Today's Headiness Monday, April 18, 2016 City Services: Vancouver Public Library looks to public for future direction - CKNW Vancouver hopes to eventually recapture, clean 90% of all rainwater - New1130 Community Services: Health officials caution pot rally not to sell cannabis to minors - Vancouver Sun Development: Vancouver school board ponders mall land sale - Province Running on empty — The Westside loses its garages - Vancouver Sun Housing: City of Vancouver trying for discounted home ownership program - CBC Real estate bubble is going to pop - 24 Hours Public disciplinary decisions possible in Vancouver real estate - Globe and Mail A $1-million home is not the luxury it used to be in Toronto, Vancouver - Globe and Mail Parks & Recreation: Public art at Vancouver’s Empire Fields ‘on track’ - Metro Public Safety: Small diesel spill has coloured Vancouver's harbour: Coast guard - Metro Sustainability: Solar enjoys moment in sun - Province Yesterday's Headlines Update Sunday, April 17, 2016 Community Services: Most Vancouver pot shops will soon be forced to close - News1130 Community Services: 3 new Vancouver dispensaries advance to next licensing stage - Life Cannabis News Magazine Development: Tyee Poll: Does Vancouver Need A City-Wide Plan? - TheTyee.ca Housing: Easier to hire CEOs than entry-level workers with Vancouver real estate costs - Business in Vancouver Public Safety: Broadcaster hands out copies of Georgia Straight at Vaisakhi parade - Georgia Straight Saturday's Update April 16, 2016 City Services: Residents still unclear about compost rules - Vancouver Sun Metro bylaw aims to regulate waste water from health facilities - Vancouver Sun ‘Knight in Vancouver’ opens up about 100-day odyssey to rid city streets of garbage - Global News Development: To Plan or Not to Plan? That's Vancouver's Question - TheTyee.ca Housing: Metro Vancouver’s road map to affordable housing has gone missing - Business in Vancouver Parks & Recreation: Annual 4/20 pot protest set to proceed at Sunset Beach - Vancouver Sun Public Safety: Fuel spill reported in English Bay near Vancouver's False Creek - Vancouver Sun Vancouver Public Library looks to public for future direction Simon Little CKNW | Last Updated: April 17, 2016 02:04 pm What do you want from your library? That’s the question the Vancouver Public Library is asking, as it sketches out its next strategic plan, VPL 2020. The library is asking for public input through an online survey, and hosting a series of public consultations starting tonight (April 17, 18, and 19). Participants are being invited to weigh in on both the library now, and plans for the future. Top Vancouver hopes to eventually recapture, clean 90% of all rainwater by Simon Druker Posted Apr 18, 2016 6:33 am PDT VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver could take a big step forward tomorrow in its goal of becoming the greenest city by 2020. Council will vote on whether to adopt an ambitious plan that will eventually lead to recapturing most of the rainwater. The plan calls for the city to recapture and clean 90 per cent of that water that falls on both public and private land using different green technology, says Brian Crowe with the city’s engineering department. “Tools like rain gardens, permeable pavements, green roofs, constructed wetlands in parks like we have now in Hinge Park in False Creek — all these different tools that apply to different parts of the city,” says Crowe. He says most of those tools are already being used in small-scale pilot projects and have shown a lot of promise, like the permeable pavement stones. “They don’t look much different to people but they have a little gap between each paver and they have an absorbent gravel bedding under them so the rain doesn’t just flow off them in a sheet, it actually absorbs (back into the water table) through the gaps. We use that in a few places throughout the city. It’s shown to be very effective,” says Crowe. If approved tomorrow, the plan itself would take decades to fully implement, replacing infrastructure once it’s worn out over time. “It will basically allow you to absorb and or basically naturally filter the rainwater as it lands on the urban environment,” says Crowe. The plan calls for using green infrastructure to treat urban runoff before it enters the traditional sewer system. It will also help reduce combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer backups in areas where the sanitary and storm sewers haven’t been separated. That will help with everything from keeping contaminants from leeching into groundwater to conserving water during hot weather. Crowe points to Philadelphia and Chicago as leaders when it comes to green infrastructure. Top Small diesel spill has coloured Vancouver's harbour: Coast guard The coast guard crew couldn't