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BC Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

joeiannuzzi

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Slump in US Hosuing market helps drag B.C. economy to new low

VANCOUVER -- British Columbia`s economy is sputtering as the U.S. housing crisis continues to undermine exports, driving down growth this year to its lowest levels since the Liberals took power in 2001, according to estimates issued yesterday. That anemic growth will continue into 2009, leaving the Liberals facing voters with a weakened economy and a faltering housing market in the provincial election set for May.

The forecast from Central 1 Credit Union points to a dramatic deceleration this year, with the B.C. economy growing by just 1.5 per cent, said chief economist Helmut Pastrick.

That is less than half the rate of expansion in 2007. Next year is predicted to be much the same story, with growth rising only slightly to 1.8 per cent.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...PStory/National
 

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Court set to rule on Mackenzie mill deal

Pulp mill workers in Mackenzie are expected to find out today if an Edmonton-based land developer gets the nod from B.C. Supreme Court to buy bankrupt Pope and Talbot`s shuttered mill, which could see 260 workers return to their jobs.
Judge Donald Brenner heard arguments in a Vancouver courtroom on Wednesday on Worthington Properties Inc.`s bid worth up to $20 million, and said he will rule today on the offer.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008082...-mill-deal.html
 

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Bay building developers dealing for Radius site

The $160-million Radius development -- one of Victoria`s most ambitious and visible new developments -- could be in new hands by the end of September.

John Schucht, president of Waywell Development, said the mixed residential and commercial project bordered by Blanshard Street, Caledonia Avenue and Douglas Street -- which has been a stalled hole in the ground since December -- is now under contract to the Townline Group.

"That means it`s sold, though there are obviously some conditions they are working on," said Schucht, noting there is a target date of late September to close the deal. "But it does mean we aren`t working with anybody else."

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...ea-c6425a5cb715
 

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Protect your good name --crooks want to steal it

Ladies, there`s a bag of riches sitting in the bottom drawer of your office desk.

Your purses, filled with information about yourself and your family, are there, unlocked -- and when you`re away from your desk, unguarded -- waiting to be pilfered.

But today`s thief isn`t after your spare change; they`re out to change your life by stealing your identity and using it to rack up huge bills on ill-gotten credit cards and online accounts.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...be-44373f524a8f
 

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Beware the bad guys using browser as point of entry

E-mail viruses are so yesterday.

These days, it`s your browser that has online criminals salivating.

Network worms and viruses spread by mass e-mails are unlikely to ever become extinct, but they are no longer the primary weapon used by the bad guys of the virtual world to steal your identity or life`s savings.


As the world catches on to the dangers of opening unknown e-mail attachments and better spam filters are created, the focus of attacks is turning to the Web itself.

"Attackers now are taking advantage of security flaws in the browsers that may exist, and using those to attack the user," explains Marc Fossi, manager of development security response for Symantec Security in Calgary. "They may compromise a website, maybe a legitimate site, so that when people normally go there, they are attacked by modifications that the attacker has made to that site." That might mean releasing a Trojan Horse virus or some other malicious code onto your computer.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...0f-c51c54c9eaf6
 

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TransLink rolls out service increase

TransLink hopes to make the annual post-Labour Day commuter crush just a little easier this year with its largest single increase in service.

The region`s transit authority will add bus service totalling 80,000 hours annually starting Sept. 3 to its total of 2.8 million hours per year, according to TransLink spokesman Drew Snider. About 26,000 of those hours are dedicated to a single new route, the No. 33 between 29th Ave. Station and the University of British Columbia.

TransLink`s market research suggests there is pent-up demand for transit service among people who live east of Main Street between King Edward and 41st avenues and between King Edward and Broadway west of Cambie.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...da-fe1cb0101abe
 

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Harrison Lake hydro project to get federal funds

A large run-of-river hydro project in streams feeding into Harrison Lake has received up to $35 million in federal funding over 10 years as part of an Ottawa program to provide incentives for renewable energy.

