After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

Emily Barca

Emily Barca is a former associate editor at VO. She has a degree in sociology, anthropology and French from McGill University. After living in Vancouver for fifteen years, Emily has returned to live and work in London, England. She loves tea but can't stand taking the tube.

 

Canada's first-ever female Olympic boxer, Mary Spencer, at the punching bag:video

For the first time in history, women will be allowed to compete in Olympic boxing. With the games under way, Canada's Mary Spencer is “looking forward to fighting.”

My hot, sweaty commute on the tube during the 2012 London Olympics

As the train lumbered into the station, I could feel a collective groan down the platform. Kings Cross Underground Station - 6:28 p.m. on a Monday. Rush hour. Summer had finally come to...

Queen's Diamond Jubilee: perspectives from Canadian expatriates

On her diamond jubilee, will Canadian expatriates in London be toasting the queen, or are they not bothered by the whole affair?

Halloween advice for procrastinators

Halloween, like other major holidays, separates people into two categories. As October 31 approaches, some are busy adding the final flourishes to painstakingly crafted costumes, anxiously waiting...

London riots: When the riots reach your doorstep

Read the reaction of co-workers at an office in North London, as reported by a former VO editor, as they receive word that looters are on their way.

Isn't it kind of strange that Vancouver would have a super-sized casino downtown?

While Vancouverites were trying to make sense of the problems surrounding the Olympic Village right before the 2008 civic election, the development proposal for a super-sized casino next to B.C....

Will B.C. casinos' bad record on money laundering get worse at B.C. Place casino?

In the shadowy underworld of organized crime, casinos are an ideal place to turn dirty money into legitimate cash, according to a spokesperson from FINTRAC, the federal agency that monitors cases of...

Casino expansion at B.C. Place may lead to increase in organized crime activity, sources say

"Studies have shown that organized crime will try to infiltrate casinos in many different ways, whenever they’re expanding," Sgt. Randy Morstensen said.

Province made an "exceptionally" fast decision on BC Place casino, says NDP critic Spencer Chandra Herbert

In March 2009, the BC Pavillion Corporation (PavCo) sent out a call for proposals to develop the land west of BC Place. Sixteen weeks later, PavCo selected a proposal from the Nevada-based Paragon...

Myth-busting at The Edgewater

Myth: Today is my lucky day; I know I'm going to win. Fact: There is no magic in gambling. No thought or feeling that you may have will help determine whether you win or not. It's Saturday night at...