out and start drawingthe characters.”Story is out of the worst of

her autism, butWalmsley saidher daughter still faces difficul-

ties in her day-to-day life.“She had her trials and

tribulations since she wasdiagnosed, until even now,”Walmsley said. “She has towork really hard.”After a year in school,

Story decided it was timeto pursue her novel. Thefinished product is calledDysnomia, and it’s the firstin a trilogy.Mother and daughter are

now both published au-thors.Walmsley’s book,TheAutistic Author and Animator:A mother’ view of a daughter’striumph, chronicles the chal-lenges of raising a daughterwith autism.Walmsley said the idea

came about for the bookafter watching her daughterstruggle and knowing thebenefits she gained fromtalking to other families withchildren with disabilities.

“I said to Jenny, is it OK ifI wrote this story about youand your life? This is whatshe said: ‘Mom, if we canhelp one person that will helpthemwith their autism orspecial needs, then we havedone our jobs,’” she said,“When you hear her say

that... it’s the reason why Iwrote this book. I feel she isa role model and an inspira-tion. She’s living proof.”Walmsley hopes her book

moves people, even thosenot dealing with autism.The inspiration for the bookwas Story herself.“She kept looking at me

and saying, ‘You believein me so much, Mom.’ Isaid ‘Yeah, and you have tobelieve in yourself, Jenny.’”The books by Jenny Story

and Janet Walmsley areavailable on Amazon.

@KathleenSaylors

Mother, daughter authorschronicle lifewith autism

JanetWalmsley and Jenny Story are both best-selling authors, despite their struggles with Jenny’s autism. PHOTODANTOULGOET


Development PermitBoard Meeting: June 15The Development Permit Board and Advisory Panelwill meet:

Monday, June 15, 2015 at 3 pm

Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue

Ground Floor, Town Hall Meeting Room

to consider the following development permitapplications:

95 East 1st Avenue: To develop the site with a15-storey, multiple-dwelling building (secured City-owned rental building) that includes 135 units, allover two levels of underground parking with vehicleaccess from the proposed Pullman Porter Street.

1128 Alberni Street: To provide interior alterationsand change of use for a portion of the 1128 AlberniStreet tower from residential to hotel. The change ofuse is proposed on 12 floors (7, 11, 12, 14, 16, 21-25, 30,and 31) for a total of 96 units from residential rentaluse to hotel use.

Please contact City Hall Security (ground floor) ifyour vehicle may be parked at City Hall for morethan two hours.

TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM:

604-873-7770 or

[email protected]

Visit: vancouver.ca Phone: 3-1-1 TTY: 7-1-1

Sept. 13Only 7 markets so mark your calendar

June 14July 12Aug. 9

• June 28• July 26• Aug. 23

Sundays 10am - 4pm

www.ladnervillagemarket.com

on 48th AvenueHistoric Ladner Village

First MarketSun, June 14th

RAIN OR SHINE

19th YearJoin thousands at

this great family event!

5000 48th Avenue

160 ArtisansThere is always new andfresh creations each market

Sponsoring Merchants:

• South Coast Casuals

• Muddy River Landing

• Fancy This Gift

• The Flower Shop in theVillage

• The Blue Door Interiors

• Sonia’s Flowers

• Stir Coffee House

• Hawaiian Beach Tanning

• Elite Repeat 2

• Vagellis Grill

• Lux Food

• Heritage House Interiors

• Dragonfly Gallery

Live Music - Cannery Row

Theweek in num6ers...

87Numberofpeople, asof

Monday,whohadsignedup tospeakat council June10on thefirst nightof public hearingsonthecity’s proposal to regulate

pot shops.

94Numberof recommendations

tied to theTruthandReconciliationCommission’sreport, among themthecallfor the creationof a statutory

holiday.

120Size inacresof thenewRiverDistrictwaterfront

development, the largest in thecity since thebuild-outof theformerExpo86 landsbegan.

200Duration, in seconds, of the

opening tracking shotofOrsonWelles’ 1958 filmTouchofEvil,widely considered bycritics asoneof thegreatest long takes in

cinemahistory.

2LeonominationsMichelle

Brezinski’s short filmMadnessreceived, in addition to

receiving theSpotlight ImageAward fromWomen inFilm.

66Numberofmetres javelinthrower LizGleadlehopes toreach this summer. She set a64.34metremeet recordat theHarry JeromeClassicMonday.

Michael [email protected]

While housing affordability and taxationcontinue to be very much in the news, thisweek I would like to explore another impor-tant issue facing our city: how best to preserveheritage structures and character homes.My column is inspired by last Sunday’s

Heritage House Tour, organized by theVancouver Heritage Foundation. On oneof the most beautiful days of the year, I wasfortunate to join hundreds of Vancouveritestouring nine heritage properties scatteredaround the city.In the interest of full disclosure, I had a par-

ticular interest in this year’s tour since alongwith a business partner, I recently purchasedthe VinsonHouse, one ofWest Vancouver’soldest houses. Our goal is to save it fromdemolition through aHeritage Revitaliza-tion Agreement. I was therefore especiallyinterested in learningmore about Vancouver’splans to protect heritage properties.For those not familiar with the Vancou-

ver Heritage Foundation, it is a registeredcharity that supports the conservation ofheritage buildings and structures given theirpotential contribution to the city’s econo-my, sustainability and culture.Although it is confusing, the foundation

is not to be confused with the VancouverHeritage Society, another independentnon-profit entity that encourages the com-munity to preserve, restore, and appreciateVancouver’s heritage.This year’s tour included the Queen

Charlotte Apartments — an impressive1920’s structure built by Charles Bentallat 1101 Nicola St. in the West End. It wasdeveloped at a time when wealthy Vancou-verites were moving out of the city to thenew suburbs, particularly Shaughnessy.Once a high-end apartment-hotel, it was

converted to condominiums in the 1970s,and is now a much appreciated and caredfor property.As I left the building I walked by a couple

of somewhat dilapidated older rental apart-ment buildings.Looking at their crumbling cornices and

walls, I could not help but wonder whatit will take to encourage their owners torestore them to their once former glory.Although they no doubt provide affordableaccommodation, they did not appear longfor this world, especially if there is ever a fireor earthquake.Next on our itinerary was one of the

oldest surviving houses in the West End.Built at 995 Bute near the end of the 19th

century, it has gone through numerousiterations as a single family house, roominghouse, multi-suite structure and now backto a single-family house.In recent years, the structure has been

raised, original materials were carefullyremoved, then reinstated, allowing for somemodern features including a geothermaland in-floor radiant heat system.Sadly, another of the tour’s houses is not

likely to enjoy such an illustrious future.Located at 6385Marguerite St., this

elegant Georgian Revival home was built in1930 and is a good example of a style popularin Vancouver during the 1920s and 1930s.However, the house was recently sold,

and given its large lot and location, likemany nearby houses, it is likely to bedemolished and replaced by a much largerand more expensive dwelling.Although some new neighbourhood

houses are designed to look like they arefrom another era or place, they do not havethe heritage significance of the originalhouses. City officials are well aware of thisand are now reviewing their heritage con-servation program.

