Coldstream Council meeting - October 11, 2011

Coldstream Council meeting - October 11, 2011

Agenda Package

*******************************************************

Gabriel Yiu: Gordon Campbell's $100-billion legacy

RAFE HERE

This document is another must read. It was prepared by Gabriel Yiu a former and perhaps future candidate for the NDP, something he  scarcely denies. I felt the need, therefore, to ask The Common Sense Canadian’s Economist, Erik Andersen, scarcely a socialist, to review it and he replied,

“Looks good. The only addition I can think of is that at the end of the IPP contracts Hydro do not own the assets. This was what John Calvert stated either in his "Liquid Gold" or to me personally. You know the contracts are designed to pay off all loans held by the IPP before the contract end.”

I would advise Liberals against reading this and depend on their natural state of denial instead. If, however, they wish to respond, I will give that response the same circulation I’m giving Mr  Yiu’s piece

This article is reprinted from The Georgia Strait.

Gabriel Yiu: Gordon Campbell's $100-billion legacy
Publish Date: September 25, 2011

Recently, the Fraser Institute again praised Gordon Campbell as the best premier in fiscal management in Canada. This is indeed a big joke, as well as a lie. But such an absurd matter was reported by many media outlets.

This so-called “research report” has shown again the total lack of trustworthiness of the right-wing think tank.

Let’s take a look at the Campbell Liberal fiscal record from 2001 onward.
When the NDP formed government in 1991, the provincial debt was $20 billion. In 2001, the year the Liberals got into power, there was  an operational $1.2-billion surplus and a debt of $33.8 billion. In other words, after a decade of NDP rule, the provincial debt increased by $13.8 billion.

The biggest deficits in BC’s history were recorded during the decade of the Liberals’ governance.
 On the debt front, the Liberals' record is very scary. In 2011, the traditional debt on the books is $53.4 billion—that is, an increase of $19.6 billion in the years after they formed government. It’s 42 percent higher than the NDP government's debt increase in the 1990s.

Nevertheless, behind the image of adroit fiscal management, the Liberals have another ledger that they’re unwilling to account for. The debt load in this ledger is a staggering $80.2 billion! It’s because the Liberal government has been using the P3 (public- private partnership) model instead of the traditional approach for financing their capital-spending projects (building bridges, roads, hospitals, etc.).

In the traditional model, the cost of construction is borrowed by the government, so it’s defined as debt and must be reported in the budget this way.

Since the government can borrow at a much lower interest rate than the private sector, its cost is less compared to proceeding with a P3.

Under the P3 model, the government still needs to pay for capital projects, but this payment is defined as a “contractual obligation” and not debt. As a result, this enormous “contractual obligation” (in fact, debt) is not shown in the B.C. budget.

The humongous “contractual obligation” also includes long-term power purchase contracts signed by BC Hydro with private power merchants. These contracts last for decades and the purchase price
is double that of the market value, or 15 times the cost of B.C. Hydro’s generation cost. The price under which the provincial government agreed to buy private power is higher than what B.C. Hydro charges its customers.

The Liberal energy policy brings huge losses not only to B.C. Hydro. B.C.’s residents and businesses all have to pay higher electricity bills as a result.

The intriguing coincidence is that many of these private power merchants who benefit from the deals are generous donors to the B.C. Liberal party.

At this time, the public can only find out the contractual obligation “debt” in the B.C. Public Accounts. If the former Auditor General had not instructed the government to declare the  contractual obligation, then the public would have no idea how serious the matter is.

The contractual obligation was first revealed in 2005. Since then, the sum has grown threefold. Just last year, the Liberals added $27.2 billion “debt” to the contractual-obligation ledger.

So if you add the Liberals’ traditional and non-traditional debts together, the last decade has seen an increase of debt to the tune of $99.8 billion.

That is seven times more than that accumulated by the NDP in the 1990s.

Ten years of Liberal governance with almost $100 billion of new debt, and yet we don’t see a single media feature on this grave matter. Instead, we have a right-wing think tank praising Campbell as the best fiscal manager. That’s truly incredible.

Gory details revealed in megaproject estimates.

The about-to-be-completed new roof of the B.C. Place was supposed to cost $365 million, according to government announcement in January 2009. Now, the government says it will cost $563 million. That’s more than 50 percent over budget, but the Liberal government keeps saying the project is “on budget”. And so many media just report the deception without checking the facts.

Yet Campbell can still be held up as fiscally the best premier in Canada. Isn’t it amazing?

The fact is, this kind of nonsense is not unique. Earlier, the Fraser Institute released a shocking study, which said that immigrants are a huge burden on Canada. Each year, according to the report, the government has to subsidize an immigrant $6,501 on average or $23 billion in total.

Immigrant communities immediately rebutted the findings of the report. But since this is a study conducted by a renowned research institution and the media has reported it, many Canadians would think that it’s true.

