Month: April 2016

Richmond News

Richmond’s teens can enjoy an entire week of fun, engaging and interactive events around the city from Sunda (May 1) through next Saturday (May 7).

The City of Richmond and its community association partners are hosting more than a dozen events for youth ages 13-18 across Richmond, from Steveston to Hamilton and various locations in between.

“Richmond’s diverse youth are vital to making our community more engaged and livable,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie in a press release. “We are proud to offer a variety of Youth Week events that celebrate youth and provide opportunities to showcase their creativity, offer meaningful experiences and support positive peer connections.”

The week begins with Richmond’s talented young performers at Andanté Café Youth Showcase at City Centre and wraps up with a teen swim at Watermania. …

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Richmond News

The Richmond School Board has called on the federal government to reverse funding cuts to social services for immigrants and the City of Richmond is lending its voice of support.

In late February, board chair Debbie Tablotney wrote to Hon. John McCallum, the Minister of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada to note that the government had pulled back almost $200,000 in funding for Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) over the past three years, which includes cuts of 8.5 per cent, or $95,000, planned for the next school year.

The SWIS program provides settlement services such as orientation events, needs assessments and referrals, information sessions and community connections to children, families and adults, noted Tablotney.

“This support is vital because education is the key for children and their families to become contributing residents of Canada,” she noted, citing concerns that without the initial level of funding that such services could “draw upon” K-12 educational funds.

On Monday, city council approved a letter of support for the SWIS program.

“The importance of the settlement process in communities with high levels of newcomers such as Richmond cannot be overemphasized,” stated Mayor Malcolm Brodie.

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The Globe and Mail

From inside an unprepossessing industrial facility in Vancouver’s Strathcona district, entrepreneur Brad Marchant has figured out how to disrupt the avalanche of food waste produced by modern consumer society, and he has found an unlikely ally in this grand environmental mission: the lowly black fly.

Marchant’s 30-employee firm, Enterra, feeds preconsumer food – waste dough, stale bread, bruised or expired produce etc. – to swarms of flies, which produce protein and fat-rich larvae that turn out to be excellent feedstock for the meal or fertilizer used by fish and livestock farms, as well as grain growers. “Insects are mother nature’s cleanup crew,” he says. “There is no waste.” …

Other more consumer-based approaches, such as furniture-sharing clubs, have also emerged to provide alternatives. “People are looking at different models of ownership,” says Vancouver lawyer Malcolm Brodie, chair of the National Zero Waste Council. Sauve says cap-and-trade systems also provide market signals for manufacturers looking for more efficient ways to compete. …

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Richmond News

Special new street signs to commemorate Richmond’s war heroes will soon be installed at a lamppost near you.

The new signs, bearing a poppy emblem, will be installed at some point in 2017 now that Richmond city council approved the $45,000 project, which serves to celebrate and remember at least 55 fallen soldiers from two world wars.

The idea was initially suggested by school trustee Ken Hamaguchi in a conversation he had with members of the Friends of the Richmond Archives last Remembrance Day. …

Notably, the city will soon have a 55th road named after a fallen soldier, after Mayor Malcolm Brodie announced in February that a new road between General Currie Road and Granville Avenue, connecting to No. 4 Road, will be named Edgington Road.

According to the Friends, Pte. Ernest Edward Edgington was killed in December 1943 in Italy. …

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Richmond News

Creative new manhole covers will soon be turning up on Richmond streets.

The new covers are the result of a contest which challenged local artists to create designs for City manhole covers, which would reflect Richmond’s cultural heritage.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie was joined by the four winning artists Tuesday, April 19 to unveil the actual manhole covers at Richmond City Hall. The Cover Stories manhole cover art contest launched in 2014 and brought in 150 entries. The four winning designs were created by artists Caroline Dyck, Greg Allen, Jeff Porter and Susan Pearson.

