News for Youse: NHL trade deadline day, UBC president stepping down, and cuts in the Vancouver school district

by The Georgia Straight Staff on April 3rd, 2013 at 9:28 AM

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NHL trade deadline All eyes are on Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis as the National Hockey League prepares for its trade deadline at 3 p.m. today. Yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks picked up Derek Roy, a playmaking centre from the Dallas Stars. The morning of the deadline, speculation continued to surround whether or not the Canucks would make a move on Roberto Luongo, despite Gillis having repeatedly downplayed the likelihood of a trade for the all-star goalie.

UBC president leaving The University of British Columbia has announced that president Stephen Toope will step down at the end of June 2014. According to a UBC news release, Toope will go on to “pursue academic and professional interests in international law and international relations”. He will have served as president for eight years.

Cuts at Vancouver schools The Vancouver school district is preparing for budget cuts that will likely affect a wide range of programs and services. Trustee Mike Lombardi told CKNW that everything is on the table, including the number of teachers the district employs and what resources are available in classrooms.

Surrey’s “state of the city” Surrey mayor Dianne Watts is scheduled to deliver a “state of the city address” today. According to a tweet posted by her office's @SurreyMayor account, the speech will include news on “important new initiatives”. You can watch Watts’s address live at 12:40 p.m. here.

DTES sex workers going to court Sex workers from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside are preparing to take their case to the Supreme Court of Canada. Today, Pivot Legal Society announced that they will be asking judges to rule on the constitutionality of the country’s prostitution laws.

Bloggers conference to return Vancouver’s biggest forum for bloggers and social media enthusiasts will return in 2013 for a ninth consecutive year. The 2013 Northern Voice conference is scheduled for June 14 and 15. A list of speakers and ticket prices has yet to be released.

Freeze on carbon tax The B.C. Liberals are expected to announce a five-year freeze on the province’s carbon tax, which was introduced in 2008. The tax will remain at its current levels for a period to allow other jurisdictions to institute similar policies, according to media reports.

Post-Fukushima spike in illness A research project conducted in five West Coast states in the U.S. has found a significant spike in the occurrence of a congenital illness among children born a week to four months after the post-tsunami meltdown in Fukushima, Japan. The study did not look at populations living in Canada. You can read more about this story here.

Rolling Stones to tour North America Vancouver has been left off the list of cities scheduled to host the Rolling Stones for the group’s highly-anticipated 50^th anniversary tour in North America. So far, Toronto is the only stop announced for Canada. The band has only released the locations for 10 of the expected 18 stops. You can watch the Rolling Stones discuss the tour in a YouTube video released today.