Then, two scholars at Simon Fraser University studied the Fraser Institute immigration report and concluded that it overstated the subsidy by 11 times! According to the calculation of the SFU  scholars, the average subsidy per immigrant is $450.

Many might recall that in June last year, just before the implementation of the HST, the Fraser Institute released a “study” supporting Campbell’s HST. The right-wing think tank stated that HST is revenue-neutral, so the B.C. government would not collect more tax. The Fraser Institute study also stated that low- and middle-income families would save money due to the HST.

After more than a year with the HST, we all know how unreliable the Fraser Institute study is. By now, I hope the media and the public will realize that the mandate of the Fraser Institute is given by big businesses, and it definitely does not stand for the public interest with these types of studies.

*********************************************************

http://www.straight.com/article-470026/vancouver/gabriel-yiu-gordon-campbells-100billion-legacy

Coldstream Election - Important dates

2011 General Local Election

Candidate and Voter Information and Guides

Candidates

Nomination Packages are now available and may be picked up at the Municipal Hall or you may print off the package using the link below.

• Nomination Package - 785Kb PDF

When filing your nomination papers, please ensure you have thoroughly reviewed all the material. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact either the Chief Election Officer or the Deputy Election Officer at 250-545-5304.

Nomination papers will be accepted beginning at 9:00 am on Tuesday, October 4th and the deadline for submissions is Friday, October 14th at 4:00 pm.

Important Dates:

• August 26, 2011 - Nomination Packages available for pickup
• October 4, 2011
  • Nomination Period Begins 9:00 am
• October 6, 2011 – Candidate Information Session 7:00 to 8:00 pm
• Council Chambers
• October 14, 2011 Nomination Period Closes 4:00 pm
• October 18, 2011 Deadline for Challenge of Nomination - 4:00 pm
• October 21, 2011
  • Deadline for decision on Challenge of nomination
  • Deadline for withdrawal of candidate
  • Deadline for receiving originals of faxed nomination forms
• October 24, 2011 - Declaration of election by voting
• November 9, 2011 - Advance Poll
• November 15, 2011 - Election Officials Training Session
• November 16, 2011 - Advance Poll
• November 17, 2011 – Advance Poll
• November 19, 2011 - GENERAL VOTING DAY
• November 23, 2011 - Last day 4:00 pm deadline Declaration of Election Results
• January 19, 2012 - First day available for destruction of election materials
• March 19, 2012 - Deadline to file campaign financing disclosure statements

*************************************************************

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dead at 56

By Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News October 5, 2011 6:46 PM

Apple Inc. co-founder died Wednesday at the age of 56.

Steve Jobs, who sparked a revolution in the technology industry and then presided over it as Silicon Valley's radiant Sun King, died Wednesday. The incandescent center of a tech universe around which all the other planets revolved, Jobs had a genius for stylish design and a boyish sense of what was "cool." He was 56 when he died, ahead of his time to the very end.

According to a spokesman for Apple Inc. - the company Jobs co-founded when he was just 21, and turned into one of the world's great industrial design houses - he suffered from a recurrence of the pancreatic cancer for which he had undergone surgery in 2004. Jobs had taken his third leave of absence from the company in January of this year, and made the final capitulation to his failing health on Aug. 24, when he resigned as Apple's CEO. After 35 years as the soul of Silicon Valley's new machine, that may have been a fate worse than death.

Jobs died only a few miles from the family garage in Los Altos, Calif., where he and fellow college dropout Steve Wozniak assembled the first Apple computer in 1976. Jobs transformed the computer from an intimidating piece of business machinery - its blinking lights often caged behind a glass wall _ to a device people considered "personal," and then indispensable.

Jobs was the undisputed "i" behind the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, and there was very little about his personality that was lower-case. According to Fortune magazine he was considered "one of Silicon Valley's leading egomaniacs," but Jobs also cultivated a loyal coterie of ergomaniacs - ergonomic designers who created the sleek stable of iHits - whose devotion to him was the centrifugal force holding Apple together. Shares of the company's stock plunged 22 points after Jobs announced his final medical leave on Jan. 17. more

******************************************************************************

 

Rebuild Camp Hurlburt - Aviva Community Fund

Rebuild Camp Hurlburt - Aviva Community Fund

Overview:

HISTORY Camp Hurlburt is a 2.5 acre, forested, beach waterfront camp, located on Lake Okanagan, just 20 minutes from downtown Vernon, BC. For 80 years, Camp Hurlburt has been a place for children and youth to gather, form friendships, provide leadership, and grow in spirit. Camp Hurlburt has touched the lives of over 20,000 young people of all faith, social and economic backgrounds. Over 30% of the young people attending camp are sponsored on camperships, many recommended by local schools and other community organizations. Young people ages 5 through 17 learn about the sacredness of their own lives and of creation at week long camps through experiences such as hiking, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, music, drama, nightly camp fires and arts and crafts.

