Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 17, 1993

s TERRACE -

STANDARD

ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988

ADDRESS: 4647 Lazelle Ave., Terrace, B.C. » V8G 188
TELEPHONE: (604) 638-7283 * FAX: (604) 638-8432
MODEM: 638-7247

Choke point

IF THERE’S one municipal sore point that needs
a good airing it’s parking downtown. Nope.
Make that lack of parking.

As the city grows, so does the need for parking
spaces. The massive infilling of vacant lots in the
downtown core by commercial developments
hasn’t been matched by an equal provision of
spaces for vehicles.

There are several reasons for all of this. One is
the relaxation some years ago by the city of a by-
law requiring a business to provide parking, The
relaxation provision takes in the central
downtown core of the city. It was a weil inten-
tioned move, meant to encourage business and
commercial development in that core by easing
costs. .

But it now means that shoppers have to com-
pete for spaces on city streets. And without a
comprehensive plan by the city to deal with that,
the problem has now grown to the point of bec-
oming a potential choke point. People who can’t
find parking will go elsewhere, reducing the
commerce of those businesses the relaxation
policy is meant to assist.

The relaxation is also unfair to those businesses
outside of the downtown core. They must meet
stringent parking requirements, thus raising their
costs when compared to those businesses operat-
ing within the relaxation zone.

There are several ways to deal with this matter.

_ One is to remove that relaxation provision for

any new businesses within the downtown core.
But that again may not be fair given that it will
still apply to existing enterprises in the same
area. ;

Another is for the city to encourage people to

take their bicycles downtown. That will require |

clearly marked bicycle paths and bicycle racks.
Public transit, a convenience few people use
here, might be boosted.

Or the city could get into the parking business

as it is now contemplating. There are still some

vacant lots in the downtown area. Parkades
owned by the city could be operated on a not-
for-profit basis to keep costs down.

- Disclosure
THERE’S EVERY indication this weekend’s lo-
cal elections will result in sweeping changes of
those who. govern the city, school district and
regional district.

Call it, in light of what happened federally, a
sign that the spirit of reform is sweeping through
the country. The feeling out there in voting land
is that people don’t want the politics of before.

They’re looking for something new and dif-

ferent. .

Part of that something different is a suspicion of
special interest groups that seek to influence
politicians, One indication of how special inter-
est groups operate is the financing of election
campaigns, :
There is no requirement that local politicians
disclose the amount of contributions they receive
or the source. Perhaps that should change. It
seems fitting to ask this weekend’s winners for
such a list. That way everybody knows not only
the campaign agendas of the winners, but the
agendas of those who support them. Seems like a

pretty decent way for newly elected leaders to

begin their tasks.

|. BUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link
Gouna ADVERTISING MANAGER: Mike L. Hamm

PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur Seal!

NEWS COMMUNITY: Jeff Nagel * NEWS SPORTS: Maloolm Baxter
OFFICE MANAGER: Rose Fisher -
COMPOSING: Fam Odell « TYPESETTER: Tricia Walker
DARKROOM: Susan Credgeur
ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: Sam Collier, Janet Viveiros
CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Charlene Matthews
Serving the Tortaoe area, Published on Wiednasiday of each week by Carinoo Prone (1060) Lid. ot 4647

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copyright holders, Incuding Cuiboo Prose (1969) Ltd, B's Muatration repro eefvioes ands

Paproducton in whol of ht park withoul wrtien parrisaicn, te apecficaly prohibited.”
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Special thariks to all our contributors and correspondents
oe eo forthelr time and talents —

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LAM A FRIEND OF THE
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VICTORIA — If you're not
yet too whacked by referenda,
elections and leadersiip con-
tests, keep an eye on the Bril-
ish Columbia scene. It’s about
to get interesting

again.

With Grace McCarthy at the
helm of the Social Credit
Party, all previous political
bels are off.

Finst Jet me deal with charges
that I have been promoting
McCarthy. in my columns,
Damned right, I have, and
shamelessly so, if. only for
purely selfish reasons. You
see, I like my politics exciting.
Nothing is more harmful to the
democratic process than

. boredom and apathy.

For two years now, the Lib-

- erals’ have held’ the mondpoly
on listless: and uninspiring ©

politics in British Columbia.
The only good opposition has
come from the Socred rump,
the slx members of what once
seemed an invincible party,
who survived the slaughter two

years ago at the hands of the

NDP.

And if the Liberals were un-
able to get their act together
half-way loward the next elec-
tion, they won’t do it in the
semaining two years. Ergo: for

the democratic process to be

alive and well, come the neat
election, the Socreds needed a
high-profile leader who could

HUBERT BEYER

“FROM. THE CAPITAL -

breathe new life into the party
and, therefore, into B.C
politics. Above all, the new
leader would have to be able to
do it within two years.

seers, Lat ,, RETSON, LD ..was. .con-

vinced, was Grace McCarthy .
the woman who had made two
previous unsuccessful bids for
the leadership. That’s why I
hoped she would be successful
_ the third time around, And she
‘was, oo
When I talked to McCarthy
al the start of the leadership
campaign, she told me she had
three major goals. First, win
the leadership; second, win the
election; third, serve as_
premier for about two years,
call a leadership convention,

. hand over the reins to someone

_else and get back onto the golf
course.
In other words, at 60-plus,

she isn’t making plans for
several terms, but she’s con-
vinced that she has the best
chance of restoring the Socreds
to power, a conviction ob-
viously shared by the majority
of the 15,000 members who
cast their ballots in the leader-
ship vote.

