Podunk Below the Masthead (Friday July 23, 2010)

Economic Development ideas from Prince Rupert, there's money in  those traffic fines for Prince Rupert and an inquest into a police involved shooting set for Smithers in the fall, sone of the items of note for Friday's news files.

The Northern View
No new items were posted to the Northern View website on Friday

CFTK TV 7
Economic Development Officer envisions a prosperous Prince Rupert -- Derek Baker the new Economic Development Officer for Prince Rupert outlines some of his plans for reinvigorating the Prince Rupert business community (see article here)

CFTK TV 7
Northwest Communities Receive Millions in Provincial Funding -- Prince Rupert receives the second highest amount of funding under a provincial program which provides money culled from the Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing program and Small Community and Regional District Grants (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 
Inquest Announced into Death of Rodney Jackson -- The police involved shooting of Rodney Jackson in September will be the focus of an inquest in Smithers later this year (see article here)

QCI Observer 
Lack of garbage removal concerns committee -- Garbage concerns at the Moresby Camp/Gaawu Kuns recreation site (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

Provincial funding from traffic fine collection for Prince Rupert tops the northwest

A combination of community grant funding and a share of Traffic fine revenues from Prince Rupert sources (ie: you folks that pay your traffic fines on time) has helped to put Prince Rupert into second place of Northwest communities in a recent funding announcement from the Province of British Columbia.

Public safety and other municipal services in the city will be topped up to $186,451 under a program which combines Small Community Grants and Traffic Fine Revenue sharing, the split in Prince Rupert being almost equal with the city receiving 92,271 under the Grant program and 93,730 from the shared revenue fund.

Of Northwest communities only Terrace received  slightly more overall funding under the shared plan, with that city collecting 194,675 dollars in funding.

Of the traffic fine enforcement program however, Rupert is clearly the leader in collecting revenue, the city's share of those funds at $93,730 is significantly higher than Terrace's $83,391 collected,  by comparison other northwest communities hauled in quite a bit less with Kitimat recording $49,532 in funding from traffic sources while Smithers only brought in $34,275. (Interestingly enough, Port Edward had no traffic fine funding listed in the report)

All together across British Columbia, the total funding for communities from both sources totalled $38.6 million dollars, the breakdown by community province wide can be found here.

Maybe they all went golfing

This weeks offering of the CBC's Daybreak North programming provided what we thought would be an interesting review of the closure of the Daily News.

Listed on the program's website review of top stories of the week was an interview from Monday with former Daily News reporter George T. Baker, who we imagine was going to provide us with some insight into those final days of the 99 year old Prince Rupert institution.

So, it was a bit confusing to say the least when we clicked on play in the CBC media player and found that instead of the look back at the Daily News, we instead learned more than we really wanted to know about the future of the Prince George Pine Centre Golf course lands.  That as a Prince George Free Press reporter updated us all on the breaking news of golf course land development

With a little luck sometime this weekend perhaps the CBC might insert the Daily News story into its audio archive retrieval system. With that hope, here's the current link for the page and the current story with the Prince Rupert topic (but featuring rather grandiose dreams of PG parkland)

We'll give them a mulligan on this one for now, though the glitch doesn't bode well for enhanced coverage of Rupert based stories from the public radio provider.

It's the economy (Friday, July 23, 2010)

Company perks aplenty, bailed out and over compensated and UK banks pass their stress tests, some of the items of interest from Friday's financials.

Globe and Mail-- 7 banks fail European stress test
Globe and Mail-- Federal deficit narrows to $4.4-billion
Globe and Mail-- Workers agree to Port of Montreal deal
National Post-- China’s dynamic approach to sovereign debt ratings
National Post-- 10 company perks that will make you insanely jealous
National Post-- North American markets close higher
Vancouver Sun-- PCL to cut back bus service
New York Times-- Seven Banks in Europe Fail ‘Stress Test’ for Scant Capital
New York Times-- Ford, Reporting Another Profit, Sees More Gains Ahead
New York Times-- Addicted to Bush
USA Today-- Pay czar: 17 big bailed-out banks overpaid execs by $1.6B
USA Today-- Gasoline prices expected to jump 5 cents in next few days
Guardian UK online-- UK economy grows almost twice as fast as forecast
Guardian UK online-- Stress tests leave UK banks unscathed
Guardian UK online-- Microsoft posts record quarterly revenues of $16bn
The Independent-- It is no good squealing about dodgy borrowers who cannot get bank credit
The Independent-- Europe’s banks may be OK, but the wider economy is under stress
Telegraph UK online-- Fancy an England mug or shirt, going cheap?
Telegraph UK online- Insurers warn 'Bogus Britain': we're watching you
Telegraph UK online-- Real stress is that banks’ worst-case scenarios have still to be tested
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Resource sector drives growth, inflation fear
Melbourne Herald Sun-- NAB fuels home loan profits row
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Export prices jumps 16pc in June quarter, boosts national income
People's Daily-- China orders ports to enhance safety after Dalian pipeline accident
People's Daily-- China faces increasing employment pressure despite stable jobless rate
China Daily-- China key for trade growth
China Daily-- Govt gets strict on high-risk workplaces
Times of India-- PM advisory panel favours RBI action to curb inflation
Times of India-- Japanese co to invest $750 million in JSW Steel

Conservative House Leader Hill calls it a day on the Hill

“I’ve always felt that for politicians the time to go is when things are still going well … when you’ve reached the crest of the hill, but before starting down the other side. For me that time is now.”-- Part of the statement announcing that Prince George- Peace River MP Jay Hill is stepping down. Helpfully translated by the National Post as: “This is as good as it gets folks. It’s all downhill from here.” 

When Canadians eventually return to the voting booths to elect the next Parliament, there will be one name not appearing on the ballot in Prince George- Peace River.  Jay Hill, the long time MP for the region, who started his political career as a member of the Reform Party has decided that after seventeen years in Parliament, the time has come to find some other things to do.

Hill currently the House Leader in Ottawa, has been a power broker of sorts in Northern BC during his time in the Harper government, frequently found making those announcements across the region that occasionally come with an oversized cheque, mostly closer to his Prince George-Peace base, but occasionally out to the further reaches of Northwestern BC.

Over his time in Ottawa, he has been found involved in some of the major political and economic events of the Northwest,.

He has been a frequent booster of expansion of the Port of Prince Rupert's container port plans, no doubt finding that it also provides a fair amount of benefit for Prince George-Peace, through CN Rail's investment in Prince George. Though it now seems that he'll have left office before any of those expansion plans have moved forward towards a start date.

He also was prominent in the events at Ridley Terminals of a year ago which saw Dan Veniez removed as head of the coal terminal after a string of conflicts with federal officials. His riding is a key coal producing region, sohe had a rather strong interest in developments of the terminal and wasn't, as recent history has shown, on the same page as Mr. Veniez.

With his departure much is being made as to what it heralds for the future fortunes of the Harper Government whenever that election day comes along.

While it's doubtful that the Conservatives could lose Prince George-Peace to either of the opposition parties, the fact that a senior member is taking his leave, could as the Post article suggests, mean that the path to re-election for other Conservative MP's may be a little harder  when Canadians next mark their X.

Some of the reviews of his decision to leave federal politics can be found below.

CTV News-- Tory MP Jay Hill will not seek re-election
Alaska Highway News-- Jay Hill won’t seek re-election
Energy city News-- Jay Hill will not seek re-election

Podunk Below the Masthead (Thursday, July 22, 2010)

Upgrades are planned for Charles Hays Secondary, Feral cats continue to be a problem in the city and a basketball game between the RCMP and local youth, highlight the news items for Thursday.

The Northern View
Charles Hays Secondary to get $350,000 upgrade-- Details on a School District 52 announcement that will see money invested in Charles Hays Secondary School to upgrade air conditioning and heating systems as the school (see article here)


CFTK TV 7
Feral Cats a problem...still -- Prince Rupert's feral cat population is seemingly growing a situation that is of concern to the local SPCA (see article here)


CFTK TV 7
Youth vs Police in basketball game -- A preview of a basketball game matching up RCMP members and Prince Rupert Youth on Friday, taking place at the courts at the Masonic Hall (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

Hopes dwindle over Eurocan employee buyout plan

“From my point of view, it’s pretty well over,” --  Randy Halyk, Kitimat Counil member and part of the Eurocan viability group explaining to the Kitimat Sentinel his thoughts on the local bid for ownership of the Eurocan mill.

The deadline came and went and with no non-refundable deposit provided to West Fraser Timber on July 15th, the possibilities of an employee led buyout of the closed mill seems to be getting slimmer.

Back on July 6, the Viability Group, CEP and BC Co-operative Association had  proposed to a community meeting that the mill be purchased by the local group and run a single line producing sack kraft.

At that time a trust account was developed, hoping at the time to attract local business interests in Kitimat into the investment pool, but not enough local interest came forward, reducing the chances that an outside investor may wish to partner up in a bid for the mill, which shut down in January putting over 500 employees out of work.

