6 - North Shore News ~— Sunday, July 9, 2000 “FT may be a garden-variety crime, but the pilfering of valuable plants from yards and gardens is no different than stealing any other property. North Shore residents can take cold comfort in the fact that they are not alone as victims in this criminal growth area, “Eurtive burglars with a penchant _ . for horticulture and spades in hand afe leaving litde holes all over the place. : |. In Hicksville, New York State, stolen plants resulted in great disap- “pointment when three plantings were removed from Hicksville Kennedy ! Memorial Park. The park had recent- ly been landscaped in order to rekin- dle a community flame. “Sometimes the theft can backfire, ti Europe’s most poisonous plant (Aconitum or Monkshood), which can cause illness in minutes if touched, were stolen from a nursery in Swindon, England. The thief would have been burning, sweating, dizzy and numb within 10 to 20 min- utes of touching the plants. The sorry truth is that nothing that can possibly have a monetary value placed upon it is safe. Thieves find North Shore yards are fertile territory for looting. Two Japanese maples were taken from a North Vancouver yard on Monday night. Park and Tilford gardens have been hit several times in the past few weeks with thieves taking off with some rare plants. Stealing vegetation is sometimes no different from stealing someone’s though. Two pots. containing ar. ig to happen if a person gets hit in the head “What's es ping and gets killed? Is the WCB going to ban with a golf _all golf balls?” . 3.°) North Vancouver golfer Harry Dyer questioned the WCB’s ler to remove or tim hazardous wees. (From a July 2 News : story.) The North Shore 6, powerful place and it has a powerful light. It is a jie Pacific Northwest light — it imbues you and we rp vceed & to have this. ” Pierre Coupey, one of 12 artists participating in the isions of the North Shore Millennium Project, on an “pect of what makes our part of the world a great place to be.: (From a July 7 News story. ) SThey’re not’ chained to their desks. We have very : vital staff and.I would: say that a significant majority staff-are working very hard.” ‘North Van District Mayor. Don Bell responded to allega- ions by Coun: Emie Crist that it had come to light that ' ing..and- going ‘at their_own choice. me: staff are. c From a uly 5 Ne sto1 ‘choose something else.” ‘onya Ribalkin and father John Ribalkin have over 40° f.behind-the-plate ‘experience. between. them. John _ umpired exhibition ‘games together recently at: astpitch tourney. “the Sanada’ Cup: International, Women’ ’m just shakin my head coin This is amazin to iS Bi f gt It actually makes me thin - yan off “T'couldn’t play because I sacked? she laughed, “sol «| is this a practical joke?” - uzanne: Eland . spared her. reaction to the theft of two. _Especially i “ean be astronomical.’ +4 OOD VO IETIIIE LOLI HE SPR ENON LO B= He 0) SPW) BIDETA A strong case for ‘legalcare’ IF Medicare is now in a crisis, what about victims of our hor- rifically expensive justice system: poor and destitute citizens who can’t afford lawyers in criminal and civil " cases? We're talking about such citizens who, for example, have had their furniture wrongfully’ seized, or have been assaulted, causing a long-term disability, or suffered child-_ hood sexual abuse affecting their lives ° for years — or even innocent citizens ~ wrongly sued or wrongly charged with ence. |.” - Numerically, it’s true, they are only a small fraction of those who regularly “ need doctor’s and hospital services. But ._ inability to pay for effective legal help can have just as devastating an effect on their lives as serious illness or injury. And if you think months-long lineups “for surgery are unconscionable, what about today’s average wait of almost four years for a BC Supreme Court trial? Add to this delay — during which Witnesses for; npet or disappear — lawyers’ * charges of se dom less than $160 per hour and disbursements for most three- ” day trials totalling $7,000 or more, and it’s casy to “‘inderstand how often the financially‘disadvantaged lose out. civil cases where the costs In a recent Vancouver Sun article ; lawyer Dugald Christie pressed for a two- “pronged solution’ ‘to the problem of i the poor and the law. Three years ago Mr. Christie put his moncy where his mouth is by closing his 30-year-old Vancouver law practice to devote himself to the promo- tion of pro bono legal services. Since then he has organized the Salvation Army pro- bono program and is ~ currently pro bono coordinator for the Western Canadian » Socicty for Access to Justice. . His twin targets: most ° B.C. lawyers who shun pro bono cases,‘ leaving them for a few idealistic col:'- - leagues to handie at their own cost; and © judges giving. “judgments .. . out of touch with reality.” Many Vancouver law firms netting more than $10 million annually, he claims, provide virtually no free service for the poor —~ in ap contrast to many large American firms that lead the pro bono initiative. ... . Meaiiwhile, the tradition that lawyers . are not fupposed te to criticize judges'leads ." "poor citizen physical pain:and suffering! to criminals sometimes being released - ' for reasons which baffle the vast majority. Ms - of the public. We've reached the stage, Christie © says, “where some judges cheerfully . : spend days of deliberation preparing - unintelligible judgments grantin pedophiles the right to possess photos of children being sodomized. Meanwhile, "the right of the ordinary man to a trial without hinder or delay is ignored.” His solution: expose judges to criti . cism and expose lawyers to’ the poo althou h. he doesn’t sound overly san-, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR must include your name, . full. address: and’ telephone Amber. treashaw@nsaews.c “saving him : public: — from the’ mentat anguish ‘and "material loss caused by j justice, denied ‘f lack of money?” :22 “5 ~ guine about the fatter until the fegal . profession finally decides on “action and not endless excuses, studies and tip movements.” Which leads one to toy with the idea of a parallel to medicare — universal, | portable legal insurance for all... Canadians below a certain income level. and, in the case of the accused in crimi-. nal actions, payable only fora first offence trial. .The big difference from medicare: would be that the relatively tiny costs (premiums) would be paid by the legal: profession itself ~— a certain percentage ’ of pro bono work becoming a condition : of every law firm’s'! Any law firm fai si quota available.to;the pro, bono ( Aid) pool would be penalized with ad ; tional raxes in lieu. Though unwelcom law profession, there are. ample prece dents for such governmient control: -Resource companies must Cover. the cost of cleaning up their pollution < Food firms are penalized for breach _ ing health regulations. ‘Broadcast sta-; _ tions must pay royalties to composers So if it's OK for medicare 't what’s wrong about a “legalcar at no cost.to the general coo the firse. picce of luggage. oitt of die chute;at the ai rt never belong: