This morning I was invited to an event via Facebook to attend the Grand Opening of the new “hooters Branded Style” pub – Twin Peaks Bar & Grill formerly known as Ma Millers.
It is a pub, yes, but a big concern is the types of clientele that will be entering our quiet neighborhood now. The types of events the owner/manager is advertising now are disgraceful and are more suited for a Backwoods Brothel. Which, by the sounds of it, it will soon be.

So, I thought you might want to know about this and maybe there is something you can do?

The concerns are:
1. There is a school in the area. Children in our neighborhood often walk to their friends homes or to/from school from morning till after dark. It is a safe and quiet neighborhood. With this kind of clientele coming for events like the ones listed below, is it still safe for the children to be wondering around anymore?
2. There is already a prostitution problem in this area. Particularity Finlayson Arm Road/Goldstream Provincial Park area where Johns’ take the Pro into the woods for their date. Events listed below ‘could’ add to more of this type of people coming into Langford.
3.OFFICIAL NAME CHANGE APPROVED BY LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD – Changing the name of an Inn/Pub that’s been there since 1864. It’s one piece of history that should be left alone. What next…get rid of the 6 mile? These are landmarks that define who we are as a community.
4.That type of sports bar ‘should’ be in a more central area…. Goldstream park is for families and campers…. Hooters type places belong downtown or in a more public location.
I am copying in the details of the invitation to this email.

Facebook Event Link: (copy and paste) https://www.facebook.com/events/338307809535386/

This is what is reads:

When Saturday, March 3, 2012
Description IT’S OFFICIAL NAME CHANGE APPROVED BY LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD :

MA MILLERS PUB AS OF MARCH 3 RD IS BEING RE BRANDED TO A HOOTERS STYLE PUB NEW NAME WILL BE TWIN PEAKS BAR & GRILL . ( as in breasts )

WE ARE HAVING A GRAND OPENING PARTY SATURDAY MARCH 3 RD THE BAND ROXXLYDE WILL BE PLAYING AT 9 PM . THE PARTY STARTS 3 PM

TWIN PEAKS BAR & GRILL WILL HAVE THE FOLLOWING TO OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS: HOT SERVICE AND HOT FOOD

WE HAVE A NEW RED SEAL CHEF WITH A NEW MENU PROVIDING EXCELLENT FOOD WITH LARGE PORTIONS. NEW SERVERS & HOSTS THAT ARE ALL EXPERIENCED TO PROVIDE EXCELLENT SERVICE TO YOU

WE ARE GOING TO BE HAVING MONTHLY THEME NIGHTS:

WET T SHIRT CONTESTS – BIKINI CONTESTS – 70′S – 90 ‘S NIGHTS – PLAYBOY MANSION PARTIES – MEXICAN NIGHT – CALIENTE SPANISH DANCE NIGHT – SINGLES MINGLES NIGHT WITH PRIZES FOR BEST HOOK UP

- DJ PLAYING DANCE MUSIC EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT

TWIN PEAKS BAR & GRILL IS GOING TO BE PARTY CENTRAL IN BEAUTIFUL LANGFORD !!!!!!!

I’d be interested in hearing your comments about this.

Excuse me, but this is a complete fabrication. If you have an issue with me, I have an email address. I don’t post to this blog and your comment is off-topic, not to mention delusional.

“Celebrity activists…”

LOL!

Zoe, it seems to me that Mr. Jones has just paid you a complement. Other activists that come to mind are Gandi,the Dali Lama,Abe Lincoln,Ralph Nadar,David Suzuki,Green Peace..and the list goes on and on.
Sometimes you have to “fight fire with fire” and the actions necessary to deal with “boneheads” like Mayor Stew Young unfortuneately don’t include diplomacy.

Keep up the good work Zoe and the focus on the fact that democracy has been slowly eroding in Langford during Stu’s regime.

It may take time but one day civility will return to City Hall.

For best effect, you should copy your comment and mail it to the Westshore Towncentre, or drop it off to their offices in person. Email is too easy and gets minimal attention. But a letter takes real effort (how times have changed), and tells them that you are really serious about your complaint. A follow up to the press will really get their attention, and might stir up a lot of other people who feel the same way.

http://westshoretowncentre.com/contact/

Two: When did Attree Ave become a private road? Did the businesses, Galaxy Motors, etal. pay the city for the removal, how much did we get etc?

Keep up the good work!

Gord McKie
Colwood

>>The unintended consequences of suing protesters
If they’re liable for policing costs, why not bill everyone who calls the cops?
Jesse Lobdell and Jason Gratl, Special to Times Colonist
Published: Friday, March 21, 2008

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association watched with interest as Langford Mayor Stew Young threatened to sue a group of protesters to recover the costs of policing them.

One might argue that the mayor, having ordered up a well-armed assault team formidable enough for the Normandy landing, had something to do with the costs of policing, estimated at more than $100,000. But it’s far easier to scapegoat the protesters. And it’s an attractive argument to charge those who would break the law.

