BC Economic Fundamentals

[joeiannuzzi]

Victoria bus lanes project put on hold

The Victoria Regional Transit Commission has accepted the recommendation of B.C. Transit to shelve plans for the controversial $25-million Douglas Street busway project.

The commission instead opted for a more comprehensive study of the business case for a regional transportation network that will examine a variety of transportation alternatives -- and that could include the busway project.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...a0-efcd3f3c6906

 

[joeiannuzzi]

B.C. forests minister is not optimistic

VANCOUVER -- Forests Minister Rich Coleman said yesterday he has "no real optimism" that Indonesian paper giant Sinar Mas is going to complete its purchase of two B.C. pulp mills that shut down operations when their financing ran out.

The collapse of the $225-million deal between Sinar Mas and insolvent forest company Pope & Talbot led to the closure Monday of pulp mills at Harmac near Nanaimo and Mackenzie, north of Prince George.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...4d-59c25b5879cc

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Warship refits begin with Vancouver

The first of five Canadian warships scheduled for major refits in Victoria over the next decade slipped into graving dock this week, stripped of guns and radar systems and ready for a six-month overhaul to modernize the vessel.

HMCS Vancouver is one of 12 Halifax-class frigates that will undergo refits as part of the federal government`s $900-million upgrading program.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...36-82b2a1feea31

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Developer will listen to community

The developer selected to do a massive and potentially controversial makeover of Vancouver`s oldest social-housing site says his first priority will be to pay attention to what the community wants for the site.

"If there is going to be a single message I have, it`s that we will listen," said Simon Lim of Holborn Properties.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...f6-75a2550fc057

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Utopian dreams aside, the suburbs are here to stay

Ah me. Suburbanites . . . we can`t get no respect.

That the deep thinkers in the inner city characterize the suburbs as sterile wastelands of wife-swapping, Hummer-driving environmental criminals is something I can live with. I don`t drive a Hummer.

That the Death of Suburbia is so accepted a fact among urbanistas that a whole literature has grown up around it I can also abide. Like Twain, I believe the reports of that death to be exaggerated, if not wishful thinking.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...8b-27b8f4a9813a

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Land control rules to change

VICTORIA -- The B.C. government has quietly introduced legislation that would give it the formal right to retake control of certain public lands without paying compensation.

On Monday, Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell said the proposed amendment does not change the rules with regard to private property but, if passed, would mean companies that do not have explicit compensation agreements with the government could have land rights removed without anything in return.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...fb-7e384f8c0ae0

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Colwood, Langford draft unified growth strategy

Two city cores complete with highrises essentially become one under Colwood and Langford`s new draft official community plans.

Each municipality will soon be holding public hearings into their OCPs which are documents providing rationale behind how and where development and land use changes occur. The communities co-operated in their respective OCPs, each using the same consultant. The result includes proposed major city cores with high density along with village centres and neighbourhood centres.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...a1-e09323c87775

 

[joeiannuzzi]

B.C. jobless rate drops to `60s levels

VANCOUVER -- The unemployment rate in B.C. is the lowest it has been since the mid-1960s, and the province`s job market continues to grow, according to figures released yesterday.

The Economic Analysis of B.C. report, published by Credit Union Central of B.C., projects the unemployment rate for 2008 at 4.0 per cent, down from 4.2 per cent in 2007 and the sixth straight year of decline.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...59-edd72ea1ef6e

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Whalley to become new downtown?

Surrey`s notorious Whalley district is being designated Metro Vancouver`s second downtown core, according to a new regional strategic plan.

Whalley`s upgrade from regional city centre to larger metro centre is one of the changes proposed in a draft of the new plan, meant to update the region`s existing Livable Region Strategic Plan to 2031.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sto...91-4ed6c38f9c1d

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Beware of home reno ripoffs when renovating

B.C.`s home-renovation business is going strong this year -- and that means the home-reno ripoff business is going strong.

Homeowners who deal in the cash-only underground economy risk legal wrangles and expose themselves to scrutiny from bylaw officials, provincial safety regulators and Canada Revenue Agency, says John Friswell, president of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/mon...d4-d0e94c775ff9

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Plans proposed for mega-yacht marina

VICTORIA I A Seattle company specializing in luxury boats is proposing to build Canada`s first marina for large yachts in Victoria.

