B.C.'s referendum on electoral reform has proponents hopeful and critics baffled Photo-Dan Toulgoet

praised and confused
Gathered around a table at a Thai restaurant, a half dozen educated Vancouverites are getting a collective headache.
 

Trippy drug legal in Canada
A hallucinogenic drug banned in Australia and listed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency as a drug or chemical of "concern" is freely available for sale in Vancouver.
 

Mom worried daughter will be become de facto ESL teacher
On March 7, four-year-old Eleanor Didicher's chance of winning a coveted French immersion kindergarten seat at L'ecole Bilingue effectively disappeared.
 

Provincial election shakes loose seismic money for city schools
Monday was a good day for Tracy Monk. The Vancouver mother and spokeswoman for Families for School Seismic Safety learned the provincial government will spend $254 million over three years to seismically upgrade 80 schools in the province.
 

Side street boarders no problem
Vancouver's reputation as a skateboard friendly city is getting another boost from city hall.
 

Council considering reforms to electoral system
Five months after voters rejected the ward system, Vancouver city council will consider a proposal that the city acquire the power to amend its own electoral system without needing provincial approval.
 

Move has neighbours craning
When most people say they're "moving house," they don't mean it as literally as local builder Graham Street.
 

Cops welcome mental health training
The Vancouver Police Department will participate in a pilot project with the Canadian Mental Health Association to improve police dealings with mentally ill people.
 

Quilchena a park for all seasons
Quilchena Park is getting a much-needed facelift.
 

Parks board kicking off summer with $92,000 party in meadow
The parks board is spending $92,000 to celebrate parks and recreation in the city.
 

Community police centres lobbying public for support
The city's eight cash-strapped community policing centres are urging the public to pressure city councillors to vote March 17 to increase each centre's funding from $18,000 to $100,000 per year.