Monthly Archives: May 2009

Mel Lehan story in the Vancouver Sun: NDP candidate in Point Grey says premier is vulnerable

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Here's
a feel-good story about a community do-gooder who is poised to be a
giant killer in election. I would nominate Mel Lehan for the BC Community
Achievement Award and the Courage to Come Back Award & am glad to
be his friend.  He is a committed activist filled with compassion and love for people and Kitsilano. 

In a Vancouver Sun article BC's Most Influential People, Mel Lehan was ranked at #21, with Gordon Campbell at #54.

Mel is known as the “Mayor of Kitsilano.”  His list of achievements and awards is long and inspiring.

On Saturday, the Vancouver Sun published a story about Mel titled: NDP candidate in Point Grey says premier is vulnerable

NDP candidate in Point Grey says premier is vulnerable
Source: www2.canada.com
Twelve
years ago Mel Lehan, the tireless community activist who's been called
the “Mayor of Kitsilano,” was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus
and stomach and given a 15-per-cent chance of surviving five years.

I first met Mel during the 2005 Vancouver civic elections.  He was running for Parks Board as a COPE candidate, but he wasn't elected.  I later got to know Mel better since the summer of 2007 when he tried out dragon boat paddling with me. We really bonded over sharing our cancer survival stories, and our commitments to our communities.  He asked me to play accordion at the “Tribute to Mel Lehan” last fall, and to be a seconder for his constituency nomination in January.  Mel and his wife Barbara absolutely LOVED attending the Gung Haggis Fat Choy this year in January.

At the October 2008 “Tribute to Mel Lehan” at the St. James Hall last year.  Many community leaders were there to support and praise Mel, but somehow the MLA for Vancouver-West Point Grey was not in attendance to help celebrate one of the constituency's community leaders.
See my story: Mel Lehan, “Mayor of Kitsilano” is celebrated for his community achievments at St. James Hall Oct 19th.

Here are some other media stories about Mel Lehan:

8 Jan 2009 … Community organizer Mel Lehan wants to become the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey but that means he'll have to take down the leader of the BC …
www.straight.com/article-178550/lehan-takes-premier – 73k – Cached – Similar pages

NDP candidate says he's greener than Greens

Mel Lehan hopes an earlier start to his provincial run will help him unseat Liberal … Victoria Times Colonist, The Province (Vancouver), Vancouver Sun …
www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=5b4a464c-dd8b-4500-882a-3093b84dd03e – 78k – Cached – Similar pages

B.C.'s most influential people

31 Dec 2008 … According to VancouverSun.com voters, the most influential British Columbian is musician, … Mel Lehan 354. 22. Trevor Linden 336 …
www.chtv.com/ch/cheknews/story.html?id=1130635 – 45k – Cached – Similar pages

Gung Haggis dragon boat team opens racing season at Lotus Sports Club's Bill Alley Memorial dragon boat regatta and receives special community spirit prize

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Gung Haggis dragon boat team opens racing season at Lotus Sports Club's Bill Alley Memorial dragon boat regatta and receives special community spirit prize

2009_May 065 by you.
The team is ready to head out for their 4th race, assisted by Barb Alley.

The 2009 team roster had 14 paddlers returning to Lotus: 
Drummer Todd

1 – Tzhe & Alissa
2 – Wendy & Nicole
3 – Jane & Christine
4 – Ernest & Debbie
5 – Steven W. & Jonas
6 – Jim & Stephen M
7 – Adam & Joe
8 – Dan & Karen
9 – Marion & Raphael
10 – Nancy and Dave S.
guest steers Harvey.

Saturday May 2nd.
Barnet Marine Park

2009_May 011 Gung
Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team waits on the beach before loading the
boat.  Tzhe wears his new desert camoflage kilt.  Wendy is wearing
Tzhe's blue kilt.

Great racing by the Gung Haggis dragon boat team on Saturday at the
Lotus Sports Club Bill Alley Memorial Regatta held at Barnet Marine Park in
Burnaby

We improved steadily with every race.  Refining our techniques, efforts, team work, and race strategies.

race 1 – 4th
race 2 – 2nd
race 3 – 3rd  BRONZE FINAL
race 3 – 3rd   MIXED ADULT B FINAL

2009_May 067

Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team in red boat
Lane 4 –
closest to shore

We were never last in any of our races.  Definitely exhilarating.  We addressed performance issues
after each race, corrected and improved.  Everybody looked after their
area of responsibilities, and our performance improved with each race. 
The last race was our BEST race, in rougher waters, and we can be proud of our
improvements, and efforts given.

In our first race we were beaten by both SOAR and Lotus Junior Team B.  But we were able to improve and beat the Lotus Juniors in the Bronze Final by 4 seconds. SOAR had beaten us by 3.31 seconds in our first race, but in the Mixed Final B, we beat them to the finish line 3.29 seconds faster.

2009_May 063 Team SOAR (Spirit of a Renegade) poses on the beach before our final race in the Mixed Adult B Final.  I asked them to pose for this picture, then jokingly asked them to step back 10 feet.  They obliged during the race finishing 3.29 seconds behind us.  I guess we will have a showdown at our next set of races when we meet.

We faced our arch rivals and friends The Pirates a total of 3 times in our 2nd, 3rd and 4th races.  With each race they improved beating us initially by .56 seconds, then 3.48 seconds in the Bronze Final, and then a whopping 8.12 seconds with a final time of 1:52.44 to our 2:06.56 minutes.  We'll have to make sure that our friend and former Gung Haggis paddler Tony Lim isn't doesn't paddle for them next time we meet.  And hopefully both Gayle and myself will be paddling in our boat too!

