~ tee pa ITD atten GEE, T WONDER WHERE” Ths. GOING, 2 ‘WHATEVER CONFLICT of interest commissioner Ted. Hughes decides after prob-.. ing the plums lavished by — Premier Mike Harcourt on. “an NDP pal’s ad agency, vot-" ers are still left to ponder the. American Connection. “ We' re talking about that part of * . the generous daily retainer paid to ~ failed NDP candidate Ron Johnson of NOW Communications that “went to provide consiant access to | -|4 a U.S. Democratic Party spin doc- ” tor, Records obtained under frec- dom of information legislation show the Harcourt government — via NOW Communications — has had at least 400 phone talks with . Struble Totten Communications of Washington. D.C., a firm boasting the Clinton administration among.:. its clients; To the pure of heart this may, at first blush, seem ne big deal, At worst, a slap in the face fer . ; “Canadian spin ‘doctors, whose mea-; ». gre talents apparently forced Mikey * to blow.a few tens of thousands of our dollars to get a proper. image! job done by Yanks. ° And what better image-makérs for Mikey than those entrusted with refurbishing the appeal of his’polit-’ ’ ical soul brothers below the line, President Bill Clinton and the bat- _ tered Democrats? ; .But‘alas, things are not always quite as pure and simple in such . telationships as they may have seemed to the premier. As much as _ Vice-President Al Ger. 6 ~ Wednesday, March 29, 1995 — North Shore News fez]. Marine Drive on foot — which currently cre- etl and yon Struble and partners may welcome a Jittle extra offshore business, they are first and foremost U.S. resi- dents and citizens, carning some ‘significant part of their livelihood from the U.S. government. ‘Moreover, whatever ideological if , empathy may exist between ! Clinton and Harcourt does not alter the fact that certain U.S. industrial interests are in direct conflict with competitive B.C. interests — notably mining, forest-y and fish- ing. And that presumably U.S. interests must take precedence with “Struble Totten Communications. Which reminds us how U.S. > has sup- ported pressure from U. 3. industri- al lobbies to curb competitive B.C. . forestry and mining by conjuring up alleged environmental concerms. Any link between this and Harcourt’s own highly controver- “ ‘sial environmental policies restrict- ‘ing forestry and mining operations — MANS, F NOTHING else, Park Royal Shopping BAAS ARINC, ates a significant traffie hazard both for vehi- Centre’s ownership deserves top marks for innovation with its plans to install an aerial commuter tram linking the shopping : centre’s north and south malls. Unveiled March 24, the $1-million gondola link, if approved by West Vancouver District Council, will ferry shoppers and their pur- chases back and forth above Marine Drive in Disneyland-style fashion. | The tram will move an estimated 508 veo- ple per hour between the two malls from Park Royal’s rooftop parking areas. Trips in the four, 12-passenger gondolas will take about 2% minutes. The tram cars will be accessible to the dis- abled. They will also provide a covered com- muter link between the two mails and should help cut the number of shoppers crossing cles and pedestrians. It should also help get shoppers out of their ears, thereby reducing north-south mall car trips and traffic congestion and encourage more use of the shopping centre’s acres of rooftop parking stalls. But enough of such solemn and practical considerations. When compared with such traditional people-moving options as a pedes- ~ trian tunnel or a dedicated concrete pedestri- an overpass, the tram wins the fun-factor award hands down. As a novelty act, it should help attract. shoppers and sightseers from all. over the | Lower Mainland and beyond to the ‘West ! Vancouver mail and the -rest of the. North’ Shore. That’s showbiz and that’s good for the may, of course, be entirely illusion- ary. But given the steady stream of “advice” to Victoria from Washington political pros who have much bigger fish to fry than Mikey , and gang, one at least has to won- der. In today’s Canada of 30 million with no shortage of top talent it's’ hard to figure why any politician would seek help fram foreign snake oil salesmen to hustle his image to his own people. It’s even harder to figure why — in widely publicized areas of competition between the two countries — he - would fail to. see the obvious dan- gers, Maybe Premier. Harcourt deserves the benefit of the doubt on this because of asi honest, (rusting nature, But if sa, Ted Hughes has clearly been wasting his tine. The conflict-of-interest suspects he should have been probing all along are Messicurs Struble and Totten. Not that they — safely in Washington, D.C. — could give a damn. TREASURE- HUNTERS alert! Catch St. Catherine’s giant Rummage Sale 10 a.m.