I personally believe one solution to pre-serving significant character houses outsideof Shaughnessy is to allow one or moreinfill houses to be constructed in return forheritage conservation and designation.Not only will this help retain these char-

acter homes, it will result in new housingchoices for those wanting to remain in theseneighbourhoods, but in smaller, more suit-ably designed housing.It will be like killing two birds with one

stone.One of the side benefits of this year’s

Heritage House Tour was discovering manydelightful streets around the city. Too oftenI drive by these neighbourhoods, but rarelyget out of my car and explore on foot. I wasespecially impressed with the leafy streets ofthe West End, but also charming streets offCommercial and Victoria Drives.I plan to explore more of these neigh-

bourhoods before next year’s tour. Youmight want to do the same.

@michaelgeller

Lessons from theheritage house tour

Opinion

Trish [email protected]

The past week’s news has been filledwith discussion of the final report fromthe Truth and Reconciliation Commis-sion. Even though the truth gathered in thereport is hard to hear, I’m glad. It’s timethat we as Canadians attempt to grasp thegulf between what we were taught in schoolabout the relationship between our govern-ment and aboriginal people and what reallyhappened.I grew up in a small town in northern

Ontario where the racism against aboriginalpeople was so great, my family never spokeof our aboriginal lineage. In fact, my motherdid not reveal our Metis heritage to meuntil we moved to Vancouver in 1989. Thelast Canadian residential school remainedopen for another seven years.Residential schools operated in Canada

from 1883 through to 1996. More than150,000 children attended these schoolsthat separated them from their families,their culture and even their language. Mor-tality rates for children in residential schoolswere higher than that of Canadians fightingin the SecondWorld War.We learn much during our academic

careers about Canada’s losses in the SecondWorld War. But for many Canadians, thelight shed by the Truth and Reconcilia-tion Commission report is the first timethey have heard details of what residentialschools were and what effect they had onthe children and the fractured communi-ties left behind. Through the seven yearsof the commission’s work gathering storiesfrom school survivors and even staff of theschools, the commission heard accountsranging from sexual and physical abuse totorture, neglect and profound loneliness.They also heard many stories about tears,

the kinds of tears that many Canadians havenever had to think about before. Survivorstold stories of their tears as they were loadedonto bush planes or trains and taken fromtheir remote communities. Survivors told ofthe tears they tried not to shed at night asthey learned a single child crying resulted inpunishment for the whole dorm.For me, the most startling aspect of the

report is finally understanding the trueintent behind the residential school system.The residential school system was not sim-ply an illustration of a difference in opinionabout how best to educate children. Thiswas not an educational theory that hurt byaccident. The breaking of aboriginal fami-lies and communities was not a side effect

of the residential school system; it was theintended outcome.Each year, we memorialize our involve-

ment in both world wars to ensure that weas a nation never forget, and so that we willnot be doomed to repeat our history. Wemark the day, we tell our children about itand we promise the survivors that we willbe vigilant.One of the 94 recommendations tied to

the TRC report is a call for creation of astatutory holiday, a National Day for Truthand Reconciliation to honour survivors, theirfamilies and communities. Perhaps June1, onemonth before CanadaDay, couldbecome this day of remembrance. Studentsin the final weeks of the academic year couldbe taught the story of how our Canadiangovernment once used school as a weapon ofcultural genocide and howwemust promiseto prevent this from ever happening again.

On the eve of the new national holiday,a simple ceremony could end the schoolday during which children could take eachother’s hands and walk out the school doorstogether, a simple expression of freedomthat was not available to the children whoattended residential schools.Such a ceremony would only be a real act

of reconciliation if we push our provincialand federal governments to address the highnumber of aboriginal children currently inour foster care system and enable policy tokeep them in their communities of origin ingreater numbers.There are many reasons that Vancouver

can be a leading city on the path to rec-onciliation. Not only do we have a historyof leadership in many other social justicemovements including women’s reproduc-tive rights, gay and transgendered rights andenvironmental justice, but we are privilegedto live on the still unceded lands of threestrong nations: the Squamish, Musqueamand Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, who canhelp lead the way.Our first act of reconciliation is to prom-

ise to open our eyes and hearts to the truth,and then to never forget.

@trishkellyc

City could lead inreconciliation

Our first act ofreconciliation is topromise to open oureyes and hearts to thetruth.

One solution topreserving characterhouses is to allowmore infill houses.


LETTERS TOTHE EDITORLetters may be edited by the Courier for reasons of legality, taste, brevity and clarity.Send to: 303 West Fifth Ave., Vancouver V5Y-1J6 or email [email protected]

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COUR IER ARCH IVES THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

June 10, 1972: Elek Imredy’s life-size bronze sculpture Girl in aWetsuit is unveiledon the north side of Stanley Park. In September 1968, Vancouver lawyer DouglasBrown talked to sculptor Imredy about his desire to commission a statue inspiredby Hans Christian Andersen’s “Little Mermaid,” whichwould be installed atopthe great granite boulder off the northern shore of Stanley Park. Imredy felt themermaidwas a symbol of Copenhagen and suggested a girl in awetsuit sincescuba divingwas becoming popular in Vancouver at the time. He asked his friendDebra Harrington tomodel for the sculpture. Money for the statuewas raisedprivately, with the park board granting permission to place the sculpture on therock. Because the boulder was often covered at high tide, a precast concrete ringwas created and the rockwas lifted by a floating crane and set on the ring 100 feetfrom its original location. A plaster of Parismoldwasmade from the clay figureand the sculpturewas cast in fibreglass and then flown to Romewhere it wascast in bronze. A day before the unveiling, the sculpturewas set in place by anelectric crane reaching out from shore to the rock and securedwith stainless steelbolts. The iconic statue has since become one of Vancouver’smost recognizablelandmarks and has been a frequent target of pranksters who’ve adorned theswimmerwith various articles of clothing,most often bikinis.

Girl in a Wetsuit sculpture unveiled

WEB vancourier.comFACEBOOK TheVancouverCourierNewspaperTWITTER @vancouriernews

have your say online...

