I read the Bruce Strachan article in question. He must be in tight with the guys behind Commonwealth and our local politicians. The assertions that Commonwealath is a thrifty go between for the city doesn’t seem like it fit the facts to me as well….

One of the reasons that I don’t subscribe to the Prince George Citizen is Bruce Strachan, aside form appearing to be too close to the hucksters in Prince George that he appears to be one of them IMO.

Bruce for all intents and purposes is **yesterdays man**. When I read his column I couldnt figure out where the hell he was coming from.

Thanks Ben for clarifying some of the information. All to often there are deals made behind closed doors, that effect this City, however the facts never seem to get out, until after the dastardly deed is done.

A few cases in point would be the sale of Pine Valley Golf Course, the location of the police station, the **pending** location of a Performing Arts Centre, the sale and relocation of the tennis court, the **pending** sales of the Playhouse Theatre, the cancelling of the lease and demolition of the Tourist Bureau, at 16and97, and last but certainly not least the location of the **pending** Treatment Centre on Leslie Road.

Like all columnists, they sometimes get it wrong. I couldn’t figure out Strachan’s column either.

I asked the Citizen newspaper if Bruce Strachan gets paid for his column. The reply was “no he does not”.

Thanks again Ben, for pointing out the obvious, of this whole fiasco mess that this “can’t come soon enough” one-term mayor, Sheri Green et al is in…

Surefire,

here, here…the arrogance and the phony intelligence that Strachan spews is a huge reason why I don’t get that paper…

Right on Ben! Thank you so much for saying this. I have been disgusted by each column that Bruce Strachan writes. In fact, I just laugh at him when I skim through the words he writes.

Thank you again for starting this website and the news you provide on it. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Eagleone, Bruce Strachan is in tight with that crew. I’ve seen pictures on Facebook, when Ms. Green’s mayoral campaign office opened up, of Mr. Strachan in her office, lending support.

born: “I have been disgusted by each column that Bruce Strachan writes. In fact, I just laugh at him when I skim through the words he writes.”

I do the same thing with Todd Whitcombe.

Here is another point. Who owned the lots surrounding the WDIC that Commonwealth et al purchased (and NDIC is now foreclosing on)? If it was not public info that the WDIC bid dcouments would favour adjacent private sector development, thus increasing the value of their land, then I think the insiders had an unfair advantage. How can that be fair?

It hasnt worked out for Commonwealth and thats why I guess Bruce Strachan says they have been “thrown under a bus”. I guess Bruce doesn’t understand the development business. I hope the forecalose process results in these lands going to real developers at fair prices.

I was of the understanding that they needed the other properties(the ones that were subject to foreclosure) to build the WDIC. Boy was I wrong. One more thing, I know that there is goint to be a long line up to see who drives the bus but please,please please can I do it.

JohnnyBelt, Mr. Whitcombe seems to have the market cornered on “know-it-all”. LOL!

Well at least Bruce plays a good piano and is missed in Victoria at the Christmas parties. Everyone has to have a claim to fame.

I have personal knowledge of the WIDC file and I can tell you that here is precious little in Ben’s comments that resemble the facts…or the truth

“amy.farmhouse” if you have personal knowledge of the WIDC file don’t just say Ben is not telling the truth, shed a little light on this for us?

With so much public money already targeted for this project both from the province ($25 million for construction) and from the city ($3 million or so for the land) we deserve to know what the heck the truth really is.

Please “amy.farmhouse” fill us in!

Good article Ben. I don’t like Bruce Strachan and I never will. Whenever he was on CBC local radio, I shut my radio off.
Is he receiving a pension from the BC taxpayers for his time in Victoria?

amy.farmhouse may be correct but the point is, why is the general public so in the dark with this issue? As well, why are we to feel sorry for a “developer” if events do not transpire as expected? In any event, to us lay people Meisner’s version seems far more reasonable than Strachan’s. And I think that the majority of people will think that something awfully fishy went on until we learn otherwise. So why the secrecy? We’d all like to think well of those who are intent on improving the downtown. It is what we want too.

Ben, Ben, Ben…making things up again, again, again.

Pat Bell wanted the whole block. He asked NDIT to finance it. It was based on his commitment that NDIT made the loan.

Also, Pat Bell tried to fix the Partnerships BC scoring so that the successful bidder would be forced to buy the land. Is it legal, you’re a Bencher, you tell us?

Pat Bell asked the city to buy the PG Hotel to locate WIDC. That’s why the city is mad at him. He didn’t deliver.

If that’s not enough, why don’t you ask Pat if he ever tried to talk NDIT into foreclosing – way back in April – so the province could get the land for pennies on the dollar.

Pat might be good at getting you an appointment to the Law Society, but he may losing his seat pretty quick.

Considering that the NDIT was financed by the money from the sale of BC Rail, I dont think that this money should be available to local business’s, or the BC Government to push thier own agenda’s.

I have never agreed with the setting up of the NDIT, staffing it with unelected Directors, and staff, and allowing them to spend tax dollars. Just doesnt seem right to me.

If we are going to have entities like the NDIT, Aiport Authority, Transit, BC Hydro, ICBC, BC Ferries, etc; etc; etc;, what the hell do we need a Provincial Government for. Maybe we should make the legislature a P3, and get rid of the Government altogether.

