Around 30 people held an impromptu protest in front of the Cortes Airstrip on Wednesday. They received word that a paving crew was coming over on the ferry, to pave the runway. This turned out to be premature, but there will be a town hall meeting at Mansons Hall, from 7 to 9 PM Monday, to discuss the situation.
Continue reading Cortes Airstrip: the protest and Monday’s town hall meeting
The ‘What We Heard Report,’ from Cortes Island’s Housing Forum and the subsequent Housing Survey, has been released.
“This is a really exciting document for Cortes. The intention of this forum that we did with the Cortes Housing Society and the Housing Survey was really to listen to Cortes and understand what the housing challenges are. We already had a pretty good idea from previous reports and information, but this really gave us a good sense of what the challenges are and then what do people want us to move forward with?” explained Mark Vonesh, Regional Director for Cortes Island.
Continue reading What They Heard: The Cortes Housing ReportOriginally published by the Cortes Foundation
A woven tray of fresh flowers is making its way around the circle of 50 or so participants in the Social Profit Gathering held mid-June on Cortes Island, BC. Co-organizer Manda Aufochs Gillespie (Cortes Island Community Foundation, Folk U), has kicked off the day with an address to this land that has continued to provide for human communities since time immemorial. Everyone is invited to take a colorful bloom and connect to this place by holding a piece of it. The other invitation is to co-create the day ahead, building onto the scheduled agenda with collective knowledge, ideas and experience.
Continue reading 2023 Cortes Social Profit Gathering
Three days after he was sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, David Eby unveiled new legislation designed to increase the pace of new construction, remove age restrictions in stratas (except for the +55 restriction that promotes seniors housing) and tap the supply of vacant units for the rental market.
Continue reading Coming before the SRD Board, proposed provincial responses to the housing crisis
It’s pretty common knowledge that we have a housing crisis on Cortes. In fact, there’s a “housing crisis” in many — perhaps most — popular or attractive places in North America and Europe right now. One of the factors often mentioned is AirBnB. This phenomenon (AirBnB now has global impact and qualifies as a Phenomenon!) vividly illustrates the predicament of “good for one is not necessarily good for all” — also sometimes known as “smart for one, dumb for all”.
Continue reading When the Invisible Hand Fumbles: The AIRBnB Phenomenon
