WVM 2018-99: Mtgs/ACMs; > PUBLIC INPUT!!!<; Newsbits + Trees

Spinning faster!
Hope you got to go to the annual UBC Apple Fest this weekend -- we love it but no time this year (was in VSun Listings, Thursday).
Unusual ACM Lightning session at our Library.... 
News later but this issue was delayed by the shocking discovery I made Friday afternoon -- public input being restricted!  I'll ask the five mayoralty candidates their views in this enews, and the candidates for cclr in the next enews.  Stay tuned.
Wed is a disaster -- doppelgangers needed.
Shall also try to find out why the new Art Museum Adv Cmte is scheduled to start at the same time as the ACM at KMC!!!
Think this calls for communication, consultation, and co-operation, not to mention common sense keeping residents and voters in mind! 
Was told some candidates are manning a table at the SAC, so will enquire at least as to when if not who.
 
First, info re mtgs, then a bit of news......  and Street Trees at the end....
 
> MONDAY

ALL-CANDIDATE MTG (AN EVENING OF DIALOGUE ABOUT SPORT) – ...

West Vancouver Football Club and West Vancouver Field Hockey Club invite you to meet, learn, and ask questions of the candidates running in the general local election.

{ FYI: Cclr candidates and then for Mayor, ending ~8:30 -- let's go downstairs and hv a drink after! :-) }

> TUESDAY

HERITAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

~ 3 to 5pm ~  Main Floor Conference Room (MFCR), M Hall
AGENDA:
This is the first mtg so besides some background, ToRef, etc, here are some items:
     6. Sample HRA Projects (4:00-4:20) 
               6.1 Vinson House 
                     6.2 Sykes House 
                     6.3 HAC commentary on development projects
              7. Next Steps (4:20-4:50) 
               7.1 Summary   7.2.....
Then comes this bombshell:
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
Members of the public may ask questions regarding process or disposition of a recommendation to Council or motion passed by the Committee which is the result of the meeting in progress. All other questions or comments by the public must be submitted in writing to the committee clerk, before or after the meeting, who will refer them to the Chair or staff representative for disposition. (Council’s General Council Committees Policy sections 22.3 and 22.4) {Emphasis added}
8. Public Questions (2 minutes per speaker) (4:50 – 5:00) 
{To recap:
Questions allowed, suddenly curtailed, later resumed with the restriction of being only wrt process or disposition. Then, as you wd know if you've been to any cmte or WG mtgs, that was totally ignored replaced by the perfectly rational and practical practice that public to speak about an item just before the vote (IOW, not involved in the debate/discussion), and at the end of the mtg.  Has been working well.  All happy as far as I cd see/tell, and I've attended many mtgs -- questions/comments relevant, informative, polite.  B/c, as I said at the ccl mtg, these restrictions were "ignored in the breach", presume no one thought it shd be made clear and changed/amended immediately.
I checked agendas on the website and this restriction does not appear on previous agendas -- nor has it ever been brought up at a mtg I've attended, and now it's on the coming agendas!
Of course a chair always has the right to refer a resident to staff or declare someone out of order if going on too long or being objectionable.  (I've never noted a rude resident or staff mbr or cclr but naturally that cd be done.)
As Editor of West Van Matters (began 1995, a website even before DWV's), I have always fought for providing information and encouraging public input (sometimes referred to as resident's rights)  -- openness and inclusion.  We've come so far.  To see this restriction suddenly reappear after having been replaced by sensible procedures gave me, shall I say euphemistically, a conniption.
Pls let me know if you support my promotion of reasonable public input during mtgs.
Pls tell the candidates too.
I have written to all five mayoralty candidates to send me their views on this and will put them in the next issue.
I have also contacted the candidates for councillor, already received some replies (and some agree!), and will put them in the issue after that.
Public input is so critically important, IMVHO having a written commitment is essential for residents to know before choosing those they want to represent them.
This truly was a shock -- Ccl was seen as going forward and had even appointed a staff mbr to a new position (I'd recommended such as an ombudsman for citizens) filled/working v well.
Let's go forward together.
Amicably!
 
> WEDNESDAY -- OMG!
1pm

ALL-CANDIDATES MEETING – GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION

~ 1 to 3pm ~  Seniors' Activity Centre ... Hosted by the SAC Adv Bd Board
5:30pm

LIBRARY BOARD MEETING

~ 5:30pm ~  WVM Library, Welsh Hall East: https://westvanlibrary.ca/about-us/wvml-library-board
                           {NB: the agenda is not yet up.}      
6pm

ART MUSEUM ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING

       { FYI: YAY! now having mtgs posted on the calendar, agenda however is cryptic and 
           BOO! not only on at the same time as an ACM, it has public limited to process and disposition!  }
6pm

ALL-CANDIDATES MEETING – GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION

~ 6 to 9:30pm ~  Kay Meek Centre

Hosted by the WV Chamber of Commerce,  join us for an all-candidates meeting for the general local election. This session will focus on business issues affecting our local business community.  https://westvanchamber.com/

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☆  NEWSbits

v briefly:
+ ADVANCE Voters: 240 Thursday, 294 on Friday.
By way of comparison, during the six days of advance voting in 2014, the total votes cast were 1,173After four of seven days of Advance Voting in this election, we have had 1,109 votes cast.
+ (Duchess) Meghan is pregnant! due next spring -- and Harry and Meghan have just started their first tour together (Oz & NZ; Invictus Games)
+ More news/info on Princess Eugenie's wedding (and the Great Gatsby) in next issue however one faithful attendee to the WV RoyalTea-by-the-Sea called me to say she was going.  Can't wait to hear her comments on her return.
+ Appointments to our SenateQuick Facts
There have been 45 appointments to the Senate made on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Under the Canadian Constitution, the Governor General appoints individuals to the Senate. By convention, Senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Once appointed by the Governor General and summoned to the Senate, the new senators join their peers to examine and revise legislation, investigate national issues, and represent regional, provincial, and minority interests – important functions in a modern democracy.
+ New Canadian opera, a gay one -- Rufus Wainwright's Hadrian. 
Premiere on October 13, 2018 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto by the Canadian Opera Company. It is based on the life of Hadrian, who was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. 
+ New Saint in the news:
           St Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, shot celebrating Mass on 24 March 1980, canonised today in Rome by Pope Francis
 

     ‘An Ode to Street Trees’

             From shade to safety, what’s not to like about street trees?

                   Submitted by Tyee Staff, 11 Sep 2018

 

 

Don’t underestimate street trees! They make summers bearable with shade and make your city healthier with more oxygen – one study even shows that street trees are associated with a lower prevalence of early childhood asthma.

Check out the video above: Dave Amos of the City Beautiful YouTube channel walks you through the benefits in his home of Sacramento.

                           {Thx, Tyee! and my mantra is the view is through the trees or framed by the trees....}