Number one, don’t make accusations without putting your real name to them. All it does is set me on a mission to find out who you are, and as others will tell you, we have always been successful. Your IP Address goes with you regardless of your attempt to hide.

Why would the province want the whole block to build the Wood Innovation Center? They had the PG hotel and the parking lot. Partner ships BC was not involved at the time that the location was chosen or for that matter when the PG Hotel site was purchased from NDI Trust. Read the set of columns that I wrote under the Freedom of information some year ago.
The successful bidder you talk about was being asked to build on the parking lot which the City already owned and the Province was willing to “negotiate with the City” on an option for those lots, not the ones owned by Commonwealth.
Why would they need more property given that any development on any part of the property would not need to provide parking because it falls under the down town parking commission? Any effort to get a tax free holiday that was being sought would NOT benefit the province, they don’t pay municipal taxes. The only people who would benefit from that tax break would be Commonwealth who were seeking a tax break of up to 30 years. That is a fact, not some sort of conspiracy theory like you might like to toss out.

The city offered up three sites for the Wood Innovation Center. You should ask former Mayor Dan Rogers, what site the city chose, not the province, the City. You might also want to ask him who moved the motion to locate on the PG Hotel Site and who seconded the Motion.

Now why would the Province want Commonwealth’s land? They have all the land they need even if the other building had been built and they don’t need to provide parking.

Your Comments Amy Farmhouse tell me you have been out in the barn smelling the wrong smells lately.

Finally No, I repeat, No MLA from Prince George was responsible for my appointment to the Law Society and suggesting otherwise is a lie. The Law Society I am proud to say deals only in the facts, fiction does not form a part of our deliberations.

-Ben Meisner

You go guy-keep telling the story like it is Ben!!!

“Considering that the NDIT was financed by the money from the sale of BC Rail, I dont think that this money should be available to …… the BC Government to push thier own agenda’s.”

I fail to understand why not. BC Rail is owned by the government so why should the money from the sale of an operation and the long term lease of property not be usable under the direction and influence of the province, no matter which party is in power?
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This thread makes for interesting reading. Even some stuff from in-camera and confidential diclosures in there from the looks of it.

We need a few more people who were/are “in the know” to come to tell their part of the puzzle. Then we can provide opinions (that’ what we are here for, I think) as to which parts still fit into the puzzle and which do not.

That’s the fun of developments and land dealings associated with them. As they say: “It ain’t over til’ the fat lady sings”

So why would amy.farmhouse come on here to show he/she knows more of the “inside” story.

So far we have Bruce Strachan, Ben, and amylfarmhouse all offering versions.

Why Bruce started it, I do not know. Must go read his column if it is on line to see if it explained.

Just read Strachan’s column. Sounds to me like he has an axe to grind with some provincial officials. Mr. Right Side Up is a little bent outta shape.

I read Strachan’s column.

He has it relatively right as far as I am concerned which is based on what I know to have happened.

People seem to forget the effort that went into all the fancy drawings that were done by Paul Zanette’s office for Dan M’s group and were presented to the community. There were some joint efforts by people to get things moving.

The thing people forgot, though, is that without the interest of business nothing will happen.

Nothing happened after Plaza 400 to change George Street. They built retail space and a couple or three businesses went in, then left and the hotel that was interested built on the grund floor instead of the second floor as had been planned.

Nothing happened to change George street after the court house was built either. The got rid of the so called eye-sore of a hotel. Close to the same as what has started to happened with the PG Hotel.

I predict nothing will change if the WIC gets built unless something will cause the economy in PG region to begin to grow.

I differ with Bruce that the WIC is/was a good idea. It was an idea. It was, in my estimation, not a good idea for a whole bunch of reasons. As we can see, we could not force businesses to move into prime retail space in the Block 400, to move in to what should have been prime space surrounding the court house, and now to put proposals in which were supposed to include commercial space developed privately. No provincial officials botched it up as far as I am concerned. You simply cannot force such things in a no growth environment.

Now, as far as getting this part of the world moving a bit better, Government CAN do something about that. But they are not!!! If they did, it would piss people in the lower mainland off big time!!!

I just wonder who is providing the whitewash that Strachan is spreading in the Citizen newspaper. And why they, the Citizen, take part in spreading it around.

At least Tom Sawyer had a fence to paint when he sucked his friends in.

I just wonder who is providing the whitewash that Strachan is spreading in the Citizen newspaper. And why they, the Citizen, take part in spreading it around.

At least Tom Sawyer had a fence to paint when he sucked his friends in.

Sweapea … the only people that really know what happened, as is always the case in transactions such as the one being discussed, are the people direcly involved.

The rest is all hearsay.

But it is interesting to see how many people love to gossip ….. It is the poor man’s contribution to help make the world go round and keep it interesting.

BTW, recall that the previous publisher was a part of one of the “special interest groups” so they should know the story quite well.

;-)

Hahaha…Ben, your site promotes nameless accusations and rumour. You are a simple bully. You asking for a name is comical.

I read your earlier articles. They were biased. They lacked balance. They lacked quotes. Lazy and sloppy.

Your most recent writings are equally poor.

I spoke to a local MLA who said it was a bad idea for Pat to have you appointed by Mike De Jong. So there.