Opinion

Occasionally, we receive letters to the editor in which the writer chastises someone with whom he or she had an unpleasant encounter — bad driver, rude store clerk and so on. Unless such a letter speaks to a larger issue, it is usually set aside.

Here’s a challenge: Let’s have a conversation about K-12 public education in B.C. without using the exceptionally tired and empty phrase “the system is broken” (“Paying parents not a good idea,” editorial, Aug. 2).

The Heritage Department has asked Canadians what historical moment or achievement made them proudest of their country. The top answer? Medicare. Discussions regarding our medical system often take disparaging turns.

A round-up of bike-related ephemera that caught my eye recently. This week: bad crashes, pedal-less bikes, learning with Lego.

When my daughter first arrived from Sudan she had a backpack, a baseball cap and some toys that had been given to her on the plane.

Nature Boy calls it a peri-gee whiz moon, because “gee whiz, doesn’t the moon look big!” That’s not its official name, of course. Neither is it a peri-Cheez Whiz moon, another moniker bandied about the household in recent weeks.

The First Nations Financial Transparency Act, which came into effect July 29, has been sold as the means to make First Nations chiefs and councillors more accountable by publishing their salaries, expenses and other funds they receive from their band

Much of the world is understandably focused on the recent Russian-inspired tragedies in eastern Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. But another region is worth watching, particularly Chinese government action vis-a-vis Hong Kong.

I’m glad to see that Victoria is moving forward with its new Bicycle Master Plan. The last one is nearly 20 years old, and covered up to 2010.

Unresolved negotiations with the teachers, concerning their ability to have input into their working conditions and education conditions, have been protracted and contentious. I think that this is fair to say after 12 years.