All posts by De Clarke

De Clarke is a sailor, photographer, retired software engineer and intermittent author who since the late 70’s has published both technical writing and essays on various topics ranging from feminism to technology and environmental issues. She has lived on Cortes since late 2011.
Community

Spring Migration of Whaletown Post Office

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Whaletown Post Office — much photographed by tourists — has a long and interesting story (you can find out more at the Cortes Museum). It has served the community for over 70 years.

When its tenure on private property near Whaletown Wharf could no longer be maintained, Whaletown residents banded together to “Save the Post Office” and find it a new home. After several weeks of discussion and some generous donations to “buy more time,” a solution was found: Whaletown Community Club agreed to host the Post Office in the Community Hall parking lot.

Once the destination was chosen, the ad hoc Post Office Committee (“Friends of V0P1Z0”) worked tirelessly to plan and execute the relocation. On the weekend of March 6th-8th — as the clocks changed — their plans were realised: the Whaletown Post Office moved to a new and sunnier location next to the Whaletown Community Hall.

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Transportation

Cortes Ferry Passengers Speak To MLA Trevena

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On Friday February 28th at 2:30pm, over 40 Cortes residents gathered at Whaletown Community Hall for a meeting with Minister of Transportation Claire Trevena, to discuss the future of BC Ferries. Ms Trevena had travelled to Cortes Island to gather public input as part of Phase 2 of the Ministry’s “public engagement” project which began last Fall. (Article includes this link to an online survey for ferry users.)

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Politics

How (Well) Does The Regional District System Work?

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Rapid urbanization in the 1950’s caused development in rural areas, with residents commuting to urban centres for work. Development in the rural areas increased demand for services such as water, sewage and zoning. By 1965, the Province amended the Municipal Act to enable the creation of regional districts. Originally, the powers and services of the regional districts were quite limited; however, as regional districts became more established they were granted more power by the B.C. government. Today regional districts help achieve regional economies of scale, and provide flexible service arrangements in which residents only pay for the services they receive. – BC Government Website

Directors are only entitled to vote on matters for which the area they represent has a vested interest. Typically this will include general corporate matters as well as services for which the area contributes financially. – SRD Website

It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are. – Clive James

[EDITORIAL] When things work, at least well enough for our comfort, we don’t have to pay much attention to them. This is how I’ve felt about local government for most of my lifetime. In the course of the last couple of years, however, I’ve been forced to think a lot about how local government works — specifically, the relationship between small rural Areas like Cortes Island, and Regional Districts like SRD.

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Transportation

Two Wheels good: E-Bikes on Cortes Island

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[Cortes Island E-Bike series]

Last April, some EV owners on Cortes Island held an “EV Faire” at Manson’s Hall; they brought their vehicles to show and discuss, and giving test rides to some attendees. Coverage of this event focussed on the big shiny cars; but there are actually more e-bikes than e-cars on Cortes Island, and I felt the bikes didn’t get enough page space.

I therefore asked e-bike owners to contact me if they would like to be interviewed, so I could profile them and their bikes. The first three respondents all had quite different bikes, so this article has three sections, one for each bike:

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