SkyTrain is getting FareGates and SmartCards for $100 million in spring 2010, the federal and B.C. governments and TransLink announced on April 9.
I say it's AboutTime. Others might wonder WhatTook SoLong?
The 1986-opened rapid transit system has always operated on the honor system. As such, it's prone to fare evasion. How many tens of millions of dollars of missed revenue is anyone's guess. A transit police force was hired to levy outrageous fines and zap offenders.
Gregor Robertson made a $1 mistake and got a $173 ticket for going two zones on a one zone ticket. It was a minor controversy in last fall's mayoralty race until the Vancouver Olympic Village financing scandal exploded. Robertson paid his fine and is now mayor.
Many bigger and smaller rapid transit systems that already have turnstiles have also erected barriers on platforms to prevent passengers from slipping and falling or jumping onto tracks. At least 54 people have died on SkyTrain tracks. Ten of the deaths were ruled accidental, the rest were suicides.
Systems in Beijing, Hong Kong, Torino, London and Las Vegas have platform barriers. Some of them are floor to ceiling glass doors. They prevent death and serious injuries. They also offer new advertising sales opportunities. There are no platform barriers on the new Canada Line.
When a death happens on SkyTrain tracks, it generally means a three-hour service disruption while the body is removed, area sanitized and investigation completed. It inconveniences those who are rerouted or delayed. It traumatizes those who are eyewitnesses. It is a tragedy for the victim's family. The saddest part of it all? It's preventable.
The local cop-out is that SkyTrain cars have varying lengths and dimensions and may not be compatible with sliding platform doors. If humans can develop methods to safely travel to space and back or jam an encyclopedia on a computer chip smaller than your pink finger, surely an innovative, life-saving solution can be found for the DeathTrain.
In the meantime, SkyTrain CEO Doug Kelsey and Transportation minister Kevin Falcon live in denial with their heads buried in sand and fingers crossed tight, hoping and praying that nobody slips and falls or jumps on SkyTrain or Canada Line tracks during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now that would ruin the VANOC transportation plan. Big time.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Want Olympic tickets? Join the government
VANOC sold $94.7 million of tickets during last fall’s Canadian ticketing phase. More go on sale June 6. Just how many were available then or will be available in June is a closely guarded secret.
VANOC has deliberately put the focus on nabbing scalpers. But tens of thousands of tickets worth millions of dollars are being bought with your tax dollars for use by politicians and bureaucrats. Slowly, but surely, some of those governments are ‘fessing up on how many they’re buying.
City of Richmond disclosed at its April 5 meeting that it ordered 732 tickets for $196,990 and it assumes half the cost will be recovered through sales to the city’s 2010 partners, such as Tourism Richmond, Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the School Board.
City of Vancouver voted March 24 to spend $340,000 on 1,700 tickets, with the assumption that the net cost to taxpayers will be $217,000. In January, the city’s acting Freedom of Information clerk Chris Shin told me that she had 17 pages of Specialty Client Ticket Request documents and she wasn’t giving me any of them. She was kind enough to omit “nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah” from her letter.
Yes, that's the same City of Vancouver that Mayor Gregor Robertson rules. That's the same Mayor Gregor Robertson who promised openness and accountability when he was sworn in last December. "When the city uses your money, you have a right to know where it’s being spent, and what it’s being used for," he said.
Richmond and Vancouver claim they need to buy so many tickets so they can host 1,600 international and domestic dignitaries.
According to its May 26 Venue City Contribution Agreement, Surrey can buy 50 tickets to the opening ceremony and 50 tickets to the closing ceremony plus an average 60 tickets per day, including 10 to prime access events like hockey playoffs and figure skating. That’s a total of 1,120 tickets. Whistler is even more secretive. It dealt with ticket purchases at a closed-door meeting.
BC Hydro and ICBC, both Crown corporation sponsors of VANOC, won’t say how much they spent. But they did say how many they ordered after my FOI request.
BC Hydro got 1,520 tickets to 43 events. ICBC got 2,264 to 56 events. The costs were almost entirely censored, except for one entry that showed “icky-bicky” bought 134 tickets for Feb. 21, 2010 at a cost of $19,090.
My calculator says if ICBC spent $19,090 every day of the Games, the bill would be $324,530.
