Chief Electrical Inspector Ark Tsisserev (right) interviewed by CTV's Lisa Rossington

Historians agree that it wasn't the break-in to Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel that led to Richard Nixon's ultimate resignation as US President. Rather, it was when Nixon and his staff conspired to cover it up in the years that followed.

Denials by Gregor Robertson that he knew anything about the dismissal of Ark Tsisserev have some wondering if Vancouver's Mayor needs brush up on his political science in the face of a scandal some are now dubbing Gregorgate.

The most recent damaging new revelation for Robertson is an interview which took place between him and CKNW news reporter Nafeesa Karim last Wednesday, March 10th (clip):

Robertson is asked a simple question – did he know if Ark Tsisserev retired, or if he was let go? After stumbling on his words for a full nine seconds, Robertson (as with his interview with Michael Smyth last Friday) claims no knowledge of Tsisserev's dismissal and that it was a "human resources action" and that HR were "taking care of it". He deflects any further questions on the matter to the City Manager.

As for Penny Ballem, she responded to the question by CKNW reporter Janet Brown about Tsisserev's dismissal, saying "he fell victim to restructuring. We are an organization that uses best human resources practices and these are always difficult things. Being laid off is a difficult time for employee and employer."

Former Chief Electrical Inspector Ark Tsisserev was replaced in a decision made by Mayor and council during an in-camera meeting which took place on January 21st, 2010. All meetings involving discussion and decisions regarding personnel are held in-camera, and the closed door gathering on the 21st was chaired by Mayor Robertson.

An inside account of the meeting reveals that the deliberation on the matter was brief. Unlike situations where people are being let go for cause, where discussion can typically last an hour or more, council swiftly approved staff's recommendation to replace Tsisserev with Will Johnston (the city's Chief Building Official). The decision is noted in council minutes from February 2nd.

The fact that city council ended Ark Tsisserev's award-winning career at the City of Vancouver in mere minutes suggests that in all likelihood they were duped by one or more party involved in getting rid of the Chief Electrician. And there is evidence to prove this, according to one City Hall watcher.

Kinsella argues bloggers are having more fun than the MSM

In the little spare time I have, I occasionally enjoy reading Warren Kinsella's blog where he provides his take on the issues of the day. One of his posts today had me laughing. It was his analysis on the endless bloggers vs. MSM debate raging online.

There is much talk out there about the future direction of our mainstream media and blogs. Will they survive in their current form? Is there a business model to make blogging financially viable? Is there a peaceful co-existence that will work for both mediums?

Kinsella responded to a column written in today's Globe and Mail whereby Ray MacGregor writes about blogging and social media:

No one is expecting “social media" to go away – though it has never been explained exactly what is so social about picking away at your BlackBerry in a meeting or sitting alone in a room staring at a dusty computer screen.

I'm not saying it should go away – just that those dealing in it need to know what it is and what it isn't.

In the ubiquitous cyberworld of blogs and tweets and anonymous comment, what has come to matter more than anything else is the number of hits a certain story receives. The more hits means, in most cases, the larger the audience, and while reaching more readers and viewers is a good thing on one level, it is also a concern for those who believe journalism is about content and information more than reaction.

An FOI reveals Vancouver's 311 service is a big hit with its citizens

We've been writing extensively on this blog about why Vancouver's new 311 service has yet to be "officially" launched. 311 is a new service which allows Vancouver citizens and businesses to access City Hall 24 hours a day in dozens of different languages. It was the brainchild of previous City Manager Judy Rogers, but since her sudden departure, plans to promote it appear to have been shelved. If you recall, the Vision/COPE politicians elected to the previous council voted against setting aside the funds necessary to implement 311.

That's why we put in a FOI request at City Hall to see whether 311 was actually being used, despite the lack of promotion and official ribbon cutting.  With details from our FOI now in-hand, we can provide you with an exclusive glimpse into the "mysterious" 311 operations that nobody on Council seems eager to talk about. Here are the highlights:

• In February 2009, only 6,703 people used the 311 service. By October 2009, that number had increased to over 35,000 callers.
• The average speed of answering calls went from 15 seconds in February '09 to 3 minutes in November '09.
• In November '09 the largest number of calls (11,083) were described as miscellaneous. The second biggest category fell into the area of "Engineering - Solid Waste".
• Clocking in at only 12 queries, the Community Services Group - Social Development received the lowest number of queries last November. These are the folks that deal with the City's housing and homelessness policy.

UBC's Thunderbird Arena is the venue for the Paralympic men's sledge hockey gold medal match

In partnership with BC Hydro's Power Smart Village, we are running our last Paralympic promotion...and it's a doozie! Up for grabs are two pairs of tickets to the sold out gold medal men's sledge hockey match. The promotion will run until 6 pm on Wednesday, March 18th. If you are a BC resident, there are four ways you can participate:

First, everyone should either down to the BC Hydro 2010 Power Smart Village located at 333 Dunsmuir Street and sign up to Team Power Smart. Or, you can simply visit bchydro.com or text JOIN to POWER (76937). Once you’ve done that, you can win the tickets by:

Outgoing General Manager of Engineering Services Tom Timm

Tom Timm, the head of the largest department at Vancouver City Hall, and arguably the most powerful bureaucrat as General Manager of Engineering Services, is leaving the building at the end of March. Tom was too shrewd and diplomatic to publicly reveal his personal feelings about the current Vision Vancouver regime and the nanomanaging Penny Ballem. Tom had a lot of gas left in his tank, but just couldn't take it anymore according to insiders.

Who will replace Timm? A "broad search" is underway according to Penny Ballem. The headhunting firm whose post office box is located at Manson's Landing, Cortes Island, is apparently working overtime to find someone who knows something about managing thousands of employees, building streets and sewers, is a powerful advocate for social change, and can sit comfortably in the lotus position.

Another vital job requirement is having a thick skin for the occasional brow-beating by the City Manager, and not minding when she whistles for you to report in her office.

Who will rise to the top job in the massive City Engineering department? It most certainly won't be Timm's Assistant City Engineer, the extremely bright and qualified Jerry Dobrovolny. Jerry has a huge target on his back from CUPE due to his work as spokesperson for management during their 2007 strike.