6 — Sunday, May 2, 1999 - North Shore News Plu eaky condos have been in the ews for so long that it would seem the extent of the problem must be well delineated by now. Not so according to building spe- cialists. Money complicates things. The problems are many and com- plex, but all have been created by money: saving it in corner-cutting con- struction techniques; lack of it dictat- ing restoration choices that hide rather than fix water penetration problems; greed for it resulting in unskilled fabour masquerading as reconstruction specialists; protecting it resulting in realtors and owners hiding, minimiz- ing or refusing to face the extent of the problem. Water penetration of buildings is not limited to condominium /apart- ment complexes. Highrises in North Vancouver City, West Vancouver, north shore news VIEWPOINT leaks downtown Vancouver and Surrey have all been compromised. The problem extends to civurches, commercial build- ings and portables. Failure to fece the complete picture is not going to help anyone other than the unscrupulous. Owners and strata councils must arm themselves with all the informa- tion they can absorb about new indus- try techniques that ensure a building is capable of shedding water. They must also ensure any contractor hired to repair leaking buildings ’s experienced in these techniques. North Vancouver City and District have both made efforts to grapple with needed changes in building design and inspection. But progress is slow. Pray the province will move more quitkly on instituting needed control of those working in the repair business. you said it “Those towers could take another three lanes and support a double deck. The fact is, they just wanted to build a new bridge.” Heritage expert Don Luxton, refuting claims that the Lions Gate Bridge is structurally unstable. (From an April 30 News story.) Qogg When construction finally got under way, it was “the biggest show in town, and it was free — people used to congregate every day to watch builders, wearing fedoras, hanging off the cables.” , Don.Luxton, recalling the building of the Lions Gate Bridge. (From the same April or News story.) “Communications is everything.” West Vancouver District councillor Victor Durman, during a public debate with West Van's fire chief over the maintenance of the district’s aging acrial ladder truck. ‘From an April 30 News story.) Q00 “The air raid sirens suddenly went off. We asked our taxi driver if everyone was going to go into shel- ters. He said there was no point, as even concrete bunkers could be pierced by the bombs.” North Vancouver resident Linda Morgan, describing her experience in Basra, Iraq, during a recent American bombing raid on an oil pipeline. (From an April 30 News story.) . aoa “There’s something in the air here; the lotus land image. It’s the last frontier.” . Author and pot-grower Michael Poole, on the pio- necring spirit of British Columbia and its reputation as a centre for growing marijuana. (From an April 30 This Week story.) ona “The problem with obstetrics is one minute every- thing is looking great, the next minute you need to get a baby out.” Dr. Emily Hoyer, on the potential for crisis if Lions Gate Hospital emergency operating rooms are filled with neurosurgeries unable to access regular operating rooms. (From an April 28 News story.) ‘north shore. i > ‘Morth Shore News. tounded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and ovaifed under Schedule 115, Paragraph 111 oF the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday. Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press. Utd. and distnduted to every Goor on the North. Shore Canada Post Canadian Publications Atal Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. fcead. | SEA CON Creative Services Manager 935-2131 (127) 61,582 faverage circulation, Veanesday, Friday & Sunday) The isle of 2,00 IS the past your passion? Then forget about the castles and. cathedrals of Britain and main- land Europe, the Aztec and Inca ruins of the Americas and even Egypt’s Pyramids. Head instead — as Dorothy and f did fast month — for one of the world’s tiniest nations that boasts the world’s longest recorded history: the sun-bathed Mediterranean island of Malta. Lying 93 km south of Sicily with a population of some 370,000, it packs more of mankind’s story aver the past 6,000 years into its 320 sq. km than any other place on the planct. The six-millennium Malta story begins with megalithic Stonehenge-type temples, their huge blocks of stone with claborate carvings dating back 1,000 years before the Pyramids. How they were lifted, moved and assembled in place before even the wheel was invented remains as fascinating a mystery as the disappearance without a trace, around 2000 BC, of those carliest colonizers themselves. They were followed in turn by the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians and the Romans. The Apostle Paul stayed awhile after being shipwrecked there in AD 60 on his way to Rome. Then came Arab, Norman and Castilian Spanish occupiers — all leaving their mark in stone and artistry. But the definitive phase of PETER SPECK Pubtisher 885-2131 (101) . Stephonrea Classified Manager Photography Manager 988-6222 (262) 885-2138 (160) Malta's 6,000-year history began far away in the Holy Land in the 11th century. There the Knights of St. John had established themselves to care for sick and wounded Christian pilgrims. Eventually those duties were expanded to fight- ing as “Soldiers of Christ” against the Muslim infidels. In 1291, however, the lac- ter finally kicked them out and they found refuge on the island of Rhodes, where they continued to resist the Muslims for another couple of centuries. Then, in 1522, the Turks led by Sulciman the Magnificent drove them from Rhodes. Eight years later the Emperor Charles V accepted them as “tenants” on Matta. Suleiman made a final effort to destroy the Order and seize the island as a base for invading Southern Europe, but was beaten off by the Knights and the Maltese people after a four-month battic of almost unbelievable ferocity known as the “Great Siege of 1565.” Thus, tiny Malta saved Europe from the infidels. The next two and a haif centuries under the Knights brought to Malta a golden era in culture, architecture and the arts. Its centrepiece, the new fortress capital of Valetta -— described as “the city built by gentlemen for gentlemen” — its palaces, churches and art treasures the work of the best European engineers and artists of the age. . Thanks to a kindly climate they and the island's many other architectural and 10 yesterdays artistic gems from that period survive today in a remarkable state of preserva- tion. In 1798 Napoleon stopped by, found the Knights had lost their drive and — taking over the island without a shot — tried to make it a department of France. Two years later with the help of the British navy the Maltese drove the French out and, for the next 164 years, became a British colony. A vital key to Britain’s control of the Mediterranean in the Second World War, Malta took a terrible pounding from enemy bombers. In recognition of the outstanding spir- it and loyalty of the Maltese during those crucial years King George VI awarded the island the George Cross — Britain’s high- est wartime civilian honour. Hence, rhe tiny country’s proud official title: Misia Cc At long, long last Malta became an independent nation when the British left in 1964: and 10 years later adopted its present, republican constitution. It’s now appiying to join che European Union. So much for Malta and its more than two million yesterdays. On Wednesday, 2 look at this remarkable people’s exciting tomorrows. oo0g0 FROM THE BETTER LATE Dept., many happy returns of Wednesday, April 28, to West Van's Jim MacNaughton, who on that day celebrated his 75th birthday. go Q WRIGHT OR WRONG: Basic eco- nomics course: ‘The best time to buy any- thing is 12 months ago. Managing Editor 905-2321 (116) Entire contents © 1999 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, lull address & telephone number. VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca Michael Becker ~ News Exitor 985-2131 (114) Andrew McCredia - Sports/Community Editor 985-2131 (147)