A Merry and a Happy December 24, 2006

A Merry Christmas to all PT readers.

Off for the Holiday.  See you in January.

JibJab’s Year in Review December 21, 2006

You’re going to see this all over the web, so why not here too:

Over and Under December 20, 2006

Two Vancouverites - Michael Kluckner and Christine Allen - have relocated to Sydney.  Canadians will certainly be familiar with Michael’s books and watercolours detailing the heritage of our city.  Now they can read his and Christine’s blogs, detailing the differences between us and Aus.
Here’s a sample:
Last week, on a visit into the City, I was [...]

New Look December 20, 2006

Time for a change of format.  I was getting tired of the small print.
Let me know if you have any comments on this look - or any suggestions for a WordPress presentation style.

Good news from Stanley Park December 20, 2006

Yes, there is some - even as the scale of devastation becomes more apparent from our Katrina Moment.
Park Commissioner Spencer Herbert reports:
I was able to secure a commitment from the Aquarium and the Park Board to build a return bike route from the Aquarium. It won’t be the full deal bike changes necessary in the [...]

Shame and Guilt December 19, 2006

Architectural critic Trevor Boddy celebrates the season of good cheer with another dump on the City in this Globe and Mail piece.
This Christmas season thus sees a re-mounting of a pantomime Vancouver has seen many times before: an annual joint production by our political left and political right that repeats the same sad plotline year [...]

More Fire, More Gas December 18, 2006

Don Potts has a quick reponse in the Sun today to Marc Jaccard’s column in the Saturday issue.
(Potts is executive director of the Joint Industry Electricity Steering Committee, which represents the major industrial users of purchased electric power in B.C. Marc Jaccard is an SFU professor in resources and author of “Sustainable Fossil Fuels.” I [...]

“Civic Strategies” on urban poverty December 18, 2006

One of my favourite e-newsletters is Civic Strategies: Every few weeks, about a dozen short, well-written blurbs, albeit with an American focus, that keep me up to date on civic trends and personalities. Here’s an example: comment on a Brookings report dealing with rising suburban poverty.
Hard to believe, but more poor people live in America’s [...]

What Happened? December 18, 2006

How did the proposal for the Hotel Georgia tower go from this:

To this:

PT Reader Timothy Thomas speculates:
Sadly, I find that the fascinating “Crystal Spike” design by Bing Thom, perhaps the most remarkable design for a downtown building in the last 40 years, has been junked in favour of another rectangular box, slightly altered. Why are we [...]

3-D Vancouver December 18, 2006

What would Downtown Vancouver look like if it were made out of jello? At last, you can see for yourself, and explore it all in 3-D.

If you have Google Earth 4 beta, you can download an overlay here. (Thanks to Rob McTavish at SFU.)