Soon, golfing and smoking will carry a hefty fine. And not just at golf courses -- lighting up on any beach, park, or playground will be enough to land you with a few hundred dollars worth of fines. Now, some might say that smokers should know better, and that they shouldn't be smoking in public places anyway -- but a golf course seems relatively private. Even if it weren't, the average smoker has discretion enough not to puff in the faces of non-smokers. They are aware of the health risks in choosing to smoke. Isn't that enough?

An environmentalist who took hostages in the Discovery Channel building in Maryland apparently has a link to the Lower Mainland.

James Lee is the man believed to be involved in a standoff with police in Silver Spring, Maryland on Wednesday. He reportedly entered the Discovery premises around 9 a.m. with an explosive device and held a group of employees as hostages. After police shot Lee at 2 p.m., the device went off, but nobody was injured and the three hostages managed to safely escape.

Lee, who is 43-years-old, runs a website which is registered to a Burnaby address. The site, www.SaveThePlanetProtest.com, is associated with a location on Gilmore Way. The man originally, however, hails from San Diego, California and lives in Maryland.

If rain fails to douse your lit cigarette, a whopping fine of $250 will surely do the job. You have Vancouver's smoking ban to thank for that.

Taking effect today, the smoking ban applies to local parks and beaches, including playgrounds, sports fields and even parking lots.

Photo by rbostyle from the BR Flickr Pool.

Labour Day 2010 is here which means that the Vancouver summer is officially coming to an end. Luckily, it looks like the weather is planning to cooperate which should mean outdoor activities are safe to be on the agenda. For me, there's nothing like a music festival to bid farewell to summer. I find that it's easier to say goodbye to the sunny good times and welcome the inevitable rainy good times after spending the weekend giving the sun a farewell dance. The question is - how far do I need to travel for my perfect party?

BC's storied film and TV production industry was down - way down - during the 'silent spring' of 2010. Word is some film workers couldn't make the rent and that many were looking for new careers; and some industry suppliers (equipment rentals and so on) were considering closing down. Many believed the change would be permanent, and that BC's new look, 'leaner and meaner' biz would be lucky to stay at 60% of its former size going forward (movie production generated $1.3 billion in expenditures in BC year last).

Then along came July 1, the day the new HST came into effect. "It was like a starting pistol sounded" according to Don Madsen, who owns the city's largest period prop house, Mount Pleasant Furniture. "From dead slow, we suddenly had productions lining up to rent our furniture".