For those in the aching, angst filled years between 13-18, weekends are often filled with drinking, driving aimlessly around town, attending house parties, and being silly bored. In my youth, I spent countless hours fundraising for a youth centre, but I never did see the creation of a youth drop in centre while I was the age to enjoy it. So when I heard about the groundbreaking of a youth centre at Moody Park, I was excited to see not only the funds already allocated, but stuff actually happening.

With nearly 3.5 million metric tonnes of garbage being produced in Metro Vancouver every year, waste management is one of the largest environmental concerns facing the Lower Mainland and a political hot potato that many politicians would rather transfer to a neighbouring municipality (or nation) than face head on.

One of the long-held New Westminster traditions that I had never personally participated in is the perogy dinners offered by the Holy Eucharist Cathedral of the Ukrainian Catholic church (separate archbishop system, same Pope, not Orthodox). Last Friday night we decided to change all that so we loaded up the minivan and took our hungry selves over to 5th Street and 4th Ave for an Apostolic good meal. Perogy night is always a Friday, once a month. The next dinner is October 30.
The set up is classic church basement. Folding …

New automated garbage collection trucks will be rolling down city streets in spring 2010. The City of New Westminster has ordered three new automated collection vehicles, following council’s approval of a plan to switch to state-of-the-art automated collection throughout the City. The expected delivery date for the new trucks is March 2010. The vehicles will be used to collect both garbage and Clean Green materials.

Demolition is underway at Grimston Park, as the work begins to replace the aging adventure playground with safer, more modern equipment. After a series of public consultations, the final design seems to be pretty much settled.

Here’s what will be included in the $230,000 upgrade.

The City of New Westminster has secured nearly $22 million in funding under the Build Canada Fund, administered by the federal government and Province of British Columbia. Projects earmarked for funding include the Westminster Pier Park ($8.3 million from each level of government) and streets and sidewalk revitalization ($2.66 million from each level of government).

I was in the Queen’s Ave Armories the other day talking with Captain Vernon, an officer in the Royal Westminster Regiment. We had Farmer’s Market business to discuss as the armories are neighbours of the market and I was gauging their interest in joining the RCFM on a project. Captain Vernon was very gracious with his time and during our discussion he reminded me that the public was invited to a ceremony that Sunday, September 13th, in the Queen’s Park Arena for the Change of Command Ceremony.
Wow, that was an …

Raise taxes or cut services? Fund policing or parks? Transportation or recreation? There are some pretty tough decisions to be made in the next city budget, and no matter what council decides I’m sure it will be controversial.

By now we’ve all heard gripes about the so-called Hyack Square revitalization project, just recently completed with a replaced overpass grand re-opening this month. ince the grand reopening of Hyack Square, criticism has come on multiple levels. Now that it’s all open, however, it is an evident lack of criticism that concerns me most – lack of criticism of the replacement of a totally inaccessible pedestrian walkway to a now public facility that has no other safe wheelchair or stroller access, as part of the renovation of Hyack Square.

There has been a wave of coverage about New Westminster by Vancouver media, in each case forming judgements about the city’s actions based on little more than a hunch. And frankly, in each case, the issues in New Westminster pale to similar issues in Vancouver itself.

If a New Westminster story is of enough interest to gain regional coverage, then it is also of enough merit for the media outlet to provide the same background checking and balance in coverage that they do for a Vancouver story.

About a year ago, my friend Briana sent me a link to an interesting proposal. She knew I was an active bread baker (and still am, although my production has slowed with the hot summer months) and she felt I would be interested in the Urban Grains Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) for grain. The Vancouver Grain CSA started by Martin and Ayla Twigg is simple – spurned on by the ever-popular 100 Mile Diet, Martin and Ayla researched, found, and planned a way to live in Vancouver and eat local …

Well this may not be NEW news as I have seen it reported elsewhere but a conversation today with former Conservative Party New Westminster-Coquitlam MP Paul Forseth confirms that he is seeking the nomination of his party for the next-door riding of Burnaby-New Westminster, where he is a resident.
Procedural difficulty barred him from competing for the nomination of his old riding, a contest concluded this past July by the nomination of Diana Dilworth. While some suspected that shrewd moves led to the nomination process there occurring whilst Forseth was overseas …

I stumbled across New West city Councilor Jaimie McEvoy on Saturday conducting the 2009 wheelability assessment uptown with a group of volunteer citizens. On a perfect September day, the group was busy on 7th street creating an inventory of inaccessible curbs, dangerous sidewalk cracks and non-compliant porticos.

The latest crime statistics challenge popular belief of SkyTrain safety in New West. New Westminster SkyTrain, for example, was ranked as the second least secure in a 2008 survey of transit riders, but the actual rate of crime places it 13th on the list. I would have assumed that my home station, 22nd St. SkyTrain, would have ranked somewhere in the middle of the pack, but it’s actually the third-worst station on the line for crime after Surrey Central and Gateway.

When the sun goes down on the city, feelings change, moods change, and so do perceptions. When the flow of shoppers and traffic begin to wane, and the sun starts looking a little tuckered, the shadows rise seemingly out of the ground. And suddenly, it’s night.

Some cycle enthusiasts espouse the merits of riding fixed gear. They speak of purity, fitness, and oneness with the bike and road. But why not consider single speed instead? After commuting through a couple of wet winters in New West, I was annoyed with the maintenance requirements of my gearing, and decided to exchange the ease of hill climbing and speed on flats and descents, for the simplicity of riding in the same gear, up, down, wet, or windy.

On June 13th 2008, I worked my last 9 to 5er at my employer, and went on mat leave and began Baby Watch ’08.  With a due date of June 26th, we were sure we would have only a few short weeks of me at home before the baby came, and so I filled my first two weeks with fun activities around the house – lunch with friends, scrapbooking, baking, and generally moaning about how hugely pregnant I was. I remember thinking about the oodles all the time I would have to continue …