Is the game all about money?
Re: “O Canada! Raptors win title,” June 14.
In major sports leagues around the world, team owners are invariably billionaires employing millionaire sportsmen who, in turn, are supported by fans. These fans routinely cough up outrageous prices for jerseys, caps, and other memorabilia bearing their favourite team’s logo.
High admission prices to the games are beyond the financial reach of many. But avid, and at times rabid, fans do pay huge sums for seats in the arena, presumably for the bragging rights of supporting their team.
This past week, the Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship. Far be it from me to try and spoil the rapture of Raptor fans, but at 8:50 p.m. the night of the championship win — within seconds of the final buzzer sounding — an email was entering my computer’s inbox from the marketing division of a media company that supplies news updates.
It attached a link to the NBA store offering T-shirts and caps emblazoned with Toronto Raptors’ championship logo. More proof to me as to what the world of professional sport has become: “Show me the money.”
Bernie Smith
Parksville
Climate proposal worth a try
Re: “Rise and fall of economics and climate,” comment, June 13.
The comment piece makes the important point that, with our current financial systems and methods of energy use, there is an inverse relationship between the health of the world economy and that of the physical world itself.
I’m not sure that even more facts will convince many of the trajectory of climate change, but it might make some more conscious of the issues if there is daily reporting on CO2 levels, graphed over time.
It’s worth a try.
I appreciate the intelligent and clear writing of the comment, which points out that focusing solely on human constructs, such as “growing” the stock market while the natural world around us wilts and is poisoned, is ultimately — and even now — not in our best interests.
However, if we manage to shed the blinders that seem to focus the world on non-renewable resources for energy, perhaps we can create financial markets where the health of an economy is aligned with the health of the planet. This will be a difficult challenge, but more and more of us are increasingly gearing up to see that it happens.
Andrea Warner
Victoria
Price of air is upsetting
I am dismayed at the $1.50 charge for air at some gas stations. This is absurd and blatant gouging.
On top of artificially high gas prices in B.C., companies have the audacity to charge for air.
Russ Cox
Victoria
Questioning David Anderson
Re: “David Anderson’s plea to Trudeau: Reject Trans Mountain expansion,” June 16.
There are some of us old enough to remember David Anderson when he was a federal cabinet minister. I am one of them.
In 1998, he prevented me from accessing federal public servants to assist in the salmon fishery inquiry I was conducting for the B.C. government. He was federal fisheries minister at the time.
Now he enters the fray again, this time urging the federal government to reject approval of the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. He says the economics are not there. Isn’t that for the industry and an open market to decide?
When did Anderson become an oil and gas expert? I am not aware of his bona fides in international oil and gas economics.
We know Alberta has oil. We know that it can only sell to the U.S.
This means we do not get the going world price. We are forgoing billions of dollars as a result — $20 billion in 2018, according to the Fraser Institute.
If Canada expands its pipeline capacity to the West Coast, it will have the opportunity to sell overseas, not just to the U.S. That means a higher price.
We know that oil demand will continue to grow (12 per cent) to 2040, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the International Energy Agency — totalling 105 million barrels per day.
Why does Anderson want to prevent Canada’s oil from competing for additional markets, thereby growing our economy and jobs?
Brian Peckford
Nanaimo
Artifical turf presents problems
I am sure that the prime minister and communities in B.C. are patting themselves on the back regarding the ban on single-use plastic bags and straws, and I have no issue with that.
At the same time, our municipalities are installing artificial turf on playing fields.
I shudder when I think of the particles in our children’s lungs, particles washing into the sea, loss of habitat for pollinators, etc. How does one dispose of the turf when it is past its useful life? In a landfill site?
Our City of Gardens is becoming a City of Plastic in spite of the ban on single-use plastic bags.
Gail Mackay
Victoria
Addiction, mental illness is epidemic
Re: “What is it like to be the mother of an addict?,” June 16.