An email of mid July outlined some of the terms of that proposed investment structure, with shares pegged at five thousand dollars each, with community share holders required to purchase two shares, workers would have been required to hold five shares in the new venture.

In the end it seems that there was not enough interest in the plan to put forward the necessary deposit on July 15th.

The Northern Sentinel outlined much of the background behind the days leading up to the deadline of last Thursday,.

The Eurocan buyout deadline has also been featured on a number of other media outlets in Northern BC.

Opinion 250-- No Co-op Bid Received For Eurocan
CFTK TV 7-- Hopes fading in effort to save Eurocan mill

Coast Tsimshian Academy employees granted BCGEU application

The BCGEU website has outlined the latest developments in the labour troubles at the Lax Kw'alaams Academy, as local employees at the Academy have had their application for membership in the provincial union approved.

The order issued on July 19th, certified the BCGEU as the employees bargaining agent in their dispute with Lax Kw'alaams management. Including teachers, teaching assistants and other staff members there are now 40-43 members within the Bargaining unit.

The board also ruled in the union's favour over the position of vice-principal, advising that the position belongs in the bargaining unit as proposed by the BCGEU.

The union will now get to work negotiating a first contract for the employees with the Independent school, in addition to those negotiations, the BCGEU will continue to seek a resolution over the dismissal of two Academy employees including the vice principal.

Some of the background on the dispute can be found from our archives.

 (Podunk) BCGEU files complaint against Coast Tsimshian Academy
 (Northern View) BCGEU files a complaint against the Coast Tsimshian Academy
CFTK TV 7-- Union Organizes at Lax Kw'alaams School

It's the economy (Thursday, July 22, 2010)

Loonie preparing for days of parity, plunging investment in the UK and Australia's mining industry is back on the attack, some of the items of interest for Thursday.

Globe and Mail-- Europe to release bank stress tests
Globe and Mail-- The tables turn: Banks woo small firms
Globe and Mail-- Don’t end stimulus spending: Bernanke
National Post-- 9 ways Bernanke could stimulate the economy right now
National Post-- Loonie should approach parity when U.S. outlook improves
National Post-- Growth petered out in 2nd quarter: Bank of Canada
Vancouver Sun- Vancouver Convention Centre to host large meetings industry conference
New York Times-- G.M. Buys a Subprime Lender for $3.5 Billion
New York Times-- Fed Would Act if Needed, Chairman Says
New York Times-- Will Stress Tests Penalize Strong European Banks?
USA Today-- Dell pays $100 million to settle SEC charges of fraudulent accounting
USA Today-- Bernanke repeats warning: Don't end stimulus spending
Guardian UK online-- It's too soon for austerity, Ben Bernanke tells Congress
Guardian UK online-- UK sees foreign investment plunge
Guardian UK online-- Slovenia's biggest bank will fail stress test, admits PM
The Independent-- The Monetary Policy Committee and its incredible balancing act
The Independent-- Economy set for triple whammy, admits Bank chief
Telegraph UK online-- Watch out, the great £50bn property unload is about to begin
Telegraph UK online-- Watchdog bares teeth to protect pensions from politicians
Telegraph UK online-- Scotland on brink of double-dip recession
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Miners threaten Gillard again
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Foster's uncorks a treasure
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Resources tax ad war set to reignite
People's Daily-- China important to global economic stabilization: WTO's Lamy
People's Daily-- China develops 5-trillion-yuan alternative energy plan
China Daily-- China should widen yuan's float: PBOC researcher
China Daily-- China to start levying property tax in 2012
Times of India-- Wal-Mart urges India to open retail sector
Times of India-- Pricing power returns to laundry market

Political storms move through Mr. Harper's most uncomfortable summer

There are lies, damned lies and statistics.-- Mark Twain


We're not sure what it is about vacation time that sends the Harper Government into stupid mode, but once again while the nation would best be content to finding a beach, soaking some sun and having some fun, our political class have found a way to intrude on our restive slumber of all things political.


The latest in the fumbles of the Conservative government comes from the world of statistics of all things, as the head of Statistics Canada tenders his resignation, frustrated to the point of quitting from the interference of the Government in the wonderful world of statistical gathering.

Chief statistician Munir Sheikh packed up his number 4 pencils today and launched a serious rebuke at the Conservatives for their decision to cancel the long form census, a project which one in five Canadians participates in providing a more thorough interpretation of the things that make us tick as Canadians.


Mr. Sheikh, took exception to the concept that he and his officials at Statistics Canada were onside with the Conservatives with the plan to replace the mandatory long version of the census with a shorter voluntary version, or as he put it, as reported by the Globe and Mail:


“I want to take this opportunity to comment on a technical statistical issue which has become the subject of media discussion ... the question of whether a voluntary survey can become a substitute for a mandatory census,” Mr. Sheikh wrote. 


