25923 replies to this topic

[Awaiting Juno]

For those wondering the status of the Friends of Beacon Hill Park Society's litigation fund - it's now up to $18,600.  The Friends are anticipating that the city will throw whatever they can at delay the challenge, and is anticipating that the costs could be substantial.  Their goal is to raise $25,000 for the litigation fund.  Thank you to everyone who has donated, and if you'd like to contribute the link can be found here.  https://ca.gofundme....eacon-hill-park

[Spy Black]

Campers won't be back in the Square for a "couple of weeks" according to the Manager of Parks for the COV.

 

Watching the meetings from the 10th, one is struck by many things, from the inability of Dubow and Potts to make any coherent statements about pretty much anything of importance, all the way to Young's obvious frustration with a Mayor and Council that are intent on (in Young's words) "burning their own house down", with Young using the word "house" metaphorically in place of "City of Victoria".

Potts croaks on like a frog without anything even resembling a point worth wasting Councils time on, and Dubow, after droning on for 5 minutes on subject matter completely unrelated to the motion on the floor, is repeatedly reminded by Mayor Helps ... "Councillor Dubow, on the motion only please".

 

But more than anything is the fundamental inability of Isitt, Potts, and Dubow (Loveday wasn't there) to even remotely grasp the concept of incremental improvements to an otherwise dire situation. For these folks, all "incremental improvements" that would make life better for residents and taxpayers, are simply rejected out of hand, with the proviso that for TV, Isitt, and to some degree Alto, Helps, and Loveday the only acceptable solution to the situation is one that involves millions of dollars, hundreds of free "rooms", and with all of that money coming from the Province so our little local group of Councillors can take credit for solving homelessness in the CRD.

They want all of the above at once, or they're willing to accept nothing at all.

In short, they want the "instant Provincial multi-million dollar solution", or they will accept absolutely nothing at all.

 

Of course issues that have risen to be ones as large as what the COV has created for themselves are not solved "all at once", they are indeed solved incrementally, such that, over time, the issue is gradually resolved. 

Of course Young's point that you start by banning daytime camping is the foundational start to an incremental approach to moving towards a resolution, is an idea that continues to be ignored by the majority on Council.

 

That the Mayor and the majority of Council can't budge this issue even slightly towards finding a resolution continues to indicate pretty solidly that they're all in positions so far above their personal pay grades, that the only solution that remains is the one that see's all of these amateurs turfed out of office, all to be sent scurrying back to their personal agendas, ones to be played out in compost laden community gardens, making micro-loans to candle-makers, promoting skateboarding as a viable transit strategy, and writing communist manifestos for university students to read, etc.

Edited by Spy Black, 11 September 2020 - 09:15 AM.

[VIResident]

Victoria needs a Night Mayor. 

[Nparker]

...That the Mayor and the majority of Council can't budge this issue even slightly towards finding a resolution continues to indicate pretty solidly that they're all in positions...far above their personal pay grades...

It also indicates that the issue of homelessness is for them political/ideological. They care far more about scoring political points than about actually helping individuals achieve a better life.

[spanky123]

That the Mayor and the majority of Council can't budge this issue even slightly towards finding a resolution continues to indicate pretty solidly that they're all in positions so far above their personal pay grades, that the only solution that remains is the one that see's all of these amateurs turfed out of office, all to be sent scurrying back to their personal agendas, ones to be played out in compost laden community gardens, making micro-loans to candle-makers, promoting skateboarding as a viable transit strategy, and writing communist manifestos for university students to read, etc.

 

They are acting exactly the way that 10K voters want them to act. The resolution is to get out and vote.

[Nparker]

...The resolution is to get out and vote.

I did that in October 2018 and only one of my candidates made it to council. I came away feeling very disenchanted with the political system.

[rmpeers]

Gregor Craigie spoke with Victoria city councillor Geoff Young about his proposal to allow homeless campers back into Centennial Square.
Aired: Sep. 9, 2020'
https://www.cbc.ca/l...uare-well-speak
Craigie mention in this interview that when he's gone to interview the homeless he's heard they're from other provinces.
But he also keeps mentioning the Point In Time count saying it proves that most are local. Really don't understand this. The count is every 2 years. The categories are 1 year or less, followed by 2-5 years. There's a missing year in there. If the count is every 2 years, 2 years shouldn't be lumped in a category with 5 years. Get a proper count.
Also might be helpful to know more than just where they were from. Did they have a job when they moved here? Have heard stories of people moving here to stay with friends who got tried of being freeloaded on and kicked them out.

The Pit count numbers consistently show significant numbers moving here.

[Jackerbie]

I did that in October 2018 and only one of my candidates made it to council. I came away feeling very disenchanted with the political system.

 

When 44% turnout is a ten-year high..... This isn't the thread for it, but Victoria is certainly one of the many places in BC that would be much better served by a ward system.

[A Girl is No one]

At BHP, some of the « residents » are European French...yup , from Victoria! I guess we’re extending the red carpet to another continent now..

