It's the economy (Thursday, August 5, 2010)

Port Metro Vancouver seeks faster delivery times, Rio Tinto's Chinese successes and a fear of Agflation, some of the items of interest for Thursday.

Globe and Mail-- Chevron wins bid to explore for energy in Beaufort Sea
Globe and Mail-- Vancouver port vows to unplug bottleneck
Globe and Mail-- Air Canada, WestJet take aim at Porter
National Post-- Canada, U.S. go to bat for RIM
National Post-- Amazon's tactics not novel
National Post-- World chafes on wheat price
Vancouver Sun-- Vancouver-based Canaccord reports quarterly profit drop
New York Times-- 2 Top Economists Differ Sharply on Risk of Deflation
New York Times-- Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt
New York Times-- Top Obama Adviser on Economics to Step Down
USA Today-- Whitacre: GM can't wait to shed 'Government Motors' label
USA Today-- Rangers auction being finalized, paving way for Chuck Greenberg-Nolan Ryan ownership
Guardian UK online-- Rio Tinto profits soar 125% thanks to China's building boom
 Guardian UK online-- West prepares for bad news from US as fears mount over recovery
Guardian UK online-- IMF and EU pleased with 'impressive' Greek budget cuts
The Independent-- Next warns of slowdown on the high street
The Independent-- Buffett signs up 40 richest families to giving pledge
Telegraph UK online-- Why Britain's consumers and companies should ignore exhortations to borrow more
Telegraph UK online-- Agflation fears as Russia halts all grain exports
Telegraph UK online-- What Mervyn King said to Dave
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Rio's earnings bonanza of 260 per cent
Melbourne Herald Sun-- iPad a news 'gamechanger'
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Blockbuster movie Avatar boosts News Corporation to post $2.7 billion profit
China Daily-- Chinese luxury wannabes try to raise their profile
China Daily-- Free trade talks 'likely next year'
Times of India-- RBI keeping watch on inflation, to take step if necessary: FM
Times of India-- Food inflation declines marginally to 9.53%

Conservative numbers down in Prime Minister's summer of discontent

A controversial summer for the Prime Minister would translate into a near political death experience, at least according to the latest findings of the Ekos polling service.

In numbers released today, Ekos research  reveals that if a snap election were called today, the Harper Conservatives would barely hang on to the political lead. The percentage of voters likely to vote Conservative would be 29.7%, the Liberals 28.5 %, the NDP 17.4% and the Greens 11.4% and the Bloc Quebecois 10.4% while others check in at 2.9%.

The full Ekos survey provides a wealth of information on the polling data and its interpretation which you can read here, while pollster Frank Grave's notes on the poll can be read here.

The Globe and Mail outlines that from that data the Conservatives would suffer a loss of 29 seats in the House of Commons, giving it a razor thin hold on power and most likely resulting in a government of coalition between the Liberals and the NDP.

The EKOS poll of 3,444 Canadians was conducted between July 21 and August 3 and has a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The seat totals if a Canadian summer was interrupted by politics would see the Conservatives hold only 115 seats down significantly from the current level of 144, while the Liberals would increase to 99 from 77. The NDP would gain five increasing to 41 while the Bloc Quebecois would increase by two to 50 seats in the House of Commons.

We imagine that over in the Conservative war room, any thoughts of sending Canadians off to the polls may wait a bit longer, perhaps beyond the summer when Canadians would clearly be rather angry with the current government's direction. Not to mention when a few other polling services perhaps offer up a more optimistic forecast of the Cosnservative fortunes for polling day.

National Post-- EKOS poll: support for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives slipping
CBC News-- Conservative lead dries up, poll suggests
Toronto Sun-- Poll shows Tory lead evaporating

Economic Development in the northwest: Finishing school for NDI interns

While we haven't learned much background about our new Economic Development Officer in Prince Rupert from the city's council or administrative staff, thanks to the Northern Development Initiative Trust website, we're getting a glimpse into the path to the local office for the recent hire to the department.

Derek Baker as we outlined on the blog was hired on by the city in July, and he appears to be the start of a wave of former interns at NDI that have sought out and found employment across Northern BC.

Also joining Mr. Baker on the front lines of economic development in the Northwest is Evan Van Dyk, the brother of Donny Van Dyk the recent Liberal candidate for the legislature for Terrace , Evan is also a former intern with NDI, and was recently named as EDO for Terrace's Economic Development office.