2009_May 075 Captain Ian Paul, of The Pirates, collects his teams “just rewards.”

Special Thanks to Jonas for stepping into the empty seat., Dan for joining us on short notice, and Harvey for steering.

Congratulations to our rookies Nancy, Christine and Karen for performing well.

Important Thank yous to Stephen Mirowski and Tzhe Lam for organizing and managing our team, and race rosters.

If we get everybody out for consistent practices, we should definitely
give the Pirates a good run, the next time we meet them. 

MOST IMPORTANT – we met and accomplished or team goals of FUN, FITNESS and FRIENDSHIP.  Much more important that finishing first, or finishing 2nd and yelling at each other for not coming first.

2009_May 080 by you.

AND our team… received special poster prints
of the 1st Vancouver Mens dragon boat team practicing at Barnet Marine
Park – This is the first team that would go to Hong Kong dragon boat festival to represent Vancouver. Todd holds the print, while standing with Lotus Sports Club's Grace Morrisette, who was Todd's first dragon boat coach when The Headliners team practiced out of Lotus Sports Club in '93 and '94.  These prints were gifted to our team for our “Team spirit and community dedication” as we performed our second annual “dragon & lion dance” as a fundraiser for the Bill
Alley Memorial scholarship fund, given to a paddler on the
Lotus Junior team.

2009_May 026 Todd coached and drummed.

2009_May 040 Harvey steered for us!

See more pictures and videos posted on Flickr.

Gung Haggis Dragons @ Lotus 09

Gung Haggis Dragons @ Lotus 09

Save the Frogs Day: I make friends with a red-eyed tree frog

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2009_April 176 by you. Todd Wong with Red-eyed Tree Frog- photo David Wong

I
visited with Red-eyed Tree frogs from the Amazon, Manchurian Fire
Bellies from China, and Pacific Tree Frogs from Vancouver, at the home of my friend David Wong


2009_April 161

My friend David Wong, encouraged City of
Vancouver to proclaim “Save the
Frogs Day” on April 28. I visited
his Red-eyed Tree frogs from the Amazon,
Manchurian Fire Bellies from China, and
Pacific Tree Frogs from Vancouver!

Here are my pictures from my visit with David and his frogs:

Save the Frogs Day

2009_April 157

2009_April 159

Save the Frogs Day

urbantreefrog2

My friend David Wong, encouraged
City of Vancouver to proclaim “Save the Frogs Day” on April 28.

David has been a very creative architect working on projects in China, Singapore and Vancouver.  He is now going to focus more exclusively on environmentally friendly designs, to help us create better living habitats for both humans and our biological friends.  I visited with him today, and he told me about a big project in Fuzhou China that saved an important historical tree, and another project in Metro Vancouver that utilized a large water pool.

David's own eco-friendly home was featured in the Georgia Straight newspaper last year on May 15th, 2008:

Finding the colour of harmony in renovation | Straight.com

http://www.straight.com/article-145523/the-colour-harmony

But check out his frogs!
and what David does to protect and promote frog habitats.

http://www.urbantreefrog.com/?p=251

the Urban Treefrog blog » Mayor proclaims Vancouver as Frog friendly city!
Source: www.urbantreefrog.com
The
office of the Mayor of Vancouver has officially proclaimed April 28,
2009 as Save The Frogs Day in Vancouver, British Columbia.

stf-proclamation

From the Office of the Mayor of Vancouver, BC, Canada

Save The Frogs Day, April 28, 2009

WHEREAS, amphibians are in considerable peril here in Vancouver and around the world; and

WHEREAS, nearly one-third of the world’s
6,468 amphibian species are threatened with extinction, and at least
150 species completely  disappeared since 1979, making amphibians the
most threatened group of animals on Earth; and

WHEREAS, amphibians are critical
components to our ecosystems, especially of the land and waters in and
around metro Vancouver, and  because amphibians provide ecosystem
services to nature and to humans including,

(1) cleaning waterways by eating algae and detritus during their tadpole stage;
(2) serving as a vital source of food to other animals,
(3) consuming large quantities of ticks, mosquitoes and other pest
species that serve as disease vectors that can transmit fatal 
illnesses to humans; and

WHEREAS, approximately 10% of Nobel
prizes in physiology and medicine have resulted from investigations
that used amphibians – implying when an amphibian species disappears,
so does any promise for important new human pharmaceutical discoveries;
and

WHEREAS, amphibians face a multitude of
threats including pollution,  pesticides, habitat destruction, climate
change, invasive species,  infectious diseases (the spread of which are
facilitated by human  activities), and over-harvesting for the pet and
food trades; and

WHEREAS, we believe in the right of all children to see, hear and  catch amphibians in their native habitat; and

WHEREAS, amphibian conservation efforts will not be successful  without an educated and informed public; and

WHEREAS, the Pacific Treefrog (Hyla
regilla), an original inhabitant  of these lands now known as the City
of Vancouver, could be encouraged to co-habit backyard gardens, urban
forests and city parks; and

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the concerned
citizens of Vancouver respectfully join others on April 28th, 2009 and
declare Save The Frogs Day in the great  City of Vancouver, and call
these observances to the attention of all  fellow citizens.

http://www.urbantreefrog.com/?p=251