The planned $20-million, 48-berth marina at Songhees in Victoria`s harbour would serve the growing market for huge yachts about 22 to 45 metres long, said developer Bob Evans, who is partnering with Alberta-based Western Asset Management Development Group to form Community Marine Concepts LP.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/we...1e-a7fbcca71e84

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Forest firm slides into receivership

One of the West Coast`s most historic lumber companies, Pope & Talbot, began a slow slide into receivership Wednesday, setting off a financial crisis for workers and suppliers as it shut down its pulp mills at Harmac and Mackenzie.

"The company is transitioning toward receivership," Sean Dunphy, counsel for the 160-year old forest company, said after a joint court hearing in Vancouver and the U.S. state of Delaware, where the unravelling of Pope & Talbot has entered its final act.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...a0-e345479c005a

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Vancouver residents love their condos

More than half of Vancouver residents surveyed would buy a condo as an investment rather than as a primary residence -- the highest level in Canada, according to a TD Canada Trust online survey.

The survey found that 52 per cent of Vancouverites would make a condo investment, compared with 38 per cent of 1,200 residents polled in six Canadian urban centres -- Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/bu...b3-36b0134a9005

 

[joeiannuzzi]

New listings outpace sales to start the spring cycle

An influx of new listings entered the Greater Vancouver housing market in April 2008, while residential sales reduced slightly compared to the same period a year ago.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,218 in April 2008, a decline of five per cent from the 3,387 sales recorded in April 2007, and a 3.8 per cent drop from the 3,345 sales in April 2006.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...4f-b6ab6a8db10e

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Why I will always buy real estate - part II - continued from last week...

The new consumer is you and I. How everyone can be motivated is what has to be analyzed. Because that analysis is what will tell us how the new consumer is likely to act and react in any given situation.

And the analysis is difficult because the `talk people talk` is different from the `walk people walk`. Buyers are liars. We say one thing and then go out and do the opposite. If you take a poll, people will tell you that they want service and human interaction in the satisfaction of their consumer needs. Then they blithely drive by the local, and friendly, corner store to the `big box superstore` with the canyon of goods piled up to the ceiling.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...5e-309d66f76f22

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Lakefront prices soar due to buyer demand

With the interior of B.C. being known for spectacular lakes like Shuswap and Okanagan, it`s easy for buyers to focus on such areas and miss out on some smaller gems.

Two such lakes are Kalamalka and Wood Lakes, located between Vernon and Kelowna and connected by a short canal.

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/s...c0-b2ee505bb53e

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Mackenzie, Fort St. James get forestry aid

The provincial government has earmarked $4 million for the hard-hit communities of Mackenzie and Fort St. James, Premier Gordon Campbell announced Friday as he explained how $129 million will be spent to tide over the province`s laid-off forestry workers during a wave of sawmill shutdowns.
Each community will receive "direct assistance" of $2 million each and Ministry of Economic Development officials will be visiting the towns next week, Campbell said during a speech to local politicians attending the North Central Municipal Association conference at the Civic Centre.

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/2008050...restry-aid.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Warning issued over weekend investment seminar at hotel

Vancouver Island residents who have been invited to a Freedom Financial vending-machine business opportunity seminar this weekend at the Victoria Marriott Hotel are being urged to use caution before making investment decisions.

"It`s a caution. I`m concerned more than anything," said Bryden Gage, Vancouver Island Better Business Bureau acting executive director.

"It does appear that they don`t have a great history."

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...45-26e215b997db

 

[joeiannuzzi]

B.C. promises aid for stricken towns

VANCOUVER -- Premier Gordon Campbell said yesterday the provincial government plans to spend its share of a $1 billion national community development fund on forest workers and in forest-dependent towns.

The province is to receive $129 million from Ottawa over three years in an aid package developed specifically to help single-resource towns facing economic downturns.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...6d-77cf5f993679

 

[joeiannuzzi]

Homes: `Flippers` take things slowly

Nancy Gill says, "We like dust; dust is our friend." Good thing she feels that way. She has been living with renovation dust for the past 10 years as she and husband Marcus Gill took advantage of the rising housing market to renovate dilapidated homes for resale.

"I guess we are flippers, but does it count when you live in the house, and do it once every three or five years?" Nancy asks.

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonis...e2-82bd9e436a6a