Both Mr. Baker and Mr. Van Dyk are featured prominently on the NDI website, which features biographies of both and the work that they were involved with while at the Northern Development Trust.

The NDI website outlines the basic principles of its internship program and highlights the impact that it is having on communities across Northern British Columbia.

Northern Development’s Internship program is a unique initiative focused on identifying talented business graduates from northern educational institutions that are seeking careers in local government and rural economic development. The Internship provides a unique immersed program of training and experience that supports local governments in the region with a resource for recruiting qualified economic development professionals. The program was established earlier this year and is already linking the majority of internships with full-time, permanent Economic Development Officer positions in the region.

A full review of the  Intern program can be found here.

The decision to hire on staff from the intern program, appears to indicate a shift of focus by municipal governments across Northern BC.

Rather than seek out experienced personnel with a track record in the economic development field as in the past, instead, there is apparent agreement that selecting the interns of NDI is the best course of action for economic development, focused  it seems on the knowledge of the NDI program's grant writing procedures.

The process of selection was seemingly a rather internal affair with the city, very little information came forward when the previous EDO Nellie Cheng left the city's employ and likewise, we never heard much about the process during the selection process that eventually led to Mr. Baker's hiring.

With the exception of a short notice on the city's website after his hiring, we still have little knowledge as to what the focus of Economic development will be going forward from the departure of Ms. Cheng

How the shift from the era of the more established  Economic Development officer to the more youthful hiring of the NDI intern  translates into actual economic development remains to be seen,  but considering the nature of the city's economic situation at the moment it's a shift of focus that will  be judged by results over the next few years.

Podunk Below the Masthead (Wednesday, August 4, 2010)

Demolition on the horizon for the Epicurean, another look at the dire fishing situation for this summer and Haida Gwaii residents get access to their council, some of the items of note for Wednesday's news files.

The Prince Rupert Northern View
Permits in place for Epicurean demolition, work to begin soon -- A downtown eyesore is destined for the bulldozer as plans are in place to demolish the Epicurean building, destroyed by fire earlier this year, the remaining structure has been a conversation piece ever since (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Excessive Speed Suspected in Deadly Rollover Near Terrace -- Details on a motor vehicle accident in Terrace which claimed one life this week (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News 
North Coast Commercial Fishing gone from bad to worse -- CFTK catches up to the concern in the community over another poor fishing year for both fishermen and plant workers (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Kitimat mayor dismisses attack on leadership-- Some background on the current tempest brewing in Kitimat as the Mayor answers back to charges of incompetence from one city councillor (see article here)

QCI Observer
Queen Charlotte dialogue sessions working well -- Communication sessions between local government and Queen Charlotte residents seems to be off to a good start (see article here)

QCI Observer
Faster data, slower traffic -- Telus upgrades Internet service on Haida Gwaii with the installation of fibre optic cables on the islands. (see article here)


CBC News Northern BC Daybreak North 
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

Some dysfunction with Kitimat's civic governance functions

The neighbours are having a wee bit of trouble getting along these days it seems, as Kitimat's city council takes on some of the trappings of a UFC grudge match.

Things started to go off the rails for our eastern neighbours in late July when council there found that not enough councillors were available to form a quorum for the evenings debate and agenda items of civic business, but alas that was but the preamble for what was to come.

And while summer is the most likely culprit for the poor attendance of July, perhaps some of Kitimat's local elected leaders are finding that the tone of commentary in the city is getting a little too heated and maybe worth an absence or two.

CFTK TV has since been following some of the dysfunction of that debate in the city, as one councillor, Gerd Gottschling has suggested that Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monaghan is incompetent.  Gottschling continued on during the Tuesday session to find fault with her abilities to provide leadership and bring unity and vision to the council chamber.

The Mayor's recent appearance in some Enbridge pipeline related material apparently brought the latest accusations to the forefront of the debate, making for a raucous session of council on Tuesday.

The Mayor chose not to respond to those accusations during the council session, but did add her thoughts to the debate through CFTK on Wednesday.

As the city's economy has continued to suffer a number of blows over the last few years, the tone of debate there seems to have become rather heated, with acrimony at times the most prevalent of debate styles in place.

CFTK provided the latest developments with a report for the evening news.

House hunting with Regional District

Wanted to Rent or Buy, accommodation for local government body seeking quiet location for meetings and office use, prefer neighbourhood where neighbours are not inclined to ask too many questions, recycling options negotiable..

