Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Watch ( or in this case, listen to) Kevin Skrepnek Closely...

Was pleased to be able to interview Kevin Skrepnek in this week's podcast. Kevin is a young Kamloops leader to watch. At the age of 19, he want to work at MP's Betty Hinton constituency office, he ran for City Council at 21, and he now serves on the City's Social Planning Council.  I've been really impressed with him since I've got to know him over that past year or so. We don't agree on everything, but I respect Kevin a lot.  He is on a pretty fast learning curve, and I imagine he will be very successful as a community representative now and in the future. Here is a roadmap of our audio interview, and below the roadmap, the audio of our interview.

00:42  - moved to Kamloops 2.5 years ago, born&raised in Meford Ont
02:19 - getting hired by Betty Hinton, the pAssport crunch opportunity
04:15 - Kevin's pre Kamloops history of community involvement
04:42 - what it was like working for an MP
06:03 - the Michael Crawford domain name incident
10:18 -  running for city council, municipal politics so much more practical, great experience
16:25 - the Ins and outs of a successful council campaign
17:47 -  young people voting, getting involved. How do we get more of that?
21:04 -  Barack Obama
22:48 -  Kevin one of newest members on city social planning council, business community / social advocates integration
28:10    -  takeways from a younger person who is involved in his community.

When Emotion "Intrudes"...The Difficult Parts of Being on Council

You know, I got to emphathize with city councillors on at least one issue that arose in yesterday's council  meeting. When a younger adult in a neighbourhood gets hit by a car in a crosswalk and is killed, obviously the neighbourhood feels pretty shaken up. Their confidence in the crosswalk features also gets shaken. Then, when a neighbourhood resident appears before council soon after, and pleads for something to be done, it gets doubly difficult.

The cool hard fact of the matter is there are other city crosswalks that were higher on the city's prioirity list before this tragic accident. Subsequent research shows the crosswalk where the young gentleman tragically (Tranquille Rd and Southill) passed away had 4 reported accidents last year, non involving a pedestrian. There are other crosswalks where more accidents took place.

From what I understood from the meeting broadcast on Shaw Cable, the city took funding from previously planned crosswalk improvements at Hugh Allen and Harrison Way to fund improvements council approved yesterday at Tranquille Rd and Southill.  Hugh Allen will get done, but not as quick as planned it seems.

I would have put up my hand to support the improvements approved yesterday, but I struggle with some of the implications. I hope this decision keeps people walking in Brock, perhaps even increases the number, and hope that it does not leave others less safe.

Fascinated by the Wealth of Community Mapping Info...

There are a few good folks in town who have done some pretty incredible mapping work. Dave Whiting with the Kamloops Sustainable Atlas comes to mind, as well as work done by Make Children First.

I was talking to Adam Chadwick, the Mapping Guru at City Hall, today. My specific request was about more information about Lower Sahali. Adam was very helpful in pointing out the amount of online mapping information available. I find it a bit hard to navigate sometime, but over time as the software improves, this should become less of a problem.

If you visit this page on the city hall web site, you will see a list of neighbourhood maps. Click on your neighbourhood, and a map should pop up. If you click on the "layers" option at the top, then click on the various folders and check boxes, you are likely to find out useful stuff you did not know about your neighbourhood.

I need to do another screencast on this.

An Alternate View on the Legalization of Prositution...

As summer arrives in our fair city, and the sex trade comes out a little more into the open, I wonder if the debates of past summers will again surface.

Will the RCMP come out again publicly for a "red zone"? Will women's advocate march again on Tranquille Rd? Will the business community be drawn in to another perceived conflict "against" social advocates?

For some time, I've advocated for the legalization of prostitution. I've listened to well known speakers make this case very well, and I think there is great merit in what they are saying. That a legal, regulated sex trade will bring these women more dignity and safety. That criminal elements might diminish in the trade.

 From the Georgia Straight Online, however, comes a poweful alternative point of view from Trisha Baptie entitled "Why prostitution, the world's oldest oppression, must be stamped out".

One thing about this issue - as you get deeper into it, it doesn't get any easier to figure out.

An Honest and Open Discussion with Domtar...

I appreciated the call yesterday afternoon from Domtar mill manager Eric Ashby. In my dealings with Eric, he has always been straightforward and good natured. There are significant community concerns with the request for a further extension in Kamloops Domtar's air quality permit requirements, and I am thankful the Eric has asked to meet to talk about their plans.

I welcome any thoughts about what I should be asking Eric.

Your Kamloops - Now Mobile Device Friendly

For people who may visit on an blackberry, iphone, or other mobile device, here is a more mobile friendly version of Your Kamloops.

Triying out the Mobify Service (hat tip Miss 604, thanks Rebecca for the pointer!)

Say what? - CFJC TV on Domtar issue...

I am a little surprised by the  CFJC-TV "spin" put on Domtar's desire for an extension on their particulate permit. I'm happy to hear about the public open house, but the amount of faith suggested by the headline is a bit much, in my view.

From the CFJC-TV web site:

Domtar Plans to Cut Emissions by 70%June 10th, 2009

DOMTAR SAYS IT'S GETTING SET TO EMBARK ON A PUBLIC CONSULTATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS TO THE LOCAL PULP MILL. THE IMPROVEMENTS WOULD REDUCE PARTICULATE EMISSIONS BY UP TO 70%, BUT WOULD TAKE AN EXTRA THREE YEARS TO UNDERTAKE - FINALLY BEING COMPLETED IN 2016. COMPANY SPOKESPERSON BONNY SKENE SAYS THAT'S PARTIALLY DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE. SKENE SAYS EMISSIONS WOULD BE REDUCED PHASE BY PHASE UNTIL 2016. A PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE IS PLANNED FOR JULY.

Domtar and the Man on the Moon...

Received a call this morning from Jeremy Deutsch at Kamloops This Week asking for comments about Domtar's request for a further extension to get is air particulate discharge down. This issue has now been going on for 9 years, and Domtar's request seems to stretch it out 7 more years into the future. As I told Jeremy today, it only took a decade to put a man on the moon, for heaven's sake.

I wrote about this extensively in 2007. I started it out unfortunately with some clumsy phrasing, which I partly attribute to not being re-elected to city council in 2008. My comments on Domtar remain one of my most visited posts ever.

My main concern is still summarized by this part of my 2007 post:

I guess my main thought was that there is really no teeth in simply extending Domtar's permit. They could simply apply for an extension again, and, given their size, they would probably get it. If they did not meet their timelines, the community would have no recourse. If we are truly concerned about human health and the environment, imposing penalties would mean Domtar would have a financial incentive to get their emissions down.

I hope penalties are assessed this time - not enough to bring Domtar down, but enough that they feel a pinch.

Kudos to Mel Rothenburger on Promoting Human Rights in China...

Was really happy to see Mel write about how City Hall might better promote human rights in China. This is possible, and the example of other cities show that honest, humble discussions on human rights do not destroy city to city relationships.   

Kamloops Car Share- Thompson Rivers Auto Network

Trevor Dick leading the charge to get a car share going in Kamloops. Filmed at the Kamloops Energy Fair 2009, hosted by the BCSEA.