FOR the ninth year in a row the NDP government is planning to spend more than it has — make that we hare, for it is us and our children who will be taxed to pay for this fine state of affairs. Mouday’s budget pro- jects a $2-billion jump in project spending on top of a deficit of $1.2 billion in revenuc. With adjustments, that’s a $3-billion increase in taxpayer-supported debt, the second largest increase in provincial history. The largest, in case you couldn’t guess, was the first budget this government delivered nine years ago. Two billion dollars a year must now be collected in taxes and revenue to service the accunwlated provincial debt before one bent nickel is spent on health care or education. Would we run our household finances this way? NORTH SHORE DEMOGRAPHICS YES 78% 67% inquiring reporter NO NO DON'T OPINION KNOW 6% 3% 13% N% 10% 12% Horseshoe Bay _ Dundarave/Ambieside British Properties Norgate/Pemberton Heights Capilano/Delbrook Highlands Lower Lonsdale Central and Upper Lonsdale Lynn Valley Blueridge/Deep Cove COMBINED AVERAGE .............. 70% 3% 3% 0% 2% 5% 4% 2% 7% 27% 33% 16% 19% 13% 15% 22% Andrea Waich North Vancouver Yes. If other provinces can do better, so can we. We haven’: had a balanced bud- get for nine years. Ryon Rosvold Burnaby I would say there’s a need for that. I'm, getting close to the guy who's going to have to pay off the debr. It’s going to lead to people get- ting out (of the province) Patricia Lalonde Sunshine Coast Yes. It’s really sad to see how much we are in debt when there are so many things lacking such as health care. 4% 18% while the getting’s good. DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE INQUIRING REPORTER? E-mail your comments or question ideas to: mmillerchip@nsnews.com Lonsdale intersection io be redesigned Jan-Christian Sorensen Contributing Writer PEDESTRIANS will have to wait until next year for the City of North Vancouver to make changes to one of its most dangerous intersections. Council voted Monday night to realign the five-leg intersection of Lonsdale with 11th Sueet and 8th Street and install a pedestrian signal, but the funds necessary to imple- ment the changes won’t be available until the next fiscal budget in 2001. Council will now have to decide on one of two options: @ turn East 8th Street into a cul-de-sac and provide no alternate access for traffic, or; @ turn East 8th Street into a cul-de-sac but create a “T” intersection of 8th and 11th Streets further east. Depending on which option council approves, the total cost of the project could run from $200,060 — the 8th street cul-de-sac option — to $380,000 for the realignment of 8th and 11th Streets. Council could have approved a less costly option that would have seen curb extensions, improved signage, removal of the south Lonsdale crossing and re-location of the bus stop north of 11th Street for $57,000, but it decided The missing piece in finding the best education for your child is about to be built. Mulgrave School is now accepting applications for a limited number of places starting September 2000. As Mulgrave begins construction of our outstanding new facility in West Vancouver, we are realizing our vision of a K to 12 school. The space created by Mulgrave's state-of-the-art building has created a unique opportunity for us to offer a limited number of places, particularly in the senior school, at a time when all independent schools are experiencing huge desnand and long waiting lists. Mulgrave’s enriched curriculum is augmented by strong extra-curricutar, fine arts, leadership and community service programmes, to be offered in an inspiring environment of classrooms, laboratories, music rooms, computer centre, art cenire, double gymnasium, library, 320-seat theatre and playing fields. For admissions information, please contact the school at 964-9030. Muigrave School 1225 Keith Read East North Vancouver, BC V7 103 Phone 984-9030 Fax 984-9034 email edmund@mulgrave.com Mulgrave School is a co-educational, non-denominational independent school accredited by the British Columbia Ministry of Education and member of the Federation of Independent Schools Association, Canadian Association of Independent Schools, Independent Schools Association, and the National Association of independent Schools. against any short-term fixes. Coun. Joha Braithwaite called the intersection a “dan- ger” that deserves an appropri- ate amount of funds rather than any stop-gap spending that might not improve pedes- trian safety. “Pedestrians can barely make it across the road,” he said. “There's going to be an accident and I don’t want to be part of it if we're not going to have the right equipment there.” Currently, a special cross- walk with a pedestrian warning light is in place across Lonsdale on the north side of the inter- section. Over 1,500 pedeszri- City ans negotiate the crosswalks between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily, according to a Hamilton Associates study commissioned by the Insurance Corporation of BC on the intersection. The report also states, how- ever, that while realignment may provide for a higher level of pedestrian safety, it may also fead to an increase in the num- ber of rear-end car accidents typically associated with the introduction of such a signal. At Coun. Darrell Mussatio’s suggestion, staff will prioritize intersections throughout the community that need improvements. celebrates cultural diversity Layne Christensen News Reporter lchristensen@rsnews.com THE North Shore’s cul- tural diversity will be celebrated in a publica- tion produced by the City of North Vancouver and commu- nity partmers. The booklet is due out in November and is designed to complement an exhibition on the same theme to open in June at the North Vancouver Museum and Archives. North Shore Multicultural Society is sponsoring the pro- ject. Margaret Third, executive director of the society, said she hoped the publication would promote a greater understand- ing of the North Shore’s cul- tural diversity. “I think people sometimes do have the feeling that all of this (immigration) happened over night. The fact that we’re a multicultural society is noth- ing new,” said Third. Photos from the museum’s archives, such as a portrait of saw mill workers in the early 1900s, reveal a cultural mix that included people - of Scandinavian, erman, Southeast Asian and Chinese . while the provincial descenz, she noted. A 1998 study by United Way Research Services showed recent immigrants to North Van City were from Romania, France, Iran, Hong Kong, Somalia and other countries. Before settlers first. arrived on the shores of Burrard Inlet in the mid-1800s, the area was inhabited by First Nations peo- ple, who came to the area after the retreat of the last. glaciers, about 10,000 years ago, according to Warren Sommer, the project’s coordinator. Sommer is a Fort Langley- based heritage consultant. In addition to coordinating the cultural diversity — project, Sommer was hired by North Vancouver City to write its his- tory in time for the municipali- ty’s 100th anniversary in 2007. The city will supply $20,000 for the cultural diversity project em- ment will provide an additional $20,000, through its Community Spirit grant pro- 1. Sommer would like to hear from residents of North Vancouver City, to learn why and how they came to Canada and to hear the stories of their immigraat experience. Contact immigrani Sommer at (604) 888-0017, or by mail, Box 930, Fort , Langley, B.C., VIM 283.