It seems that Skeena Queen Charlotte Regional District is in the market for some new digs, that at least according to an advertisement placed in this weeks Prince Rupert Northern View, which outlines the requirements for the Districts request for Expression of Interest.

Among the requirements of Regional District officials and employees will be a reception area, five offices, two storage areas, a boardroom, kitchen and washrooms, all within 2500 square feet.

The quest for new accommodations indicates that with the recent growth in the District staffing, the need for a larger office venue is on their in house agenda.

Where they eventually end up may be of interest for Prince Rupert taxpayers, who pick up the tab for a fair amount of the RD expenses during the course of their delivery of regional government services and maybe might like a say in shaping their expectations.

Though it may be a bit tricky in finding out full information on their plans and requirements, given the controversial recent changes to Regional District procedures and penchant for in camera sessions, something  it seems that they have in common with Prince Rupert City council.

Should you have some 2500 square feet up on the market, you have until August 12 to contact the SQCRD office with your details.

It's the economy (Wednesday, August 4, 2010)

The loonie moves past 98 cents, Natural Gas recovers in BC and the tycoons of China, some of our items of note for Wednesday.

Globe and Mail-- Jazz to launch winter hot spot service
Globe and Mail-- Vancouver homes market goes cold
Globe and Mail-- Three-quarters of spilled Gulf oil gone, officials say
National Post-- Loonie closes above 98 cents for first time since May
National Post-- Google pulls the plug on Wave
National Post-- Turns out yuan appreciation not such a big deal after all
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. Lower Mainland real estate sales plummet in July
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. natural gas drillers should see modest recovery in 2010
New York Times-- For Fannie Stock, Even Betting Pennies Is a Risk
New York Times-- Toyota Posts $2.2 Billion Quarterly Profit
New York Times-- How Much Debt Should Households Have?
USA Today-- 40 wealthy families pledge to donate their money to charity
USA Today-- Ford says its UAW deals are bringing back overseas jobs
Guardian UK online-- Double dip recession fears as service sector growth stalls
Guardian UK online-- Profits show Lloyds can float in calm waters
Guardian UK online-- Services PMI: what the economists say
The Independent-- Most of BP oil spill has gone, says US
The Independent-- The ripple effect of well-intended energy policies
Telegraph UK online-- Wheat storm will soon blow itself out
Telegraph UK online-- Food set to get more expensive for British shoppers
Telegraph UK online-- Ecuador's 'Amazon bonds': how to raise $3.6bn for doing nothing
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Struggling tourism warns Gillard, Abbott
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Rio to pour $866m into Pilbara
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Capital city house prices up 18 per cent from last year - ABS
People's Daily-- Top 10 runaway Chinese tycoons
People's Daily-- Is world's center of gravity "moving eastward"?
China Daily-- Experts urge fairer income distribution
China Daily-- Sino-Russian trade poised to bounce back
Times of India-- Delhi gets new industrial policy
Times of India-- India will need 1,150 aircraft, says Boeing

Podunk Below the Masthead (Tuesday, August 3, 2010)

A paving update from the city, Hotel owners want to shift their sewer burden and a regional highway remains closed due to a forest fire, some of the items of note from Tuesday.

The Northern View
So far so good for Prince Rupert paving program-- An update on city paving projects for 2010 (see article here)

The Northern View
Hoteliers seeking fee fairness-- A potential tax shift may be in the offing if local hotel owners have their way, with concerns over the current sewer rates in the city, hotel owners are seeking a new system that better reflects actual use, which may impact on residential owners (see article here)

The Northern View
Community meetings set -- More background on the fall session of public community meetings to address a number of community concerns (see article here)

The Northern View
Dates, amounts cause concern about revitalization bylaw -- The city's controversial Property Tax Exemption bylaw continues to spur debate in the community (see article here)

The Northern View
North Coast sees 60 earthquakes in July-- A look at the string of seismic shudders along the North Coast and Haida Gwaii in July (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Roll over crash kills man in Terrace-- Details of a single vehicle accident on Kalum Lake Road which claimed the life of a Terrace resident (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Highway to Yukon reamins closed because of forest fire-- Highway 37 North south of the Yukon border is closed due to forest fire (see article here)


CBC News Northern BC Daybreak North 
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

It's the economy (Tuesday, August 3, 2010)

Master Card reports rising spending, BC Hydro reveals its Clean Call costing and light at the end of the British tunnel, some of the items of note for Tuesday.

