Is Naomi in Trouble?

Riding projections from Éric Grenier  at CBC suggest that the NDP have a reasonable chance to take North Vancouver-Lonsdale.  There's some speculation that Yamamoto being hurt by the oil tanker/Kinder Morgan issue.

Safe is greater than 95% chance of winning seat, Likely is 80%-95% chance, Lean is under 80% chance (if election held today). Methodology here.  

(Image below from CBC)

Wake Me When It's Over

Am I alone in pretty much ignoring our provincial election so far?  Does it all seem rather tired and like a sorry recycling of the last time around?  Does anyone really think that Christy Clark will deliver on all of the eleventy-dozen promises that she rolled out in the pre-election period? And will John Horgan be brave enough to actually come up with a Left Wing platform idea?

(Seriously, the Libs don't like government paying for post-secondary education, and think it's OK for students to graduate with tens of thousands of dollars of debt.  The NDP also don't like government paying for post-secondary education, and think it's OK for students to graduate with tens of thousands of dollars of debt. Except interest free.)

Yamamoto. Thornthwaite.  Do either of these people excite you?  And if not, can you name the Green or NDP candidates running against them?

(OK: NDP candidate Michael Charrois and Green Party candidate Joshua Johnson are both looking to unseat Jane Thornthwaite.  Green Party candidate Richard Warrington  and NDP candidate Bowinn Ma are trying to defeat Naomi Yamamoto.)

And of course, Ralph Sultan, fighting off NDPer Mehdi Russel and Green Michael Markwick.

I'm betting on a very low voter turnout this time, because the NDP is putting people to sleep, because it's already a forgone conclusion that the Liberals will win again, and because the majority of voters can't see any real difference between the two big parties.

We're halfway through the campaign, and I don't think one person has started a conversation with me about the election.  This is not a good thing.

Chick, Chick. Chicken On The Way?*

Next Monday Tonight the District of North Vancouver will be debating the idea of allowing home owners to add a chicken coop.

Pros: fresh eggs are better, and homegrown hens aren't full of hormones and antibiotics.  Good project for the kids too, and hens can be entertaining.

Cons: could be smelly if your neighbour doesn't clean the coop, and some people believe that chickens will attract bears and other varmints.  Noise shouldn't be an issue since home coops are limited to hens, not roosters.

* a jingle from my childhood in Calgary

North Shore Municipal Transportation Committee

As reported in the North Shore News, all three North Shore municipalities have agreed to create a North Shore Municipal Transportation Committee.   Transportation staff have always compared notes, and obviously a lot of transportation planning involves multiple jurisdictions, but this creates a formal working group with all three municipalities represented at the table.

As reported:

Under the committee’s terms of reference, top transportation, engineering and planning staff from each local government will meet at least four times a year to co-ordinate on local priorities, consult with and advocate to senior levels of government and outside agencies like TransLink and report back to their respective councils. 

The challenge still remains that many significant transportation corridors also involve the Province, Metro Vancouver, or the ports authority in some fashion, but perhaps a unified voice will aid in dealing with these "senior" government entities.

One good point raised by West Vancouver Coun. Mary-Ann Booth is that this new committee is only comprised of staff, and doesn't seem to include a specific way for the public to be involved in these discussions.  Hopefully the two North Vans will find a way to integrate their respective citizen transportation committees into the new structure.

Liberals Promise End to Rain in Lynn Valley

Sources have confirmed that as part of today's campaign kick-off for North Shore MLA Naomi Yamamoto, Premier Christy Clark will announce that the government of BC will fund the construction of a geodesic Fuller dome over Lynn Valley in North Vancouver.

In a prepared statement Clark and MLAs Yamamoto and Jane Thornthwaite explained that "Lynn Valley is a place for families, but during the 27 days of rain last month many of those families were forced stay at home, and they became unhappy families.  Our government is committed to put Families First, and protecting Lynn Valley from rain is one way that we'll do that."

The dome is budgeted to cost 3.6 billion dollars, just a bit more than the previously announced investment in public transit.  The DryDome™ will be financed through revenues expected from the growing LNG industry, and still awaits matching funds from the Federal government and the Mayors' Council. Work is expected to begin in 2019, with a completion date of 2036.