Pettersson could be the new Bobby Orr
In 1966-67, I was the play-by-play broadcaster for the Boston Bruins. It was Bobby Orr鈥檚 rookie year.
The Bruins then, similar to the Canucks today, had done nothing in the playoffs for years. Then along came Orr, 鈥淢agic on Ice鈥�!!
As the Canucks journey through these playoffs, I see a lot of Orr- like qualities in the young Elias Pettersson 鈥� his 14 speeds of fast, the fact that he鈥檚 an excellent passer and playmaker who is very adept at handling the puck with stick handling skill and is very hockey smart. Orr, age 18 then, became a team leader, leading by doing, as Elias will learn to do 鈥� he鈥檚 already third in playoff scoring!
It might not happen this year, since there are some very strong teams in the playoffs, but the nucleus of an exciting hockey team is now in Vancouver.
What we need to do as fans is to learn to behave ourselves, whether they win or lose!
Jim Laing
Victoria
Archeological go-ahead pricey for new gas line
A few months ago, Fortis extended its natural gas line down our road. As our oil furnace is old, my wife and I considered a switch to natural gas, as it鈥檚 more efficient, more environmentally friendly and less expensive.
We approached Fortis, which told us that it would cost us $15.75 to install a line from the road to the outside of our home. However, there was a BUT.
We apparently live on a site previously occupied by First Nations. Despite the fact that since then, a rail line and a farm existed before our house was built in 1960, we needed to get archeological clearance before the 9 x18-inch trench could be dug. The paperwork (and that鈥檚 really all it is) and on-site observation (half a day) would cost between $7,500 and $10,000.
Shocked, we countered by suggesting the line be placed on the present surface. We would then design an 18-inch raised flower bed on top. No digging would be involved. However, we could not do this on property we did not own 鈥� specifically, the approximately 10 feet from the road edge to our property line.
Here the line would have to be buried and despite the fact that this property was not ours, the permitting fee would be virtually unchanged. At about $1,000 a foot, that seemed a bit pricey.
The concept of wanting to know what happened in the past makes sense. Compelling a landowner to pay such unreasonable amounts does not. We will stick with oil.
Chris Harker
North Saanich
Offer safe ways for youth to socialize
Re: 鈥淧arty during pandemic 鈥榥ot worth someone鈥檚 life,鈥� Farnworth says as new fines unveiled,鈥� Aug. 21.
It could be more helpful if all levels of government put some thought into creating alternative safe, physically distanced, but fun and meaningful ways for youth to socialize, instead of just announcing rules and fines.
Young people are desperate to spend time together. It鈥檚 a time of life when they are looking to make friends, start careers and meet life partners. Instead they鈥檝e been locked down, cooped up with Zoom and electronic devices, with a bleak outlook for jobs.
How about offering life-skills training, and paying them to work on community enhancement projects? For instance, teaching them about the importance of food security and growing food, and helping farmers who are having trouble hiring workers; teaching them about the value of trees and nature, and skills in caring for them, and giving them opportunities to plant native trees and shrubs, and pull invasives. More activities on similar lines could be offered. Katimavik could be greatly expanded, with an emphasis on work that will build communities and mitigate climate change.
Grace Golightly
Duncan
Re-open homeless shelters, enforce bylaws
Our city has bylaws for many reasons. Those bylaws have maintained our world-renowned downtown core and our wonderfully pleasant communities that have flourished for many years.
The recent lack of enforcement of those bylaws have had a predictable effect. Our city is slipping into chaos. Families and children have been pushed out of our parks by people who are struggling with the worst kinds of mental illness and addictions. Allowing our most vulnerable and most dangerous individuals to camp in parks has led to a huge increase in drug overdoses and crime, not to mention the loss of precious recreation facilities for everyone.
This has to stop. For the sake of our most vulnerable population and for the sake of everyone, we must re-open homeless shelters, we must enforce camping bylaws.
I understand the shelter-in-place philosophy behind allowing permanent camping in our parks, but it is clear the negatives far outweigh the benefits here.
Lately, I鈥檝e noticed people in all walks of life disrespecting things such as stop signs and traffic laws. If people are allowed to do hard drugs seven metres away from a playground and camp there for weeks, what incentive is there for anyone to follow any of the laws in this city? My wife joked today that since we can鈥檛 secure a booking for a spot in any provincial campground, perhaps we should just plan our annual camping trip in any one of the city parks.
Joe Day
Victoria
Victoria has become unrecognizable
Health workers overwhelmed, businesses trying to survive the many crimes being committed, the police shorthanded. And the illustrious mayor and council do next to nothing. Victoria is almost unrecognizable, dangerous and needs action now.
Wendy Darbey
Victoria
Why are libraries so unconcerned about patrons?
Hooray! The James Bay library has re-opened. Balloons? Free coffee? Cake? Forget it.
A very fierce librarian told the waiting seniors 鈥� on our special hour 鈥� they could only come in for 10 minutes. No browsing.
On the shelves were a handful of non-fiction books, most of them about cooking and dogs. There was not a chair available so I could check the books out, until I told a librarian I might faint. I will be 92 in October should I live so long! And if I recovered, I said, the first thing I would do on revival would be to call CHEK and the sa国际传媒. That fetched me a chair, thoroughly disinfected in case I might pollute it.
Why is it I can saunter around the supermarket as long as I need 鈥� and yes, I do use a mask 鈥� and not be treated as a pariah? Are books more of a threat than lettuce?
I am so ashamed of our library鈥檚 lack of concern for its patrons in the days of COVID-19, especially since I once served my term as an elected member of its council. There is so little we can do in times of isolation, and books are vital.
I wanted classics, fiction in Spanish, history of Tudor times, but it is impossible for me to negotiate a catalogue because it takes a half hour to find what you might want 鈥� and then it is 鈥渙n hold.鈥�
Are we going back to the days when librarians were tyrants who would guard their books from you and make a big fuss if you coughed?
And do librarians appreciate that it is our taxes that pay their salaries? Sorry to be so angry. At least I can prowl the neighbourhood and sometimes find a better selection of good books than what I am offered by my sad little library in James Bay.
Alison Acker
Victoria
Social-distancing rules loosely applied
Re. 鈥淲ear masks and face shields,鈥� letter, Aug. 26.
I agree with the writer that rules around social distancing are being loosely applied in retail stores these days, if at all, both by store staff and customers. COVID-19 fatigue seems to be creeping in, even while case numbers are back on the rise. Waiting lines are non-existent and stores are overcrowded.
With regard to mask wearing, there is currently no clear public policy on this. Stores make their own rules and apply them inconsistently and unevenly. No wonder people are confused.
Public figures don鈥檛 always set the best example. Television coverage of the federal Conservative leadership race on the weekend showed politicians and delegates handshaking, hugging, and huddling close together in groups. Whatever happened to elbow bumps? Wearing a mask does not exempt anyone from observing the two-metre rule, much less an aspiring prime minister.
Claudia Logan
Victoria
Comox Valley housing story needed more detail
Re: 鈥淣ew proposal for Riverwood land near Courtenay,鈥� Aug. 25.
The story on the Comox Valley housing development proposed by 3L Developments fails to grasp the entirety and complexity of this issue. It reads mostly like a press release from the developer.
To understand it fully, the story should have reported on the long history behind this proposal. Specifically, how this 3L Developments proposal, as well as its previous iterations, contravenes the Comox Valley鈥檚 Regional Growth Strategy, a guiding document created from a long and inclusive process that involved the whole Comox Valley.
It鈥檚 a complex story that your reporting did nothing to explain.
George Le Masurier
Comox
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