 

Camp Hurlburt Alumnae and the Vernon community have said that: Camp Hurlburt is a valuable community resource which invests in the lives of children and youth, children in need, and young families, and provides fun opportunities for personal and spiritual growth in a place while being physically, emotionally and spiritually safe. Hurlburt is a place where young people have opportunities to face issues pertinent to their everyday lives.

Ailsa Edge, former counselor in the Vernon School District wrote: “Many times over those years, I listened to young people talk of their experiences at Camp Hurlburt and what those experiences meant for them …When a student told me he/she was going to spend some time at Hurlburt that summer, I knew that student would come back to school inoculated against many of the forces which can destroy a young life.”

But the buildings are old and the facilities are in desperate need of upgrading. The Camp Hurlburt Association, a non-profit society is, in conjunction with the Rebuilding Hurlburt Committee, working on rebuilding this valuable community resource to allow more children, youth and the North Okanagan community to experience a connection with nature and each other that leads to positive change in their lives.

VISION We envision an updated facility for the future, located in a natural setting, which will offer young people; the opportunity to experience a place and programming that teach and exhibit land and water stewardship and to build relationships with each other which will nurture the values, of compassion, inclusiveness, acceptance, integrity and respect. 

THE REBUILD WILL: 

1) Increase the number of young people the camp can accommodate each summer and expand the programs into three seasons, providing opportunities for schools, community organizations and others to participate in educational programming throughout the remainder of the year.

2) Provide a facility which will be self sustaining for future generations of young people and the young at heart to re-discover the nature of community.

REBUILDING CAMP HURLBURT IS A $3.5 MILLION PROJECT. IT INCLUDES: Increasing safety by providing a new entry, removing most of the vehicle traffic from the site and restoring the site to its natural state. An accessible main hall with separate dining/ multipurpose spaces for 80 people on each level, a full commercial kitchen, showers and washroom facilities and 6 dorm rooms to accommodate 24 people. There will be 8 new cabins which will accommodate 78 people, a Staff cabin and a Director’s cabin. Improved program areas: enlarged green space, enlarged dock & swim platform, archery area, climbing wall, zip line, and a riparian habitat. A significant goal for the camp is to practice environmental stewardship and to have children and youth form a connection with the earth. The site will be constructed to a minimum of LEED© Silver with a strong educational focus for campers.

USE OF FUNDS We are looking to fund up to $149,000 for Phase One of our redevelopment construction which will include: demolition of the existing craft hall and cabins, some site work and the construction of 4-6 new cabins. With Aviva’s help, this will take place during 2012. Please visit www.rebuildhurlburt.com for more details.

SUSTAINABILITY A Business Plan has been developed to address sustainability for the future needs and operations of Camp Hurlburt. It includes changing from a summer only facility to a facility that operates in three seasons. To date we have already received funds and pledges from several community organizations, and individuals towards this project. A Capital Campaign is planned to raise funds for future phases of the redevelopment. An Endowment Fund has also been established to help with future ongoing operational needs. The Association will also to appeal for endowment funds and for sponsored camperships in the future.

Join us in the Rebuild Hurlburt Project so that more young people will have life transforming experiences at Hurlburt.

Please watch our video, your vote counts, please vote every day for a difference in the lives of the children and youth of the North Okanagan.

**************************************************************************************

 

Photo gallery - Tour of beauty: Pinaus Lake - Debbie

************************************************************

Drug bust in the North Okanagan

Saskatchewan
RCMP Regina Integrated Drug Unit - Multi-Agency Drug Investigation

2011-10-03 13:00 PDT

In April of 2011, members of the Regina Integrated Drug Unit launched a multi-agency controlled drug investigation in partnership with the United States Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) as well as the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The investigation centered on the importation of large quantities of controlled drugs that were allegedly being imported into Canada and exported into the United States via unmanned border crossings in rural Southern Saskatchewan. The investigation alleges that cocaine was destined for British Columbia while mass quantities of ecstasy were destined for the Pacific Northwest of the United States. From each of those destinations, the illegal drugs would then be distributed to communities across Western North America.

Over this past weekend, the Regina Integrated Drug unit has conducted several searches in British Columbia as part of this investigation. Specifically, searches were conducted at the following two BC residences:

-The 9800 block of Pinnacles Road in the community of Silverstar, British Columbia on October 1st at approximately 8:00 p.m.

-Palfrey Drive West in the community of Coldstream, British Columbia on October 1st at approximately 8:00 p.m. more

 

***************************************************************************** 

Selected News Clips, Morning Star, September 30 and October 2, 2011

October 2, 2011

 

September 30, 2011

 

********************************************************

Vernon water compromised

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-65423-26-.htm#65423

by Castanet Staff - Story: 65423
Oct 1, 2011 / 3:00 pm

Interior Health is advising users of the Mission Hill Water Treatment Plant system to discard any water they may have collected from the system in storage bottles or tanks between Monday and Thursday of this past week.

