Sun

You might want to think twice before you slap down $750 for a bottle of the exquisite Krug Clos du Mesnil champagne (1995) to ring in the new year. There might not be much to celebrate.

The forecasters are nearly unanimous: The Canadian economy will not grow as quickly in 2007 as it did in 2006 or in 2005 and the slowdown might make it difficult for Ottawa to deliver on promises of tax relief.

The writing has been on the wall through most of 2006, most dramatically so in September when the Gross Domestic Product actually declined by 0.3 per cent, dragging growth in the third quarter to an annualized rate of 1.7 per cent, the slowest pace in three years. That’s down from 3.8 per cent in the first quarter and two per cent in the second.

The slowing pace was inevitable as the drivers of economic growth shifted into low gear. For example, gross fixed investment — one of the prerequisites for long-term economic expansion — grew by 8.0 per cent in 2004, 7.1 per cent in 2005 and 6.3 per cent in 2006, but is expected to grow by only 3.4 per cent in 2007, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

In its semiannual economic outlook, the OECD forecast growth of Canadian GDP of 2.7 per cent in 2007, down from an estimated 3.1 per cent in 2006, largely as a result of the cooling economy in the United States and an accompanying decline in energy and other commodity prices. (For the record, the Bank of Canada forecasts GDP growth of 2.5 per cent in 2007 while the finance ministry agrees with the OECD figure.)

Whatever numbers you choose to believe, the softening of the Canadian economy is clearly becoming more pronounced. The Toronto Dominion Bank expects four quarters of what it calls “below trend” growth. However, the good news is that, while most anticipate weakness, none expects a recession.

The Conference Board of Canada sees a healthy economic future for British Columbia as a preferred retirement haven for baby boomers and looks for average annual GDP growth of 2.3 per cent over the long term.

Meanwhile, mining and construction should keep the province humming in the short term, although not at the frenetic pace of the last few years. The Bank of Montreal expects B.C. will grow at 3.4 per cent a year in the 2008 to 2010 period, a faster clip than any province besides Alberta.

The TD Bank predicts the slowdown of the Canadian economy will be short lived as the U.S. economy recovers through 2007 and the Bank of Canada provides some monetary stimulus in the second half of the year to move things along. A rate cut from the current 4.25 per cent might not only loosen credit but knock a few points from our near-90-cent US dollar to boost exports. Indeed, the Royal Bank of Canada attributes the strong dollar to high energy prices and predicts it will drop to 80.6 cents US by year-end 2007 as commodity prices slip below historic highs.

Housing remains the dark cloud over what would otherwise likely be a benign economic pause. The Royal Bank of Canada noted that in the U.S. sales of existing and new homes were 13 per cent and 20 per cent lower respectively from the peak of recent months and that the correction is likely to continue through 2007. Home sales in Canada have weakened as well, though not as sharply, and the real estate industry is watching anxiously for more fallout. Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp. has forecast a six-per-cent increase in the average resale house price but prices could just as easily drop that much in an overheated market like Vancouver.

Against this economic backdrop, a New Year’s toast with Henkel Trocken (about $22.50) rather than the pricier bubbly might be in keeping with the more austere 2007 economists anticipate.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

 

Sun

SYDNEY, Australia — Uranium spot prices will continue to rise into the new year, hitting $90 US per pound by mid-2007, according to a report by Resource Capital Research.

Over the past three months, the price climbed 23 per cent to $65.50, the Australian equity research company said in its December quarterly report.

It projects the spot price could hit $115 per pound by late 2008.

Resource Capital said junior uranium miners are seeing strong interest from investors, with Canadian companies like Equinox Minerals and over-the-counter traders like OmegaCorp expected to announce uranium projects in the new year.

“Development-stage companies with compliant resources, or those expected to advance to development stage mid-term, are forecast to continue to outperform the sector,” said managing director John Wilson.

Other companies are expected to advance projects rapidly in 2007, including Tournigan Gold Corp., PepinNini Minerals and Berkeley Resources, the report said.

