It was no doubt an uncomfortable weekend for any gang members currently calling Prince George home, as the province's Uniform Gang Task Force rolled into the city and showed the flag.
The Task Force which is a combination of RCMP and municipal police forces from the Greater Vancouver area has been moving further out from that area over the last few years, making connections and arrests in other smaller communities which are feeling the pressure of gang involvement in their cities and towns.
It was the first time for the Task Force in Prince George and with their visit some thirty five files were created by the Force, resulting in arrests, evictions of known gang members from local bars and seizure of weapons and drugs in the weekend sweep.
The efforts of both the Prince George unit and the Uniform Gang Task Force provide indications that police officials intend to keep the pressure on gang activity in the city and collect intelligence on who the members are and what they are doing.
And while the Force promised to be back to Prince George, there was no word from this weekend on whether the Uniform Gang Task Force has plans to move beyond its visit to Prince George and if a turn down Highway 16 towards the coast is on their radar in the future, an invitation that could help the local detachment in its efforts against potential gang activity.
The Prince George media went along for a few of the weekend tours, and Vancouver's papers provided some interesting reviews of the work of the Task Force during its Prince George stop.
An arrest in a string of credit card offences, the Jobless rate in the Northwest nears 12 per cent and Conservation Officers report a successful long weekend of enforcement in the Northwest, some of the items from Monday's news review
The Northern View Prince Rupert RCMP make arrest in credit card fraud case -- An alleged three week fraudulent credit card spending spree came to an end on Friday with the arrest of a north coast resident who now 53 charges of the criminal code (see article here) (Our Podunk article on this story can be found here)
CFTK TV 7 News Prince Rupert man arrested in connection to credit card fraud-- CFTK offers up its interpretation of the arrest of a local man who now faces a number of charges related to credit card fraud (see article here) (CFTK TV 7 had this report for the evening news)
CFTK TV 7 News MP's Wife Gives Birth to Twins-- CFTK catches up with the social news on Monday with word on the birth of twins for Nathan and Diana Cullen, as we outlined on the blog on the weekend, the Cullens welcomed their two sons into the world on Friday morning (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News City of Terrace adopts "Wood First" bylaw-- Terrace council seeks to encourage the use of wood products as a primary building material in the city (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News Preliminary hearings on Enbridge project begin Tuesday-- The first of three sessions regarding the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway project are set to get underway this week, with the first session to take place in Whitecourt, Alberta (see article here) (see CFTK TV video report here)
CFTK TV 7 News Movie Gallery closes for good in Terrace-- The first of the regions Movie Gallery stores has closed its doors in the Northwest. The Terrace location brought an end to its business cycle on Monday, the going out of business sale continues on at other Northwest locations including Prince Rupert. (see article here)
CFTK TV News Conservation officers say road checks were good for exposure-- Details of a string of road and river checks over the BC Day Long Weekend, where Conservation Officers checked a total of 2600 people for compliance of regulations (see article here) (CFTK TV news featured this video report for the evening news)
Terrace Standard Northwest jobless rate highest-- Some background on the latest numbers from Statistics Canada which show that with a jobless rate of 11.8 per cent, the Northwest continues to hold the dubious title of having the highest rate of unemployment in the province (see article here) (Our Podunk item on this story can be found 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
What the Fed may do next, another PR issue for Encana and the Computer geek and the porn star, some of the items of note from the financials for Monday.
The RCMP has brought to an end an alleged illegal spending spree with the arrest of a man who has been charged with a string of credit card related offences covering a number of Highway 16 communities from Prince Rupert to Smithers.
Prince Rupert RCMP released details on Monday of the volume of charges facing Shaune Michael Nelson, who was arrested on Friday, August 6th, and spent the weekend in Prince Rupert cells. He made his first court appearance in regard to those charges on Monday morning at the Prince Rupert court house.
The thirty five year old male faces charges of seventeen counts of fraud, seventeen coins of uttering forged documents, seventeen counts of possess, use of and traffic of credit card date and two counts of failing to comply with conditions of a recognizance.
The investigation into those offences involved both the Prince Rupert RCMP and the British Columbia Gaming Enforcement Branch.