Globe and Mail-- BP begins attempt to plug Gulf well
Globe and Mail-- Saudi Arabia to halt BlackBerry service on Friday
Globe and Mail-- MasterCard profit rises as spending resumes
National Post-- Forecast rules out double-dip recession
National Post-- Canada financial bonds miss out on global rally: Canada Credit
National Post-- Sorry, but the BlackBerry Torch won't save RIM
Vancouver Sun-- BC Hydro sheds light on Clean Call power costs
New York Times-- Most Carmakers Report Higher Sales
New York Times-- Barnes & Noble Considers Selling Itself
New York Times-- As German Exports Boom, So Does Employment
USA Today-- Geithner: Extending tax cuts for the richest is 'irresponsible'
USA Today-- Most automakers post sales gain in July as industry slowly recovers
Guardian UK online-- Northern Rock savings fall but 'bad bank' is in the black
Guardian UK online-- China v US energy consumption
Guardian UK online-- BP charges well partner Anadarko $1bn for its share of oil spill clean up
The Independent-- Unexpected slowdown in exports hits manufacturing confidence
The Independent-- Another opportunity to set some limits for the BBC
Telegraph UK online-- Reckless Europe beats reckless America at property bubbles
Telegraph UK online-- Forget stealing lead off church roofs. Copper thieves up the ante with chainsaws
Telegraph Uk online-- David Cameron: there will be light at the end of tunnel after spending cuts
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Grains merger grates
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Rio commits to Guinea iron ore
Sydney Daily Telegraph--Retail spending 'extremely disappointing', retail groups say
People's Daily-- Chinese economy 'to fare well'
People's Daily-- University report warns of 'sub-recession' in China
China Daily-- Mall developers see potential of Chinese consumer market
China Daily-- HSBC says Hong Kong at risk of property bubble
Times of India-- Poaching woes hit professional services cos
Times of India-- Auto sales drive in fast lane on new launches

Tis the season... Cow Bay bridge closed for repairs and paving

East - West travel in the city has one less option this week as City crews began work on the Cow Bay bridge, with the bridge closed to traffic as of this morning.

The announcement of the road closures seems to have been tasked to the city's work crews, which placed signs on approaches to Cow Bay prior to the weekend, but left them covered until this morning.

A search of the city's website doesn't provide mention of the road closure, nor the anticipated length of time of the project to resurface the bridge.

As well, the closure did not appear in the Northern Connector on Friday and if there was a notice in Wednesday's Northern View, it escaped our gaze, not to mention there doesn't appear to be any mention of it on the actual website for the weekly paper.

Still if nothing else, posting such information on the city's website would be of great value to the city's residents, providing them with an update on the progress of the project as well as notice of the changing requirements of the cross town commute.

Eyes on the Northern skies for a celestial show tonight

.
 .
 Providing Mother Nature keeps the fog and cloud at bay tonight,  we just might see a pretty impressive display of the Northern Lights tonight.

A spectacular explosion of plasma from the Sun on Sunday is expected to add some colourful hues to the late night skies over Canada and the Northern US states this evening.

The explosion from the Sun is apparently the opening salvo of an anticipated 11 year cycle of solar activity, which may or may not cause a few interesting tweaks to earthbound communication and entertainment as solar activity has in the past disrupted satellite signals around the world.

Harvard University issued a statement explaining what's to come from the Sun over the next little while and what those of us who hold some turf on this third planet can expect to see from it.

For now though it's the big show in the sky, with the full force of the Sun's expulsions to reach the earth in the overnight period.

As for Mother Nature, apparently She has other plans for the sky watchers of Rupert, the latest forecast from Environment Canada calls for increasing cloudiness overnight, with fog forming around midnight, which may provide for some interesting imagery if it closes in and moves out over the midnight hours.

NASA-- Coronal Mass Ejection Headed for Earth
National Post-- Solar tsunami to trigger northern lights across Canada
Techno Gadgets-- Get prepared as Solar tsunami from sun is going to hit our planet 
Telegraph UK online-- NASA scientists braced for 'solar tsunami' to hit earth 
New Scientist-- The sun sends a charged cloud hurtling our way

BC Ferry has hard landing in Gulf islands

A BC Ferry, the Queen of Nanaimo has had a rather rough docking on a small island in the gulf island chain.

