Steve Burgess

The Union Gospel Mission has been feeding the hungry in the Downtown Eastside for 50 years, and demand is only growing. It’s been a tough couple of years 
for charities across the 
Lower Mainland. But for some 
local organizations that have bucked 
the trend, the key to success 
is simple: belief in a
 higher power.

You can’t take it with you. But the government can certainly take it away from you. Grumblers who promise to curse the taxman with their dying breath will be pleased to learn that, in this province, death is not the...

While Toyota's troubles continue to roil south of the border, all is calm in Beautiful B.C. I can’t wait for Arnold Schwarzenegger to finish his term as California governor and get back to movie­making. Think of the quips we’ve been missing. Somewhere in some Hollywood studio office, this script must be waiting for him: “Listen aws-hole, vere did you hide the bomb?” “I don’t recall.”

When the banks won’t bite on your great idea, try a dose of reality TV. The big plan for economic recovery has turned into something of a dog-and-pony show. Banks that were supposed to be ponying up loan money have been dogging it instead. With tight credit conditions expected through the first half of 2010, it sometimes seems the only entrepreneurial money to be found is guarded by another kind of beast entirely: dragons.

As falling stars pull down their brands, is another kind of celebrity endorsement in order? Hire a loser. Privileged as I am to be writing a column in this fine magazine, it’s not really enough. Other sources of income are required to sustain my lifestyle, which includes a heated room with a bed and a refrigeration device. So I offer myself now as a spokesperson for hire, ready and willing to endorse your company’s products and services.

Steve Burgess has a 
modest proposal for 
how to make money during the 2010 Winter Games. Riding my bike along Tatlow Trail in the 
cathedral quiet of Stanley Park last fall, I 
saw something approaching on the path. 
It was an SUV. “Can you tell us how to find a road?” the driver asked. “We seem to have taken a wrong turn.”


Hoping to make a brand new start? You’ve got good company. Resolutions are made to be broken. What a scary thought for shareholders. Consumers too. It’s the time when people pledge to do better. One hopes that this annual ritual will be performed with a little conviction this time around. Looking back on 2009, it’s clear there are many folks with ample reason to consider changing their ways.


The HST makes for strange political bedfellows – and 
interesting historical parallels. It has to be admitted: the B.C. Liberals weren’t kidding when they named the Harmonized Sales Tax. Any piece of legislation that creates ideological harmony between Bill Vander Zalm...

Beware of the wolf in 
“eco-friendly” clothing You’re in front of the tube, soft music starts playing and somebody starts talking about the environment and Mother Nature and, gosh darn it, we’re all in this together. Your first thought: oil company ad. And you’re usually right.


Travelling to Genoa, Italy: It’s not just boasting when Genoa residents call their 
home La Superba Italy – so many places to go, so few 
places to hide. It seems every Italian destination worth visiting has been overcrowded since the days of steam. Poggibonsi is still unspoiled, but it was ugly...

Archie comics, espresso beans and low-fat yogurt: when to leave well enough alone. Standing in line at Safeway one day, I was gazing idly at the cover of an Archie comic – one of the new ones, with the redesigned characters...

Publishing and forestry. For anyone set on following a dual-career path, you couldn’t pick two more troubled industries. In a small meeting room in a downtown Vancouver office, Anne Giardini laughs. “It’s vertical integration!” she says.