Resource Capital said early stage production at companies like Curnamona Energy, Globe Uranium, Scimitar Resources are, in some cases, showing “encouraging results.”

The study covered 25 global uranium exploration and development companies primarily in Australia, Canada, U.S. and the U.K.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

Province

Names: Wanita Pettenon and Tracey Ashbury

Business: Wickerwerx, Burnaby

Contact: 604-421-0050; www.wickerwerx.com

Number of employees: Two, plus three helpers for the holidays

Time in business: Four

What do you do? We create gift baskets for people looking for higher-quality products. We have found a niche with corporate clients and we also sell online and ship the baskets all over the world.

How did you get into this business? I was looking for a business I could do at home so I could be with my kids. Tracey had a job, so she didn’t need to look for an income. I’ve always had an artistic side, even though I worked as a bookkeeper and accountant for 14 years before having children. I knew someone who made gift baskets as a side job and the more I looked into it the more interested I became. I knew that if I really wanted to be successful, I couldn’t do it by myself and Tracey was the one person I could think of who I’d butt heads with the least. She has no interest in doing the designs and creative stuff, but she handles all the administrative and accounting work.

What is unique about your baskets? They aren’t mass-produced. We have been tempted to produce lesser-priced baskets to attract more customers, but we chose not to sacrifice quality. We’re not looking to become millionaires — the business puts a little money in our pockets and it’s very satisfying.

Future plans? The business has grown so much, and it has the potential to grow much larger. We’re only advertising on the Internet, but this is where we’re comfortable for now. I’m excited about five years from now — I want to take it to a higher level. I don’t know where yet; I have to do a lot of research. It’s a little bit scary.

© The Vancouver Province 2006

Tom Blackwell
Sun

TORONTO — Scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body’s nervous system helps trigger diabetes, opening the door to a potential near-cure of the disease affecting millions of Canadians.

Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.

The researchers caution they’ve yet to confirm their findings in humans, but say they expect results from those studies within a year or so.

Any treatment that may emerge from the work is likely still years away.

Their conclusions upset conventional wisdom that Type 1 diabetes, the most serious form of the illness that typically first appears in childhood, was solely caused by auto-immune responses — the body’s immune system turning on itself.

They also conclude that there are far more similarities than previously thought between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and that nerves likely play a role in other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as asthma and Crohn’s disease.

The “paradigm changing” study opens “a novel, exciting door to address one of the diseases with large societal impact,” said Dr. Christian Stohler, a leading U.S. pain specialist and dean of dentistry at the University of Maryland, who has reviewed the work.

“The treatment and diagnosis of neuropathic diseases is poised to take a dramatic leap forward because of the impressive research.”

About two million Canadians suffer from diabetes, 10 per cent of them with Type 1, contributing to 41,000 deaths a year. Insulin replacement therapy is the only treatment for Type 1, and can’t prevent many of the side effects, from heart attacks to kidney failure.

In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to shift glucose into the cells that need it. In Type 2 diabetes, the insulin produced isn’t used effectively — something called insulin resistance — also resulting in poor absorption of glucose.

The problems stem partly from inflammation — and eventual death — of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas.

Dr. Hans Michael Dosch, an immunologist at the hospital and a leader of the studies, had concluded in a 1999 paper there were surprising similarities between diabetes and multiple sclerosis, a central nervous system disease.

His interest was also piqued by the presence around the insulin-producing islets of an “enormous” number of nerves, pain neurons primarily used to signal the brain that tissue has been damaged.

Suspecting a link between the nerves and diabetes, he and Dr. Michael Salter, a pain expert at the Hospital for Sick Children, used an old experimental trick — injecting capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers, to kill the pancreatic sensory nerves in mice that had an equivalent of Type 1 diabetes.

“Then we had the biggest shock of our lives,” said Dr. Dosch. Almost immediately, the islets began producing insulin normally. “It was a shock . . . really out of left field, because nothing in the literature was saying anything about this.”

It turns out the nerves secrete neuropeptides that are instrumental in the proper functioning of the islets.

