Two years ago, many North Quadra Island residents woke up to the sound of explosions. The pre-dusk sky had turned red. A house on Bold Point was engulfed in flames. When the RCMP arrived, they discovered the main power line was down. Three of the occupants were sent to the hospital with smoke inhalation. As this part of the island is protected by BC Wildfire Service, whose mandate does not include structures, no fire department came to their rescue. All that remained of their home was a chimney. While this is an area better known for its forests and abundant marine life, there are more than 250 properties. At their January 29, 2020, board meeting, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board authorized a survey to determine if North Quadra residents want fire protection.
Continue reading Impending Survey: Do North Quadra Residents Want Fire Protection?Tag Archives: SRD Board
Local Government Through Annual Town Meeting
Recent events suggest that the Regional District system does not always work well in a remote island like Cortes. Some say, it is time to Cortexit. Our Regional Director says we should work within the existing system, it would be very expensive for a community this small to go it alone. She is currently wondering how a community council system would work on Cortes Island. “A minority of very active voices has been very effective at undermining my credibility at the Regional District, but if what I brought to the district was backed by this community council it would be harder to marginalize.” In this morning’s program we go to Cambridge, Vermont, to explore how an even more democratic system of government would work here. For more than two centuries, the local authorities have been carrying out the decisions made at an annual town meeting that everyone in Cambridge can attend.
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Rezoning Hearing For Rainbow Ridge
Cortes Island’s best known housing project took another step towards realization at the January 29th, Strathcona Regional District Board meeting. The public hearing for rezoning a 2.45-hectare portion of the 20.75-hectare Rainbow Ridge property will be held in Mansons Hall at 1 PM on April 30, 2020.
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SRD Reviews The Truth About Global Warming
It seems like there has been altogether too much talk about climate change for Regional Director Gerald Whaley. In particular, his colleague from Cortes Island keeps insisting the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) prepare for the negative impacts. On January 15, 2020, Director Anderson talked about local implications of climate change and planetary overshoot. Whalley responded by presenting a Fox news clip called ‘The Truth About Global Warming.’
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What's Happening With The Cortes Transportation Committee?
In the Spring of 2019, the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) asked the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) for funding to hire a transportation coordinator, to look into a number of potential initiatives. Their application appears to have been caught up in some of the SRD’s Board’s internal politics and turned down. One of the committee members, Kate Maddigan, is also a member of the BC Community Bus Coalition. I recently asked her, “What’s happening with the Cortes Transportation Committee?”
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