Thieves racking up bike thefts

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Park Towers resident Bob Friedland says it’s garbage that he isn’t permitted to bring his bike into his apartment to secure it from the thieves who continue to plague the seniors-oriented highrise complex across from Richmond Centre.

Actually, the locked-up garbage dumpsters are safer from the prying hands of bandits than the bicycles and vehicles stored in the first-floor parkade, which isn’t gated.

But if he brings his bike to his suite for safekeeping, Friedland faces a $200 fine each time because of a strata council rule that prohibits bicycles from being stored in the apartments.

While he understands concerns about cleanliness and damage to walls, carpets and elevators, Friedland notes that other wheeled devices such as golf carts, scooters, baby buggies, grocery carts and luggage are permitted.

“To punish me for trying to protect my property is really unconscionable,” he says.

“We have the safest garbage in town, but our bicycles and cars are completely exposed,” Friedland says.

Bicycles, like the one he rides to work every day, have been a favourite target of thieves, who have appeared virtually every night to steal bicycles, handlebars, wheels, seats and seat posts.

Since November, his building—one of three towers located near the RCMP detachment—has been struck “dozens” of times, says Friedland who has given the building’s strata council notice of his intention to sue.

He’s had a bicycle stolen, and hundreds of dollars worth of parts taken from a second bike. He wants the strata to take action.

Friedland believes strata’s reluctance to respond comes from the fact that perhaps only one or two other people in the building ride bikes.

“They’ve got the mindset of the early 1970s that there’s really no problem.”

In fact, while a Richmond Review photographer snapped a picture for this article, an elderly woman didn’t hide her disdain for Friedland, making a belittling comment about him and his bicycle.

Friedland says it’s just a matter of time before the thieves turn their attention to the cars in the parkade. He believes the parkade needs to be secured and gated to stop the problem.

His previous efforts, including a one-inch diameter $40 lock, didn’t do much to deter thieves who “cut through it like it was butter.”

Police have promised to step up their patrols, but Friedland said it’s unrealistic to expect the police to stay there around the clock.

Friedland, who is a practising lawyer, said the strata’s bylaw dealing with fines for bikes is “unfair, unjust and discriminatory.”

He contends the bylaw and its application are abusive and extend beyond the statutory powers that the strata council has.

“Bicycles are the only type of wheeled vehicle prohibited by the bylaw,” Friedland wrote in his notice of intent to sue.

Attempts to reach the property manager for Park Towers and the chair of the strata council were unsuccessful at press time Wednesday.

City commits land for affordable housing

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

City council made good on its commitments to affordable housing this week, designating a half-acre of city-owned land near the Olympic oval for a future low-income housing project.

The property is on the west side of the No. 2 Road Bridge and is part of a two-acre plot previously set aside for future vehicle ramps.

With new high-density zoning, given first reading by council on Monday, the site could house 65 units of affordable housing and look similar to the Dover Crossing apartments next door.

The remaining area will be sold along with the adjacent oval lands to help pay for the $178-million Olympic venue.

Although the city is offering the land, the building will have be constructed by others.

Coun. Rob Howard said council’s decision serves notice to senior governments and other agencies to get involved.

“It’s very exciting,” he said. “We’ve talked about it for a long time. It’s nice to actually have some land dedicated specifically to that purpose.”

Council has resisted designating the land for any one group, so a project could be built for seniors, families, people with disabilities, low-income individuals or any combination.

Howard said he’s looking forward to some “market based feedback” as for who the units should serve.

Coun. Harold Steves said his preference is for seniors affordable housing because of its location near passive walking trails along the dyke.

“Any kind of affordable housing would be great, but I think with seniors housing they’ll love it.”

The Richmond Poverty Response Committee, which has called for affordable housing in the area since the city landed the right to build the Olympic venue in 2004, welcomed the news.

“We’re really pleased,” said Theresa Harding, a member of the committee’s affordable and accessible housing task force.

“We’re hoping this will be housing that’s affordable for a mix of family types.”

Harding said most recently built affordable housing projects are seniors assisted living complexes, yet many seniors and lots of families don’t meet that criteria.

Richmond Committee on Disability chair Frances Clark called council’s move “a step in the right direction.”

“As long as it is not being set aside only for seniors, because the 19- to 55-year-olds, the single parents, all that sort of thing, they are not being assisted in that seniors affordable housing (designation).

“There’s too many people being left out, so I’m glad the city is not leaving them out.”

Valet firm comes to the rescue of out-of-pocket couple

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

A young newlywed couple from Chilliwack claims they were taken for a ride by a Richmond car rental firm after their wedding last summer.

