Vancouver has the highest cremation rate in North America, keeping crematorium manager Aaron Morrison very busy. Photo by Dan Toulgoet.

Ashes to ashes
The six-foot-long container is made of pressed wood, lined to prevent leakage, and rests on a stainless-steel trolley.
 

More early-morning gunplay downtown
Another gun incident near a downtown nightclub Saturday morning has renewed police calls for more resources to deal with crowds pouring out of clubs at 4 a.m.
 

Chinatown casino watching slot decision
The owner of a Chinatown casino is worried he'll lose customers if council allows a casino with slot machines to open at the Plaza of Nations.
 

$20,000 bounty on 'ring' killer
The Vancouver Police Board is expected to approve a $20,000 reward today for information leading to the arrest of the person who killed a 38-year-old man in his West End apartment three weeks ago.
 

Bad bar wants licence back
The owner of a notorious caf‚ on Kingsway wants to reopen, despite losing her business licence late last year after a string of bylaw infractions.
 

Charity boxes in stores touted as best way to help city's 'beggars'
Downtown Vancouver's director of crime prevention hopes to redirect to charity some of the estimated $10 million given to city panhandlers each year.
 

Trustees laying rubber at Lord Roberts
Part of the playground at Lord Roberts Annex will be temporarily replaced with a rubber surface to address parents' concerns about drug addicts' needles lurking in the bark mulch.
 

Protests stop school paint job
An interior paint job at Laura Secord elementary was halted Monday after parents complained the oil-based undercoat was toxic to kids.
 

Kits Malone's fighting development
The owner of Malone's Bar and Grill near Kits Beach is up in arms over his landlord's proposal to tear down his restaurant and build a strip mall.
 

Fields free again for youth
Two years after the school district started charging youth groups to use its fields after hours, trustees have scrapped the fees. The decision came during a school board meeting Monday night.
 

Full complement of cops back on school beat
After a couple of violent incidents and months of lobbying from parents, students and staff, the Vancouver Police Department is reinstating nine officers cut from its youth policing programs.
 

Health authority streamlining help for addicts
Drug addicts will soon be able to receive one-stop treatment-everything from counselling to HIV treatment-at eight community health clinics dotted throughout the city.
 

Runners taking to hills on snowshoes
A Yeti has been lurking amidst skiers and snowboarders on the local mountains over the past few years, but it's no scary abominable snowman. In fact, it's increasingly popular.