ommunity EDITOR DEVON MACKENZIE THE DAILY VOICE, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012 7 Local bike thieves fooled A Vancouver-based group has taken ‘Bait Bikes’ enabled with GPS tracking units to the streets to help thwart would-be thieves By DANA BOWEN “Cops,” but on bicycle. With bike theft a growing issue in Vancouver, the online show, To Catch a Bike Thief, will be launching its pilot episode tonight (Thursday). The Vancouver-based show tracks down bike thieves by using a GPS tracking device on bait bikes. Once the bike’s lock is cut, the GPS device vibrates and sets off a signal to a mapping server that locates the bike’s whereabouts every 10 seconds. The hosts of the show then jump on their own bikes in hopes of tracking down the thief. “T want to create an entertaining ex- pose about the world of bike theft,” said the show’s producer, Ingo Lou. “I am hoping ... to help develop better ways to really make a difference in the fight against bike theft.” He said with the combination of great year-round biking conditions in Vancouver and drug addiction a big is- sue on the streets; it creates the perfect environment for bike theft. The trailer for the upcoming show states that every 30 seconds a bike is stolen and less than half of them are even reported. Many bicyclists agree that bike theft is a big problem in Vancouver. “T think I’m lucky to not have had my bike ever stolen, because it is such a big deal in Vancouver,” said a Langara arts and science student Tianna Grey. An average of 2,000 bikes were re- ported stolen in 2010, according to the Vancouver Police Department. Lou said the purpose of the show is to raise awareness about bike theft, and help people find new ways to keep their bikes safe. “This show reflects that we are just a group of cyclists concerned that there is not a lot that can be done about bike theft, but it’s a learning process of how to protect one’s bike,” Lou said. The pilot episode of To Catch a Bike Thief will be airing at 7 p.m. Thursday night at The Hive on West Hastings. Te: of it as the television show, CARA McKENNA photo Sydney the border collie is a member of Pets and Friends. On Wednesday he paid a visit to UBC to help students deal with exam anxiety. Canine cohort relieves stress ‘Stress Less for Exam Success’ day at UBC sees dogs help stop stress By CARA MCKENNA etting dogs is an unconventional method UBC students are using to deal with exam-related stress, and it may be catching on with schools across Vancouver. Wednesday, the non-profit organiza- tion, Pets and Friends, came to UBC as part of their “Stress Less for Exam Suc- cess” day, bringing a horde of canines along with them to visit with stressed students. “This is definitely helping relieve my paper writing stress,” said student Lili Okuyama while petting an energetic Cockapoo named Jasmine. “Paper stress then exam stress.” Daphne Parker, the assistant admin- istrative coordinator for Pets and Friends, said she is excited about the possibility of bringing the program to other schools. “We were very excited when we were approached by UBC,” said Parker, adding that her favorite thing about her job is seeing people’s faces light up when they see the dogs. “It’s a very feel-good concept,” she said. Many of the volunteers at Pets and Friends, who regularly bring their pets to elderly care facilities, hospitals and hospices as well, said they have seen the magic that visits with animals can bring to people’s lives. “When [my dog Rigby] is doing a shift at hospice he beelines for the wheelchairs first,” said Beth Ledrew, a volunteer who mostly brings her dog to hospital visits due to the dog’s calm na- ture. “It’s almost like it’s instinct.” Another volunteer, Chery] McCutch- en, said she likes Pets and Friends be- cause it’s a way to bring her Pomerani- an, Michi, to work with her. “T [also] work at an extended care fa- cility,” said McCutchen, adding that Michi is very sensitive to people’s emo- tions. “We had one resident who was dying and after visiting with him, [Michi] went back to my office and just needed to be alone and suck on his toy for a bit.” Patty Hambler, the student develop- ment officer of the Wellness Depart- ment of UBC, says bringing a program like Pets and Friends in to help relieve student stress is a first for the univer- sity. “A student here had the idea to bring [the program] here,” said Hambler. “This is the first time we’ve had pets on campus.” 66 We were very excited when we were ap- proached by UBC. It’s avery feel good concept DAPHNE PARKER Assistant Administrative Coordinator, Pets and Friends Soho Road on the road to success after opening second food cart ALEX SKERDZHEV photo Sarb Mund hands out one of his most popular items from his Soho Road food cart, a naan wrap. Mund was recently selected to add a second food cart downtown. After opening his second cart, owner Sarb Mund hopes to keep his business growing on the streets By ALEX SKERDZHEV ncouverites now have access to V: additional 12 permanent food carts around the city. Picked by a panel of judges from among 59 applications, these new carts offer quick, fresh, cheap and easy ways to quell hunger and quench thirst. One of the entrepreneurs picked was Sarb Mund, the owner of Soho Road Naan Kebab on the corner of Smithe and Howe, who has just opened a sec- ond location at Granville and Georgia Street. “We had to send an application in, you have to write a business plan, you have to talk about where you’re going to be financially,” Mund said. “They’re looking for people that have some sort of vending experience, which helped us because we have this cart up and run- ning.” Soho Road currently serves UK/In- dian food, such as kebabs with chicken, beef or veggie salads. All items on the menu are less than $10. Speaking from his cart, Mund said he has only been in the food business for six months, and was lucky enough to get exposure very early on. “When it comes to business, there’s always an X-factor, you know? We to- tally hit that X-factor by having Cana- da’s Top Chef interview us for best food cart in Vancouver, and that really put us on the map,” he said. “T think the cameraman had just parked near us, walked by... [and] said, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know you guys were here’. He called everybody up, they all came down and that was it. It was a to- tal fluke.” A former accountant from Punjab, India, and London, England, Mund said he decided to start this business simply because no one else had. “We had a good idea, I mean, there was nobody else doing it. We feel that we bring in the UK/Indian food. In the UK, everybody goes out for a kebab, but it doesn’t happen here,” he said. Soho Road was featured on local news stations Tuesday, with Mund ap- pearing a number of times, something he says has helped his business quite a bit. “God, yeah [it helped], I mean, it’s sunny today, and we are so dependent on the weather. It’s getting sunny now, we got the press when we really need- ed it,” Mund said. He added that, “if anyone thinks that we're winning the lottery by getting one of these licences, they’re sorely mistaken. It’s a lot of hard work, but I have to say it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. We’re growing organically, there’s no branding, there’s nothing on the cart at all. We want to make sure our food speaks first, and we can put the rest in place as we see fit.”