THE ORIGIN OF THIS BLOG: COFFEE AT THE VAULT
I’ve long had a Saturday morning routine that takes me out and around the harbourfront walkway, get my weekend newspaper and head to the Vault for a house cap and a piece of apple pie. (I submit, your honour, that Demi’s “house cappuccino” — it’s a double espresso in a small cup for extra flavour intensity — vies for top spot in the “best cup of coffee in Nanaimo” category.) This is where Ron Bolin, Wayne Schulstad and I would meet and attack the pressing civic issues of the day with caffeine fueled brilliance.
Ron and Wayne are very brainy chaps but Ron can’t carry on a hockey conversation to save his life and Wayne’s a golfer. I’m not. Nevertheless…
We hatched the idea of this blog as a forum that could hopefully draw more people into the conversation of issues around our City Hall and allow for broader debate and more detailed research.
A prototype was put together, some posts written by what one of the local newspapers has referred to as the “usual suspects”. The Globe & Mail’s Frances Bula mentioned it on her blog francesbula.com and the Nanaimo Bulletin gave it front page coverage and an editorial. In the next few days the site had over 2,500 “page views”.
Indications are that there is heightened interest in municipal affairs right now. And that’s gotta be a good thing. I’d like to think this blog could play a useful role.
NanaimoCityHall blog differs from most blogs in that it is not the online journal of an individual. You’ll find here posts from the 3 originals and we’re actively seeking more contributors. This is not an edited journal — posts you read here will not be edited (seriously objectionable comments may be edited for civility and relevance). So it’s more like a bulletin board in that respect.
Join the conversation. Comment on posts of interest and consider becoming a contributor. We’ll set you up with a username and password and you can post away… Let’s hear from VIU, local architects, social activists, neighbourhood associations, artists, engineers, environmental activists. Let’s bring some of the decisions being made on our behalf on Wallace Street out into the light of day where we can have a better look at them.
– Frank Murphy
email: nanaimocityhall@gmail.com
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MONDAY APRIL 26, 2010
NANAIMO DAILY NEWS
Blogger Takes Political Coffee Chat On-line
