THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS
NOV. 16, 2012 www.tricitynews.com
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Retire number 10?
Curties remembered
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE PAGE 8
INSIDE
Things-to-do Guide/21 Elaine Golds/22 Tri-City Spotlight/25 Sports/49
Carol Todd: ‘My job is to talk’ Amanda’s mom on the attention & the responsibility By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
C
arol Todd is on a journey no mother should have to take — and it’s not over yet. Six weeks ago, Todd found her daughter, Amanda, dead by her own hand and herself in the midst of a media storm that has not yet abated. On Wednesday, when The Tri-City News visited Todd at her Port Coquitlam home, she was cleaning house for a barrage of media that would soon arrive on the heels of concerns she made public via Twitter that she hadn’t been invited to an anti-bullying conference held the day before (see related story). She apologizes for vacuuming the foyer while her dog, Mandy, scampers about, and offers tea or coffee.
Carol Todd sits in the kitchen of her Port Coquitlam home, flanked by a photo of her daughter Amanda, who committed suicide last month.
Heist suspects caught A Coquitlam man is among three people charged after allegedly robbing a Richmond jewelry store on Nov. 6. Shortly before 6 p.m. that day, witnesses reported seeing two men smash the display case at Ben Moss Jewellers in Richmond Centre mall before fleeing with merchandise. Once outside, one of the suspects, armed with a gun, tried unsuccessfully to carjack a vehicle. When he tried on a second vehicle, the suspect was grabbed by bystanders. The suspect was held until Richmond RCMP arrived and recovered the handgun. The two other suspects were later located and arrested by Vancouver Police Department officers. Keith Macdonald, a 32-year-old Coquitlam man, is charged with armed robbery and possession of a prohibited firearm. Ty Burgess, 29, of Vancouver and Shane Buckner, 36, of Mission have been charged with armed robbery and wearing a disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence.
DIANE STRANDBERG/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
see ‘THE SUPPORT’, page 3
Discounts feed need for deals Staged discounts may win over toll resistance By Jeff Nagel BLACK PRESS
The first big test of whether drivers open their wallets and embrace the new Port Mann Bridge will come Dec. 10. That Monday is the first business day with regular weekday volumes after the start of tolling on Dec. 8 when most
commuters must decide if they will pay $1.50 to cross. Even then, many drivers will effectively have free use of the bridge for a while. Those who sign up with the TReO electronic tolling system by Nov. 30 get a credit for 20 free crossings and won’t really be out of pocket until those are burned off or the credits expire on May 31. March 1 is another key date, when drivers who fail to register lose their 50% discount
and must pay the full $3 toll for regular cars to cross. That discount continues for registered users until December 2013. The strategy of offering staged discounts to ease motorists into paying for a previously free crossing is a smart one, said SFU marketing professor Lindsey Meredith. “I think they learned from the disaster over at the Golden Ears Bridge,” he said. “It’s no accident you see it phased in with a lot of inducement for
IN QUOTES
“I think they learned from the disaster over at the Golden Ears Bridge.” Lindsey Meredith, SFU marketing professor people to adapt earlier than later.” TransLink’s Golden Ears Bridge attracted fewer drivers than expected, he said, because full tolls were abruptly charged with no discounts after a free use period ended.
In contrast, the Port Mann will offer options the Golden Ears still doesn’t, including a 25% discount for registered HOV lane users or an unlimited monthly pass option. see 225,000, page 15