News for Youse: Asian Heritage Month, May Day march, and Stanley Cup Playoffs

by The Georgia Straight Staff on May 1st, 2013 at 8:58 AM

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Asian Heritage Month May 1 marks the beginning of Asian Heritage Month. In the Lower Mainland, the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society and explorASIAN kicked things off a day early at Richmond City Hall. The Straight’s Craig Takeuchi was there. You can read his full report and watch video from the event here.

May Day march A large group is expected to convene in Vancouver today (May 1) at Victoria Square to mark May Day, an annual celebration of workers’ rights. A march will begin from the corner for Hastings and Cambie streets at 6:30 p.m. and proceed through parts of the downtown area. According to Vancouver Media Co-op, themes for this year’s event include industrial expansion in the resource sector, the rights of First Nations, and gentrification.

Mixed report on TransLink Yesterday (April 30), the independent regulator of TransLink released its annual report for 2012. The South Coast B.C. Regional Transportation Commission found that TransLink “made notable advances towards meeting challenges” and provided “an improving trend in customer experience.” However, the report’s author, Regional Transportation Commissioner Martin Crilly, also wrote that “it is now apparent that funding constraints have put further system expansion on hold for an unforeseeable period. If new funding sources are secured, it will take time to gear up and deliver the expansion.”

Dix promises local cooperation B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix has pledged that if elected, he would create a provincial ministry for local governments. Speaking yesterday at a mayors’ council meeting in Prince George, the opposition frontrunner acknowledged the challenges that can arise when different levels of government act out of concert with one another. The proposal was met with positive remarks by Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson and Surrey’s Dianne Watts, among others in attendance.

Fed moves on collective bargaining Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has tightened executive control over CBC and several other Crown corporations, including Canada Post and VIA Rail. The new measures appear in a budget bill passed this week. They give Harper’s cabinet a dominant voice in collective bargaining arrangements.

Playoffs underway The Vancouver Canucks take to the ice at Rogers Arena for their first game of the playoffs tonight in a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks beat the Canucks in all three regular season contests between the conference rivals this year. At the time of writing, it remained unknown whether Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider would start in net for the Canucks.

Suspects in custody The Boston Police Department has revealed it has taken into custody three additional suspects wanted in relation to the April 15 Boston Marathon attacks, which killed three people and injured dozens more. According to a statement posted on the BPD website, there is no additional threat to public safety at this time.

Soldiers killed Three British soldiers died in Afghanistan this morning when a large roadside bomb exploded Helmand province. An additional six were injured. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Canada has more than 900 soldiers still deployed in Afghanistan.

Zuckerberg lobby group criticized A lobby group fronted by Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is drawing criticism for paying for ads that promote the Keystone XL pipeline and fossil fuels. FWD.us, which is also backed by tech giants from such corporations as Dropbox and LinkedIn, has a stated focus of immigration reform.