BC Economic Fundamentals 2009-01

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0109KLNA
Making Kelowna hip

In the next few months, expect to see a push to make this city a bit more hip, authentic and unique.

They`re the three words Jim Patterson—Kelowna`s relatively new general manager of community sustainability—used to describe the direction he`d like to see the city move in when he spoke to the Canadian Home Builders Association last week.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similk...s/37403659.html

 

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0109VERN
Band eyes industrial opportunities

Major efforts are underway to address a severe shortage of industrial land and its impact on the economy.

The Okanagan Indian Band is investigating the possibility of developing an industrial park on 852-acres of reserve land on Highway 97, near Round Lake.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similk...s/37365724.html

 

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0109VERN
Housing starts take a dive in 2008

Vernon has experienced one of the highest declines in housing starts for the Okanagan for 2008.

There was a 24 per cent decrease in the number of new units in Vernon, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Vernon`s numbers dropped to 418 for 2008 compared to 548 in 2007.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similk...s/37365809.html

 

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0109BCBC
The bad news is you will die: Plan for it

At a time when many people are rethinking their financial plans amid market plunges and talk of recession, it wouldn`t hurt to plan even further ahead and give some thought to putting your affairs in order for the next generation.

A place to start might be reading one of several self-help guides on wills for British Columbians.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...7999/story.html

 

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0109VICT
Developer trashes Gorge park plan

Public parks are unsafe, a magnet for junkies, street people and rowdy teens, Esquimalt council heard at a special meeting last night.

Home builder Earl Large told councillors public parks are beyond control, a haven for anyone who wants to pitch a tent, use drugs or have an impromptu drinking party. And Large mentioned the camping activity in Victoria which that municipality is at odds to control.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/todays-p...0315/story.html

 

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0109VICT
Abandoned land may help flood problem

A piece of abandoned land in Langford may help solve winter flooding problems in Happy Valley and give kids a chance to play soccer in the summer.

Langford engineers are eyeing a three-acre parcel of land, located on Luxton Road just south of Slegg Lumber on Sooke Road, as the possible site of a stormwater pond.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/todays-p...0325/story.html

 

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0109VANC
City wants to borrow $458 million

The City of Vancouver made an urgent plea to the province Monday to amend the Vancouver Charter to allow it to borrow $458 million in case it`s needed to save the troubled Olympic Athletes` Village development.

A motion to that effect was passed unanimously at an open city council meeting on the state of financing for the project, which Mayor Gregor Robertson had promised during the fall election campaign to hold once he was in office to provide "transparency."

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/City+want...1488/story.html

 

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0109VANC
Village expected to finish on time

While politicians sweated Monday over hundreds of millions of dollars of Olympic village liabilities, up to 1,500 construction workers on the seven-hectare site were sweating to meet the project`s deadline.

No one knows for sure who will cover the $1-billion project`s future bills, but workers scurrying about the Southeast False Creek job clearly have a mission to finish on time so Vanoc can take possession this November.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...1626/story.html

 

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0109BCBC
B.C. hotels feel the pinch as tourists stay home

Tourism BC is keeping a close eye on declining hotel revenues across the province.

"What we`re anticipating is a decline in hotel revenues of about five per cent [for December, January and February compared to the same period the year before]," Tourism BC president Rod Harris said in an interview Monday. "It`s very significant. This is province-wide."

http://www.vancouversun.com/Travel/hotels+...1523/story.html

 

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0109BCBC
Slump bites B.C. mining sector

More than 1,000 B.C. miners have lost their jobs and new projects are being deferred since commodity prices tumbled dramatically last fall.

But despite a sharp downturn that has led to layoffs and depressed share prices, the industry is in good shape to weather the global economic slump, said B.C. Mining Association vice-president Byng Geraud.

http://www.timescolonist.com/Business/Slum...5446/story.html

 

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0109BCBC
Get legal advice on cancelling pre-sales contract

Dear Condo Smarts: Is a pre-sale agreement a finalized agreement for sale and purchase?

A group of investors that I am involved with from Alberta have decided that under the current market conditions we will not proceed with our pre-sale agreement on five units in a new development.

The developer`s lawyer has advised us that we will be in breach of the sales agreement and liable for any of the damages or losses incurred. How can we be held responsible for something that does not yet exist and is over one year behind completion?

