As we ease our way back into the blogging routine, we turn to our Podunkian Brunch feature to help get things back on track.
With a bit of time on our hands we found a few items of interest for your Sunday morning browsing adventures.
Mother Nature has chosen to once again remind us mere mortals as to the power of her desires, the Volcanic activity moving from Iceland confirmation that when Mama gets angry, we need to take heed.
The travel chaos of Europe is slowly moving away from the thoughts of inconvenience to the more worrisome concerns over long term effects over global trade and commerce as flight after flight shows up on the cancelled board. The BBC provides us with the economic and social fallout of the er, ash fallout, while Salon offers up an interesting look at what makes up a subglacial volcano and what the stages of development are.
Mother Jones gives us an interesting look at what may be the next response of Mexican officials in their ongoing battle with the drug cartels, it seems that those with illegal activity on their minds are making rather successful use of such social media outlets as Twitter and Facebook, so in the quest for safer streets and incarcerated drug dealers it appears that a ban on Facebook and Twitter may soon be on the agenda in Mexico.
Housing the homeless is on the agenda at the Tyee, which features the latest thoughts on housing from the Architecture For Humanity's housing challenge, which provides some creative ideas on addressing one of British Columbia's largest social issues.
The NHL playoffs are well under way now as sixteen of the NHL's lodge members continue on with their quest for Lord Stanley's drinking mug, it's that time of year where everyone and their dog seems to trot out some kind of hockey sweater to wear around town, Canucks, Canadiens, Bruins, or Leafs, ooops sorry Leaf fans, my mistake. At any rate, you can find someone somewhere modelling some rather colourful sportswear, though thanks to the Puck Daddy blogsite, we found that the uniquely Canadian fashion accessory can be found in some places that we suspect one wouldn't expect to find one. The Ottawa Citizen originally posted the report and with it a gallery of snapshots of the NHL brand afar, hopefully they keep the article away from Gary Bettman, lest the next NHL franchise be offered up to the Ganta Generals, a war torn city with a rather violent tendency, then again they do play games in a rather tough section of Chicago, so who knows it may all be good.
Former Premier Bill Vander Zalm continues to get under the skin of the British Columbia Liberals, as he continues on with his province wide campaign to thwart the Liberals introduction of a Harmonized Sales Tax, The Province's Michael Smyth outlines how his latest quest to force the government to outline for the public the entire list of services and goods that will be taxed, with the Liberal's apparently slow on delivery, Smyth provides his thumbnail guide of the gouging to come.
We'll confess to not following the path of American Idol over the years, whether it be the stars to be, the snarky or sweet judging panelists or the boyish hosts of the program, so we really have no idea who Brian Dunkleman was. A former host of American Idol who quit the program after year one, he apparently became an important aspect of pop culture this week past when current host of Idol, Ryan Seacrest made a rather mean spirited joke in reference to the original co-host of the program. With Mr. Dunkleman seemingly back in the public eye, he's making the best of his next fifteen minutes of fame, by flogging a rather creative attempt to gain himself a television program. With an unexpected plug from Seacrest, all be it in a rather rude fashion, Dunkleman may yet get to join the likes of Jon and Kate and the gang from the Jersey Shore, as they compete for your viewing time on your televisions or computers.
Speaking of television, Conan O'Brien shared his good news this week that he's destined for television once again, his exile thanks to NBC (and its millions in send off dollars) to come to an end in the fall when he joins TBS in the US where the Conan O'Brien show will rise once again, the National Lampoon website makes sense of it all for us.
From the Podcast Directory this week a nudge towards the MSNBC nightly offerings of Keith Olbermann, who holds court on the cable news networks digital projections every night at 5 pm Pacific, he offers an anti dote to the right spectrum agenda of the "fair and balanced" Fox productions, though his critics suggest that he's just as vitriolic in his views from the progressives. Seemingly a sworn enemy of the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and Bill O'Reilly, Olbermann frequently kicks them in the shins with his nightly feature, the Worst Person in the World, you can stop in for a sample through iTunes store.
And Sunday is Juno night in Canada, as Newfoundland hosts the royalty of Canadian music in the nationally televised awards show on CTV . Though Newfoundland it seems is playing havoc with the show's line up as fog settled over St. John's, leaving more than a few of Canada's stars to cool their heels across the nation as they awaited a landing time in the capital. If they do indeed arrive they may wonder if they'll ever get out, with Iceland's volcanic ash spreading across the northern hemisphere, they may have much more to worry about by departure time on Monday rolls around. If however they have to stay a little longer in the province they'll surely have an enjoyable time, the hospitality of St. John's is legendary as are the parties. To help set the mood for Newfoundland's moment in the Juno spotlight, here's a sample of one of their most prized musical exports, Great Big Sea.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
So, anything happen while I was away?
The more faithful of reader of the blog will have noticed a lack of original material in the last ten days or so, we took a little sabbatical from the Chronicles of Podunk for a bit, tied in nicely with a trip away from our little corner of the province.
But alas all good times must come to an end and here we are, slightly refreshed and trying to catch up on what seems like a rather hectic bit of activity in the news cycle of Podunk over the last ten days.
As we ease our way back into our blogging routine we'll endeavour to get up to speed on the many developments, provide some archival material from the daily Podunk Masthead sessions and offer up our look at the events of our absence.
We Thank those that took the time to inquire on the podunkcan@yahoo.ca mail server as to the nature of our disappearance, always nice to be noticed and as things turned out a little missed. Hopefully we'll get back ino the swing of things quickly and offer up some noteworthy items for our more dedicated readers.
It may take a few days to get things back into a groove, but we'll endeavour to be on track of events sooner rather than later.
But alas all good times must come to an end and here we are, slightly refreshed and trying to catch up on what seems like a rather hectic bit of activity in the news cycle of Podunk over the last ten days.
As we ease our way back into our blogging routine we'll endeavour to get up to speed on the many developments, provide some archival material from the daily Podunk Masthead sessions and offer up our look at the events of our absence.
We Thank those that took the time to inquire on the podunkcan@yahoo.ca mail server as to the nature of our disappearance, always nice to be noticed and as things turned out a little missed. Hopefully we'll get back ino the swing of things quickly and offer up some noteworthy items for our more dedicated readers.
It may take a few days to get things back into a groove, but we'll endeavour to be on track of events sooner rather than later.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Podunk Below the Masthead (Thursday, April 8, 2010)
The fight against the HST has its local launch, New mortgage rules leave some would be home owners confused and the Mayor outlines his recent efforts in the Community to Community sessions, some of the items from the Thursday newsfiles.
Daily News, front page headline story
PRINCE RUPERT COMMUNITY MEMBERS PETITIONING AGAINST HST -- The push against Gordon Campbell's plans to introduce the Harmonized Sales Tax in British Columbia has begun, as a number of Prince Rupert residents have taken on the challenge of the petition process required to try and stop its implementation. Locally petitions can be found at the Fisherman's Hall, King Coin Laundry and the Third Avenue Coffee Shop. As we outlined on the blog on Tuesday, the province wide campaign against the HST is being led by former Premier Bill Vander Zalm, who launched the petition drive in Gordon Campbell's home riding.
New mortgage rules will come into effect on April 19th and local real estate agents and bankers are finding that the new rules are proving confusing for would be home buyers, who are trying to determine what kind of mortgage they can now gain access to depending on what kind of property they are purchasing, whether for personal living requirements or investment potential
The Mayor provided the Daily News with the results of the latest Community to Community Forum, which took place last week in Prince Rupert and Kitkatla. The Northern View's report on the sessions was posted to their website on Tuesday.
The Sports section featured a preview of the weekend basketball tournament in Kitamaat, the sixth annual edition of the tournament which features games both in Kitmat and Kitamaat village.
(Daily News Archives for April 8, 2010 )
Prince Rupert community members petitioning against HST
Clarification of new mortgage rules
Mayor reflects on latest Community-to-Community Forum
The Northern View
Northern Health urges vigilance as the number of measles cases in B.C. grows -- With 26 cases of measles reported in the Lower Mainland and Interior, Northern Health issues a warning to be vigilant of any indications of the illness in the northwest (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News
Lax Kw' alaams School Bookkeeper Charges -- CFTK TV catches up to the Lax Kw'alaams story with some background on the process that led to charges being put forward (see article here)
CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
Escort Fort Nelson-- Details on potential changes to a bylaw that could see escort services set up in the Northeastern BC city (listen to interview here)
Daybreak North is only posting selected items on their website now. The most recently posted items can be found on the archive page for Daybreak North click here
Daily News, front page, headline story
Prince Rupert community members petitioning against HST
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Gina Clark of Prince Rupert is the regional captain for the Fight The HST campaign that kicked off across the province on April 6.
“Twenty-four people have signed up in Prince Rupert and three on Haida Gwaii,” Clark said Wednesday at the Fishermen’s Hall.
On Wednesday Clark and some other volunteers put together petition packages for local volunteers and were going to distribute them later that day. And according to Clark, people can still register with Elections BC to be canvassers.