Full details of the offences and the nature of recent fraudulent transactions in the Prince Rupert areacan be found on the RCMP website.
11.8 per cent, that's the latest statistic on unemployment for the Northwest, a double digit number that leads the province by far in reported cases of those that are unemployed. That's an increase from the 11.4 per cent reported in July.
The Unemployment numbers in the region peaked in May when the Northwest reported 12.8 per cent unemployment for the Northwest.
The average unemployment rate in the province was 7.6 with 16,000 jobs reported as created in July. A growth attributed to the increase of part time jobs in the province. Nationally the unemployment rate is set at 8 per cent for July.
Total employment in Northwestern BC dropped from 41,900 in 2009 to 39,900 last month, though part of that number could also be attributed to the continual drop in the population of the region, which continues to lose residents seeking other opportunities elsewhere.
The reporting region stretches from Haida Gwaii to west of Vanderhoof and takes into account those that consider themselves part of the available workforce.
Not included in the Unemployment statistics are those that have exhausted their EI claims or have been without work past the EI claim period. A number that if ever tabulated properly, would most likely add a few percentage points to the real unemployment picture.
Conservatives don't see drastic public service cuts, a cash only crop in peril in BC and waiting on the Fed, some of the items of interest from the weekend financials...
While fishermen and plant workers on the North coast face another disappointing season, the picture on the Fraser River is looking better than it has in a long time.
The seiners were out in the Johnstone Strait last week, hauling in and delivering their first catches in over four years.
The returning bounty for this year, should make for an interesting discussion point when the Commission of Inquiry created by the Federal Conservatives begins its deliberations later this summer. The commission of inquiry led byMr. Justice Bruce Cohen,has been taskedto probe the disappearanceof nearly 10 million fish last year
While the prospects for those on the south coast appear to be a little brighter this summer, for their fellow workers on the north coast things are looking grim, last week Prince Rupert councillor and local UFAWU representative Joy Thorkelson called for disaster relief for workers on the North coast, after yet another bad season for fishing in our waters.
Considering the ongoing concerns over the Skeena fishery and the impact that it's fortunes have on the north coast economy, one wonders if the terms of reference for Mr. Cohen should not be expanded and include norther issues as well.
With the summer vacation season at, or just past the halfway mark, we open up our Brunch with a look at the troubles for a couple of North America's airlines this week. The week ended on a positive for Air Canada, but on the way to the happy ending there was a whole lot of misery and more than a few nasty comments directed towards the national carrier.
That after they managed to destroy the specialized wheel chair of a Kamloops boy, Tanner Bawn. The rather slow approach to good customer relations certainly provided more than a few moments of bad PR for the airline before they got things right.
In fact, their clumsy attempts at problem solving continued on as the backlash on Twitter moved to a crescendo of complaint. Suddenly perhaps realizing that all that tweeting wasn't going to be a good thing, Air Canada finally delivered a repaired chairand went on to promise a trip to Disney World for Tanner and his cousins.
While Air Canada finally found some redemption, we're not sure that the same can be said for United, which managed to forget about a 9 year old boy who was flying solo from San Francisco to Ottawa, left in a small room at Chicago's O'Hare airport, the lad Julien Reid, had more than enough time on his hands to put his thoughts to paper and has offered up a rather stinging rebuke of the airline's customer service skills.
Describing his eight hour ordeal as the "worst day of his life", you get the feeling that when the media is finished recounting his tale, that there will be a few airline employees having much the same feeling.
Airlines aren't the only ones feeling the wrath of the critics this summer season, the Globe and Mail features a particularly snarky restaurant review this weekend. As the paper's gastronomic reviewer levels more than a few broadsides at the restaurant scene in Banff, Alberta.
Apparently having run into one dis-interested waiter or waitress too many, Ian Brown paints a picture of indifference on the grandest of scales. Where the simple attempt to get a seat in a Banff area restaurant descends into petulance and immaturity from a collection of young service industry professionals who would rather text their friends, then sit their customers. A faux pas that we imagine reduces the possibilities of a well deserved tip at the end of the night after Brownput together his thoughts on the level of service in the Alberta rockies.