Further study by the team, which also involved the University of Calgary and the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, found the nerves in diabetic mice were releasing too little of the neuropeptides, resulting in a “vicious cycle” of stress on the islets.

The work is being published today in the journal Cell.

THE DISCOVERY

‘REALLY OUT OF LEFT FIELD’

Suspecting a link between the nerves and diabetes, researchers injected capsaicin, the active ingredient in hot chili peppers, to kill the pancreatic sensory nerves in mice that had an equivalent of Type 1 diabetes.

Almost immediately, the pancreatic cells began producing insulin normally. “It was a shock . . . really out of left field,” said immunologist Dr. Hans Michael Dosch, “because nothing in the literature was saying anything about this.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

Humanitarian creates ranch for kids with chronic or life-threatening illnesses

Gerry Bellett
Sun

Mel Zajac doesn’t want chronic or life-threatening illness to deprive any child of having fun.

So three years ago, his foundation opened Zajac Ranch on the west side of Stave Lake, a Western-style ranch supported by The Vancouver Sun Children’s Fund.

“At first I thought of creating a camp for underprivileged children but others have done that. Then I realized there wasn’t a camp for kids with real bad medical problems where they could go and have fun and just be a kid,” said Zajac.

“Other camps didn’t want them because there was no way they could handle kids with severe medical and physical problems.”

Since the ranch opened, more than 1,500 children accompanied by family members, often with nurses and doctors in attendance, have gone there to ride horses, rock climb, rope climb, learn archery, kayak, and have the kind of outdoor fun that able-bodied children take for granted.

The Zajac Foundation has raised more than $6 million to develop the ranch and this year almost $3 million will be spent on increasing the facilities, including construction of a $2.24-million indoor swimming pool in the shape of an old barn with a wheelchair ramp into the water, and an indoor riding arena measuring 30 by 61 metres (100 by 200 feet).

A petting zoo will be added along with a tree house — accessible to children regardless of their disability — and a water tower to add a more western feeling to the 16-hectare (40-acre) ranch. The ranch also has a medical centre, complete with four dialysis machines and other equipment necessary to treat children who can spend up to a week there.

“For me, this is a place of miracles,” said Zajac. “Last summer there was a kid who’d never spoken a word in his life. We put him on a horse and put a cowboy hat on his head and he got so excited he yelled out something about his cowboy hat — the first words his parents had ever heard him say. “The look on their faces is hard to describe, but it was beautiful,” he said.

“We had a kid with spina bifida who also had a tracheotomy [a tube in his throat to enable him to breathe] and three nurses looking after him. We got him up on the high rope in a special harness 40 feet in the air. Then we put him in a special bike. He’d never ridden a bike in his life.

“We have kids who have no strength but they can make a kayak move and you’ll hear them screaming with delight,” he said.

“We want them to do what other kids do. We’ll make it happen for them. The horse riding is one of my favourites. The horses sense if the kid’s an invalid and just stand there while we get the kid on. Being able to ride a horse is something some of the kids have never imagined,” said Zajac.

The Somers family has taken 12-year-old Josh to the ranch since it opened.

Josh’s mom Shelley said the experience has been incredible.

“The children do things they never thought they could ever do,” she said.

Josh was born with Apert’s Syndrome — a condition that results in the fusing of the bones in his head, hands and feet. When he was born, he had no fingers.

As a result, Josh has undergone numerous surgeries to separate his fingers and to relieve pressure on his brain.

The Somers go to the camp with other families whose children have the same condition.

“Last summer there were about nine families in our group and it’s great for these kids to see other kids like them. It’s a safe place and they are very careful with the children because these kids can’t fall and hit their heads,” said Shelley.

“The counsellors are trained to get the kids involved in all sorts of activities. They made a special harness for Josh so he could do rope walking 20 feet in the air. When he came down, he said he didn’t want to do it again but at least he tried it.

“The first year we went, they put Josh in a kayak by himself. For me it was ‘Oh my God, what are they doing?’ but Josh was all smiles.

