Gas prices drop across the city

It was only a couple of days ago that we were bemoaning the fact that for whatever reason, Prince Rupert was missing out on lower gas prices that had been posted across Northern B. C.

That changed yesterday as the 7-11 Esso outlet dropped it's price to 1.12, followed by the remaining stations by Wednesday morning, that is still four cents higher than many of the other retail outlets in Northern B. C. and especially when compared to the discount gas bars like the Terrace Safeway outlet.

Four cents is a start, but it still would be interesting if we could be given a reasonable explanation as to why we still pay more than our neighbours a mere ninety minutes down the road.

Prince Rupert residents have questions about proposed cancer centre in Prince George

While no one in the Northwest is begrudging Prince George's recent success in finally receiving the go ahead for a Cancer centre to be based in the Northern Interior city, there are some vital questions from a Northwest point of view that have yet to be answered.

The natural migration of residents in the northwest for cancer treatment has been on a north-south pattern for years, many families have a support system built in down on the lower mainland or Victoria, a comforting situation in a time of high personal stress.

As the current scenario works out, most patients requiring treatment would fly to the southern cities where facilities exist. There is a well developed system in place for patients and their families that has served the northwest well since put in place, and many are wondering if that support system is now at risk.

The concern is that with a new centre planned for Prince George that local residents will be forced to travel east west for treatment. On transportation alone, the requirement to travel to Prince George would add a number of hours in travel time, as the only way east is by rail or road and a lengthy travel period.

For those seeking treatment from the Northwest the comfort zone has been in the south, many are worried that all of that will change now in a bid to centralize treatment programs for the North in Prince George, they are hopeful for reassuring words on the issue.

The Daily News featured the debate as its front page story in Wednesday's paper.

CANCER CENTRE PLANS LEAVE QUESTIONS UNANSWERED

By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Pages one and three

Friday's announcement from the provincial government committing to a multifaceted strategy for Northern cancer patients comes as a relief to many, but still leaves some questions unanswered.

Premier Gordon Campbell said a new cancer treatment centre attached to the Prince George Regional Hospital will help improve care and close to home access for Northern British Columbians when it becomes operable in 2012.

"I'm delighted with the announcement, because it's been recognized if we could deliver some of those services closer to home it makes it a lot easier for the patient and the families to be together," said Northwest Regional District Hospital Chair Tony Briglio.

"Anything that brings appropriate, qualified medicine within or closer to our communities is a positive thing."

A fear that patients and families on the North Coast have already expressed is whether they will have a choice between using the new Prince George cancer centre, or opting to continue travelling down South for treatment. The Canadian Cancer Society has lodging for patients and their families adjacent to the Vancouver treatment centre which has proved to be an ideal place for patients from Northern communities.

"If patients were forced to go to Prince George in order for the treatment consultation to be fully funded by B.C. Health Insurance, it would be an issue," said Peggy Davenport, a retired nurse and Prince Rupert resident. "Down South there's lodging for people who come in from out of town where people can stay for less money, have their meals provided, and if there's enough room, have their family members stay with them. It's also a wonderful opportunity for patients to speak with other people who are going through treatment, and there's help available to them there."

In the government funded Consultation for Improved Cancer Care in Northern B.C. report, of which the Prince George cancer centre was a recommendation, the idea of a similar cancer lodge to support patients and their families was included.

While it has yet to be officially announced whether a facility of that nature will be constructed, the Canadian Cancer Society is willing to explore the possibility alongside the province.

"Certainly it's been a tradition that we've had in the Society that when a stand-alone cancer centre is built and people have to travel long distances to get there, we're happy to look at the development of a lodge," said Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Cancer Society, B.C. and Yukon Division Barbara Kaminsky. "When that happens we fund the construction through donor dollars, and look to the provincial government to help with the operating costs."

Generally half of the operating cost would be covered by user fees, and the other half would come from funding by some level of the provincial government. Early stage conversations between the Cancer Society and government representatives planning the centre have happened, but Kaminsky said no decisions have been made yet.

Whether or not lodging facilities will be available alongside the new centre, it's still the hope of many that it will still be the choice of patients whether to use the Prince George centre, or travel to one of the southern treatment facilities.

