The day I learned to sing, I was in the car on a hot summer day listening to a Charlotte Diamond tape with my mother and sister. We often listened to Ten Carrot Diamond and other Diamond albums in the car, and until this day, we ‘sang’ along delighting in the noise without regard to tune or tone.
I remember feeling the wind in my hair as we drove down St. John’s street in Port Moody with our windows rolled down, caterwauling away. Perhaps we had been driving for a while, …

Image by janusz l via Flickr

New Westminster Residents affected by the closure of the Pattullo Bridge last January will no doubt know what is coming as Translink closed the bridge again this season for a significant overhaul of the paved surfaces. Depending on where in the city you reside, festering traffic jams or placid car free streets resulted from the last bridge shut down, caused by a fire set by a transient, that spread to a wooden flex-brace structure. Areas around 20th st. and Queensborough had a nightmare on their …

 
Over the last weekend, our family took advantage of the beautiful weather and the crowd gathered for our son’s birthday and we launched off a couple of model rockets from the Grimston Park field. We had a BLAST, (Yuk Yuk)! We do this ever so often. Once, last April, as soon as we had everything set up, it started to snow and the rocket launched into a growing blizzard of white.
 
The launches have been nothing fancy, a little kit rocket that we painted red and blue and stuff with an …

This morning a Canadian astronaut blasted off successfully in the Soyuz spacecraft from Khazahkstan (low res video here, high res video here) as part of a mission called Expedition 20/21. This expedition is a Canadian milestone, as it is the first time a Canadian has taken part in a long term space mission. That Canadian’s name is Dr. Robert Thirsk, and although most of his growing up was elsewhere, Dr. Thirsk was born here in New Westminster. He has been in space before, and is a highly respected member of Canada’s …

About two years ago, I was car-addicted. I owned a vehicle – an old piece of junk GMC Tracker – and I drove everywhere, even just a few blocks. I wouldn’t go places if I couldn’t drive there. My husband took transit to school, or carpooled with me and when he graduated and secured employment in the construction industry, one of the requirements was a vehicle to visit job sites. My old clunker of a Tracker, although fairly fuel efficient and highly manouverable, simply didn’t have enough room to carry …

 
New Westminster is working on a new sustainable development plan for our downtown area thanks to a $136,000 grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities‘ Green Municipal Fund. 
The plan will guide development in a proactive manner by identifying policies and implementation strategies to ensure sustainable growth of the downtown as a high quality, liveable, transit-oriented regional town centre.
The plan will:

Review land use/zoning policies
Research innovative ways to provide public open space
Foster adaptive reuse of heritage resources
Identify options to mitigate the noise, air quality and connectivity issues relating to the regional goods movement …

The Brunette-Fraser Regional Greenway – Sapperton Landing is a clumsy moniker for a little stretch of park that runs west from the mouth of the Brunette River until it runs out of space a little less than a kilometer away.
The Greenway will eventually connect Vancouver with New Westminster with a bike and pedestrian pathway. Chunks have already been built, and this is one of them. As such, it has two paths: one paved (for bikes), and the other gravel (for sneakers). It’s very flat and there are a few observation …

Readers, we in the creative team behind T2F acknowledge that a huge omission has been committed, for which we are eternally apologetic. What would a New West Blog be in May without a post about our fair May Queene? In the flurry of child-rearing, cold-minding, and baby-growing (and all the stuff the rest of us do), we forgot to make sure that New Westminster‘s biggest event got the coverage it deserved on T2F: May Day.
As the longest-running May Day celebration in the British Commonwealth (which is saying something, because the …

Image by hessiebell via Flickr

As of 10:15 pm:
With 10 of 148 ballot boxed reporting, BC-STV has earned only 44% of the vote so far. 60% of the provincial popular vote is required for the electoral reform referendum to be passed.
Currently, provincial popular support for BC-STV is about 39%, a blow for BC-STV supporters. Major news outlets have called the defeat of the initiative.

Though her early lead of over 60%  has waned as the night developed, NDP candidate for New Westminster and former Federal NDP MP Dawn Black held a safe lead as the evening wore on.
An experienced politician and opposition defense critic in Ottawa, Dawn Black will now join the Provincial opposition caucus as New Westminster’s voice in Victoria.
With 142 of 148 ballot boxes reporting, BC Election Results in the riding of New Westminster are below.

New Westminster
Dawn Black
BC NDP
10,908
55.96%

Matthew Laird
Green Party of BC
1,780
9.13%

Carole Dorothy Millar
BC Liberal Party
6,804
34.91%

142 of 148 ballot boxes reported
19,492
100%

I returned home recently from casting my ballots for the Referendum on Electoral Reform and for the provincial election. Passing a ‘save our schools’ sign near the parking lot of Connaught Heights Elementary School, we were greeted warmly by our fellow citizens and after a short paperwork check, we voted. I am one of those kooks that really like voting and now as I write, my wife and I are glued to our radios and computers, absorbing the returns (none yet) as they come in.

One point that struck me was …

Video is up for last Wednesday’s all-candidates’ meeting, courtesy of David Maidman of Pumpkinhead Productions.
Part one:

Introductions
Regional transportation & the North Fraser Perimeter Road (5:00))
Food security, lower carbon footprint & healthier population (10:02)

New Westminster All-Candidates Meeting, May 6th, 2009 7-9pm from David Maidman on Vimeo.
Part two:

Provincial support for New West waterfront park
Improvements to Royal Columbian hospital (4:06)
Provincial funding for New West schools (8:49)

New Westminster All-Candidates Meeting, May 6th, 2009 7-9pm from David Maidman on Vimeo.