What was supposed to be a $130 one-day rental wound up costing them $1,969 when the rented luxury vehicle mysteriously disappeared for two weeks while the couple was honeymooning in Jamaica.

Chris Janzen, 23, and his wife Nolene, 21, were married Aug. 1, 2005, and had arranged to rent a white Mercedes sedan for the drive to the airport. They contacted Platinum Auto Spa and Rentals on No. 3 Road, which rents high-end luxury vehicles.

"I called and said look, I'm getting married and I just need a car just for one day (for the drive) from the wedding to the airport," Janzen said. He asked how the arrangement would work since he was going to the airport and heading out for his honeymoon immediately.

Janzen claims the Platinum employee said dropping off the car with Gateway Valet—a valet firm which operates on the doorstep of the Vancouver International Airport—would be fine.

On the wedding day, they drove up to the airport for their flight, and dropped off the car with a uniformed Gateway employee.

But upon their return home from their honeymoon, someone left a message on their answering machine asking where the car was.

Janzen feared the car had been stolen. But it hadn't been. It was eventually found in an airport parking lot.

The next day, Janzen said he spoke to the two companies and they reassured him they would work things out and figure out who was at fault.

"Of course, they both called back at the end of the week and said 'We've met and we've decided it's your fault. Sorry we're going to keep your money.'"

To get his money back, Janzen sued Platinum Auto Spa in small claims court in Richmond.

But it turns out he won't have to prove his case before a judge.

On Tuesday, Darren McClelland, B.C. regional manager for Gateway Valet, said his firm would accept responsibility for the mix-up.

Since one of Gateway's employees took possession of the Mercedes, the Janzens will have their money completely returned.

"What Gateway will be doing is contacting...Mr. Janzen and reimbursing him for the money he is out, that he is being charged from (Platinum Auto) VIP Rent a Car, and after the fact, I or Gateway will work out the details of those expenses with them directly."

"We're in the parking business. We're very friendly and very nice people."

The positive turn of events came as a shock to Janzen and his wife. He is both studying and working while she studies nursing full-time at UBC, and the financial setback forced them to turn to their parents. Janzen was particularly embarrassed that he had to ask for help less than two weeks after making a lifelong vow to take care of Nolene.

"I'm really happy. I can't believe that," a thankful Janzen said Wednesday morning. "All I had to do was call the newspaper."

Before Gateway Valet agreed to compensate the Janzens, The Richmond Review confirmed with an employee that in the past, Gateway Valet used to collect and return rental vehicles, but that service is not available today.

"We don't do that any more," said a Gateway worker who answered the phone. "We used to take the cars and used to call them...and they'd pick the car up but we don't do that any more. They said there's a liability involved so we just take care of the customers' cars."

Reggie Pal, owner of Platinum Auto, refused this week to return the couple's money, and said the car rental contract states that the customer is responsible for the vehicle until it is returned. He said this is the first complaint his company has ever received.

"What happened was the customer dropped off the car at the airport, didn't let us know the car was at the airport, didn't give us the ticket number...he received when he dropped off the car at the airport. When the airport was looking for the car, they couldn't find it."

Pal conceded that it is possible that one of his employees had told Janzen that he could drop off the vehicle at the airport.

"It's possible but...the onus is on the customer to tell me that the vehicle is at the airport."

Police pitch new plan for false alarms

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

Dealing with false alarms continues to be a pricey nuisance that the Richmond RCMP wants addressed.

At Tuesday's community safety committee meeting, Richmond RCMP Supt. Ward Clapham unveiled a plan that will hold alarm companies more accountable for false alarms, which cost local taxpayers $310,000 last year.

"The police can no longer continue to use their very limited resources to respond to alarms, the vast majority of which are false," Clapham wrote in his report. "The implementation of a False Alarm Reduction Strategy will put police resources to better use, provide a more consistent and effective response to actual alarms, and make alarm companies more responsible and accountable for their business."

While the number of false alarms has been on a steady decline over the past five years, dropping from 8,758 in 2001 to 7,170 last year, Clapham said the issue remains a problem that needs to be dealt with.

Rob Howard, chair of the safety committee, said false alarms continue to be a drain on police resources.

"It's just way too expensive of a way for the RCMP to provide services that other people could provide."

Howard also believes the onus should be place on alarm firms to verify calls for service, rather than shifting the responsibility to the police at taxpayers expense.

"The alarm companies have to find a better way to serve their customer base."

Starting May 1, the first phase of the false alarm reduction plan will take effect, with Richmond joining Langley and Victoria as the only police departments to adopt the service.