"Prince George certainly is a ways away, but it also has a tremendous catchment area within that outlying region," said Briglio. "It's a matter of choice for patients. If one patients choice is they want to go to Prince George that's their choice. But other patients might want to go where we've traditionally gone to Vancouver, and we've always had that choice."

Unsafe areas of Prince Rupert to be "mapped" by Transition Society

There's a change to the annual Take Back the Night program this year, as the North Coast Transition Society will gather city residents to a function at the Musuem of Northern B. C. on Thursday night.

Instead of the regular march through the city, participants in this years event will be asked to mark on a map of the city those ares which women say that they don't fee safe in, or areas where they feel the most secure while out in the city.

The Daily News had details on their plans and some background on the project in Tuesday's paper.

Mapping project will shed light on safety
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Pages one and three

The North Coast Transition Society is hoping to get as many members of the public as possible out on Thursday evening for this year's Take Back the Night event.

"Last year Take Back the Night was held in conjunction with Take Back the Highway, but it's always been held to recognize women haven't been totally safe at night, not just in the streets but in the home as well," said Leigh Murphy, a practicum student with the Transition Society who's helping organize the event in Prince Rupert.

This year Take Back the Night is being held on its own, and instead of the traditional walk to create awareness, there will be a meeting in the Ceremonial Room (downstairs overlooking the waterfront) at the Museum of Northern B.C. Thursday at 7 p.m.

This year's event will be a gathering of the public to discuss what are the areas of Prince Rupert where women do not feel safe. Hopefully it will result in some draft some recommendations that can be sent on to the City.

Stopping the Violence Program counselor Grainne Barthe has been working with Leigh Murphy to organize this year's event by visiting local organizations and having women place stickers on a large map of Prince Rupert to indicate places they feel safe or think are dangerous after dark.
"We call it the good, the bad and the ugly," said Barthe.

"We're getting women to put star stickers where it's good, the red dots equal places they feel somewhat unsafe, and the green stickers represent places women do not feel safe at all."
It's hoped that at Thursday night's meeting, when the giant poster is put up for everyone to see, the City will be able to react to what the public see as the problem areas in Prince Rupert.

"For example on certain parts of the waterfront there aren't any lights at all, or in the downtown core there are certain spots where we could get more police presence," said Barthe.

"So we're hoping this can be a pro-active ongoing project for Prince Rupert with everybody involved."

The Transition Society isn't just trying to have women involved at Thursday night's meeting, but everyone in the community who cares about the safety of women.

"Violence affects everybody, and we need everybody to participate to eliminate that," said Barthe. "Men have a role to play in it as well, because it's also about changing attitudes in terms of how we view violence towards women."

"This is just the first step in a larger project to make the community safer," noted Murphy. "Other cities have put together a project where they join with the RCMP and City Council and come together as a group to work on community safety."

Those who attend Take Back the Night will also have a chance to put stickers on the map and participate in the project, as well as fill out a small form to explain why they don't feel safe in certain areas, and make suggestions for further improvements to women's safety.

Last year's Take Back the Night was a big success, with around 150 people going out to participate, and Barthe and Murphy are hopeful that this year's evening will exceed that.

The North Coast Transition Society has many programs and services to assist women in the community, the most obvious being the Transition House which shelters women in abusive and detrimental circumstances. They also have an outreach program which does advocacy for women with legal and financial assistance, a B.C. Housing component, counselling for women and children, and a supporting recovery program for women who want to modify alcohol and drug lifestyles.

"Rupert is great in supporting us with everything, whether it's Zellers or Friendship House, or any one of the local private businesses who support the Transition Society," said Barthe. "We hope we can get the same kind of support from everyone else in the community for Take Back the Night on Thursday."

When it's absolutely not going to get there.

There will be a few delays in parcel delivery in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the next few days.

This Fed Ex tandem trailer left a highway in Texas and dropped off it's load along a fairly wide swath of the road side.

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Driver fatigue is being investigated as a possible cause for the crash.

We'll be right back after this short commercial message September 25

Suddenly, with today's headlines, Jack Baeur's endorsement options became limited..

Nice car, but does it come with a driver?

Cardiac unit on standby...

For Vancouver Canuck's GM Dave Nonis keeping away from the newspapers and the Internet might be the best thing he could do for his health.

A Canadian Press item on the Canoe website carried the ominous headline of: Luongo threatens to quit.

