Full house at Kerrisdale Women’s Safety Workshop

Three weeks and no charges have been laid in the case of Julie Paskall, the hockey mom who was beaten to death at a community centre in Surrey. The soon five-year-old murder of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry in Pacific Spirit Park as well as the mysterious sexual assault series at the UBC campus are equally unsolved.

Not a good idea: focussing on your smart phone in a back alley. Photo: Katja De Bock

Even though crimes nationwide are generally decreasing, sexual assaults and other violence against women tend to stay steady.

Rick Peterson bids for leadership of BC Conservative Party

From left: BC Conservative politicians Bill Clarke, Rick Peterson, Sean Upshaw at the press conference in Vancouver on September 23, 2013. Photo: Katja De Bock

Surrounded by his supporters, former Vancouver-Quilchena candidate Rick Peterson, 59, announced his bid for the leadership of the BC Conservative Party at Terminal City Club today.

Peterson, a Vancouver business man and former BC Liberal, who was in the running as a candidate for the BC provincial elections in 2012, before opting out and passing the torch to veteran politician Bill Clarke, said

St. John Hospice opens at UBC

St. John Hospice

Hundreds of people celebrated the opening of St. John Hospice, a new 14-bed facility located on the University of British Columbia campus on Friday.

The first community hospice on Vancouver’s West Side was conceived and built by the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller,

Faces of BC Film – Braden Haggerty, underwater cinematographer

Braden Haggerty. Photo: Herb DeWaal

Braden Haggerty, 46, specialized in underwater cinematography as one of three specialists in Metro Vancouver. The married mother of two teenage sons lives in Vancouver’s Dunbar area. She invested years in training to become a respected underwater cinematographer, a position not obvious for women, she says.

Haggerty is passionate about her job. “Suspension of disbelief is pretty strong in the water,” she says, for example when you see film characters fall into seemingly arctic water and still perform their tasks. In real life, they would have been in cold shock immediately, whereas on set, they can swim in a water tank heated up to 32 C.

Faces of BC Film – Alvin Sanders, Actor

Alvin Sanders. Photo: Katja De Bock

Alvin Sanders, 61, is an American actor who moved to B.C. for love 30 years ago. As the president of the Union of B.C. Performers, Sanders is used to speaking to crowds.

At a meeting of different union members in New Westminster on Feb. 13, Sanders moderated the evening, speaking to the audience with a deep, warm voice, which evokes memories of a U.S. TV-reverend and Santa Claus.

Faces of BC Film – Mykel Thuncher, film colourist

Mykel Thuncher. Photo: Jennifer Thuncher

Employment agencies such as the YWCA and Mosaic provide job seekers with career orientation courses and assistance in cover letter and resume writing.

But are these courses useful for film industry workers with highly specialized skills?

Mykel Thuncher is one film industry worker who was brutally forced to re-orientate. Thuncher, 48, a colourist from Burnaby, was laid off after 20 years of steady employment. 

Faces of BC Film – Manjit Bains, independent filmmaker

from left: filmmakers Joel Heath-Manjit Bains-Richard Boyce, at VIFF 2011. Photo: Katja De Bock

Manjit Bains is still suffering from what she calls a result of “following my dream.” 

Faces of BC Film – Louisa Phung, insurance broker and filmmaker

Louisa Phung. Photo: Eric Cairns

A 2013 report by Rowland Lorimer, Director of the Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing at Simon Fraser University, states the creative economy in B.C. is growing at a faster rate than the economy as a whole.

Lorimer states the creative sector in B.C. employs 85,000 people, not including volunteers, making it the second largest of B.C.’s six major industrial sectors. The sector generates $4 billion annually in economic activity.

Faces of BC Film – Lisa Bunting, Actor

***This six-part series was originally created as a feature length article at Langara College’s journalism department. The series shows the faces of some of B.C.’s film industry workers who are affected by the recent decline in jobs. Some of them are involved in the #SaveBCFilm movement, others are relocating or reinventing themselves professionally. But all are passionate film lovers, and great people.***

Lisa Bunting. Photo: Michael Ford Photography

Prologue

Angela, a red-haired woman in her early forties paces back and forth, alone in a brightly lit room. Her body is tense and she looks around her like an animal trapped in a cage. Angela sees the cameras, which are hanging discreetly in the corners of the room and shouts furiously at the large mirror: “Why aren’t you blaming her?”

The door opens, and a young woman enters.

“Hi Angela, I am your nurse. Could you please sit down so we can talk about what just happened in the lounge?” 

This is it for Varsity Ridge Bowl

The Varsity Ridge corner at Arbutus and West 15th Ave., photographed in November 2012 by Katja De Bock

The iconic bowling alley on Arbutus Street and West 15^th Ave. in Kitsilano, Vancouver is closing forever tonight. The entire block will be replaced by condos, in spite of neighbourhood protests.