-f p.m. Saturday, April 1, at 1058 Ridgewood, North Van ... Many ‘ happy returns of today, March 29, to West Van enviro-songster Terry Jacks ... The same again Friday, March 31, to North Van's Art Weseen. WRIGHT OR WRONG: Many pessimists got that way financing optimists. malibox North Shore economy. Put SeaBus terminal at foot of Pemberton Dear Editor: As a member of the Lower Capilano Official Community Plan now making its views known to North Vancouver District Council, 1 strongly favor your SeaBus rec- ommendation (March 12 News Viewpoint). However, our members recom- mend the new proposed SeaBus terminal be situated in North Vancouver at the foot of the: dis- (rict-owned Pemberton Avenue. Because the district owns a wide swath of Pemberton Avenue from the BC Rail. tracks south to the waterfront, there would be a large area ‘available for the terminal and for park-and-ride vehicles. The ScaBus voyage would be very short, thus less problems in the shipping lanes. : ; Possibly some negotiations would be necessary with Vancouver Shipyards and the Fibreco operation, but we are sure this could be arranged at very litle expense. Another advantage to this site is the short distance from the pro- posed SeaBus terminal to the BC; Rail station. A jitney service of - approximately a quarter- to a half- mile could transfer to .. the’ Whistler/Blackcomb or Squamish area (for tourists) from the SeaBus . to the BC Rail station and return. | West Vancouver residents .could :] travel by bus or use the proposed * park and ride area, fs Our ulterior motive is our.rec- ommendation that Pemberton’ Avenue from Marine Drive south - [. tothe rail station become. an:’ Ambleside-type . village’ with. |~ mixed business/industrial/residen- ; ie tial usage. The proposed SeaBus terminal would certainly enhance our pro-" posal for Pemberton Avenue and” attract tourists and shoppers. Thank you for your article. ° Frank E. Ashdown: North Vancouver North Shore News Mailbox policy: - LETTERS TO the editor must be legible (preferably typewritten) and include your name, full address and telephone number. Due to space constraints the ’ North’ Shore News cannot. publish “all letters. Published letters may be edited for brevity, clarity, : accuracy, : legality and taste. Submissions can’ be ‘faxed* to | 985-2104, but still must be signed and fully addressed. : Valorie Stophenson Teinl Agrios ~- Peter Kyarnstrom Display Manager, 820-0511 (103) Linda Stewart Sales & Marketing Director 980-0511 4 (319) “Yimothy Renshaw Managing Editor, 985-2131 (116) Chris Johnson Comptroller Operations Manager: - 985-21 31 (199) 985-21 34 (144) North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 171, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, i: published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North - Shore, Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail '. Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing’ rates available on request: Submissions’ are _ welcome but wa cannot accept responsibility lor _-sunsokeited materal including manuscripts and \ pictures, which shoukl be accompanied by a . stamped, sé self. addressed ad envelope, : -Poter Speck |: Publisher 985-2134 (101) | Promotions Manager 985-2131 (137) Classified Manager 986-6222 (202) Administration MEMBER Display Advertising : Real Estate Advertising || Classified Advertising Newsroom Newsroom Voice Mail” Olstribution : Display & Real Extate Fax Newsroom Fax : Classified, Accounting & ~__ ' Main Cffico Fax ° : "| VANCOUVEA AREA EPAPER BATTERS 1139 Lonsdaie Avenue: :. North Vancouver B.C. “7 V7M 2H4 North Shore Managed .: * SDA DIVISION .. et, $82 (average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & ‘sunday) : Entire contents © 1995 North Shore Free Prass Ltd. All rights feserved.