Now before they drag out the paddles and assemble Vancouver's best heart surgeons for an emergency resuscitation, it should be pointed out that the Neil Stevens article was doing a little forward thinking, looking ahead to a day when perhaps the NHL will make the nets larger.

A day, which if it comes during his time in the NHL, will according to Luongo be his final one with the league.

Luongo took part in a conference call on Tuesday afternoon providing answers to wide array of questions about the Canucks and their possibilities heading into a brand new season. But it was his reaction to the question about tinkering with the nets in the future, a frequently appearing trial balloon of late, that probably caused Nonis to gobble up Tums at a rapid pace.

Luongo said he'd have no desire to play if nets were larger than the current size of six feet by four feet. During a conference call Tuesday, he was asked how he'd react if bigger nets were mandated.

"If that day comes, I don't think you'd see me in the NHL," he replied.

He'd rather retire, he added.

Suffice to say that any vote to change the dimensions of the NHL nets will receive a nay from the Canucks.

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In fact any mention of tinkering, may send Nonis up to VGH or St. Paul's for a little tinkering of his own!

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The above post first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!

Training camp set to start for dock workers

With the first container ship set for arrival at Fairview Terminal on October 31st, the 300 plus long shore workers will soon begin a training program over the next two weeks, to provide them with the necessary skills to handle the vast number of containers due to land in Prince Rupert.

Tuesday’s Daily news provided some background on how the workforce was assembled and what may be ahead for the members of Local 505.

LONGSHOREMEN FIND THEIR FEET AT FAIRVIEW TERMINAL

By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Pages one and three

Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 505 will begin training at the Fairview Container Terminal site over the next two weeks, said Mark Schepp, assistant vice president of terminal operations for Maher Terminals.

Speaking at a Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week, Schepp said one of the biggest challenges of the opening the new facility is getting people trained and qualified on Maher's equipment. This includes reach stackers, tractors and cranes.

"We have started a training program down in Vancouver with members from the local union up here, but now we are going to start to train our folks up here and get some more seat time in the cranes."

Schepp said people might not realize just how much work has gone in to assembling the workforce for the Fairview Container Terminal.

Last April, Schepp asked to attend a union meeting and there were only 28 people there. It was at that point Maher realized it needed to pull partners together and come up with a plan.

"We had all of these good ingredients - we have this great facility, the support of this community, we have CN on board, the Prince Rupert Port Authority on board, but there was something missing, the people who run the port," he said.

Working with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 505 and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association, Maher put together a training program for longshoremen.
In the past, longshoremen on the North Coast have handled break bulk or logs, he said. Now some of them need to learn new skills to work with the new equipment and containers.

Last Tuesday, Schepp decided it would be good to address the union members again before the terminal's grand opening.

"Lo and behold last Tuesday night, we walked in to Fishermen's Hall and there were 300 plus people. It's pretty amazing. We can't say enough about Glen Edwards and the union here helping us through that process," he said.

Schepp is also optimistic that Maher's partners - CN Rail and the sipping lines - will be able to take advantage of Canada's abundance of natural resources and fill the empty containers heading back to Asia.

"One of the things we have often talked about is what opportunities are there in Canada," he said.

"We are a little behind some other countries."

Canada has lagged in its growth in exports to China over the last four years, showing only 17 per cent growth, while Japan has seen 73 per cent growth, Australia 58 per cent and the United States 52 per cent, he said.

However, CN has been making investments in stuffing facilities in Edmonton and Prince George to capture products to be sent back oversees.

And with the Chinese $1.7 trillion economy expected to grow by eight or nine per cent per year, the demand for natural resources will be there.

"Moving empties is not what it is about," he said.

A ten year cap on the Port’s tax rate the key to provincial subsidy

The Port of Prince Rupert will enjoy a capped tax rate for its facilities in Prince Rupert until 2018, all part of a provincial initiative to ensure that BC’s ports remain competitive on the world shipping scene well into the future.

The city of Prince Rupert went contrarian compared to some Lower Mainland communities which opposed a tax cap over loss of revenue complaints. Prince Rupert sided with the provincial government as long as the Provincial government kept up its side of the bargain with the subsidy program that is currently in place.

The Daily News featured the various layers of financial maneuvering in Monday’s paper.