This recommendation comes after Interior Health was informed by the Regional District of North Okanagan – Greater Vernon Water Utility of a technical breach in their Mission Hill/ Kalamalka Lake water treatment and chlorination system which occurred Monday, September 26. 

Interior Health’s Environmental Health Protection branch has assessed the risk and while the breach presented a very low risk to users, felt the public should be aware in order to take precautionary measures.

Individuals who are immune comprised as well as young children and the elderly should take precautions including visiting their physician if they have diarrhea or bloody stools.

The public should know the situation was addressed and further water testing indicates there is no current risk and the water is safe to drink.

Should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact your local public health unit.

******************************************************************************

 

The Borowitz Report - Banks Raise Fees

Banks Raise Fees on Same People Who Bailed Out Their Asses, Introduce New ‘Thank You’ Fee on Debit Cards

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – The largest banks in the US made history today by hiking fees on the same people who bailed out their asses three years ago.

“We would not exist today without the generosity of the American taxpayers,” said CEO Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, which received billions of dollars of Federal bailout money. “And we want to thank them by assessing a special monthly ‘thank you’ fee on all of our debit cards.”

Becoming emotional, Mr. Moynihan added, “We think of the taxpayers every time we vacation on our yachts or visit our third homes, and we want them to think of us every time they try to spend $20 on groceries.”

Mr. Moynihan said that even after paying the new $5 monthly fee, "American taxpayers should still have enough money left over to let them eat cake."

In other news, CNN announced today that it plans to start covering the mass protests on Wall Street in lower Manhattan “as soon as the Michael Jackson trial is over.”

And Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry today blasted President Obama’s decision to kill a terrorist in Yemen: “There are plenty of perfectly good people to execute right here in America.”

*********************************************************

Readers Write - 71st wedding anniversary of the Clintons!

Pictures from the 71st wedding anniversary celebration we held for Carl and Agnes Clinton at the Coldstream Park (our doggie park).

We had great fun, wonderful food and lot's of sunshine.

Enjoy

Lilly, Hans and Eddy

*******************************************************

Ratepayers' Association News.

To Members (and former members) of the Coldstream Ratepayers Association

(CRA):

 

May I please ask for two or three of you to  volunteer tomorrow night

(Sept. 28) to help me set up for the CRA meeting at 7 PM at the Log

House on Kalavista Dr. You can park right outside the Log House itself.

Please be there by 6:30 PM.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Steve Heeren, Pres., CRA

***********************************************************************************

 

Local scientist to discuss water issues in public speaker series

http://okanagansisss.wordpress.com/

What’s up with water in the Okanagan?

A lot, and Dr. Anna Warwick Sears is eager to tell you about it at a public lecture at Okanagan College’s Kalamalka Campus on Tuesday, September 27 at 7:30 p.m. This talk is presented by the Science in Society Speaker Series (a joint project by Okanagan Science Centre and the Okanagan College).

 

Dr. Warwick Sears is the Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board, a local government agency focused on water sustainability in the arid interior of British Columbia. More information can be found about her work and concerns at Okanagan Basin Water Board website and Dr. Warwick Sears’ blog.

The Okanagan has become a center for water science and policy innovation in Canada. Many important questions need to be answered concerning our water resources: How do we protect our aquatic environments? What activities should be allowed in the forested drainages around drinking water sources? How will we adapt to climate change? Who will go after the polluters? Who pays for what? New models are evolving in British Columbia to regulate the use of water including such approaches as collaborative governance. As the government of British Columbia is in the process of revising its century-old water act, informed input, from all stakeholders, is crucial. In this talk, Dr. Warwick Sears will be sharing the latest issues and approaches of the Okanagan Basin Water Board.

Warwick Sears received a Ph.D. in population biology at the University of California – Davis, studying competition for resources in arid environments. Before coming to the Okanagan in 2006, she was the Research Director of an environmental non-profit in California, leading watershed restoration and planning initiatives. Dr. Warwick Sears is particularly interested in using science to solve real-world problems and building bridges with community stakeholders.

Admission is $5 in advance or $7 at the door. Please contact the Okanagan Science Centre www.okscience.ca or call (250) 545-3644 for advanced purchase of tickets or for more information.

This event is sponsored by the Best Western Vernon Lodge, the Morning Star, Starbucks Coffee, and Sweet Caroline’s Bakery.
For more information, contact:

• Carl Doige, Okanagan College (250) 545-7291 ext. 2286
• Sandi Dixon, Okanagan Science Centre (250) 545-3644  

***********************************************************************************

Selected News Clips Morning Star, September 25, 2011

 

************************************************