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The Dark Knight the only hope

Dear Batman, I know you're busy with all the shenanigans in Gotham, but do you think you could swing by Whistler on the upcoming May long weekend? Year after year it's been a weekend of mayhem with random beatings and theft and property damage and de

Dear Batman, I know you're busy with all the shenanigans in Gotham, but do you think you could swing by Whistler on the upcoming May long weekend?

Year after year it's been a weekend of mayhem with random beatings and theft and property damage and despite the best efforts of the police and the public outcry afterwards for something to be done, there is little or no change. I and my fellow peace-loving Whistlerites would like to be able to enjoy our village on this holiday and not have to be concerned about getting beaten, stabbed or robbed for no apparent reason.

The Mounties usually do a valiant effort but are ultimately bound by bureaucracy. And the slap on the hand our judicial system doles out is no deterrent either. No wonder the Mounties are so trigger-happy lately. I would be too if I spent so much time and energy and hard work catching a criminal only to watch the courts let them go with a slap on the wrist.

So it seems the only hope we have is you, The Dark Knight. I'm going down to Home Hardware tomorrow to buy some tools in order to fashion a Bat-Signal in case you don't read Pique . I hope you'll see it.

P.S. Let me know if I can help, I have a kick-ass cape leftover from a Halloween costume. But I am kinda out of shape... so maybe I could guard the Bat-Mobile while you do your thing.

Your loyal fan and admirer,

Victor Lezu

Whistler

Let the battle begin

When this letter is published, British Columbians will have elected their provincial government. As an independent elected official I consider it bad form to endorse or diss candidates leading up to an election so I remained silent on MLA Joan McIntyre's repeated view that Bill 30 (the "Ashlu/stifle public input and influence" Bill) "...merely gave private power producers the same rights as B.C. Hydro when building new projects."

B.C. Hydro is owned by all British Columbians and the benefits remain in the province to benefit the citizens of the province. Private producers are owned by private corporations, some small and some large - such as General Electric. The profits and benefits go into private pockets, likely out of the province or indeed the country. Editor, I for one don't want private producers to have the same rights as a publicly owned entity that benefits, well, the public. Duh.

Between IPPs and the systematic destruction of our coastal salmon fishery and indeed the whole ecosystem through the deliberate transition of wild salmon stocks into privately owned corporate lice infested fish farms (did you know that producers of farmed salmon even feed them a dye that gives the flesh a pink colour - otherwise it's gray - they select the colour from a swatch fan, much like paint for your bedroom) it's obvious who the Liberals are working for and it's not the people of this province.

In this letter I expect I'll have irritated Ms. McIntyre, the Liberals, Independent Power Producers and the Fish Farm industry all in one go and there may well be strongly worded letters refuting what I have written. Great. Let the battle and debate over the giveaway into corporate pockets of what makes British Columbia "The Best Place on Earth" begin in earnest.

Eckhard Zeidler

Whistler

Nonsense displayed

While not supporting Max's view that Mr. Dziezanski was murdered, many of us in the court of the general public would share his sentiment. True, while the officers may not have had any intent to kill the man they certainly showed they were not there to help him either. It is clear that not only did their actions fatally wound him, but they then stood around while he died in front of them. For Mr. Harvey to write it off as a "mistake" makes no sense.

I learned long ago that "common sense" is not so common and people exhibit good sense or no sense (nonsense). These officers did not have the good sense to recognize someone dying but also refused to even undo his handcuffs at the request of emergency responders. It seems the only admitted "mistake" is in their collective recollections of facts afterwards.

As my teen daughter stated after reading about this incident - "Disgusting." And I agree. To support the actions of the officers, in light of the known facts, is nonsense.

Michael Lyons

Squamish

Keeping the shelves stocked

Thank you to Lisa Haeck for suggesting the community make donations to the Food Bank (The Food Bank Needs Food, Pique letters, May 7). However, a few corrections are in order.

Thanks to the kind folks involved with the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, our shelves are not "empty." The money we receive from the foundation goes to purchasing fresh food and the basics to make up a complete "basket of goods," which typically equals three large grocery bags per client. These items are purchased prior to each Food Bank day and therefore not always reflected in the shelving stock.

Whistler Community Services Society would never let anyone leave the Food Bank empty handed; the money we received recently from the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation helps to ensures that. It's the donations that we get from the general public that stock the shelves.

Yes, the current economic climate has impacted us here at WCSS; less jobs or less employment hours mean more people at the Food Bank. Therefore, donations are needed and greatly appreciate.

So, if you are considering a food donation to the Food Bank, the best place to donate it is at our local grocery stores, who have graciously given us space to request these donations. WCSS will then pick it up and distribute from there. This helps to maintain confidentiality and avoid bear confrontations.

Here's to a busy summer of donations in preparation for a possible 2010 Food Bank rush.

