A year and a half since launching Tenth to the Fraser, we are often asked, “Where do you find the time? My pat answer is that we don’t have cable television.

The District Parents Advisory Council is on the warpath with a planned rally March 20 at City Hall and an online survey gathering opinions from New Westminsterites about our city’s school-building delays.

There is a lot happening on the trash front right now. The New Westminster Environmental Partners have been talking a lot of trash this year, as solid waste and it’s reduction, is one of our key initiatives for 2010. Trash is timely right now, with all the recent talk of Cache Creek Landfill limits, waste-to-energy plants, and Metro Vancouver’s Zero Waste Challenge.

Last year New Westminster had the unfortunate honour of being the Lower Mainland community with the fewest participants in Earth Hour 2009. For one hour, people all around the world turn out their lights in a symbolic gesture to show awareness that there are limits to the Earth’s resources. New West, however, said, “Meh.”

Strong Start, a provincially funded, free program for children under six and their parents, is expanding with a new afternoon program in New Westminster’s West End. The program is a gentle introduction to school for preschoolers through play-based learning.

I know some people out there aren’t on board with the City of New Westminster’s decision a while back to purchase the land along the waterfront of the Fraser River. But, like the Olympics, the decision was made, it’s inevitable, and you either have to quietly rage about it or just get on with trying to enjoy it.
Admittedly, I’ve always been one of the supporters of the decision to purchase the land and do something – anything – with it. I can’t stand looking at the wasteland that is that …

The school district is currently gathering feedback on a series of “options” for where to locate New Westminster’s programs of choice (French Immersion and Montessori). The author of the report, Sandra Pace, has been very careful to say “I’m not making recommendations, I’m just presenting options.” Yet based on the information I saw at the Tweedsmuir presentation of Pace’s report, there are good reasons why this review is going on. It is dishonest for the district to ask parents to comment on all these “options” as though they are all equally viable.

Lately I’ve been thinking about how my surroundings inspire my food choices. Reading my way through the Canada Reads books inspired a date with bacon ice cream, a rise in my comfort food intake, and delight in a layered chocolate torte! But what about where we live? What effect does our city have on our food choices?

I remember being in French class in highschool and not enjoying it. I thought it was such a waste of time since I wasn’t going to use it anyway. Now I have a 5 year-old daughter who is in French Immersion. I want to show her the value of learning another language, French in particular.

New Westminster residents receiving their electricity bills this week will get a special little insert featuring none other than His Worship Wayne Wright cajoling us to take action and join Team Power Smart, and reduce our electricity consumption by 10%.
Most BC Hydro customers have already been asked to do the same, but those of us here in New West with our quirky independent utility department haven’t yet received the usual BC Hydro mailouts. As an incentive to BC Hydro customers, they are eligible for a $75 rebate if they commit …