Red noses, warm hearts and safe rides home By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Coquitlam RCMP will be stepping up its drinking and driving CounterAttack program
this winter but holiday revellers have plenty of options to get home safe. There are designated drivers, public transit and taxis. And this season, as in past Christmas
THE WEDNESDAY
seasons, many Tri-City residents will turn to Operation Red Nose, a bydonation campaign that kicks off this weekend. see RED NOSE, page A13
• Operation Red Nose operates in the Tri-Cities every Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., Nov. 29 to Dec. 21, with an additional day on New Year’s Eve. Those who need a ride in the Tri-Cities, Burnaby and New West should call 778-866-6673. More information: operationnezrouge.com/en/region/tri-cities.
NOV. 27, 2013
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS
www.tricitynews.com
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Green amongst the grey
Public art takes flight
SEE LIFE, PAGE A16
SEE ARTS, PAGE A35
INSIDE
Tom Fletcher/A10 Letters/A11 Community Calendar/A32 Sports/A29
DIANE STRANDBERG/TRI-CITY NEWS
Residents of a Coquitlam apartment building hit by fire on Saturday met with property management and city officials on Monday.
Apt. fire kills one, displaces dozens By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
One woman died in a fire early Saturday that started in her apartment. And now, some of the residents of the Howie Avenue building have been allowed to return home, although it could be months before the building can be fully occupied. see SOME, page A7
DAN EBENAL/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Two-and-a-half-year-old Nelly Skoda and dad Martin get a closeup look at the northern saw-whet owl Snoopy at the Orphaned Wildlife Rescue display set up for the recent 14th annual Hyde Creek Salmon Festival.
Burrard Thermal plant will close Port Moody has concerns about lost property taxes By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
An aerial photo of the Burrard Thermal power plant.
The shutdown of a 50-year-old power generating station on Port Moody’s north shore will result in a $1.2-million hit
to the city’s coffers — the equivalent of 4% of the city’s total tax intake. Mothballing of the natural gas-fired power plant that provides emergency back-up power in periods of peak demand was announced Tuesday by Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett as part of a 10-year strategy to keep electricity rates low, and ensure
the province has enough power to supply a growing population and resource sector. (A ministry spokesperson said shutting Burrard Thermal will save $14 million per year.) Burrard Thermal will still be used for the next few years to stabilize power for transmission purposes and continue to
Your Hydro rates will go up 28% over the next five years: page A14 provide about $300,000 in grants in lieu of taxes to Port Moody, according to PoMo Mayor Mike Clay. But most of its functions will be shut down in 2016, raising concerns
about tax implications to the city and about how the region would handle a blackout should a natural disaster take out power lines. see EMERGENCY, page A14