“They can sign up until the last day, July 5, to be canvassers,” she said.
Pretty early into the campaign Clark registered to be regional captain.
“I don’t want the HST because it’s going to hurt the people in the lowest income bracket.” Clark works part-time as a reporter for the Northern View, but has been looking for more work opportunities. Fellow canvasser, Andrew Laforest, is also looking for employment. “I don’t think we need the HST,” Laforest commented.
Petitions are located in King Coin Laundry, at the Fishermen’s Hall and at Third Avenue Coffee Shop.
North Coast MLA Gary Coons is registered as a canvasser. “MLAs can participate, but we have to do the petitioning on our own time,” Coons said.
A pamphlet contained in the canvassing package states that nearly a quarter of all goods and services in B.C. will be hit by the HST.
“The HST will lead to job losses and many small businesses will be forced to close! The HST will increase the costs of sports, recreation and entertainment for everyone! Your hard earned dollar won’t go as far!,” notes the pamphlet.
Included in a list of things the HST will be charged on are school supplies, household maintenance, electricity and natural gas. Even membership for clubs, gyms and player fees for team sports are on the list.
Already the petition at the Fishermen’s Hall has two filled pages and the one at King Coin Laundromat has a couple.
“I’m worried about small business being hit hard. Sure the tenant might not be affected, but the landlord definitely will be impacted by the seven percent that’s going to be gone. It’s tough enough as it is already. People don’t realize, even gas is going to go up seven percent,” said Joe Gaber of King Coin. “It’s a long list and it’s scary,” he added.
The provincial government, however, says that while the tax may be unpopular with many, fear mongering has led to confusion about how it will affect consumers.
Peace River North MLA Pat Pimm said he understands some of the frustration people are feeling.
“I totally understand that and in fairness, I think there were a lot of people that were caught off guard.”
He said communication of the benefits of the tax could have been done more effectively.
“That is one of the biggest problems with the HST or any new tax, is trying to get the information out and we can probably all agree that the information didn’t roll out with this announcement quite as quickly as it should have, so that is part of my program for the next little while.”
Pimm said individuals earning less than $20,000 per year and single mothers making less than $25,000 annually will actually benefit from the new regime, and that some of the fear mongering about huge increases in some areas are unfounded.
“Not everybody is going to like it, that is a fact, but I think that the more people know about it and when they understand that there has been a lot of fear factoring going on, that will help alleviate a lot of people’s minds.”
He acknowledged that someone in a similar financial situation to his own will pay more.
“I ran my own numbers and I don’t deprive myself of virtually anything. I go to restaurants. I have golf and curling memberships and all that kind of stuff that more HST will be paid on. For me, it is somewhere between $600 and $800 per year that it is going to cost me extra.”
Pimm said competitiveness with Alberta businesses would not be affected by the HST.
“I personally don’t see that as a big change, maybe it will happen, time will tell, but I just don’t see that as a major change. For our area and our small businesses, there are a lot of positives that go along with the HST and once people get past the fear and how things were rolled out, I think HST is the best tax, it is a lot better than the PST ever was,” said Pimm.
According to a press release, Bill Vander Zalm’s Fight HST Citizen Initiative petition launch yesterday exceeded all expectations for first day sign ups.
Elections BC would only issue the petitions on April 6th, so the first day was spent madly rushing to print and get petitions into the hands of canvassers. However, despite the challenges, thousands of signatures were gathered at several locations throughout the province, with Ft. St. John taking the prize with over 1,800 sign ups in one day – a new provincial record.
Alvin Stedel, Regional Organizer for The Peace, said they started at 8:00am yesterday and weren’t able to leave until 10:30pm when the deluge of voters slowed enough to do a final tally. They ended the day with a total of 1,820 signatures – over half the amount required for the North Peace’s overall petition target of 3,387 signatures representing 15% of registered voters there.
With files from Alaska Highway News
Daily News, front page headline story
PRINCE RUPERT COMMUNITY MEMBERS PETITIONING AGAINST HST -- The push against Gordon Campbell's plans to introduce the Harmonized Sales Tax in British Columbia has begun, as a number of Prince Rupert residents have taken on the challenge of the petition process required to try and stop its implementation. Locally petitions can be found at the Fisherman's Hall, King Coin Laundry and the Third Avenue Coffee Shop. As we outlined on the blog on Tuesday, the province wide campaign against the HST is being led by former Premier Bill Vander Zalm, who launched the petition drive in Gordon Campbell's home riding.
New mortgage rules will come into effect on April 19th and local real estate agents and bankers are finding that the new rules are proving confusing for would be home buyers, who are trying to determine what kind of mortgage they can now gain access to depending on what kind of property they are purchasing, whether for personal living requirements or investment potential
The Mayor provided the Daily News with the results of the latest Community to Community Forum, which took place last week in Prince Rupert and Kitkatla. The Northern View's report on the sessions was posted to their website on Tuesday.
The Sports section featured a preview of the weekend basketball tournament in Kitamaat, the sixth annual edition of the tournament which features games both in Kitmat and Kitamaat village.
(Daily News Archives for April 8, 2010 )
Prince Rupert community members petitioning against HST
Clarification of new mortgage rules
Mayor reflects on latest Community-to-Community Forum
The Northern View
Northern Health urges vigilance as the number of measles cases in B.C. grows -- With 26 cases of measles reported in the Lower Mainland and Interior, Northern Health issues a warning to be vigilant of any indications of the illness in the northwest (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News
Lax Kw' alaams School Bookkeeper Charges -- CFTK TV catches up to the Lax Kw'alaams story with some background on the process that led to charges being put forward (see article here)
CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
Escort Fort Nelson-- Details on potential changes to a bylaw that could see escort services set up in the Northeastern BC city (listen to interview here)
Daybreak North is only posting selected items on their website now. The most recently posted items can be found on the archive page for Daybreak North click here
Daily News, front page, headline story
Prince Rupert community members petitioning against HST
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Gina Clark of Prince Rupert is the regional captain for the Fight The HST campaign that kicked off across the province on April 6.
“Twenty-four people have signed up in Prince Rupert and three on Haida Gwaii,” Clark said Wednesday at the Fishermen’s Hall.
On Wednesday Clark and some other volunteers put together petition packages for local volunteers and were going to distribute them later that day. And according to Clark, people can still register with Elections BC to be canvassers.
“They can sign up until the last day, July 5, to be canvassers,” she said.
Pretty early into the campaign Clark registered to be regional captain.
“I don’t want the HST because it’s going to hurt the people in the lowest income bracket.” Clark works part-time as a reporter for the Northern View, but has been looking for more work opportunities. Fellow canvasser, Andrew Laforest, is also looking for employment. “I don’t think we need the HST,” Laforest commented.
Petitions are located in King Coin Laundry, at the Fishermen’s Hall and at Third Avenue Coffee Shop.
North Coast MLA Gary Coons is registered as a canvasser. “MLAs can participate, but we have to do the petitioning on our own time,” Coons said.
A pamphlet contained in the canvassing package states that nearly a quarter of all goods and services in B.C. will be hit by the HST.
“The HST will lead to job losses and many small businesses will be forced to close! The HST will increase the costs of sports, recreation and entertainment for everyone! Your hard earned dollar won’t go as far!,” notes the pamphlet.
Included in a list of things the HST will be charged on are school supplies, household maintenance, electricity and natural gas. Even membership for clubs, gyms and player fees for team sports are on the list.
Already the petition at the Fishermen’s Hall has two filled pages and the one at King Coin Laundromat has a couple.
“I’m worried about small business being hit hard. Sure the tenant might not be affected, but the landlord definitely will be impacted by the seven percent that’s going to be gone. It’s tough enough as it is already. People don’t realize, even gas is going to go up seven percent,” said Joe Gaber of King Coin. “It’s a long list and it’s scary,” he added.
The provincial government, however, says that while the tax may be unpopular with many, fear mongering has led to confusion about how it will affect consumers.
Peace River North MLA Pat Pimm said he understands some of the frustration people are feeling.
“I totally understand that and in fairness, I think there were a lot of people that were caught off guard.”
He said communication of the benefits of the tax could have been done more effectively.
“That is one of the biggest problems with the HST or any new tax, is trying to get the information out and we can probably all agree that the information didn’t roll out with this announcement quite as quickly as it should have, so that is part of my program for the next little while.”
Pimm said individuals earning less than $20,000 per year and single mothers making less than $25,000 annually will actually benefit from the new regime, and that some of the fear mongering about huge increases in some areas are unfounded.
“Not everybody is going to like it, that is a fact, but I think that the more people know about it and when they understand that there has been a lot of fear factoring going on, that will help alleviate a lot of people’s minds.”
He acknowledged that someone in a similar financial situation to his own will pay more.
“I ran my own numbers and I don’t deprive myself of virtually anything. I go to restaurants. I have golf and curling memberships and all that kind of stuff that more HST will be paid on. For me, it is somewhere between $600 and $800 per year that it is going to cost me extra.”
