508 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

Aha! Very good. I’ll have to remember that.

I used to park at the one on Broughton under Sussex until they locked my car in there at 10PM. What a drag that was.

[AllseeingEye]

Especially for those of us who almost have to travel through this area to get to the "safe" downtown amenities.

 

This is partly why I still laugh at those who ribbed me back in the day after I sold my place in Fairfield/Cook St village and moved to Esquimalt - we're actually in that weird pseudo-Twilight Zone triangle in Selkirk specifically, "just" outside the Victoria boundary, and "just barely" technically in Esquimalt and "just" beyond the Saanich border at the Tillicum bridge.

 

When I lived at Cook & Fairfield - the swinging supposedly hip pseudo-cool CSV - that was waaaaay more of a gong show than where we are now.

 

Patrons of the Beagle pub would stagger up the street to the store on that corner then proceed to either use their dumpster as 1) a toilet or 2) a drunken quickie love-shack (yes that actually happened and I had a front row view of the proceedings). I also had to run out there one memorable night to prevent one highly intoxicated and very loud pub customer from using a hammer to beat his drinking buddy with.

 

Fairfield Rd is or at least was then, also the main West-east artery for emergency vehicles headed to RJH from that area+Beacon Hill etc, so wailing sirens just went with the territory, and were commonplace. Selkirk neighborhood by contrast? Phhht.....mainly kids, professionals, retirees, zero street elements or crime, twice a year VicPD pushes a black and white out here doing a leisurely neighborhood patrol. The two lady cops who were on this assigned patrol for awhile would sometimes stop and put a curious toddler in the back seat, turn on the lights and and fire up a siren. Very laid back, very safe, very family oriented and friendly.

 

There were aspects of Fairfield that I missed in the early days - proximity to Dallas Rd and the waterfront + BHP mainly - but considering where d/t has gone in the interim I really don't miss it at all. 

Edited by AllseeingEye, 02 December 2022 - 12:39 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Provincial government embraces work-from-home for more of its employees

 

Memo from the head of the public service says ministries are strongly encouraged to expand adoption of flexible work where it makes sense.

 

https://www.timescol...ployees-6486078

[Victoria Watcher]

A trip to the library ends with disappointment

 

We are regular users of the Oak Bay library branch, but as it is closed for 10 days for remedial construction work we decided to pay the downtown Victoria library a visit.

 

We very seldom venture downtown any more, and this visit reinforced this decision. Foot traffic was light, most coffee shops were almost empty, several empty storefronts even in Bay Centre, numerous people sleeping on sidewalks.

 

We arrived at the library at 10 a.m., but were stopped by a security guard. The library was closed, because some thug had thrown a large rock through a floor-to-ceiling window at the entrance to library.

 

Oh well, the Oak Bay library reopens in a few days.

 

Taxpayers, please view the video online called Seattle is Dying. About one hour long, but worth watching. It is a foreshadow of what Victoria is becoming.

 

 

Paul Baldwin

Victoria

 

https://www.timescol...-middle-6486086

 

 

 

 

 

Oh well, the Oak Bay library reopens in a few days.

 

 

Wait until we break it to this person it'll be 12 weeks.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 February 2023 - 10:32 AM.

[aastra]

Somebody was on CHEK the other day seemingly painting a rosy picture of things downtown, because (to paraphrase, I can't remember the exact words), "there are 10,000 people living downtown now."

 

Victorians are funny. Oak Bay and Esquimalt each have almost double that population, and it's still barely enough to support a few neighbourhood-scale commercial blocks. If we're seriously talking about downtown being able to survive (never mind prosper) mainly off its immediate local population, then we would obviously need much, more more than 10,000 residents.

[spanky123]

^ What good is 10K people if they just sit in the apartments watching netflix and playing games on their playstation? 

[Nparker]

^ What good is 10K people if they just sit in the apartments watching Netflix and playing games on their PlayStation? 

And do all their shopping on Amazon.

[Matt R.]

Why would they have to close the library due to a broken window?

[Victoria Watcher]

Why would they have to close the library due to a broken window?

 

An "abundance of caution" maybe.  Who knows.

 

 

 

“Another one early [Wednesday] morning and the branch has had to remain closed while they basically secure the area so that it’s safe for patrons and staff.”

 

https://www.victoria...es-in-one-week/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 February 2023 - 04:33 PM.

[Matt R.]

Huh? Sweep up the glass and get on with it. Public service, I guess. Why not close, nothing to lose.

[Nparker]

From what I've heard, the downtown library would be better off making itself safe FROM about 50% of its patrons.

[aastra]

 

^ What good is 10K people if they just sit in the apartments watching netflix and playing games on their playstation?

 

I confess I indulge in neither of the above, but don't most people still need to go out every once in a while to buy food and clothing, or maybe to get a haircut or things like that?

 

 

“Are there no shopping malls?” asked Scrooge.

“Plenty of shopping malls,” said the gentleman,

“And the supermarkets?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

“They are. Still,” returned the gentleman,

 

[Nparker]

...don't most people still need to go out every once in a while to buy food and clothing, or maybe to get a haircut...

Nope, not even a haircut.
 

https://www.patpourrieofservices.com/

[aastra]

I stand corrected. So the mystery remains why the masses in the neighbourhoods and suburbs are still going out like crazy but the downtown residents are staying in. It's especially confusing when you consider how extremely wealthy the average downtown apartment dweller tends to be (unless, of course, we've ditched that whole "downtown apartments are for the rich" narrative).

 

You know, at this point we should probably just ditch all the narratives, because none of them are true.

[Nparker]

"Woke is broke" remains fairly reliable.

[LJ]

^ What good is 10K people if they just sit in the apartments watching netflix and playing games on their playstation? 

9000 of them are sitting on the sidewalk shooting up drugs.

[Victoria Watcher]

Working out-of-office is good for everyone

 

The provincial government’s decision to allow employees to work away from Victoria reflects an understanding of the need to attract top talent in the modern job market.

 

With the cost of living rising, enticing employees to move to and stay in Victoria has become harder and harder.

 

Giving people the opportunity to work from anywhere in the province presents the opportunity to expand the talent pool, and, hopefully, keep the best employees from seeking higher-paying jobs in the private sector.

 

It’s also possible that this will result in cost savings, as government might require less office space.

 

As a taxpayer, I see this as a win-win. Good for employees, and good for the budget.

 

Karmen McNamara

Victoria

 

 

https://www.timescol...-russia-6496152

 

 

https://ca.linkedin..../karmenmcnamara

 

 

 

 

 

"As a taxpayer" she says, as she works at home - for the government.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 February 2023 - 09:38 AM.

[IPH]

It's called paid advertising, but the times columnist didn't get a dime!  she's a BC Government communications specialist. 

[Victoria Watcher]

It took me 11 seconds to find she had an angle. In fact if she hasn’t included the line about being a taxpayer, I would not have looked her up. But I smelled a rat.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 February 2023 - 11:35 AM.

[Mike K.]

…and, hopefully, keep the best employees from seeking higher-paying jobs in the private sector.

Perhaps a thinly veiled labour relations comment as unions look to ratify raises.