THE FRIDAY
MARCH 23, 2012
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
www.tricitynews.com
TRI-CITY NEWS They agree on Christy
Get busy, get beading
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 21
Lights out
CLARKE
MARSDEN
INSIDE Letters/12 Tri-City Spotlight/22 Elaine Golds/24 Sports/51
TRASOLINI
PoMo-Coq. will elect a new MLA Early claims do not stand up to scrutiny By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Thursday’s byelection call for the provincial riding of Port Moody-Coquitlam was the official start to a campaign that has been in full swing for weeks, with visits from both BC Liberal and NDP leaders as well as announcements of government funding for community projects. As well as leader visits, NDP candidate and former Port Moody mayor Joe Trasolini has been stumping for months, alongside newcomer Christine Clarke, who was nominated by the BC Conservatives in early December. More recently,
BYELECTION SET Port MoodyCoquitlam will vote on April 19 Dennis Marsden joined the race, representing the BC Liberals in the contest to replace former MLA Iain Black. (Another byelection was also called Thursday, to replace MLA Barry Penner in Chilliwack.) In recent weeks, voters in Port Moody-Coquitlam have been deluged with flyers in the lead-up to the official byelection call. see COMPETING, CO G, page g 3
Tri-Cities get ready for Earth Hour March 31 By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Tri-City residents and businesses are being urged to turn out the lights next weekend in recognition of Earth Hour, a global initiative highlighting energy consumption. This is the fifth year local municipalities have participated in the event, where all nonessential lights and power sources are disconnected for one hour. Earth Hour will take place this year between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on March 31.
“We should be conscious about our environment and energy consumption all the time and this is a good reminder,” said Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore. “Earth Hour gives us an opportunity to educate our families and ourselves about the importance of reducing our energy consumption.” Coquitlam and Port Moody are also promoting Earth Hour to their residents and businesses, and power consumption will be measured by BC Hydro to gauge participation rates. see POCO LED, page 4
JUPITERIMAGES/THINKSTOCK
ALTY
SOWDEN
WALLIS
What do these three school trustees have in common? Almost their entire re-election campaigns last fall were funded by the union representing School District 43 staff. See page 6