Month: March 2011

Johnson St. Bridge closes to rail

Although the City of Victoria hasn’t yet released the press release, John Luton announced this morning via Facebook update that the recent inspection of the bridge revealed that it is no longer safe to carry rail traffic. Given the recent pictures John posted on his flickr stream (one of which you can see below), this doesn’t surprise me.

Steel peeling like a flower on the Johnson St. Bridge. Photo credit: John Luton
Steel peeling like a flower on the Johnson St. Bridge. Photo credit John Luton

John’s full Facebook update:

It’s official. The Johnson Street Bridge is no longer safe to carry rail. Until the Island Corridor Foundation took over the railway, the bridge was maintained (or not), by CP Rail. It will remain open for cyclists and pedestrians but other arrangements will have to be made for rail until January when the structure comes down. The city’s road bridge has been better maintained and remains safe, for the time being.

Random links o’ the morning

The Mayor says goodbye (sort-of)

With Mayor Causton taking a short break to run for Liberal candidate in the Victoria riding, he took the opportunity to say good-bye Monday night. At what may be his last council meeting ever, he brought up a lot of unresolved business that he wanted to see put to bed.

Unsurprisingly, the first thing he mentioned was the town hall meeting, something he promised to the protesters from the the other day. What he promised was a meeting without an agenda, and he promised that he would facilitate that However, he wanted to have it during April, which means that somebody else will need to chair that. Causton ended up suggesting the acting Mayor — Nils Jensen for the month of April — as a suitable substitute. As for a date, there are a few being kicked around, all in April: 12th, 14th, 19th, or 20th.

Second on his agenda was “improved communication”, which apparently just means the website currently, something Tara Ney is taking over. As an aside, I see a pattern emerging here; prospective mayoral candidates being asked to get involved in high profile issues (although neither have said anything either way).

Lastly was the giant hot potato known as secondary suites. Causton has pushed hard on this issue recently, prompting one councillor to ask “What’s driving this issue?”. My suspicion is that council is going to shelve this until after the election. We are only eight months out (Nov 19) and nobody wants to commit to such a polarizing issue right now.

Thankfully, the Mayor is not shirking all of his duties as he runs federally: the children of Willows in Grade 1 and 2 are going to get a visit by him to, as he put it, “explain a federal election without getting political”, as well as chairing the local Mayor’s lunch and one final Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities’ AGM and conference up in Sidney.

And so we (possibly, although I think not very probably) bid adieu to the Mayor of Oak Bay for the past 14 years. Emperor Frank (of Saanich) he was not, although he is equally long standing. Now the speculation will turn to what councillors are going to run again this year and who will replace him.

A visit to the new Oak Bay Bistro

After Monday’s council session I got the chance to visit the new Oak Bay Bistro and try out the food, and I came away favourably impressed. As the Times Colonist reports, they have taken over part of the old Blethering Place, on the corner of Monterey and Oak Bay Avenue.

We were seated promptly, although there seemed to be a great deal of staff on for such a small space. I suspect they are running larger shifts than normal so that they have some leeway if a huge crowd comes in. On the way in I did notice one jarring detail: the door. It is a very modern design and it really doesn’t fit with the rest of the faux-Tudor building. They could have done something a bit more in keeping and still let plenty of light in.

To drink, I ordered a Driftwood Fat Tug India Pale Ale, something you can’t get in most liquor stores, and it came, although it did take a bit of time. Glass was chilled and beer was at a good temperature, which is nice. Brand-new equipment certainly makes a difference, although it was clear the bar tender actually knew how to draw a pint, as the head was perfect. For dinner I ordered one of their small plates, an albacore tuna seared in a bed of greens. It was tasty and it food came out quickly. The dish was also cold, but that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. This would make a good appetizer for someone more hungry than I was the other night.

Anyway, it was not a bad place to go. The food was good but not spectacular and the service likewise. Prices, $6 for the pint and $8 for the small dish, were in line with what you would pay at any other place. Overall, a good addition to the community. But don’t just trust me. Check out their Urban Spoon review page, their Facebook page, or their Vibrant Victoria thread.

Arrowsmith Rotary combines service with beer

The Arrowsmith Rotary club in the Alberni Valley is joining two of my favourite things: beer and volunteering. The 2011 Alberni Valley Hops Festival:

Ten Breweries highlight some of their specialties, while 6 food tables provide the food that one normally aligns with “beer drinking”. The night also features a silent auction table and entertainment will be provided by musician – Kevin Falkenberg.
Brewery Representatives include Granville Island Brewery, Howe Sound Brewery, Lighthouse Brewing Company, Longwood Brewery, Mark Anthony Distributors, Molson Coors, Pacific Western Brewing Company, Phillips Brewing Company, Vancouver Island Brewery, and Whistler Brewing Company.