“When the children do these things, you see such a wonderful expression of accomplishment on their faces. It’s beautiful to see.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

 

Mestena, a private mine in Texas, is set to auction 260,000 of the metal

CHRISIOPHER DONVILLE
Sun

Uranium prices, after surging this year because of concerns, may top a record high this week when a private mine in Texas auctions 260,000 pounds of the radioactive metal used to fuel nuclear-power plants.

Mestena. Uranium LLC of Corpus Christi is selling supplies from its Alta Mesa mine to the highest bidder as of Dec.15, said Dustin Garrow, president of ZB Marketing, a consultant in Littleton. Colo., coordinating the auction.

The price of uranium has risen 81 percent this year to $65.50 (all figures US) a pound because demand is rising and plower-plant operators are concerned that new supplies may not be available fast enough t to fuel new reactors planned for construction around the world.

-Bidding will probably come in around $68 to $70 a pound,”Kevin Bambrough, a strategist at Sprott Asset Management Inc. in Toronto who follows the uranium industry, said in a telephone interview. Uranium supplies are tight. Demand is strong.”

An underground flood in October at Cameco Corp.’s unfinished Cigar Lake mine in Saskatchewan has heightened concerns about available supply. Cameco, the world’s largest producer of uranium, has said it expects the flood will delay construction of the mine by at least a year.

Before the accident, the project was scheduled to open in 2008 and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan- based Cameco predicted it would supply as much as 10 per cent of the world’s uranium when it reached full production in 20l0.

Cigar Lake is 50-per-cent owned by Gameco, with the remainder held by ARENA Resources Canada Inc., Idemitsu Uranium Exploration Canada Ltd., and TEPCO Resources Inc.

This week’s auction by Mesrena will be the company’s 11th since it began pro­ducing at Alta Mesa about a year ago, Garrow said in a telephone interview The results will be confidential, though he said he expects they will be reflected in published marker assessments.

Every time we’ve done a sale, the market price has gone up,” Garrow said.

The price of uranium rose $2.50 to a record $65.50 a pound from a week ear­lier, Ux Consulting Co. of Roswell, Ga., said yesterday. UX`s weekly price, which $36.25 >in December 2005, is based on the company’s assessment of the ura­nium market and is widely used within the nuclear industry.

The Alta Mesa mitre in Texas uses insitu recovery techniques that involve the flushing of a chemical solution through underground ore bodies and the eventual recovery of the uranium from the solution. The mine can produce about a million pounds Of uranium a year.

Global uranium consumption is about 180 million pounds a year.

Shares of Cameco rose 91 cents, or two per cent, to $45.41 Cdn on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They have risen 27 per cent in the past year.

Ann Brenoff
Sun

Words matter. Wars have start­ed over them. Civilizations have collapsed because of them And

it would appear chat^. the speed with which a house sells might be determined by them.

As listings grow old on the vine in areas that are flush with inventory, and frustrated sellers grap­ple for the slightest

edge, the findings of several academics might otter some guidance.

For example, a Canadian pro­fessor, as part of a broader study

on real estate sales patterns, found that homes where the seller was “motivated” actually took 15 per cent longer to sell, while houses listed as ^”handyman spe­cials” flew off

the market in half the average time.

It surprised even me, said researcher Paul Anglin, who teaches real estate and housing trends at the University of Guelph. The study dissected the wording of more than 20,000 Canadian home listings from 1997 to 2000.

What surprised him most was

how the buying public put style over substance. Words that denoted “curb appeal” or general attractiveness helped a property sell faster than those that spoke of “value” and “price.”

Homes described as “beautiful” moved 15 per cent faster and for five per cent more in price than the benchmark.”Good-val­ue”

enthusiastically as a dinner-time telemarketing call. Homes with listings using the words “must see” had a statistically insignifi­cant impact on the number of days they rook to sell.

Listings where the word “land­scaping” was heralded sold 20-per-cent faster, and homes in “move-in condition^” took 12-per­cent less time to sell than the benchmark, although the study showed ^“move-in condition^” had an insignificant impact on the sales price.