Pimm said competitiveness with Alberta businesses would not be affected by the HST.
“I personally don’t see that as a big change, maybe it will happen, time will tell, but I just don’t see that as a major change. For our area and our small businesses, there are a lot of positives that go along with the HST and once people get past the fear and how things were rolled out, I think HST is the best tax, it is a lot better than the PST ever was,” said Pimm.
According to a press release, Bill Vander Zalm’s Fight HST Citizen Initiative petition launch yesterday exceeded all expectations for first day sign ups.
Elections BC would only issue the petitions on April 6th, so the first day was spent madly rushing to print and get petitions into the hands of canvassers. However, despite the challenges, thousands of signatures were gathered at several locations throughout the province, with Ft. St. John taking the prize with over 1,800 sign ups in one day – a new provincial record.
Alvin Stedel, Regional Organizer for The Peace, said they started at 8:00am yesterday and weren’t able to leave until 10:30pm when the deluge of voters slowed enough to do a final tally. They ended the day with a total of 1,820 signatures – over half the amount required for the North Peace’s overall petition target of 3,387 signatures representing 15% of registered voters there.
With files from Alaska Highway News
It's the economy (Thursday, April 8, 2010)
The potential of the loonie, looking for the exit doors on Greece and China thinks the US is being unrealistic, some of the items of interest for Thursday.
Globe and Mail-- Housing market overheating: Royal LePage
Globe and Mail-- China reported close to yuan shift
Globe and Mail-- Why the Greek rescue isn’t going to plan
National Post-- Proposed Ontario changes hurt Shoppers
National Post-- Strong loonie may unlock new potential: report
National Post-- Greece plunges deeper into crisis, banks, euro hit
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. car dealers were among most pessimistic in 2009
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. tech firms ‘apply’ themselves to Apple’s iPad challenge
New York Times-- China Appears Set to Make Currency Policy More Flexible
New York Times-- Rubin and Prince Express Regrets in Citi’s Crisis
New York Times-- Stocks and Euro Struggle With Greek Debt
USA Today-- Geithner in China to smooth over relations
USA Today-- Initial jobless claims increase, continuing claims fall
Guardian UK online-- Investors rush to sell Greek bonds
Guardian UK online-- BA and Iberia sign merger agreement
Guardian UK online-- 'Tax on jobs' protest by business leaders is fooling no one
Times on line-- British petrol prices hit an all-time high
Times on line-- No, Gordon Brown, we have not been deceived
Telegraph online UK-- Greece debt fears hit fever pitch
Telegraph online UK-- A nasty surprise in next month's salary statement
Telegraph online UK-- Watch out for a double dip as prices at the pumps soar
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Almost 20,000 new jobs as Australia's unemployment rate holds steady
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Australian dollar is going places
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Response to tax review just the beginning
People's Daily-- Ministry: US expectations for yuan appreciation "unrealistic"
People's Daily-- Paulson bats for stronger ties between China, U.S.
China Daily-- Shanghai plans property tax: report
China Daily-- Cultural industries to get more financial support
Times of India-- High prices of milk, pulses push food inflation to 17.70%
Times of India-- Billionaires don't gain much: Premji's wealth rises; Singh, Mittal lose
Globe and Mail-- Housing market overheating: Royal LePage
Globe and Mail-- China reported close to yuan shift
Globe and Mail-- Why the Greek rescue isn’t going to plan
National Post-- Proposed Ontario changes hurt Shoppers
National Post-- Strong loonie may unlock new potential: report
National Post-- Greece plunges deeper into crisis, banks, euro hit
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. car dealers were among most pessimistic in 2009
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. tech firms ‘apply’ themselves to Apple’s iPad challenge
New York Times-- China Appears Set to Make Currency Policy More Flexible
New York Times-- Rubin and Prince Express Regrets in Citi’s Crisis
New York Times-- Stocks and Euro Struggle With Greek Debt
USA Today-- Geithner in China to smooth over relations
USA Today-- Initial jobless claims increase, continuing claims fall
Guardian UK online-- Investors rush to sell Greek bonds
Guardian UK online-- BA and Iberia sign merger agreement
Guardian UK online-- 'Tax on jobs' protest by business leaders is fooling no one
Times on line-- British petrol prices hit an all-time high
Times on line-- No, Gordon Brown, we have not been deceived
Telegraph online UK-- Greece debt fears hit fever pitch
Telegraph online UK-- A nasty surprise in next month's salary statement
Telegraph online UK-- Watch out for a double dip as prices at the pumps soar
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Almost 20,000 new jobs as Australia's unemployment rate holds steady
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Australian dollar is going places
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Response to tax review just the beginning
People's Daily-- Ministry: US expectations for yuan appreciation "unrealistic"
People's Daily-- Paulson bats for stronger ties between China, U.S.
China Daily-- Shanghai plans property tax: report
China Daily-- Cultural industries to get more financial support
Times of India-- High prices of milk, pulses push food inflation to 17.70%
Times of India-- Billionaires don't gain much: Premji's wealth rises; Singh, Mittal lose
Will the United States play hardball when it comes to the Port of Prince Rupert?
When it comes to the impact that Canadian ports are having on the port infrastructure of the United States, there may be some fast moving bean balls coming Canada's way in the near future.
Richard A. Lidinsky Jr. is the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission in the United States and it seems that the growing threat of Canadian ports and in particular the future expansion plans for the Port of Prince Rupert have been weighing on his mind of late.
Mr. Lidinsky recently addressed the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, a session which featured his delivery of an eleven page written testimonial review of the state of the American shipping industry and the work yet to be accomplished by his Maritime Commission.
Of interest to proponents of the Port of Prince Rupert and its expansion plans will be the last portion of page six, a section of his speech where Chairman Lidinsky outlines the concerns over what are called "Foreign Shipping Practices".
To that end he advises how the Commission is monitoring the diversion of U. S bound container cargo to Canadian ports and away from U S Ports, an issue which has become a major issue for the ports of Washington, Oregon and California.
His words to the House of Representatives Committee offer up an indication of what the future may hold for Canada and in particular for the Port of Prince Rupert, as it seeks to continue to grow its brand and increase its throughput into the heartland of America.
Two years ago, Canada opened a new container port in Prince Rupert , British Columbia. The Port of Prince Rupert, its vessel-operator customers, and the Canadian government have begun an advertising campaign promoting that Canadian port as the most efficient and cost effective gateway for cargo destined to the US Midwest and beyond. West coast ports in the United States are already feeling the impact of that diversion. Yet Canada has said they expect to multiply capacity at Prince Rupert from the roughly 265,000 TEU's that they received in 2009 to between 1.5 to 2 million TEU's by the end of 2010, and perhaps to 4 million TEU's by 2015. United States destined cargo moving through Canadian ports avoids both the U. S. harbour maintenance tax and parts of the US container security regime. We are consulting regularly with U. S. ports and examining the issue of potential unfair practices that would shift U. S. cargo from U. S. ports to Canada. We also have reached out to U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to discuss and address any potential security impacts.
It would seem that as the level of success that Canadian ports have moves forward at the expense of their counterparts below the 49th parallel, the prospect of protectionism will grow exponentially. In an era where the American economy is struggling, it probably wouldn't take to much to spur on the House of Representatives and the Senate to offer up some ideas as to how to remedy the situation.
The Chairman's interest in exploring potential unfair practices and security impacts does give one the impression that a chill could soon come to cross border container traffic if the push comes from American ports. What impact that might have on future development plans for the Port of Prince Rupert is one of those unknown questions at the moment.
Richard A. Lidinsky Jr. was nominated to his post by President Obama and confirmed as Chairman by the Senate in July of 2009, he will hold his current post until June 30, 2012, so his may be a name that Prince Rupertites hear much more of in the months and years to come.
We no doubt will know him when we see him, he'll be the guy coming to the plate carrying that big bat!
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
For Jack and Bill, there seems ill will and all of us are bystanders!
The back and forth bickering has played out over the last week with first Mr. Belsey taking the lead by questioning some of the city's approaches to the Watson Island file while the City fired back with a salvo of its own on Wednesday, with the subject of the city's rebuttal for the most part being Mr. Belsey.
Taking to task in a fashion, the former MLA who most recently introduced himself into the spitting match, with a review of his involvement in the Sun Wave issue.
As we reviewed on the blog back on March 15th, Mr. Belsey arrived back in town seeking out the Northern View in order to take the lead and perhaps gain the upper hand of the media agenda on the issue, all while the City sat rather quietly to the side on the topic, a not uncommon situation of late whenever the issue of Watson Island pops up.
In his role as the new point man for the Chinese landowners (or former landowners we guess to be correct) Mr. Belsey has issued his own call to action for the City to sit down and discuss things with his employers, who one gathers are willing to let bygones be bygones (not to mention past taxes owed)
Mr. Belsey's latest talking points came in a Daily News front page story on March 30th, which featured some interesting observations, including his determination that the City's asking price wasn't particularly realistic and offering up the rather long shot proposition that his employers, Sun Wave, may still have a future in the development of the Industrial site that once hosted the Skeena Pulp operations.