Perhaps the staff were simply receiving instructions from their parents. A new study shows that teenagers and young adults have a better chance of remembering to take any medications they must take, if Mom, Dad or a health professional send them a text message. A doctor at a hospital in Columbus, Ohiohas found that the teenage infatuation with texting has proven to be an entry into their lives, allowing her to remind her patients to take required medicines in a timely fashion. The young adults apparently will accept a text, but won't answer a call.
If he's looking for a slogan come election time, perhaps nothing better than the chorus from No Woman, No Cry, and "everything is going to be all right", will set the tone for the campaign.
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And as if that view from the Conservative press was not bad enough, none other than Conrad Black, has spoken out on the latest ministrations from the Harper side of the House of Commons. His Lordship fresh from his time of incarceration at the hands of the American Justice system, offers up the thought that the latest moves from the Harper Justice league is playing to the reactionaries. A commentary that many probably wouldn't have thought would be forthcoming from Mr. Black a few years ago, but with age and time served it seems that he's had some opportunity to review all matters of jurisprudence and finds that the latest plans of the Conservatives when it comes to Law and Order may need a second look.
And when it comes to such things as the perception of Law and Order, it would seem that television's portrayal of the quest for justice leaves more than a few feeling a little offended. In a New York Times opinion piece this week, Stanley Fish, who writes on law, order and society opined that the 20 year old television show Law and Order didn't really like rich people all that much. Fish reviews some of his favourite (or is that not so favourite) moments from the show and traces a litany of villains and miscreants, all with the same non-redeeming quality of being from the monied class. Then again, if you think about it, the show's timeline has followed along with the era of greed that seemed to make the mark of society these last twenty years, so as they like to say in the advertising, ripped from the headlines.
Michael Roston, one of the founders of the site offered up this farewell to the readers, pointing us to the sites the Goodbye channel as a link to some of the past participants in his experiment in news reporting and news making.
On the theme of Journalism on line and broadcast, our podcast selection of the week takes us to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, where you can listen in on any number of discussions on media matters of these times.
And to wrap up our review of the week, we look to the Toronto International Film Festival which announced its schedule for this September's annual gathering of the A listers and other hangers on. Another packed calendar spanning 11 days, 300 films available for the viewing offering up a rather wide cross section of film making.
One offering that caught our eye is The Promise, a documentary on Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town tour of the late seventies. The film, featured in Toronto for its world premiere will provide what's described as never seen before access to the behind the scenes events of the tour as Springsteen and his band took to the road at the start of his music’s resonance in America.
To tide us over till show time in September, here's a sample of Springsteen and the band doing what they do best.
We're always looking to add items to the blog so with the Mariner's Music Festival still fresh in our memories, we offer up a cache of local musical talent for your entertainment.
From our Podunkian portal, we offer up our ongoing archive of local performances, both video and static display that have made their way onto the wires and processors of your connection to the Internet via the world of You Tube and beyond
Below find video presentations and website locations offering up developments in Prince Rupert's always thriving musical scene. Clearly not the full sample of what's available out there from local stages, it will at least give us a starting point.
We'll be adding items on an ongoing basis and here's where our loyal readers can help out quite a bit, should you have a suggestion or a link for the Music Festival simply email us at Podunkcan@yahoo.ca and we'll add it to the list of performances.
The permanent link to the feature can be found on the right had bar, in our Podunkian Features of the blog section.
Our archive of the daily findings from Prince Rupert's various media sources, from the Northern View, CBC and CFTK News and other regional news outlets, we outline the main stories of the day for the month of August 2010.