LETTERS TOTHE EDITOR

Trippeduponbike numbersRe: “Cycling getting trippy,” May 15.I have been following Mike Howell’s

columns relating to cycling in the citywith great interest. However, I am stilldisturbed by his failure to question orexplain Jerry Dobrovolny’s figure, twicereferred to in Mike’s columns, that thecity has seen 300,000 monthly bicycletrips over the Burrard Bridge. Thatseems to imply a high of 300,000 insome one month. The city’s own data,as released in the “Monthly Release ofBike Data” from Engineering Services,shows a peak of 195,000 trips in July2014, with a high of only 87,000 forthe most recent month shown (March,2015). Does the 300,000 refer to thetotal of monthly trips so far this year?(January 62,000, February 70,000,March 87,000, possibly another 80,000in April not yet shown in the graph??).Numbers mean nothing unless they areaccurate and unambiguously stated.

Joan Bunn, Vancouver

ONLINE COMMENTS

Owning ahomedoesn’t equalhappinessRe: “Is it time to leave Vancouver?” June

3.The generational issue is mostly that

people grew up with markets a certainway and haven’t had to deal with thatin a long time after being established, sotheir mentality is “It must still be thatway” when the economy, job market,and housing market has vastly changedeven in the last 20 years. “Get a job” or“get an education” isn’t just somethingyou can tell people anymore. And it’s notjust age; Millennials aren’t being screwedwholesale, it’s anyone under the incomelevel of the haves vs the have-nots. Ofcourse the ivory tower sitters are goingto tell you how easy it is, the key is to notcare about what they think unless they’rethe ones offering you a job or an educa-tion grant.But, the issues people have with Van-

couver seem to be more the plight ofpeople already unsatisfied with their lives,or who can’t let go of dreamer cliches likethe house on the shaded street with thewhite picket fence and 2.3 children nuclearfamily. I don’t have these advantages either(and sometimes I scrape by), but I stilllove living in Vancouver. If you’re boredhere, maybe you’re boring. If it’s a no-funcity to you, maybe you’re not looking inthe right places. If you find people herecold and unfriendly, maybe those termsdescribe you too. I’m far from rich, butI live modestly in a great family-friendly

neighbourhood, I don’t live beyond mymeans, I prefer renting to owning and Ilove my living space. I can walk or taketransit 10 minutes to find something to do,and I have several small circles of friendsfrom just participating in activities andseeking out new experiences. I don’t getthe criticisms. You don’t need a house tobe happy and you don’t need money to berich. If you think you do, Toronto’s notgoing to fix that.

Porst,via Comments section

Bridge priorities out ofwhackRe: “Vancouver calls for $30 million fix

to Burrard Bridge,” June 1.Thirty million can be used towards im-

proving our transit system first. How muchmoney has been spent on that stretch ofroad for bike lanes from Burrard Bridge toCornwall on Kits alone? Mayor Robertsonis on crack! Get your priorities straightbuddy!!

Sy Bor Wong,via Facebook

Bent out of shape over yogaRe: “Yoga class planned for Burrard

Bridge,” online only.And in this city that apparently loves

yoga so much, the media didn’t knowanother event for June 21st was alreadyplanned??? One that isn’t going to cost tax-payers $150,000?? One that was suggestedand endorsed by the Consulate General ofIndia??

positively4thstreetvia Comments section

•••What a bonehead idea. Shut down the

bridge on Father’s Day, create trafficgridlock.... Who wants to ruin their yogamat on oil soaked concrete and breathein residual fumes. This is simply a mar-keting gimic for Lululemon and an LNGcompany as well as yet again anotherphoto-op for our forever perky Premier.What? Are all the parks and green spacesbooked? Another cringe-worthy Vancou-ver moment.

jsommy,via Comments section

StolenmomentsRe: “Bike theft denies us more than our

property,” June 5.There is one flaw in your conclusion

that stolen bikes mean that less peoplewill cycle: The people who steal bikes sellthem and the new owners are as likely ormore likely to use them as their formerowners.So while bike thefts do lead to heart-

break (I had mine stolen last year), theyprobably don’t affect the active trans-portation mix as much as your essayimplies.

qatzelok,via Comments section



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Q: I have four Gojiplants that I started fromseed in 2014 (West CoastSeeds). I transplantedthem to soil in the spring.They grow quite wellfor a while then one ortwo little branches turnbrown and shrivel up.They are watered alongwith everything else inthe garden with an oscil-lating sprinkler. Theyhave had lots of lime, butnothing actually mea-sured. Any ideas to keepthem healthy?Jim Ormesher, Tsawwassen

A: Goji berries hate wet,soggy soil. They also needto be grown in a sunnyspot, though in Tsaw-wassen, this isn’t likely tobe your problem. In thisclimate they don’t have anypest or disease problems (asfar as is known at present).But the dislike of wet

soil could be an issue.They are grown commer-cially in Tibet, Mongoliaand parts of China for thehealth-giving berries. But

apparently they are alsoplanted on the edges ofdeserts to prevent the des-ert creeping further in.Peat moss, compost and

manure aren’t recom-mended for use with thembecause these amend-ments hold onto moisture.When Goji berry plants

are first put into the soil,they do need water toget settled in. But thesoil should be very well-drained so that watermoves through. Once theyput their taproot down,they’re said to be verydrought-resistant.I suspect the oscillating

sprinkler and the grassclippings are causing rootrot problems in your Gojiplants. Grass clippingshold onto water and yourclippings will be especiallymoist since water is beingadded via the sprinkler.I wonder how long you

water for and for howmany days in the week. Itcould be that grass clip-pings aren’t needed at all.The lime is a very good

idea. The alkalinity Gojiplants need is very high,up to 8.6 Ph. It might be

helpful to find out justhow alkaline your soil isnow. Garden centres sellsoil tests.

Q: I have a questionabout the “new” Tula-meen raspberry canesmy brother bought. Helives in Kamloops. He’swondering if he plantsthe Tulameen canesnext to his other rasp-berry bushes if they willcross-pollinate. Shouldhe plant the new canesseparately further fromhis other canes?

Judy, email

A: Cross-pollinationisn’t likely if “Tula-meen” is planted close toother raspberries. Mainlyraspberries are self-fertilealthough they producemore raspberries if insectspollinate them as well.In any case, cross polli-

nation wouldn’t affect thefirst generation of raspber-ries because fruit char-acteristics stem from theparent cane that producedthe raspberry. So regard-less what the insects did,every raspberry from the

Tulameen canes would bea Tulameen in looks andtaste. Other kinds plantednearby would also be trueto their own variety.But it still might be best

to plant Tulameen sepa-rately. Tulameen is an earlyfall fruiter which should becompletely cut down to theground in late winter. June-fruiting raspberries usuallyhave old canes cut in falland new canes retained.This is unlikely to be aproblem at first.But since raspberry

canes sucker far andwide, different kindsplanted close togethercan get thoroughly mixedup which could makepruning more and morecomplicated.Anne Marrison is happy

to answer garden questions.Send them to her via [email protected]. It helps ifyou give the name of yourcity or region.

