Think that the 2010 Games are too expensive to enjoy? Think again! There's plenty to do for FREE. CityCaucus.com has developed the city's most complete page where you can research, comment and rate some of the 2010 Games coolest and most unique free events & venues. The "Where 2 Be for Free" 2010 Events Guide has become a must visit on the web.

Vancouver parkers are getting shafted by the new TransLink parking tax and this council doesn’t care.  On  downtown parking you will now pay 21% more on the price, a hefty tax under any circumstances.  This might possibly be fine if it was applied across the lower mainland, but unfortunately nearly 100% of the tax is collected in Vancouver where all the pay parking is located.

How much would you, oh grateful taxpayer, like to give up of your city taxes to get a developer to agree to build private rental housing? Anything? How about $10,000 per unit, the amount contributed by the city to renovate provincially owned rooms in the Downtown Eastside? Or $19,000 per unit, such as in a recent case in which city rents were forgiven on a low-income co-op building which was in difficulty?

Greenhouse gas emissions in the City of Vancouver have fallen to 1990 levels and are on track to reach the Kyoto target of 6% below 1990 levels by 2012. This is in spite of a 27% increase in city population and 18% increase in the number of jobs over the same time period. At 4.6 tonnes per capita per year, Vancouver has the lowest emissions of any major city in N America. This remarkable achievement comes from 20 years of hard work by successive Mayors and council, starting with the prescient 1990 Clouds of Change report commissioned by Mayor Gordon Campbell: click here for PDF.

1. Budget

How much do you value city services? Should council cut library hours or community centre budgets? Active communities program? Graffiti management? Should the park board have axed the Farmyard and Bloedel Conservatory on 10 days notice?

In a surprising twist, Think City, a left-leaning think tank, is suggesting the city sell the very expensive "social housing" units in the Athlete's Village.  I agree.  The issue is whether council wants to house people in need of housing or aim for an ideal world.  I prefer to house people.  Have a look at the Think City comment here:

In memory of Art Cowie, the very fascinating and technical question of party walls has been put on the front burner.

Fee simple row housing is found in most cities in the world.  Row houses are owned outright, as opposed to being part of a strata.  The interior walls, the party walls, are shared between neighbours.

The legal issues around party walls are generally set out in legislation or common law.  The UK for example has well-developed law around the neighbours’ rights and responsibilities.  However no such law is on the books in BC so that to allow the party wall, the argument goes, is to allow a building form with uncertainty as to its legal status. The issue can be resolved by a relatively simple change to the Land Title Act.