“It can not,” he said. 


 “Under the circumstances, I have tendered my resignation to the prime minister.”


It's not very often that a senior public official so strenuously objects to a change in Government policy and the fact that he quickly repudiated the impression that he was onside with the Government shift suggests that the government, once again, didn't fully examine its decision and certainly didn't fully express the feeling of their own statisticians when they suggested that Stats Canada was onside.


And as Steven Chase and Tavia Grant explain in the Globe and Mail today, not only are the senior bureaucrats against the plan, but so to it seems are the majority of the department's 6,000 workers who are said to be demoralized over the latest steps by the Government.


For whatever reason, the Harper government can't seem to help itself when it comes to creating a crisis where none need be created.

They chose not to accept the advice of Ontario and Toronto officials when it came to the circus of the G8 and G20, and while in a more sensible world, hosting a major economic forum in the nation's largest city probably shouldn't have been a problem. Considering the annual cycle of violence that these events have come to attract, it really would have been a more sensible path to have hosted the circus in a more remote and less accessible location to the roving bands of malcontents.

With the vision of burning police cars, stampeding protestors and then a push back from the police to regain its streets, the early summer days for the nation were spent watching a view of anarchy in a normally peaceful city.

Any photo ops for the Prime Minister hosting the world's powerful were quickly passed over for the vision of smoke rising from the streets and glass tumbling to the ground, which image do will stand the test of time from that show we wonder.

Adding to the PM's summer of woe will be the prospect that he may have jumped the gun when he tossed cabinet minister Helena Guergis out of the inner and outer circles. Turns out that maybe he should have waited for the RCMP to conclude their investigation, for as things have turned out, she seems to have been found innocent of all charges.

Of course, it was Christmas time a year ago when the Harper Government interrupted our Christmas observances with a constitutional crisis, that of the proroguing of Parliament.

It may have put to a halt to the questionable tactic of a coalition taking power without benefit of endorsement from the public, but by its introduction it suspended the normal course of democratic representative government for too long a period of time.

Leaving Canadians to wonder as to the democratic tendencies of all those that end up taking a desk on the Hill.

It also leaves us to wonder if anyone on the Hill knows what they are doing.

While those that oppose the Conservative viewpoint might disagree, the Harper Conservatives have held a fairly steady hand on the minority government tiller, but every once and a while it seems they develop a serious case of the stupids.

Statistics Canada no doubt could provide us with some data highlighting the number of mistakes it takes before a Government finally comes to the end of its time in power, we imagine that short form or long form, the results will be the same.

Patience more than anything else could prove to be the strategy that the Liberals and NDP should adhere to in Ottawa, at least considering the state of Conservative woe that  Kelly McParland recounts in the National Post.

At this rate of self destruction, Mr. Harper may find that he's handing over the keys to 24 Sussex sooner than later.

Podunk Below the Masthead, Wednesday, July 21, 2010

A settlement for Queen of the North claims, water concerns in Port Clements and the last shot at saving the Eurocan mill seems to have passed by, some of the items of interest in the news review for Wednesday.

The Northern View
No new items were posted to the Northern View website on Wednesday.

CFTK TV 7
Queen of the North survivors settle class-action suit-- Survivors of the ill fated journey of the Queen of the North have settled their claims in court, but in the end, over 40 passengers will have only 140,000 dollars to split in settlement (see article here)

CFTK TV 7 News
Hopes fading in effort to save Eurocan mill-- The avenues to reopening the closed Eurocan mill of Kitimat seem to be closing off with a deadline having passed on what seemed like the last hope of saving the operation in the form of an employee co-op (see article here)

QCIObserver
Water petition circulates in Port-- Details of a petition in place on Haida Gwaii to discuss the recent order to add chlorine to the village's water system (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

Reconfiguring the Rupert media scene

Wednesday brought the first home delivery of a newspaper  in the city since the closure of the Daily News which published its final edition last Friday.

The weekly arrival of the Northern View, marks a change to the Prince Rupert media scene since that paper's parent company, Black Press, purchased a number of assets from Glacier Media, including the Daily News and closed the 99 year old Prince Rupert paper.

To that end, Shaun Thomas of the Northern View outlined some thoughts on the passing of the city's daily paper and provided some insight into the future of the print media in the city through the pages of the remaining journal for the city.

A lengthy editorial that outlined some of the history of the Daily News and the impact that the loss of jobs not only has on the community but the industry as well.