Appeals seeking full and complete disclosure from Vancouver, ICBC and BC Hydro have been filed with the Office of the Freedom and Information Commissioner in Victoria.
Meanwhile, Tourism British Columbia allowed all regular employees who were successful in buying tickets in last fall's public phase to apply for a six-month, no-interest loan of $500 to $4,000. Still no word from the Crown corporation on how many employees applied and how much dough was doled out.
VANOC has deliberately put the focus on nabbing scalpers. But tens of thousands of tickets worth millions of dollars are being bought with your tax dollars for use by politicians and bureaucrats. Slowly, but surely, some of those governments are ‘fessing up on how many they’re buying.
City of Richmond disclosed at its April 5 meeting that it ordered 732 tickets for $196,990 and it assumes half the cost will be recovered through sales to the city’s 2010 partners, such as Tourism Richmond, Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the School Board.
City of Vancouver voted March 24 to spend $340,000 on 1,700 tickets, with the assumption that the net cost to taxpayers will be $217,000. In January, the city’s acting Freedom of Information clerk Chris Shin told me that she had 17 pages of Specialty Client Ticket Request documents and she wasn’t giving me any of them. She was kind enough to omit “nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah” from her letter.
Yes, that's the same City of Vancouver that Mayor Gregor Robertson rules. That's the same Mayor Gregor Robertson who promised openness and accountability when he was sworn in last December. "When the city uses your money, you have a right to know where it’s being spent, and what it’s being used for," he said.
Richmond and Vancouver claim they need to buy so many tickets so they can host 1,600 international and domestic dignitaries.
According to its May 26 Venue City Contribution Agreement, Surrey can buy 50 tickets to the opening ceremony and 50 tickets to the closing ceremony plus an average 60 tickets per day, including 10 to prime access events like hockey playoffs and figure skating. That’s a total of 1,120 tickets. Whistler is even more secretive. It dealt with ticket purchases at a closed-door meeting.
BC Hydro and ICBC, both Crown corporation sponsors of VANOC, won’t say how much they spent. But they did say how many they ordered after my FOI request.
BC Hydro got 1,520 tickets to 43 events. ICBC got 2,264 to 56 events. The costs were almost entirely censored, except for one entry that showed “icky-bicky” bought 134 tickets for Feb. 21, 2010 at a cost of $19,090.
My calculator says if ICBC spent $19,090 every day of the Games, the bill would be $324,530.
Appeals seeking full and complete disclosure from Vancouver, ICBC and BC Hydro have been filed with the Office of the Freedom and Information Commissioner in Victoria.
Meanwhile, Tourism British Columbia allowed all regular employees who were successful in buying tickets in last fall's public phase to apply for a six-month, no-interest loan of $500 to $4,000. Still no word from the Crown corporation on how many employees applied and how much dough was doled out.
GM=German Made
Your humble Volkswagen-driving servant pulled up to the VANOC headquarters on March 31 before the International Olympic Committee coordination commission's plenary meeting and inadvertently witnessed VANOC executives scurry into the city-owned tower on 3585 Graveley Street.
Ceremonies executive producer David Atkins was seen parking his red late model Audi A4 1.8T Sedan. Mere minutes earlier, VANOC chairman Jack Poole scored the best spot in the lot for his silver Mercedes Benz ML 500 sport utility vehicle.
Atkins' car had a Dueck General Motors dealer decal on the rear, the only connection to the near-bankrupt Detroit auto giant that is the official auto supplier to the 2010 Games. There was no Kelowna Rockets bumper sticker or flag attached. The Aussie is a supporter of the Western Hockey League team, but maybe playoff fever hasn't struck?
The nearest GM dealer to VANOC -- Wolfe Chev-Olds on Boundary Road -- is no more. It's a victim of GM's desperate struggle to remain solvent.
Ceremonies executive producer David Atkins was seen parking his red late model Audi A4 1.8T Sedan. Mere minutes earlier, VANOC chairman Jack Poole scored the best spot in the lot for his silver Mercedes Benz ML 500 sport utility vehicle.
Atkins' car had a Dueck General Motors dealer decal on the rear, the only connection to the near-bankrupt Detroit auto giant that is the official auto supplier to the 2010 Games. There was no Kelowna Rockets bumper sticker or flag attached. The Aussie is a supporter of the Western Hockey League team, but maybe playoff fever hasn't struck?