My heart goes out to the desperate mother who wrote this article. I can only imagine how hard it was to write and how hard it is to live with this reality.
Addiction and mental illness are not physical in nature and cannot be treated like cancer or a heart attack. They are insidious and surreptitious, but just as lethal. We all know and appreciate that health-care resources are limited, but we must do more.
These diseases have no social class boundaries and they can hit any of us at any time. Addiction and mental illness have reached epidemic proportion, killing our children and destroying families. We need to stop the bleeding now.
David Mansell
Courtenay
House expectations then and now
It is sad to read the sniping between millennials and boomers over housing.
Most people of my generation left school to long-term, stable employment, very often unionized with a decent pension plan.
My first house cost me 31 Ú2 times our income, which seemed like a heavy burden with mortgage rates around 12 per cent.
We scrimped and saved to get by on my average wage, but it sounds idyllic by today’s standards. However, expectations of what a first home should be have changed enormously.
My first house was 900 square feet of townhouse at the cheap end of town, with two bedrooms, one bathroom, no garage, no driveway and no central heating. Our one car was parked on the street, in front of our house, if we were lucky.
Today’s entry level single family has three bedrooms, 21Ú2 bathrooms and garage.
Perhaps one step toward getting more young people onto the property ladder could be to manage expectations and build truly affordable starter homes where the jobs are.
It would be better than the present situation where young people cannot afford to live and work in the capital region.
Martin Hill
Sooke
Repair, not replace Crystal Pool
Re: “It’s back to square one for a new Crystal Pool,” June 14.
The proposed new Crystal Pool project is shaping up to be the Blue Bridge of the 2020s. As a regular user of the present pool, I must watch the facility go downhill through lack of maintenance, while the endless discussions go on and on.
The present pool is a well-designed building with heritage value.
It has an ancient and inefficient physical plant, which could have been replaced with the best modern technology years ago, if not for the plans to demolish the building.
Other deficiencies, like the lack of a universal change room, could be addressed with modest renovations. This could be done with existing city funds.
It’s time to stop fantasizing about a new mega project and make the best use of the fine asset we already have.
John Perry
Victoria
Expensive entertainment
Re: “Victoria looks to have 20 per cent of condo blocks ‘affordable,’ ” June 15.
It seems there is no stopping the populist Coun. Ben Isitt.
He has now moved his moral compass of social engineering back to destroying the construction business. Maybe it’s time voters in Victoria start to look at his policies and question what is he really doing to help society?
I am not seeing any reason or compromise in his politics or policies. I think voters should be worried when a councillor blames media for creating a furor to explain what really are poor decisions.
Isn’t it time Victoria stopped being the laughingstock of politics? Sure it’s entertaining, but it’s more expensive than a Broadway ticket.
Tim Murphy
Esquimalt
Affordable proposal doesn’t fly
Re: “Victoria looks to have 20% of condo blocks ‘affordable,’ ” June 15.
Victoria Coun. Ben Isitt is covering the full spectrum, wanting to cut back on signs of Christmas celebrations and horse-drawn carriages. He also embarrassed the City of Victoria with a proposal to explore the idea of having the military pay for costs of policing events such as Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Now, he and others that support him on council want to pretty much put an end to residential construction in the city of Victoria by proposing the city make 20 per cent of units “affordable” in larger new residential strata buildings.
Tom Sims
Victoria
A little flaky and crunchy
As a former resident of Victoria, I would like to offer my congratulations on having the newest cereal on the market named for you.
Victoria Flakes resemble granola, although the taste is not as appealing and they are a somewhat greenish colour.
In some cases, it can cause nausea. It’s a little nutty, but many find it rather bitter and somewhat unpalatable.
It seems to be attempting to erase the history of such greats like Captain Crunch or Frosted Flakes but is failing miserably. The flakes are only available at one location, your very own city hall.
Cereal aside, your city is still beautiful.
Andy Richards
Summerland
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