The ferry had what is described as a "hard landing" this morning as it arrived at the dock at Village Bay on Mayne Island, one passenger was injured in the incident and the ferry suffered some damage during the course of its arrival.

Because of the incident, the ferry has been taken out of service until the cause of the trouble has been identified and all damage inspected. The injured passenger was airlifted to a hospital in Victoria, there has been no report on the damage to the dock on Mayne Island, the only berthing position on that island for the ferry.

An investigation is now underway into the incident, with particular attention to be provided to the data recorders onboard the vessel.

Globe and Mail-- Woman injured as B.C. ferry hits dock at Mayne Island
Victoria Times Colonist-- One person injured in ferry docking incident this morning a Mayne Island
CTV.ca-- Injuries reported after ferry accident on Mayne Island 
CBC.ca-- Injury reported in B.C. Ferry mishap

Your land line is almost a museum piece

.
.
Your home phone, once the mainstay of our communication needs and our lifeline to the outside world, is quickly becoming the orphan of communication devices, quietly resting on a favourite table or tethered to a wall, rarely engaged and for the most part all but forgotten in today's rush for electronic devices.

Wired magazine provides the preamble to the home phone's obituary with an article which outlines the changing shift in communication, an era where instantaneous status updates on social networking, text messaging and cel phones have changed the dynamic of how we keep up to date with each other.

An era where we are moving on from the times of cauliflower ears and towards a time when carpal tunnel syndrome may be the new affliction for those that are socially engaged.

You can review the full article from the Wired website here.

It's the economy (Long Weekend Edition, July 31-August 2, 2010)

Wheat suers up, more trouble on the horizon for BP and the forgotten poor, some of the items of interest from the financials.

Globe and Mail-- BP hopes to plug well, then turn focus to the corporate calamity
Globe and Mail-- Wheat surges to 22-month high
Globe and Mail-- Lagging productivity holding euro’s Olive Belt back
National Post-- Russian drought sends wheat soaring
National Post-- SEC probes BP as it is poised to 'kill' Gulf well
National Post-- Bernanke says economy still short of full recovery
Vancouver Sun-- Alaska Airlines to offer daily flights from Bellingham to Honolulu
New York Times-- Defining Prosperity Down
New York Times-- Some Directors Say 3-D Is One Dimension Too Many
New York Times-- In South Africa, a Push for Industrial Growth
USA Today-- Golf clubs suffer in recession as membership dwindles
USA Today-- Once again, Escalade is No. 1 in the car-theft department
Guardian UK online-- Bank profits surge and send markets soaring
Guardian UK online-- China is too big to fail
Guardian UK online-- HSBC rejects bid to force lending as profits soar
The Independent-- Major final salary pension funds see deficits fall by a quarter
The Independent-- Going green: Why it's good for business
Telegraph UK online-- Forcing lending targets down the throat of banks will kill Britain's recovery
Telegraph UK online-- Alan Greenspan is making UK weatherman Michael Fish look like a good forecaster
Telegraph UK online-- Britons to pay more for a loaf of bread as wheat prices jump
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Rio a bright light in mixed market
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Pilbara expansion at risk, says Twiggy Forrest
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Workplace laws an expensive legal headache for small and medium sized businesses
People's Daily-- Urbanization pumping out pollution
People's Daily-- Easing in China's manufacturing growth
China Daily-- Local officials may be playing fast and loose with GDP
China Daily-- PBOC stresses implementation of monetary policy
Times of India-- Take back CBM blocks if progress not satisfactory: Coal Minister
Times of India-- HBS embracing the new world order: Nohria

Office aides plan next move in dispute with NDP MLA's

“It’s fair to say that two per cent over three years was disappointing — it’s even under the rate of inflation.” -- The main sticking point when it comes to the latest in negotiations between NDP MLA's and their office staff.

NDP MLA's (including the North coast's Gary Coons) may end up adding a few more routine duties to their daily affairs in the near future as local constituency aides of the opposition MLA's decide their next move in a dispute with their employers.

Constituency aides have rejected a three year contract offer from their bosses, putting the prospect of a strike vote as the next item on their agenda in their efforts to reach a more suitable contract agreement. Their current collective agreement expired in June of 2009, so they may be getting a little concerned over the slow state of the path to a new agreement.