EnsureGoji iswell drained

Goji berries prefer sunny, dry spots to grow.


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Opinion/News

SOAPBOX

[email protected].

With affordability issuesfront and centre on theminds of many people inthe Lower Mainland, thereare articles every day onhow to address the issue.There’s no getting aroundthe reality that first-timeproperty buyers are beingsqueezed out of the mar-ket, and that grip is gettingtighter and tighter everyday. Is there anythingthat can be done to satisfythe Vancouver real estatemarket’s voracious appe-tite and boost the amountof affordable housingoptions? Yes there is, butthe question remains asit always has been — isthere any political will toaddress the issue?Australia has been tak-

ing some tough measureson foreign ownershiprecently. The state ofVictoria will start chargingan extra three per cent taxon the purchase price forforeign buyers, as well asan additional 0.5 per centland tax. They estimate itwill generate $279 millionover the next four years.Treasurer Tim Pallas, whodelivered his first budgetin May, said the surcharg-es were “modest” andwould force foreigners tocontribute to services andinfrastructure. The Aus-tralian federal governmentis also considering anapplication tax of $5,000AU on properties under amillion, and an additional$5,000 per million abovethat. If someone tries tocircumvent the rules, theycould potentially be fined25 per cent of the home’svalue and be forced to sell.London, England has

seen its property values in-crease at an unsustainablerate in recent years, largelydue to foreign investorsbuying at an alarming rate.It’s “a bubble that’s fu-elled by an almost infinitesupply of desperate globalcapital at the moment,”said Peter Rees, who wasthe City of London’s cityplanning officer for nearly30 years. That soundsfamiliar, doesn’t it? Untilrecently foreign ownerswere exempt from payingcapital gains tax when theysold a property. (Howvery polite of those lovelyBrits.) Some of the recentproposals made by may-oral candidates in Londoninclude an increased capi-tal gains tax for foreignbuyers, as well as an extratax for properties that areleft vacant.I don’t think anyone in

Vancouver has a majorissue with foreign owner-

ship of properties. Themain issue most residentshave is when the homesare left vacant. Walk alongKits beach and you’ll seebeautiful million dollarhomes next to homes thatlook like they are occupiedby raccoons. They are leftvacant by the owner andare rapidly deterioratingdue to being left unmain-tained. Coal Harbour isone of the densest areas inVancouver when it comesto condos, but go outsideat night and there is barelyanyone on the street.Why? Because morethan half the units areunoccupied. It’s left theneighbourhood cold andfaceless with few amenitiesavailable for the residentswho actually choose to livein their homes.A relatively simple way

to address the issue wouldbe to charge owners ofhomes and condos that

are left vacant doubleproperty tax. Is this overthe top? Some in the realestate development com-munity will likely say so,but I actually don’t thinkit would be an issue foroverseas buyers in any waywhatsoever. If a propertyowner is willing to forego$1,500 a month in rentalincome, what is another$2000/year in propertytax? It would cause noth-ing more than a minorblip in the current state ofthe real estate market, butcould add $20,000,000 ayear to the city coffers if10,000 properties are leftvacant. You can call that avery conservative estimateon how many proper-ties are currently unoc-cupied, Coal Harbour islikely pretty close to thatamount on its own.So what could Van-

couver do with all theirnew found riches? When

Meena Wong was runningfor mayor last year withCOPE, she put forwardthe idea of putting all themoney towards afford-able housing. That is onlysolution that will affect theVancouver housing marketin a solely, positive waywith the goal of increasingaffordability for its currentresidents. It could veryeasily be considered anethical thing to do. Maybehalf could go to afford-able housing, with halfof the proceeds going toimproving infrastructurein the city. Figuring outhow to spend an extra$20,000,000 a year wouldbe a wonderful problem tohave. It’s a win-win sce-nario for the local popula-tion, and would be a tinytax burden on foreignownership.Barry Magee is a Van-

couver realtor at livingin-vancity.com.

Double property taxes for vacant propertiesLevy could help fund affordable housing

Continued from page 1The Ministry of Finance

analysis said the B.C gov-ernment could encouragelocal governments to ad-dress affordability throughlocal taxes and planningmeasures such as:• Adopting growth

strategies and plans thatencourage affordablehousing units.• Nurturing a regula-

tory environment that is“housing-friendly” andencourages densification.• Offering property tax

incentives and targetedreductions to build orrenovate affordable hous-ing.• Streamlining develop-

ment approval processes.The mayor pointed out

in his letter that the cityhas set aside $61 millionin this year’s capital planto invest in housing andto support its affordablehousing agency.The city also contin-

ues to offer incentives todevelopers to build rentalhousing, a program thatworks without provincialor federal governmentmoney.In urging the premier

to partner with the cityto build new affordablehousing geared to fami-lies, first-time buyers andseniors, Robertson said“the single biggest step”the B.C. government

could make to addresssoaring housing costs isto generate thousands ofnew housing units that areaffordable for lower andmiddle-income taxpayers.“The rapidly escalating

housing prices in Vancou-ver are creating despairon the part of many hardworking, middle-incomecitizens and families,”he wrote in his letter. “Ihear on a daily basis fromyoung people who are

educated, have good-pay-ing jobs, but are unable tofind quality rental hous-ing in a near-zero vacancymarket, and who are noteven within shouting dis-tance of being able to buyin Vancouver.”In response to Clark’s

letter, the mayor’s officesent the following state-ment to the Courier fromacting-mayor RaymondLouie:“As the mayor’s letter

and all of his public state-ments have indicated, ourfocus has not been on for-eign ownership, but ratherinvestor speculation anda lack of affordability thatis leaving behind far toomany Vancouver familiesand putting our economyat risk. While the premierhas talked about hypo-thetical major declines inequity, our own propos-als have been squarelyfocused on getting new

affordable housing builtand slowing down theunsustainable ‘growth’ inhousing prices — whichare clearly out of pace withthe rest of Canada and theworld. We look forward tocontinuing an importantdialogue and partnershipwith the province on howthey can help invest andprovide the tools we needto build urgently neededaffordable housing —reflecting our commitmentto a Vancouver in whichpeople of all backgroundscan afford to live, contrib-ute to our economy, andraise a family.”Addressing concerns

over foreign investmentdriving up housing prices,Clark said industry expertsestimate that local inves-tors are doing most of thereal estate speculation inthe region.“Those experts estimate

that local investors arethree to four times moreactive in the region’s hous-ing market than foreigninvestors,” she said. “Formany individuals andsmall businesses, this isa source of investmentincome.”In its analysis, the Min-

istry of Finance researchedother cities around theworld that have imple-mented different forms oftax measures aimed at realestate speculators.