Time for the event – starting at 6:00 pm for Industry Representatives by invitation, and then at 7:00 pm for the General Public.

Event to be held at Echo Centre – 4255 Wallace Street, in the Cedar Rooms.

The following local businesses will be providing the food samples for the evening: Harbour Pizza Factory, Pete’s Mountain Meats, Polly’s Pub, Port Pub, Westwind Pub and rounding out the evening is Serious Coffee.

ADSS Dry Grad will be on hand with their designated driving program, offering a Drive Home Service.

Ticket price: $30.00 per person.

full details  at http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/story/StoryDetail.aspx?accountid=683&sid=194328&stid=

(h/t to the Beer of the Rock blog)

Oak Bay council sets dates for budget meetings

Oak Bay has finally set the dates of its estimates meetings, where council decides on what projects are going to be funded in the 2011 fiscal year.

The first meeting is the joint Parks & Recreation Commission and Council meeting on March 30th at 7pm. I don’t know what big ticket items are in play for this year, save that the Rotary Waterpark money (almost $30,000 for upgrades) has already been approved.

There are two further general estimates committee meetings on Tuesday, April 5th and Wednesday the 13th. Both are at 5:30pm. All three meetings are held in the council chambers in the municipal hall on Oak Bay Avenue. As with council and committee of the whole meetings, these meetings are open to the public to listen.

CRD seeking EcoStar nominees

The CRD is seeking people or projects as nominees for their annual EcoStar awards, which this year was expanded to seven categories: Community Environmental Leader,Youth Leader, Water Stewardship, Waste Reduction, Climate Action, Land Stewardship, and Integrated Watershed Management. 2010 winners included municipal governments like the District of Central Saanich, individuals such as Caleigh Inman or Debra Morse, and businesses like the Truffles Group.

The deadline is April 7th, and you can check out more at crd.bc.ca/ecostar.

As Luminara fades, ICA hosts Culture of Light Celebration

As Luminara fades to black due to budget issues, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria is hosting a culture of light celebration. Take a peek:

Please join us to learn about our recent workshop series on traditions of light from around the world. We will be serving delicious Indian food and chai!

This is an opportunity to see some of the work we’re doing to break down barriers between cultures and find the common theme of light that is central to celebrations around the world.

Co-presented by ICA and the Cook Street Village Activity Centre, and funded by Embrace BC, this series of six workshops was designed to provide a fun and open atmosphere for participants to learn about traditions from around the world. Including visual arts, dance, storytelling, puppetry, music and food, these workshops gave participants an opportunity to have a hands-on experience of a world tradition of light, presented by cultural experts from the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Indonesian, Thai and Salish communities.

Join us at:
Cook Street Village Activity Centre
380 Cook Street
Wednesday March 23, 4 – 6pm
Talk and slide show 4:30 – 4:45pm

This project was made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.

Read the full press release (PDF) for more details

It is sad to Luminara go the way of FolkFest, victims of of their own success (my brother put it). I was lucky to work on the 2009 and 2010 Luminara and, although the hours were grueling and long, it was probably amongst the best experiences of my life. Maybe that talk of restoring gaming grants might allow something new to flourish.

http://www.coreyburger.ca/wp-content/uploads/ICA-Arts-press-release-March-2011.pdf

Help plan the future of UVic

Come help plan the future of UVic over the next two weeks at two different weeks. First up, on March 17th, is BC Transit’s open house on a new campus plan. It runs in the Michele Pujol room of the SUB between 11am-2pm and 4pm-6pm. See the poster (PDF) for the full details.

On the 21st UVic will be Oak Bay Council meeting for a presentation of the new UVic strategic plan, currently in the planning stages. This is part of a committee of the whole meeting so it will fairly informal as these things go. Join UVic and Oak Bay Council at 7:30pm in the council chambers of the municipal hall. See the ad for the full details.

Wendy Brawer, founder of the Green Map movement, is speaking

Wendy Brawer, the founder of the Green Map movement which has changed the way people view the world, is coming to speak in Victoria on March 16th, from 3pm to 4:30pm at the Bob Wright Centre B150 up at UVic. (See the Oak Bay Events tab in the upper right for a Google Calendar widget, including a feed for Outlook and other calendars)


Timely, given the Oak Bay Green Map, a project led by the Community Association of Oak Bay and supported by the Oak Bay Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, amongst others, is nearing a draft and should be done this fall.