‘PORT TAX SUBSIDY NOT A PROBLEM HERE’
Provincial government says controversial tax subsidy is crucial
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, September 24, 2008
Pages one and three

Prince Rupert will continue to receive a subsidy from the province of British Columbia in exchange for capping the tax rate on port facilities, at least for the next 10 years.

The province’s Finance Minister Carole Taylor said British Columbia plans to extend that the tax relief initiative for port facilities, which started three years ago, until 2018.

“Our ports contribute billions of dollars to the provincial economy each year and provide thousands of jobs for B. C. families,” said Taylor.

“This extension will provide additional support for communities and ports operators to ensure B. C.’s ports remain competitive into the future.”

The province has been consulting B. C. municipalities affected by the tax cap for the past year, including the City of Prince Rupert.

If approved by the Legislative Assembly, as of 2009 the Ports Competitiveness Initiative will include a continued tax rate cap of $27.50/$1,000 of assessed value for, existing investments for 10 years and a continued tax rate cap of $22.50/$1,000 on new investments for 10 years on improvements constructed before Dec. 31, 2018.

It will also include increased municipal compensation and payments indexed to the rate of inflation from 2009 to 2018; and the option for municipalities to negotiate 10 year agreements with port operators using new provisions in the Community Charter.

While some municipalities in the Lower Mainland opposed the tax cap because they complained that it results in a loss of revenue when compared with the rate normally charged to major industry, the city of Prince Rupert supported the program, as long as the subsidy received by the province was continued, said Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond.

“We participated fully in the consultation process and we provided written comment on the draft proposal that was prepared.

“We suggested it was far beyond any one community to determine if the project was successful,” said Pond.

“The purpose was to protect the province’s port capacity and to develop the port capacity.”

“We had no opinion on whether it would be successful or not, but what we did say since it was a provincial objective that was being achieved, if it did continue, the subsidy needed to continue with it,” said Pond.

Starting in 2009, the proposed renewal would see the province increase compensation by the rate of inflation since 2004 and index future payments to inflation. In addition, the proposal provides local governments and port operators with the ability to enter into their own ports competitive agreements using new provisions in the Community Charter.

In Prince Rupert, all the businesses taxed under major industry fall under the port tax cap, with the exception of the Watson Island Pulp Mill, which does not have to pay taxes until June of 2008.

Introduced in 2003, the initiative provides property tax relief to 20 major industrial ports by capping municipal tax rates on eligible facilities and compensates local governments for the resulting impact.

Ian Bush shooting to go to civil litigation.

The family of Ian Bush, the Houston resident who was shot to death on October 29th of 2005 while in police custody, have announced that they are planning on taking civil action against both RCMP Constable Paul Koester and the RCMP.

In July a five person coroners jury into the death of the 22 year old made a number of recommendations after seven days of emotional testimony that held Houston's undivided attention. The jury findings were not much comfort to the Bush family, who feel that justice was not served for their son by the time that the proceedings came to an end.

Opinion 250 is reporting today that the Bush family has retained the same lawyer Howard Rubin, who represented them at that inquest.

Mother Set To Start Civil Action In Shooting Death Of Ian Bush
By 250 News
Tuesday, September 25, 2007 03:59 AM

Linda Bush , the mother of Ian Bush who was shot to death by RCMP Constable Paul Koester at the Houston detachment of the RCMP nearly two years ago, says the family is definitely going to launch a civil action against the officer and the RCMP.

Linda Bush says the matter is in the works and her lawyer (who represented the family at the inquest in Houston) Howard Rubin is hoping to have the action filed soon.

Linda Bush was attending a forum being hosted by the B.C Civil Liberties Association in Vancouver.

Exciting Business Opportunity 700 kilometres down the road?

So as all Podunkians by now are aware, Rogers Cellular is making plans to begin service to the Northwest in a little over a month.

So it's with interest that we noticed this ad (click on picture), which first appeared last week and is once again in Tuesday's Daily News on page eight.

An Exciting Business Opportunity, with Rogers Wireless seeking a well established business to add wireless products to their existing product line up, or interested candidates to start up a new wireless company in the PRINCE GEORGE area???

Now we're curious, why would Rogers advertise in the Prince Rupert Daily News, for opportunities in Prince George? We would imagine that they might have a bit better reception to their request by advertising in the Prince George papers...