August 13--The EDO prepares to take inventory of commercial space in the region, names for the Cullen twins and a look at the water situation on Haida Gwaii, some of our items of note for Friday's news review.(see post here)
August 12-- Tulani Ackerman arrives in Victoria, a wlidfire starts south of Houston and a former resident of Haida Gwaii moves into the Federal cabinet, some of the items of note for Thursday's news files. (see post here)
August 11-- Fairview continues to increase its numbers, the Food Bank finds more and more need its services and the Conservatives send their hopeful candidate off across the riding for introductions, some of the items of interest for Wednesday's news cycle. (see post here)
August 10-- The Mayor hints at progress over Watson Island, Joy Thorkelson continues her bid for disaster relief for local fishermen and plant workers and the Civil Liberties Association wants your input into policing when it comes to the city on August 18th, some of the items of interest for Tuesday. (see post here)
August 9--An arrest in a string of credit card offences, the Jobless rate in the Northwest nears 12 per cent and Conservation Officers report a successful long weekend of enforcement in the Northwest, some of the items from Monday's news review(see post here)
August 6-- Baby boys for the Nathan and Diana Dahr Cullen, it's bike rodeo time in Prince Rupert and Highway 37 North may reopen this weekend, some of the items of note for Friday's news cycle. (see post here)
August 5-- A motorcycle/vehicle accident near the civic centre, modernization moves forward at Kitimat works and Udder fest is underway highlights the news cycle for Thursday. (see post here)
August 4-- 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. (see post here)
August 3-- 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. (see post here)
Mr. Martin, a long time proponent of development for the Terrace Kitimat corridor outlines his case for a change in the moratorium, emphasizing the need for checks and balances on safety issues.
Mr. Swanson, offers up the environmental side of the debate, suggesting that the moratorium should remain in place as the potential to disrupt vital ecosystems is too great.
It makes for an interesting review of the talking points of the issue and continues to highlight the Globe and Mail's extensive coverage of the topic which is of great interest to residents of Haida Gwaii and the North coast.
Baby boys for the Nathan and Diana Dahr Cullen, it's bike rodeo time in Prince Rupert and Highway 37 North may reopen this weekend, some of the items of note for Friday's news cycle.
The Northern View No new items posted on the Northern View website for Friday
CFTK TV 7 News Bike Rodeo in Prince Rupert this weekend -- CFTK relays some of the details of Saturday's bike rodeo, as we outlined on the blog Friday morningthe RCMP and BC Ambulance service are hosting the rodeo at Kwinitsa station starting at 9:45 am (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 News Muskeg News up and running-- Some background on a new Prince Rupert based portal on the Internet (see article here)
Terrace Standard MP, wife have twins -- Nathan and Diana Cullen welcomed their twin boys into the world on Friday morning (see article here)
Terrace Standard Highway re-opening possible-- With a break or two limited re-openings for Highway 37 North could take place this weekend, the highway has been closed this week due to forest fires on the Yukon - BC border (see article here)
QCI Observer "Hire local" says Port council --Port Clements council offers up the suggestion to hire local workers to the Misty Isles Development Society, as that organization made its application for $16,500 from the Gwaii Trust for a marketing and advertising plan for 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
“We are over the moon to welcome twin boys into our lives. Diana was just amazing and our babies are incredibly beautiful and healthy,” -- The early returns are in and it's much happiness in the home of Nathan and Diana Dahr Cullen
Your MP's Christmas card is going to look a little bit different this year, with the safe arrival of two boys for the MP for Skeena - Bulkley Valley.
It proved to be a busy 48 hours or so for NDP MP Nathan Cullen and his wife Diana, as the Cullen's welcomed twin boys into the world on Friday.
The boys were delivered safely by Diana Cullen at Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace in the early hours of Friday, weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and 5 and half pounds respectively.
Both parents were full of praise for the staff of Mills Memorial, the Cullen's had temporarily relocated to the city due to the medical requirements of a birth of twins, they plan on returning to their Smithers home in a few days.
No names have been decided on as of yet for the latest additions to the Northwest census lists and one day the voting rolls.
BP casts its gaze on the Gulf again, On a day of disappointing job numbers BC bucks the trend and Russia's wheat concerns could lead to social unrest, some of the economic items of note for Friday.
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. “I know that I’m not being 100 per cent complimentary, but I think you know I could say a heck of a lot more. If I were inclined to be that kind of person, I could be on the attack, I really could,”-- A warning shot across the bow of the good ship Harper, as former Cosnervative MP Helena Guergis suggests that she may have a lot more to say unless she is allowed back into the Tory fold.