Mr. Belsey suggests that Sun Wave is looking at development in other parts of the province, but still has hopes for the Watson Island development based on the amount of money they have already invested there. A declaration that one imagines would find few fellow travellers among the local populace, who haven't seen much in the way of anything taking place since Sun Wave arrived on the scene and no doubt have little faith in the company any more.
And perhaps the final poke in the city's ribs that required a reply, was Mr. Belsey's explanation as to how he initiated the prospect of further discussions with the City, not by any formal approach through City Hall, but rather at a social event in the city where he told the Daily News that he "saw the mayor at the Community Foundation dinner and told him I was in town and I’ve talked to City councillors and local businesses” The Mayor dismissed that notion in that same article, indicating that he had no discussion on the issue at that event.
All of which leaves us to wonder if a casual mention before the main course is served, is any way to take care of perhaps the most important issue of the day in the city, we're not sure that the Sun Wave message, whatever it may be got through in that particular environment.
Here's how the Daily News relayed Mr. Belsey's thoughts on March 30th:
Bill Belsey, former Liberal North Coast MLA and a former manager at the pulp mill, is now working on behalf of Sun Wave and two other Chinese companies interested in B.C. investments.
From Vancouver, Belsey said it is also his understanding that all six proposals to purchase Watson Island were thrown out by the City.
“With all due respect to the City, they were looking for thirteen million and nobody believed that taxes are worth that. They were based on a value of sixty million - that of an operating pulp mill,” Belsey commented.
According to Belsey, he was hired by Sun Wave because of his past experience in Prince Rupert and with the pulp mill.
“They have hired me to work with legal counsel on the current court case between Sun Wave and the City.”
Another part of his job involves looking at possibilities in various aspects of fibre-related industries.
“Sun Wave is looking at development in other places, even Kitimat, but the company has invested quite a bit in Watson Island and is still interested in doing something there,” Belsey explained.
There has been speculation that Sun Wave is interested in dismantling the ‘B’ mill and taking it off the Watson Island site, but Belsey said that isn’t true.
“When I mentioned that to the Chinese they looked at me in disbelief and said, ‘that’s old technology’. They had talked about moving the digesters at one time, but realized the cost would be impossible. They have no intention of sending the mill elsewhere. I dare say there’s not much left there of value.”
When asked why Sun Wave had filed a claim against the City in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Belsey said the company felt it had run out of options. “If the City won’t talk to you, I guess it’s time to go another route.”
According to Belsey, in an interview with the Northern View, he had attempted to set up meetings with the City, but his initiations were not returned.
Upon subsequent questioning by the Daily News, Mayor Jack Mussallem had responded that neither he nor, as far as he was aware, city staff had been contacted by Belsey.
“I’ve never been approached by Bill Belsey to have a meeting. I saw him once in 2010 at a social function, but never discussed anything with him,” the Mayor said. Belsey, in turn, has confirmed that this had been his method of approach, “I saw the mayor at the Community Foundation dinner and told him I was in town and I’ve talked to City councillors and local businesses.”
Belsey maintains Sun Wave is still open to talking with the City.
“Our legal counsel has said we need to sit down as adults with the City and then call in our lawyers when we need them. [The City] knows we’re eager to talk and they are using a moronic cliché, ‘it’s in front of the courts’. It’s sad that the City is continuing to pay a burn rate of one hundred thousand dollars a month at the mill and nothing’s happening out there and now they’re paying a burn rate plus lawyers.”
With a long weekend to think over all of those helpful points, the City finally offered up a response to some of the more interesting of Mr. Belsey's offerings.
Wednesday April 7th's edition of the Daily News outlined the details of a press release issued on Tuesday by the city, which seems to dismiss much of Bill Belsey's contribution to the debate thus far and seems to drip in what appears to be sarcasm, as they ask "Should there really be anything of interest remaining for the City to negotiate or discuss with Sun Wave?”
The full blast of the release recounts the tale thus far at least as far as the Sun Wave aspect and Mr. Belsey's involvement in it is concerned, less instructive from it however, is any indication that the process of selling the land and removing the burden of the site from the city's bank account is any closer to resolution.
Though the Mayor himself offers up some no doubt inadvertant humour when he offers up the suggestion that "the residents of Prince Rupert may not be aware that Sun Wave has launched a legal action against the City challenging the 2009 tax sale.".
Oh no worries there Mr. Mayor, we suspect that everyone knows the torturous route this whole issue is taking.
City responds to comments from Sun Wave representative
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The City has issued a press release in response to comments made by Bill Belsey on behalf of Sun Wave.
Mayor Jack Musssallem said Tuesday that the City of Prince Rupert is still talking to proponents regarding the sale of Watson Island, but he was unwilling to comment on how things are progressing.
“We are still going with our decision to sell Watson Island,” the mayor said.“When we attain that resolve, then we will have something to say.”
Within minutes of making that statement, a press release arrived from the City regarding comments made by Bill Belsey, as spokesperson for Sun Wave Forest Products, in an article that ran in the Daily News on March 30, 2010.
The press release, dated April 6, 2010, reads as follows:
“Despite the comments in the Daily News on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 from Bill Belsey, Sun Wave Forest Products’ newest spokesperson, Prince Rupert City Council concluded the offer from Sun Wave Forest Products to re‐acquire Watson Island was inadequate and the offer was rejected on that basis. Other issues of significant concern to the City are as follows:
“The failure of Sun Wave to re‐open the mill, despite the significant City and employee contributions and efforts to make that happen, has been a huge disappointment to the people of Prince Rupert and the surrounding area.
“Sun Wave has failed to live up to most of its promises and obligations, contractual or otherwise, with the City. Case in point, Sun Wave had an agreement with the previous Mayor and Council to provide employment at the Watson Island facility in lieu of municipal taxes; the Council of the day even allowed a further one year extension on the tax exemption. Sun Wave failed to fulfilled their side of the bargain, despite all the concessions by others.
“Subsequently, Sun Wave had numerous opportunities to pay its outstanding property taxes – they didn’t see fit to do that to protect their property.
Sun Wave most recently had one year to redeem the property after they failed to pay their taxes and the property went to tax sale. Sun Wave elected not to pay the taxes and redeem their property.
“Sun Wave has left the City with a tremendous liability and created an enormous financial strain. Sun Wave also stated that if they could not pay the outstanding property taxes, interest and penalties, that they would facilitate a smooth transition for its employees to the City of Prince Rupert – they did not live up to that commitment either.Currently, Sun Wave has shown no interest in removing its equipment and substances, including chemicals, in an orderly fashion so that the City can move on with finding new opportunities for the property.
“This has created an additional and ongoing liability for the City and all its residents, who may end up having to bear the additional responsibility and associated costs.
“Interestingly, Sun Wave did pay the property taxes on one small piece of property on December 1, 2009, but not those for the mill – the property of greatest importance to the City and its taxpayers.
“Now Bill Belsey, the newest spokesman for Sun Wave, wants to talk on his client’s behalf.
The question must be asked, what is there to talk about after years of inactivity by Sun Wave?
“Sun Wave has no further legal rights to the whole of Watson Island, and has demonstrated no concern for the residents of Prince Rupert and the surrounding area.
“The City, its residents, and its neighbours, continue to watch with interest and concern, the aged condition of the two wood stave water lines that Sun Wave owns, and is not maintaining, and the potential liability that exists the length of those waterlines from Taylor Lake to Watson Island, especially adjacent Highway #16, should one or both of those waterlines fail.
“Finally Bill Belsey states, referring to Sun Wave Forest Prod,ucts, “together we still may assist the City in coming up with something positive for the area”. The residents of Prince Rupert may not be aware that Sun Wave has launched a legal action against the City challenging the 2009 tax sale, but only after Sun Wave failed to pay its property taxes and failed to redeem the property, and only after Sun Wave’s offer to purchase the property was rejected as inadequate.
“Should there really be anything of interest remaining for the City to negotiate or discuss with Sun Wave?”
The events of the last week or so, opens up the window a wee bit into the theatre of what has turned into a rather acrimonious twist in the long running Watson Island saga. Though as usual, when it comes to some cold hard facts about the future of the site, or where things stand at the moment we're left with little in the way of information.
In fact the entire situation is condensed into an ambiguous declaration of: “We are still going with our decision to sell Watson Island,” the mayor said.“When we attain that resolve, then we will have something to say.” Which is nice, but after almost seven months of this long running soap opera, perhaps the Mayors employers, the taxpayers and residents of the City, deserve just a little bit more.
So short of any tangible information about the fate of the albatross that continues to haunt the city's financials, we instead, get a distraction, the opportunity to stand to the side and watch everyone square off in the playground, taking part in a some kind of ritual dance of chest thumping as to who knows the best path out of this mess.
