Articles by Charlie Smith.

Blog - Politics | Olympics

Premier Gordon Campbell capitalizes on Olympic torch run

It seems that every time you turn on the news, there's an image of B.C.'s leader with the flame.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Premier Gordon Campbell capitalizes on Olympic torch run

It seems that every time you turn on the news, there's an image of B.C.'s leader with the flame.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Federal New Democrats poke fun at Michael Ignatieff attending Olympics

The Liberal leader said politicians should be working. So is attending the 2010 Games considered being on the job?
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Federal New Democrats poke fun at Michael Ignatieff attending Olympics

The Liberal leader said politicians should be working. So is attending the 2010 Games considered being on the job?
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Is there a terrorist lurking underneath Tamara Taggart's sweet demeanour?

The CTV weathercaster wasn't permitted to bring nail clippers into B.C. Place.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Is there a terrorist lurking underneath Tamara Taggart's sweet demeanour?

The CTV weathercaster wasn't permitted to bring nail clippers into B.C. Place.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Are some of those Olympic panhandlers in Vancouver actually cops?

For fun, if you think an unfamiliar beggar in the neighbourhood is a cop, ask him out for coffee, and see how he reacts.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Are some of those Olympic panhandlers in Vancouver actually cops?

For fun, if you think an unfamiliar beggar in the neighbourhood is a cop, ask him out for coffee, and see how he reacts.
Blog - Politics

B.C. Supreme Court aquaculture ruling creates intriguing human-rights issue

B.C. Human Rights Tribunal chair Heather MacNaughton has ruled that she has jurisdiction over complaints.
Olympics | Straight Talk

Independent media activist Martin Macias prevented from covering Olympics

According to the Olympic Resistance Network, the Chicago media activist was put on a U.S.-bound plane.
Olympics | Straight Talk

Independent media activist Martin Macias prevented from covering Olympics

According to the Olympic Resistance Network, the Chicago media activist was put on a U.S.-bound plane.
Real Estate

Straight article offers clue why bankers want higher down payments and shorter amortization periods

Perhaps the bankers aren't just acting out of a benevolent concern for the solvency of financial institutions.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Expect an aboriginal person to light the Olympic cauldron to open the 2010 Winter Games

This would be a smart way to defuse the impact of a Vancouver street protest on opening day.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

Expect an aboriginal person to light the Olympic cauldron to open the 2010 Winter Games

This would be a smart way to defuse the impact of a Vancouver street protest on opening day.
Straight Talk

Jack Layton diagnosed with prostate cancer

Layton's father Robert, a former federal cabinet minister, also contracted prostate cancer.
Olympics | Straight Talk

Surrey mayor Dianne Watts welcomes the Aussies' boxing kangaroo

Watts wants other Metro Vancouver mayors also to fly the Australian team's flag.
Olympics | Straight Talk

Surrey mayor Dianne Watts welcomes the Aussies' boxing kangaroo

Watts wants other Metro Vancouver mayors also to fly the Australian team's flag.
Blog - Quickies

Consumer advocate advises Toyota owners how to deal with sudden acceleration

Phil Edmonston says throw the car into neutral and reach for the emergency brake.
Straight Talk

Newspaper columnist Allen Garr running for board of Vancity credit union

Garr, a columnist with the Vancouver Courier, is running with the Action Team, which is associated with some prominent New Democrats.
Blog - Music

Mayor Gregor Robertson performs on Slim Milkie's debut album

Milkie's partner, NDP MLA Nicholas Simons, also makes an appearance.
Blog - Politics

Sarah Palin will speak at an event in Calgary cosponsored by the Fraser Institute

The Fraser Institute is a right-wing think tank based in Vancouver.
Sex and Romance

2010 sex survey: The lust and thrust report

The readers have spoken and, er, fantasized. Survey says: you’d do Lady Gaga, you got laid in a convent—and you’re twisted.
Health Features

Traditional Chinese medicine enters the mainstream

The B.C. Cancer Agency is backing a complementary medicine education and outcomes program, which is examining how to safely combine complementary approaches with traditional cancer treatments.
Real Estate

Mortgage alarm raised by New Westminster chartered accountant

New Westminster chartered accountant Elbert Paul is no stranger to waging lonely crusades on behalf of the public.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

RCMP mistrust of the public on display with Olympic security preparations

Olympic security appears to be out of proportion to the magnitude of the threat.
Blog - Politics | Olympics

RCMP mistrust of the public on display with Olympic security preparations

Olympic security appears to be out of proportion to the magnitude of the threat.
News Features

SFU's next president Andrew Petter heaps praise on UBC's former president Martha Piper

