News for Youse: Voting for a national chief, TransLink salaries, and Randall Hopley sentencing

Chiefs choose Today, chiefs from across Canada will vote on whether to keep Shawn A-in-chut Atleo of the Ahousaht First Nation as their national chief. He's up against seven candidates: Bill Erasmus, Ellen Gabriel, Joan Jack, Diane Kelly, Terrance Nelson, Pamela Palmater, and George Stanley.

TransLink salaries There was a 20.1-percent increase in TransLink salaries in the 2011 annual statement of financial information compared with the 2010 document. CEO Ian Jarvis led the pack with $382,954.

Damascus attack On the eve of a UN Security Council vote on sanctions against Syria, an attack in the capital killed Defence Minister Dawoud Rajiha and his deputy Gen. Assef Shawkat, a brother-in-law of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

Enbridge signatures The B.C. NDP says more than 25,000 British Columbians have signed its letter opposing Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline. Meanwhile, the right-wing Fraser Institute has released a study claiming that expanding pipeline capacity to Asia would add at least $10.5 billion to Canada's gross domestic product.

Hopley in court Randall Hopley will be sentenced today after pleaded guilty in March to abducting three-year-old Kienan Hebert before returning him unharmed to his Sparwood home.

BCGEU action Members of the B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union will hold a rally outside the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Victoria this morning to draw attention to overcrowded prisons and the province's refusal to use deputy sheriffs for traffic safety and enforcement.

Liquor vote Last night, the City of North Vancouver council voted to oppose the B.C. government's plan to privatize the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch warehouse and distribution system following receipt of a letter from union president Darryl Walker.

Housing recovery U.S. housing starts rose 6.9 percent in June to 760,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis according to the Commerce Department, which could lead to better prospects for the B.C. forest industry.

Walmart scare A Walmart store in Langley was evacuated last night after a bomb threat was phoned in, but RCMP did not detect any explosives on the premises.

Campbell expenses restated Canada's high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Gordon Campbell, had his hospitality expenses cut in half in 2011 and 2012—reduced from $67,296 to $33,975—after CBC revealed that the former B.C. premier was far and away the highest biller among Canadian diplomats.