Among the notes from the page that stood out is the prospect that the Northern View will be adding on staff to increase its news coverage in the wake of the Daily News closure, a welcome thing for those on the North coast that still seek out information on events in the community through journalists. We're not sure how large a staff they plan on taking on in that cause, but we hope that it results in comprehensive reviews of events and more in depth and inquisitive coverage to those issues that Rupertites need information on.

One thing that seems clear from the editorial is that for the foreseeable future the Weekly will remain just that, a once a week publication, making more use of its website for daily updates on key news items of the day.

While Black Press might suggest that the Northern Connector could help fill the news void with its Friday delivery, the simple fact is that the Connector while an interesting archive of events from Black Press papers from beyond Prince Rupert, is not a substitute for a dedicated look at events in Prince Rupert. It's main purpose it would seem is to provide some entertaining filler for the weekly delivery of flyers prior to the weekend shopping excursions.

In the days leading up to the closure of the Daily, Black Press officials were using the Connector as an indication that their efforts would be published in a twice a week schedule, but in reality, for local news delivered in a newspaper format, there will be but one press run a week.

The editorial does however inform us that the Northern View intends to step up its game, and that's a welcome advisory from the paper.

It should also serve as a challenge to the other members of the media in the community to do likewise, whether it be TV 7 providing increased focus on Prince Rupert news and events, or the Terrace based private radio hubs adding to their information programming to serve this community better, all would be welcome additions to their programming day as well.

Not to be left out is the publicly funded CBC, which seems of late to have gravitated more towards the Prince George end of the dual studio format. While perhaps it's an anomaly this week, but a simple search of the Daybreak website , shows not one Rupert based item featured for the highlights section for the week of July 11 - 17.

Perhaps simply expanding or adding to the format of that particular feature of the station's coverage could provide more in depth items of the north coast.  It could help to fill in some of the gaps for Rupertites on stories of interest to them and perhaps the rest of the Daybreak audience.

In Friday's final edition of the Daily News, Mayor Mussallem offered up  his concerns as to how he would communicate city plans with taxpayers  with the demise of the Daily News, and while furthering the flow of information from the city is no doubt a desired thought from the city's politicians, that shouldn't be the only purpose of the media.

The need for the press to ask questions, investigate issues and represent the people to its elected officials is a vital part of democracy, so in between the press releases and information sheets we would imagine that the need to answer some questions and provide the details we want to know on the issues of the day, could and should be part of the information pact between politicians and the press.

That's where the need for the media to dig deeper comes in, not to be put off by politicians and administrators and to continue to seek out the facts is key, while one conduit for the population has been silenced as of Friday, the news cycles will go on, it's up to those that are left to cover it to as Mr. Thomas put it, step up their game.

The full editorial in Wednesday's weekly, included a tribute to Walter Smith, who passed away last week, you can read the full editorial here.

But for the purpose of our journalism review today, below we feature the instructive portion of the editorial page that examined the changing nature of the press in the city at this time.

Discussing the loss of two Rupert icons...
My View
Editorial page
The Northern View
Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Last week marked the end of a media era in Prince Rupert, as The Prince Rupert Daily News printed its final issue on July 16 after 99 years of serving the community. The presses ran for the last time and the office, as of this writing, sits closed.

Before I go any further, I need to make crystal clear that the closure of The Daily News is not something we here at The Northern View have been celebrating or enjoying. The fact is that a number of people lost their jobs as another business in Prince Rupert closes its doors. Any time a person’s life is turned upside down by the loss of employment it’s an unfortunate thing and I wish all the employees there nothing but the best.

Since the announcement of the newspaper’s purchase and subsequent closure by Black Press, owners of The Northern View, I’ve encountered many questions and comments from many in the community. Obviously when an institution such as The Daily News closes, its impact is felt and it creates a sense of uncertainty regarding the distribution of information around the North Coast. 

As the editor and acting-publisher of The Northern View, and someone who has been with the paper since the start, I can guarantee you that the staff at the paper and Black Press as a whole are 100 per cent committed to providing Prince Rupert the best and most complete community coverage we can while continuing to offer the same or a better level of service to our advertisers and clients. Resting on our laurels or coasting by as the only newspaper in town is not an option, is not a consideration and is certainly not something I am willing to accept.

That’s a promise.

We need to step up our game as the media marketplace in town shifts, that is something I and others in the chain recognize. We will be looking to grow our staff in the near future to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the community and, as always, welcome any input or feedback from residents about how we can improve. Feel free to e-mail me anytime directly at newsroom@thenorthernview.com.

