> A site similar to 12ft.io but is self hosted and works with websites that 12ft.io doesn't work with. > > > How does it work? > > It pretends to be GoogleBot (Google's web crawler) and gets the same content that google will get. Google gets the whole page so that the content of the article can be indexed properly and this takes advantage of that. link: https://github.com/wasi-master/13ft

> Dozens of former short-term rentals have gone up for sale since the ban was announced in October, and not one has sold --- > **This article is part of a national, multi-outlet investigation into Airbnb and other short-term rentals, and their impact on the housing crisis. Our reporting has driven policy change on both ends of the country, and your donations have made that possible. Thank you to everyone who has donated to support this important work.** > > **T**he open house is all set up, but nobody's coming. There’s plenty of foot traffic outside, but those are mostly Airbnb guests, wheeling bags in and out of the building, and they’re not here to buy a home — just to occupy one for a few days while they still can. > > In October, the B.C. government announced a ban on short-term rentals that are not in the owner’s principal residence. These units are the most troublesome, because they take housing off the market for long-term residents. > > The ban includes units like this one in downtown Victoria — condos that were previously grandfathered-in despite a ban introduced by the city in 2018. That “legal non-conforming” designation kept thousands of homes off the rental and condo market in Victoria alone, and by some estimates boosted their value by as much as $50,000 to 100,000 because of their substantial revenue-generating potential. Before the new legislation, that premium could be made back in a year or two — but now the clock is ticking down to May, when these condos’ ability to earn money as short-term rentals will evaporate. That’s leading to a rush of units hitting the market as owners try to get out of pricey investments that seem destined to plummet in value. > > So far, listing prices haven’t reflected this new reality. Hence the empty open house. > > “I think a lot of these owners are still in denial,” says real estate broker Dustin Miller. > > Not all, though. Miller started hearing from some Airbnb owners within minutes of the government’s announcement that it would severely restrict short-term rentals. > > “One of them decided to list right away — like, ‘Let’s get ahead of this, let’s sell,’” he recalls. read more: https://ricochet.media/en/4010/in-victoria-former-airbnbs-are-flooding-the-market-but-no-one-is-buying

> **This reporting is part of the Investigating Airbnb project, a crowdfunded, multi-outlet effort to track the impact of short-term rentals on the housing crisis in Canada. You can donate now to fund more journalism like this, read this story in French over at Pivot or watch our video report on The Real News Network in the United States.** link to pivot article (FR): https://pivot.quebec/2023/10/06/debusquer-les-airbnb-illegaux-incursion-sur-le-terrain/ > **I**t’s a sunny Friday afternoon on a nondescript Plateau street, and up a curving staircase an apartment door is left open to the Fall air. A half dozen blue recycling bags are piled on the porch, and the faint hum of a vacuum cleaner carries on the breeze. > > Downstairs, just a few paces down the sidewalk, Yves Essono is being fitted with a mic as he briefs the camera on what’s about to happen. With his new boss and the mayor’s press secretary looking on, he’s preparing to show the world what his job is all about. > > It’s just the second week in the field for Canada’s first dedicated squad of short-term rental inspectors — also known as Montreal’s new Airbnb police. And today, they’ll be hunting down illegal rentals with our camera crew in tow. > > Yves goes up the stairs alone, followed by the camera operator, who takes up a position against the wall next to the door. The rest of us look on from below. > > Performing unannounced compliance inspections on gray market ghost hotels is an inherently unpredictable endeavor, and no one really knows what to expect. Some of the largest networks bring in seven figures a year. That’s the kind of money that makes people do stupid things. > > Yves knocks on the door frame and calls out into the apartment. Inside, the sound of movement stops. read more: https://ricochet.media/en/3993/ride-along-montreal-launches-first-airbnb-enforcement-squad-in-north-america archive: https://archive.ph/laCTt

> Wab Kinew and the New Democratic Party take charge in Manitoba --- > A former rapper, on-air personality and bestselling author has been elected as Canada’s first-ever First Nations provincial premier in what was dubbed an Orange Wave with a sizeable turnout of young voters. > > The historic election Tuesday, Oct. 3, made Wab Kinew the first First Nations leader of a province, similar to a state governorship in the U.S., and gave the New Democratic Party a resounding victory and majority government. > > With his family by his side, the 41-year-old Kinew, Onigaming First Nation, spoke directly to Indigenous youth in the province after his victory became clear Tuesday night. Kinew had trouble with the law as a young man and had included misogynistic and anti-gay lyrics in his raps. > > “I want to speak to young Neechis in particular,” Kinew began, using the Ojibway word for “friend.” > > “I was given a second chance in life, and I would like to think that I've made good on that opportunity,” he said. “You can do the same. … My life became immeasurably better when I stopped making excuses and I started looking for a reason. And I found that reason in our family. I found that reason in our community. And I found that reason in our province and country.” > > The historic election day in Manitoba started with a spectacular storm with thunder and lightning that left thousands of residents without power across the province by 8:20 a.m. > > “Wow,” was a common refrain on social media as the election got underway. > > It may have been a sign of change, because the weather did not dampen voter turnout. The New Democratic Party won 34 seats and the incumbent Progressive Conservatives were reduced to 22 seats and the Liberals to just one. > > Kinew vowed to voters that he would deliver on the party’s main message to voters – to improve health care. > > “We're going to build new emergency rooms. We're going to build a new cancer care headquarters, where clinician researchers bring the best quality care to you, the people of Manitoba,” Kinew told his supporters. “And so for all the people out there who work in health care we need you — the nurses, the doctors, the health care professionals, the health care aides — to work with us to build something special here in the health care system in Manitoba.” > > Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged Kinew’s victory in a statement early Wednesday. > > “Last night, Manitobans elected their first First Nations premier – a historic win for Indigenous Peoples and for Canadians,” Trudeau said in the statement. “I look forward to working with Premier-designate Kinew and the provincial government to deliver results on the things that matter most to Manitobans. This includes making life more affordable for families, driving economic growth, advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, building more homes, faster, strengthening our universal health care system, and accelerating climate action while putting more money back in people’s pockets.” read more: https://ictnews.org/news/orange-wave-elects-canadas-first-ever-first-nations-provincial-premier