As the Vancouver Whitecaps get ready for their season opener this weekend, in Megaphone #74 we celebrate the team's ascension to Major League Soccer (the top professional soccer league in North America) by looking back at the sport's history in Vancouver.  

Soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it) has experienced ebbs and flows in popularity over the past four decades, with multiple teams playing in multiple leagues, each to varying degrees of success. But this newest iteration of the Whitecaps (and their impending move to a refurbished BC Place) may be the first step toward the sports' coming dominance in this city. 


In this issue we also write an open letter to newly appointed Premier Christy Clark, imploring to make sure her 'families first' agenda also helps the growing number of families in this province who are living in poverty; we look at the opening of a radical new alternative to university; look back at Gordon Campbell's environmental legacy; profile the upcoming Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted animation festival; and feature some powerful personal stories of pain and redemption from our community writing workshops.  
 

Please support our homeless and low-income vendors and buy a copy of this issue from them.