In Singapore, forexample, its governmentimplemented nine suc-cessive cooling measuresbetween September 2009and December 2013,including a speculationtax on properties held forless than four years andan increased land transfertax on residents and non-residents.“In terms of affordabil-

ity, Singapore is not a suc-cess story,” the Ministryof Finance concluded.“Singapore has managedto halt a rapid increase inhouse prices. However, anindividual unable to afforda home in 2009 remainsunable to afford a homein 2015. The growth inhouse prices in Singaporeover that period outpacedthe growth in incomes. Inaddition to higher houseprices, that individual nowfaces restrictions on theirability to borrow and mayface higher property trans-fer taxes either directly, orpassed on by the seller.”Clark concluded her

letter to the mayor, saying“I look forward to work-ing with you, sharing ourinformation and examin-ing the various optionsavailable to the city andthe province to makehousing more affordablein Vancouver, especiallyfor first-time buyers.”

@Howellings

Province says local investors drivingmarket

Who’s responsible for solving Vancouver’s housing affordability crisis? Premier Christy Clark told Van-couver Mayor Gregor Robertson the city needs to step up and not depend on the provincial govern-ment for a property speculation tax. PHOTOSDANTOULGOET


The islandof Exuma isfamous for itsswimming pigs.PHOTO:LAURENCEMALLEY

We’d left Nassau, Bahamas, just an hour earlier at theend of an unexpected tropical storm of such force it hadme digging my Rescue Remedy out of my purse andregretting I had nothing stronger with me. As my partnerand I raced across the tarmac to our small plane, thewind tangled our hair and the rain drenched our clothing,though it did nothing to relieve the oppressive humidityNassau was suffering that morning. Strapped into ourseats, I maintained a death grip on my partner’shand as our flight took off, the clouds and windcausing the plane to shake and dip muchlike a toy gripped in the hand of a petulanttoddler.

But within minutes of take-off, the rainstopped, the sun came out and theclouds disappeared allowing my firstglimpse out of the plane’s window of thatemerald green water featured in so manyphotos of the Caribbean. And, then shortlyafter, thanks to the experienced pilots of SkyBahamas, we landed at the Exuma International Airportfor the start of our week on this tropical island.

SWIMMING PIGSAs our boat pulled up to a small island located in theExuma Cays, Bahamas, a large pink and white pigwandered out of the jungle and headed to the water’sedge to check us out.

It was then Captain Ray of Exuma Cays Ocean Safarihopped off our boat and waded to shore grabbing the lid

Flying into the small airport on the Caribbean island ofGreat Exuma, Bahamas, inMay, it was a descriptionfromHunter S.Thompson’s novel The RumDiary thatimmediately came to mind.

to a plastic garbage can, which he began to bang with astick. Moments later a large black sow headed onto thebeach and into the sea and began swimming towardsour boat. And that was when the fun began. As we allpiled out of our boat, cameras and cellphones held highabove our heads, we were soon joined by four sows, anextremely large male and about half a dozen piglets whostuck close to shore.

This was the moment we’d been waiting forsince planning our trip to Exuma threemonths before and it was worth the wait.Armed with what we were promisedwere chicken hot dogs and bags ofday-old buns, we waded near theshore feeding the pigs, which appearedto love the back rubs and pats we wereshowering on them. But it was the black

sow that turned out to be the friendliest(hungriest) of the bunch and she eventually

swam up to the boat and rested her twofront hooves on the rail as she gobbled up wieners at analarming rate presenting us with a perfect photo op. (Thetour operators also take out fresh water and actual pig foodto the swine family on each of the two daily tours.)

Almost as astounding was our stop at another island, hometo a colony of critically endangered Exuma Island iguanas.As our boat pulled up to shore, the iguanas slithered outfrom under small rock formations and the jungle eagerto accept our gifts of fresh grapes. And while not quite asfriendly as the pigs, the iguanas were a real highlight of thetour. PHOTOGALLERY AT VANCOURIER.COM.

More thanswimming pigs

GREATExumaSANDRA THOMAS [email protected]

“Old Godsure was in a

good mood whenhe made this place.”HUNTER S. THOMPSON,

THE RUMDIARY


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The one-mile beach liningSandals Emerald Bay.PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS

“Action Jackson,” a favourite butlerat Sandals Emerald Bay.PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS

SandalsEmeraldBay

Checking into Sandals Emerald Bayon the Caribbean island of Exuma ona warmMay afternoon, my partnerand must have looked confused by thecomment.

“It’s your butler phone, anything youwant you just call.”

Our stunned silence, followed by a notso quiet “Yahoo” fromme, brought asmile to our butlers “Action Jackson”and Treco, who were assistingus while we checked into the airconditioned comfort of our suite.

Having been invited by Sandals tocheck out the resort during our visitto Exuma, we were confident it wouldbe great. But prior to this moment, wehad no idea just how great.

Our biggest question then became,what does one do with a butler? Ourguys were the best and, when theyhadn’t heard from us for a while,would show up unexpectedly withdrinks or call our butler phone tosee how we were doing. Jackson andTreco delivered tropical cocktails bybicycle to the beach, left fresh coconut

drinks and snacks in our room andmade sure our bar was fully stocked—with Sandals being an all-inclusive,there wasn’t a lot of drinking beingdone in the room. But the best part ofhaving a butler was not having to getup at 7 a.m. to reserve lounge chairsby the pool because they took care ofit. Best. Perk. Ever.

We were also invited to try a newcouple’s treatment offered at RedLine Spa called the Night BloomingJasmineMassage, which after 11 daysof travelling was literally a gift fromthe gods (and Sandals).

Sandals Emerald Bay is nothingless than stunning and the attention

to detail is astounding. The resortis situated on a mile-long beachboasting Champagne-coloured sand, achampionship golf course designed bylegend Greg Norman, unlimited scubadiving and water sports, a deep watermarina designed to hold more of thosesuper yachts and seven restaurants.We had the pleasure of trying the finedining at Italian restaurant Il Cielo,but we also enjoyed the more casualfare served at Barefoot by the Sea andour favourite, the Drunken Duck, anauthentic British pub complete witha menu offering fish and chips andbangers and mash.

Guests have a choice betweenlounging by the busy pool andlistening to a live DJ, while sippingtropical drinks at the swim-up bar, orrelaxing by the quiet pool, where evenblenders are banned.

Our suite opened up to the beach andon our last day at Sandals a kite surferwove his way across the bright bluesky as I lamented having to leave notonly this beautiful resort, but Exumaitself. I also briefly considered stealingthe butler phone to see if it would workback home, but as Jackson gently took itout of my grasp he suggested we’d justhave to return to see them all again.

“Just push this button if you need anythingand we’ll take care of it.”


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Affordable real estatea lure for Vancouverites.

