THURSDAY OCTOBER 10, 2013
www.pqbnews.com
Official newspaper of the Save-On-Foods Oceanside Generals
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FAMILY AFFAIR
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE, THERE’S . . .
B1
A4
Breathing problems for some — see our report on Church Road-area burning
Moher and daughter team for an arts show at TOSH
PARKSVILLE MAYOR’S SUGGESTIONS
Weed, casino touted for city Chris Burger floats the ideas with a public meeting coming soon AUREN RUVINSKY
writer@pqbnews.com
Could gambling and marijuana solve Parksville’s financial woes? Mayor Chris Burger has suggested exploring new money-making options, including medical marijuana and a casino. “I know this could bring a strong response,” Burger told The NEWS after the Monday council meeting where he proposed the ideas for the Oct. 21 town-hall-style council meeting at the McMillian Arts Centre. “We’re always raising taxes. Of course I’d prefer to never raise taxes but as mayor I’m also chief executive officer looking at the budget and I’m thinking, how do we generate revenue?” He said there has been a lot of talk about revenue versus expenses, increasing taxes or reducing services and alternative funding. “With this narrative that’s been under way I haven’t heard any actual ideas coming forward of things the municipality could do to generate revenue, so I have a couple suggestions,” he said. See THE ‘GROUND FLOOR’ OF POT, page A7
QUALICUM BEACH TOWN COUNCIL GETS . . .
Scolding from Joe JOHN HARDING
editor@pqbnews.com
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See MUNICIPAL BOUNDARIES, page A4
JAMES CLARKE PHOTO
BIG SWING: Parksville Quality Foods Royals batter Owen Kelly pounds a pitch into foul territory during a recent home game, with the colours of fall in the background. For coverage of the Royals, please see today’s sports section.
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Joe Stanhope says Qualicum Beach town councillors don’t know what they are talking about. The chair of the Regional District of Nanaimo was reacting to comments from Qualicum Beach town councillors who say they want to hear from the public and regional district officials before they align the town’s official community plan with the RDN’s Regional Growth Strategy. What seemed like a mere formality, a housekeeping issue where municipal councils quickly pass a motion to amend their OCPs to conform with what the Regional District of Nanaimo calls its Regional Context Statement, has turned into a greater debate at the Qualicum Beach council table about growth in the area.
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