It seems to the me that the purchasers have little or no protection in these purchase agreements.

D.C. Connors, Alberta

http://www.timescolonist.com/Homes/legal+a...5423/story.html

 

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0109BCBC
All of B.C. could be on hook for village losses, James says

VICTORIA -- New Democratic Party leader Carole James says she believes all B.C. taxpayers may eventually be on the hook for any financial losses in the Vancouver athletes` village project, and on Tuesday appealed to the auditor-general for a full investigation.

In a two-page letter to Auditor-General John Doyle, James said she wants a full accounting of how much the development will cost, as well as who will ultimately be responsible for any shortfall.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Sports/could+h...4941/story.html

 

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0109BCBC
Vancouver`s good credit rating at risk, agency says

The City of Vancouver`s liabilities for construction of the 2010 Olympic Athletes` Village may cost it its favourable credit rating with Standard & Poor`s, says the rating agency.

Standard & Poor`s, in a statement Tuesday, said it has placed Vancouver`s AA+ rating on creditwatch "with negative implications," in light of revelations that the city may need to step in and finance the Olympic village`s remaining construction.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/Vanco...4943/story.html

 

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0109VANC
Vacancy signs going up for office space

The tight office vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver is expected to ease somewhat this year because of the slumping economy, brokerage Avison Young says in its outlook for the year ahead.

The forecast is for the office vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver to rise from five per cent in 2008 to 6.5 per cent this year.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/todays-pa...4960/story.html

 

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0109BCBC
Retailers see better sales in 2009 despite slowdown of economy

B.C. retailers, bracing for an economic downturn, remain optimistic about future sales growth.

Those seemingly contradictory opinions were highlighted in a Retail BC survey, released Tuesday, that also noted successful Christmas retailers cited better retail training and excellent customer service as contributing to their bottom line.

http://www.vancouversun.com/Entertainment/...4954/story.html

 

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0109VICT
Victorians dominate local MLS sales

So who bought the 6,175 homes, condominiums and other pieces of property sold through the Multiple Listing Service in the Greater Victoria region and Gulf Islands last year?

More than 75 per cent of the buyers were from Greater Victoria -- up two per cent from 2007 -- and another 13 per cent were from elsewhere in British Columbia, according to number crunching by the Victoria Real Estate Board.

http://www.timescolonist.com/Business/Vict...9777/story.html

 

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0109BCBC
B.C. cuts stumpage fees 50%

Premier Gordon Campbell dropped stumpage rates on the B.C. coast by 50 per cent to $5 a cubic metre yesterday as part of plan to kick-start the moribund forest industry.

Representatives of the American lumber lobby, who were in the audience at the annual Truck Loggers Association convention where Campbell announced the changes, had the strongest reaction, calling the premier`s move an "egregious" violation of the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/todays-p...9768/story.html

 

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0109VANC
Vancouver area could see water shortage by summer

Despite the near-record December snowfall followed by heavy rain that flooded parts of Greater Vancouver, the region could see a water supply shortage by the summer.

According to Allan Chapman of the B.C. River Forecast Centre, snowpacks in the mountains around the Greater Vancouver area are about 60 per cent of what they normally are at this time of year.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...fd-7bcbcd07cec8

 

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0109VANC
The city needs someone to lien on

Geoff Meggs -- brilliant guy, a pro to the core, nice taste in clothes for a lefty -- is a newly elected councillor for Vision Vancouver. He is also, as Mayor Gregor Robertson says of him, Vision`s "point man" on the Olympic village deal.

In earlier roles, Meggs was mayor Larry Campbell`s executive assistant and, before that, premier Glen Clark`s communications director. In those stage plays, Meggs acted the role of the great men`s counsel, standing at their elbows and a step below the throne, though he always left me with the impression of being smarter than both his bosses. I would suggest the same is true today.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/city+need...8901/story.html

 

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0109VICT (Langford)
Langford cuts fees to encourage building

Langford plans to waive residential building fees on new housing, and will offer 10-year tax holidays for new government-office construction and rental accommodation as part of its own economic stimulus package to be announced this weekend.

"We`re looking at ways we can be part of an economic solution," Langford Mayor Stew Young said in an interview yesterday.

http://www.timescolonist.com/Homes/Langfor...3510/story.html