South FraSer break From tranSlink?
page
6
burnaby cop Subject oF lawSuit
page
8
Gim wonG waS a FiGhter
page
19
Friday
august 9 2013 www.burnabynewsleader.com
Shawna reid says she wouldn’t need to turn to payday loans if banks did more to serve people like her. see page a3
Health warning issued for clients of dentist Mario Bartel NewsLeader
MaRIO BaRtEL/NEWsLEaDER
Sandra and krystal Vrba say the hydro bill for their new hydrotherapy and wellness clinic has doubled since the installation of smart meters in their strata commercial building.
Smart meter bill shocks new business Mario Bartel
Enquiries to BC Hydro were women frustrated and worried no help, they say, although one about the impact future bills could Less than a year into their new representative suggested newly have on their enterprise. hydrotherapy and wellness business, installed smart meters might be “I just can’t fathom having to pay Sandra Vrba and her daughter at fault. He advised them their this much,” said Sandra, who polled Krystal know the importance of complaint would be some neighbours budgeting. investigated, and the in the complex but They account for every dollar Vrbas wouldn’t have found most just pay sandra Vrba coming in, every penny going out. to pay the disputed their bills without i just can’t fathom having So when their most recent hydro bill until it was a second glance. to pay this much. bill for the unit they occupy in resolved. “There must be a strata commercial complex on But instead of answers, on something wrong.” Henning Drive was almost double Tuesday they got a notice in the Especially as the women installed any previous bill, including those of mail that their service would be energy-efficient light bulbs when the tenant 4x1.25_bottle_depot_ad_final.pdf who occupied the space disconnected. they renovated the former printing 1 12-03-05 1:20 PM before them, they were shocked. The runaround has left the shop, and they’ve yet to turn on the
photo@burnabynewsleader.com
POP
BOTTLE DEPOT
POP
CHOICEquotes
air conditioning this summer. Since signing the lease for their unit last August, the Vrbas’ hydro bills have ranged from $130 to $160 every two months. But their most recent bill, from April to June, jumped to $307.23. The bill also showed their consumption more than doubled from 1111 KwH in the dark, cold months of December-February to 2709 KwH. “For a small business, it’s a lot,” said Sandra of the increased hit to her budget. please see BILL ‘CatCH up’, a12
YOUR LOCAL AGENT
BRiAN VidAs 604.671.5259
2009 - 2012
Brian Vidas Personal Real Estate Corporation 3010 Boundary Road, Burnaby
www.BrianVidas.com
centre realty
3 Bed, 3 Bath 1436SF Attached Garage Corner, End Townhome $424,900 5 Brand New Townhomes With Attached Garages Open House Every Sat & Sun 1-4pm
The Fraser Health Authority is recommending anyone who received dental work from Tung Sheng Wu in the practice he conducted out of his Burnaby home get tested for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. Wu, who also goes by the name David Wu, isn’t a registered dentist in British Columbia and the provincial College of Dental Surgeons (CDSBC) says he may have been practising illegally, possibly as far back as the 1990s. Following a woman’s complaint of poor treatment from Wu, the CDSBC hired a private investigator to conduct surveillance on his home and then obtained a court order to enter the home and stop Wu from practising. When CDSBC investigators and the RCMP entered the residence on May 29, they found a dental office in the bedroom and a “significant amount” of dental equipment that may not have been cleaned or sterilized properly or may not meet Health Canada standards. please see DENtIst, a12