They wouldn’t take ‘Yes’ for an answer, and WV council bowed By TREVOR LAUTENS It’s no fun being the Village Scold. That was great journalist Bruce Hutchison’s wry term for print vendors – like himself – of criticism of public personages and affairs, sometimes public personages’ affairs. It is a disagreeable task. But someone has…
A Prime Minister Needs to Be Pulled Down All Right, but Not This One
Trudeau’s long silence on the Sir John A. Macdonald statue desecration by thugs is the final stamp on his and his Liberal government’s unfitness to govern More than 24 hours after it happened, Justin Trudeau had nothing to say about the outrageous pulling down by “activists” – that would be a good CBC namby-pampy euphemism…
A Banker with Principles and Interest Just in Case Liberals Have Given up on Justin
By Trevor Lautens VANCOUVER Road-test these words to see if they fall trippingly on the tongue: Mark Carney seeks Liberal leadership! Mark Carney wins Liberal leadership race! Liberal Mark Carney beats No-Name Conservative! Mark Carney, Liberal Prime Minister! Agent 6D3kJ7 is one of my most impressive agents. He, or she, has decades of experience in…
The Whistling Santa of Caulfeild Village
By HAROLD VALENTINE and TREVOR LAUTENS He’s a classic. Some Santas are sincere but painfully unconvincing. Some are starvingly skinny, as if the North Pole could use a food bank. Some have joylessly droopy beards heading south onto their chests. The red suits of course are instantly identifiable but some are so fusty-foosty I’d be…
The Village Scold
An irregular column on West Vancouver matters (the logo stolen from the great Bruce Hutchison) By Trevor Lautens Give this a workout on your tongue: Premier Pamela Goldsmith-Jones Pam for Premier! Standing ovation? Or screams of horror? Is Halloween over? My Agent 5%jwKnD7, who knows his or her way around town, states that Pamela…
Tory leadership hopeful touches down in West Vancouver
Appeared in the North Shore News – January 27, 2017 Agent 6ki4nsP is one of my shrewdest agents. He also describes himself as more right-wing than Genghis Khan. So it was revolutionary when he announced admiration for Justin Trudeau, whose character and decency impressed him in personal contacts when Trudeau lived on this coast. One…
Bombastic broadcaster recalls talk radio heyday
Appeared in the North Shore News – January 13, 2017 Rafe Mair, astronomically paid battling broadcaster in the balmy days when CKNW styled itself Vancouver’s Top Dog, is in shaky health and thinks he’ll die in 2017. Mind and speech, he’s as sharp as ever. I assured him he looks fine. “I wish I felt…
Christmas in an era of reverse exclusion
Appeared in the North Shore News – December 30, 2016 A few days ago, you may recall, some Canadians celebrated Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Many others didn’t. Christianity isn’t their faith. Sensitive to them, and eyes on demographics and possibly dollar signs, greeting card designers proclaim ‘‘Happy Holidays,’’ or replace Jesus with Santa Claus,…
Once around the dance floor with Death
Appeared in the North Shore News – December 16, 2016 I saw myself in a mirror where there was no mirror. I was purple on a shifting, sea-like purple background. My lips were most purple of all. And swollen. Thick. My wife had called 911. Her voice was calm and clear. Then I was standing…
Ghosts of B.C. real estate scandal still linger
Appeared in the North Shore News – December 2, 2016 Premier Christy Clark of Banana Columbia – no misprint – is cruisin’ for a bruisin’ in May’s election if she doesn’t straighten up and fly right dealing with the multi-layered housing scandal. Enough of the 1940s slang. If New Democrat leader John Horgan plays his…