The nearest GM dealer to VANOC -- Wolfe Chev-Olds on Boundary Road -- is no more. It's a victim of GM's desperate struggle to remain solvent.
Wanted: Habs tickets for IOC executive
Overheard near the elevator at the VANOC headquarters on April 1, after the International Olympic Committee coordination commission meeting.
International Olympic Committee director of sport Christophe Dubi asking, with a tinge of desperation, for help in sourcing tickets to Montreal Canadiens' playoff games from none other than VANOC executive vice-president of revenue, marketing and communications Dave Cobb.
Cobb is the former chief operating officer of the Vancouver Canucks and General Motors Place.
Dubi was disappointed to learn that Cobb could offer no help. Dubi then asked about "the black market," but Cobb suggested Dubi explore the team's official website.
Good luck, Christophe. And good luck, les Canadiens.
International Olympic Committee director of sport Christophe Dubi asking, with a tinge of desperation, for help in sourcing tickets to Montreal Canadiens' playoff games from none other than VANOC executive vice-president of revenue, marketing and communications Dave Cobb.
Cobb is the former chief operating officer of the Vancouver Canucks and General Motors Place.
Dubi was disappointed to learn that Cobb could offer no help. Dubi then asked about "the black market," but Cobb suggested Dubi explore the team's official website.
Good luck, Christophe. And good luck, les Canadiens.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Great minds think alike
Hedy Fry and David Suzuki are two apparently intelligent people, prone to making outlandish declarations.
Fry, 67, was born San Fernando, Trinidad and trained as a physician in Dublin, Ireland at the Royal College of Surgeons. She was first elected a Liberal Member of Parliament in 1993. Suzuki turned 73 on March 24 and earned a doctorate in zoology at the University of Chicago in 1961. He is host of the long-running CBC TV science show The Nature of Things. His foundation's latest work -- released March 30 during the 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment -- is the alarmist On Thin Ice: Winter Sports and Climate Change report.
In 2001, Fry stood in the House of Commons and told the world that "crosses were burning" in Prince George, B.C. She retracted the remarks and apologized.
On March 30, Suzuki claimed in an interview that global warming has made it impossible for children to learn how to play hockey in backyard, outdoor rinks in Brantford, Ont., birthplace of Wayne Gretzky. Brantford Mayor Mike Hancock said that's not true.
"We still maintain approximately 22 outdoor rink locations each year and the duration of rink operations is generally an eight to 10 week period," Hancock told me.
Suzuki shoots. And misses.
(BTW, Suzuki's son Troy knows a bit more about hockey than his father. The Suzuki scion's Live from Moccasin Square Gardens: The Dawson City Nuggets' Hockey Adventure documentary chronicled the 1997 recreation of the 1905 Nuggets' epic challenge of the Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators.)
Fry, 67, was born San Fernando, Trinidad and trained as a physician in Dublin, Ireland at the Royal College of Surgeons. She was first elected a Liberal Member of Parliament in 1993. Suzuki turned 73 on March 24 and earned a doctorate in zoology at the University of Chicago in 1961. He is host of the long-running CBC TV science show The Nature of Things. His foundation's latest work -- released March 30 during the 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment -- is the alarmist On Thin Ice: Winter Sports and Climate Change report.
In 2001, Fry stood in the House of Commons and told the world that "crosses were burning" in Prince George, B.C. She retracted the remarks and apologized.
On March 30, Suzuki claimed in an interview that global warming has made it impossible for children to learn how to play hockey in backyard, outdoor rinks in Brantford, Ont., birthplace of Wayne Gretzky. Brantford Mayor Mike Hancock said that's not true.
"We still maintain approximately 22 outdoor rink locations each year and the duration of rink operations is generally an eight to 10 week period," Hancock told me.
Suzuki shoots. And misses.
(BTW, Suzuki's son Troy knows a bit more about hockey than his father. The Suzuki scion's Live from Moccasin Square Gardens: The Dawson City Nuggets' Hockey Adventure documentary chronicled the 1997 recreation of the 1905 Nuggets' epic challenge of the Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators.)
Enough of the 8th
Whenever the United Nations is involved, there has to be a broad, sweeping (dare I say, vague?) statement to end a convention with something to think about.
The 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment, which ended March 31, was no different.
