More STUFF IN THE NEWS

Oct 26
Nanaimo dragon boaters battle at AGM
Let folk become members and vote last year and didn't this year? I would want to check the Society's Constitution and bylaws on this one because if they cannot do this according to their bylaws those members that got in at the AGM last year’s should not have voted on anything and on the off chance someone just given membership was elected it was done illegally.
Explosive Lantzville land issue back before council
Will lay odds that the District of Lantzville Council will pass this one. It is sad relly because the issue has become personal. The bylaw proposed is flawed on counts, see my comments to story on 25th, and should be tabled until a new council is chose.

Oct 25

Lantzville Urban Farm bylaw is hotly debated
I went to this and despite being a Nanaimo Resident spoke to the fact that the bylaw is discriminatory. Those not wishing to farm can grow their own food and spread as much raw manure as they like where-as those looking to do small scale farming have to use composted manure. Only one non-resident would be able to work on these farms but yet the same does not apply to any other business and the list goes on.

The proposed bylaw is even more restrictive than Nanaimo's in that it states the land under cultivation for sale "shall not exceed the greater of 600 square metres or 30% of the parcel area." This is all well and good for lots under a quarter of an acre, 600square metres is roughly 15% of an acre, as for these lots the percentage would be far greater than 30% of parcel area. Many smaller lots could actually be entitled to utilize 100% of their properties.

For bigger lots of an acre or more the percentage drops to 15% or lower as the parcel areas grows. Even in Nanaimo lots larger than .6 of an acre can have 25% coverage and this percentage does not reduce as the lot size increase. One would think that in a largely rural area, with larger lot sizes, Lantzville’s bylaw would allow for greater growing area than that of a largely urban area like Nanaimo.

Bottom line; this once again discriminates against those with larger lot sizes. A fairer way of doing this would be to allow larger lots up to 75% for cultivation and sale. This is something I will be bringing up for Nanaimo’s bylaw once I am elected to council.

New CEO reveals ambitious strategy for Nanaimo Economic Development Corporation
“The plan is "very ambitious," according to Mayor John Ruttan.” Details John, details. Don’t get the rationale of the Conference Centre Kiosk. It is located in the dead-zone at the back of the Conference Centre and as for dispensing information about Nanaimo the joint is running at less than 3% capacity. This really aught to attract a lot of tourism, yes I am being sarcastic.

Opinion: Economic Development Plan a necessity
“Priorities addressed during the announcement Monday include finding a builder for a hotel to complement the downtown conference centre and luring a company to the city to run a foot passenger ferry service between downtown Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver. Plans include everything from attracting new investment to retaining and expanding local business, increasing tourism and generating jobs.” Wonder how much they are paying for the CEO position? All sounds a lot like what has been tried already and if this is the best they can come up with perhaps I should try and get that job and screw being a City Councilor.
Paul Walton: Money isn't only election issue
It is not about having the money in a vault it is about spending what we do have wisely and in so doing also choosing wisely the things to subsidize. It is about taking much of the excess in that vault and using it to pay down taxes rather than to build facilities that could be refurbished. It is about engaging the public in a real way on the choices we make.

Occupy Nanaimo protesters have no plans to leave downtown
The folks doing this should be proud no matter how long it lasts; they are a part of history in the making.

Bulletin

Coalition puts twist on all candidates meeting
The more All Candidates meetings the better and I have it on good authority that this one in particular will be unlike any other in the past. The site they mention http://democraticnanaimo.blogspot.com/ has potential though as a candidate it will be tough remembering to check it out on a regular basis.

Opinion: Scare tactics don't foster solution

This article does illustrate that homelessness is in all areas of the city. I too have seen the person mentioned as I expect most who have driven in North Nanaimo. He has been in the area for a few years now and I have never heard of him causing any problems.

“Does one portion of society deserve to be given a home courtesy of the taxpayer while others must struggle to make ends meet all on their own?” Giving them a home will actually save the taxpayers money as once housed the person will utilize other services, paid for by the taxpayer, less often. a savings of up to $18,000plus per year.

Oct 24
Newcastle Island serves economic and cultural role
Newcastle Island is one of the jewels in a box of many that Nanaimo has. The cultural history alone, both pre and post colonization, is well worth learning about. When we look at attracting tourism to the city this and the other jewels in the box need to be the focus.

Women's centre supports low barrier housing
As one of those that worked on the ad talked about in this story I sincerely hope that this story will spur the many other organization and citizens in the community to publicly state their support. We cannot allow a few people to spread fear and misinformation gathering others into their misguided endeavours.

Oct 21
Ron Bolin: Pay attention, then get out and vote
Ron is one f the smartest people I know when it comes to city issues and digging for information. Ron attends most council meetings and has since 2002. He is one of only a few, myself included, that take the time to follow what is happening in the city and the processes used by council to make decisions. He will be someone I keep in touch with when I am elected too council

Westwood residents’ concerned restaurant will upset quiet lives
This is a huge issue in the Westwood Lake area involving the Nanaimo Tennis Club wanting to scrap a land use contract in order to open their member only restaurant to the public. While they say it has been so for decades by allowing them to do this the city could open the door for an influx of people coming to the restaurant and the resultant noise there-of. Directly adjacent to the tennis club is Bethlehem Retreat, a place where people come to get away from it all. In my opinion the city should have been monitoring and enforcing this and any other land use contracts. Too often there is disregard on the part of owners simply for added profit.

Oct 19

City looks for feedback with culture strategy
This is an opportunity for the community and groups to get involved in working towards the benefit of Nanaimo. I hope many turn out to give their input.

Regional District hosting open houses to discuss agriculture plans
And yet the District of Lantzville chooses not to be progressive.