PHOTO: SANDRA THOMAS

Standing on a white sandbar in the middleof the Caribbean Sea, surrounded by someof the most beautiful aquamarine-colouredwater found on this plantet, I was able toscratch yet one more location off my travelbucket list.

As our small group walked across theshimmering sand, our bare feet createdthe only footprints on the tiny oasis, whicheven as we explored quickly disappeareddue to the rising tide.

It was hard to believe just two hours earlierwe’d been sitting amongst the hustle andbustle of the international airport in Nassau,Bahamas, and it was only 30 minutesprior that we’d arrived at February PointResort Estates, located along the east coastof Great Exuma. The property is nestledoff the calm waters of Elizabeth Harbourand protected against tropical storms byStocking, Long and Cat islands.

Upon arrival to Great Exuma InternationalAirport, we were greeted by Tracey Styles,the friendly rental program assistantat February Point, who kindly took usshopping for groceries and liquor.

Checking into Over the Top House, whichoverlooks the marina and sea, I was glad wehad bought enough of both so there wouldbe no need to leave the gorgeous home—with the exception of swimming in theocean and resort pool. But, when we wereinvited to visit Catch a Fire Bar and Grillat Sunset Bluff later that night, we jumpedat the chance. We lucked out that a local

reggae band was playing, so we enjoyeddinner, dancing and tropical drinks in themiddle of what seemed like nowhere.

February Point is in the midst of phase twoof a massive renovation and developmentproject, which when complete will includethe Aqua Villas, Aquarius OverwaterResidences, concierge services and theluxurious Sapphire Beach Club, whichat the time of our visit was about 50 percent finished. A newmarina large enoughto support the many mega yachts thatfrequent Exuma is also in the works.

February Point was recently purchased by agroup led by Florida-based developer JohnMcGarvey, which also bought the adjacent851 acres. The group is developing a 58-unit resort on Stocking Island as a sisterproject to February Point.

The vacation homes at February Point areall owned, or are for sale, and it was the realestate side of the property that really caughtour attention, particularly after experiencingthe crazed state of property sales inVancouver. When we discovered we couldpurchase a stunning waterfront lot startingat just $700,000, let’s just say we were morethan a little intrigued, particularly whenwe discovered anyone who spends morethan $500,000 on a vacation home in theBahamas becomes eligible for permanentresidency status. It was only the lure of ourmany grandchildren on theWest Coastthat stopped us from pursuing the matterfurther.

February PointVacation paradise& real estate dream


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1. Tireless musical nomad Jim Kilpatrick,a.k.a. Shotgun Jimmie, sets up his sonicpup tent for a plaid-shirt-friendly evening oflyrically agile, lo-fi indie pop delights June11 at the Cobalt. Slowlearners and KnifePleats open. Tickets $10 at the door.

2.The Cinematheque continues itsmonth-long celebration of what would havebeenOrsonWelles’ 100th birthday withthe actor/director’s seedy 1958 film noirmasterpiece A Touch of Evil. Sweaty law-men, pot smoking delinquents, leather-cladbikers, Janet Leigh,Charlton Heston asa Mexican narcotics agent, and that famoussingle take opening sequence — it’s got itall. Touch of Evil screens June 11, 14 and15. Details at thecinematheque.ca.

3. Frommasterpieces to… well… this.Luigi Cozzi’s 1970s sci-fi extravaganzaStarcrash is given theGentlemen Heck-lers treatment, as comedians Eric Fell,Patrick Maliha and Shaun Stewart providelive commentary to the tale of a scantilyclad outlaw smuggler and her alien com-panion who are recruited by the Emperorof the Galaxy to rescue his son and destroya secret weapon. The low budget 1978 filmstars Caroline Munroe, Christopher Plum-mer and David Hasselhoff. How bad couldit be? Starcrash screens June 10, 7 p.m. atthe Rio Theatre. Details at riotheatre.ca.

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June 10 to 12, 2015

1

32


Arts&Entertainment

STATEOFTHEARTSCheryl [email protected]

Actor Michelle Brezinskiwas living in such unbear-able agony in 2012 that shebegged Vancouver GeneralHospital to admit her.The 47-year-old resident

of Kitsilano had diagnosedherself with post-traumaticstress disorder.“The illness was so severe

that every day I contemplat-ed whether life was worthliving,” she told the Courierin an email.The former personal

trainer and competitivebodybuilder was fit butunderweight because shehad been straining to eat,was struggling with sleepand was already seeing apsychologist and a psychia-trist.She spent three weeks in

hospital while her medica-tions were adjusted. Whenshe emerged, she decided afocus on filmmaking wouldsave her.Brezinski has since shot

three short films, writtena sitcom and four featurescripts.

She won a $10,000 TelusStoryhive production grantfor creating a social me-dia buzz around her shortfilmMadness. The film,which she completed in10 weeks, has received 26global awards, won two LeoAward nominations and willsee her receive the SpotlightImage Award fromWomenin Film, June 15.“It’s given me leverage to

now be taken seriously as afilmmaker,” she said.Brezinski wrote, co-di-

rected and stars inMadness.The 10-minute film is setin the age of Black Deathand focuses on a womanwho believes her husbandhas been buried alive andretrieves him from thegraveyard.“I wanted to put my post

trauma into a story but Ididn’t want it to be me,”Brezinski said.Inspiration came from

seeing a skeleton in a boxat Costco, which put the“Ring around the Rosy”song in her head, whichmade her think how trau-matized people must havebeen during the time of thebubonic plague.Madness was nominated

for best costume design

and best makeup in a shortdrama at the Leos, whichheld an awards ceremonycelebrating excellence inB.C. film and televisionJune 6, with additional cer-emonies June 13 and 14.Brezinski speaks quickly

when asked what led to hertrauma.“My mom died in a fire

when I was 20, a very hor-rific fire, my dad had can-cer, I woke up with a guytrying to pull a pillow overmy face, I lost a child, a guydied while I was giving himCPR,” she said.A dentist hit a nerve in

2012 and Brezinski saysthe physiological traumabrought her psychologicaltrauma to the fore.Brezinski says she had a

great mother who excelledin her career and confidedin her teenaged daughter inthe early 1980s that otherwomen seemed uncom-

fortable with her success.That’s part of the reasonwhy receiving the Womenin Film award is a greathonour.“I went like, oh my

God, maybe women willstart to band together andstop competing with eachother,” Brezinski said.“Women don’t want todestroy women’s evolu-tion, but they’re afraid ofnot keeping up with it andthey’re also afraid there mayonly be a few chances ofcertain people evolving andso they get scared if it looks

like someone might get theprize before them.”Brezinski isn’t surprised

past traumas began to haunther at age 47.“Apparently, that is the

typical midlife crisis time.It could have been that thehormones did a shift,” shesaid. “What happens is alot of women hit that timeperiod and a lot of pain andsuffering comes up, and alot of questions, and theydon’t know what to do withit, and most of them don’trealize that it’s unresolvedissues.”Brezinski sought hope-

ful stories of people who’dsurvived dark times whenshe was in agony. She hopesher own story inspires faithin those who are feelinghopeless and promotes thehealing power of focusingon creative endeavours, andshe hopesMadness takesaudiences on an entertain-ing emotional journey.After the Women in Film

gala, Brezinski will fly toToronto to screen her filmat The Female Eye FilmFestival, which starts June16. Brezinski notes her sit-com, Sex Therapy, just hada public reading in Torontoand is also advancing in LosAngeles.She hopes to seeMadness

screened at the VancouverInternational Film Festivaland the Vancouver ShortFilm Festival.

