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! Pawnbroker killer will spend at least 15 years behind bars. ! MLA John Yap loses his seat in Premier Clark’s new cabinet. www.richmond-news.com
RC Palmer Griffins will be looking to put last year’s nightmare behind them when they play today at the provincial “AAA” championships in Langley.
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Cummins steps down ‘Not tired of politics,’ just Ottawa commute BY ALAN CAMPBELL
acampbell@richmond-news.com
CHUNG CHOW/RICHMOND NEWS
Jack O’Hare, right, of O’Hare’s pub, gets a head start on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with his friend, Win Lynch. Meanwhile, one of Richmond’s newest residents, Vickie Sam Paget, is looking for a place to mark the occasion, which may be no easy feat for someone who has hunted for leprechauns on the rugged mountainsides of County Louth, celebrated the humble spud at County Leitrim’s National Potato Day celebrations, and sampled scrumptious stews at the World Irish Stew Championships in County Sligo. Read her story on page 6.
After 18 colourful years in office, John Cummins is stepping down as MP for Delta-Richmond East. With a spring election on the horizon, Cummins announced to his federal Conservative Party’s electoral district association (EDA) members on Saturday that he would not be seeking re-election. His decision had been expected for many weeks, as speculation grows over the possibility of Cummins leading a rejuvenated B.C. Tory party. However, Cummins said he’s not yet ready to call
it a career and he’s still not decided on running for the provincial party leadership or what riding he’d run in. “I’m not tired of politics, I was just tired of flying twice a week through three times zones,” he said of his job in Ottawa. “The whole idea of getting on that plane was becoming very tiresome. I think I probably made that trip about 450 times in 18 years. I will make a decision (on the B.C. leadership) within the next two weeks. “I don’t want it dragging on, but I don’t want to rush it either. I want to be able to make a difference.” see Cummins page 3
AID
Rotary Club pledges to help Japanese earthquake victims Group aims to fundraise for fishing village in dire need as Richmondites worry for loved ones in affected areas eedmonds@richmond-news.com
The Steveston Rotary Club aims to adopt a fishing village in Japan that has been devastated by the massive earthquake and subsequent 10-metre high tsunami that hit the country last week. “We just pledged $3,000 as a club. And when we passed the hat around at the meeting this morning (Tuesday), we got another $850,”
Cutline ... Cutline
said Coun. Bill McNulty, a club member. The club plans to work with the city’s sister city committee, as well as the Steveston Buddhist Church on Garry Street, to identify a particular village that is trying to recover and rebuild itself. “We’re not going to go through an agency. We’ll work with the Steveston Buddhist Church because they have relations there and direct contacts,” McNulty added. The fundraising will kick off
with a one-kilometre walk on Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The route will be the same as the Sockeye Spin, starting at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. It makes sense for the Steveston Club to focus on a fishing village, said McNulty, because that’s what Steveston is — a fishing village. In 1877 the first Japanese immigrant came to Steveston from Mio, a village in Japan’s Wakayama area. By 1888, half the population of
Mio was in Steveston. “So we have that history, that connection,” McNulty added. And the connections are not just historical. Former city councillor Kiichi Kumagai has family in northern Japan, including Sendai, where the airport was submerged by the tsunami. “I’ve been trying to contact them but no communications are going through,” said Kumagai, who is worried about his relatives but
remains optimistic. Kumagai visited Sendai around 10 years ago and said buildings in Japan are able to withstand over magnitude 10 earthquakes. He also talked to friends in Tokyo the night after the earthquake, who told him the city did not seem to be panicking. “I was in (an earthquake) once. It was a scary feeling. Your mind says run, but your legs don’t move.” see Temple page 4
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