Owners use listing language to

convey how serious they are about selling. Some words work better than others. Anglin’s study found. Listings in which the sell­er said he or she was ^“moving” sold for one-per-cent less in pride compared to eight-per-cent less when the seller was “motivated.”

Real estate listings, not unlike personal ads, are crafted to minimize blemishes and maximize perceived selling points. So if “enjoys moonlight walks on the beach and cooking together” means “I’m unemployed and am looking for someone who won’t always expect to eat out,^“ then ^“needs TLC^” might mean “this house will have you on a first-name basis with the clerks at the local hardware store.”

Anglin^‘s study isn’t alone in efforts to determine what language moves the market.

Last year, the impact of listing language was covered in a National Bureau of Economic Research study that looked at whether real estate agents selling their own homes hold out for a

higher price. (They do; the study found they take longer to sell but fetch a higher price.)      

Descriptions of houses that indicated an obvious problem – such as “foreclosure,” “as-is” and “handyman special”– drew sub­stantially lower sales prices.     

Words that suggested desirable attributes – “granite,” “maple,”

“gourmet” – translated into a higher sale price, the study               
found.

One problem discovered was that -superficially positive” words that, in effect, damn with faint praise – such as “clean” or quier” – had zero or even a neg­ative correlation with prices.

Those findings echo those made in a 2000 paper called Real Estate Agent Remarks: Help or Hvpe? researched by University of Texas finance and real estate professor Ronald Rutherford.

Rutherford found, among oth­er things, that buyers read betweon the lines. If you can’t find anything better to say than ^“new paint,” perhaps it’s best to say nothing at all.

Positive and factually verifiable comments such as “golf” or “lake” drew increased sales prices; other presumably positive comments regarding new paint or new carpet brought lower ones. “what you Say needs to be extravagant,” Rutherford said, “or the signal that is received by buyers is that it’s not worth talking about.”

But what do sellers know?

“New paint^“ appeared on 15 per cent of the listings and was the most commonly listed continent.

Rutherford said sellers would be best served by a listing with just the facts. “In today’s market,” he said, “if it’s a good deal, you need to coney it with factually verifiable language.”

Theresa Storm
Sun

LORETO, Mexico — I felt like I was entering a scene from a John Wayne movie. As the jet descended for landing, I saw giant cordon cacti lining the runway, like don’t-mess-with-me sentinels of the desert.

Landing in Loreto, midway along the east coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, I half-expected Wayne and his cowboy cohorts to come galloping by.

But modernity has arrived in historic Loreto, the 309-year-old first capital of the Californias originally inhabited by a tribe of Cochimi Indians.

The desert stretches 1,771 km south from the United States border to the tip of the Baja peninsula. Leaving the one-luggage-belt airport, heading south away from the colonial town of 10,000, I took a deep breath of arid, unpolluted air. This nearly undiscovered natural playground would surely bring rejuvenation.

If things had gone as planned, Loreto wouldn’t be such a gem far off most travellers’ radar. More than 30 years ago, Fonatur, Mexico’s tourism development agency, identified Loreto as one of five sites with prime tourism potential. Unlike the others — Cancun, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Huatulco and nearby Los Cabos — Loreto escaped the development craze that transformed those fishing villages into mega-resorts.

Although work began in Nopolo, about 11 km south of Loreto, construction stalled after a few dozen homes, two hotels, an 18-hole golf course and a tennis centre were built. While other Mexican resorts forged ahead, Loreto now has the luxury of hindsight to do things right.

Pulling off the dusty, two-lane highway 10 minutes later, we were welcomed by the palm-lined boulevard into Nopolo.

The drone of power tools from a cluster of adobe courtyard casitas meant construction is no longer halted. Phase 1 of the Villages of Loreto Bay, a new community fronting the Sea of Cortes, is underway. The developer, the Loreto Bay Co., claims it’s the largest North American resort under construction that’s committed to sustainable development. They promise economic, social and ecological benefits for local residents and the environment.

The resort is the vision of B.C. resident David Butterfield, chairman of the Loreto Bay Co. and president of the Canadian non-profit Trust for Sustainable Development, the company’s parent.