One only hopes that eventually some adults will come along and send everyone off to the corner (separate ones we imagine), maybe then, we'll get the answers that we really want to hear, with a lot less of the melodrama that seems to be the underlying theme of the day.
Podunk Below the Masthead (Wednesday, April 7, 2010)
The City offers up a response to Bill Belsey over Sun Wave, Real Estate numbers are released for Prince Rupert for the first quarter of 2010 and Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District gains approval from the province to run into deficit, some of the items of interest from the Wednesday news cycle.
Daily News, front page headline story
CITY RESPONDS TO COMMENTS FROM SUN WAVE REPRESENTATIVE -- The City offers up its interpretations of recent events on the Sun Wave File, responding to recent commentary by Bill Belsey, who is the apparent contact person now for the one time owners of the Watson Island pulp mill. Outlining the details of a press release issued by the city, the Daily provides the city's talking points on the controversial events surrounding the Sun Wave file, including some recent court filings by Sun Wave and a counter filing by the City.
Details on the charges of fraud facing a former Lax Kw'alaams Academy bookkeeper, the charges were the result of the investigation into financial concerns covering a two year period from 2006-2008. The details of the case were first outlined in the Northern View and the Vancouver Province on Tuesday.
Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District receives approval to continue on with some deficit financing for four years, as the Regional District arm of government continues to come to terms with the financial difficulties of its Islands Solid Waste Management system.
The Sports section featured a look at the half marathon set for this weekend, which will feature fifty participants for this years run.
(Daily News Archives for April 7, 2010)
City responds to comments from Sun Wave representative
Bookkeeper charged with fraud
SQCRD will maintain deficit
BC SPCA request funding assurance from City
Victory in the Battle of the Bands
The Northern View
Prince Rupert real estate numbers looking positive in first quarter -- The Northern View provides the latest statistics on real estate sales in the city as provided by the Northern BC Real Estate Board (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News
No items of Prince Rupert interest were posted to the CFTK website on Wednesday
CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
No new items were posted to the CBC website for Wednesday
Daybreak North is only posting selected items on their website now. The most recently posted items can be found on the archive page for Daybreak North click here
Daily News, front page, headline story
City responds to comments from Sun Wave representative
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The City has issued a press release in response to comments made by Bill Belsey on behalf of Sun Wave.
Mayor Jack Musssallem said Tuesday that the City of Prince Rupert is still talking to proponents regarding the sale of Watson Island, but he was unwilling to comment on how things are progressing.
“We are still going with our decision to sell Watson Island,” the mayor said.“When we attain that resolve, then we will have something to say.”
Within minutes of making that statement, a press release arrived from the City regarding comments made by Bill Belsey, as spokesperson for Sun Wave Forest Products, in an article that ran in the Daily News on March 30, 2010.
The press release, dated April 6, 2010, reads as follows:
“Despite the comments in the Daily News on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 from Bill Belsey, Sun Wave Forest Products’ newest spokesperson, Prince Rupert City Council concluded the offer from Sun Wave Forest Products to re‐acquire Watson Island was inadequate and the offer was rejected on that basis. Other issues of significant concern to the City are as follows:
“The failure of Sun Wave to re‐open the mill, despite the significant City and employee contributions and efforts to make that happen, has been a huge disappointment to the people of Prince Rupert and the surrounding area.
“Sun Wave has failed to live up to most of its promises and obligations, contractual or otherwise, with the City. Case in point, Sun Wave had an agreement with the previous Mayor and Council to provide employment at the Watson Island facility in lieu of municipal taxes; the Council of the day even allowed a further one year extension on the tax exemption. Sun Wave failed to fulfilled their side of the bargain, despite all the concessions by others.
“Subsequently, Sun Wave had numerous opportunities to pay its outstanding property taxes – they didn’t see fit to do that to protect their property.
Sun Wave most recently had one year to redeem the property after they failed to pay their taxes and the property went to tax sale. Sun Wave elected not to pay the taxes and redeem their property.
“Sun Wave has left the City with a tremendous liability and created an enormous financial strain. Sun Wave also stated that if they could not pay the outstanding property taxes, interest and penalties, that they would facilitate a smooth transition for its employees to the City of Prince Rupert – they did not live up to that commitment either.Currently, Sun Wave has shown no interest in removing its equipment and substances, including chemicals, in an orderly fashion so that the City can move on with finding new opportunities for the property.
“This has created an additional and ongoing liability for the City and all its residents, who may end up having to bear the additional responsibility and associated costs.
“Interestingly, Sun Wave did pay the property taxes on one small piece of property on December 1, 2009, but not those for the mill – the property of greatest importance to the City and its taxpayers.
“Now Bill Belsey, the newest spokesman for Sun Wave, wants to talk on his client’s behalf.
The question must be asked, what is there to talk about after years of inactivity by Sun Wave?
“Sun Wave has no further legal rights to the whole of Watson Island, and has demonstrated no concern for the residents of Prince Rupert and the surrounding area.
“The City, its residents, and its neighbours, continue to watch with interest and concern, the aged condition of the two wood stave water lines that Sun Wave owns, and is not maintaining, and the potential liability that exists the length of those waterlines from Taylor Lake to Watson Island, especially adjacent Highway #16, should one or both of those waterlines fail.
“Finally Bill Belsey states, referring to Sun Wave Forest Prod,ucts, “together we still may assist the City in coming up with something positive for the area”. The residents of Prince Rupert may not be aware that Sun Wave has launched a legal action against the City challenging the 2009 tax sale, but only after Sun Wave failed to pay its property taxes and failed to redeem the property, and only after Sun Wave’s offer to purchase the property was rejected as inadequate.
“Should there really be anything of interest remaining for the City to negotiate or discuss with Sun Wave?”
Daily News, front page headline story
CITY RESPONDS TO COMMENTS FROM SUN WAVE REPRESENTATIVE -- The City offers up its interpretations of recent events on the Sun Wave File, responding to recent commentary by Bill Belsey, who is the apparent contact person now for the one time owners of the Watson Island pulp mill. Outlining the details of a press release issued by the city, the Daily provides the city's talking points on the controversial events surrounding the Sun Wave file, including some recent court filings by Sun Wave and a counter filing by the City.
Details on the charges of fraud facing a former Lax Kw'alaams Academy bookkeeper, the charges were the result of the investigation into financial concerns covering a two year period from 2006-2008. The details of the case were first outlined in the Northern View and the Vancouver Province on Tuesday.
Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District receives approval to continue on with some deficit financing for four years, as the Regional District arm of government continues to come to terms with the financial difficulties of its Islands Solid Waste Management system.
The Sports section featured a look at the half marathon set for this weekend, which will feature fifty participants for this years run.
(Daily News Archives for April 7, 2010)
City responds to comments from Sun Wave representative
Bookkeeper charged with fraud
SQCRD will maintain deficit
BC SPCA request funding assurance from City
Victory in the Battle of the Bands
The Northern View
Prince Rupert real estate numbers looking positive in first quarter -- The Northern View provides the latest statistics on real estate sales in the city as provided by the Northern BC Real Estate Board (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News
No items of Prince Rupert interest were posted to the CFTK website on Wednesday
CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
No new items were posted to the CBC website for Wednesday
Daybreak North is only posting selected items on their website now. The most recently posted items can be found on the archive page for Daybreak North click here
Daily News, front page, headline story
City responds to comments from Sun Wave representative
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The City has issued a press release in response to comments made by Bill Belsey on behalf of Sun Wave.
Mayor Jack Musssallem said Tuesday that the City of Prince Rupert is still talking to proponents regarding the sale of Watson Island, but he was unwilling to comment on how things are progressing.
“We are still going with our decision to sell Watson Island,” the mayor said.“When we attain that resolve, then we will have something to say.”
Within minutes of making that statement, a press release arrived from the City regarding comments made by Bill Belsey, as spokesperson for Sun Wave Forest Products, in an article that ran in the Daily News on March 30, 2010.
The press release, dated April 6, 2010, reads as follows:
“Despite the comments in the Daily News on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 from Bill Belsey, Sun Wave Forest Products’ newest spokesperson, Prince Rupert City Council concluded the offer from Sun Wave Forest Products to re‐acquire Watson Island was inadequate and the offer was rejected on that basis. Other issues of significant concern to the City are as follows:
“The failure of Sun Wave to re‐open the mill, despite the significant City and employee contributions and efforts to make that happen, has been a huge disappointment to the people of Prince Rupert and the surrounding area.
“Sun Wave has failed to live up to most of its promises and obligations, contractual or otherwise, with the City. Case in point, Sun Wave had an agreement with the previous Mayor and Council to provide employment at the Watson Island facility in lieu of municipal taxes; the Council of the day even allowed a further one year extension on the tax exemption. Sun Wave failed to fulfilled their side of the bargain, despite all the concessions by others.
“Subsequently, Sun Wave had numerous opportunities to pay its outstanding property taxes – they didn’t see fit to do that to protect their property.
Sun Wave most recently had one year to redeem the property after they failed to pay their taxes and the property went to tax sale. Sun Wave elected not to pay the taxes and redeem their property.