A more successful negotiation for the employers took place in December when NDP caucus staff accepted a one year contract in December of 2009,  agreeing to the two percent pay increase among other items of negotiation. So they'll probably be keeping an eye on the current course of events for their own review in late 2010.

The 35 NDP members of the Legislature hire their own constituency office staff, a labour pool that is represented by the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU).

To add some pressure to management's stand, it's anticipated that the go ahead for a strike could come this month, though the BCGEU was also quick to point out that doesn't necessarily mean that a strike is imminent, as they would ask for mediation before heading to the picket lines.

The constituency workers are seeking a more rewarding pay increase from the current offer of 2%, the most recent wage scale listings has the current rate of compensation around the 20 to 22 dollar an hour level.

On this BC Day, a little knowledge could make you an expert on BC History

Your chance to wow your friends is here once again, as the Vancouver Sun offers up your opportunity to knock down some BC History questions one by one.

The Sun has an interactive 7 part quiz on your ability to recall the important dates, events and persons of BC's rich past and more current times. No prizes, just bragging rights are available for you.

There are two options to choose from an amateur quiz and for those that think they know their province pretty good there is the expert edition. To make the quest for Historical supremacy even more entertaining you can add sounds and or commentary to your rapid fire question and answer session.

You can pick your historical poison here.

The Podunkian Brunch, Monday, August 2, 2010

As the long weekend draws to a close, we head to the brunch with politics on our mind. With developments in Canada's Green Party of some interest today, what with the word that former  and recently retired NHL enforcer Georges Laraque has been named the party's deputy leader.

Laraque most recently of the Habs, will provide for  a hopeful introduction into Quebec for the Greens where Laraque has achieved a bit of a reputation beyond his on nice exploits, for his environmentally sensitive ways.  He replaces Jacques Rivard, who apparently found that the political field of the Bloc Quebecois was greener for him.  Should one day the Greens (unlikely as it may seem) form a government, we imagine that if nothing else Laraque most likely would make a good minister of defence.  Here we see him discussing the merits of cutting greenhouse gas emissions with Donald Brashear...




.
 On a fight of a different kind, the word is out that the Anti HST forces may be facing a cash crunch shortly, with but 8,000 dollars remaining in their budget to fight the Liberals HST program. That's a rather large cash flow change from the 118,000 that was in the political kitty at the start of the anti HST program. The low number however doesn't seem to be causing any undue alarm at the gathering of the HST opposition. Bill Tieleman one of the driving forces behind the movement, feels that should they need more cash a simple call to arms (or wallets in this case) would be quickly answered by those that are still angered by the introduction of the tax.

Putting some of that tax money to work could find its way into the Defence department, which his currently putting out the need for more modern fighter aircraft to provide for a chaining dynamic in the nations security. The fighter of preference is the 140 million dollar a plane, fleet of next-generation F-35s, a collection of 65 planes which will come with a $9-billion price tag, not to mention an estimated $16-billion when a maintenance contract is completed. Critics of the procurement plan suggest that with no threat from the days of the Soviet Union on the horizon, it may be too extravagant an expense to take on in tight economic times. As though to offer up some support for the purchase, the Russian air force offered up a reminder of why such planes may actually have a use on the Canadian air frontier. Two Russian bombers make a fly by of sorts near Goose Bay, Labrador, sending CF 18 jets scrambling out of Bagotville Quebec to offer a helpful redirection away from Canadian airspace.

Trash talking in the ring moves to the Internet as two junior welterweights take to sparring on Twitter rather than in the ring. The trash talking between Amir Khan and Timothy Bradley has developed almost a cult like status, as fans eagerly await the latest tweet. It's providing a preamble to what may be a rumble in the ring, perhaps the winner could earn the much desired Title of the Tweet, symbolic of the being able to back up the trash talk with a good left right combination.

Jon Stewart debuted a new look this week with his return to the Daily Show desk with a most prominent collection of facial hair, a grooming change that has many fans talking about what may be behind the new look. With the sudden interest in whether Mr. Stewart's whiskers are helping of hindering his program content, we look back at some other famous facial alternations courtesy of Cracked.com.


The tribulations for BP continued this week with a suggestion that some of their branded retail outlets were about to giving serious thought to scrapping the corporate name on their stations, such is the anger being directed towards the energy giant in the wake of the Gulf Oil crisis.  And as though studying from the same set of blue prints, Enbridge now finds itself in the midst of a backlash, after a pipeline problem in Michigan popped up as the company was trying to sell the merits of its Kitimat pipeline project. And if that optic isn't bad enough, now the Tyee has created a top twelve list, outlining some of Enbridge's other pipeline problems of the past.

