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Maines rans avaible on nzyant. : a BY SB {average cumulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Entire contents | @ ee gquaies of the “I’m sure if you asked the public their opinion of transit they would comment it sucks,” Seymour area transit user Judy Carlsen, on trassit service. (From a Dec. 4 North Shore News story.) g009 “We all have broken wings and that does make for a more open heart.” Actress Gillian Barber, on the acting fraternity. (From a Dec. 4 News North Shore. Life tory ) Q - “When you're addicted to heroin .,. you do everything in your power toe get it. The first step to cecorery is admitting it.” Burglar Garrett Marchildon to provincial court Judge Reg Grandison, on his heroin addiction. (From a Dec. 6 North Shore News Story.) oog “Life is so complicated and I’m not going to complain about something just to complain.” Community activist Dahlia Gottlieb-Tanaka, on registering a coinplaint about a business’ sign in North Vancouver District. (From a Dec. 6 North Shore News story.) G “I think the remunerstion is reasonable for what is meant to be a part-time job. There has been long-simn.cring discontent among some councillors about this and it finally crawls onto the agenda as the lust item of the last mecting of this council. What sort of signals are we going to send to our union workers at mews view poiret rQate a bunch | if bulth eaded, raci f im S'1t Vous PLAIT w= ET PIUS GRAND weG@i contract negotiation time with such a big increase?” North Vancouver District Coun. Janice Harris, on a proposed 50% increase to councillors’ salaries in the district. (From a Dec. 1 North Shore News story.) 900 “I know this council meets more often than most. Whether that is self-directed or seif-inflict- ed I don’t know.” Outgoing North Vancouver District Mayor Murray Dykeman, during discussions over indemnity increases for council. (From a Dec. I North Shore News story.) Qo0ao “It’s definitely 2 relicf the thing is over. I find it very frus- trating because it’s obvious the guys that have the moncy can drag (the case) and make life dif- ficult. Lets of time and meney . are involved in fighting the bank.” Boris Mange, on battling the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada over a fraudulent cheque affair and win- ning a settlement after 10 years. (From a Nov. 24 North Shore News story.) goa “It’s a big empty hole in the middle of the city.” New North Vancouver City Coun. Bob Fearnicy, on the need to get on with the redevelopment of Lower Lonsdale and the Versatile Shipyards lands. (From a Dec. 6 News story.) TRUST District Coun. Ernie Crist to put his own highly original spin on political issues. Maybe that’s why he regularly tops tie election poll. Heaven knows, we suffer enough: dreary Quebec talk nowadays about a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). So for a charge, how about a unilateral declaration of cooperation? ; oe, That’s how Ernie now plans to achieve his — and many other. North: Vancouverites’ — longtime dream of a cost-slashing amalgamatio North Van District and City into a single municipality. os No morc wasteful overlapping of personnel and costs at every. poin One municipal hall. One municipal staff. One set of municipal servic and recreation facilities. A single municipal tax, wherever you livé Narth Van. Moreover, a municipality of over 120,000 citizens.that; would have much more clout when dealing with senior governments. Over our dead bodies, say City Mayor Jack Loucks and: his coun With far fewer development challenges than the wide-flung, distri city has been able over the years to. make itself financially very blessing it has no wish to share. To mention “amalgamation”. at is the equivalent of discussing satanic rites in the Vatican. Ernie’s plan for breaking this logjam is admirably simple. Hi for an 18-member task force of worthy citizens representing all x Worth Shore life to study amalgamation in depth and report back by March 1, 1998. Nine members to be appointed by cach of the two ma ors — except that if city’s Jack Loucks declined to play ball, distric Mayor Don Bell would name the whole 18. og a En Assuming the task force recommended amalgamation, the would hold a referendum in October 1998 and invite the ci wise. If Mayor Loucks refused, the district quiz would go ahead And so finally to the crunch. In the event of a district referendu favoring amalgamation (a pretty safe bet) the district would unilaterally; petition Victoria to legislate the merger of the two municipalities in for the 1999 elections — the new municipality’s council to hav members, initially four elected from each of its predecessors As with any political issue, of course; there are “if’s” and, “but’s. the moment Ernie's scheme is simply in the form of a ‘recommenda! to district council, which must eventually debate it before any. progress is possible. ; oe 4 : And even if it finally came to the petition stage after'a su trict referendum, Victoria could at least be expected to agoni over the ethics of snuffing out a small municipality entirely in’ ord satisfy its larger neighbor. a Nevertheless, the Crist initiative has rwo big strengths.. First; city did reject a referendum, it could always be accused of doing because it feared the result. Second, for vote-hungry Glen Clark: ~— in 1998 already beating the bushes for supporters 'i upc provincial election — the district has twice as many voters‘as the city.2y An audacious plan that makes nothing but sound common sense‘all round, it may fly or cras.1. But in either event, it’s vintage E ; , Q00 : WATERCOLOR and pen-and-ink works by local artists Elaine: Sill and Gina Charles are on display in WV Library Gallery. until'Jan:5 200 WRIGHT OR WRONG: Brain cells come and brain cells live forever. ; fe — The North Shore News believes strongly in freedorn of speech:and, the right of all sides in a debate to be heard. The coluranists publishedit the News present differing points of view, but those views arc,not neces=: sarily those of the newspaper itself. : ieee detainee thane het banal niatana ina tediceen ieee cleanin hieamhicea tia eatin nened ent aprenmsaniomntecemat-mmes seers Bat RANSIT tempers sre rising in the North Shore’s east end. They will likely continue to rise elsewhere on the North Shore as service to the area continucs to take a back seat to other Lower Mainland communities that have more friendly NDP ties. In a Dec. 4 News story Seymour resi- dents registered their frustration with the deteriorating state of bus service in the rapidly growing North Vancouver District areca. Commuters who want to park their single-occupant vehicles and take transit are getting increasingly steamed over waiting at bus-stops while service cuts are made and overcrowded i] q:) r Bus stops buses pass them by. On the west side, bicycle riders protest the dangerous state of Lions Gate Bridge sidewalks and the treacher- ous challenge of trying to cycle down- town. The frustration from both ends of the North Shore underlines again the need for some real transit solutions on this side of the Burrard Infet. A rapid transit link is one of those solutions. Thus far however the provincial gov- ernment has said no to extending any rapid transit link to the North Shore. This even though the summer overhaul of the Second Narrows : Bridge: clc showed how cluse the North S transportation gridlock if even lane on either bridge is out of co sion for any extended amount of time.: Perhaps the most frustrating issue fo: backers of North Shore rapid transit:i that the area already has the necessar: waterfront trackage and. Burrard. Inle rail crossing in place. * No massive construction . project needed. No displacement of home n¢cighborhoods. No big deal to.'pu' North Shore transit on track... Just the scheduling of transit’ tra time and the political wili to get it done.