The Vancouver Declaration, under the letterhead of the UN Environment Program, International Olympic Committee and VANOC, acknowledged the convention was held on the traditional territories of the Four Host First Nations as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics rapidly approach.
The economic crisis and importance of youth in the world of sport acted as backdrops for the convention, which was fueled by inspiration and innovation.
Nine recommendations were issued for National Olympic committees, international sports federations, Games organizing committees and corporate sponsors.
The declaration emphasized the role of organizing committees and bid cities, whose examples "should be studied by others in the sports world for possible application at an appropriate scale in their own programs.
"The sharing of and transferring of these best practices, is essential in ensuring that the sustainability of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is continuously advanced."
Community-based organizations and athletes -- the grassroots -- are central to local involvement and inspiring youth.
Thankfully, the UN appoints a rapporteur, a sage of sorts to offer a quickie review of what actually went on.
That was the job of David Chernushenko, the founder of the Living Lightly Project and vice-chair of Canada's National Round Table of the Environment and the Economy.
Chernushenko found the convention contained more action, less theory and sponsor innovation. He suggested the terms "sustainable sport" and "sustainability through sport" replace sport and environment. He recommended a greater emphasis on individual action, values and principles, better communication and solutions through collaboration.
"Humans wish to do more good, not just less bad. We have the power not just to reduce and protect and minimize, but to improve, regenerate and sow seeds, in sport as elsewhere in society."
The 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment, which ended March 31, was no different.
The Vancouver Declaration, under the letterhead of the UN Environment Program, International Olympic Committee and VANOC, acknowledged the convention was held on the traditional territories of the Four Host First Nations as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics rapidly approach.
The economic crisis and importance of youth in the world of sport acted as backdrops for the convention, which was fueled by inspiration and innovation.
Nine recommendations were issued for National Olympic committees, international sports federations, Games organizing committees and corporate sponsors.
The declaration emphasized the role of organizing committees and bid cities, whose examples "should be studied by others in the sports world for possible application at an appropriate scale in their own programs.
"The sharing of and transferring of these best practices, is essential in ensuring that the sustainability of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is continuously advanced."
Community-based organizations and athletes -- the grassroots -- are central to local involvement and inspiring youth.
Thankfully, the UN appoints a rapporteur, a sage of sorts to offer a quickie review of what actually went on.
That was the job of David Chernushenko, the founder of the Living Lightly Project and vice-chair of Canada's National Round Table of the Environment and the Economy.
Chernushenko found the convention contained more action, less theory and sponsor innovation. He suggested the terms "sustainable sport" and "sustainability through sport" replace sport and environment. He recommended a greater emphasis on individual action, values and principles, better communication and solutions through collaboration.
"Humans wish to do more good, not just less bad. We have the power not just to reduce and protect and minimize, but to improve, regenerate and sow seeds, in sport as elsewhere in society."
Suzuki: hot air and a pretty face
There was an environmental emergency when the 7th edition of the United Nations and International Olympic Committee World Conference on Sport and the Environment was held in Beijing Oct. 25-27.
I arrived in Beijing on Oct. 26 on a train from Ulanbaatar, Mongolia. Smog and fog combined for an eerie shroud in the Chinese capital. The next city block was not visible. It appeared dusk-like at mid-afternoon. Flights were canceled at Beijing Capital Airport and freeways closed.
By contrast, the weather in Vancouver during the 8th WCSE March 29-31 was normal. The air appeared fresh and clear. Then it snowed on April 1. No fooling. Too bad that didn't happen on Monday morning when David Suzuki, Canada's foremost environmental panic-monger, held court at a news conference in the Pan Pacific Hotel.
The David Suzuki Foundation released its On Thin Ice: Winter Sports and Climate Change report. It's an attempt to ride the coattails of the 2010 Winter Olympics and includes some astounding predictions for the future of winter sport in Canada if global warming goes unchecked.
According to the report: under a high-emission scenario, the skating season on Ottawa's Rideau Canal would be reduced near the end of the century to one week and Whistler winter temperatures would rise 5 degrees Celsius within 70 years. The 94-day cross-country skiing season in southern Quebec and Ontario would be wiped out by 2050.
I did a word-search and "high-emission" appears 34 times throughout the report without a thorough definition.