I should also mention that anyone looking to study up on Prince Rupert’s history can do so now more than ever at the Prince Rupert Regional Archives, as Black Press has donated the archives held at the offices of The Prince Rupert Daily News for everyone on the North Coast to enjoy and make use of. 

As for any changes in terms of the printing and/or distribution of The Northern View, that is not in the plans at the moment. There are no plans to begin printing the paper on a daily basis or charging a subscription fee for it. The paper has been free since day one and, as a fan of ensuring people have access to information regardless of their financial situation, I see it staying that way. Along with The Northern View on Wednesday, we plan to continue to connect every home in the region - including Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Hazelton and more - with The Northern Connector on Friday.

And while the printing of the paper won’t be changing, we also recognize the need to get information out in a timely manner and our growing staff will allow for an increased focus on our website, www.thenorthernview.com, to break the news to the region as it is happening.

As I said at the start, the closure of another business in Prince Rupert and the loss of jobs in the community is not something to be celebrated or to be jovial about. The contributions of The Daily News to Prince Rupert through the paper’s 99 years of existence can not be dismissed or downplayed. Truly Prince Rupert’s history was played out on the pages of The Daily News and a lot of people put a lot of effort into that newspaper.

Likewise the staff at who were most recently at The Daily News have contributed to the community - through such things as taking to the stage for productions or as the drummer in a band at different community events, being a key volunteer with the local arts council, as a member of the auto club and more - and put forth a lot of effort that cannot be understated and, again, I wish them nothing but the best in these trying times.

The closure of The Prince Rupert Daily News is another change in a community that has seen several changes in the past 10 to 15 years, with the closure of the pulp mill and the emergence of the city as a major gateway to the Asia-Pacific among the most significant. And while Prince Rupert has seen more than its fair share of ups and downs in the recent past, there are sure to be more changes coming in the near future as our presence on the international stage continues to grow and new industries begin to look at the North Coast.

As those changes make their presence known and project discussions turn into shovels in the ground, we will be there to provide fair, balanced and accurate coverage.

But projects and industry do not a community make, and I for one look forward to capturing and sharing more of the moments that make Prince Rupert the amazing place it is - whether that is people marching in the Seafest parade or our young athletes and dancers bringing home the prize or our seniors sharing their wisdom or another class of students achieving milestones ranging from high school graduation to science fair ribbons - in the pages of The Northern View.

Thank you for your support over these past four years. I look forward to your feedback and continuing to cover the news and happenings on the North Coast.

Shaun Thomas

Derailment closes CN mainline for most of Wednesday

Rail traffic on the CN northern mainline is expected to resume by ten o'clock tonight, that after a derailment closed the rail line east of Prince George for the majority of the day, resulting in delays for freight service to the Port of Prince Rupert and the cancellation of a VIA run to Prince Rupert.

Just after 4 am this morning, 16 fully loaded coal cars left the tracks between Jasper and Prince George, leaving crews to work through the day to clear up the spill and return the line to service.

Due to the closure of the line, VIA rail was forced to cancel its service today, passengers will be offered bus service between Jasper and Prince George tomorrow, while those arriving in the interior city by bus today will continue on to Prince Rupert by rail.

No cause for the derailment has been identified as of yet, though an investigation is under way with preliminary findings expected to be released on Thursday.

Update:

The Prince George Citizen had posted articles and a video of the derailment site on its website Wednesday.

CN Rail train derailed near Shelley - more details
Video of clean up crews arriving at staging area

It's the economy (Wednesday, July 21, 2010)

Mr Bernanke rattles the markets, the Pine beetle marches on and Rent a Wreck changes its image, some of the financial items for a Wednesday.

Globe and Mail-- Fed poised to act if recovery falters: Bernanke
Globe and Mail-- Obama signs financial overhaul into law
Globe and Mail-- Canada has everything going for it -- except innovation
National Post-- Bernanke says Fed to act if soft recovery falters
National Post-- Canada to probe if Montreal port dispute is causing shortages
National Post-- Business magnate Jack Irving dead at 78
Vancouver Sun-- Pine beetle will cost 11,000 jobs in B.C.: study
New York Times-- Bernanke Sees No Quick End to High Rate of Joblessness
New York Times-- Markets Decline on Bernanke’s Economic Comments
New York Times-- Will Stress Tests Overcome Resistance to German Bank Reform?
USA Today-- Rent-A-Wreck trades in its beat-up car-rental image
USA Today-- Stocks drop as Bernanke warns of uncertain economy
Guardian UK online-- BP chief Tony Hayward to outline strategy that restores firm's fortunes
Guardian UK online-- Conrad Black freed on $2m bail
Guardian UK online-- Bank of England could start new stimulus package
The Independent-- Who will pay the bill for closing Britain's £200bn energy gap?
The Independent-- Facebook to welcome its 500 millionth user today
Telegraph UK online-- Bernanke's bearish outlook rattles US investors
Telegraph UK online-- Swiss endure safe-haven agony from euro flight
Telegraph UK online-- Who cares as baby boomers become 'silver shufflers'?
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Chance of a mid-campaign rise
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Hedges lock in wheat booSydney Dail
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Concern over world's banknotes as leading printer admits paper error
People's Daily-- Chances of a 'double dip' in doubt
People's Daily-- Growth of China's energy demands to slow in second half
China Daily-- China good trade partner, says Cable
China Daily-- China cross-border ETFs in final stage
Times of India-- Tata power fails to push Fiat sales
Times of India-- Govt won't meddle with regulators' job, says FM

