I want to publicly thank my team of volunteers and the vendors who helped make the July 10 鈥淜ick-off to summer neighbourhood block party鈥� at West 91原创 Hall such a success.

The good news about the province's 2010-11 fiscal year is that the deficit was lower than expected. Yet the bad news is that another $3.3 billion has been added to the provincial debt, which now stands at more than $45 billion.

My summer road trip to the B.C. Interior began as soon as the Trans-Canada Highway reopened at Chilliwack. The crew had worked through the night to clear a mudslide studded with rocks the size of Smart cars, along with a couple of actual cars.

Many British Columbians have already marked their X to extinguish the HST or save it from extinction. Congratulations to them for having already waded through the gobbledegook being trotted out by both sides, and for having waded through all the instructions Elections BC sent with the ballot.

I hope the voters in November will turf out all these politicians who keep raising gasoline and property taxes, and want to add car levies.

I just returned from a trip to Italy where the handicapped parking spaces have the following signs posted: 鈥� If you鈥檝e taken my parking spot please take my disability, too.鈥�

Once again, the taxpayers of 91原创 are being asked to pay more for a service that about 95 per cent of them do not or cannot use.

Listening to those with a different view is not the same as agreeing with them. It is part of civil discourse, which is essential if a democracy is to function properly.

Today, as if having woken in a sick alternate reality, I am writing this with the most broken of broken hearts: Missy died yesterday.

My method of killing is to expose unsuspecting men to asbestos.