@Cheryl_Rossi

There’smethod to filmmaker’sMadnessShort film nabs Brezinski two Leo nominations and Spotlight Image Award for Women in Film

MichelleBrezinskiwrote, co-directedandstars in theaward-winning short filmMadness.


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Arts&EntertainmentKUDOS&KVETCHESOhm thepodiumThere’s been a lot of

grunting as of late overPremier Christy Clark’slatest PR stretch to closedown the Burrard StreetBridge June 21 for a fewlimber hours to hold a freeyoga session in celebra-tion of International Dayof Yoga. And we thoughtevery day was an Inter-national Day of Yoga inVancouver. Namaste.Why anyone would want

to hunker down with thou-sands of other sweaty peepson a grimy, suntan lotionand Palm Bay-stained spanof pavement that connectsdowntown with Kits is be-yond us. But ever since wecleared our reactive mind,we’ve tried not to judgeothers. Even the easily

manipulated ones.Our only concern is for

the other forms of exercisethat have yet to bask inthe glow of Clark’s radiantsmile. Why should theybe left out? Why shouldn’tthey get their moment inthe sun so enthusiasts canrisk skin cancer or inhaleexhaust fumes just to bepart of a massive spectaclethat seems oddly random,perhaps even inappropriate,for a government leader tobe endorsing.So let’s make it happen.A giant Zumba class in

the intersection of Gran-ville andWest Georgia.An Ultimate Frisbee gamealong East Hastings Street.An ironic 1980s themedaerobics class at BroadwayandMain. And a sizzlingPinochle and Canasta tour-nament in wild and crazystreets of Marpole. Just as

long as there’s no publicdisplays of hacky sack. Thatdisgusting and outdated

practice needs to be bannedpronto.

@KudosKvetches

Noteveryone is a fanof a free yoga sessionon theBurrardBridge.


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Liz Gleadle has anothertwo metres in her.She could reach 65 or 66

metres this summer. Thesetting is certainly right.“I’m waiting for it,” she

said, a smile spreadingacross the face of the six-foot-one athlete. “I don’tknow if it’s going to comein Oslo, I still expect greatthrows in Oslo, but I’mdefinitely gearing up forsome really great throws atPanAms. Don’t be sur-prised when it happens.”Gleadle has the fifth best

throw in the world so far thisyear and she will continue tobuild on her season this weekat an international DiamondLeaguemeet in Norway. Sheholds the Canadian women’srecord of 64.83metres,which she set last month inJapan, and her best attemptat theHarry JeromeClassiconMonday night at Swan-gard Stadiumwasn’t far offthat mark. She threw 64.34metres to win gold at themeet before fouling on herfourth attempt and passingon her fifth throw.

“It’s good to have abaseline of throws in the60s instead of having justmy best throw being in the60s,” she said. “It’s a mas-sive improvement.”A structural injury af-

fecting her ribs and pelvisthwarted the progress of theKitsilano and UBC gradu-ate, but she said — despitea few “niggling” alignmentissues — she’s healthy.The consistency is

hard-earned, and Gleadleis only warming up withexpectations to impress thehome crowd at the TorontoPanAmGames next month.

At Swangard, she hadabout 20 friends and familymembers in the stands, andworked their attention toher advantage.In Toronto, watch for

her to pump up the crowdbefore setting into her throw— a slowly acceleratingapplause jolts the nervoussystem, she said. And whileshe doesn’t always do it,when it’s right, she’ll buildoff the energy.“You get the momentum

of the crowd behind you,”she said. “It felt right today,a good home crowd.”

@MHStewart

Gleadle preps for best yet

Sports&Recreation

Liz Gleadle lets it fly at the Harry Jerome Classic at SwangardStadiumon June 8. She set ameet record in thewomen’s javelinwith a 64.34 throw. PHOTODANTOULGOET


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Sports&Recreation

1. Lord Byng’s Calli Charlton splashes through the water hazard in the senior girls 1,500 metre steeplechase. She finished fifthoverall, 11 seconds behind the winner from Salmon Arm. 2. Vancouver College sprinter Anastas Eliopoulos surges for the finishline to win the junior boys 100 metre dash. He won triple gold by also winning the 200 metre dash and the 100 metre hurdles. 3. St.George’s long jumper Kenneth Ng takes off over the sand on his way towinning bronze in the senior boys event at the B.C. high schoolchampionships in Langley June 5. PHOTOS JENNIFER GAUTHIER

ATHLETICS


Vancouver College wonthe junior and senior boysB.C. high school track andfield championship and theall-boys school came only afew points shy of claimingthe all-round team title.Competing in Langley

atMcLeod Athletic ParkJune 4 to 6, the FightingIrish amassed 77 junior boyspoints and 60 senior boyspoints to win both, comingwithin two and five pointsof the respective junior andsenior team championships.NewWestminster secondarywon the combined juniormeet with 79 points andperennial championOak Baysecondary, fromVictoria,won the combined seniormeet with 65 points.Killarney finished fifth

overall at the combined se-nior level and Eric Hambercame 13th.In individual results,

triple gold went to AnastasEliopoulos who won thejunior boys 100 metre dashfor the Fighting Irish, top-

ping the podium in 11.12seconds, .15 seconds aheadof the silver medallist fromNewWestminster. Histeammate Alfred Dela Cruztied for fourth in 11.49.Eliopoulos also won the

junior boys 100m hurdles in14.01, more than full sec-ond (1.32 seconds) aheadof the second-place racer.And he was the fastestsprinter in the junior boys200m, winning in 22.68. St.George’s Quinn Litherlandtook silver in 22.82.Vancouver College found

more success in the sprintsand won gold in the seniorboys 4x100 relay in 44.26— .27 seconds ahead ofrival St. Thomas More.They also won the juniorboys 4x400 relay.Jasper Schiedel added

to the Vancouver Collegemedal count with gold in thesenior boys 110m hurdles.Quinn Litherland of St.

