Vancouver has long struggled with a reputation as a "No Fun City", largely due to draconian BC liquor laws. Many prohibition-era laws were not repealed until 1999 or later. The struggle to bring fun to the city culminated in the 2010 Olympics; but on Saturday, the fun proved too much for city officials, and police ordered all downtown liquor stores to close at 7pm. [more inside]
posted by mek on Feb 21, 2010 - 69 comments

An Olympic Tent Village has opened in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, on an empty lot currently being leased by the Vancouver Olympic Committee, in response to increasing homelessness in "Canada's most livable city", in spite of spending more than $6 billion on the 2010 Olympic Games. Mayor Gregor Robertson has stated that they won't be evicted - for now. [more inside]
posted by dinsdale on Feb 17, 2010 - 42 comments

Stephen Colbert and Shepard Fairey create a Vancouver 2010 Olympic Poster. [pdf link]. And Stephen suggests to the Colbert Nation that they download, print, and post it all over for the games. (see sidebar.)
posted by hippybear on Feb 11, 2010 - 53 comments

A Shameful Track Record. The Olympic movement plays fast and loose with basic democratic values. [more inside]
posted by The Card Cheat on Jan 20, 2010 - 58 comments

It will be the site of 12 medal finals this February, but Richmond's Olympic Oval has already won gold in one event: on October 9th, it was awarded top honors for a sports or leisure structure from the Institution of Structural Engineers, beating out Wimbledon, the Copenhagen Zoo's Elephant House, and another Olympic venue, Beijing's Birds Nest. The Richmond Oval won largely on the strength of sustainability, including a 2 hectare roof built out of salvaged lumber from the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation. [more inside]
posted by mannequito on Oct 26, 2009 - 33 comments

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association has filed suit against the City of Vancouver over a recently enacted 2010 Olympic bylaw which the BCCLA claims limits free speech and is in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. [more inside]
posted by futureproof on Oct 7, 2009 - 57 comments

The 2010 Olympic Winter Games ticket requests start one week from today! It's just up the road in Vancouver, B.C.. [more inside]
posted by neuron on Sep 26, 2008 - 42 comments

Vancouver group asks UN (rather than local government) to help homeless Canadians The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) met with United Nations representative Miloon Kothari this week and appealed to the UN to intervene on behalf of homeless people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. via [more inside]
posted by KokuRyu on Oct 18, 2007 - 43 comments

Vancouver police posed as journalists to lure out and arrest the activist who threatened to bring protest of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics to the doorsteps of Olympic officials - and it isn't the first time police in BC have impersonated the media to make an arrest. The Canadian Association of Journalists is not amused, but a constable speaking for the VPD "doubts the outrage from the person on the street over the issue would be the same as it has been from the journalistic community". (Previously)
posted by blackberet on May 22, 2007 - 46 comments

Protesters threaten to target homes of Olympic officials Anti-poverty protesters in B.C. are threatening to take their protest against the 2010 Olympics to the homes of Vancouver Olympic officials. Protest organizer David Cunningham says members of the Anti-Poverty Committee know where officials from the Vancouver Organizing Committee live and work and protesters will take their demonstration directly to them. The Anti-Poverty Committee has a controversial presence in Vancouver currently. Among other things, they throw urine at people they don't like. Anti-Poverty Committee spokesman David Cunningham said these tactics (well, maybe not the urine) are the only way to get the attention of politicians.
posted by KokuRyu on May 17, 2007 - 25 comments

Vancouver gets the games. 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, BC. Maybe now we can get a Mefi meetup.
posted by timeistight on Jul 2, 2003 - 36 comments