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Mayor Gregor Robertson walked up to the podium, took out his iphone and told the gathered media to “Say cheese.” He snapped a photo of the audience and said, “We are all media.” And with that he welcomed the non-accredited media to the W2 Media Centre.

Typically the accredited media have a comparatively luxurious centre to work in and broadcast the Olympic Games from, the non-accredited media often have nowhere other than coffee shops from which to work…to read more of this article, visit my Political Junkie blog on the Vancouver Observer. Feel free to leave a comment, we value your feedback and insights.

How to bring the same amount of energy and resources that went into the Olympics to the problem of solving homelessness in Vancouver? That was the subject of a panel last night at the First United Church on Hastings. And although the mayor showed up, missing were many of the key public officials who could be pivotal in making this happen: Premier Gordon Campbell, for instance.

The key point, one observer said, was the initiative and how it fit in with precisely what various community groups have been saying for years. The next important point was that the mayor of the city hosting the Games and one of the strongest opponents of the Olympics were both there to support the initiative. But the fact that lots of local politicos were not there and why… NDP to position themselves for future campaigns, Libs to duck the issue….may have been the most important fact of all…

To continue reading the rest of this post, visit my blog on the Vancouver Observer. It is worth your time to read the rest of this post.

The media briefing area was jammed with hordes of media people. I could feel the heat rising from too many bodies in a too small place. Add  the television camera lighting and the story was getting hotter by the minute. At least the reporters were.

As I walked in I saw the coach of the New Westminster Hyacks football team, Farhan Lalji. Apparently he has a side job with TSN doing some sports thing. Who knew?

The presentation began. They were talking about the “Flag bearer.” I pulled out my Blackberry, reread the email, and then adjusted the message in my tweets. Second oops. No wonder I did not see Betty Fox anywhere in the area today. Also, there was no evidence of security either. Perhaps they were not concerned about the safety of us media types but I thought they might be practicing for the real show. No sign of that.

To continue reading this story, visit my Political Junkie blog on the Vancouver Observer…it is worth finishing!!

The previous BC Chamber of Commerce breakfast with a Cabinet Minister featured the Honourable Kevin Falcon, Minister of Health Services. He arrived to the breakfast meeting late and while approaching the podium exclaimed about the amount of traffic coming downtown. I thought that was pretty amusing since he was BC’s Minister of Transportation. Would this month’s guest Cabinet Minister, the always sombre looking George Abbott, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation have any witty or memorable comments? Let’s just say he did not disappoint.

But before we get to Abbott’s talk, a little backgrounder on the purpose of this event. It is a networking opportunity for current and future members of the BC Chamber of Commerce. As such, the idea is to go into the room, and meet and greet people to expand your network of business contacts. And the first person I met was Victor Godin.

I actually met Godin as we both stepped off the curb to cross Hastings Street. The little white man popped into the crosswalk sign and we both stepped off the curb. As we did so a cyclist raced through the red light and almost knocked us both to the ground. We survived…

To read the rest of the BC Chamber of Commerce Breakfast series story, visit my blog on the Vancouver Observer. It is worth a read.

We at The Left Coast are contemplating writing a weekly blog post for the Vancouver Observer. However, the sad fact is that the editorial team that was behind The Left Coast have really dried up as a source for discussion and so now, when we say “we”, well, it is more “me”. I am the publisher, editor and content creator for The Left Coast so…if I agree to contribute a weekly blog posting to The Vancouver Observer, well, that means it will fall to my shoulders and finger tips.

So, I’m looking forward to it! And the best part of my blog posting to the VanObserver is that you and your business can sponsor my blog! All you have to do is contact the good folks in charge of sponsorships and you can be part of the dream.

And you may be wondering what the topic of my blog posting to the Van Observer will be? Well you would be correct in assuming it will be focused on politics, provincial and federal with the occasional dabble in American politics.