THE TALK OF THE TOWN

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What Do We Have For You This Month?

Welcome to “The Talk of The Town” for June, 2025. Click on the following links to find:

  • West End News & Notes: An update on the assault in Stanley Park, the West End makes a top-ten list, the litterbugs of the BMO Marathon, changes to the #23 Bus line, and a fond farewell.

  • Word On The Street: Who’s opening, who’s closing, and who’s on the move.

  • West End Moments: Our community has many talented photographers, and we share their images that capture our lives and time.

  • Hidden Treasure Hunt: Be the first to email us identifying the location of this West End “Hidden Treasure” and win your choice of a $50 coffee shop gift card.

  • West End Street & Lane Names: Vancouver’s streets and lanes each has their own history. Here’s the story of Barclay Street.

  • West End - Coal Harbour In The News: In case you missed anything, here are links to local news stories of interest to our community.

West End News & Notes

Repeat offender Hartley Ronald Duckhorn.

𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧

Following the alleged May 19 assault of a woman in a Stanley Park washroom, Hartley Ronald Duckhorn appeared in court May 23 for a bail hearing as he faces charges of the following criminal offences: assault by choking; unlawful confinement; sexual assault with a weapon; robbery; and uttering threat to cause death or bodily harm.

Wearing red prison sweats and a short mohawk haircut, Duckhorn appeared via video before Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Satinder Sidhu.

Duckhorn consented to remain in custody pending his next appearance on June 4. City

Police previously reported that a male suspect has been arrested and charged with multiple offences after a woman was allegedly attacked, robbed, and sexually assaulted by a stranger in a Stanley Park bathroom Monday, May 19.

Police responded shortly before 11 a.m. that day after a witness saw a suspicious man entering the women’s changing room near the Second Beach pool. When VPD officers arrived, they found a woman in her 40s who had been robbed and violently assaulted.

Officers located the suspect nearby and took him into custody. The victim received treatment at hospital.

According to police Duckhorn has a history of violent offences – including a conviction for a stranger sexual assault in Surrey five years ago.

Duckhorn pleaded guilty in February 2021 to sexual assault with a weapon, unlawful confinement, and robbery in the July 10, 2020 attack on a woman near the King George SkyTrain Station in Whalley.

our west end - home, sweet home (Shutterstock Photo)

WEST END MAKES THE LIST
Top Ten Vancouver Neighbourboods

A leading Canadian financial news and comparison site, money.ca, recently published it’s top-ten list of Vancouver neighbourghoods, with the West End in tenth place.

The list was compiled by freelance journalist Sandra MacGregor, who wrote: “The West End is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods and is bordered by downtown, iconic Stanley Park and English Bay. Here, you’ll find a mix of housing types, with the vast majority being apartments and high-rise condos. The West End is best known for its vibrant, inclusive community, including Western Canada’s largest LGBTQ2S+ population centred around Davie Village. Residents enjoy quiet, tree-lined streets, plenty of green spaces and easy access to beaches, the seawall and restaurants, pubs and shops.”

The statistics she shares regarding purchase and rental averages are revealing.

  • Key features: Western Canada’s largest LGBTQ2S+ community, lots of amenities, easy-going  vibe

  • Average median house price: $1.2 million

  • Average rental cost of a 1-bedroom apartment: $2,673

You can find the full list here.

GOOD NEWS FOR # 23 BUS RIDERS

Travel in and out of the West End just got a lot easier this summer!

Together with Translink, the City of Vancouver recently improved some roadways and bus stops to make room for standard-size buses on the #23 Route. The larger buses now have double the passenger capacity.

A new protected bike lane was added eastbound on Pacific Street between Thurlow and Jervis Streets, closing a gap in the AAA (all ages and abilities) network.

These changes increase access and safety for people taking transit, walking, biking, and rolling in the neighbourhood. Learn more here.

The BMO Marathon left the Stanley Park seawall in a mess.
(Clarence Chan/RUNVAN Photo)

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥-𝗕𝗨𝗚𝗦

With no apparent post-BMO Marathon clean-up along the Stanley Park Seawall, one man took it upon himself to collect hundreds of pieces of garbage left in the wake of 25,000+ race participants.

He rightly asks, do the organizers not have a responsibility to clean up after their event?

Watch the report here. We believe that the "Continue watchin only .." note is tongue-in-cheek.

IN MEMORIAM
BONNIE MACKENZIE Bonnie MacKenzie (Dec. 4, 1947 - April 16, 2025)

Bonnie MacKenzie, a retired executive from the Federal Public Service, was a popular and tireless community volunteer who served on several community not-for-profit boards, including: the West End Community Centre; The Opera Club; and Western Gold Theatre (WGT).

Bonnie MacKenzie.

She participated as the Community Representative on three Medical Research Ethics Boards: Providence Health Care; Coastal Health; and Fraser Health. She assisted Western Gold Theatre with Volunteer Coordination and Donor Participation.

Western Gold Theatre’s chairperson Donnie MacDonald said “WGT has been so fortunate to have had Bonnie on our Board for the past nine years. She always amazed me with her capacity to take on so much. Bottom line, she was a marvelous woman; as dry as the martinis she liked . . . and boy, could she order us around while making us laugh!”

Bonnie passed peacefully at about 11:15 on Thursday, April 16, 2025 surrounded by her family: sister Deb and her husband Brad and her son Cameron, her brother Bill and his wife Barb, and friends Robin, James, Joan and Gwen. She knew she was well loved and respected and thought highly of. So, raise a glass of your favourite tipple to our Bonnie (hers was a dry vodka martini with LOTS of olives or a margarita on the rocks with a salted rim).

