As the B.C. government mulls over introducing a tax on fuels with major carbon content, such as oil, gas, and coal, in the next provincial budget, the Calgary-based Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says a well-designed tax has several advantages over an emissions-trading system

Delta Mayor Lois Jackson isn't going to step aside for Vancouver city councillor Peter Ladner, who wants her job as chair of Metro Vancouver, formerly known as the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc., funded in part by public-sector employees in British Columbia, proposes to build five hydroelectric dams, opening up pristine Patagonia to the encroachment of industry for the first time

Port Coquitlam pig farmer Robert Pickton has just been found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Marnie Frey, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, and Brenda Wolfe.

Hon. Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour - better know to the world as Conrad Black, the world's third most powerful press baron, according to Naomi Klein - is expected to receive sentencing today in a Chicago court.

As another storm of census statistics about language and immigration to Metro Vancouver inundates the media, the data describe the ebbs and flows of immigration and how they are shaping the city's demographic landscape. The real question is this: do these statistics tell what kind of city we are becoming?

If you are looking for a sure bet in a new growth market, sell solar, buy surveillance; forget wind, buy weapons

As Palestinians move toward a demographic majority, some are suggesting abandoning the "two-state solution" in favour of a multi-party, post-Zionist, Arab-controlled democracy

Pity the working artists–painters, sculptors, musicians–who labour for decades to become accomplished at their crafts. [Arts Notes, Nov. 15-22]. They have been forgotten, dismissed in the hullabaloo of Mondo Condo, the homogenized cityscape designed for the well-to-do. Studio space is becoming rarer, and rents higher.

I found Jeannine Mitchell's article "B.C. joins the race for clean energy" [Nov. 29–Dec. 6] to be both one-sided and misleading. Frequent references appear regarding the vast amounts of money to be made by investors in green energy stating that hydroelectric power will "be big" in B.C. given its tremendous resources.

Terry Glavin's article on the research conducted by Rosemary and Peter Grant ["Finches provide the proof," November 15-22] strikes me by its admission that until recently the evolution of the finches on the Galápagos Islands had not been proved. Those who reasonably question Darwin's theory have no problem with what has been called micro-evolution; for example, evolution of the size and shape of the beaks of finches, or of the colour of moths, or of bacteria that have come to resist antibiotics.

Vancouver city planning director Brent Toderian claims that the revised EcoDensity document going to city council reflects community input ["EcoDensity won't cut prices," Nov. 29–Dec. 6]. Despite the specific property-tax concerns you report, there are still no plans to mitigate the impacts of mass rezoning.

Similar to “mortgage-helper” suites in single-family homes, some condo and townhouse units feature a built-in removable wall that allows the owner to rent out a portion of the home for extra cash

As the jury deliberates the Robert William Pickton case, in which the Port Coquitlam farmer is alleged to have murdered six prostitutes, a former sex-trade worker who knew some of the alleged victims charges Ottawa is doing little to make such women's lives safer

Libby Davies: "If the Conservative government refuses to change the law, then at least there has to be a safe house for women where they can have support programs..."

Jamie Lee Hamilton: "It goes beyond the drinking and driving. That can happen to anyone. The fact that he deceived the public for as long as he did goes straight to his character.

In a report to be discussed by city council on Tuesday (December 11), staff note that to maintain existing services and programs next year, a tax increase of 4.86 percent will be required

Ask Khaled Barakat about the latest round of Israel-Palestine peace talks and he’ll be blunt. “The negotiations are happening between the Israelis and Americans, and we Palestinians are irrelevant to this,” he said in a telephone interview with the Straight. “The only way we can be relevant, as Palestinians, is as the Palestinian resistance.”

The City of New Westminster is putting on the back burner its decision to remove boxes carrying free newspapers like the Georgia Straight from its downtown core. The ban was to take effect on January 1, 2008.

The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association is asking Vancouver taxpayers to foot the bill for an expansion of its Downtown Ambassadors program.

It’s been quite the few days for courtroom drama.

The RCMP’s watchdog has released its interim report on the Mounties’ use of Tasers, criticizing the law enforcement agency and recommending that changes be made immediately.

This was one of the questions posed by activist Barb Moyle at the December 12 meeting of the Vancouver Police Board wherein she called for an immediate moratorium on the use of these weapons.

If you’ve got wheels and you want to go for a ride, you may be able to head on down to Richmond for the unveiling of the first Canada Line train.