In an interview the day after
she was elected _ leader,
McCarthy said the wheels to
get the party election-ready are
already in motion Con-
stitucucies will be instructed to
comb their ranks for potential
candidates. And work will be-
gin on a plaiform “‘to offer
British Columbians an alterna-
tive to the NDP.” And the
party’s debt from the last elec-
tion, roughly $1 million, will..
be whittled down,

It won’t be easy. Of the
estimated 48,000 members of
the party, about . one-third
lapsed their membership after
the last election, but that still
leaves an impressive 32,000
members, compared with prob-.
ably less than 12,000 card- car-
rying Liberal members.

If McCarthy hasn’t lost her
touch, I predict that she will at
least double the membership
before the next election.

i also -predict that Gordon
Campbell will have one hell of
a time getting funds for his war
chest out of the business com-
munity. With McCarthy’s elec-

tion as leader of the Social
Credit Party, the business com-..
munity will swing behind the ©
Socreds again. . ,

The NDP is happy with the
outcome of the Socred leader-
ship contest. They . consider
McCarthy the best Socred
leader to split the vote in the
next clection, giving them a
chance to come up the middle,

It’s a possibility, although I
rather belleve that it is the. Lib-
erals who will split the vote.
As I mentioned a number of
times, support for the Liberals
in rural British Columbia is:
virtually non-existent And.
with McCarthy back in the
game, the Socreds will give the
Liberals more than a good mun _.
in the, Lower Mainland.

Vancouver Island for Graham
Bruce’s leadership bid is any”
indication, and he decides not ©
to sulk over his defeat, he will -
be able to deliver a lot of votes
for the Socreds from his turf,
That leaves Jack Weisgerber to
deliver the north and Claude
Richmond to. do the same in-
the Interior.

Anyone who wrote off the -
Socreds following their crush-
ing and well-deserved defeat in
1991 will be in for a surprise
two years or so down the road.
it isn’t over until the fat lady.
sings and, so far, I can’! hear a
peep.

Comfort in a book catalogue

MAIL ORDER catalogues
have always had a place in my
life, Growing up as a Sas-
katchewan farm kid, Eaton’s
catalogue filled out my exis-
tence the way volunteers add
activity and friendship to the
stelle routines of extended
care facilities.

From shoes and underwear to
sweater, jackets, and mittens,

Mom chose our clothing sitting °

at the kitchen table in the eve-
ning. Our toys from Santa, the
Ganong chocolates, even iree
decorations all originated as
photes on a glossy page. Our
ice cream maker, too, came
from Eaton’s in Winnipeg.

The arrival of each season’s
catalogue - particularly the
winter issue - set off as much
excitement as a day at the fall
fair. ‘Today I feel the same
anticipation when mail brings
the _ Duthie Books fall
catalogue.

Besides offering me a
panorama of titles to choose
Christmas gifts and my future
reading from, the catalogue

THROUGH. BIFOCALS
CLAUDETTE SANDECKRI

gives me a headstart on author
interviews to be conducted
throughout the next months by
Peter Gzowski, Viki Gabereau,
and Midday. ;

As a rule, the Duthie fall se-
lections include humor by
CBC’s Arthur Black and other
Stephen Leacock humor medal
winners. or nominees. The

. caver of this year’s volume,

Black by Popular Demand, has.

Arthur in the famous Kim

pose, bare shouldered, holding
aloft his jacket from a hanger.

In fiction, there’s Margaret
Atwood’s and W.0. Mitchell’s
newest novels, as well as au-
thors nominated for various
writing awards. I like authors
who produce one book a year.
At least,

Duthie’s catalogue serves me
three ways. From it I can
choose titles as gifts, phone
them at their 1-800 number,
and let them deal with wrap-
ping and mailing,

For instant enjoyment, I can
select a title, walk into Coie’s
or Misty River Books, and buy
acopy to take home.

My main use of Duthie’s
catalogue is to circle the titles I
fancy, stock up on library
reserve cards, then request the
books one at.a tine so I’m not
swamped with several books to
read atonce, =~

This {s.the inexpensive way
to read new titles. A major
drawback is it sometimes takes
months to borrow a book:

other readers file reserve cards,
tao.

Some books are worth
owning. For me, these are the
funny ones. I know I'll enjoy
teading them over ‘and over,
not necessarily from cover to
cover each time, but a few ran-
dom pages whenever inclina-
tion strikes. In this category I
put Eric Nicol, Joey Slinger,

and Gary

Farley Mowat,
_ Lautens,
The cover of Duthie’s

Catalogue always evokes a
yuletide mood, This year’s
cover shows a stack of books
and a potied red ‘poinsettia

_ Standing on a table before a

window overlooking a shallow
stream meandering between
snowladen banks.

Such a peaceful scene. I want
to don slippers, snuggle under
an afghan, and read.

What I must do is Christmas
shop, write Individual letters to
my close relatives  -(no-

" photocopies from this house),

and wax the snow shovels.

b THE MOOSE IS

“THE LAKE

ALWAYS ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF .

2. WHEN YOU GET
THERE ITS ACOW

3. qsy AS You'RE
LEAVING THE BuLL
SHOWS UP