Sewer commission passes on chance to follow own plan
Given yet another opportunity to follow its own Master Plan this week, the Courtenay/Comox Sewer Commission chose to ignore it. Again. A letter from two residents of the Area B neighborhood most affected by the proposed construction of a multi-million dollar pump...
Do we still need an Earth Day? Unfortunately, yes, we do
Millions of people participated in a first-ever annual grassroots demonstration 47 years ago to raise awareness about environmental concerns. They called it Earth Day. At the time, in 1970, the message focused on saving the whales and cleaning the trash out of our...
It’s the party that matters most, not the candidate
People often ask me about the differences between the U.S. and Canadian electoral systems. There are many, but one stands out as the most important. Individual candidates hardly matter in British Columbia elections. Canadians vote first of all for the party, its...
Simply making statements doesn’t mean they are true
Andrew Gower, a partner and branch manager of Wedler Engineering LLP's Courtenay office recently wrote a letter to the editor about the proposed Comox No. 2 pump station. I wrote this letter in response. Neither were printed in the newspaper due to their length, but...
I’m running on May 9, and I’m no GOOBER, by golly
Those of us who study elections seriously have stumbled upon an alarming discovery about British Columbia politics: spending too much time in Victoria reduces your intelligence to the rough equivalent of a kumquat. You’ve probably noticed this, too. A candidate...
What was the point of Shakesides’ graffiti?
Vandals spray-painted the historical home of Hamilton Mack Laing, known as Shakesides, this week with what appears to be a lame version of tagging. Squiggles of red paint were carelessly sprayed on three sides of the building, and a circle with an upside down ’Y’ was...
“Wanton cultural vandalism”
Fresh out of college in 1982 at the age of 23, Richard Mackie came face-to-face on Newcastle Island with “Torchy” Smith, a B.C. government employee who roamed the province in search of abandoned buildings in provincial parks. It was his job that when he found one, he...
Valley faces a watershed moment
Comox Councillor Barbara Price has offered up misleading statements to defend changes to an antiquated sewerage system that serves only Comox and Courtenay residents. Price chairs the Comox Valley Sewage Commission, which is itself a misnomer. The Sewage Commission...
The pressure mounts on Comox
With new organizations and high-profile individuals joining the movement to preserve the waterfront home of internationally known naturalist and Town of Comox benefactor Hamilton Mack Laing, there are rumors that some Comox Council members might reconsider the town’s...
Recess returns to CV schools
Recess has returned to the playgrounds of School District 71’s elementary schools as of February. That’s good news for children and teachers. But why the school district eliminated recess at the start of this school year and the reasons for reinstating it now aren’t...
Letters provide new revelations in the ongoing Mack Laing saga
Two documents have recently surfaced that indicate the Town of Comox had discussions with the Comox Valley Natural History Society about creating a natural history museum in the home of Hamilton Mack Laing. The letters also indicate the society’s interest to take on...
On electoral reform, Trudeau disappoints us, once again
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scuffed his once-shiny political image again yesterday by discarding yet another campaign promise. In his first throne speech after the 2015 federal election, Trudeau boasted triumphantly that Canada had seen the last of its...