5th Annual Gathering strength Canoe Journey set for Saturday

What has become a fixture on the north coast dips a paddle into the water again on Saturday as the travellers set out from Kitkatla with a destination of Laxgaltsap on July 31st.

Nine boats will take to the water as the journey begins on Saturday, offering a cross section of the  people of the north coast and one which highlights a natural environment that sometimes we take for granted.

Taking part in this years journey will be members of 70 the Nisga'a nation, the RCMP,  youth probation, Fisheries and Oceans and other community members.  A mix of young and old that straddles the cultures of the region.

In a press release issued today, the RCMP outlined its involvement in this annual tree, with four members of the RCMP City and rural detachments and members from Burns Lake, Kitimat and Prince George also participating. The RCMP Marine Section will also accompany the canoe journey as a support vessel.

Among the activities that take place along the way and upon arrival at Laxgaltsap will be traditional singing and dancing, weaving, carving and the nightly ritual of setting up a camp.

The one week journey offers an opportunity for all participants to gain a better understanding of the different aspects of each others cultures and develop relationships that can carry on once the canoe comes out of the water on the 31st.

The Terrace Standard captures the spirit of this journey quite nicely with an article posted to its website on Tuesday.

An example of the atmosphere around the journey can be found from these videos from the 2008 journey, which was archived on You Tube.

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Podunk Below the Masthead (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)

Airport funding, cats and a grand opening are among the items of our review for Tuesday of the city's media offerings.

The Northern View 
Federal ministers announce $223,000 for Prince Rupert Airport-- Details of Tuesday's funding for snowplow equipment for Prince Rupert airport (see article here)

The Northern View
Acropolis Manor grand opening-- While the health care facility has been open for a while now, they're finally getting around to the official opening next week, the Northern View outlines the event to come this Monday (see article here)

The Northern View
Feral cats a concern of council in Port Edward -- Prince Rupert isn't the only community with a cat issue, Port Edward has it's own concerns over the growing problem (see article here)

The Northern View
Green Party leader talks tax and the northwest economy -- Catching up to the news curve on last weeks visit of Green Party leader Jane Sterk, the Northern View reviews her time on the north coast (see article here)


CFTK TV7 News 
Prince Rupert Airport receives federal funding -- CFTK's coverage of the Day/Baird tour of Prince Rupert and their funding announcement for the airport today (see article here) (Sahar Nassimdoost's item for the TV 7 News on Tuesday.)

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 were oh so close to an airport bridge!!!

If only a slip of the tongue could result in a bank deposit slip.

Tuesday's meeting of federal, municipal and airport officials made for much in the way of merriment as any cheque presentation can bring, but when Transport Minister John Baird offered up his cash donation for investment in the local airport, the city must have thought for a wee moment as though they had won the lottery.

TV 7 featured the announcement on the Tuesday newscast, which included the Transport Minister adding a few zeroes to the final cash donation, all be it, for  a brief moment to the presentation.

Quickly catching himself, they clawed back that cash before the city had a chance to put a bridge design out to tender.

Oh well, progress is always in increments, today a snow plow, maybe tomorrow they get the bridge..

Sir Elton rules his domain in Prince George

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He was by far the biggest name to make a concert appearance in Prince George in recent memory if ever, and if the reactions of those fans who took in the two and a half hour performance of the legendary Elton John Friday night are any indication, it was one of those moments to lock away in their memory banks for a long, long time.

Sir Elton conquered Prince George with a hit flavoured review of a long lasting career, one steeped in much of the soundtrack of their times for those that grabbed every one of the CN centres seats.

A fair number of Prince Rupert residents attempted to get those hard to find tickets, a few succeeded while others will have to content themselves with the stories of Friday's rock around the musical clock.

