; Old Cape Bretan Victory Ship hasn’t scen this much heat since the Second Worid War. Only this time bullets have been replaced with political barbs. Plans are afoot to build a major new tourist attraction on the North Vancouver City waterfront. A $20- million facility highlighting underwa- ter technology and North Vancouver history is envisioned by a parmership between the DEEP Foundation, a non-profit society headed by North Vancouver deep-sea pioneer and inventor Dr. Phil Nuytten, and the North Vancouver Museum and Archives (NVMA) commission. Forecasted revenues axe pegged at ‘$2.6 million to $2.8 million annually. Consultants estimate an annual atten- dance -of: 430,000 visitors to the - attraction. ‘The site could feature the mailbex Tax x costs seniors a general tax increase, one group of tax- has ben's singled out. for particularly harsh treatment. “1 refer to those low-income seniors, including yours truly,. who depend upon the tax deferral program — whereby munic- ipal taxcs are converted into'a fien on the property, plus mod- est interest payments ard, this year, a $10 NO sucharee to ‘help ccm $0: ford to pad their homes.” . ‘the bill is not ro by ee 5... peak ae tin this bind, but I s a te $350 at the d spect le to co stern and engine of the Cape Breton, a Victory Ship built in 1944 at the North Vancouver site. North Vancouver City and the province have contributed $350,000 of an estimat- ed $550,000 required to preserve the ship’s pieces. Proponents of the Victory Ship memorial project had applied for a $275,000 federal millennium grant. North Van MP Ted White didn’t sup- port it. He has since said the request was too rich for the actval money available to North Vancouver. The subtext is this though: it’s the old right versus left battle. The city council, predominantly politically left of centre, backs the project. Marine workers — labour — support it too. As long as politicians work at cross purposes by grandstanding this wor- thy Project will stay in rough waters. leaving i in June; 300 entexing kindergarten in September. * School Board faces an . immediate, and perhaps chronic, huge decline in school population. Translation into do!- lars: The province’s grant to B.C.’s school boards is about $6,000 per stu- . “dent. That net drop of 300-odd students in the WV system will mean 1.8 million fewer provincial ~- dollars in the 2001- -2002 of» school year. .: 2's, So the board’s li “through move to offer parents all-day THE bald &gures: 630 graduates The simple ‘arithmetic: West Vancouver nig it, cram-it- Managicg Editor 985-2131 toca! 116 985-2104 : kindergarten ~— costing those who choose “* to send Dick and/or Jane to the afternoon : Session $3,500 — was based on despera- : The board neds the dough. And warm * bodies. All- day kindergarten is Part of a- " widespread all-out war on competing pri- schools, —" ~ ’ Thus the foot-to- the: floor speed of its - decision to woo © Parents into choosing the all-day option. Trustees had the idea dropped on their heads enly on April 11: tily approved i it, only ; “There was i le bli discussion or / sven awareness of the ‘money-generating plan — and, as: argued here this week, lit- le. demand for it. Au contraii Interest . it. * plairied that the board lacked “consistent SOME GRANNY GOT HAHDED A RECORD SENTENCE FOR PROTESTING LOGGING... £75 HER THIRD CONTEMPT MY f | Lynn BN Dollars driving kinderg The blunt fact is that the West Van ~ board. is playing hardball with the private schools. After 10 ycars of growth West | Van’s school population peaked in 1999. Now “Echo Generation” demographics point to years of falling enrolment. ’ West Vancouver school superintendent Doug © -. Player argues that when rivate school offers _ all -day kindergarten, the children, once started there,-tend to remain. ’ That means a financial ~* Joss to the public system ‘via less grant money. He }and board chairman: : .. avid Stevenson freely ° speak of private schools as “competit (Which raises another point of pri : ple: Is 2 revenue war of public.vs. Private | schools fair? Or. desirable?) >. And then there was the gulf between - the board’s haste to establish all-day: - -kindergarten and its rejection of so-called” . late French immersion classes, which s start at Grade 5. & 7 The board ume down an angry par é ‘ents’ group whose leaders included Lucia. -. Jamieson, Melanie Clarance, Christopher . Loat and Julie Wysota (the latter com: and fair implementation” Procedures Why?) : : re gain, opposing. such a a program, Player’ said, “I introduced ie” in the carly 1980s. But enrolment: / dwindled and it disappearc supponable; Player said. Chairman: ". Stevenson told me the board would hay Nice To KNow «NG THE TuSTice S¥STEM Ve IS FINALLY CRACKING DOWN ON REPEAT OFFENDERS “sion class. And, as Player said, to suppor classes smaller than 20, “you have to: pensate from somewhere else.” These are respectable arguments from sincere le, But ict’s none of us lose sight of the children. | ° uote myself: We're stripping dren of their childhood. Many, rei aged four or five don’t need all-da kindergarten as much as they no f neous play, afternoons with F mom - rod map. ” Vancouver’s Bretida Mari - the very first female honotrs graduate i garth sciences, at Simon Fi Uni Standing ovation for. Clyde Mitchell’ phins to assemble a professional orch Sinfonia of the North Sho Hey; business folk and public’ : Ler’s ae it big; gen Mitchell’ in of wh ag a to > Ginger Rogers in i O00: