Latest news with #Kaisers
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Vancouver byelection: Seven candidates from five parties make their pitch
Many of the candidates for the four parties running against ABC in Vancouver's April 5, two-seat council byelection call it the same thing: a referendum. Saturday's vote, they say, is a chance for residents to weigh in on the performance of Vancouver's reigning party and Mayor Ken Sim. Vancouver's left-leaning parties — the Greens, OneCity, and COPE — are attacking ABC as a party that serves the interests of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, and describe Sim as a leader distracted by things most people don't want, like abolishing the park board and investing city money in bitcoin. TEAM, not generally considered a left-wing party, differs starkly from the right-leaning ABC on at least one major issue: Housing. ABC won the 2022 election in a landslide, promising to fix a dysfunctional city hall and improve public safety. Now, ABC's two byelection candidates aim to convince voters Vancouver has been heading in the right direction and the party deserves an even-larger majority on council. The party has significant advantage in money and visibility. ABC candidate Jaime Stein said ABC 'has had a lot of positive momentum' on its 93-point platform from the 2022 election, 'but there's a lot more work to do.' Stein believes his background in tech makes him well-suited to 'help modernize our city operations.' ABC's other candidate, Ralph Kaisers, spent 34 years with the Vancouver police, including six years as union president. Kaisers was the public face of the Vancouver Police Union's decision to break with tradition and endorse ABC in the last municipal general election. This time the police union has decided not to endorse ABC, Kaisers, or anyone else. Kaisers isn't disappointed about the decision, he said. The union felt compelled to 'take a very unique stance' in 2022 because members felt unsupported by the then-mayor and council, he said, but 'currently, a lot of positive things have happened for the department and there isn't really the need to step out and endorse one party or another.' TEAM has the only byelection candidate with experience on Vancouver city council: Colleen Hardwick, a councillor from 2018 to 2022 and unsuccessful mayoral candidate in 2022. Hardwick says many voters in 2022 were trying to decide between ABC and TEAM, and people 'freaked out,' and figured Sim's ABC seemed the best bet to unseat then-mayor Kennedy Stewart. 'Now they have buyer's remorse,' Hardwick said. 'And we won't get fooled again.' Historically, homeowners are more likely to vote than renters, but Hardwick predicts more tenants at the polls this week for one reason: The Broadway plan. The plan, designed to densify a roughly 500-block area along the Broadway corridor, was approved in 2022 by the previous council under Stewart, over Hardwick's objection. Since taking office, the ABC-majority council has ramped up the plan with decisions in 2023 and 2024. After encouraging a real estate speculation 'feeding frenzy,' ABC has done 'the work for us' in motivating Broadway-area renters, anxious about development and displacement, to vote, Hardwick said. TEAM's other candidate, Theodore Abbott, says the byelection is, to some extent, 'a referendum on the Broadway plan.' 'People are upset about it,' Abbott said. 'Whether they're a renter or a homeowner, no one wants this. They all think it's vastly out of scale.' While TEAM has talked about dramatically scaling back or pausing the Broadway plan, Green candidate Annette Reilly said the idea that such a move would stop rezonings and evictions is one of this election's biggest misconceptions. The Broadway subway, which is under construction and expected to start running in 2027, means provincial mandates to boost density near transit hubs, said Reilly, who works in film production. 'Rather than fighting change, we should focus on protecting the people who call these neighbourhoods home.' Building heights vary in different parts of the Broadway plan, and the areas with the most density could get towers of up to 40 storeys, which is double the provincial minimum. The Broadway plan's tenant protections have been touted as Canada's strongest, but it's still too early to know how they will work in reality. The plan says that tenants displaced by redevelopment will have right of first refusal for a similar apartment in a new building at the rent they previously paid, and the developer is responsible for finding an interim home during construction. Reilly believes the Broadway tenant protections are good, but could be strengthened further — and implemented citywide. 'Growth doesn't have to mean displacement if we plan with compassion and foresight,' she said. Some, including TEAM's candidates, doubt the policies will actually protect renters. Some developers argue these policies will hinder the viability of development, limiting the addition of badly needed rental homes. City planners say that is by design: By reducing the redevelopment potential of existing rental properties, the city hopes to encourage development on sites with little or no residential displacement, such as former commercial properties. OneCity candidate Lucy Maloney says that although ABC will retain a council majority regardless of this week's election, 'so much is at stake' for progressive voters. Maloney pointed to ABC councillors' attempt last year to repeal Vancouver's ban on natural gas heating in new buildings, prompting backlash from environmentalists. The proposal failed when three ABC councillors voted against their caucus colleagues. 'It is absolutely crucial that we get two strong progressive opposition voices elected,' Maloney said, so they can 'work co-operatively with the more progressive people who are still remaining with ABC.' 'Otherwise there'll be even less accountability for the worst elements of Ken Sim's agenda,' she said, citing the mayor's freeze on supportive housing and push to invest public funds in cryptocurrency. COPE candidate Sean Orr has been well-known in left-wing activism circles for several years. COPE is Vancouver's oldest left wing party, but this year Orr is seeking to become only the second COPE councillor in the past 14 years. 'One COPE councillor can do a lot,' Orr said, pointing to Harry Rankin's pushing for tenant protections in the 1960s and Jean Swanson's advancing free transit for children. 'There's this tradition COPE has of keeping other parties honest,' Orr said. In addition to the seven candidates endorsed by civic parties, six Independent candidates have registered to run. They are Guy Dubé, Karin Litzcke, Rollergirl, Charles Ling, Jeanifer Decena and Gerry McGuire. dfumano@ Voting in Vancouver's 2025 byelection: What you need to know Vancouver byelection turnout might be (relatively) low, but for civic parties, the stakes are high
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Panorama of life in eastern Pine Grove
PINE GROVE — Paging through a new photographic history, Lucille Brinich came across an image of the Washington Twp. farm where she grew up. It was a photo of an old barn on the property being dismantled in 2002, and it rekindled memories for Brinich, who still lives on part of the property along Route 443. 'We used to have cattle and horses, and stored hay and straw on the upper floor,'' recalled Brinich, a school bus driver in the Blue Mountain school district. Brinich's reaction underscored the reason Dean H. Klinger compiled 'A Photo History of East Pine Grove' — to chronicle the roots of the area's culture for present and future generations. An omnibus 600-page hardcover with 1,500 color and black-and-white photos, the book is a people's history. Almost all of the photos were contributed by Pine Grove area families, who gave permission to have them reproduced. The photos contain inscriptions, and most are dated. Klinger's third photo history, it focuses largely on the area from Pine Grove borough east toward Freidensburg along Route 443. 'A Photo History of West Pine Grove,' was published in 2019. And 'Pine Grove Borough Historical Pictures' was published in 2024. The three Pine Grove historical photo books by Dean Klinger shown Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Owner of Klinger Auto Parts & Recycling, he became a historian by circumstance. Over the counter in his salvage yard, Klinger would discuss the history of the largely farming area around Pine Grove with customers. They'd bring in old photos for him, and the collection kept growing. At the suggestion of customers, he decided to work on the first book about 10 years ago. Klinger has a large collection of railroad photos from around the Pine Grove area, and people are urging him to compile them into his fourth book. Any thought of the improbability of a junkyard dealer becoming a historian is quickly extinguished during a tour of the property. A veritable time capsule, the rusting remnants of once proud Packards, Studebakers and Kaisers rest in an automotive graveyard of cars from the 1950s and earlier. An old gas pump with numerals stuck at 25-cents a gallon conjures memories of a bygone era following the end of World War II. Mine cars resurrected from the depths of mines in Schuylkill's western coal fields mingle with giant gears that crushed coal in the region's breakers. A mine car sits on tracks at Dean Klinger's Auto Parts & Recycling in Pine Grove, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) And the twin smokestacks of a coal-fired Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. power plant rise in stark contrast to corn fields and a housing development on Hallton Hill in a photo taken around 1954-55. Frozen in time Laid out in color-coded chapters devoted to specific country roads, the book depicts a panorama of life in Pine Grove and Washington Township spanning more than a century. An old stone iron furnace on Rock Road harkens to an era when ore was trucked in from Lebanon County and made into picks and shovels by local craftsmen. A similar stone kiln on Stanhope Road was buried during a road construction project, Klinger said. The author's salvage yard along Bird's Hill Road, which he founded in 1981, is seen as the 'Great Wall of Cars' lining the yard's perimeter. * Dean Klinger flips through his latest photo history book while at Dean Klinger Auto Parts & Recycling in Pine Grove, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) * A page of covered bridges within 'A Photo History of East Pine Grove, Pennsylvania,' Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) * A photo from the early 20th century within 'A Photo History of East Pine Grove, Pennsylvania,' Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) * A photo of a man heading off to vote in a donkey-drawn carriage within 'A Photo History of East Pine Grove, Pennsylvania,' Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Show Caption 1 of 4 Dean Klinger flips through his latest photo history book while at Dean Klinger Auto Parts & Recycling in Pine Grove, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Expand Albert Kieny, wearing a top hat, is at the reins of a cart pulled by a donkey named Maggie on his way to vote in Deturksville in 1953. And Zimmerman's covered bridge, one of only two surviving in Schuylkill County, stands as an ode to the region's Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. In calico dresses and bonnets, Della Strouphauer and her daughter, Anna Hummel, tend crops in a field on the family farm circa 1915-1920. Pauline Berger ice skates on Berger's Dam along Route 443 in 1925. And a local farmer proudly displays his steam-powered tractor in 1931. Photos from the 1920s within 'A Photo History of East Pine Grove, Pennsylvania,' Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) George 'Dad' Burnam, a former 'cowpuncher' who drove stagecoaches to Dodge City, opened a Sinclair gas station at Miller's Crossroads in 1923. He lived to be 96, and claimed to be the oldest Sinclair station operator in the U.S. The pronunciation of his surname evolved to Burnham over the years, and a road near the former station is now known as Dad Burnham's Road. A tall tale The Crossroads Hotel in Cherryville, north of Pine Grove, was the scene of a tale etched in the region's folklore. A group of miners celebrating at the hotel, the story goes, were shocked sober when smoke rose from the floorboards and filled the bar with the odor of brimstone. The sound of rattling chains announced the arrival of the devil. 'The devil's cloven feet were burned into the saloon floor' a local newspaper reported in 1974, 'and stayed there for a long time.' Beverly Sarge used and the Schuylkill County parcel locator in preparing captions for the photos. 'It was sometimes a challenge to find information,' confided Sarge, a retired secretary. 'At times, I felt like a sleuth.' Beverly Sarge flips through 'A Photo History of East Pine Grove, Pennsylvania' while at Dean Klinger Auto Parts & Recycling in Pine Grove, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Little Mountain Printing, Myerstown, printed the book, which is priced at $110. Copies of Klinger's previous books are still available. Klinger, who has invested countless hours into compiling the books, donates proceeds from sales to the Pine Grove Historical Society. 'I don't feel right,' he said, 'making a profit on somebody else's photographs.' Information on how to obtain copies of the books is available at 570-345-8778.
CBC
22-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
ABC Vancouver defends its campaign for 2-seat byelection vote
The party with the majority on Vancouver city council is being criticized for avoiding all-candidate meetings and running the police union boss as one of its byelection candidates, and now says it is having its signs stolen. But it maintains enough is going right to get its voters mobilized and to the polls on April 5 to capture the two seats up for grabs. "We're running a really good campaign, but we're not playing error-free baseball," said Stephen Carter, ABC Vancouver's campaign manager. "But I don't know if it's enough to hurt us in the long run." Candidates Jaime Stein, an ex-B.C. United candidate, and Ralph Kaisers, a police officer with a 30-year career and the head of the Vancouver Police Department's union, have been trying to attend 250 party-organized events in 50 days. Mayor Ken Sim has been with them along the way, touting his candidates and his council's record to small groups in private residences, cultural centres and seniors' homes. "We can talk about anything you guys want," said Sim to a group gathered in an amenity room in a Coal Harbour condo complex on Thursday. Stein says the events are about connecting with voters who he says are focused on issues, not the politics swirling around ABC. "What I hear from people is they are looking for solutions," he said. "Whether it's clean streets, safe streets, or just removing red tape so that they can focus on doing business here in Vancouver." ABC competitors are working hard though to try and widen any cracks they see in the party's approach, such as not attending all-candidate meetings to take questions on ABC's record. "There is no question that Ken Sim's hand-picked backbenchers were picked for their deference to Sim," said Coalition of Progressive Electors candidate Sean Orr in February. Kaisers is on leave from his union role but attention has been drawn to his provocative social media posts, such as those about policing in the Downtown Eastside and gun control. He has also faced questions about the 2015 death of Myles Gray, who died from injuries after an encounter with seven police officers. A public judicial hearing into the death is set for Jan. 19, 2026, which will, in part, look into whether union officials instructed officers not to take notes about the incident. No officers have ever been criminally charged in relation to Gray's death. "The day in question that people are suggesting that I said something or didn't say something or instructed people to do one thing or another, I was not there," said Kaisers on Thursday. "I did not tell them not to take notes." Kaisers says he's being well-received by voters in regards to his career in policing and what he can now bring to civic politics. "They applaud the fact that I've been a member for 33 years and they're actually happy that I've come forward," he said. The ABC campaign had to admit a mistake after Kaisers used personal email addresses of union members to ask for their support. He apologized for what the party said was a gaffe. If Kaisers is elected, he would be the second council member with a history of policing, alongside retired officer Brian Montague. The duo would further cement the central pillar of ABC's 2022 platform, public safety, but political watchers say the party could be blurring the lines between impartial policing and governance. "This is a calculated risk on the part of the ABC," said Stewart Prest, a University of B.C. political scientist. "But I think it is an unambiguous problem for democratic accountability of policing in Vancouver." ABC also faced blowback after using its 2022 database to erect some 2,000 campaign signs on peoples' properties, despite some not wanting them. Campaign manager Carter says the party is now dealing with sign theft. He claims up to 60 signs have been stolen with anti-Kaisers materials left in mailboxes. "This isn't petty vandalism, this is politician manipulation," he said. ABC Vancouver says it has called for Elections B.C. to investigate the matter. Vancouver's two-seat byelection takes place on Saturday, April 5.
Times of Oman
06-02-2025
- Automotive
- Times of Oman
Historic German train factory to build tanks under new deal
Görlitz: A historic train factory in Germany will help build tanks in future as part of a deal between Franco-German arms group KNDS and French railway manufacturer Alstom on Wednesday. KNDS will complete a takeover of Alstom's train carriage factory in the eastern German city of Görlitz by 2027. "Instead of train carriages, parts for the defense industry will be manufactured here from next year," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the factory in Wednesday. Scholz said it was "very good news that industrial jobs will be preserved even though Alstom is leaving Görlitz." What will the factory produce? The factory in Görlitz has manufactured rolling stock for more than 175 years, dating back to the time of the German Kaisers. It will continue to build double-decker carriages until next year to fulfill outstanding orders in Germany and Israel. From 2027, the factory will manufacture parts for Rheinmetall's Leopard 2 main battle tank, the Puma infantry fighting vehicle and the Boxer armored fighting vehicle.