The next president of Simon Fraser University has said that he wants to emulate the approach of former UBC president Martha Piper.
Real Estate

Real Estate Council of British Columbia penalizes ten agents

The Real Estate Council of British Columbia has recently penalized 10 real-estate agents for professional misconduct.
Olympics | Straight Talk

Vanoc Olympic torch video contains clip from Nazi propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl

A Vanoc video about the Olympic torch relay contains uncredited footage from Adolf Hitler’s favourite filmmaker.
Olympics | Straight Talk

Vanoc Olympic torch video contains clip from Nazi propaganda film by Leni Riefenstahl

A Vanoc video about the Olympic torch relay contains uncredited footage from Adolf Hitler’s favourite filmmaker.
Olympics | Straight Talk

COPE councillors David Cadman and Ellen Woodsworth won't attend Olympic opening ceremony

COPE's executive director, Rachel Marcuse, says the councillors don't think it's in the public interest for them to go to the event.
Olympics | Straight Talk

COPE councillors David Cadman and Ellen Woodsworth won't attend Olympic opening ceremony

COPE's executive director, Rachel Marcuse, says the councillors don't think it's in the public interest for them to go to the event.
Straight Talk

Former NDP cabinet minister Andrew Petter becomes SFU's new president

Andrew Petter held several cabinet portfolios and became dean of law at UVic after leaving provincial politics.
Arts Notes

Massey Theatre may get reprieve

A New Westminster school trustee has said the 1,260-seat Massey Theatre will likely be saved.
Arts Notes

B.C.'s stand-alone arts and culture division disappears

NDP MLA Spencer Herbert has told the Straight that the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts has eliminated its stand-alone arts and culture division.
Arts Notes

Artist Carrie Walker's soaked drawings recovered

Artist Carrie Walker thought she lost 500 drawings in a Christmas Day fire in the 200 block of East Broadway. But 13 days after the blaze, she was able to enter the burnt-out building and recover 211 drenched pieces from her second-floor studio.
Straight Talk

New Westminster won't change the name of part of Wood Street to Khalsa Street

The Khalsa Diwan Society and the Wood family are both a part of New Westminster's history.
Straight Talk

Transportation activists mobilize to thwart South Fraser Perimeter Road and Broadway SkyTrain

Citizens are saying "Enough is enough" to Campbell-style transportation megaprojects.
Straight Talk

City of Richmond determines HST will carry a short-term cost of $800,000

A staff report says the effect will be neutral over time in part because of a 75-percent provincial rebate for municipalities.
Straight Talk

Metro Vancouver vetoes two City of North Van appointments to regional boards

For the second time, Metro Vancouver's corporate secretary has told the City of North Vancouver that it's illegal not to let the city's GVRD director sit on the water district and sewerage and drainage district boards.
Blog - Politics

Rex Murphy leaves the Globe and Mail, according to Peter Mansbridge

But will the prime minister try to tempt the cantankerous Murphy with a Senate seat?
Blog - Politics

Canwest Publishing bankruptcy-protection filing could influence B.C. political landscape

Under the Aspers' ownership, crime took centre stage at the expense of other important issues, such as the growing gap between rich and poor.
News Features

Student Clayton Wilson questions police-complaint process

A Simon Fraser University graduate student with no criminal record has alleged that he was beaten up by Vancouver police without justification.
Arts Notes

Benjamin Netanyahu likes local artist Joy Caros's work

A Vancouver artist’s portraits of all of Israel’s presidents and prime ministers will soon be on display in the corridors of power in Jerusalem.
Blog - Politics

City manager Penny Ballem offers the spotlight to Mayor Gregor Robertson for a change

On many topics, Ballem has become the de facto city spokesperson.
Blog - Politics

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives highlights CEOs' huge pay

American CEOs aren't the only ones with their snouts in the trough.
Blog - Music

Montreal-based singer Lhasa de Sela dies at home

The multilingual, open-hearted singer Lhasa de Sela has died at the age of 37 after battling breast cancer.
Straight Talk

Golden Retriever stops cougar from attacking boy in Boston Bar

An RCMP officer shot the cougar dead; the dog recovered with minor injuries.
Straight Talk

NPA's Ian Robertson says attendance tripled at Bloedel Conservatory

The NPA's sole park commissioner says the only way to keep the Conservatory in public hands is if Vision Vancouver rescinds its earlier motion to close the facility.
Arts Notes

B.C. shortchanged under federal Marquee Tourism Events Program

The Conservative government announced $100 million over two years, but so far, relatively little has flowed to B.C.