I need to be clear that I am speaking on behalf of Jen Arbo, here, and not Tenth to the Fraser. Tenth to the Fraser does not endorse any particular candidate.
Most Tenth to the Fraser readers will recognize that I generally write about things like gardening, lifestyles, spa treatments, local businesses, and people who don’t shovel their sidewalk. I usually leave the politic-y stuff to Will and Briana because, well, I am definitely no expert. But with election fever at an all time high and me having cast my …

Although last night’s all-candidates meeting was not billed as a debate, as an undecided voter I came away feeling there was a clear winner for New Westminster.
The Tenth to the Fraser editorial team decided this publication would not endorse a particular candidate this election, however as individuals we all have opinions and we agreed that it is fitting to share them. All are free to comment or submit a guest post sharing their POV.
I am very glad I attended the meeting because the candidates’ performance made it clear …

In Favour Greg Henschel, opposed Anita Hagen.
Henschel was a member of the Citizens Assembly on Election Reform. He was chosen at random to participate. He reminds us that the assembly was brought together by the government to give recommendations on electoral reform after recent elections ( for example in 2001 when the Liberals won all but 2 seats with 53% of the popular vote).  After much discussion and research, the group settled on STV as a way to provide multiple MLAs to represent the population more accurately. With no time …

In response to this question from the public, NDP candidate Dawn Black, the recently elected federal MP for the NDP references the illness of current NDP MLA Chuck Puchmayr as a driving force in her decision to leave federal politics and enter the Provincial race. This election posed too many important issues to allow the traditionally NDP riding to go to another party.
Green candidate Matt Laird had a zinger when he announced that he thought Ms. Black was doing a great job in Ottawa. He suggested she continue to do …

Question from the public on BC Rail. When will we get some answers? What about Patrick Kinsella? What about the Premier’ s Promise?
Carole Millar offers the BC Liberal non-answer: “That is before the courts.” The hall erupts with jeering and cat calls. NDP’s Dawn Black enters the fray, strongly condemning the BC Liberals and reminding everyone that the Premier promised not to sell the railway: “This stinks and the Premier needs to come clean. ”
Agreeing, BC Green Party’s Matthew Laird states: “This cronyism is not new.” He offers a perfect …

Now that the candidates are answering questions from the public, there is an exciting side show in the back of the auditorium
Complex ongoing negotiations are taking place at the party table. Reps from each campaign are eagerly debating what questions their candidates will debate. Along with the event organizers, they hold up questions and statements from the folks here at Douglas, anxiously horse trading with their counterparts. Somehow, the vetted questions make it down to the moderator.

Just now, in room 2201 of Douglas College, just outside the doors of the library, the All Candidates Debate is beginning for BC Election 2009. THe crowd is jubilant and well mannered, as we would expect, and the room is full; approximately 200 people.
Already in attendance is Carole Millar, candidate for the BC Liberals and BC Green Party Candidate, Matthew Laird. BC NDP candidate and former NDP MP Dawn Black is not here yet. Mark Allison, our host has announced that she will be delayed (time now 7:11).
Chris Bryan from …

During the 2009 BC Election Campaign, an opportunity has been provided to all election candidates in the riding to post a brief message to their constituents. These messages will not be edited.
In the guest post below, BC Green Party Candidate Matthew Laird has responded with a few words to the voters.

Matthew Laird is well known in New Westminster for his advocacy for a more liveable city. He has a strong record of service in this community and can always be seen volunteering at events around town. As a founder …

During the 2009 BC Election Campaign, an opportunity has been provided to all election candidates in the riding to post a brief message to their constituents. These messages will not be edited.
In the guest post below, BC Liberal Candidate Carole Millar has responded with a few words to the voters.
In these uncertain times New Westminster needs proven leadership focused on securing jobs and supporting our economy. Nobody is more qualified for that than Premier Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberal team.
I want to ensure our community continues to prosper by …

During the 2009 BC Election Campaign, an opportunity has been provided to all election candidates in the riding to post a brief message to their constituents. These messages will not be edited.

In the guest post below, NDP Candidate Dawn Black has responded with a few words to the voters.
Dawn Black has been a strong advocate for New Westminster for years.

As a Member of Parliament, Dawn pushed for investment in public transit, a comprehensive anti-gang strategy, and keeping good, family-supporting jobs in our community.

Dawn has worked closely with seniors, parents and …

As previously mentioned, Tenth To The Fraser is collaborating with New Westminster Environmental Partners and the BIA to organize New West’s only all-candidates’ meeting this election.
NWEP has asked us to provide them with some questions for the candidates, but we thought we’d turn it over to you, our readers: What would you like to ask Dawn Black, Carole Millar and Matthew Laird before you vote?
Leave a comment with your question, or send us a Tweet @10thtothefraser.
As a reminder, the all-candidates meeting is Wednesday, May 6, 7-9pm at …

In the provincial election on May 12, everyone will be asked again to vote on electoral reform. Do we want to stay with the current First Past the Post or choose Single Transferable Vote?
Find out more about the proposed reform from some of the Citizen’s Assembly members who proposed it in 2006.
New Westminster Public Library. May 5, 2009 @ 7:00 p.m.
www.bc-stv.ca/
This issue has received scant attention in this campaign, in my opinion. Use this as an opportunity to bone up on the facts. Find out more on www.bc-stv.ca/ …

Tenth To The Fraser will be co-hosting what may be New Westminster’s only all-candidates’ meeting on May 6. Find out what our local candidates stand for, and learn more about BC-STV. Someone from Tenth will be present and liveblogging and/or livetweeting the event, so even if you can’t make it out you’ll be able to catch the highlights online. We’ll post more details closer to the event. 
Here’s the event description from the organizing committee: 
Decisions made in Victoria have a profound influence on our life in New Westminster. Provincial decisions affect …