- Snoop scoop. ORTH VANCOUVER City Coun. | Stella Jo Dean misses the point when she proposes that the attorney general ‘should consider laying charges “against any ‘media: agency that incites people to commit: “violence” as a.response to the question of : what to do with sexually explicit modern ‘music. Her: unworkable suggestion: is little more “than a knee-jerk draconian response to'an ~ issue colored by much ¢ grey. area. Her position has ‘value inthat it helps to , - set. the parameters’ of possible: action. It also adds fuel. to.the debates)", . a the latest. flashpoint. y was provided “by. a: mother’. Ss. dismaying discovery, of her 12-.° guise of entertainment. Although the music industry self- “regulates : such brutal output with warning stickers on CD and cassette cases, in reality, anything goes in the competitive marketplace. | i. The masses hear what they want to hear. The realistic response is not censorship or additional legislation. In the local.case, the mother in. question did the right thing — she simply returned the . offending disc. In limiting access. to such material, the onus rightly falls upon | the shoulders. of par- ‘ents. ~ Prepare your children for the many ethical. - challenges they will face throughout a life- time by providing them with the tools needed "to recognize right from wrong. . Without.an audience, the Snoop Doggy 2. Doggs of this world can have no impact. “LETTER OF THE DAY Turban epbiting Canadian goodwill? » Dear Editor: ae Lest’ some ‘of your. readers are. - beguiled, by Bob Mallet’s letter of Feb. 2, which sets out a number of ' rhetorical questions addressed to the West Van. Legion, if bears “pointing out that Mr. Mallet’s letter i$ structured upon a number of mis- “conceptions: as to the’nature of the turban as -a-fundamentatly “reli- - gious” icon and of the political rela- , Honship between Sikhism and the '. British military in 19th” century “India. : “Interested readers are referred to the extensive reatise in the Jan. 22 “Globe and Mail, by Dr. John Spellman, professor of Asian stud- ies atthe University of Windsor, on the question of whether the.turban is, in all circumstances and for all Sikhs, a valid symdol of Sikh , orthodoxy. It might be that the tur- ban is too often no more than a politically convenient symbol that “is being used to exploit the good- will of Canadians and Canada’ s Charter of Rights. As to the Euro- Christian ethic that requires males to remove their hats in accord with certain of our social and religious functions, these ' traditions, along with the military salute, date buck at least to the time of the Crusades. The custom at that time, as practised by knights in armor, of raising their helmets or their visors was not only a means of showing their identity but also demonstrated their vulnerability - and their peaceful intentions. So our customs pre-date Sikhism by some two or three centuries. _W.A. Burton West Vancouver Publisher . Managing Editor Associate Editor Sales & Marketing Comptroller. North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an . independent suburban newspaper and quaiitied under Schedule 111, Parayraph 111 of the Excise -Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distributed to avery door on the North Shore, * Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. (087238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome bul we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited material including manuscripts and pictures which «. should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope, Pele? Speck Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Newsroom V7M 2H4 Dispiay Advertising Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Subscriptions _ Classified Advertising 1138 Lonsdale ‘Avenue North Vancouver B.C. Nonh Shore Managed 986-1337 986-1337 Fax 985-3227 . Administration 985-2131 MEMBER CNA en's SUA DIVISION 61,582 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) 980-0511 Distribution 986-6222 985-2131 Entire contents ©.1994 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Larco needs _ good neighbor I'm not inclined to like Lareo. Good fences, as the old saying and the famous Robert Frost poem confirm, make good neighbors, But the fence hasnt yet been built hat makes good neighbors of ° the municipality of West Vancouver and Larce, perpetrator : of insensitive and tasteless prac- tices on its teased land bordering Marine Drive. Larco has bulldozed its way around the property both literally and NeuEively. Many people are only fuzzily aware that the Guinness famity — brewers of the renowned stout, builders of the Lions Gate Bridge, developers of the British Properties, and continuing developers of their massive land holdings on West Vancouver's slopes — no longer own the Park Royal Shopping Centre. The famed family’s company, British Pacific Properties Lid., sold . Park Royal a few years ago to Larco Investments Lid., which ‘operates it under the name of Park Royal Shopping Centre Holdings Ltd. 66 The extensive: renovations of the. _ shopping centre ibrought decidedly mixed reviews: 99 At the library the other day, my, mention of Larco even drew.a blank from librarians, usually very knowledgeable people. ? The difficulty is that the, south - shopping centre and beyond — ‘including the site of the current source of friction, a newish golf driving range — sit on property: leased from the Squamish indian: band. So West Vancouver council is helpless to control what's going on virtually at the gateway to our proud, rich and beautiful town, And, although Gur politicians are reluctant to say so, the contrast between the Guinness and the Larco style of operation is enor- mous. (Asked for her perception of. the municipality's relations with: Larco, Coun. Pat Boname’s first ‘reaction was a thoughtful, single word: “Distant.”) First, the extensive renovation of the shopping centre brought decidedly mixed reviews, But there’s a much stronger consensus - : on this point: the western access io - the north mail is a spaghetti of con: ; fusion, and getting a ground-level parking space has become a brutal- . ly competitive sport. (Inside, the shops on both sides of Park Royal, I think most people would agree, are exccllent, [t's.the only mall] actually enjoy.being in.) Next, ina move of astonishing arrogance, environmental insensi- tivity, aad a casebook study of appalling public relations, Larco proceeded to level the trees and bush west of the shopping centre — Trevor Lauiens “9 Nea GARDEN OF BIASE without even the courtesy of informing the municipality. ; Municipal manager Doug Allan,’ who quite properly avoids political comment, tells me that he first. - heard of this mini-clearcutting | | when residents of the handsome“ Park Royal Towers across the’ road : told him about what they called - “the logging show.” |” : And what replaced this giove 0 ° ’ wildemess was — is —~ just plain : awful: a golf driving range. . . It's'an eyesore. Piles of sand ani rock, An unpaved parking lot with - vehicles parked higgledy- pigaledy. * Raw. Ugly. It’s certain that the municipatity, if it had control, would never have allowed. it to... open with such a depressing, half. finished look. The structure itself is. new, but such edifices don’t exactly: . lend themselves to architectural : esthetics. - But that’s not even the half of it The lights. The glare of the” lights. They were binding. They beamed into residences hundreds of yards away, Their glow ruined "> -- night vicws of the Lions Gate ‘ Bridge lights and the downtow plained: on’a wet road, some found the lights caused an unsettling effect. . ‘At least there's a glimmer — —_ how’s that fer an ironic word? — that Larco is improving its act! _ Perhaps, too, it's aware that the =": municipality is far from helpless. It: can't control the land use but it can. take legat action over any resulting. harm, such as the lighting causes. It - -can be a cool neighbor. Letters wére written. Larco hired Roy Campbell Lid, of West Vancouver to evaluate the range’s . lighting, The Camptell report. was frank and comprehensive: “The :)° existing design does not take intg~. consideration any of the site or community factors.” And: “The existing lighting ... creates extreme. glare to the community, extensive” |. ‘glow’ to the evening sky and only : moderate lighting quality. for the |” driving range.” vs \arco promised a series of tech: | nical improvements suggested by’ Campbell and is, in fact} ahead of... schedule in implementing them. And, ina gracious and cooperative ©: letter to council, Larco chief plan- ner G, Robert Heastip praised”... Coun, Andy Danyliu’s role as mod- me erator when Larco met area resi-- dents tasi month, . Cursed with fitir-mindedness, © | I'm going to give Heaslip’s side of the Larco story next Friday. Try to . be patient. .