The development is being built in partnership with Fonatur. Worth $3.4 billion, the 6,000-home, pedestrian-friendly town will be built over 1,200 hectares in nine phases. Another 2,000 hectares will be set aside as a nature preserve.

It will be 12 to 15 years before the development is complete. With only 100 homes turned over to owners so far, it’s still peaceful in this near-untouched slice of Baja.

After checking in at the Inn at Loreto Bay, a 155-room beachside resort at the development’s south end, I headed past the courtyard pool straight for the water’s edge.

Mirror-calm, it was hard to believe the Sea of Cortes is a sea at all. Yet the clear, deep blue waters — proclaimed “the world’s aquarium” by Jacques Cousteau — stretch 120 km to mainland Mexico. A single landmass 60 million years ago, the Baja Peninsula was split away by the San Andreas Fault.

An 18-hole golf course and the inn are tucked between the mountains and the sea.

Looking eastward, the stark basalt cliffs of Isla Carmen, the largest of five islands in Loreto Bay National Marine Park, rise out of the sea. To the south, barely visible, is Isla Danzante.

The next morning, we boarded El Don, a 21-metre yacht, for a snorkelling expedition to Isla Coronados.

The Sea of Cortes supports the world’s largest and most varied population of whales, including humpback, sperm, minke and other species, but the thousands of grey whales that migrate each winter from Alaska’s Bering Sea to Baja’s Pacific coast are the main event. To see this, we go 97 km west to the port of Adolfo Lopez Mateos in Magdalena Bay.

Over the next two hours, we delightedly observed scores of grEy whales.

IF YOU GO. . .

– Getting there: Alaska Airlines offers four weekly non-stop flights to Loreto from L.A. Delta will launch daily non-stop service beginning Dec. 16 from L.A. AeroMexico flies from San Diego.

– Where to stay: The Inn at Loreto Bay was recently acquired by Loreto Bay. Rates start at $142 per night, including buffet breakfast. Several new land-only packages are available, including a Humboldt squid-diving adventure. Call 1-877-865-6738 or visit innatloretobay.com.

– Tours and activities: January through early April is the peak time for grey whale watching.

C & C Ground Services & Tours: Cecilia Haugen offers sightseeing and active tours. The full-day grey-whale watching tour to Magdalena Bay is $172, including lunch. E-mail [email protected] or call 1-310-227-6522 or 011-52-613-135-0525.

Cormorant Dive Centre: Contact Juve Orozco for diving, kayaking, whale watching and other tours. Call 011-52-613-135-2140 or visit loretours.com.

– For more on the Villages of Loreto Bay, visit loretobay.com.

– For the Mexico Tourism Board, visit visitmexico.com.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

 

Renowned Vancouver Island resort gets up close and personal

Colleen Seto
Sun

TOFINO — There are few places in Canada where you can leave your window open overnight in November and fall asleep to the sound of ocean waves lapping against rocks — and not wake up shivering under your blankets, to boot.

Yet visitors haven’t truly experienced the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino and its spectacular location on the west coast of Vancouver Island until they’ve watched a storm crashing onto the rocky beach — from the warmth of your fireplace-equipped hotel room.

The Wickaninnish Inn is on Chesterman Beach, a space of packed sand and bleached driftwood backing onto an ancient rainforest.

Known for its surfing, kayaking and beachcombing, Chesterman Beach can instantly transform from serene to extreme, especially in winter.

This makes it the perfect place to experience storm-watching. Witness the ocean’s fury while staying cosy on your private balcony or sitting in front of your fireplace. If you’re feeling more adventurous, head down to the beach. Get misted with salt spray as giant waves crash along the rocky shore. Always be mindful of high tide, though.

Take advantage of the slickers and rubber boots provided by the inn — trust me, you’ll need them.

This year, the McDiarmid family celebrates its 10th anniversary since opening the inn.

Howard McDiarmid moved to Tofino in 1955 to work as a doctor. He recognized the incredible nature of the area and played a key role in the development of Pacific Rim National Park, just minutes south of Tofino.

