Three people were hurt in an early morning shooting in Gastown, on a weekend Vancouver Police warned about increased gang activity downtown.

The area around Richards and Water Streets is closed, and the VPD says it could stay that way for the next several hours.

The shooting happened inside the Waterfront transit station at about 2:15 a.m. One of the victims may have run down Water Street, which is why such a large area is closed.

Police issued a warning Friday to anyone thinking of heading into the entertainment district this weekend that there was a “high probability” of gang-related violence.

A man is recovering in hospital after he was stabbed at a Halloween party in Surrey. Mounties were called to 132nd Street and 107A Avenue just after midnight when a fight broke out.

Alcohol is believed to have fueled the fight. Police dogs helped track down a suspect who is in police custody.

Halloween weekend must feel like Christmas for one lucky lottery ticket holder in the Vancouver area.

There was one winner in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw and the winning ticket is worth a whopping $50 million. The ticket was sold in Vancouver, the B.C. Lottery Corp. said on its website Saturday morning.

In addition to the main prize, there were nine secondary draws of $1 million each. There were four winners in those draws, including one sold in Victoria, B.C. The other winners were in Ontario and Quebec.

Metro Vancouver residents are in for a tax hike following the regional district board’s approval on Friday of a 5.8-per-cent increase for next year’s operating budget.

The owner of an average $600,000 home will pay an additional $44 in Metro’s share of property taxes, for a total of $513.

The extra revenue of $33 million will bring 2011′s operating budget to $603.4 million. It will be used to pay for everything from sewers, water and garbage collection to parks, culture and improved air quality.

Burnaby mayor Don MacLean was disappointed the increase was approved, saying cuts should have been made in other areas first.

“I don’t believe we have eliminated all the waste from the budget,” he said Friday night.

“We have over $425,000 for international travel … and $100,000 for cultural grants. That’s not what we were hired to do.

“We have to stop these things that are nice to have but not necessary.”

The bigger budget will also include money to hire two dozen new staff members — a move questioned by some mayors and directors.

“We’re all between a rock and a hard place, yet we tend to take our foot off the gas when it comes to Metro governance; money isn’t so tight,” said Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan in an interview with The Sun on Wednesday.

“In my city, staff are very jealous when I say ‘no, no, no,’ [while] at the Metro level we’re dumping money off the back of a pickup truck.”

Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson had moved a motion to cap the increase at two per cent, however it was voted down on Friday.

The Uniformed Gang Task Force interrupted a meeting of seven well-known gangsters and associates — some of whom had loaded assault rifles — in a busy Vancouver park Wednesday afternoon.

The specialized anti-gang team came upon the group in Kensington Park, at 33rd Avenue and Knight Street, about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Sgt. Bill Whalen of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) said the task force has stepped up its patrols across Metro Vancouver because of increased gang violence in recent weeks.

“During this arrest, two assault rifles and one handgun were seized,” Whalen said.

Two Vancouver 26-year-olds — Pedram (Mike) Shirazi and Christopher Henry Iser — are each facing seven gun charges, including unauthorized possession of a firearm and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Both have long histories with police.

Iser was charged in Surrey in August with possession for the purpose of trafficking and was out on bail pending his next court appearance Nov. 9.

Shirazi was once an associate of Siavash and Sahand Askari, who arrived back in Vancouver this week from Iran. Siavash was arrested at Vancouver airport and charged after kicking a camera as a Vancouver Sun photographer took his picture.

He remained in custody pending his next court appearance Nov. 3.

Whalen said it was particularly disturbing that loaded guns were taken to a park frequented by young children and sports teams, and housing a community centre.

“This is a public park where families and children go to play, and the fact they are having a meeting there with loaded guns is completely unacceptable,” Whalen said.

The arrests come after a spate of shootings over the last two weeks, including the execution of longtime gangster Gurmit Singh Dhak at Metrotown.

GTF head Supt . Tom McCluskie said his gang unit recognizes there is much speculation, rumour and innuendo in the Metro Vancouver gang environment that has led to recent tensions and instability.

While overall gang crime has been down across the region this year, he said that “violence within the gang world can erupt at anytime.”

“This is what concerns us,” McCluskie said. “When these violent acts occur in public places, the potential for people to get caught up in the violence is real and that is unacceptable. We continue to send a clear message. We believe we know the identity of some of those involved in gang violence, and any attempt to continue with this mode of behaviour will be dealt with swiftly.”

McCluskie said Lower Mainland residents can be assured that police are concentrating all their resources on preventing violent crimes before they happen.

The Gang Task Force operates under the CFSEU, which is made up of municipal police and RCMP officers from across the province. CFSEU Chief Officer Doug Kiloh said police are pooling their resources and sharing intelligence like never before.

“Police partnerships and intelligence-sharing have never been more integrated and this has allowed us to focus on those who perpetrate violent acts in our communities,” Kiloh said.

“Because of this integration, we are better able to predict where a violent crime may occur and work proactively … to prevent it.”

A new poster campaign targeting gang lifestyles is set to hit high schools around Metro Vancouver.

The posters were created as part of a contest held by the Teens Against Gangs, a project sponsored by the region’s police gang task force, the Vancouver Sun and TransLink.

Three local high school students designed the winning posters.

“There are better ways to tell your parents you won’t be home for dinner,” reads one poster designed by Surrey student Douglas Scandrett.