Greg McDonnell

Whistler Community Services Society

Executive Director

Big, comprehensible, thinking

How often have you wanted a book that will help you get the numbers together to decide whether yours or another's prejudices were correct? How often you have heard that some action will make a difference when you doubt it very much, or that another action is the right path and you want to show that it is?

To the rescue of those of us who want to debunk or support the latest political claim, or those that think we can easily solve the energy-climate change problem, comes a remarkable and very readable book by British Physicist David MacKay, called Sustainable Energy-without hot air .

You can download it for free (or buy it for a healthy sum) at www.withouthotair.com . I promise you that by five pages into part one you will want to read it all.

MacKay uses simple and fast approximations that allow anyone to calculate for themselves the parameters that help us examine real issues. By keeping everything in the same units (Kilowatt hours - see your hydro bill) we can easily compare both sources and expenditures, and by using kWh per person rather than for a country, we can keep numbers to a dimension that makes them comprehensible to the human mind. Do you know the "mileage" of your car in Kilowatt hours per day?

If you like back-of-the-envelope calculations, and think that numbers are preferable to adjectives like huge, you'll love this book. As an aside, he debunks a number of myths, shows just how it is that our quite small contribution (when compared to the contributions of the oceans and the rest of the planet) to the GHG emissions can make a very negative difference, and allows you to see if disconnecting your cell phone charger accomplishes what your kids or the media might be telling you it does.

You'll get to assess whether hydrogen cars are worthwhile and whether electric cars are better than hybrids, and how much better cars can get. You'll also completely change your ideas on alternative and sustainable sources of energy, and come to a much better understanding of how much we need to do to get out of this mess, as well as feel a whole lot more confident that you'll be able to convince someone that we can get there.

This is a "think big" book. Go download it.

Al Whitney

Whistler

Consumption, noise and safety are factors

Just a quick note regarding, In Defence of Sledders ( Pique letters, May 7).

I see people driving around with big trucks, mostly diesels with sleds on the back that are mostly there for show, and their driving habits are not conducive to saving any fuel at any time.

The loudness factor of sleds when you are in the backcountry is definitely an issue. Motorbikes that you can hear miles away, never mind when you are trying to fish or enjoy the moment and a four stroke thumper comes blasting by, are also a problem.

Oh yeah, the safety factor. It seems to me that sledders get themselves into lots of trouble and are the cause of lots of grief. This past winter proves that.

Leslie Nielsen

D'Arcy

What if...

Organic produce... Nesters has it, IGA has it, Creekside has it... but we can all see that they don't have enough.

Creekside's organic produce is randomly labelled using chalk on its boards. IGA's is a small corner at the back of the produce section, which has hardly any catchment of people. I noticed today in IGA that organic bananas are the same price per pound as the regular bananas! Yet the regular bananas have a huge stand, and the organic bananas are on a small shelf. If people saw this price comparison, and realized... surely they'd buy organic!

So I propose... what if Whistler's grocery stores priced all their organic produce at the same price as the regular produce for a month, three months, even for a year's trial? People would switch their buying habits. Whistler grocery stores would switch produce suppliers because a new demand has been created. Stronger demand means lower prices, and ultimately the price of our organic produce can be as low as regular produce.

Wow, what if...

Claire Mosley

Whistler

A good run for money

With beautiful mountain views and the first wild flowers adorning the trails, over 60 runners and walkers came out to show support for Pemberton Search and Rescue, and, in the process, raise over $900 for this worthy group. Mt. Currie Coffee Co. Muffins, Linda Ronayne cake, and Paula's gourmet coffee ensured that everyone was replenished after their adventure. The trails were in great shape, thanks to Declan and Deirdre Wolfe and the Pemberton Valley Trails Association.

See you at the Spud Run on July 1.

Arlene Schieven

Jeanette Helmer

Pemberton

Unsung heroes

I'd like to thank Whistler Blackcomb, Own the Podium and VANOC for the unwavering support of local sports and athletes in these difficult economic times.

The Canadian Ski Cross Team, Canadian Snowboard Cross Team and B.C. Ski Cross Team recently had an Olympic training camp up on Blackcomb Mountain and on behalf of the athletes and coaches, thank you!

If you were up on the mountain you would have seen what can happen to the Ski/Snowboard Cross course beside Solar Coaster when master builder Jeff Ihaksi and crew are given carte blanche to pump up the course. Judging from the feedback and noises of those riding the lift the course proved to be very entertaining and enticing.

So thanks YP, Cate, Seb, Doug, Rod, VANOC, Nick, Own the Podium, Christian Hrab, Dave Ellis, Jeff x 2, Mathew S (for some great accommodation), Rene, Tim, Marcelle, Brent and the athletes for making our camp awesome!

Willy Raine

Coach Canadian Ski Cross Team