Bob Mackin
The seventh game on the seventh day of the seventh month. A scoreless draw through extra time, settled with penalty kicks. Switzerland beat Colombia in British Columbia.
Just like that, B.C. Place Stadium is finished hosting the FIFA World Cup. Gianni Infantino’s flying circus (co-starring Donald Trump) continues in the Excited States.
Among B.C.’s worries entering the June 13-July 7 period: labour unrest.
A worker deflates the larger-than-life Adidas Trionda FIFA World Cup ball outside the Concord Pacific sales centre near the B.C. Place Stadium security gates on July 7, 2026. (Mackin)
Vince Ready, B.C.’s Leo Messi of mediators, was called-in to prevent a strike by 9-1-1 dispatchers. Metro Vancouver bus drivers reached a new deal with Coast Mountain Bus Company.
Two-thirds of B.C. Nurses’ Union members turned down a contract offer on June 19. More than 98% of 50,850 members voted in favour of striking.
The first picket line? Outside the FIFA-designated hospital, Vancouver General, at 5:30 a.m. on July 7.
A statement attributed to Health Minister Josie Osborne said nobody should delay emergency or urgent care, because essential service levels are in place.
The Health Employers Association of B.C. and the Nurses’ Bargaining Association are scheduled to reopen talks.
“The best agreements are found at the bargaining table,” Osborne said.
“As with any large-scale event, we continue to monitor conditions closely and are prepared to respond appropriately should issues arise,” said the city’s FIFA host committee office.
Off air
Also on July 7, Rogers Communications suddenly shut down Vancouver radio stations News 1130 (CKWX) and Sportsnet 650 (C-ISL). Just a day after announcing a $4.35 billion deal to take full control of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
Quick history lesson. CKWX originated April 1, 1923 in Nanaimo as CFDC and became CKWX in 1927. Thirty-years later, it moved to 1130. Since 1996, a headline news and sports format, with “traffic and weather on the ones.”
AM 650’s call letters are C-ISL, because it also originated on an island: Richmond.
Fond memories: providing analysis for News 1130 on 2011 federal election night and, years earlier, working in the broadcast booth as a runner to support Ian Michaud and Neil Macrae during the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 1984 North American Soccer League season at B.C. Place.
Among my duties: delivering the audio tape of Macrae’s post-game interviews with coach Alan Hinton from the dressing room to the press box. When the B.C. Place elevator was out of service, I ran the ramps.
Around the Rim
Remember El Mencho, the Mexican cartel boss killed in the dramatic raid in February?
El Pais reported that his brother-in-law, Gerardo González Valencia, attended a 2014 FIFA World Cup semifinal in Brazil while American authorities were tracking his movements.
Gonzalez Valencia was posing as a businessman running convenience stores in South America.
“Seated close to the pitch at the Arena de São Paulo, the drug trafficker watched the dramatic match, which was decided on penalties. Lionel Messi and Argentina advanced to the final after defeating the Dutch.”
Gonzalez Valencia was arrested in Uruguay in 2016.
In Hong Kong, police arrested 125 in a crackdown on a triad-run lunchbox racket and illegal gambling dents.
The Hong Kong Free Press reported that a triad group hired workers to make 800 lunchboxes a day in a tin shed and sell them at construction sites in East Kowloon. Forty-four men and 72 women, aged 22 to 81, were arrested in raids on four illegal gambling dens.
You may have heard about Palm Beach Airport becoming Donald Trump Airport.
In central Japan, Noto Airport in Ishikawa Prefecture became Noto Satoyama Pokemon With You Airport, reported Kyodo News.
The Noto Peninsula suffered a devastating earthquake on New Year’s Day 2024.
Cascadia Calling
The June 2023 assassination of Sikh temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was ordered by gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar, according to the FBI in a July 7 announcement.
The Canadian Press’s Darryl Greer reports that two dozen people were arrested in Operation Hard Ball.
Three British Columbians were charged: Vancouver’s Ravinder Singh Dhanda, Surrey’s Jaskarn Baghr and Creston’s Gurtej Singh Smagh.
“Bishnoi gang funded its activities through drug trafficking, and in November 2024, Bishnoi and Brar oversaw the transportation of 49 kilograms of cocaine that was intercepted in California and was intended to be sent to Canada.”
Seattle is wondering what’s next, after hosting six FIFA World Cup matches at Lumen Field.
Though, it ended on a sour note when Belgium trounced the Stars and Stripes in a round of 16 match on the 6th of July.
Beth Knox, president and CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission, told the Seattle Times that she hopes FIFA will return in 2031 with the Women’s World Cup. The U.S. is in a joint bid with Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
One of Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds’s pet projects has disappeared in Portland.
The three-year-old Aviation Gin tasting room suddenly shut down, according to the Oregonian.
Parent company Diageo now owns Aviation Gin. The slumping company’s sales fell 15.4% during 2026’s first quarter.
Subscribe to theBreaker.news on Substack. Find out how: Click here.
