Spread the net Langara students raise $14,000 with Rick Mercer to stop the spread of malaria in Africa. P3 widely accepted. P5 Pole dance boom isqué Once seen as a risqué trend, pole dancing is now more PRODUCED BY LANGARA JOURNALISM STUDENTS | WWW.LANGARAVOICE.CA Legalizing heroin Is heroin assisted therapy a solution to the city's ongoing fentanyl overdose crisis? P7 MARCH 29, 2017 + VOL. 48 NO. 37> VANCOUVER, B.C. Langara grads laid off Journalism industry cuts affect alumni By TANNER BOKOR ancouver’s journalism industry is reeling from yesterday’s an- nouncement that CTV Van- couver cut all local sports programming, on top of 54 layoffs at the Vancouver Sun and the Province last week. ‘The Postmedia Network Inc.-owned papers eliminated nine reporting jobs and four of the journalists were under the age of 35. “I knew going into it that the job sit- uation was precarious; everyone warned us not to count on getting a really good job right out the gate,” said 2014 Lang- ara journalism grad Nick Eagland, who was the youngest journalist at che Prov- ince to lose his job. “I figured it might happen eventually, but I was hoping it would take a bit longer.” The loss of reporters across various media markets, especially younger reporters, is caus- ing fears in the media community of a void in local coverage. “We already see some of the [im- pact,]” said Fran- ces Bula, former chair of the Lan- gara journalism department and free- lance journalist for the Globe and Mail. She thinks outlets are realizing their pockets are no longer deep. “They're really targeting a bit more effort in doing stories with big impact that the public cares about and are in- vestigative,” Bula said. It isn’t just Vancouver that has been affected. In January, 21 combined lay- offs were announced at the Postme- dia-owned Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette and Windsor Star. Last week, Black Press announced that the Surrey Leader and Surrey Now papers would merge into a single brand with staffing changes to come. Stephanie Ip, a recently laid off jour- nalist and 2011 graduate of Langara College journalism, said journalists are still needed to serve the public interest. “We're always going to need those people who aren't scared to ask those questions and know what details they’re looking for and constantly pushing for that story to get out there,” Ip said. “That’s what really matters.” NICK EAGLAND LANGARA GRAD y) HA Indigenous artist Beau Dick's Bookwus Mask photographed at Vancouver's Douglas Reynolds Gallery sugmiTTED PHOTO Poisoned eagles dying Littered bullets may be root of raptor deaths By CHELSEA POWRIE & SEAN HITREC ald eagles in the Lower Mainland are dying from lead poisoning in distress- ingly high numbers, and according to the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, the culprit may be bullets. Technology at OWL, acquired around two years ago, allows them to confirm that lead is present in an ea- gle’s bloodstream and in what quantity, which in turn dictates their treatment decisions. Now, the society’s manager Rob Hope has noticed the incidents of poison increasing. “Ninety-five per cent of the reasons birds here at the centre are here are all human caused,” Hope said. “What we’re seeing more of now is lead poisoning.” OWL lead testing technology al- lows for them to save more eagles, but it comes at a cost. Medication for lead poison costs $600 for every 10 vials, and the society is going through around two a day. Some extreme cases are even pricier. “We had a golden eagle a couple years ago that we put six treatments through,” Hope said. “We were probably looking at about $6,000 by the time we got that bird back to the wild.” Hope’s theory behind the incidents is lead found in bullets, ingested by eagles scavenging the remains where an animal was killed by a hunter. Paul Gibson of the Delta Police Department said there are no laws around hunting cleanup. “It’s just hunter's etiquette as far as what’s left behind,” Gibson said. Julia Ponder, executive director of the University of Minnesota's Raptor Cen- ter and assistant professor of veterinary medicine, confirmed traces of lead from kill sites could do serious harm. “Just a [fragment] or two the size of a piece of pencil lead is enough to killa bald eagle,” Ponder said. In B.C., non-toxic shot, meaning less than one per cent lead in weight, is le- gally required for hunting all waterfowl. However, hunters seeking upland game like grouse and pheasants, doves and pi- geons and mammals like deer and elk may use lead. Bryan Mymko, owner of Stillwater Sporting Ltd. in Ladner, explained he sells far more boxes of steel bullets than lead, despite lead being far cheaper. Mymko also felt hunters often get the raw side of public opinion in conserva- tion matters, considering surcharges on their hunting licenses and fees go to- ward the Hunting Conservation Trust Foundation. “These are our birds to protect just as much as everyone else,” Mymko said. “Hunters are paying for everything. We're the ones that protect the ani- mals.” Hope is also a hunter, but he chooses to shoulder the extra cost of steel bul- lets. “T think if one person can change, the next person will change and eventually, hopefully, lead will be out of the envi- ronment,” Hope said. A bald eagle with lead poisoning waits for treatment at OWL. SUBMITTED PHOTO Homeless forced back on streets City focuses on mid- income rentals; 250 kicked out of shelters By SASHA LAKIC s Vancouver's mayor focuses on rental housing for middle-in- come earners, 250 of the city's homeless will be on the streets again by Friday. According to the Carnegie Commu- nity Action Project, the nine temporary winter shelters throughout downtown Vancouver will close March 31 and homelessness advocates are calling on the city to keep the shelters open. Meanwhile, at Tuesday's city council meeting, a “housing reset” plan was discussed to diversify the affordability of Vancouver rental units according to income levels. Maria Wallstam, Carnegie's project coordinator, criticized the city's ap- proach and thinks mitigating homeless- ness should be the priority. Some of her recommendations in- cluded keeping the temporary shelters open year round, raising welfare to “at least $1500” per month for single peo- ple, buying hotels to house homeless people and building 10,000 social hous- ing units per year. “Without [the shelter] I would probably be dead. I have no doubt.” — MICHAEL MUIR, VANCOUVER RESIDENT “Most of that plan is building hous- ing for middle-income class people, who make $50,000 or more per year,” Wallstam said. “Those are not the peo- ple who are suffering the most severe effects of this housing crisis.” City council plans on tripling the amount of rental units for those making less than $50,000 a year and doubling the number for those earning between $50,000 and $80,000. There are provi- sions on homelessness, which should be “brief, rare and one-time,” but details are scarce. Michael Muir, a retired government employee who has been staying at the Gathering Place at Seymour Street and Helmcken Street for over six months said the shelter saved his life. “Once my disability money is gone, I am penniless,” Muir said. “Without the Gathering Place, I would probably be dead. I have no doubt about it.” The city is scheduled to deliver a report on single-resident occupancies, a housing option used by many low- income residents, by the first week of April.