Once the project kicks into top gear, alarm companies will be required to monitor and verify their alarms through a "contracted, first-response agency or a built-in audio/visual device that can verify the legitimacy of the tripped alarm system."

"If a break and enter is verified to have occurred, or is in progress, police will attend; otherwise police will not attend," Clapham wrote.

The only exceptions will be hold-ups, duress and panic alarms, which Clapham said police will continue to attend.

In cases of unverified false alarms, Clapham said "alarm companies will be required to attend...and correct the fault."

But Howard said that over the next six weeks, if he hears from alarm companies that their response to the new plan will require more time, he'd consider a grace period.

"The RCMP shouldn't be taking the brunt," he said.

Of the 7,170 alarms in 2005, 97.4 per cent were false, RCMP statistics show.

A comprehensive communication plan will be implemented to ensure local businesses, residents and the alarm industry will be informed of the changes to how the RCMP will respond to alarms.

Karaoke spot sings the blues

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

City council has ordered the doors of another karaoke club temporarily closed.

Barcode Karaoke Restaurant, located at 1028-8300 Capstan Way, received a 14-day business licence suspension from the city, to be served March 20 to April 2.

It’s the fourth karaoke club in the past two years to face a suspension due to repeat business licence and bylaw violations.

Barcode opened May 2004 with a “food service establishment” business licence and a “food primary” liquor licence. Since then, inspectors have repeatedly found the establishment in violation of city bylaws and provincial liquor regulations.

It has been fined four times by the city for allowing smoking and has been found operating more like a bar and less like a restaurant.

“It is apparent that this business has no desire to operate within the guidelines of a food primary liquor establishment, as inspections determine this business continues to operate outside of class, as a liquor primary liquor establishment,” explained Victor Duarte, city business licence inspector, in a report.

Barcode owners declined the opportunity to appeal the decision before council Monday night. Their lawyer, J. David Houston, said in a letter his clients were willing to accept full responsibility for the violations.

“My client has asked me to pass on to you their apologies for their behaviour and to let you know that they are prepared to accept the consequences of their actions without the need for a hearing...

“They recognize the gravity of the situation and will take the necessary [steps] to ensure compliance in the future.”

Coincidentally, Barcode is currently serving a 15-day suspension of its liquor license for operating contrary to its licence.

It has also served three other liquor licence suspensions for serving booze after hours: a 14-day suspension Feb. 23, 2006, a 10-day suspension Jan. 27, 2005 and a seven-day suspension June 6, 2004.

Barcode was also fined $1,000 in 2004 after an employee was found drinking on the premises.

Driver gets three-year ban for fatal crash

Martin van den Hemel, Staff Reporter

A 22-year-old Surrey woman avoided jail Friday for her role in the death of Mainroad Contracting employee George Ellis, whom she struck and killed after falling asleep while driving on a Richmond highway in 2003.

Sukhmani Gill was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death last October, and last Friday, Richmond provincial court Judge Dennis Schmidt handed Gill a 15-month conditional sentence to be served at home and a three-year driving ban.

Gill, a University of B.C. engineering student, fell asleep behind the wheel of a Volvo following a long night of studying for exams. She was convicted after a nine-day trial.

In the early morning hours of April 18, 2003, Ellis was working on Highway 91, setting up pylons to redirect traffic away from a fatal accident that was under police investigation a couple of kilometres to the east.

Ellis was standing beside a police minivan, occupied by RCMP Cpl. Terry van Seters, when he spotted a vehicle bearing down on them on the shoulder of the eastbound lanes.

Moments before the impact, Ellis managed to shout out a warning to van Seters, who suffered only minor whiplash injuries. When Gill’s Volvo struck the police minivan, Ellis was knocked off his feet and thrown several metres and suffered fatal injuries.

A doctor in a car was among the first at the scene, but his efforts to save Ellis were unsuccessful.

Crown counsel Gail Banning had requested a driving ban of up to eight years, along with a conditional sentence.

For the first five months of her sentence, Gill must remain at home, unless she’s attending school or working. And for the entire duration of her sentence, she must remain at home from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., except for when she attends a meeting of an organized religion. She must also perform 100 hours of community service.

George’s widow Janette Ellis, who for the past 18 years has worked as a civilian staff member of the Delta Police Department, said the sentence wasn’t really a surprise.

“I wasn’t expecting a whole lot anyway. But it was more than I anticipated.”

Ellis hoped that Gill would be convicted under the Criminal Code.

“I feel the young woman is unfortunately a danger to herself and everybody else. This was not a singular incident. She had the previous speeding ticket and then an injury accident after.”