“This was a fun contest that took common, previously unremarkable pieces of our civic infrastructure and transformed them into pieces of art that celebrate some of the things that make Richmond unique,” said Brodie. “The new manhole covers will add to our community vibrancy and I congratulate each of the winning artists for their creative vision.” …

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Vancity Buzz

It’s morphin time!

The sleepy streets of Richmond’s Steveston Village are set to be overrun with intergalactic baddies and high-kicking heroes over the next few weeks as the big screen adaptation of the Power Rangers comes to town. …

“Filming provides significant economic benefits and the City of Richmond is committed to being a film-friendly city,” Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said in a release. “We are excited to welcome Lionsgate and Saban Brands’ production of the Power Rangers. While filming takes place, Steveston businesses will still be open. We encourage the public to visit the village to enjoy all Steveston has to offer, and, at the same time, catch a glimpse of a major movie shoot. …

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Richmond News

The chances of seeing a large cloud of marijuana smoke rising from any public plaza or park in Richmond on April 20 are about as slim as a pinner.

And that’s fine by Rick Dubras, executive director of Richmond Addiction Services Society (RASS), who is hoping to open a dialogue on marijuana use, especially amongst youth, as the federal government embarks on legal and regulatory reforms for the popular drug.

“We want to see a full host of education and regulation,” surrounding marijuana, said Dubras, whose organization is hosting Successfully Navigating Adolescence on April 21 at McNair secondary at 7 p.m. The evening’s keynote speaker is Barry MacDonald, founder of MentoringBoys.com, and author of Boys Smart and Boys on Target. MacDonald’s one hour presentation will be followed by a one hour panel discussion as well as questions and answers. …

In in annual address in February Mayor Malcolm Brodie said nothing will change until federal laws allow for such business activity.

“My view on that — and I’m not trying to lack compassion on this — as far as I’m concerned, it’s up to the city to license only legal operations. And these are not legal operations, not now. And if the rules change we will change with them. But right now an operation cannot go under the federal health act and dispense marijuana products,” said Brodie.

“I don’t know how Vancouver does it. They just said they don’t care about the law,” added Brodie. …

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JOC.com

Residential demand and agricultural interests increasingly claim potential industrial property around Port Metro Vancouver, leaving Canada’s largest port with fewer options for expansion.

While a large part of the pressure on land for port-related facilities comes from developers eager to meet the needs of home buyers with deep pockets, port expansion is also hampered by provincial legislation intended to save agricultural land in British Columbia, coupled with deep distrust from municipal politicians who believe the port doesn’t need to expand.

In a conversation with a local media outlet, Richmond, British Columbia Mayor Malcolm Brodie was reported as saying: “I don’t concede that the federal government, through the Port Metro Vancouver, governed by a board that is made up of people in the industry, has the right to set itself up as a kingdom within the city of Richmond, and do what it wants.” …

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Metro

Richmond won’t be establishing its own police force.

Council has voted to accept the results of a public consultation presented to it on Monday that concludes residents can’t justify the cost of ditching the RCMP in favour of starting up its own municipal department.

“We’ll be sticking with the RCMP,” Mayor Malcolm Brodie told Metro on Tuesday. “Basically, this consultation is over.”

The city has been trying to gauge public interest in a switch after expressing concerns over the lack of input it has into RCMP operations and budgeting since the province signed onto a 20-year contract with the federal force in 2012.

Brodie said the city is happy with the RCMP’s service on a local level but has difficulty having its voice heard in Ottawa. …

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Richmond News

An application by Mayberry Farms Ltd. to subdivide farmland to create three separate residential lots was approved by Richmond city council on Monday.

Council voted 7-2 in favour of the proposal, with councillors Carol Day and Harold Steves voting against it.

The decision came down to sticking to general policy of not facilitating more residential lots on farms or trusting the promise of one of Richmond’s longest-standing farming families, the May family, that the subdivision is necessary for farming purposes and the land will remain in the family.

“If we’re going to support farming, we need to support farmers,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. …

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