“It has a picture of a newscast where a teen has recently been killed in gang violence,” Scandrett said, describing his poster at a news Vancouver conference Thursday. “And it symbolizes [that] there are other people in this world who care about you.”

For winner Krista Gibbard, hers is one small effort aimed at tackling a growing problem.

“This isn’t necessarily an intervention or enforcement,” said Gibbard. “We hope to be the prevention.”

Also at the news conference was former gang member James Coulter, who was one of the judges in the poster contest.

“I’m a firm believer in karma,” said Coulter. “I’ve done a lot of bad in this world. I’ve got the rest of my life to do good.”

A total of 50,000 posters will be distributed to Metro Vancouver schools.

A SkyTrain car emblazoned with the teens’ images is now on regular runs through the TransLink system.

The next phase of the Teens Against Gangs project will involve a contest for best video.

That campaign launches Nov. 16.

Fireworks fans may be able to reserve a prime beachfront spot at Vancouver‘s Celebration of Lights next summer — but it’ll cost them.

The cash-strapped organizers of the popular fireworks event want to add temporary pay-only bleacher seating for 1,000 people in the area just south of the English Bay Bathhouse building in an attempt to boost revenue and control seating on the waterfront. Access would be controlled by a single point of entry with admission by pre-purchased ticket only.

It’s not known at this point how much the reserved seating would cost.

More than a million visitors are estimated to attend the free annual Celebration of Lights, which has been held in English Bay for 20 years. But over the years, organizers have decried the increasing operating costs of the event and are trying to find others ways to get sponsorship and increase revenues.

Besides the pay-only seating, organizers want to add performance stages, a “family-zone” at Vanier Park, and multiple bicycle valet kiosks to reduce traffic congestion.

The Vancouver Park Board will consider the move Monday.

The Vancouver Convention Centre is only two years old, but it may need to be expanded in five years. The problem is the city is so popular with meeting organizers.

The Province newspaper reports by the end of this year, the facility will have hosted 25 conventions. Thirty-three events are already booked for next year.

If expansion plans start in five years, the new facility would be completed by 2020.

According to a unique study by the David Suzuki Foundation and Pacific Parklands Foundation.

The study examines benefits provided by nature across Metro Vancouver, such as filtering air and water or combating climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide.

Those benefits have a cash value of $5.4 billion annually, or about $2,462 per person, according to the report.

The report looks at Metro Vancouver’s forests, fields, wetlands, watersheds and other ecosystems, and estimates economic values for the benefits of those ecosystems.

Replacing natural resources such as wetlands with built substitutes like water-treatment plants can cost hundreds of millions of dollars while fulfilling only a fraction of the total benefits, said Nancy Olewiler, director of the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University.

David Suzuki Foundation science director Faisal Moola said the findings show the economic value of nature’s services must be tallied when managing urban growth.

“Nature provides these services for free, but the benefits can no longer be ignored,” said Moola. “This study shows that it is time to start accounting for the economic value of nature’s benefits in how we manage the growth of our towns and cities.”

The study also found that more than 1,300 hectares of rare wetlands have been lost in the last two decades, mostly through urban development. This represents a loss of more than $11 million in ecosystem services each year.

More information on house prices came out today. TeraNet says house prices in major metropolitan areas were up 0.2 per cent in August compared to July. But Vancouver‘s house prices actually fell 0.4 per cent in August. However prices are still above what they were a year ago in every city studied, with Vancouver prices up 11.8 per cent. The only city that had higher gains was Toronto.

With all the different statistics that come out it’s hard to know what’s happening, but so far there hasn’t been a major drop in house prices in Vancouver, despite talk for years about a housing bubble. Some people are still expecting one. But whether that’s going to happen or not we’ll only know in hindsight.

In the meantime, TD Economics provides some guidance. In a report out this morning TD said with the current sales to new listings ratio sitting at 0.5 the real estate market looks balanced. And if the recent trend of growth in sales and drop in listings continues, it should keep a floor under home prices going forward.

On the other side of the coin, the chance of price acceleration is limited since the economy is still slow and slowing, and everyone has too much debt already.

But, again only in hindsight will we know whether we have a bubble.

A proposed half-billion dollar 48-storey development called the Burrard Gateway could dramatically change Vancouver‘s skyline.

Jim Pattison Developments along with Reliance Properties are proposing a three tower residential development with the tallest tower standing at 466 feet. The whole development would feature close to 600 residential units and span 774,318 square feet on Burrard near Drake and Hornby streets.

Jon Stovell, president of Reliance Properties, said that the project is in its beginning stages.

“This site has been in discussion with the city of Vancouver for some time at the inquiry stage and now we are moving ahead with the formal application where we’ll be engaging the public,” he said.

The city says taller towers would not be built in areas that would impact public views of the mountains.

“What we’re exploring is opportunities for taller buildings across the downtown that are outside of the protecting view quotas,” city planner Kevin McNaney said.

City staff are gathering input that would be presented to city council later this year.

“Some of the areas right in the heart of the central business district we’re suggesting that a tower could be as high as 700 feet. The current higher building policy allows that to be 600 feet, so it’s a slight increase,” McNaney said.

Before the city makes its decision there will be open houses, a public hearing and a review by the city’s design panel. If approved, construction will begin within a year and take over four years to complete.