find the origin of the spill. By: The Canadian Press Published on April 18, 2016 VANCOUVER - A small diesel slick spotted in Vancouver's False Creek and nearby English Bay isn't large enough to attempt a cleanup, according to a Canadian Coast Guard spokesman. Dan Bate said in an interview that the colourful slick was reported Friday morning but crew members investigated and determined they wouldn't be able to recover the thin sheen of fuel from the water. “There was a Western Canada Marine vessel that was nearby, they took a look at the spill, which they determined to be a non-recoverable sheen.” Western Canada Marine was the official clean-up crew that spent days skimming English Bay last year when a grain carrier spilled 2,700 litres of bunker fuel into the water. Bate said the latest sheen spotted on the water is expected to evaporate quickly and will be broken up by wind and sun. He said a small amount of fuel can spread over a large area. “Some of these photos, it's like almost a rainbow sheen,” he said. “If you were to drop a teaspoon of oil, that could be what it would look like.” He agreed that the photos made the spill look dramatic, but said it was already breaking up by Friday afternoon. Because the spill was determined to be diesel, Bate said it's unlikely to be related to large ships in the harbour. The coast guard crew couldn't find the origin of the spill, but Bate said it could have been caused in several ways, including someone refuelling a vessel. Top Real estate bubble is going to pop By Petr Pospisil 24Hours April 18, 2016 This week’s topic: Is delusion driving the Metro Vancouver real estate market? In 2004, residents giggled as the mayor declared the small town of Wallace, Idaho the center of the universe. It was adorable to outsiders — much the same way it must be when Vancouver declares itself a “world-class city” or “the greatest place on earth.” Within these hyperbolic slogans hides a sales pitch enticing us to chance another spin at the highly profitable, volatile game of real estate Russian roulette. With the price of a detached home rising by over 500% since 2002, we need to create some grand myths for residents to pull the trigger. Vancouver is lovely, especially on my bike along the seawall, but house prices didn’t rise because of Vancouver’s landscape — they inflated because of illicit foreign cash, record-low interest rates, and lax mortgage rules. The now-defunct Immigrant Investor Program saw 37,000 millionaires enter Vancouver between 2005 and 2012. Money continues to pour in especially from businessmen trying to escape the anti-corruption crackdown in China. The New York Times recently profiled Vancouver’s influx of illicit cash revealing that despite our illusions, we have more in common with Panama, or the Cayman Islands, than we do with New York, Hong Kong, or Tokyo. We are a place the world goes to launder money, not to do business. The price chart for detached homes has gone vertical, rising by as much as 11% in one month. Some homes sell for $1 million over asking price in what can only be described as a mania. Stunned homeowners hear about bidding wars and fantasize their homes might someday be worth tens of millions, while those renting fear if they don’t buy now they’ll be priced out forever. Neither will happen. Prices will continue their vertical assent until sound judgment returns — then comes the carnage. Australia and the U.S. West Coast are also “benefitting” from internationally driven booms. However, signs of trouble now stall the million-dollar market in California, as buyers step back, and panicked sellers slash prices. International investors can easily cash out when better opportunities come along, or when they are forced to liquidate — and they can also panic. That is why responsible governments aim for stable capital flows rather than pursue huge influxes of questionable cash. They fear the economic devastation when the tides shift. As Stein’s Law famously states, “If something cannot go on forever. It will stop.” Petr Pospisil is an educator, musician, union and social organizer. He studied genetics at UBC and co-created crackshackormansion.com. Supply and demand is no illusion By Brent Stafford, The Duel 24Hours April 18, 2016 This week’s topic: Is delusion driving the Metro Vancouver real estate market? It’s not often I play the moderate, but this week Petr has afforded me the opportunity. He’s brave to be sure, as he certainly risks being run out of town after arguing Metro Vancouverites’ love of this city is the root cause of the hyper-inflated market. He lays blame on those residents who spin “grand myths” by declaring that Vancouver is a “world-class city.” He characterizes this belief as hyperbole and nothing more than a sales pitch that outsiders find adorable — how patronizing.