The Kwalsa low-impact hydro project, owned by British Columbia energy company Cloudworks Energy Ltd., is to receive a one-cent-per-kilowatt-hour incentive from Ottawa payable for up to 10 years, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn announced Wednesday.

Over the 10-year life of the subsidy, that could add up to a $35-million incentive, according to Natural Resources Canada, to aid the company in delivering electricity at competitive rates. The new energy will replace diesel-fuelled energy generation that now provides electricity for first nations in the area.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...60-93f30864ed38
 

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Hudsons Hope Resources Overloaded

HUDSON`S HOPE - Every Northeast community struggles with the lack of affordable housing, but Hudson`s Hope is struggling more than most says Coun. Terry Webster.

With rents hitting the $3,000 mark, they are in the unenviable position of having one of the smallest populations and with the upgrades to both existing dams bringing in an influx of temporary workers, housing is only the start of the problem.
"Funding for services like policing and health care don`t cover those people," said Mayor Lenore Harwood.

And when needed services are already compromised by the lack of living space, the situation is worsened. Teachers, health-care workers and others are literally shoved out in favour of renters that can pay higher prices said Mayor Lenore Harwood.

http://www.northeastnews.ca/index.php?opti...1&Itemid=48
 

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Water use limited?

DAWSON CREEK - Mandatory water restrictions might soon become the norm in Dawson Creek.

Councillors resurrected the 2006 water restrictions bylaw that went before the public but not before including some changes. Fines have been lowered, stage one is automatically in effect May 1 and industrial use prohibition has been changed from stage three to stage four.

Councillors listened to the public when they asked for lower fines. In this new version of the bylaw, there will be a warning for a first offence, and fines of between $100-$500 depending on what stage is in place.

The other changes could be less well received.

"I`d like to see this go back out to the public," said Coun. Paul Gevatkoff. The public had initially indicated they were not in favour of automatic mandatory conservation measures.

Council will not go back to the public as that is not required by law.

http://www.northeastnews.ca/index.php?opti...8&Itemid=48
 

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NEAT denied repayment by city

FORT ST. JOHN - The city has decided not to refund the Northern Environmental Action Team (NEAT) for money they put into plans for their proposed Environmental Education Centre.

In 2005, following discussions between NEAT and the city, the city offered NEAT the property just north of the RCMP station. In May 2007, the city reconsidered the donation because of the need to expand the RCMP station in the future for increasing population.

"The city took a look at that land and we knew with the growth of the community the RCMP building would have to expand at some point," said Coun. Lori Ackerman. "We looked at other options, we worked in good faith on two other locations with them and they as a board made a decision to no longer work on the environmental education centre and rather focus their efforts on their programs."

http://www.northeastnews.ca/index.php?opti...6&Itemid=48
 

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Wind park dream made real

DAWSON CREEK - Construction of the Bear Mountain Wind Project is on schedule and on budget says Bear Mountain Wind president Jim Bracken. After controversy at the onset of the project, there have been no surprises and no major changes since November 2007.

"We`ve completed most of the earthwork, which includes the roads on the site itself and the clearings for the turbines and the crane pads and we`ve started work on the foundations," he said.

This stage of the project was due to be completed by the end of this summer, as are the foundations for the turbines.

The turbines themselves will come onto site starting late next spring and next summer construction of the turbines themselves should be complete said Bracken.

What will be one of the first wind parks in the province is scheduled to be up and producing clean energy by November 2009.

http://www.northeastnews.ca/index.php?opti...4&Itemid=48
 

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Cheakamus neighbourhood beginning to take shape

Whistler – People won`t actually be living in the new Cheakamus Crossing neighbourhood until late 2010, but the first block party of sorts was held there earlier this month, with another scheduled for this weekend.What started as an open house on Aug. 2 to give prospective buyers a chance to see a display townhome and tour the neighbourhood, which is under construction, turned into something of a social gathering with possible future neighbours talking about the development over hot dogs and cold drinks, said Joe Redmond, president of the Whistler 2020 Development Corporation, the municipal subsidiary that`s in charge of building Cheakamus Crossing.