“Sun Wave has left the City with a tremendous liability and created an enormous financial strain. Sun Wave also stated that if they could not pay the outstanding property taxes, interest and penalties, that they would facilitate a smooth transition for its employees to the City of Prince Rupert – they did not live up to that commitment either.Currently, Sun Wave has shown no interest in removing its equipment and substances, including chemicals, in an orderly fashion so that the City can move on with finding new opportunities for the property.
“This has created an additional and ongoing liability for the City and all its residents, who may end up having to bear the additional responsibility and associated costs.
“Interestingly, Sun Wave did pay the property taxes on one small piece of property on December 1, 2009, but not those for the mill – the property of greatest importance to the City and its taxpayers.
“Now Bill Belsey, the newest spokesman for Sun Wave, wants to talk on his client’s behalf.
The question must be asked, what is there to talk about after years of inactivity by Sun Wave?
“Sun Wave has no further legal rights to the whole of Watson Island, and has demonstrated no concern for the residents of Prince Rupert and the surrounding area.
“The City, its residents, and its neighbours, continue to watch with interest and concern, the aged condition of the two wood stave water lines that Sun Wave owns, and is not maintaining, and the potential liability that exists the length of those waterlines from Taylor Lake to Watson Island, especially adjacent Highway #16, should one or both of those waterlines fail.
“Finally Bill Belsey states, referring to Sun Wave Forest Prod,ucts, “together we still may assist the City in coming up with something positive for the area”. The residents of Prince Rupert may not be aware that Sun Wave has launched a legal action against the City challenging the 2009 tax sale, but only after Sun Wave failed to pay its property taxes and failed to redeem the property, and only after Sun Wave’s offer to purchase the property was rejected as inadequate.
“Should there really be anything of interest remaining for the City to negotiate or discuss with Sun Wave?”
It's the economy (Wednesday, April 7, 2010)
But what about the other 30 percent Al, Vancouver to lead the way for Canada and Gordon Brown's weak spot, some of the items of interest for Wednesday.
Globe and Mail-- Alan Greenspan at the Fed: ‘I was right 70% of the time'
Globe and Mail-- Canada's growth to lead G7: OECD
Globe and Mail-- Another brutal day for Greece
National Post-- Vancouver to lead economic growth in 2010
National Post-- Three options for Greece
National Post-- Parity time in Hawaii
Vancouver Sun-- Vancouver to lead economic growth in 2010
New York Times-- Greenspan Rejects Criticism of Policies at Hearing
New York Times-- Bernanke Says U.S. Must Choose a Fiscal Path
New York Times-- Debt Rising in Europe
USA Today-- Bernanke: Economy is growing but we aren't out of the woods yet
USA Today-- Geithner to visit Beijing amid currency dispute
Guardian UK online-- Blame Europe, former Federal Reserve boss tells US inquiry into financial crisis
Guardian UK online-- Goldman Sachs denies 'betting against clients'
Guardian Uk online-- Britain's economic recovery set to outstrip Japan, US and Germany
Times on line-- Economy must be handled with care
Times on line-- Tories accuse Gordon Brown of 'declaring war' on business
Telegraph UK online-- Fed boss Greenspan says no one saw the crisis coming. Really?
Telegraph UK online-- Petrol prices have reached a tipping point, so it's arrivederci to the Punto
Telegraph UK online-- General Election 2010: Record on economy is Gordon Brown's Achilles heel
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Fuel bill woe for airlines
Melbourne Herald Sun-- This is the boom behind the rate rise
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Australian Agricultural Co in turmoil as chairman quits
People's Daily-- Strong medicine is not the best economic remedy
People's Daily-- China to introduce resource tax at "proper" time: ministry
China Daily-- Chinese enterprises encouraged to set co-op zones in ASEAN
China Daily-- Geithner's report delay will pay dividends
Times of India-- Corporate fraud rising in India: KPMG
Times of India-- India, US launch financial partnership forum
Globe and Mail-- Alan Greenspan at the Fed: ‘I was right 70% of the time'
Globe and Mail-- Canada's growth to lead G7: OECD
Globe and Mail-- Another brutal day for Greece
National Post-- Vancouver to lead economic growth in 2010
National Post-- Three options for Greece
National Post-- Parity time in Hawaii
Vancouver Sun-- Vancouver to lead economic growth in 2010
New York Times-- Greenspan Rejects Criticism of Policies at Hearing
New York Times-- Bernanke Says U.S. Must Choose a Fiscal Path
New York Times-- Debt Rising in Europe
USA Today-- Bernanke: Economy is growing but we aren't out of the woods yet
USA Today-- Geithner to visit Beijing amid currency dispute
Guardian UK online-- Blame Europe, former Federal Reserve boss tells US inquiry into financial crisis
Guardian UK online-- Goldman Sachs denies 'betting against clients'
Guardian Uk online-- Britain's economic recovery set to outstrip Japan, US and Germany
Times on line-- Economy must be handled with care
Times on line-- Tories accuse Gordon Brown of 'declaring war' on business
Telegraph UK online-- Fed boss Greenspan says no one saw the crisis coming. Really?
Telegraph UK online-- Petrol prices have reached a tipping point, so it's arrivederci to the Punto
Telegraph UK online-- General Election 2010: Record on economy is Gordon Brown's Achilles heel
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Fuel bill woe for airlines
Melbourne Herald Sun-- This is the boom behind the rate rise
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Australian Agricultural Co in turmoil as chairman quits
People's Daily-- Strong medicine is not the best economic remedy
People's Daily-- China to introduce resource tax at "proper" time: ministry
China Daily-- Chinese enterprises encouraged to set co-op zones in ASEAN
China Daily-- Geithner's report delay will pay dividends
Times of India-- Corporate fraud rising in India: KPMG
Times of India-- India, US launch financial partnership forum
For the Great One, maybe it's a case of "once bitten, twice shy"
Word of the rumoured bid came about from Dallas with an article in the Dallas Observer, which had it that Grezkty apparently set to team up with Brett Hull and Mike Modano, as "serious bidders" in the chase for the Stars.
A team that has been shopped around by current owner Tom Hicks, currently in the midst of some financial troubles of his own has been investigating the possibility of selling the Stars a team which is apparently there for the taking and the right amount of zeroes at the end of a number.
The rumour of the Gretzky angle was quickly debunked by a number of sources including Modano who called it a bad fairy tale, though Modano himself is not averse to joining in with local investors in some capacity should he call it a career at the end of this season.
Darren Blake who is Gretzky's agent also poured cold water on the prospect of a Gretzky cash flow coming to Dallas, though Blake advises that Gretzky always is receiving potential offers for investment from many directions. Gretzky who has been left on the sidelines in the most recent discussions over the fate of the Phoenix Coyotes, is still waiting to be paid out for his past efforts in regard to that troubled franchise currently the ward of the NHL.
It's doubtful that he would have any plans to invest any more of his money in the NHL until Gary Bettman makes things right regarding his past experiences with NHL ownership and management, something we like to refer to as the Once Bitten, twice shy apporach to negotiations. However the current distance in rather cool relations between the two sides is leaving a rather large gap for the NHL when it comes to making use of one its most treasured assets, that being the reputation of the Great One and his legacy in the game.
At the moment he seems less than inclined to partake in much in the way of public events when it comes to the NHL, not even in the role of a greeter, let alone sink any more of his family funds into Mr. Bettman's casino.
One possible delightfully ironic bit of drama to come could be if the Coyotes are sold to Winnipeg interests and return to whence they came from, some of that potential purchase price out of Winnipeg could end up being used to provide Gretzky with that which he believes he is still entitled to.
Making for a situation where the city which he once tormented as a player, will in the end prove to provide him with his financial reward in his post playing days era, you just can't write a script better than that!
But that scenario seems less likely with each passing day as the seemingly never ending process of sorting out the Coyotes lumbers on in Arizona, all while Gretzky patiently waits to see if he's to be done right by.
Until then, we suspect he's keeping his wallet pretty close at hand and far away from those of his once fellow owners of the NHL.
This item first appeared on the HockeyNation blog
Charges laid in investigation into Lax Kw'alaams Academy book keeping
Three RCMP investigators worked on the case of an alleged payroll scam at Lax Kw'alaams Academy, the result of their efforts being a report forwarded to the Provincial Crown Council, which recommended criminal charges against a former employee of the independent school in the community.
Nicole Wesley, also known as Nicole Tait, turned herself over to authorities last year upon learning of their interest in her time at the Academy from August 2006 to October 2008.
The investigation which also relied on assistance from the RCMP's E Division offices, led to the charging of Ms. Wesley with the alleged fraud over 5,000 dollars, with the amount of 180,000 dollars reported as unaccounted for in the Academy's bookkeeping.
It's a sizeable amount of money for the school which serves 130 students in the community from grades K to 10 and has understandably left many in the community upset and angry with the situation.
The accused will make her first court appearance next month. Both the Northern View and The Vancouver Province were first out with the details posted to their websites on Tuesday.
