Web Development Live

Controversial development issues and how to attract and keep young families in Delta were on the minds of voters at an all-candidates meeting the morning after Halloween.

The meeting saw candidates first asked how they feel about the developer’s Century Group’s president Sean Hodgins conceptual proposals for Southlands in Boundary Bay, which would see the agriculturally zoned land split into a third housing, a third farming and a third community amenities.

Incumbent George Hawksworth said he could not say “yay or nay” until an application has been made to council and the public has been properly consulted, a view echoed by a number of candidates including current mayor Lois Jackson.

Councillor Robert Campbell, who is running with Jackson and Coun. Scott Hamilton as the Delta Independent Voters Association, said, “To say that we have our mind made up one way or the other at this point in the process is not being real with the way we have to deal with it. We are in a quasi-judicial role when we sit in a public hearing and that demands that we have an open mind.”

Coun. Krista Engelland, one of Jackson’s challengers, said if elected mayor she would see Delta land zoned for agriculture is protected for soil-based use, and new housing should be looked at for residentially zoned areas.

Council candidate Ron Wasik suggested council develop a trust to buy available land and keep it within the farming community, while Kathleen Higgins said rather than develop on agricultural land, she would like to see aging homes torn down and rezoned for smaller units to retain young families.

Only Duane Laird said outright he is in favour of the Southlands project

“In the Southlands they’re actually talking about integrating education, housing, jobs and farmland into an integrated community. This makes sense.”

On the topic of what to do with Ladner Harbour, everyone agreed the eyesore must be cleaned up. Bruce MacDonald, a former Delta councillor, said the potential jewel should be developed into something accessible to everyone from the fishing community to businesses and recreational users.

Heather King, a long-time school trustee vying for a council seat in the Nov. 15 election, reminded voters of the school district’s symposium on “The Schools We Want” and said a similarly styled symposium could be held on issues like the harbour.

Part way through the meeting incumbents’ failed efforts to stop the BC Transmission Corporation’s power line upgrade were questioned, frustrating current council members.

Jackson said she does not believe Delta failed to do enough, and recalled receiving a letter from the provincial government stating the overhead lines would not go ahead.

Engelland criticized council’s efforts under Jackson, stating, “It should have had a different approach at the outset.”

Her comment prompted mayoral opponent Mike Reilly to say it’s time to stop playing the “blame game.”

“It’s pretty disconcerting for me when Engelland comes up here and accuses Jackson of not doing everything when she’s also on the council, and it was on their watch and their guard that these things happened.”

After that Hamilton was happy to answer a question on a topic the municipality does have more control over: redeveloping aging recreational facilities.

“This is what I love to talk about,” he said, stating “deplorable” field conditions is what got him into politics and he’s committed to ensuring facilities don’t fall into disrepair.

The self-proclaimed soccer moms, soccer dads and “soccer grandfather” joked Hawksworth agreed Delta is home to aging facilities which need to be rejuvenated, such as the Boys and Girls Club in North Delta on 84th Ave., noted Jackson and MacDonald.

And Campbell added Deltans can be proud of what they’ve already got: four artificial turf fields, three softball diamonds on turf, and five arenas.

“We have a limitless bound of recreactional facilities and it’s our goal on Delta council to see these rehabilitated and refurbished and used consistently and continually into the future.”

What the community can’t boast, however, is its own post-secondary institution and one questioner wondered what steps candidates would take to attract higher learning to Delta.

The candidates concurred the likelihood of an institution constructing an actual campus is slim, but offered ideas on how to build on existing programs like BCIT’s flying school at the Boundary Bay Airport, said Campbell which would help keep young adults in South Delta.

Laird noted this is where the district’s declining enrollment offers an opportunity to enable post-secondary institutions to establish a foothold in Delta by using empty classroom space for courses.

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Late last week an important milestone for the Internet was quietly reached as the number of available open Web APIs crossed the 1,000 mark, according to the popular API tracking service, Programmable Web.

While still seemingly small in number compared to the number of traditional Web sites that exist, open APIs have become an increasingly vital story for Web startups and traditional firms alike to cost effectively partnership, expand the reach of their products (and especially their data), and drive their network effect deeply across the Web.

It’s now almost uncommon to see a new Web product that doesn’t sport a shiny new API so that other online products can integrate the pieces they like into new experiences and offerings. In short, APIs allow a Web application or online business to have thousands of points of presence in other products, instead of just one.

Though APIs were pioneered by many of the original, successful firms on the Web including eBay and Amazon, which can both cite considerable returns for their efforts, it’s only been in the last couple of years that APIs have been taken seriously in a widespread way by the Web community and have become a new competency area.

