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SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2010
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◗ FISHERIES
Salmon returns break records But are this year’s high Fraser River numbers an anomaly or a sign of change? BY JOHN KURUCZ SPECIAL TO THE RECORD editorial@royalcityrecord.com
Get while the getting is good, but do so with a sense of cautious optimism. That’s what those in the fields of academics, science and politics are saying about the unprecedented Fraser River sockeye salmon returns, numbers that are projected to shatter records dating back to 1913. About 25 million sockeye are expected to return to the waters in and around the Fraser this season, a drastic change from the roughly 1.7 million that returned last year when the fishery was deemed to be near total collapse. “I think the most prudent thing to do is to call this an anomaly, because clearly, we’ve never seen anything like it in anybody’s lifetime,” said Simon Fraser University fish biologist John Reynolds. “What people should not take from this is any kind of sense that we’re out of the woods with the Fraser sockeye. Every year is independent of the year before, and so it’s not over. But what this is showing is that you can still have incredibly good news.” ◗Salmon Page 10
Jason Lang/THE RECORD
Something to smile about: Lisa Spitale, the city’s director of development services, in the atrium at Douglas College. The city’s downtown community plan has won a prestigious international award.
A vision for the future
City’s downtown community plan earns award from international association
BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
The City of New Westminster’s downtown plan has earned a merit award in an international competition. The International Downtown Association has recognized the City of New Westminster with a 2010 Downtown Merit Award for the New Westminster downtown community plan. The plan is a comprehensive strategy that outlines sustainable, high-density growth in the city’s downtown core while respecting
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heritage assets. It provides for new amenities such as parks, cultural and recreational services and improved access to the Fraser River, and it also promotes transit-oriented employment. “The downtown community plan is a visionary document that reflects the participation of over 1,000 individuals including local businesses, community organizations, residents and other key stakeholders,” said Lisa Spitale, the city’s director of development services. “We are very proud of this plan and are excited by the transformation that is taking place in the downtown.” According to a city press release, 73 projects and initiatives were submitted in this category from organizations that are working to improve their city centres. “Congratulations to all involved directly
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and all departments who were working alongside this winning project,” said Mayor Wayne Wright. “Once more, we are proud of our hard-working staff, and this award brings recognition they richly deserve.” The International Downtown Association, based in Washington, D.C., supports vital and livable urban centres and strives to inform, influence and inspire downtown leaders and advocates. Spitale said she hasn’t seen the specific reasons why New Westminster was selected for the award but suspects that will be stated when the award is given out at a conference in October. She’s unable to attend the conference in Forth Worth, Texas but hopes to be able to send someone from her staff to ◗Downtown Page 8
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