Frankly Speaking

  The Burnaby Beacon, at least in its current form, is no more. It is the latest move by Overstory Media Group (perhaps its OMG abbreviation inadvertently tells part of the story) to stem its losses in a brave but apparently foolhardy attempt to resuscitate community journalism online. The Beacon’s two remaining staff members have been laid off. Much has been said about Overstory’s promises and ownership, particularly when it laid off half the staff at its flagship online outlet, the Capital Daily in Victoria. That move came just before it was announced that there was a unionization drive underway. The Beacon served Burnaby - a difficult community for local media. When I was a student at Langara journalism school, we were told by program director Nick Russell that “Burnaby was the graveyard of weekly newspapers.” Many had come and gone by that time (1977). Another one started up soon thereafter, and one of my classmates even took a job there. That newspaper and its staff are long...

The ubiquitous face mask has helped reduce the transmission of COVID-19, but it hasn't done anything to improve mental health or reduce the sense of unease that most people are feeling. The breadth of changes brought to our lives by COVID-19 is long, incomplete and extremely difficult for most of us to accept.  No one wants to get COVID-19, and despite occasional protests and snarky comments online, the vast majority of people accept that it is real. They have encountered it firsthand too often. Most reluctantly accept the significant restrictions on their lives, but in the 15th straight month of measures to counter the virus, it is obvious that the damage to our way of life has been enormous. Spring usually marks the beginning of events and outdoor activities,  due to longer days and warmer weather. Not this year. This spring is a repeat of last year. The huge Vaisakhi Day parade, Surrey’s biggest gathering, was set for April 24 and was cancelled for the second straight year....

Voting day is over, and the NDP almost certainly has a majority government. However, the final count may not be 55 seats for them, 29 for the Liberals and three for the Greens, as it was on election night. At least 525,000 mail-in ballots have yet to be counted, according to elections BC. The number varies from riding to riding. But in most Lower Mainland ridings, the number seems to be in the 10,000 range. The calls by multiple media outlets on Saturday night of an NDP majority government angered many voters who used the mail option. The reality is this: the margins of victory in most ridings aren't likely to change substantially, and thus far that means the NDP have a majority. But in 10 ridings or so, there is a chance of a shift. Members of the media, like most B.C. residents, have no idea how the mail-in ballots will be distributed among candidates. Any "calls" are a gamble. In at least four ridings, it is very possible for the election night leader in vote counts to...

Lynn Bucholtz, on her 77th birthday in October, 2010. My mother Lynn Bucholtz died on Sunday, July 5. She was 86 years old, and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for most of the past decade. Like many other aspects of her long and interesting life, she did not let Alzheimer’s define her. Nor did she allow it to rob her of her dignity and personhood.  She endured it - and even right to her final few days, she didn’t let it get her down. Lynn Woolard was born on Oct. 11, 1933 in Regina, first child of Frank and Kay Woolard. Her arrival in this world came at a time of great uncertainty - kind of like what we are enduring now, but in many ways much worse. Her parents had to hide the fact that Kay was pregnant and delay getting married. They did so because Frank had lost his job and, at the depths of the Great Depression, wasn’t too likely to find another one in Saskatchewan. (There was no CERB or even EI in those days). Kay had a job, but she would lose it as s...