.
The Northern View-- Former B.C. school bookkeeper charged with fraud
The Vancouver Province-- Ex-bookkeeper at native school charged with fraud over $5,000
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Podunk Below the Masthead (Tuesday, April 6, 2010)
Lax Kw'alaams looks at some more Rupert real estate, seeking an audience with the Dragons and bookkeeping irregularities uncovered at Lax Kw'alaams Academy some of the items from the Tuesday news files.
Daily News, Front page, headline story
DRAGONS' DEN HEARS PITCHES FROM TWELVE LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS -- Two visiting producers for CBC's Dragon's Den set up shop at the Crest last week examining the suitability of submissions of twelve Rupertites with dreams of a chance to audition their plans in front of the Television panel in Toronto. The producers are on a tour of 40 Canadian cities, hoping to line up the next big thing for the popular CBC program.If any of the Rupert dozen are to make the trek to the big city, they'll know within the next two weeks or so, the first of the tapings takes place April 22nd.
The Lax Kw'alaams Band council apparently has some more money to invest in the city, with the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District building on their radar for purchase. The building which is owned by the City of Prince Rupert is just the latest item on the Lax Kw'alaams check list as they continue to increase their share of the Prince Rupert economic scene.
The quest to bring to an end the era of open net fish farms on the north coast may get a boost from some interest from the United Kingdom. The T. Buck Suzuki foundation is using a report from the Salmon and Trout Association in the UK which outlines that organizations concerns over the impact of fish farms on the Wild Scottish Salmon fishery, ammunition that British Columbian's that are against the open net farming issue believe adds to their opposition to the practice in local waters.
The Sports page features a look at the upcoming golf season on the North coast and where things stand as we head into the golfing season.
(Daily News Archives for April 6, 2010)
Dragons’ Den hears pitches from twelve local entrepreneurs
PNCIMA process seeks feedback
Open net farms are more than a B.C. issue
SQRD building could be getting a new owner
The Northern View
Former B.C. school bookkeeper charged with fraud -- The Northern View examines the latest developments at Lax Kw'alaams Academy as fraud charges are brough forward against a former school bookkeeper at the Academy. (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News
Welding Equipment Stolen -- Prince Rupert RCMP are investigating a break in on George Hills Way which saw a number of welding related items stolen from the Delco branch in the city (see article here)
CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
No new items were posted to the CBC website for Tuesday
Daybreak North is only posting selected items on their website now. The most recently posted items can be found on the archive page for Daybreak North click here
Daily News, front page, headline story
Dragons’ Den hears pitches from twelve local entrepreneurs
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
When two producers from CBC Television’s Dragons’ Den were in Prince Rupert they heard 12 presentations from local entrepreneurs.
Half way through the afternoon, Molly Duigan and Colin Dawson said they weren’t being as ruthless as the Dragons, but were trying to prepare people so they can know what to expect if they make it to the show.
“We try to ask questions that people should expect from the dragons. They are going to ask tough questions,” Duigan said.
The two were particularly impressed with a presentation made by Justine Crawford of Cassiar Cannery, who pitched a new type of container for purified water.
“She’s very unique because part of her plan is to rejuvenate the whole community really by converting her property at the cannery to a water facility and create jobs for local people. It’s a cool picture. It’s not just about her making a buck off a product, she’s trying to give life to the community as well,” said Duigan.
They said they also saw a couple of “concepts-only” presentations, which are always difficult to pitch.
“Now that we’re going into the sixth season of Dragons’ Den, it’s hard to sell an idea in the den. We are still looking for the next million-dollar idea, but it’s a tough sell. The dragons like to put money into an idea and get money back,” Duigan commented.
The bar has been raised over the past five years in terms of the calibre of businesses the Dragons’ Den has been seeing, and the 2010 tour has mainly included people presenting existing businesses that need a cash infusion to take them to the next level.
“When it’s still just an idea in your brain, it’s a lot harder to get onto the show,” Duigan explained.
“It’s harder to present an idea, because if you present any sort of functioning component, whether it’s a prototype idea and it’s on paper it’s hard to make it interesting for a television show,” said Dawson.
Throughout the six weeks, the two saw it all, they said.
“We saw everything from innovation in golf products to a gentlemen here with a teeny tiny keyboard. He plans to replace the conventional keyboard with a very small different kind of a keyboard. That’s interesting. Technology-wise you think it’s all been done - and [then] he has that idea,” said Duigan.
The two visiting producers will head off to Thunder Bay this week, while other producers will investigate Whitehorse and some cities in Southern Ontario.
“We will go back and roundtable but can’t make any decisions until we see what the whole country has to offer,” said Duigan.
According to Dawson, there have been as many as two to three thousand applications. “For all we know there could be another pocket keyboard guy on the East Coast,”
Dawson explained. Dawson worked for a couple of reality television shows in Australia before joining the Dragons’ Den two years ago. Duigan has been part of the team for four years.
When asked if they have previous experience pitching business ideas the two said they didn’t, but part of their job entails selling their favourite picks to the show.
Duigan may have an idea of what she wants to see on the show, but Dawson may have seen something similar somewhere else that is further along in the business.
“We will duke it out on their behalf,” said Duigan. “We do our best to present the Dragons with opportunities, whatever they are. We have no control over what they end up choosing but we try to put what we think deserves a shot, deserves exposure and deserves showcasing on Canadian television. That’s the cool thing about the show, it’s the only platform for showcasing Canadian innovation and entrepreneurship.”
But they don’t pitch to the Dragons. The Dragons don’t know anything about show’s guests until the walk down the stairs.
“The Dragons know your first name and that’s it. Our job is to prepare people for the pitch. One of the producers will work with each person ahead of the show. Today our keyboard guy had a Power Point presentation. That’s great for a boardroom, but not good for a television show.”
Duigan, Dawson and the others try to help make the pitches interesting in a way tht works for a TV program.
“If you have a pet project, you better bring a pet. If you have a baby product, you’d better bring a baby. Whereas, in a boardroom you would never do that. Sometimes people think they should wear a power suit and bring a big box full of documents and we say, be yourself and sell it,” Duigan commented.
The show will be filmed in Toronto between April 22 and May 21. People that have been selected to go on the show will be notified within the next few weeks.
Daily News, Front page, headline story
DRAGONS' DEN HEARS PITCHES FROM TWELVE LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS -- Two visiting producers for CBC's Dragon's Den set up shop at the Crest last week examining the suitability of submissions of twelve Rupertites with dreams of a chance to audition their plans in front of the Television panel in Toronto. The producers are on a tour of 40 Canadian cities, hoping to line up the next big thing for the popular CBC program.If any of the Rupert dozen are to make the trek to the big city, they'll know within the next two weeks or so, the first of the tapings takes place April 22nd.
The Lax Kw'alaams Band council apparently has some more money to invest in the city, with the Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District building on their radar for purchase. The building which is owned by the City of Prince Rupert is just the latest item on the Lax Kw'alaams check list as they continue to increase their share of the Prince Rupert economic scene.
The quest to bring to an end the era of open net fish farms on the north coast may get a boost from some interest from the United Kingdom. The T. Buck Suzuki foundation is using a report from the Salmon and Trout Association in the UK which outlines that organizations concerns over the impact of fish farms on the Wild Scottish Salmon fishery, ammunition that British Columbian's that are against the open net farming issue believe adds to their opposition to the practice in local waters.
The Sports page features a look at the upcoming golf season on the North coast and where things stand as we head into the golfing season.
(Daily News Archives for April 6, 2010)
Dragons’ Den hears pitches from twelve local entrepreneurs
PNCIMA process seeks feedback
Open net farms are more than a B.C. issue
SQRD building could be getting a new owner
The Northern View
Former B.C. school bookkeeper charged with fraud -- The Northern View examines the latest developments at Lax Kw'alaams Academy as fraud charges are brough forward against a former school bookkeeper at the Academy. (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News
Welding Equipment Stolen -- Prince Rupert RCMP are investigating a break in on George Hills Way which saw a number of welding related items stolen from the Delco branch in the city (see article here)
CBC News British Columbia, Daybreak North
No new items were posted to the CBC website for Tuesday
Daybreak North is only posting selected items on their website now. The most recently posted items can be found on the archive page for Daybreak North click here
Daily News, front page, headline story
Dragons’ Den hears pitches from twelve local entrepreneurs
By Monica Lamb-Yorski
The Daily News
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
When two producers from CBC Television’s Dragons’ Den were in Prince Rupert they heard 12 presentations from local entrepreneurs.
Half way through the afternoon, Molly Duigan and Colin Dawson said they weren’t being as ruthless as the Dragons, but were trying to prepare people so they can know what to expect if they make it to the show.
“We try to ask questions that people should expect from the dragons. They are going to ask tough questions,” Duigan said.
The two were particularly impressed with a presentation made by Justine Crawford of Cassiar Cannery, who pitched a new type of container for purified water.