Read between the lines of the report and it's more political than analytical. Suzuki wants more carbon taxes and wants more trading in carbon offsets. But are financial pollution penalties really the answer? Humans have done horrible things to the planet but are they really the cause for warming the weather?
Suzuki enjoys a measure of sainthood among the public of the Great White North. He was voted the fifth Greatest Canadian by CBC viewers in 2004. The CBC TV presenter and geneticist, who has a doctorate in zoology, was wedged between number four Sir Frederick Banting (of insulin fame) and number six Lester B. Pearson (the peacekeeping Prime Minister).
Suzuki is a talented communicator who deserves credit for helping Canadians understand the complexities of science through his long-running The Nature of Things on CBC. Since embracing the human-caused global warming theory espoused by Al Gore, Suzuki comes across more like a TV evangelist. He's made a shift away from professor, into the realm of preacher. The retired scientist is a professional celebrity.
When asked about differing views (and research) on the causes of climate change, Suzuki answered emotionally instead of rationally.
"It's not an argument, there is no argument about it scientifically. The discussion is what are we going to do about it, we're vulnerable as a northern country."
I asked him about his foundation's work with VANOC. The Games organization paid $10,000 for On Thin Ice's prequel, Meeting the Challenge: A Carbon Neutral 2010 Winter Games. "I don't know that," was his response.
I asked if the foundation was granted behind-the-scenes access to VANOC venues and operations so it could verify if VANOC's sustainability claims were genuine.
"We're really not that kind of an organization, we tend to look at the big picture.
"I'm sure they've got a lot of big problems, particularly economic problems in a time of economic downturn and overruns. The environment always tends to take a backseat."
Suzuki relied on anecdotal information in the news conference from snowboarder Justin Lamoreux and freestyle skier Warren Tanner, whose training has been curtailed by receding glaciers. The report did not examine the conditions of said glaciers. What's more, Suzuki conjured the name of Wayne Gretzky, Canada's greatest winter sportsman, and made an unsubstantiated claim about winter weather in Brantford, Ont., where Gretzky grew up.
"The one sport in Canada that Canadians respond to is hockey, the folklore of Canada is Wayne Gretzky, learning how to play in the backyard. Do you think in Brantford now you could learn how to play hockey in the backyard? I don't think so."
At one point, Suzuki suggested I direct my questions to Ian Bruce, author of the report. I pointed out that the report bears Suzuki's good name on the cover.
"It's the foundation. I'm just the pretty face."
I arrived in Beijing on Oct. 26 on a train from Ulanbaatar, Mongolia. Smog and fog combined for an eerie shroud in the Chinese capital. The next city block was not visible. It appeared dusk-like at mid-afternoon. Flights were canceled at Beijing Capital Airport and freeways closed.
By contrast, the weather in Vancouver during the 8th WCSE March 29-31 was normal. The air appeared fresh and clear. Then it snowed on April 1. No fooling. Too bad that didn't happen on Monday morning when David Suzuki, Canada's foremost environmental panic-monger, held court at a news conference in the Pan Pacific Hotel.
The David Suzuki Foundation released its On Thin Ice: Winter Sports and Climate Change report. It's an attempt to ride the coattails of the 2010 Winter Olympics and includes some astounding predictions for the future of winter sport in Canada if global warming goes unchecked.
According to the report: under a high-emission scenario, the skating season on Ottawa's Rideau Canal would be reduced near the end of the century to one week and Whistler winter temperatures would rise 5 degrees Celsius within 70 years. The 94-day cross-country skiing season in southern Quebec and Ontario would be wiped out by 2050.
I did a word-search and "high-emission" appears 34 times throughout the report without a thorough definition.
Read between the lines of the report and it's more political than analytical. Suzuki wants more carbon taxes and wants more trading in carbon offsets. But are financial pollution penalties really the answer? Humans have done horrible things to the planet but are they really the cause for warming the weather?
Suzuki enjoys a measure of sainthood among the public of the Great White North. He was voted the fifth Greatest Canadian by CBC viewers in 2004. The CBC TV presenter and geneticist, who has a doctorate in zoology, was wedged between number four Sir Frederick Banting (of insulin fame) and number six Lester B. Pearson (the peacekeeping Prime Minister).
