6 - Friday, December 18, 1998 - North Shore News north store news VIEWPOINT icy patch EMBERS of the North Vancouver Curling Club NVCC) went through a needlessly rocky patch in recent weeks. Last week North Vancouver District council voted 4-3 to autho- rize the North Vancouver Recreation Commission to enter a five-year lease with the North Shore Winter Club. This week North Vancouver City voted 4-3 in favour of allowing the club to stay at the Lonsdale facility. The upshot: without permission from both councils, the rec commis- sion can’t proceed with the winter club contract. The curling future had been on thin ice at Lonsdale for a while. Lately pressure was brought to bear as the rec commission sought a solu- The rec commission would have leased the curling ice facility at North Shore Winter Club for five years with a renewable uption; NVCC would have vacated the Lonsdale rink and become the club of record operating out of the NSWC while Flicka Gymnastics Club would have moved into the Lonsdale rink site. Curling club advocates had to go cap in hand before two councils and a rec commission to defend their home of 33 years. The split decision between North Vancouver District and North Vancouver City politicians as to the fate of the club remaining at the Lonsdale RecCentre rink is another example of just how ridiculous things can get when multiple political juris- dictions are at play. What a waste of ON CLOSER EXAMINATION, WE REALIZED WE COULD USE WORMS "DECOPING” THE ROUNDWORM tion to the expanding needs of the Flicka Gymnastics Club. energy- meaiihoxw me neteahgors eacranarmens City transit subsidy makes good sense Dear Editor: Re: City bus subsidy angers commuter. The letter from J. Payne (Dec. 6 News mailbox) illus- trates the very difficult and often frustrating transportation problems we face on the North Shore. Yes, city council recently approved financing for a 25% transit pass subsidy for any municipal employee wanting to take transit to and from work. The goal is to reduce the use of the automobile as well as the need for new parking spaces by encouraging commuting alternatives and using various “carrots” rather than “sticks,” The program is costing less than $500 per quarter for all city employees (nor the $500 per cm loyce as J. Payne states) and is a much less expensive alternative than the $6,000 to $15,000 cost per stall for new parking construc- tion. Forgetting the associated environmental and social benctits of reduced cars on the road, the cost savings alone justify such a subsidy. The provision of subsidies is not new. We all receive tax- payer subsidies regardless of the transportation mode we choose. The transit buses and SeaBus, road and sidewalk construction and even parking structures are subsidized or completely funded by taxpayers regardless of whether one uses them or not. J. Payne receives a subsidy when he/she parks for work at Lions Gate Hospital. While a hospital employee pays $3.75 a day to park, a patient or visitor pays $9 for the same privilege. In fact, the $3.75 is well below that of the true cost to provide the service. Rather than spending large sums of money for new parking facilities the city is pursuing less cast- ly and more sustainable aptions. In this instance I believe subsidizing staff with hel towards transit is good for us all. One couid even say fare.is air. Councillor Darrell Mussatto North Vancouver City north shore: . . . . Marth Store Mees, toute in 1969 as an independent suburban neatpaper and quakhed unde: Schedule 141, Paragraph #11 of the Excise Tax Act, is pubkshed each Weanesdiay, Friday and Sunday by Norih Shore Free Press, Lid. and destributed fo every door on the North ‘Shore. Conacte Post Canadian Pubscations Mail 61,582 (average cieeutation, Weanesday, Stiday & Sunday) ml HOW THEY WORK ANP HOW THEY GO WRONG... o) Racks} "HOW THE WORM HELPS MAP OUT THE HUMAN GENETIC CODE, A sinking feeling about fast ferries WATERING the Garden: Like the Tin Woodman, BC Ferries does seem to have a heart after all — or, like the Scarecrow, the brain to realize that retail space in its proposed parkade at the Horseshoe Bay termi- nal was not at a wise idea. As is obvious to all, Horseshoe Bay is unique, and mess-up-able. Unlike other major terminals — cold, utilitarian facilities that BC Ferries has tried hard to warm up — West Van's charming communi- ty has an eclectic range of excellent restaurants and stores check-by-jowl with the ferry point itself. As is also obvious, the busy ferry traf tic linking the Shoe with Nanaimo, Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast has Jong threatened to overwhelm the vil- lage-like community. But, all things con- sidered, BC Ferries has done a pretty good job of keeping the blacktop, traffic and terminal on one side of the place, insulating its most malign aspects from residents and businesses. There’s no doubr, though, that more arking is needed for those who can’t fiack the relentless rise in ferry charges for vehicles. 