There would, of course, be some consequences.

The cost of a speeding ticket could go up if you had to pay for the officer to pull you over. Young would like to set such a precedent. He might argue that’s not what he had in mind, but there isn’t a difference. Trespass and speeding are equally against the law.

If the real agenda is to silence protest, however, especially when it is engaged in by those with shallow pockets, then certainly speeders should feel safe from the mayor’s legal team.

Would you call the police over a domestic dispute? It is your family that needs to be policed, and thus your family who could foot the bill. Would you call the police if you thought your neighbours were having a domestic dispute? Who foots that bill? Young might want to outline his policy. He could work with the Langford RCMP on that one, although they might charge him for their time.

It’s a bad precedent, having to think twice before you call the police. Once the precedent is set, it would be up to the discretion of the police. A good sense of discretion is not always displayed by our law enforcement officers, let alone our local politicians. It sounds a bit like policing for profit.

Young might want to outline which crimes are “bad” according to him, bad enough so that the taxpayer shouldn’t have to pay. According to Young, the worst crime is civil disobedience. To our knowledge, the issue of transferring costs of policing to the policed has only arisen over protest.

It’s tough to say whether future generations will regard environmental protection as important as universal suffrage or the 40-hour work week, rights won in part through protest that was not always peaceful or perfectly legal.

In another troubling recent incursion on civil liberties in Langford, Jennifer Andison decided to peacefully protest by placing signs in her yard showing her support for the protest against construction of the Spencer Road interchange. It seemed like a peaceful protest until Andison was visited by a Langford bylaw officer, who informed her that erecting a sign is illegal.

It’s an understandable mistake. After all, how many Langford residents have read the 17-page Sign Bylaw No. 700?

You might want to read the bylaw. After all, if your children are having a birthday, you wouldn’t want them to incur a $100 fine by placing a balloon in the yard without first getting a permit from the city. The bylaw includes the form to be filled out should your child be unable to afford the ticket or the legal expenses to challenge the constitutionality of such restrictions.

Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects our freedom of expression.

It’s hard to believe that one would have to invoke the charter to put a few balloons up. Or a small sign supporting an environmental cause, for that matter.

The drafters of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms thought so highly of freedom of expression that they called it a “fundamental freedom.” Young’s crusade against protesters is an assault on our hard-won freedoms, of conscience and expression.

To stifle that freedom with financial penalties runs counter to the values Canadians hold dear.

Jesse Lobdell is a caseworker at the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, where Jason Gratl is president.

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
‘Bout a sub-burb on bear mountain
And the Langford folk below.

To the mountain there was no driveway,
No way for rich folks to drive home,
And the mountain people swore,
That they’d carve it for their own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Progress,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any tree frogs singing
Come that Interchange,
On the bloody morning after….
One rich Developer, rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for a vote to build it,
A democratic void to fill.

Came an answer from Bear Mountain,
We are special, we decide,
Local land-use shall decree it,
Our King Stewart will provide.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Progress,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any tree frogs singing
Come that Interchange,
On the bloody morning after….
One rich Developer, rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger,
“Climb your platforms, rig the trees”
And they occupied the driveway,
But soon were bullied by police.

Now they watch as trees are fallen,
Police patrol to prove the worth,
Climb deep within the Langford Cavern,
Someone’s written, ‘Save the Earth’.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Progress,
You can justify it in the end.
There won’t be any tree frogs singing
Come that Interchange,
On the bloody morning after….
One rich Developer, rides away.

Unfortunately we are in a closed eco system.

As the movie The Corporation points out, the actions of our main organizational structure, corporations, are the same as a psychotic individual. Not a great long term plan to let loose a large group of psychotics in closed eco system.

The will of the people is not being heard and there is no voice which is imperative in a true democracy.

Looking at the bigger picture in regards to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) Agreement which was signed in May 2005 between Vincent Fox (Mexico), George Bush (U.S.), and Paul Martin (Canada) WITHOUT PUBLIC CONSULTATION…..it is very obvious that the will of the people is the last concern of those who are looking to exploit any community they can.

They do this by making a very few individuals rich and the then use their money to influence whatever is necessary to occur through back room deals.

One important solution to this is to set up a grassroots media network so the people can begin to speak to each other in a consistent basis…a place where a petition could occur in a few days because EVERYONE in the community was a member of the communication network.

In reponse to what is occuring here in Langford….a Langford Commons has been created which is a multiple functional communication forum…just like a my space…but specific to ths community….the members control the information loaded and therefore educate one another on what is actually occuring.

For real democracy to occur we need a Commons for people to meet. This does not occur anymore offline, but it can occur online…it just takes everyone to make it occur through word ofmouth.

if you are interested in helping to administer and grow the Langford Commons…please come to http://www.langfordcommons.ning.com

It makes sense to use the interchange as the first issue to rally around and truly find out the will of the people and to get all of the relevant information from all mediums of communication.