Word On The Street

Hanif Ladha.

WELCOME HANIF LADHA
A New Executive Director at
St. Andrews-Wesley

Joining the team at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church in May as their new Executive Director, Operations, Hanif brings over 20 years of leadership experience across nonprofit, community, and faith-based organizations.

Most recently, he served as general manager of Fraser River Funeral Home, where he provided leadership to a multicultural religious organization, managing complex operations while honoring deep cultural and spiritual traditions. He has also held leadership roles with the Immigrant Employment Council of BC, where he built strong relationships with businesses, nonprofits, and government partners to support equity and inclusion in the workplace. His work with Indigenous governments and social housing initiatives speaks to his commitment to reconciliation and social impact.

Welcome to the West End - Coal Harbour community Hanif!

The Abasa optical family and team (from left) Adam Mawji, his mother Anar Mawji, and adam’s sister Raisa. (Brian Keith Smith Photo)

ABASA OPTICAL
New Location, Same Great Service

It was 35 years ago this May that Abasa Optical opened its doors on Davie, across the tiny courtyard from The Basic (Joe’s Grill).

It wasn’t what they’d planned or hoped for, but last month the family firm marked this anniversary by moving across the street to 1060 Davie, former home of a longtime tanning salon.

The reason for the move was that their lease had expired and plans were afoot for a chain restaurant, Chippotle, to take over the premises and that of the computer repair shop next door. Chippotle has not yet responded to inquiries.

The Abasa team were recently joined by optometrist Dr. F. Sarah Ye, replacing Dr. Hetul Modi.

The name Abasa has a double meaning for the family - it is an acronym incorporating all the family first name initials, and is also an imporant name from the eighth Sutra of the Qur’an.

The beautifully designed interior of the new, much smaller premises manages to be both cozy and modern at the same time. There’s no awning out front as yet (it’s coming) but there’s enough signage in the window and sandwich board to ensure that long-time and new clients can easily find them.

You can find The West End Journal’s 2023 “Business Spotlight” on Abasa here to learn more about this all-in-the-family West End business.

Frank Chen of Denman CleanTec.

DENMAN CLEANTEC
A Change of Management

Meet Frank Chen, the new manager at the family-run dry cleaners, Denman Cleantec.

Formerly working with Uni Uni, an e-commerce logistics firm, Frank’s family decided that having a small family-owned business was the way to go, and after two months training with the previous owners they were ready to go. So far, it’s been been an exciting and rewarding experience.

Longtime clients of Cleantec will be pleased to know that well-known and highly regarded seamstress Nancy Li will continue to be at her sewing machine most Tuesdays and Fridays, depending on demand.

Welcome to the neighbourhood!

West End Moments

Our community is blessed with many avid photographers, documenting moments that alarm, amuse, and inform. Click on each photo to see the story. Send your latest photos to editor@thewestendjournal.ca.

Hidden Treasure Hunt

Tell Us where to find this!

IDENTIFY THIS PHOTO
And Win A $50 Coffee Shop Gift Card

WE HAVE A WINNER! Within three hours of the launch of this month’s issue we received a correct answer. Several other responses followed. Thank you all for reading The West End Journal!

(click image to enlarge)

The first reader to contact editor@thewestendjournal.ca and correctly identify the location of this image will win a $50 gift card to their choice of Blenz, Delaney’s, Melriche’s, Waves, J.J. Bean, or Greenhorn Cafe.

So if you recognize this unique piece of art write in now! Only the winning response will be notified.

The answer, and the clue to the next contest, will appear in our June issue.

A HIDDEN TREASURE ON ALBERNI, BETWEEN GILFORD AND CHILCO.

LAST MONTH’S WINNER!
Congratulations Chris Chan

Chris Chan correctly identified last month’s Hidden Treasure, the fountain in this photo …. or one of two on Alberni between 1945 and 1935 and between 1955 and 1965 — with mirror images on West Georgia.

West End Street & Lane Names

West End street names were established when Lauchlan Hamilton laid out the street grid in the late 1800s, and — while some are contemporarily contentious — they have remained. In 2017 the City started naming eight of the lane ways that run east and west through the West End.

Captain Charles Barkley.

BARCLAY STREET
We Spelled It Wrong!

Barclay, as in the street, the manor, and the square found in Vancouver, is a misspelling of the last name of Captain Charles Barkley (1759 - 1832), an English-born maritime fur trader who named Barkley Sound after himself in 1787 when exploring the region in the Imperial Eagle, a British ship sailing under the Austrian flag. 

The misspelling of "Barclay Sound" on Vancouver Island was due to an error on early Admiralty charts, which arose from a mistake from Land District records in 1859 by the government agent William Eddy Banfield who issued certificates identifying the "Barclay Land District." The name of the sound was corrected in 1904. Ironically, Banfield’s own name was misspelled in the name of the Vancouver Island town of Bamfield, an error that persists to this day.

Barkley’s 17-year-old wife Frances, who accompanied him on the voyage, was the first white woman to see British Columbia. Learn more about Captain Barkley here.

West End - Coal Harbour In The News

Here’s your monthly roundup of local and regional news stories about the West End - Coal Harbour community.

SUPPORT YOUR WEST END - COAL HARBOUR COMMUNITY MEDIA

The West End Journal, including “The Talk of The Town”, is made possible by local advertising and monthly contributions from our Faithful Readers Circle. If you would like to support your community media, please visit our fundraising site here to contribute any amount from $5 a month up.

If you have a business in the West End / Coal Harbour neighbourhood, check out our advertising rates and information page here.

Thank you!
Kevin Dale McKeown
Editor & Publisher
editor@thewestendjournal.ca