The Prince George media has been revelling in the show's outcome and Sir Elton's kind words for their community, comforting it would seem after a wee bit of controversy arose from the chattering DJ's of Vancouver's Rock 101 who made much sport of Prince George in the days leading up to last weeks show, an effort that wasn't all that well received by civic and provincial representatives.

However, it would appear that the Friday night festival of hit after hit after hit, has provided Prince George with enough good karma to put those Vancouver types out of their minds for a while.

The success of the Elton John concert in such an intimate setting as CN Place compared to the larger venues of his touring days, has many hoping for other artists to circle Prince George on their tour itineraries for future stops.

Bryan Adams will be the next of names to drop in for a visit, his tour arrives in mid August as he heads towards the PNE and headline status at the annual summer exhibition in Vancouver.

As for Friday's show, a fair number of Prince Rupert residents attempted to get those hard to find tickets, a few succeeded and have come home with some rave reviews, while others will have to content themselves with the stories of Friday's rock around the musical clock.

Reviews  and commentaries about the night can be found below:

Opinion 250-- WOW- Sir Elton Thinks P.G. Is Amazing!
Opinion 250-- Amazing, Amazing, Amazing- Elton John calls Prince George
CKPG TV-- Elton is here!
Prince George Free Press-- Elton plays a show to remember
Prince George Citizen-- Biggest show ever to come to P. G.
Prince George Citizen letters-- Elton John welcome to come back any time
Prince George Citizen letters-- Elton John concur best ever
Prince George Citizen letters-- Time not right to sell tickets

Federal Government provides money towards airport snow plow

It may have been a warm summer day in Rupert, but on Tuesday Prince Rupert's airport and city officials had winter snow on their minds.

In the end the big announcement, wasn't quite as extraordinary as one might have imagined, Tuesday's talking point for the Prince Rupert airport was that the Federal Government intends to provide 223,000 dollars towards the purchase of a new snowplow vehicle for the airport as well as the plow to go with it.

An investment duly recorded on the Transport Canada website, featuring enough extra content to keep the media release department occupied for a bit of time.

The announcement wrapped up a two day visit to the Northwest for Stockwell Day and John Baird, the two Federal cabinet ministers had been touring around the city today, the final day of their trip, learning the latest from Fairview Terminal and Ridley Terminal before they left.

We haven't heard much about the other item on their agenda for the day, that of a round table discussion with city officials to talk over economic issues, a conversation that the city's residents might find of interest considering the current troubles of the local economy. Wondering perhaps, if Ministers Day and Baird might have had some sage advice for the Mayor, council and officials.

The Northern View had some background on the day's events posted to their website today.  

It's the economy (Tuesday, July 20, 2010)

Energy advice from Oliver Stone, Double dip fears again and when Economists disagree, some of the items of note for Tuesday July 20,2010

Globe and Mail-- Porter Airlines chief sues Air Canada
Globe and Mail-- U.S. should nationalize oil: Oliver Stone
Globe and Mail-- Western farmers see hope in wheat prices
National Post-- Why isn’t the market collapsing?
National Post-- Oil sands campaign a smear
National Post-- European banks last hurdle for markets
Vancouver Sun-- Surrey housing complex now Western Canada's largest solar power development
New York Times-- Greek Rail System’s Debt Adds to Economic Woes
New York Times-- E.U. Test May Need to Fail Some Banks
New York Times-- BP Kept Drilling After Report of Leak, Worker Says
USA Today-- Airports pitch sites as all-purpose transport hubs
USA Today-- Apple's net income jumps 78% on iPhone, iPad sales
Guardian UK online-- Double dip fears as bank loans dry up
Guardian UK online-- Royal Mail workers warned against strike
Guardian UK online-- William Hill finds World Cup glory
The Independent-- Look across the Irish Sea for a glimpse of where our economy may be headed
The Independent-- Farnborough: big orders and a vision of the future
Telegraph UK online-- Krugman versus Ferguson: Round Two
Telegraph UK online-- Double dip in the Baltic
Telegraph UK online-- China knocks US off top energy use spot
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Enough debt for now - Stevens
Melbourne Herald Sun-- Inflation figure to decide rates
Sydney Daily Telegraph-- Disabled worker's pay of $2 an hour 'predatory'
People's Daily-- US welcomes China's GPA offer
People's Daily-- Chinese CEOs to focus on global vision
China Daily-- China dismisses IEA analysis of it being world's top energy user
China Daily-- Pilot project to help farmers struck by natural disasters
Times of India-- Rupee at six-week low against dollar
Times of India-- FM plays down IMF outlook, pegs growth at over 8.5%