6 posts tagged “vancouver olympics”

When information about Vancouver's Olympic village loan leaked, there was quite a bit of debate over how it happened. The documents were apparently identified by a unique number and rumour at the time said that it was Peter Ladner's copy that had been leaked.

Then mayor Sam Sullivan called for an investigation. The results are in and the crack investigators at the Vancouver Police Department have come up...empty. Excellent job.

Vancouver police quit probe into leaked Olympic documents
BY JEFF LEE, VANCOUVER SUN, MAY 12, 2009
 
Vancouver police have halted an investigation into who leaked confidential information from city hall regarding a $100-million Olympic village financing deal.

Saying they were unable to convince everyone who had access to a confidential document to take polygraph tests, police said they have no choice but to recommend not proceeding with charges.

"After a thorough and detailed investigation involving interviews with numerous city councillors and staff, and a review of any existing evidence, we have decided there is insufficient evidence to recommend charges in this incident," said Insp. Les Yeo.

My favourite part about this is the fact they they knew something was wrong but decided not to do anything about it. Lucky no one was on the chair when it fell.

Whistler chairlift crashes to the ground
BY KELLY SINOSKI, VANCOUVER SUNFEBRUARY 22, 2009 8:01 PM

Whistler Mountain technicians knew there was a fault in the high-speed Harmony Express chairlift late Wednesday night, but because the mountain was closed at the time, they didn't follow protocols and inspect it.

In the morning, one of the chairs was found to have crashed eight metres to the ground. Nobody was on the lift at the time of the incident.

For years the NPA and senior Vancouver officials couldn't stop raving about how well run Vancouver was, and the great credit rating the city had.

I never did like Sam Sullivan.

Vancouver's credit placed on watch due to Olympic Village project
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 | 12:07 AM ET, CBC News

An independent credit rating agency has placed Vancouver on a credit watch and may even downgrade the city's AA+ rating as a result of potential debt coming from the beleaguered Olympic Athletes Village project.

Standard & Poor's on Tuesday issued a bulletin about the city's finances, saying the impact on the city's debt could be significant if it borrows money to fund the remaining construction of the village.

Ah, the Olympics. The sporting and athletic aspects of them always seem to come off so smoothly, and the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee assured us that the financial aspects of of Vancouver's games were going as planned.

It looks like, perhaps, this was true from only the most selfish of perspectives: stricly speaking it's not VANOC's fault that the private developer behind the Olympic Village appears to have failed, but it certainly doesn't put the Olympics in a good light. John Furlong can deny responsibility if he wants too, but a the moment Vancouver tax payers are on the hook for a whole lot of unplanned money. With a year to go, the potential for more is high.

Olympic Village may cost Vancouver taxpayers $875M: Mayor
Last Updated: Friday, January 9, 2009, CBC News

The Southeast False Creek development site comprises 32 hectares of land, seven of which will be temporarily transformed into the Olympic Village during the Games. (CBC)
Vancouver taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $875 million to complete the Olympic Athletes Village unless city council can reopen a loan given to the developer or find new financing.

The city has been forking out money to keep construction going since New York-based hedge fund Fortress Investment Group stopped advancing funds in September to Millennium Development Corp., Mayor Gregor Robertson said Friday.

The news that Montreal is starting a bike sharing program is welcome. Of course, Toronto tried this and it failed. the same thing has been proposed in Vancouver, and it's been very succesful in Paris.

Theft is an issue, but Paris' electronic tracking system has apparently minimized that problem. Here's hoping Montreal's experiment is a success, and encourages other Canadian cities to launch similar programs. It would be nice to see this in place by the time the Olympics arrive here.

Upgrades to the Sea to Sky Highway have been going at a rapid pace, largely driven the the Vancouver olympics. These photos show the highway just north of Horseshoe Bay from the Bowen Island ferry. The colour one in July, the black & white in September.