Conrad Black returns to the keyboard, with another edition of his review of his final day of incarceration in a Florida prison, Black provides some background on the process of his delivery from the justice system. A handy reference piece as to his interpretation of the system of Justice in the USA and his place within the punishment phase of American justice.

Our long weekend almost complete, we help to celebrate BC Day with a look at our podcast selection of the week, from the CBC, the BC Alamanc podcast. It offers up a second listen to the storied and people of the province taken from the radio show hosted by one time Prince Rupert resident Mark Forsythe.

And with our summer vacation period at the unofficial halfway point, we turn to one of the ever popular sounds of the summer, the Beach Boys. Mike Love outlines for the National Post, what he believes has made the Beach Boys survive through summer after summer, a longevity that seeks out our quest for cars, sun, surf and fun.

To wrap up another week of the brunch, we're heading out to catch a wave...

Nature takes down technology in Masset

Air travel is full of many potential delays, what with weather, mechanical and human factors at any given time possibly contributing to a disruption of one's travel schedule.

And we guess we should add nature to the list, at least when it comes to air travel and the Masset airport.

The QCI Observer offers up a review of a recent mechanical problem that has resulted in a Pacific Coastal Airlines plane to remain stranded in Masset awaiting repairs after an encounter with a deer on the airport's runway.

The deer apparently darted out in front of the plane and ran right into the propellor of the turbo prop aircraft, requiring the plane to return to the terminal area and wait for mechanics to be summoned to provide for repairs.

The deer it seems jumped over one of the shorter fences at the end of the runway, which is designed to allow the planes to take off, though in this case it seems it may have contributed to the plane not taking off.

Bird strikes on occasion make the news in aviation, but deer strikes are rather rare things and Masset officials can only remember one other occasion, many years ago when deer and technology collided.

Masset officials offered up on report on the condition of the deer.

Housing bargains to be had in Northern BC

As a drive through any Prince Rupert neighbourhood will show, it's a buyers market in real estate these days, and in British Columbia the best bargains it seems are to be found in the Northern BC real estate region.

The BC Real Estate Association has provided it's latest numbers, a third quarter update that shows that BC's housing markets are returning to the typical post recession demand patterns, with a gradual increase in home sales forecast through to 2011.

A larger inventory of homes for sale has provided for favourable supply conditions for would be home buyers, the most favourable of conditions in more than a year.

In British Columbia the average MLS residential price is anticipated to rise by 6 per cent to 492,800 and edge downwards to 489,500. But Northern BC has better pricing points than that, still one part of the province where the cost of housing is still somewhat reasonable and more amenable to a family budget, and a portion of the province where the trending in prices will go upwards over the next year.

The forecast for Northern BC's region (which includes Prince Rupert) will see a 6.4 per cent increase in the sales of units for the fall of 2010, which translates into around 3,850 units while the average price of unit this fall will be $217,500, with the 2011 projected average price going up in Northern BC to $224,000 with projected sales of 4100 units.

By comparison the projected average price this fall of a home in Victoria is $507,800,  in  the Okanagan it's anticipated to be at $389,000 while Vancouver remains the most expensive location in the province with a fall forecast of the average cost of a home to increase to  $654,500.

The BCREA report can be found on the organization's website.

Podunk Below the Masthead (Friday, July 30, 2010)

A service club seeks new members, The RCMP begins an investigation into the death of a baby in Terrace and the province expands its fire information system, some of the items of interest for Friday.


The Northern View
Port Edward Lions in urgent need of new members -- With low membership numbers one of the area's service clubs put the call out for new members (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Police investigate Baby Death in Terrace-- The sudden death of an infant in Terrace has prompted the RCMP to start an investigation. (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Northwest Fire Situation Heats Up-- Lightning strikes over the last week have started at least 29 new fires in the Northwest Fire region (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Province rolls out new fire website --The province takes its fire information system into the internet age with a new website, twitter feed and Facebook page (see article here)


QCI Observer
Deer, plane collide in Masset-- A Pacific coastal plane remains at the Masset airport awaiting repairs after an incident with a deer on the airport runway (see article here)


CBC News Northern BC Daybreak North
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