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/article/20...1001/whistler01
 

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Lowest parking lot bid under budget, official says

At least one bid for the contract to pave three of Whistler`s day skier parking lots has come in under the municipality`s budget for the work, which is set to begin next month.

Council is to award contract the contract at Monday`s (Aug. 18) meeting, said James Hallisey, municipal project manager. The total budget to grade, pave and install lighting, covered stairs, ramps and landscaping on Lots 1 through 3 is $4.6 million, with $3.1 million earmarked for the portion of work to be awarded next week, he said.

Four contractors bid on the project, with bids ranging from $2.8 to $3.3 million, Hallisey said.

"The low bid is lower than our budget, which is a good sign," he said.

http://www.whistlerquestion.com/article/20...1001/whistler01
 

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Burnaby calls for faster road maintenance

The City of Burnaby is leading a push to fix B.C.`s highways.

Burnaby recently supported a campaign by the B.C. Government and Service Employees` Union, calling for tougher repair and cleanup standards of provincial roads.

Sav Dhaliwal, vice-chair of the city`s transportation committee, said private contractors hired by the government often wait too long before fixing potholes.

http://www.canada.com/burnabynow/news/stor...56-627b2ac1713d
 

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BCIT ventures into new ground

If the businesses can`t come to BCIT, BCIT`s Venture Development Centre will go to them.

The centre, based at the Burnaby campus, has developed a number of new programs that reach out to businesses across the province.

First among them is the Virtual Business Hub, which sets up seminars on the web that businesses can access without actually coming down to the city and possibly missing valuable work time.

http://www.canada.com/burnabynow/news/busi...7a-3f9701f20afc
 

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BCTC begins next phase of power lines project

The B.C. Transmission Corporation will be moving into the next phase of its higher voltage power lines project in Tsawwassen this week.

Work crews will begin installation of wires, known as conductors, on the new steel poles that are replacing the olden wooden ones. Part of the Vancouver Island Transmission Reinforcement project, the wire installation in Tsawwassen will take place until early September, according to the Crown corporation.

A helicopter was used to install wires in Ladner but won`t be used along the Tsawwassen right-of-way.

http://www.canada.com/deltaoptimist/news/s...fb-4254d60d64ac
 

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Downtown Eastside not so easy a fix

There he goes again.

In his years leading this province, Premier Gordon Campbell has demonstrated a penchant for offering lofty promises and grand visions for British Columbians.

We are supposed to become the most physically fit people in the world, as well as the most literate. We allegedly live in the most beautiful place in the entire world, a "fact" insisted upon by the premier.

http://www.canada.com/surreynow/news/viewp...0f-1b4a6a74d144
 

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Growing concerns

Growing up in rural Ohio, Eric Mazzi rode a traditional yellow bus to school. He switched to walking or running in Grade 9 after the family moved to a more urban setting in southern California. "It`s only in hindsight that I appreciate how nice it was," says the 44-year-old, perched on a concrete bench outside the Vancouver School Board office in late July. A black bike, which he cycled to this meeting, is parked beside him.

Now Mazzi, a PhD candidate at UBC in resource management and environmental studies, or his wife typically walk their two daughters to their neighbourhood schools. Both parents, who moved to Canada more than a decade ago, are glad to have a healthy and environmentally friendly transportation option. And there are fringe benefits.

"Any parent who walks with their kids to school knows what a nice experience it is, connecting with your kids. It`s just a chance to hear what`s going on or what happened on the way home. There`s a real social or family benefit for people who can walk," he says.

http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/new...28-a83063506289
 

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Highway twinning project to begin soon on south side of city

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure officials are reviewing tenders and looking toward making an award in the near future for a project to four-lane 2.4 kilometres of Highway 97 from Continental Way to the Simon Fraser Bridge, says the project manager.
"We closed tenders Aug. 18," Tony Bennett said Thursday.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008082...de-of-city.html
 
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