We may be wrong on this, but could it be that the ad should say Prince Rupert?

It would seem to make sense, since they are advertising in the Prince Rupert Daily News. And considering that they are planning to arrive on our scene in one month and thus far haven't announced any retail outlets ready to provide Rupertites with the cutting edge of wireless gizmo's..

It will be interesting to see if the ad changes geographical focus in the next few days, once they notice that nobody from Prince Rupert is ready to jump in and offer long distance customer service to Prince George.

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It would certainly be a bonus for CityWest, if the Rogers cellular office is in Prince George. We suspect that if that were the case, there may be a reduction in Podunkians ready to transfer their calls...

All Jacked up, with Jack Baeur?

You would think that the CTU could have sprung for a cab!

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It was three of 24 hours of Baeur power in the LA detention centre on Monday night, as 24's Kiefer Sutherland spent time incarcerated for investigation of misdemeanour drunken driving.

Sutherland's problems began when he made an illegal U turn on a busy California street and attracted the attention of the West Los Angeles Police. The actor was pulled over about 1:10 a.m. and taken into custody after he tested over the state's legal blood alcohol limit of .08 per cent.

Regrettably for the Canadian star of the Fox show, his run in with the law is not his first as the website TMZ.com blazed across its website today and for which its legions of fans had many a commentary on.

After posting $25,000 (U.S.) bail, Sutherland was released from custody with a promise to appear in court on October 16th to answer the charges.

This finally gives us the answer to the always pivotal question of "What would jack Baeur do?"

In this case it would appear, he would call a lawyer!

Prince Rupert brings Gateway and transportation hopes to UBCM

Prince Rupert’s municipal battle group has headed to the front at the UBCM convention in Vancouver, the Mayor, his council and city staff members taking to the conference halls to sell the Prince Rupert way (and wishes) to the assembled brethren.

The one week convention allows municipal, provincial and the occasional federal politician to rub shoulders and share thoughts on how best to make use of those sneaky tax dollars that have a way of slipping away from time to time.

This year it appears will be a be a year of reinforcement for the Rupert troops, Mayor Herb Pond advised the Daily News that they mainly wish to follow up on some if the issues that they talked about at last years festival of policy and priorities. Among some of the Mayors talking points this week will be telecommunications, expanding the airport, housing and the always on the short list Tsimshian Access Project.

That once grand scheme for a towering suspension bridge across the inking Prince Rupert to the Digby Island airport has been scaled back a bit for now from its earlier design. Now the plan is for first a 70 million dollar road and ferry service between Digby Island and Port Simpson and Metlakatla, which the Mayor believes would solve a number of issues locally such as port issues and a potential housing crunch. Any plans for a bridge would require another 72 million and it would appear would be a debate for another day or perhaps for another election year.

The details on the transportation plan to be discussed at UBCM and other hopes and wishes were found in a front page story in Monday’s Daily News.

GATEWAY COORDINATOR MAY BE ANNOUNCED SOON: POND
Mayor, city staff and councilors have busy schedules at UBCM gathering
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, September 24, 2007
Pages one and three

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond said the city is hopeful that the province will soon appoint a northern gateway strategy coordinator to help communities in the Northwest develop the Asia Pacific Gateway.

City councilors and senior staff are heading off to meet with provincial and federal ministers at the annual Union of British Columbia Municipalities Convention (UBCM,) and Pond said he would like to hear the announcement of an appointment to the new position in the near future.

“Largely, we will be following up some of the issues we had been talking about last year where we have made some progress,” said Pond.

“The province is just in the final throws of appointing a northern gateway strategy coordinator to be located in Prince Rupert. That flowed from our conversation last year.”

At the 2006 UBCM convention, the city gave a presentation about the many challenges it faces in developing the infrastructure necessary to fully support the expansion of the Fairview Container Terminal.

These include issues such as telecommunications, expanding the airport and housing.

“All of those are things we want to do to make sure we support the port,” said Pond.

The Tsimshian Access Project is also high on the list of city priorities,” said Pond.

The proposed project is a $70 million plan to put a road and improved ferry service between Digby Island, Port Simpson and Metlakatla.

“If we have a good road and ferry access with Lax Kw’alaams, Metlakatla and the airport, it solves some of our port issues, it solves some of housing issues, it solves some of our labour issues all in one project,” said Pond.

