Letters to the Sun: Mayor Ken Sim’s ‘swaggering speech’ does not bode well for Vancouver

The Vancouver Sun reader writes that there are bigger problems facing the city of Vancouver than the loss of its “swagger” and “buzz.”

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Re: Dan Fumano: Mayor Ken Sim Aims To Get Vancouver ‘Rocked’ Again, What Does That Mean?

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Vancouver is a beautiful city riddled with challenges. The unimaginable suffering of the chronically homeless. The struggles of those who live and die from addictions. Lack of services and facilities for the mentally ill. The growing and impossible demands on food banks to feed the poor, including the working poor and now college students. The plight of those seeking affordable housing, even for those with a good income. Traffic congestion. Families without a family doctor and overcrowding in our hospitals and emergencies.

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Of course, Vancouver cannot solve these problems alone: ​​the province and the federal government must also do their part. But it surely doesn’t bode well for Vancouverites that the new mayor, with considerable bravado, has identified the loss of “arrogance” and “buzz” as the issues he wants to focus on.

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Richard Hoover, Delta

Part of the second Vancouver Hotel lives on

Re: This Week in History, 1949: Demolition begins for the second Vancouver Hotel, the ‘grandest and most beautiful’ building in the city

Thanks John Mackie for the second story of the Vancouver Hotel. I have a bit to add.

In the 1990s, a coworker bought a “blueprint” home in the Vancouver area. He had been repossessed as the elderly owner had to be transferred to a nursing home. The ex-owner was a “pack rat” in every way. My friend got the house for a song, but it was a mess and absolutely packed. We made working groups to get things out. Garbage, mostly.

In the basement, we had “dig down” several feet when we stumbled upon a cache of old oak flooring boxes. It had been drilled and nailed by hand. A label read “Vancouver Hotel Ball Room.” it smelled. We took it out, boxes full of nails.

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My wife and I had recently purchased a townhome and I was a hobbyist carpenter. For some reason I said that I would take the wood. He sat in our shed for a few more years. Finally one spring I took out the boxes and spent a week pulling out all the nails by hand. Then we tore up the carpet in our master bedroom. I took the old wood and hand nailed it to a new bedroom floor. It looked horrible and it smelled worse. We hired a professional to sand it down. He looked at it and said they hadn’t been drilled or nailed by hand for 75 years, which agrees well with the story of the Vancouver Hotel.

Our contractor sanded and refinished the floor and it was absolutely spectacular. Everyone we knew had to see it and imagine who could have danced on those old oak boards.

When we sold the townhome, we listed the heritage condo, and the first people to see it bought it. As far as I know, it’s still there. When we moved in, a key criteria for the new house was that it had to have solid oak flooring.

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So while I have no idea where the hotel’s moose and bison gargoyle heads ended up, I do know that at least a little bit is still alive! Hopefully current townhome owners will see your story and make the connection.

David Bailey, Surrey

Help drivers see at night

As the city determines its spending priorities, one of them could be reflective paint for the median lane lines on our city streets. They are in serious need of refurbishment and present a significant risk of accidents, especially during our dark and rainy winters. The best place to start is the Broadway corridor where all the subway construction is taking place and the rails twist and turn with no visible way to negotiate them.

jane harris, vancouver


Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected].


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