900 Speaking of which: Horseshoe Bay was literally in a fine froth when the new catamaran visited it recently — churning up-some substance that covered the water with thick white foam. That could be the feast of the numb- ingly costly cat’s troubles. The catamaran project, in which the New Democratic Human Resources SS-218t (177) Photograghy Manager 905-2131 (180) ‘The North Shore Hews I3 published by Morts Shore Free Pr Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Party government has invested immense political as well as financial vapital, has every appearance of disaster: Three years behind schedule, scores of millions of dollars in overruns, and none of the off- shore customers panting to buy the made-in-B.C. vessels that Premier Glen Clark confidently pre- dicted. If its critics are right, and they have been so far, this is abandon-ship stuff. The high-speed, turbocharged diesels (four engines of 20 cylin- ders each) seem more like a sports-car power- plant than a Chevy, and the manual warns nat tu rev them too high. That'll be a temptation when, as is inevitable, the cats run behind schedule. Very expensive nois- es can follow. Unbelievably, the one five cat (unnamed) has already worn out its cylin- der liners on its sea trials. It’s like a ring- and-valve job on your new car only months after it’s been on the road. One repair estimate: $1.6 million, You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Crities say siniilar aluminum hulls in service in Europe are subject to constant cracks. Saving the worst til last: The cats will be running at right angles to the general north-south flow of small craft. And a third faster than conventional ferries. Boaters, they"ll bear down on you with frightening speed. It’s baftling. The cats can travel no faster than present ferries near shore, where their wash must be minimized. There's little open water between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo, where they can strut their stuff — if those small craft don’t get in the way. So is the cost and confusion worth it — to cut 30 minutes from a 90-minute trip? The NDP has skyrocketed BC Ferries’ debt from $100 million to nearly $1 bil- lion in this decade. We'll pay big time — as taxpayers, and for higher fares and skimpier service. Another reason to scuttle the social- ists. As if you needed one more. oa0 So the APEC protesters — with the Communists and Trots trying to get to the head of the pack, 1960s all over again — got a head or nwo pounded in “the riot at the Hyart,” rushing the hotel lobby where Jean Chretien was speaking. Cry me a river. This isn’t peacetul protest. It isn’t a rally in a public park, I had small sympathy when the APECerheads surged over the security fence at UBC last year. I have less now. Take a poll to see how much support they had among those whose dinners, pick-up of children, appointments and evening entertainment ete, they screwed up by exercising their “right” to plug downtown streets at rush hour. O00 SANTA! Leave a lump of coal for a stinkin” jerk at West Van Secondary who zapped a student’s 4,000-word essay from his computer. The student briefly left the arca. He returned to find a message like “This’ll teach you to leave something on the screen.” The perpetrator’s a moron, 00 Goodnight, The Three Divas, wherev- er you sing. _ LETTERS TG THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number. VIA e-mail: trenshaw @ direct.ca 965-2131 (218) 980-0511 (357) Speck, f oN ae Acting Display Manager General Office Manager 985-2131 (105) internet- http://ew.esnews.com Display Advorticing Reat Estote Advertising Giassified Advertisies © _ _Kewsrvom Distribution Dispisy & Real Estate Fax Rowsroom Fax Classified, Accounting & Main Office Fax Michael Becker - News Editor 985-2131 (114) , * Andrews McCredie ~ Sports/Camaunity Editer 985-2131 (147) nee C., ¥7M 2N4.