In 2004, the three communities produced a study about the project.

The provincial highway standard road being proposed would have to be couple with some kind of crossing at Vern Passage and the total project cost is expected to be around $72 million. This is excluding the plan for a $60 million suspension bridge between Prince Rupert and Digby Island.

According to the study, all three communities run ferry services from Rupert to their respective destinations for an annual subsidy of $1.7 million.

However, the study shows that even with the economic benefits of the project – just based on the program savings, land transfers and the social benefits- the project is economically feasible because it will save the agencies involved $75 million in the long term. This is slightly more than the $72 million price tag expected for the Tsimshian Access Project proposal.

We'll be right back after this short commercial message September 24

Sometimes out of country medical care is challenging,,

You really need to be on the same page as the doctors before the operation...

It's hard to keep those rail cars standing up straight..

More troubles for CN Rail, as Opinion 250 reported Monday that four rail cars bound for Prince Rupert with full loads of grain went off the rails in the downtown Prince George yard.

Described as a minor mishap, the incident took place in the early afternoon on Monday, no delays to further shipments to Ridley Island were anticipated, save for the four cars relieved of their loads.

In the meantime, questions are being asked about why there seems to be an increase in the frequency of these incidents..

Perhaps it has to do with the training films?



Four Grain Cars Off The Tracks In Prince George
By 250 News
Monday, September 24, 2007 04:33 PM

Four grain cars left the CN tracks today in what is being described as a minor mishap by CN officials.

The four cars contained grain heading for the Port of Prince Rupert.

Two of the cars spilled product when they fell on their sides during the mishap , which happened behind the Bottle Depot on 1st.

No one was injured and train traffic in and out of the city was not delayed. The mishap took place just after 2.30 this afternoon.

Somebody take away this mans cell phone priviliges...

"Hold on there Ahmadinejad, before you launch them things, i have to take this call"

Sometimes a little connectivity can be a bad thing!

The latest bonehead in political land is Rudy Giuliani, who took time out of a speech for the National Rifle Association to take a phone call from his wife! While we're sure that the NRA supporters are most likely family oriented, we suspect they also cast sideways glances at men who have the wife constantly checking up on them.

The NRA phone in was the second time that Giuliani has taken a call from his wife Judi while on the campaign trail, maybe she's giving him polling results or talking points as they go.




It's endearing for sure, that Rudy and Missus are in constant contact, but sometimes you'd like to think that the would be leader of the free world would dedicate a fair chuck of his time on the big issues of the day, rather than whether he should pick up eggs and bread on the way back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

You know, if folks were to base their political choices on some of the snippets that Jon Stewart of the Daily show features on a nightly basis, there would be a lot less names on the ballot come November of 2008.

Rule number one: whenever on the run from the law, always do up your seatbelt!

Sometimes the cases just seem to solve themselves, an Alberta couple may very well be home for Thanksgiving, though they may not like the travel arrangements that are about to be made for them .

The Monday Daily News has the details of an arrest last week of a couple from Alberta who were wanted on Alberta and British Columbia-wide arrest warrants.

Their days of freedom came to an end after they were caught in a seatbelt check on Fulton Street, allegedly not wearing the car restraint devices. Their decision to spurn the seat belt laws of the province have landed them in a hotter pot of water than simple traffic infractions.

Seatbelt check nets pair
The Daily News
Monday, September 24, 2007

A married couple who were allegedly on the run from authorities in Alberta had been laying low in Prince Rupert since January of 2007, according to Prince Rupert RCMP.

Glenn John Nielsen and his wife Jacoba Paulina Nielsen were pulled over by RCMP for the driver's alleged failure to wear a seatbelt in the 600 block of Fulton Street.

Police then identified Glenn Nielsen as being wanted and the subject of an Alberta and British Columbia-wide arrest warrant.

Police said further investigation revealed that Jacoba Nielsen was also wanted on two unendorsed warrants.

The couple was arrested without incident and appeared before the Prince Rupert Provincial Court on Sept. 20. They have been charged with theft over $5,000, the aggregate amount of which exceeds $180,000, in addition to possession of stolen property over $5,000. The Nielsens remain in police custody and are scheduled to be escorted to Alberta to be dealt with according to law.