Suzuki is a talented communicator who deserves credit for helping Canadians understand the complexities of science through his long-running The Nature of Things on CBC. Since embracing the human-caused global warming theory espoused by Al Gore, Suzuki comes across more like a TV evangelist. He's made a shift away from professor, into the realm of preacher. The retired scientist is a professional celebrity.
When asked about differing views (and research) on the causes of climate change, Suzuki answered emotionally instead of rationally.
"It's not an argument, there is no argument about it scientifically. The discussion is what are we going to do about it, we're vulnerable as a northern country."
I asked him about his foundation's work with VANOC. The Games organization paid $10,000 for On Thin Ice's prequel, Meeting the Challenge: A Carbon Neutral 2010 Winter Games. "I don't know that," was his response.
I asked if the foundation was granted behind-the-scenes access to VANOC venues and operations so it could verify if VANOC's sustainability claims were genuine.
"We're really not that kind of an organization, we tend to look at the big picture.
"I'm sure they've got a lot of big problems, particularly economic problems in a time of economic downturn and overruns. The environment always tends to take a backseat."
Suzuki relied on anecdotal information in the news conference from snowboarder Justin Lamoreux and freestyle skier Warren Tanner, whose training has been curtailed by receding glaciers. The report did not examine the conditions of said glaciers. What's more, Suzuki conjured the name of Wayne Gretzky, Canada's greatest winter sportsman, and made an unsubstantiated claim about winter weather in Brantford, Ont., where Gretzky grew up.
"The one sport in Canada that Canadians respond to is hockey, the folklore of Canada is Wayne Gretzky, learning how to play in the backyard. Do you think in Brantford now you could learn how to play hockey in the backyard? I don't think so."
At one point, Suzuki suggested I direct my questions to Ian Bruce, author of the report. I pointed out that the report bears Suzuki's good name on the cover.
"It's the foundation. I'm just the pretty face."
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Who needs Cirque du Soleil when B.C. Place has it all?
Premier Gordon Campbell wants us all to think that British Columbia is the Best Place on Earth.
If so, then he probably wants us to believe that B.C. Place Stadium is the Best Place in the Best Place on Earth.
After all, it's where the 2010 Winter Olympics will open (and close) next February. Campbell hopes to win the May 12 provincial election so he can be seen on global TV (as opposed to just Global TV), enjoying Gordo's Games.
However, the circus under the big top continues. On Tuesday I revealed the latest foibles in the troubled system that keeps the fabric roof aloft. Yeah, that's the same roof that ripped and collapsed under the weight of heavy, wet snow on Jan. 5, 2007. Right around the time Canada was winning the world junior hockey championship, live on TSN.
The latest incident could be the most worrisome. There are 16 fans that generate the air to inflate the roof. As many as three are needed while renovations are ongoing. One was off for maintenance on Feb. 18. One exploded, according to a source. Hours before the home show opened. Hours after a tour group got to see the jet engine fans.
I have confirmed seven incidents in recent months of rapid drops in air pressure and/or troubles with the heating/snowmelting system. All of this will be removed by 2011 when a new retractable roof will transform the skyline and give the stadium another quarter-century and then some.
Until then, it'll be a source of nervous finger-crossing and nail-biting.
If so, then he probably wants us to believe that B.C. Place Stadium is the Best Place in the Best Place on Earth.
After all, it's where the 2010 Winter Olympics will open (and close) next February. Campbell hopes to win the May 12 provincial election so he can be seen on global TV (as opposed to just Global TV), enjoying Gordo's Games.
However, the circus under the big top continues. On Tuesday I revealed the latest foibles in the troubled system that keeps the fabric roof aloft. Yeah, that's the same roof that ripped and collapsed under the weight of heavy, wet snow on Jan. 5, 2007. Right around the time Canada was winning the world junior hockey championship, live on TSN.
The latest incident could be the most worrisome. There are 16 fans that generate the air to inflate the roof. As many as three are needed while renovations are ongoing. One was off for maintenance on Feb. 18. One exploded, according to a source. Hours before the home show opened. Hours after a tour group got to see the jet engine fans.
I have confirmed seven incidents in recent months of rapid drops in air pressure and/or troubles with the heating/snowmelting system. All of this will be removed by 2011 when a new retractable roof will transform the skyline and give the stadium another quarter-century and then some.
Until then, it'll be a source of nervous finger-crossing and nail-biting.