“She’s very unique because part of her plan is to rejuvenate the whole community really by converting her property at the cannery to a water facility and create jobs for local people. It’s a cool picture. It’s not just about her making a buck off a product, she’s trying to give life to the community as well,” said Duigan.
They said they also saw a couple of “concepts-only” presentations, which are always difficult to pitch.
“Now that we’re going into the sixth season of Dragons’ Den, it’s hard to sell an idea in the den. We are still looking for the next million-dollar idea, but it’s a tough sell. The dragons like to put money into an idea and get money back,” Duigan commented.
The bar has been raised over the past five years in terms of the calibre of businesses the Dragons’ Den has been seeing, and the 2010 tour has mainly included people presenting existing businesses that need a cash infusion to take them to the next level.
“When it’s still just an idea in your brain, it’s a lot harder to get onto the show,” Duigan explained.
“It’s harder to present an idea, because if you present any sort of functioning component, whether it’s a prototype idea and it’s on paper it’s hard to make it interesting for a television show,” said Dawson.
Throughout the six weeks, the two saw it all, they said.
“We saw everything from innovation in golf products to a gentlemen here with a teeny tiny keyboard. He plans to replace the conventional keyboard with a very small different kind of a keyboard. That’s interesting. Technology-wise you think it’s all been done - and [then] he has that idea,” said Duigan.
The two visiting producers will head off to Thunder Bay this week, while other producers will investigate Whitehorse and some cities in Southern Ontario.
“We will go back and roundtable but can’t make any decisions until we see what the whole country has to offer,” said Duigan.
According to Dawson, there have been as many as two to three thousand applications. “For all we know there could be another pocket keyboard guy on the East Coast,”
Dawson explained. Dawson worked for a couple of reality television shows in Australia before joining the Dragons’ Den two years ago. Duigan has been part of the team for four years.
When asked if they have previous experience pitching business ideas the two said they didn’t, but part of their job entails selling their favourite picks to the show.
Duigan may have an idea of what she wants to see on the show, but Dawson may have seen something similar somewhere else that is further along in the business.
“We will duke it out on their behalf,” said Duigan. “We do our best to present the Dragons with opportunities, whatever they are. We have no control over what they end up choosing but we try to put what we think deserves a shot, deserves exposure and deserves showcasing on Canadian television. That’s the cool thing about the show, it’s the only platform for showcasing Canadian innovation and entrepreneurship.”
But they don’t pitch to the Dragons. The Dragons don’t know anything about show’s guests until the walk down the stairs.
“The Dragons know your first name and that’s it. Our job is to prepare people for the pitch. One of the producers will work with each person ahead of the show. Today our keyboard guy had a Power Point presentation. That’s great for a boardroom, but not good for a television show.”
Duigan, Dawson and the others try to help make the pitches interesting in a way tht works for a TV program.
“If you have a pet project, you better bring a pet. If you have a baby product, you’d better bring a baby. Whereas, in a boardroom you would never do that. Sometimes people think they should wear a power suit and bring a big box full of documents and we say, be yourself and sell it,” Duigan commented.
The show will be filmed in Toronto between April 22 and May 21. People that have been selected to go on the show will be notified within the next few weeks.
A few gaps to fill for Northwest BC's Premier Mall
In recent months the mall has seen the departure of a number of retail options, from Digital Printing, Carlton Cards and most recently the mall location of the Dollar Store with More, still to be determined from the ever popular Prince Rumour Mill is the fate of the main anchor on the lower level of Extra Foods, with any number of possibilities still apparently in play from a re-branding of the grocery store, to its possible closure.
By far the largest of space holders at the moment is the Hudson's Bay Company which through it's Zellers brand has two locations a main store and a discount section on the lower level, in addition to the chain's Fields franchise which is also on the lower level.
The mall which was locally owned for thirty three years was sold two years ago to the Pollyco group, which at the time had some major plans in the works for the mall and a offered up a hopeful tone for local residents wishing to spend some of their money in town at local retail options.
However, a look over of the roster of stores from the shopping Centre's website provides a sample as to how the economy has impacted on those optimistic days of two years ago when we met the new owners. With the exception of an expansion for the Rupert Deli and the introduction of a transplanted store from Cow Bay in the Salty Crab, there have been more subtractions than additions of late as far as shopping options go for local residents.
Like many of the empty store fronts on Third and Second Avenues, the empty spaces on both levels are providing some clear indication that our economic times are taking their toll on the retail sector.
It's a double edged sword for retailers and would be retailers in the city, with Terrace seemingly our weekend shopping Mecca during the spring, summer and fall months, the incentive to locate here probably is not as great as it could be. Likewise for locals while they constantly demand more shopping options in the city, they vote with their cars every Friday to Sunday.
There's probably not much the mall owners can do at the moment but ride out the storm, investors are no doubt cautious when it comes to taking out leases when the local economy is suffering and the population stagnant or dropping, but if things don't pick up as far as Prince Rupert's economy is concerned, the departures both in the Mall and along the down town core could very well out number the arrivals for a while yet.
It's the economy (Tuesday, April 6, 2010)
America beware: you may need us more than we need you, Canadians look to their retirement future and in Australia home ownership is but a dream for many, some of the items of interest for Tuesday.
Globe and Mail-- Why the Canadian dollar's rise is just like a pay hike
Globe and Mail-- Fed on guard against bubbles
Globe and Mail-- China lays ground for yuan shift
National Post-- Canada's trade dependency on U.S. weakens
National Post-- Loonie straddles parity as investors seek haven
National Post-- Strong demand for long-term mutual funds continues
Vancouver Sun-- Telus boosting broadband reach
Vancouver Sun-- Copper Mountain gets crucial mines permit
New York Times-- Greece’s Borrowing Costs Rise as Euro Falls
New York Times-- Geithner in India for Economic Talks
New York Times-- Moody's Cuts Iceland Credit Rating on Doubts About Aid
USA Today-- Spirit Airlines to become first to charge for carry-on luggage
USA Today-- Fed minutes: Low rates depend on strength of economy
Guardian UK online-- Greek bonds slump amid suggestions that IMF support will be spurned
Guardian UK online-- Tesco takes a punt on World Cup sponsorship
Guardian UK online-- Unions call for 'Cadbury law' to protect British industry
Times on line UK-- Sterling falls amid fears over hung Parliament
Times on line UK-- Academics ready to crush old ecenomic theories with a new reality
Telegraph UK online-- Election 2010: On business, all three main parties fall short
Telegraph UK online-- General Election 2010: How your tax bills will change when votes are counted
Telegraph UK online-- UK house prices face prolonged bear market
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Crean hits at China ore boycott of BHp Billiton and Rio Tinto
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Population growth to end young Australians' dream of owning home, says MP
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Shopping centre owners fight planned $60m Auburn Costco
People's Daily-- Key inflation gauge likely to slow down in March
People's Daily-- Foreign firms are welcome in China
China Daily-- China to step up efforts to eliminate outdated industrial capacity
China Daily-- Economists see possible turnaround in US-China currency row
Times of India-- 'Big four audit firms bending laws in India'
Times of India-- ONGC reaps gain from carbon trade
Globe and Mail-- Why the Canadian dollar's rise is just like a pay hike
Globe and Mail-- Fed on guard against bubbles
Globe and Mail-- China lays ground for yuan shift
National Post-- Canada's trade dependency on U.S. weakens
National Post-- Loonie straddles parity as investors seek haven
National Post-- Strong demand for long-term mutual funds continues
Vancouver Sun-- Telus boosting broadband reach
Vancouver Sun-- Copper Mountain gets crucial mines permit
New York Times-- Greece’s Borrowing Costs Rise as Euro Falls
New York Times-- Geithner in India for Economic Talks
New York Times-- Moody's Cuts Iceland Credit Rating on Doubts About Aid
USA Today-- Spirit Airlines to become first to charge for carry-on luggage
USA Today-- Fed minutes: Low rates depend on strength of economy
Guardian UK online-- Greek bonds slump amid suggestions that IMF support will be spurned
Guardian UK online-- Tesco takes a punt on World Cup sponsorship
Guardian UK online-- Unions call for 'Cadbury law' to protect British industry
Times on line UK-- Sterling falls amid fears over hung Parliament
Times on line UK-- Academics ready to crush old ecenomic theories with a new reality
Telegraph UK online-- Election 2010: On business, all three main parties fall short
Telegraph UK online-- General Election 2010: How your tax bills will change when votes are counted
Telegraph UK online-- UK house prices face prolonged bear market
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Crean hits at China ore boycott of BHp Billiton and Rio Tinto
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Population growth to end young Australians' dream of owning home, says MP
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Shopping centre owners fight planned $60m Auburn Costco
People's Daily-- Key inflation gauge likely to slow down in March
People's Daily-- Foreign firms are welcome in China
China Daily-- China to step up efforts to eliminate outdated industrial capacity
China Daily-- Economists see possible turnaround in US-China currency row
Times of India-- 'Big four audit firms bending laws in India'
Times of India-- ONGC reaps gain from carbon trade
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