In my discussions with many companies, one of the biggest obstacles to adopting APIs is a lack of understanding of what a non-visual Web presence looks like and how to build a business model around it. Business leaders are much more likely to understand investment in a traditional Web site, which they are familiar with and understand somewhat, than in an online software development kit, which is more developer-centric and which they are much less likely to fully appreciate, even though APIs can often have more strategic value than a Web site.

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Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, cycling legend Lance Armstrong and several technology industry CEOs will discuss this week how Internet technologies can help solve global problems.

Now in its fifth year, Web 2.0 Summit will focus this time on using the Web to tackle major challenges in areas such as health care, climate change, politics and finance, according to event producers O’Reilly Media and TechWeb.

CEOs including Yahoo’s Jerry Yang, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Intel’s Paul Otellini and MySpace’s Chris DeWolfe will also participate in the conference, which runs from Wednesday to Friday in San Francisco.

Web 2.0 innovations such as blogs, wikis, social networks and syndicated feeds have hit the consumer and workplace mainstream, becoming an integral part of many people’s daily lives, so it’s natural to attempt to use them to tackle big problems, said industry analyst Charlene Li.

“Web 2.0 isn’t just an isolated technology. Web 2.0 changes relationships and the way people communicate, and because of that, it also changes the way we approach problem-solving, too,” said Li, founder of Altimeter Group, a provider of speaking and consulting services around emerging and social technologies.

Because a common thread in Web 2.0 is harnessing the wisdom of crowds and promoting widespread collaboration, these technologies and services lend themselves naturally to addressing large, complex problems that defy simple solutions, she said.

“Simple problems can be dealt with by two people in one organization. They can come up with a decision and make it work. But these problems, like climate change and health care, are so complex that you need a lot of different people in multiple places all contributing to the solution,” Li said.

The event, of course, will also touch on the Internet business and serve as a place for attendees to network and seek customers and providers. That’s what motivated Mike Trotzke to make the trip from Bloomington, Indiana.

Trotzke and his partners sold their company, Resite Information Technology, about 18 months ago, and in recent months have started building a new one called SproutBox, which is expected to launch in February or March of next year.

SproutBox will invest in technology startups, but with a twist: Instead of investing just cash, it will provide a slate of services, such as software development, accounting and human resources, in exchange for stakes in the companies. “Most of our investments will be in the Web-based, software-as-a-service [SaaS] space,” Trotzke said.

During his “scouting mission” to Web 2.0 Summit, Trotzke hopes to contact entrepreneurs who might be interested in SproutBox’s help; learn about the latest trends in venture capital and Web startups; and identify possible marketing and public relations consultants to represent his company.

Other speakers include Larry Brilliant, the executive director of Google.org, the search-engine giant’s philanthropic arm, and Shai Agassi, the former SAP president of products and technology who founded and heads electric-car company Better Place.

Also on hand will be Edgar Bronfman, the CEO of Warner Music, who will share the stage with MySpace’s DeWolfe to talk about the music industry’s future.

New York Magazine’s contributing editor, John Heilemann, will moderate a panel about the Web and politics with participants including Arianna Huffington from The Huffington Post and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

There will also be panels about technology hot topics such as cloud computing, SaaS, Web application development platforms and mobile Internet services.

As in previous years, John Battelle, chairman of Federated Media Publishing, will act as program chair and interview most of the keynote speakers on stage.

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The Carella Company, one of New Hampshire’s leading full-service marketing firms, has hired P.J. Gruen as a web developer.

With more than 20 years experience in the high tech industry, Gruen’s background includes significant work in the areas of web, product and business development, strategic account, product and program management, as well as graphic production.

“This is a position of great responsibility and depth and we needed someone able to develop dynamic websites and custom web applications,” said Mike Carella, vice president of The Carella Company. “After conducting an exhaustive search, P.J. was the one person whose personality and skillset exceeded our expectations.”

Gruen’s prior professional experience includes working as a software consultant for Joppa Software Systems of Methuen, Mass., and as a web developer with WebED, Inc., of Hampton.

“The marketing industry is undergoing many changes and The Carella Company is at the cutting edge so it’s an exciting environment to be working in,” Gruen said. “I look forward to collaborating with a talented team and accomplishing great things.”

The Carella Company offers its clients a full roster of agency services including marketing, advertising, web development and design, and public relations. The Carella Company has been serving a diverse portfolio of national, regional and local clients in industries ranging from hospitality and specialty foods to life sciences and outdoor power equipment for nearly 20 years.

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