If anyone has additional information pertaining to this investigation please contact Crimestoppers at 250-627-8477 or the Prince Rupert R.C.M.P. at 250-627-0700.

Take the Long way home!

Travelling east to west in Podunk on Monday afternoon became a bit of an adventure for motorists. A fuel or fluid spill on the Hays Creek bridge approach resulted in slick road conditions and eventually closed roads, as Prince Rupert Fire Rescue and the RCMP responded to the incident.

Reports had a Skeena Disposal truck having problems on Sixth Avenue East and spilling fuel or fluids along the road, resulting in a nasty mess and one that had the potential to be quite hazardous for those driving along the road.

The normally easy and quick five minute trip from downtown to Seal Cove turned into a circle tour of backstreets, as Sixth was blocked from the west at Hays Cove Petro Can and from the east at Donald street, Drydock Road was also closed at George Hills.

The road re-opened later in the afternoon after a noticeable amount of sand was dropped along the bridge and on the hill up Sixth..

Lower gas price trend seems to miss podunk

If it wasn't for the fact you'd use it all up on the trip east, it would almost be worthwhile to drive eight hours for gas.

The price of a litre is a full eight cents cheaper in Prince George this week, after gas prices continued their downward trend of late and dropped two more cents after the weekend.

The monday morning commute in Prince George saw gas priced at 1.08 a litre, the lowest price that they have paid there since April.

Drive by a Podunk station today and you'll have to pay 1.16, must be some serious transportation costs for that last 722 of kilometres!

It's 10 AM, do you know where your Mayor and council are?

The annual gathering of municipal and provincial politicians is underway in Vancouver.

The UBCM convention, opened the doors at 8 am today, as delegates from across the province have invaded the big city to take part in five days of study and socializing.

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It's an ambitious little agenda that they have in place for the week long festival of politics, this years theme is the environment, with a number of workshops planned for the first day to ease the participants into the weighty topics of the week.

Today, participants will have tours of the Port of Vancouver, sit down to discuss the pine beetle and explore partnerships on climate change with First Nations communities across the province.

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There is always the popular trade show component to the gathering to take in, where "Exhibitors at the 2007 UBCM Convention will meet with over 2,000 BC local government decision makers face-to-face," a stop which we assume our local crew may just as well take a pass on, considering the latest revelations of financial shortfalls at city hall.

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There's not much use kicking some tires and taking a test drive, if you can't pay for the product we suppose. Though it must be tempting to wander the aisles and aisles of the latest gadgets and gizmos and dream of what you could have brought home as a souvenir other than the obligatory tee shirts and fridge magnets.

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While we can't be there in person, we can follow along at home, the entire convention program has been posted to the internet, so you too can immerse yourself in the joys of convention life, alas without the benefit of the social networking and happy hours...

"The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge"

Ketchikan's most talked bridge that may never be, is a lot closer to never being today.

The New York Times has a story on the much discussed "bridge to nowhere", a structure that was to link the Ketchikan airport with the city at a cost of near 400 million dollars.

The Gravina Island bridge project became one of the poster children for federal spending run amok, as critics expressed concern at the plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a bridge to an airport to serve a population of less than 15,000 dollars, it was described by many as pork barrelling at its worst.

It had been in the planning stages for the last thirty years, as state and federal politicians navigated the murky waters of the earmarks process through Congress. Last week, the state's Republican Governor Sarah Polin, all but killed off the plan to bridge the gap between the two islands.

“We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island,” Ms. Palin said. “The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge.”

Needless to say, in some quarters of Ketchikan there is disappointment that the grand structure seems destined for the dreams that never were file.

Mayor Joe Williams of Ketchikan Gateway Borough, recounted the years of controversy over the project and how his city had been the target of much derision locally and internationally over their desires for a fixed link, and now; “We have nothing to show for it.”

The Governor says that the federal monies that were to go to the bridge will now be redistributed around the state for a number of projects, including an improvement to the ferry service to the Ketchikan airport.

The governor also urged Alaskans not to dwell on the bridge, a little bit of wishful thinking we would suspect.

Somehow, we don't believe that she will get her wish, while it's chances of being built now seem remote at best, the legend of the Bridge to nowhere will not doubt be part of Alaska's political scene for a number of years to come.

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Ketchikan's Sit News had a couple of stories as well as letters posted on its website today, giving some local input to the controversial issue.