6 - Sunday, July 17 1988 - North Shore News INSIGHTS Communication not just “anformation available’ -THERE'S NO QUESTIONING the fact that West Van ‘ council ‘‘sneaked’’ the twin towers project at Marine and Tavlor Way past the unsuspecting peasants. The only question is whether it was deliberate or mere sloppiness? Council argues that it fulfilled every legal obligation for inform- ing the public. ‘Technically, that’s true. They followed the rules to the letter — but not the spirit. The development guidelines WERE fully publicized and debated back in 1981, before the real estate crash pushed the project on to the back burner. For six . years that was effectively the last the West Van public heard of it. By this spring how many ordinary citizens still remembered the details, or even the issue? ‘‘All the information was available,’’ says council — inferring that it was the citizens’ own fault if they failed to check weekly at municipal! hall. That’s not COMMUNICATION. It’s a cop out. On May 12 municipal hal! final- ly issued a short press release an- nouncing that a lease offer was be- ee es 7 : he | Pah OSMOND BORRADAILE, 0.C. ...8 legend at 90. ing ‘‘considered’’. No deadline was mentioned — let alons the negotia- tions with developers that had been secretly under way for five mon- ths. Canada Post and news priorities being what they are, The News was unable to publish this apparently innocuous ‘‘filler’’ story until Sunday, May 22. The Monday being a holiday, the next council meeting was postponed to Thursday, with the offer on the agenda -— but again with no in- dication that a binding decision was (o be taken that same day. How many citizens have the time or urge to attend a seemingly routine ‘‘housekeeping’”’ session of council on a weekday morning fol- lowing a iong weekend? So when the news carne out, the roof caved in on Mayor Lanskail and his colleagues. Complying with the rule book to the legal minimum, they'd failed to alert West Van to what was REALLY afoot before approving the deal. Oversight? or intent? Choose for yourself. Short of taking council to court in a class action, there seems little now that opponents can do. If Newcorp meets all conditions, the site must be handed over to it by the end of October. There’ll be a public hearing in September on the’ design (which nobody has yet seen) and council will listen politely. But whatever the peasants call for, the municipality is already bound by its agreement not to demand of the developer ‘‘unreasonable’’ changes. As Walter Cronkite used to say, that’s the way it is, Sunday, July 17. A 90-CANDLE SALUTE to Ieg- endary cinematographer Osmond Beach blackout OTH ACTION and Iack of action have led to the night-time closure of beaches in Lions Bay. The actions of a few rowdy party-goers and Borradaile, longtime West Van resident, who today, July 17, enters his 91st year. Over a work- ing life of half a century — from those early days in 1927 when he shot stills for Hell's Angels from a plane piloted by Howard Hughes — he built an international reputa- tion, becoming the only cinematographer to work on every continent. His career spanned silent films, the arrival of sound and the introduction of color. He filmed Gloria Swanson, Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolf Valentino in the ‘‘glamour’’ days of silent movies. Among the classics whose footage he shot were The Four Feathers (1939) and The Elephant Boy (1937) — which earned him an Academy Oscar. Four years or so ago his country honored his re- markable talent by bestowing on him the Order of Canada. Many happy returns, Osmond! WRAP-UP: Taking a year’s leave of absence from Cap College to work as marketing coordinator for Equity Preservation Corporation is instructor Doug Loblaw of North Van ... Opened for business last weck by Mayor Don Lanskail and Chamber of Commerce president Bruce Pepper was West Van’s new Travel Info Centre at 659 Clyde, luring tourists with maps and brochures for every part of B.C. ... And happy birthday tomorrow, July 18, to West Van's former “first lady’’, Margaret Hum- phreys. / ; WRIGHT OR WRONG: A living is what you make by getting. A life is what you make by giving. = SOMEHOW, IT SEEMED A NAA. FO NOEL WRIGHT NEWS photo Nell Lucente MULTICULTURAL RAILROAD...Paul Perkins, passenger service manager for BC Rail, with the new sign at Pemberton Station that says “Welcome aboard”’ in 35 languages. underage drinkers have disrupted Lions Bay’s once- tranquil night life and disgruntled residents who are finding their beaches strewn with litter the next morn- ing. But iack of action on the part of witnesses, young and old, also contributed to village council’s decision to close the beaches at 11 p.m. People who see young teenagers drinking in a public spot, especially when it is suspected that they will be driving home, cannot shrug their shoulders and call it someone else’s problem. If they do not wish to become invoived in a face- to-face encounter with the law-breakers, it is easy to phone police and inform them of the situation. The police cannot be expected to do their part in quashing unruly parties without this essential support from resi- denis. The axe has fallen on party-goers and pacifists alike, with the unfortunate result being that the beach is naw closed to all. No longer can mature residents take a midnight walk with their dog, or enjoy a seaside stroll and conversation after a late dinner. Perhaps, if given another chance, residents wil} assume collective responsibility for keeping their beaches trouble-free. As it is, council is forced to treat everyone like chiidren. MESON TS we aR mite Oo - 980-0511 986-6222 985-2131 Display Advertising Classified Advertising Newsroom Distribution 986-1337 Subscriptions 986-1337 Fax 985-3227 988-NEWS Publisher Peter Speck Managing Editor... . Barrett Fisher Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Director .Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph Ill of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Lid. and distributed lo every door on the North Shore. Second Class Mail Registration Number 3885. 59.147 Subscriptions North and West Vancouver, $25 per year. 170 (average, Wednesday Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are Friday & Sunda ] welcome but we cannot accept fesponsibility tor y y unsolicited matetial including manuscripts and pictures ry which should be accompanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. 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