But Ellis said she harbours no animosity or hatred for Gill.

“She a young lady who made a bad judgment call at the wrong time, wrong place. It’s a lose-lose situation unfortunately all around and there’s nothing that can be done about it.”

Ellis said she understood that the sentencing judge had to balance the length of the conditional sentence with the driving ban, opting to make the former more restrictive and longer, and reducing the latter.

Ellis would have liked to see Gill serve a fire year driving ban.

“I feel very sorry for the Gill family. They’ve gone through a lot as well.”

The Ellis family is currently pursuing a civil lawsuit against Gill and is meeting with her lawyer next month for a mediation discussion..

The Bikini Project

Matthew Hoekstra, Staff Reporter

Each year spring runoff flushes the Fraser River and sends piles of wood debris toward the ocean. It’s a log salvor’s dream.

Four years ago, Erik Hammond was fishing through the waters of Howe Sound for logs when he noticed a few photographs floating in the water. Near it was an album.

He picked it up and found a few hundred photographs of bikini-clad women at local and international beaches, some with notes scrawled on the back. The colours of many were already discoloured by the salt water.

Hammond gave it to his fiancé’s sister, Heather Passmore.

It became her next art project.

The Bikini Project, a new Richmond Art Gallery exhibition, is a projection of 294 saltwater-altered photographs, each hovering for a few seconds on a gallery wall before fading into the next.

Passmore’s work is focused on bringing art closer to the everyday by using obsolete and discarded things. She’s previously exhibited linoleum torn from Vancouver kitchens and inscription-packed T-Shirts.

The shy artist, who works days at Richmond Public Library, admits Bikini is a little eerie.

“It’s a creepy thing because there’s so many women, and I don’t know who collected them, but at the same time, whoever did it put a lot of effort into it.”

When she first received the album, she started removing the photographs from the album, noticing colours were smearing in the sleeves.

“I pulled them out and dried them out. It covered the whole room, all these snapshots, and it just stank—like rotten cheese—the most chemical wretched smell. But it was really worth it, I thought it was really gorgeous, the rainbow pattern.”

She chose to project them to make them close to life-size, putting more emphasis on spectatorship and highlighting the impact of the detailed distortion. She also wanted to show Bikini isn’t just a presentation of artifacts, but that reconfiguration has taken place.

Passmore, who still hopes to find the owner of the album, imagines the photographs are a collection of one man who had help from others who knew of his collection.

Judging by the smiles directed at the camera, the majority of snapshots are of women who consented to having their picture taken. Many of the photos have different handwriting on the backs, indicating much of his collection—which features women of all types, both young and old and the odd man in drag—were given to him.

“I think he just really loved the female form, or it just became more of a collection and less about something sexual and perverted,” said Passmore.

“I guess collectors get like that. They don’t really care what they’re collecting, they’re just collecting.”

Passmore, who graduated with a master’s in fine arts from University of B.C., last exhibited The Bikini Project at the Vancouver Art Gallery as part of a large group exhibition that wrapped up in January.

She started drawing as a kid and never stopped. After mastering technical skills in art, she started studying theory, which now drives her practice.

Her attraction to Bikini is that it’s a collection of authentic photos that aren’t generated by popular culture. Passmore says she’s interested in that which can’t be categorized as elite culture or pop culture.

“Art is so removed from most people’s interests. Not everybody feels comfortable even going into a gallery or a library or anything like that. The average person can’t understand why the National Gallery of Canada bought a $1 million painting of a red stripe.”

People with a privileged background usually have knowledge in art, whether it’s classical music, cinema or visual art. Without that early exposure to contemporary art, some begin to dislike it or resent the fact they can’t understand it.

“If it’s not part of your life, it’s really hard to get interested in contemporary art. It’s just so removed, it often makes reference to itself and the history of art. It’s really hard to just jump into it and find it interesting,” she says.

Passmore’s goal is to bring art to a more digestible level for the common person.

“I don’t want to say that elite practices are not as good. I just want to say that other forms of creativity taking place are just as important really.”

Bikini has already raised a few eyebrows from gallery visitors. Something About Love, a coinciding exhibition, is also generating some quiet controversy. In Love, Madeleine Wood depicts intimate moments of her romantic life through paintings while Kristina Jaugelis’s life-size beds—one featuring an imbedded rifle and another test tubes—explores the entanglement of love with feelings of anxiety and vulnerability.

Richmond Art Gallery director and curator Corrine Corry said it’s great people are asking questions about the art.

Corry says one of the key things she aims to deliver is diversity. If people don’t like one exhibition, the next one will offer something completely different.