Investment buyers hurt live-in owners
Owners of condos who purchased to milk their investment for all the revenue they could, to the detriment of the buildings that housed you, need to stop whining.
You hurt us live-in owners when you voted down fee increases needed to maintain the building and finances.
You hurt us live-in owners when instead of neighbours and community we had a parade of short-term renters, beating up our walls and floors with suitcases and leaving their dogs to bark.
You left us with lots of damage to fix and neglected maintenance because you did not care about the long-term viability of our building and our investments in what we call home.
Now you whine. Now you hurt.
You are not that entitled. All investments have risk.
Now you want to sell, maybe, and you cannot? And you complain that you can’t get the price you want.
You thought you could get twice what you paid without doing any investment in the condo and building. It will take a while for you to realize you need to do some updating to sell, or lower your price.
There are single people who would buy a 250-square-foot condo downtown, as many popular cities in the world prove.
The building needs to look like a good investment, though.
Lisa Tindall
Victoria
Modify mail service for the new reality
Major change to sa国际传媒 Post is necessary to halt the continued upward spiral of delivery cost and operating losses.
We have not had mail delivery to our house for more than 30 years but instead pick it up at a local community mailbox. I only check this box a couple of times a week, as anything that is urgent is inevitably dealt with via email or text message.
I believe that twice-weekly mail delivery would be sufficient for everyone except perhaps businesses. There is no reason to get home delivery just because you live in a large urban area.
Delivering all mail to community mailboxes on a twice-weekly basis would more than halve the required number of letter carriers.
There would be many fewer locations to deliver mail to so a much longer route could be covered by a single carrier. It would also no longer be necessary to carry the mail, as trucks could be used.
This would address the union’s complaint about the weight of the mail and working in poor weather.
Job security is a problem but if you work for an organization that consistently loses hundreds of million dollars a year you cannot expect your job to be guaranteed.
Mail delivery may arguably be an essential service but the exact nature of that service needs to be designed to meet current reality.
Alan Newell
Chemainus
They waited and waited for help with health
Early Monday evening we phoned 811 regarding a health concern.
The rapidly answered telephone triage covered name, health care number and basic information about the concern (heart related).
We were told to hold for the next available nurse. We waited on hold (with constant assurances that they would be with us) for two hours.
We hung up only as we entered the front door of the Royal Jubilee Hospital Emergency. There we received excellent care and treatment over the five hours we were there. Too bad we wasted those first two hours waiting for the non-existent 811 service!
What a deplorable situation in our health care!
Louise Mcgillivray
Victoria
Police, go with firearms and full uniforms
If the police liaison program is reinstated in the schools — and I hope it is — the officers should go in with their firearms and in full uniform.
The uniform and weapon are symbols of authority and as such, are important in conveying the message that while their presence may be intimidating, the men and women who work in this capacity do have power and that power is employed in the service and protection of citizens.
I have observed these men and women for years in Greater Victoria schools. They are committed to building relationships, not terrorizing children.
I know this, because I have witnessed it. There’s your evidence.
David Masini
Victoria
Try wearing uniforms with hidden weapons
Some readers have suggested that police officers who visit schools shouldn’t wear uniforms or carry weapons.
Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of familiarizing students with the image of a police officer? If officers are faced with a crisis while at a school, are they to say “sorry, your best bet is to call 911”?
Perhaps the concept of “if you’re lost, ask a police officer” is out of date, but students can still learn that the police are helpful, not frightening. That includes the uniforms they wear and the weapons they are prepared to use to protect us.
The modern world includes criminals who might carry automatic weapons. I wish the police would look less intimidating, but I don’t expect them to go on duty armed with nothing but a truncheon and a whistle.
Alanne Gibson
Victoria
Limit is lower, speeds don’t change
I live in a neighbourhood where the new speed limit is 30 km/h.
No cars obey this limit, they are well over the speed limit and there is no enforcement. So obviously 30 is the new 50.
Don Boyce
Victoria
British Columbia needs to go nuclear
At first glance, solar and wind seem like no-brainer solutions for sa国际传媒 energy production, but these are old technologies and we need to learn from others’ mistakes. It is a green fantasy.
We know that by the time solar comes close to being economically feasible (paying for itself), the panels will need to be replaced.
Despite huge costs, this leads to serious E-waste issues as well when you add up how many solar panels there are. Like batteries, they wear out too soon.
Wind is also unreliable. Even in the middle of the winter here in sa国际传媒, days/weeks could go by with little to no wind. How would they fare in a bomb cyclone?
Like solar, wind turbines, too, need costly maintenance, and we have seen many in these farms not even spinning in the wind for whatever reason!
A safe and secured small-scale nuclear reactor designed to withstand even a 9 magnitude earthquake is the solution here in sa国际传媒
Wind and solar are old news and unreliable.
David R. Carlos
Saanichton
sa国际传媒 will take the lead on this new ‘newness’
Re: “Lululemon shines a light on ‘newness’,” Dec. 6.
I would like to thank the braintrust at Lululemon for their rebranding of overly used (and largely meaningless) words like innovation and state of the art to “newness.”
My prediction is that it will be only a matter of weeks until politicians across the spectrum introduce this, er, new, word into their speeches and promises.
My further prediction: sa国际传媒 will be the first province to appoint a Minister of Newness with a mandate to bring newness to all government programs and policies, and heaven only knows we could use some.
Howard Brunt
North Saanich
It’s time to stand up and support the police
I am pleased by the work being done by the Victoria police, especially the fact that we have increased foot patrols downtown. I suggest that VicPD produce and make available bumper stickers that read something along the lines of “support your local police.”
I think this would be a great way to stand against the current “woke” policies. I might sound like a fascist, but I do think the police are the thin blue line that protects us from crime and general anarchy.
Keep up the good work!
David Pearce
Victoria
Victoria’s speed signs won’t make a difference
Re: “Default speed limit of 50 km/h being phased out in most of Victoria,” Dec. 6.
“Data from city staff suggests most streets in Victoria operate at speeds between 30 and 35 km/h, so lowering the limit is not expected to affect many drivers.”
Why bother? It’s just another $100,000 solution in search of a problem from the overreaching micro-managers on city council.
Traffic speed tends to be self regulating, and generally safe. Yes, there are the scofflaws and idiots who drive dangerously, but council is delusional if it thinks they pay the least bit of attention to the signs.
Frederick Shand
Victoria
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