Vancouver rundown for Thursday, October 30th,
2025. Vancouver will not lower its voting age
to 16. A motion to change the Vancouver Charter
to lower the age from 18 to 16 has been soundly
defeated. Councillor Pete Fry says he's disappointed,
noting those who are 16 and 17 are increasingly
engaged in civic issues and should be able to
participate in city life. He says the lower voting
age exists in some cities in numerous countries
around the world. Other news, Vancouver has appointed
Tracy Lee Lawrenson as its new Integrity Commissioner.
Lawrenson, who trained as a lawyer, has worked
as a governance and leadership consultant for
more than 20 years. She replaces Lisa Southern,
who left the post before her term at the City
of Vancouver, was set to expire at the end of
the year. Shots have been fired at another business
in Surrey. A single bullet shot has been found
on the outside of White Rock Gymnastics on Croydon
Drive in South Surrey Wednesday afternoon. Police
say no one was hit. There's no word on whether
it's related to recent extortion attacks in Surrey.
A staff sergeant with the Langley RCMP has been
convicted of assaulting a suspect who was being
booked into a holding cell back in August of
2020. A judge said the case rested on whether
Damien Volk's use of force was necessary, reasonable,
and proportional in the circumstances. Volk's
lawyer had argued the officer believed there
was a reasonable chance of being assaulted by
the robbery suspect, who was irate and screaming.
Clouds and fog in the forecast for Thursday morning,
sunshine by the afternoon, rain and wind on Friday,
a mix of sun, clouds and showers for Saturday.
For all the details on these local Vancouver
area stories, along with those links, go to vancouverrundown
.substack .com.