What it takes to run What does it take to run for public office?  I am often asked this question and have put together what I think are some key factors in making such a decision.  My perspective is based on years of experience working on the campaigns of others, on my own municipal campaigns … Read more

MY COMMENTS TO OAK BAY COUNCIL May 28, 2018     First, I would like to acknowledge, with thanks, planner Deborah Jensen for her continued assistance to the Commission on this application and for her report and recommendation.  At its regular meeting on May 8, 2018, the Oak Bay Heritage Commission considered a demolition application … Read more

Green Announces Run for Oak Bay Council Oak Bay Heritage Commission chair and former councillor Cairine Green announced today that she will seek a seat on Oak Bay Council in the October 2018 municipal election. “Oak Bay’s strength lies in the talents of its people and the diversity of its neighbourhoods and natural beauty. I … Read more

  Perhaps it was the sight of the heavy excavator perched on the back of a big lumbering truck, slowly moving along our street early this morning, bound for another older smaller Oak Bay character home waiting to be demolished.  Or sounds of the excavator crunching, splintering and breaking apart, piece by piece, beautiful old … Read more

Housing Affordability in Oak Bay A two-part public forum on housing affordability in Oak Bay, sponsored by the Community Association of Oak Bay, brought packed audiences to both sessions held February 24 and March 3, 2018 at Windsor Park.  The following summary is based on my notes and observations of presentations and one of the … Read more

  As Chair of the Oak Bay Heritage Commission, I submit each year an annual report on behalf of all Commission members.  The following is our report for 2017, as well as a poster of upcoming events next week to celebrate Heritage Week in Oak Bay, thanks to Caroline Duncan and the Oak Bay Archives: … Read more

  As the year 2017 closes and Christmas and New Year’s Eve are just a few days away, I am wishing my readers from our home in Oak Bay, a Holiday Season of joy, peace and sharing with family, friends and loved ones.  To help get us all into the spirit of the holiday season, … Read more

Excerpts and my observations from the Southam Guest Lecture Panel: UVic’s Harry Hickman Theatre was spilling over with an audience anxious to hear the November 7, 2017 Harvey Stevenson Southam Guest Lecture panel discussion on “The Future of Journalism in the Age of Fake News.”  Moderated by author and UVic Writing Department Chair David Leach, … Read more

  A visit to Newfoundland was on our bucket list for some time and in September 2017, a family wedding in Halifax was all the incentive we needed to travel to the Maritimes and then on to Newfoundland, affectionately known as “the Rock.”  We enticed another couple, Victoria friends Heather Lund and Alan Breakspear, to … Read more

Writing can be cathartic for me and never more so than now, following the American election results of this last week. I have more than a glancing relationship with the United States, which could, in part, explain my visceral reaction to this election.  My parents moved our family from Victoria to Southern California in 1958 … Read more

Rarely are speakers as inspiring and passionate as they were on October 12, 2016, during a public panel discussion on community wellness, well-being and belonging at the Victoria Conference Centre. Hosted by the Victoria Foundation and its sponsors, along with the City of Victoria, and moderated by Mayor Lisa Helps, it was a distinct privilege … Read more

We are fortunate.  We have traveled most of the southern half of our Province a number of times by motorcycle but I had never been north of Prince George.  So this year, we began talking a lot about heading north by car this summer, to the Peace River country to see the area known as … Read more