George’s won the juniorboys 400m race in 49.55.In the senior boys race ofthe same distance, EricHamber brothers Leo Andoand Rui Ando finished thirdand fourth, respectively, in50.64 and 50.82.The senior boys from

Hamber outstepped Van-couver College to win the4x400m relay in 3:28.20,just 0.66 secondsmarkingthe difference between goldand silver.Magee’s Julie Kawaii

Herdman won bronze inthe junior girls 200m dash,stepping away in themiddleof the high jump competi-tion to run the race. She stillmanaged a bronze in thehigh jump, clearing 1.60metres, and also won silverin the junior girls long jump,reaching 5.25metres on hersecond attempt. The winnerfromCollingwood jumped5.30metres on her first at-tempt and fouled on four ofher next five attempts.In the senior girls 1,500m

race walk, Killarney’s ZoeZhang won silver andKingGeorge’s Sophie Vogel-Na-kamura won silver in 7:52.74and 8:14.98, respectively. Inthe junior event, Killarney’sKyra Donaldson won gold in7:11.94.Killarney topped the po-

dium in the senior boys racewalk. Alger Liang won goldin 6:09.55 and teammateErik Thies was close behindin 6:13.51. Also fromKillar-ney, Philip Ngo won bronze

in the junior boys race walk.In the 3,000m run,

Killarney’s Enid Au wonsilver. Charlton was fourth.AutumnCovington won

silver in the senior discus witha throw of 37.35metres.Brendan Chandra won

silver in the junior discuswith a best throw of 42.73metres. He also won bronzein the shot put with a throwof 47.41 metres.Jessica Hanson from

Little Flower Academy tiedfor second in the high jump.On her third attempt, shecleared 1.70 metres to tiewith a jumper fromWalnutGrove. The winner clearedthe same distance with onejump and also reached 1.75metres for the win. LFA’sSophie Pauls finished fourthwith a 1.60m jump.In the senior boys long

jump, Kenneth Ng wonsilver for St. George’s witha best jump of 6.51 metres,just three centimetres be-hind the winner fromWal-nut Grove. Close behind,Vancouver College’s JasperSchiedel won bronze with a6.50-metre jump.Hannah Johnston won

bronze in the senior girls400m hurdles in 1:04.64.

Triple gold leads FightingIrish to double B.C. titles

1 2

3


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For more details go instore oronline @thebrick.com.

n a first for OurProspects, thecourt where thisathlete grew upwatching her idols

and honing her own game is thesame place she’ll play for thenext five years.Jessica Hanson started drib-

bling a ball atWarMemorialGym and cherishes a portraitthat shows her on the courtin an oversized Thunderbirdsuniform. She was a toddler in2000 when her father becamethe head coach of themen’sbasketball team. He broughthis pedigree to coach her highschool teams at Little FlowerAcademy, and when she com-mitted to play basketball atUBC, Hansonmade her fathera very happyman.TheMVP of the B.C. AA

high school girls basketballchampionship is a sharp-eyedshooter who seeks success onevery play at both ends of thecourt. She averaged 30 points infour games over the provincialchampionship weekend and,despite losing the final, wasnamed the best player there.Her success doesn’t stop with

basketball. The 18-year-oldwon silver in the senior girlshigh jump and came seventhin the long jump at the B.C.

high school championships lastweek. She won’t compete forthe T-Birds track team, but theinvitation is open.An impressive, elite competi-

tor in two sports, Hanson couldhave gone another way— ac-cording to her father.“I really wanted her to be a

golfer,” said Kevin Hanson.“She had a beautiful swing.”An early tour at theQueen

Elizabeth pitch and putt deterredthemboth. “After four holes,we had stopped talking to eachother, wewere in thewoods onopposite sides of the fairway— itwas theworst experiencewe’dhad together,” he said.She was 10 as his memory

serves. In hers, she was 12 butthe recollection was just as bad.“We were having fun until

we actually stated golfing,” saidHanson. “I’ve outgrown theclubs I had.”Close on and off the basket-

ball court, the pair has de-veloped an even deeper bondthrough sports. Hanson’s momTheresa played varsity basket-ball inWashington State andis a director of athletics at theuniversity. The trio cut quite afigure on the gym floor.“They’re bothmy biggest sup-

porters,” said Hanson.—Megan Stewart

Jessica HansonPAST LITTLE FLOWERACADEMYANGELS

PRESENT WARMEMORIAL GYM

FUTURE CIS UNIVERSITYOF B.C. THUNDERBIRDS

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

The Courier presents Vancouver’sElite Graduating Athletes of 2015

I


n a first for OurProspects, thecourt where thisathlete grew upwatching her idols

and honing her own game is thesame place she’ll play for thenext five years.Jessica Hanson started drib-

bling a ball atWarMemorialGym and cherishes a portraitthat shows her on the courtin an oversized Thunderbirdsuniform. She was a toddler in2000 when her father becamethe head coach of themen’sbasketball team. He broughthis pedigree to coach her highschool teams at Little FlowerAcademy, and when she com-mitted to play basketball atUBC, Hansonmade her fathera very happyman.TheMVP of the B.C. AA

high school girls basketballchampionship is a sharp-eyedshooter who seeks success onevery play at both ends of thecourt. She averaged 30 points infour games over the provincialchampionship weekend and,despite losing the final, wasnamed the best player there.Her success doesn’t stop with

basketball. The 18-year-oldwon silver in the senior girlshigh jump and came seventhin the long jump at the B.C.

high school championships lastweek. She won’t compete forthe T-Birds track team, but theinvitation is open.An impressive, elite competi-

tor in two sports, Hanson couldhave gone another way— ac-cording to her father.“I really wanted her to be a

golfer,” said Kevin Hanson.“She had a beautiful swing.”An early tour at theQueen

Elizabeth pitch and putt deterredthemboth. “After four holes,we had stopped talking to eachother, wewere in thewoods onopposite sides of the fairway— itwas theworst experiencewe’dhad together,” he said.She was 10 as his memory

serves. In hers, she was 12 butthe recollection was just as bad.“We were having fun until

we actually stated golfing,” saidHanson. “I’ve outgrown theclubs I had.”Close on and off the basket-

ball court, the pair has de-veloped an even deeper bondthrough sports. Hanson’s momTheresa played varsity basket-ball inWashington State andis a director of athletics at theuniversity. The trio cut quite afigure on the gym floor.“They’re bothmy biggest sup-

porters,” said Hanson.—Megan Stewart

Jessica HansonPAST LITTLE FLOWERACADEMYANGELS

PRESENT WARMEMORIAL GYM

FUTURE CIS UNIVERSITYOF B.C. THUNDERBIRDS

PHOTO DAN TOULGOET

The Courier presents Vancouver’sElite Graduating Athletes of 2015

I



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Vancouver Courier June 10 2015