THE GORDFATHER...OFFERS WE CAN'T REFUSE

To The Editor

Racketeering? Conflict of interest? Secretive government meetings? Episode
of the Soprano's?
Nope - it's a new series called "The Gordfather".

TransLink decides where the transit routes and stations go, and the zoning
is changed to maximize their density/profit, regardless of the consequences
to the community. They decide on the method of construction with impunity.
They decide when to purchase the property with this secret knowledge,
without any pesky competition. They even choose who will win their favour to
build on this land and share the spoils.

And the public that is impacted and pays for all this - that's us - does not
have a say in anything. As a matter of fact, Kevin Falcon has made it clear
even to the Municipal Mayors that if you don't honour the TransLink family,
you and your communities will be dead to him.

Small businesses that get in the way don't stand a chance of survival.
You just couldn't make this stuff up.

Good thing they have a Vice President of SNC Lavalin on the Board to advise
them, and a director of Canada Line to assist with how to get away with
offering no compensation! And what a bonus that Shato Holdings has very
close ties every whichway to the Gordfather. Makes it so much easier to have
White Spots in every station, and residential towers over all their
restaurants. Sweet.

I think the people of BC have just been kissed off.

Susan Heyes
Standing up for Democracy (against all odds)
604 687-0721

Liza & Joel on MOney, Money, Money

Translink- The new Condo King

The story about Translink becoming a Billion dollar landowner, covered by the front page and by Pete McMartin in today's Sun, is an interesting and important issue.

But it seems to me that a few good questions have not been asked.

Yes, it's a good thing that the system can generate money and stop bleeding homeowners who drive and never get on a bus or train.

Yes, it's a good thing that someone will develop communities and hubs of activity - commercial, residential and recreational - around skytrain stations.

But the Big Question of who, who, who gets to do all this has not been sufficiently explored.

The very last paragraph on the front page story is found on page 2. It tells us that the first 3P deal is imminent, maybe as close as a few months away.

OK.

So to whom has Translink's new government appointed, arms-length board been talking?

Peter Wall? David Podmore? The Hell's Angels?

As always, the key to such stories is FOLLOW THE MONEY.

But the public cannot follow what is being obscured.

The Musqueam deal was back-room brokered between two Campbells - Ernie, the aboriginal chief and Gordon, the Premier.

How much of these million-dollar development deals will be back-room brokered between the Great Control Freak Premier and favored developers?

Will new and growing developers have opportunities? Will small companies stand a chance?

Will we ever know, or, much as usual, will we sit back like compliant Canadian sheep and watch the city grow around our 50 inch plasma escape machines?

George Bush - Accountant Extraordinaire

Bush, the president who has no interest in health insurance for American citizens, estimated the cost of the Iraq war at a mere $50 Billion.

Turns out he missed the mark by a tad.

How about $4 TRILLION?

Of course, there's no oil or infrastructure or arms profit to be made by friends in health care.

Read the bloody mess here.