[IPH]

This article from 2018 is a great indication of us playing ground hog day to Seattle's 2018.  They were spending almost $1 Billion/year to try and solve their homelessness problem and failing miserably.  The article even uses a reference to Lenin's Famous question "Who stands to gain" to point out how the poverty pimps make a fortune off the tax payer while pulling at their heart strings but accomplish nothing!  

 

If we can't learn from our neighbours mistakes, then we are doomed to follow them down the same black hole.

 

 https://www.city-jou...le-homelessness

[A Girl is No one]

This article from 2018 is a great indication of us playing ground hog day to Seattle's 2018. They were spending almost $1 Billion/year to try and solve their homelessness problem and failing miserably. The article even uses a reference to Lenin's Famous question "Who stands to gain" to point out how the poverty pimps make a fortune off the tax payer while pulling at their heart strings but accomplish nothing!

If we can't learn from our neighbours mistakes, then we are doomed to follow them down the same black hole.

https://www.city-jou...le-homelessness

Excellent! And bang on.

[martini]

This article from 2018 is a great indication of us playing ground hog day to Seattle's 2018.  They were spending almost $1 Billion/year to try and solve their homelessness problem and failing miserably.  The article even uses a reference to Lenin's Famous question "Who stands to gain" to point out how the poverty pimps make a fortune off the tax payer while pulling at their heart strings but accomplish nothing!  

 

If we can't learn from our neighbours mistakes, then we are doomed to follow them down the same black hole.

 

 https://www.city-jou...le-homelessness

Ties in with the Seattle is Dying documentary. https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw

There's part two which I still need to watch. 

[Nparker]

...If we can't learn from our neighbours mistakes, then we are doomed to follow them down the same black hole...

The article is frightfully accurate; almost a play-by-play of the current CoV nightmare. I am not sure things have improved much if at all in Seattle over the past 2 years, so I don't have much faith for things to get better here at home. I hope I am wrong.

[Matt R.]

Anyone else see this photo from beacon hill park today? Omg.



Matt.

Attached Images

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Edited by Matt R., 11 September 2020 - 10:14 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

This article from 2018 is a great indication of us playing ground hog day to Seattle's 2018. They were spending almost $1 Billion/year to try and solve their homelessness problem and failing miserably. The article even uses a reference to Lenin's Famous question "Who stands to gain" to point out how the poverty pimps make a fortune off the tax payer while pulling at their heart strings but accomplish nothing!

If we can't learn from our neighbours mistakes, then we are doomed to follow them down the same black hole.

https://www.city-jou...le-homelessness

yes this article nails every single point.

[North Shore]

There's a whole range of possibilities for that photo...when I used to live in a trailer, I had a separate container for black water that I could connect to the sewer pipe, and haul away for disposal.  It might well be that the inhabitant of this motorhome just can't be bothered to re/dis connect their sewer pipe.  The fact that there's a plastic bag around the end of it indicates to me that the implication by Mr.Merriman that the camper is just letting their waste flow onto the street unchecked is groundless...

[Awaiting Juno]

We're doing a really, really, bad job of understanding this problem and an even worse (unsurprisingly) job of things to manage and mitigate it.  What's the flow?  Who is experiencing homelessness and why?  How long do they experience it for? What ends a spell of homelessness?  Who is benefitting from public housing and do they ever "graduate" from it?  

 

The problem is both social and economic - and we've got a bunch of people who really don't understand economics who are intent on fixing it.  This ends badly.

[mbjj]

The comment about campers from France is interesting. The other day when I was stopped at the light by the Beacon Hill sign I noticed a group of six or seven young guys walking on the grass there,into the park. I commented to my husband, those guys definitely look French or Italian! We've been to France quite a few times, they  have a "look". Maybe when the rains begin they won't be quite so keen.

[Dexter]

Love the bag to catch solids... yup that’ll do donkey... that’ll do.

Anyone else see this photo from beacon hill park today? Omg.



Matt.

Edited by Klapecki, 12 September 2020 - 08:37 AM.

[Dexter]

Sadly I doubt your explanation. Pretty comfortable in believing the person that parks there camper on Dallas every day for days on end doesn’t go to a sani dump to empty their black water. Most likely scenario is that it just goes in the storm drain.

Edit, upon close examination of the photo, one valve is visibly open and the pavement under the camper is wet. It could just be grey water... could.

Edit (again) the closest sani dump That I know of is Fort Victoria Rv park. Are you really argue if that the person that camps on Dallas drives out there to dump? Plausible but not likely

There's a whole range of possibilities for that photo...when I used to live in a trailer, I had a separate container for black water that I could connect to the sewer pipe, and haul away for disposal. It might well be that the inhabitant of this motorhome just can't be bothered to re/dis connect their sewer pipe. The fact that there's a plastic bag around the end of it indicates to me that the implication by Mr.Merriman that the camper is just letting their waste flow onto the street unchecked is groundless...

Edited by Klapecki, 12 September 2020 - 09:09 AM.