A Langley mushroom composting company has been fined $350,000 following the deaths of three employees and the permanent disability of two others. Sent into a shed to fix a clogged water pipe, two workers noticed a strange smell before succumbing to oxygen deprivation and toxic gas. Four others who attempted rescue were also afflicted before emergency crews arrived.

Marpole the next Yaletown? The Courier asks. A catchy headline, sure, but not quite. A new Safeway and three condo towers does not a Yaletown make. But don’t fret – it’s a start.

Downtown, meanwhile, Telus plans to build an iconic new office building with construction to start February. The Telus Garden Building will be the first substantial office construction in downtown Vancouver since 2007, following years of condominium development and a flight of commercial head offices out of the pricey core and into the suburbs.

Hospitals throughout Metro Vancouver are locking up hand sanitizer and switching to non-alcoholic brands following a recent spate of thefts of the ubiquitous dispensers, CBC reports. Dr. Douglas Mcbride, ER doctor at VGH, estimates hospitals in the Lower Mainland are seeing 1-2 cases a month where people have died from alcohol poisoning related to hand sanitizer, which can be as high as 70% alcohol.

BORED AT WORK BONUS: The battle of Cairo’s Muhammad Mahmoud Street

 

Image Credit: Matt Chambers