An Inconvenient Sleuth
On Jan. 22, VANOC released its latest Sustainability Report Card.
It's a self-evaluation. A glorified navel-gazing exercise. Once upon a time, Olympic Games organizing committees didn't do this. So it is a positive step. But the lack of independent tire-kicking means the public can't take it for gospel.
Neither can reporters. Upon reading the report, I submitted the following questions to VANOC in advance of an interview with VANOC corporate sustainability officer Ann Duffy.
1) Aboriginal-owned company venue and non-venue construction contracts: list including values
2) Contracts with 23 inner-city businesses or organizations: list including values.
3) Board Advisory Committee on Sustainability Performance: names and affiliations of members, dates of past and future meetings, copies of agendas and minutes.
4) Refrigeration plant at Whistler Sliding Centre: average value of monthly power bills and how do they compare with other sliding centres in the world?
5) Backup generators: which BC Hydro substations will the two underground power lines be connected to? Where will the main "generator farms" be located?
6) Dates of WorkSafe BC incidents, nature of incidents, sites of incidents.
7) Where will aboriginal sport gallery be located if the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame is unable to open during the Games because of security restrictions?
8) Factory audits: names and locations of 187 factories audited and names and locations of the six that were banned. What were the infractions?
Only number 3 was answered, though not entirely. The BACSP is profiled on the VANOC website. Its members are mostly sponsors and government partners.
The rest of the questions? Confidentiality clauses and security fears preclude VANOC from satisfying the curiosity of journalists.
It's a self-evaluation. A glorified navel-gazing exercise. Once upon a time, Olympic Games organizing committees didn't do this. So it is a positive step. But the lack of independent tire-kicking means the public can't take it for gospel.
Neither can reporters. Upon reading the report, I submitted the following questions to VANOC in advance of an interview with VANOC corporate sustainability officer Ann Duffy.
1) Aboriginal-owned company venue and non-venue construction contracts: list including values
2) Contracts with 23 inner-city businesses or organizations: list including values.
3) Board Advisory Committee on Sustainability Performance: names and affiliations of members, dates of past and future meetings, copies of agendas and minutes.
4) Refrigeration plant at Whistler Sliding Centre: average value of monthly power bills and how do they compare with other sliding centres in the world?
5) Backup generators: which BC Hydro substations will the two underground power lines be connected to? Where will the main "generator farms" be located?
6) Dates of WorkSafe BC incidents, nature of incidents, sites of incidents.
7) Where will aboriginal sport gallery be located if the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame is unable to open during the Games because of security restrictions?
8) Factory audits: names and locations of 187 factories audited and names and locations of the six that were banned. What were the infractions?
Only number 3 was answered, though not entirely. The BACSP is profiled on the VANOC website. Its members are mostly sponsors and government partners.
The rest of the questions? Confidentiality clauses and security fears preclude VANOC from satisfying the curiosity of journalists.
The blunt truth about Michael Phelps
Bing-bong the Phelps is gone... from the schedule of the Power Within motivational speakapaloozas in Calgary and Vancouver.
The Peking Phish, Michael Phelps, was struck from the bill for the March 3 and 6 events.
Toronto-based Power Within cited the phamous photo of Phelps using a marijuana bong for the cancelation. Phelps won eight swimming gold medals during his record-breaking Water Cube performance last summer. Now he's dealing with the Water Tube.
Could the cancelation almost two weeks before the speaking engagements be really about slow ticket sales? Or might there be a worry about Phelps -- who has not been charged with any crime -- crossing the border?
In unrelated news, a very different Michael Phelps remains on the board of directors for Vancouver 2010. This one's a lawyer and industrialist who was appointed by the Canadian Olympic Committee.
The Peking Phish, Michael Phelps, was struck from the bill for the March 3 and 6 events.
Toronto-based Power Within cited the phamous photo of Phelps using a marijuana bong for the cancelation. Phelps won eight swimming gold medals during his record-breaking Water Cube performance last summer. Now he's dealing with the Water Tube.
Could the cancelation almost two weeks before the speaking engagements be really about slow ticket sales? Or might there be a worry about Phelps -- who has not been charged with any crime -- crossing the border?
In unrelated news, a very different Michael Phelps remains on the board of directors for Vancouver 2010. This one's a lawyer and industrialist who was appointed by the Canadian Olympic Committee.
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