To sell or noT sell school land?
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By vesPa from iTaly To india
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January 25 2013 www.newwestnewsleader.com
a backup on a city sewer line has left a local resident on the hook. See Page a3
City slashes tax for industry Rate to be in line with neighbouring municipalities Grant Granger
ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
PHOTO COnTrIBuTED
Brek Boughton face and balaclava are completely encased by frozen sweat during his winter cycling trek to the arctic ocean. he had to abandon his second attempt to reach Tuktoyaktuk because of a persistent cough.
Arctic bike quest beaten by cold again Mario Bartel
His latest attempt ended Jan. 7 in Dawson City when he couldn’t The first thing Brek Boughton shake a persistent cough that sapped wanted to do when he returned his energy. He’d covered about 1,400 to the Lower Mainland from his kilometres up Vancouver Island, second ill-fated cycling adventure in over the White Pass from Skagway, the far north was go for a ride. Alaska and into the Yukon. After all, Vancouver’s rain In 2012, Boughton had to and winter cold are downright abandon a similar trek from Cap’s tropical compared to the -45 degree Bicycles in Sapperton, where he windchill he’d endured pedalling works, to the Arctic Circle because into Whitehorse. of frostbite and creaky knees. Once again Boughton’s quest to Boughton, 41, took on the ride his specially equipped Surly challenges to test his own physical Big Dummy bike to Tuktoyaktuk in and mental endurance,1:20 as well as to 4x1.25_small_appliances_ad_final.pdf 1 12-03-05 PM the dead of winter came up short. support an effort by Cap’s and the
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Royal City Rotary Club to collect used bikes to be sent to Africa. Using the lessons he learned from his first attempt, Boughton made some modifications to his bike to better withstand the rigours of extreme winter riding, packed warmer sleeping bags and wore warmer boots and gloves. Still, the far north winter proved too formidable a foe. “It’s not very pleasant,” said Boughton of riding into a 50 km/h headwind in sub-zero temperatures outside Whitehorse. “I was frustrated with the slow speed, I
was pushing too hard. It was just a really horrible day.” In fact, the sweat he worked up froze his shirt to his skin. Getting off the bike wasn’t any easier, as Boughton camped alongside the road for the majority of his route. That meant setting up a tent and cooking his meals in the extreme cold and sometimes without the shelter of trees. “There were a few points where my hands weren’t working so well,” he said. Please see VIETnaM, a3
Property tax in New Westminster is being slashed by 20 per cent this year, but only for the city’s light industrial land. Council committed to a plan on Monday to reduce the light industry rate by 34 per cent in the next three years to make it competitive with neighbouring municipalities. The decrease, however, is not expected to mean an increase in residential property tax to compensate for lost revenue. Rates will drop by 20 per cent in 2013, five per cent in 2014 and nine per cent in 2015. According to a staff report, New Westminster’s 2012 light industrial tax was nearly double the average in Metro Vancouver. New West currently has roughly $84 million in assessed light industrial land bringing in $2.1 million in revenue. But with several significant projects in the works worth around $74 million, the city doesn’t expect it will have less revenue with the reduction. Please see COulD, a3