Revenge as they say is best served cold, but sometimes it appears that when things are still a little lukewarm may be the best time to strike.
Helena Guergis was unceremoniously tossed out of the Conservative caucus in April during an investigation by the RCMP, and now that she's been cleared of any wrongdoing, the former minister is seeking an audience with the Prime Minister and a place back in the Conservative fold.
To get to that point, it seems that the former former Minister of State for the Status of Women is ready to play a little hardball with the Prime Minister, suggesting that she knows an awful lot of information and is ready to go on the attack in defence of her reputation and the handling of events by the Prime Minister and party officials.
Since then however, and despite the declarations of the RCMP that "All concerns relating to Ms Guergis have been resolved and no issues remain outstanding", Guergis has remained in a form of Conservative purgatory, shunned it seems by the Conservatives who seemingly prefer not to dwell on the result of the investigation and apparently not inclined to discuss her return to the party circle.
For her part Guergis is adamant that she intends to run in the next election, preferably as a Conservative, but if required as an Independent.
If she ends up having to choose the latter path to re-election, we imagine that her revelations may make things even more difficult for the Cosnervatives over their handling of the political mess. Her bottom line as it appears in the final quote from the Maclean's article, offers up one more uncomfortable moment for the Prime Minister, who is clearly having a rather crummy summer it seems.
It's an interesting strategy she's apparently planning, if Guergis is accepted back into the Conservative fold she apparently will keep quiet, only ready to reveal her secrets if forced to run as an Independent.
One wonders what the voters back in Simcoe-Grey might think of a candidate who only will speak out if she doesn't get her way. While it may in her mind be a workable solution to her political problems with her boss, it certainly doesn't seem the mark of someone with the riding's interests at the top of her political agenda.
If she has items of interest for the Canadian public, it's probably time to share them, holding them as some kind of Ace up the sleeve in a game of poker with Mr. Harper, isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of our politicians and their dedication to the public good.
You can refresh your children's bike skills and help out the cause of Cops for Cancer this weekend, as the local detachment of the RCMP and the BC Ambulance Servicewill be hosting a youth Bike rodeo on Saturday at Kwinitsa Station on the waterfront.
The event gets underway at 9:45 am with a helmet and bike fitting and then move on to bike safety, followed by a review of various skills and techniques when it comes to riding a bike.
A family fun ride is planned for 11:30 am with a BBQ to follow at the end of the ride.
It's a free event for the family, with any donations at the BBQ going to the Cops for Cancer Tour de North across Northern BC, the local RCMP have three riders in that event while there is one rider taking part from the BC Ambulance service.
There was lots of smoke in the air, but no blazes to report for residents of Prince George on Thursday night.
The Prince George on line news portal Opinion 250 has provided some interesting pictures of Northern BC's largest community wrapped in a blanket of smoke last night.
At times during the evening Prince George residents thought that perhaps forests within the vicinity of the city had caught fire, however that is not the case.
The drifting smoke which arrived over that city around the dinner time, had blown northward from the number of fires currently burning through the Cariboo Forest region, where wildfires have forced evacuations of isolated communities and closed a number of forest service roads while crews battle the flames.
A motorcycle/vehicle accident near the civic centre, modernization moves forward at Kitimat works and Udder fest is underway highlights the news cycle for Thursday.
The Northern View Motorcyclist sent to hospital after colliding with station wagon -- An accident near the Civic Centre brings the RCMP to investigate and sends a motorcyclist to the hospital (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 Major step forward in Kitimat smelter modernization-- Another step forward in Kitimat as Rio Tinto announces the next move in its long delayed modernization program of the Kitimat Smelter (see article here) (TV 7 news report here)
CFTK TV 7 Vehicle and motorcycle collide in Prince Rupert-- Details on the motor vehicle accident near the city's civic centre on Wednesday night (see article here)
CFTK TV 7 12th annual Udder Theatre Festival is here -- The annual festival of humour and improv is on once again on the stages of the Tom Rooney Playhouse and Performing Arts Centre. (see article here) (Sahar Nassimdoost report for TV 7 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
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