Column

Langley City approved a $1.3 million overhaul of 208th street to make it more bike-friendly last year. (file)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Why we won’t fix traffic

A better future is visible, but out of reach politically

Langley City approved a $1.3 million overhaul of 208th street to make it more bike-friendly last year. (file)
File photo

Barron: Remembering when gun-toting elementary schoolkids said ‘enough’ to the rats

A half-century ago, school pest-control methods were a little bit different

File photo
Municipal elections were held throughout B.C. on Oct. 15. (Langley Advance Times files)

Painful Truth: Is voter apathy justified?

If no leader can solve the big problems, what’s the incentive to vote?

Municipal elections were held throughout B.C. on Oct. 15. (Langley Advance Times files)
FILE - Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition March 9, 2020, in Washington. Trading in shares of Twitter were halted after the stock spiked, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022 on reports that Musk would proceed with his $44 billion deal to buy the company after months of legal battles. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Are smart people actually that smart?

Intelligence is often situational, and doesn’t translate to other fields

FILE - Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition March 9, 2020, in Washington. Trading in shares of Twitter were halted after the stock spiked, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022 on reports that Musk would proceed with his $44 billion deal to buy the company after months of legal battles. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Metro Vancouver has more than half the population of British Columbia. (Google Maps)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Would Metro Vancouver make a good province?

Do we need a sort of city-state to solve our urbanist problems?

Metro Vancouver has more than half the population of British Columbia. (Google Maps)
Micheal McGarry shared a snap shot of autumn in 2020 along the Fraser River, from the Edgewater Bar area of Derby Reach Regional Park. (Special to Langley Advance Times)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Fall gets dragged in late this year

Season still moving along, despite dry hot summer

Micheal McGarry shared a snap shot of autumn in 2020 along the Fraser River, from the Edgewater Bar area of Derby Reach Regional Park. (Special to Langley Advance Times)
Facebook, the world’s most popular social media site. For now. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Painful Truth: What happens after Facebook dies?

Do all social media apps suffer a death spiral after a certain point?

Facebook, the world’s most popular social media site. For now. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
When taking a road trip to border towns like Osoyoos, don’t travel without your passports or turn off your car’s GPS. (Black Press Media photo)

BUSH: Road trip wrong-turn triggers bungle at the Osoyoos border

Don’t shut off your GPS if you haven’t driven through Osoyoos in 30 years, warns columnist

When taking a road trip to border towns like Osoyoos, don’t travel without your passports or turn off your car’s GPS. (Black Press Media photo)
Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett stared in Cyrano, an adaptation of the 1897 French play Cyrano de Bergerac. (Contributed)

PAINFUL TRUTH: End of the flood of sequels in sight?

Are people getting bored with the same five franchises over and over?

Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett stared in Cyrano, an adaptation of the 1897 French play Cyrano de Bergerac. (Contributed)
Ryan Reynolds sent reporter Jessica Peters a celebratory message on Twitter when she announced the end of her cancer journey.

VIDEO: Message from Ryan Reynolds helps Black Press reporter celebrate end of cancer journey

Reporter Jessica Peters writes how one tweet helped share happiness around the world

Ryan Reynolds sent reporter Jessica Peters a celebratory message on Twitter when she announced the end of her cancer journey.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for a photo as he greets commuters at a Montreal Metro station on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

PAINFUL TRUTH: Trudeau’s biggest problem is Trudeau

His biggest strength is the Conservatives

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau poses for a photo as he greets commuters at a Montreal Metro station on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Brown areas are within a five-minute walk of one of the planned local SkyTrain stations. Areas in tan are within a 10-minute walk. (Langley City OCP)
Brown areas are within a five-minute walk of one of the planned local SkyTrain stations. Areas in tan are within a 10-minute walk. (Langley City OCP)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Aim for the EV tipping point

Not long now before the air starts getting cleaner

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. The Ontario MP remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative Party leader.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

PAINFUL TRUTH: Pierre Poilievre’s big problem

If you’re attracting supporters who don’t usually vote – will they?

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. The Ontario MP remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative Party leader.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Cyclists in the Tour de White Rock – cyclists going considerably faster than the author of this column will ever ride. (Scott Robarts/BC Superweek photo)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Hitting the limit on Zero Avenue

Sometimes you push your limits a little bit too far

Cyclists in the Tour de White Rock – cyclists going considerably faster than the author of this column will ever ride. (Scott Robarts/BC Superweek photo)
The T-33 was used in the Korean War, but is a mainstay at airshows across North America these days. My flight suit awaits. (Jessica Peters/Abbotsford News)

COLUMN: Black Press reporter straps into old fighter jet at Abbotsford Airshow

‘Used in the Korean War 70 years ago, the T-33 is one of my favourite aircraft to watch in flight’

The T-33 was used in the Korean War, but is a mainstay at airshows across North America these days. My flight suit awaits. (Jessica Peters/Abbotsford News)
Where would you draw the municipal lines, if you could start fresh? (Google Maps)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Redrawing lines on municipal maps

It’s time once again to consider messing about with Metro Vancouver’s municipal boundaries

Where would you draw the municipal lines, if you could start fresh? (Google Maps)
FILE - This Tuesday, April 6, 2021 image made available by NASA shows the Perseverance Mars rover, foreground, and the Ingenuity helicopter about 13 feet (3.9 meters) behind. This composite image was made by the WASTON camera on the rover’s robotic arm on the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. On Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, NASA’s newest Mars rover came up empty in its first attempt to pick up a rock sample to eventually be brought back to Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS via AP)

PAINFUL TRUTH: Wonder of Mars still remains

Colonization may not be imminent, but travel to Mars is

FILE - This Tuesday, April 6, 2021 image made available by NASA shows the Perseverance Mars rover, foreground, and the Ingenuity helicopter about 13 feet (3.9 meters) behind. This composite image was made by the WASTON camera on the rover’s robotic arm on the 46th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. On Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, NASA’s newest Mars rover came up empty in its first attempt to pick up a rock sample to eventually be brought back to Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS via AP)
Langley RCMP and IHIT at a Langley murder scene earlier this year. (Langley Advance Times files)

Painful Truth: Police culture of secrecy in B.C. is a problem

IHIT kept a murder in Richmond secret for almost six years

Langley RCMP and IHIT at a Langley murder scene earlier this year. (Langley Advance Times files)
Six months ago it was heavy snow and freezing rain and a miserable winter. Now we’re trading cool and rainy for a mini-heat wave. (Langley Advance Times files)

PAINFUL TRUTH: What is normal weather?

No one alive now actually remembers ‘normal’ weather in this province

Six months ago it was heavy snow and freezing rain and a miserable winter. Now we’re trading cool and rainy for a mini-heat wave. (Langley Advance Times files)
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