Today, his son Charles McDiarmid is managing director of the inn and shows visitors the allure of the area.

“If you want an authentic West Coast experience, we deliver it,” he says.

In winter that experience includes storm-watching.

The vision for the hotel, long in the making, was realized in 1996. A decade and a second building later, the Wick has become renowned for its setting “on the edge of the world,” McDiarmid says. “And by providing great service and attention to detail.”

The 76-room inn is a member of Relais & Chateaux, a select few top-notch accommodations and fine-dining restaurants around the world. But even though it’s a high-end property, the inn possesses the down-home hospitality of a cheery family cabin, with McDiarmid playing host.

Another way to pass the time is with a relaxing spa treatment at the Ancient Cedars Spa. Just be sure to book early as space is limited.

If you’re in the mood for a culinary indulgence, head to The Pointe Restaurant for stunning ocean views served up with Pacific Northwest cuisine focusing on local ingredients.

Breakfast service can be slow, so consider room service instead. This way you can sip tea in your bathrobe and unwind in the soaker tub overlooking the ocean.

If you go

Depending on the type of room, rates start from $240 to $360 a night from November through February — prime storm-watching season.

Visit wickinn.com or call 1-800-333-4604.

© The Vancouver Province 2006

 

Keep ornaments, poinsettias, treats out of paws’ reach

James and Morris Carey
Province

Dangers to pets lurk throughout the house all year, but especially during the holiday season.

Nothing is more attractive to your friendly feline or growing puppy than tinsel glittering in the air just a few feet above the floor. What a “jump and grab” challenge for a kitten. And don’t forget the colourful attraction of Christmas lights, ornaments and other breakable objects.

Pets are like toddlers pretty much their entire lives. We often forget this as we decorate for the holidays.

Make sure decorations are secure and out of reach. You may not be able to save your pet from strangulation or suffocation if its windpipe is filled with tinsel.

And don’t forget that your kitten bleeds just like you do. We recommend plastic, wood or cloth ornaments — anything that won’t shatter.

Other dangers include mistletoe; it might get you a kiss from your best guy or gal, but make sure the branch is securely out of pets’ reach. The same precautions apply to poinsettia plants and holly berries: The danger of these plants has sometimes been overstated, but you need to be careful. Your pet could experience digestive irritation if it ingests them. If drooling, vomiting or diarrhea occur after the pet eats such plants, get the animal to the veterinarian right away.

Most of us know that chocolate can be toxic to a dog. It’s a stimulant toxin and its effect would be similar to a caffeine overdose. There could be an increase in the pet’s heart rate and body temperature, agitation, even muscle tremors and seizures within four to six hours of consumption. If your big Lab ate a Hershey’s Kiss, you wouldn’t have much to worry about. But if a little Chihuahua were to get hold of an entire block of chocolate, such symptoms would probably become apparent quickly.

Other foods you should not give pets include grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts and bread dough:

– Grapes and raisins can produce kidney disease in some dogs. Signs of ingestion could include lethargy, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Again, if you suspect that your dog has eaten these foods, contact your vet immediately.

– Dogs who eat macadamia nuts can get sick within 12 hours. The signs are weakness, wobbliness, increase in body temperature, vomiting and pale mucous membranes. Here, treating the symptoms is all you need to do. Recovery can be expected within 48 hours.

– If your pet eats a big chunk of bread dough, you could be in for an emergency. Besides the pain associated with the expansion of dough in the stomach, there is an even more dangerous condition that can occur: The warmth of the stomach can cause the dough to ferment and produce ethanol. That would be kind of like anti-freeze poisoning and can cause kidney failure. Signs can be seen within two hours of ingestion, but if our dog ate a chunk of bread dough, we’d head for the vet before the symptoms became evident.

Protecting your beloved pets this holiday season also includes moving them to a safe place away from visiting relatives, for the safety of all involved. You don’t have to worry then about small children being bitten or scratched, or about your pets being injured or frightened.

Think about your pets, and ensure them a holiday season as happy and safe as your own.

© The Vancouver Province 2006