When the first fluffy flakes fell before Christmas, New Westminster was postcard-pretty and everywhere I went I could hear people humming to themselves “… where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow … ”
Once Snowmageddon hit in full force, it wasn’t so cute anymore.
A local blogger, Daniel from CityCaucus.com, was one of many of us who felt frustrated by the two-foot snowdrifts that remained on side streets in the days following Snowmageddon 2008:
Admittedly, even by Canadian standards we did receive a lot of snow. …

Although there are a lot of children in New Westminster, it can be hard for new parents and newcomers to our city to meet other parents and establish a network for social interaction and support. During the summer it’s not so hard – just head out to your local park, the Queens Park spray park or Grimston Park wading pool and you’ll find a ton of parents with their kids.
During the cold, wet winter months, it’s more complicated. While there are a number of well-established local parenting groups, a lot …

If you’ve been thinking about getting a pet, please first take a look at the New Westminster animal adoption site. The city’s website says that the shelter is currently at double capacity and desperately needs to find homes for cats and other small animals like chinchillas and bunnies.
This high shelter rate places animals at an increased risk of illness and injury. It is critical that these animals are placed into good homes as soon as possible. Small animals such as rabbits and chinchillas are also available for adoption.
If Barack Obama …

If you’ve tried to put out a bag of weeds and leaves on garbage day lately, you’ll have discovered that yard waste collection has ceased for the year here in New West.
If your leaves are piling up, you’re in luck this week: the city will be collecting them for one week only this month , between Nov. 17-21. (and again for a week in December, from the 15th to19th). The city says to use labeled garbage cans or biodegradable paper bags (gold stars for you!).
Thou shalt not use plastic bags, lest …

New Westminster is one of B.C.’s oldest cities. Despite the ravages of fire and flood, many of New West’s historical buildings still stand. Our history is one of the things that differentiates us from the newer municipalities that have since eclipsed New West in size and renown. 

Most of our residents know we were once British Columbia’s capital city (until dastardly Victoria, Jacob to our Esau, stole this birthright), but you may not know what it was like in the ‘olden days’ here. Our resident historian Archie Miller does his part, …

Council candidate Lynda Fletcher-Gordon has provided a link to a PDF file with some stats on homelessness in New Westminster. She and Jaimie McEvoy have been the candidates who have, in my opinion, placed the most emphasis on the issue in our city so far. 

Both candidates have a track record in this area. Fletcher-Gordon is the Executive Director of the Purpose Society and she and McEvoy are involved in the Homelessness Society, which produced the report I’ve linked to above.

Some interesting facts from the report: 

Homelessness has increased by about 35% in …

Traffic congestion and public transit infrastructure are named among the top issues for most civic election candidates in New Westminster – and it seems we’re not alone. Greater Vancouver is experiencing major growing pains related to suburbun expansion. Cost of living has boosted growth in areas like Pitt Meadows, Coquitlam, Surrey and Abbotsford, but the majority of jobs are still located in Vancouver. The result is gridlock due to the funnel effect of so many people coming into the downtown area through a limited number of access points.

Unsurprisingly, those at …