Hoping for a NICE weekend.. More sun…:)
Enjoy everyone

What is up with the May Fair being located in the front parking lot of CN Center along Ospika? One hopes there is a very good reason the city doesn’t have it located in its usual spot inside the security fence adjacent to CN Center and the Kin Centers.

I think it will be a huge road safety issue… Might as well have had rides right along the divider boulevard too… same level of thinking.

That said the weather should be good for the weekend and I’m sure it will be a busy place.

Im curious to see if the carnies will do us the honour in wearing shirts this year. Sketchiest fairs ive ever seen.

Keep right except to pass.

The may fair has been in the parking lot for years now .

Good weekend to everyone. I notice quite a few motorcycles out and about now. Please be careful and watchful for them, also children are out for longer hours now. They are unpredictable in their behaviour so please be very careful whenever they are seen, even near the roads.
Nice little sprinkle this morning. That should add a lot of green to lawns and trees. Lovely spring so far.

Eagleone, I’m quite sure that’s the same traveling carny show that came through Coquitlam in April. They set up in Coquitlam Centre’s parking lot, directly beside the sidewalk of Lougheed Hwy/Barnet Hwy.

There’s also construction of the new Evergreen Line skytrain in the same area

There were no issues from either people or drivers, so I have little understanding what your issue is with the fair being beside Ospika.

Reminder-Turning left off the Hart into Mohawk/chevron is a double solid line. Safer and legal to turn into Hoffferkamp and go back.

Just to add to give mores comment , if you are on a motorcycle please ride careful . I saw a guy the other day on his bike make a left in front of on coming cars . As riders , we have just as much responsibility on the roads as everyone else . Just because we are smaller and faster and more agile does not mean we can make dumb choices on the roads . Let’s have a safe and happy riding season and all make it through unharmed .

Anyone else who lives in the bowl having an issue with the air quality lately? I seem to hear quite a few people complaining about breathing, throat, and sinus problems of late, even younger ones in their 30’s and 40’s.

Loads of problems with the air , not fit to breath , where does one get a gas mask the little tissue ones just don’t cut it . Yes people are complaining and right fully so , time something is done .

Loads of problems with the air , not fit to breath , where does one get a gas mask the little tissue ones just don’t cut it . Yes people are complaining and right fully so , time something is done .

The victory parade begins form smith !!

Marshall Smith shared a link via Nikki Hemstad-Leete.

Yesterday

I thought this was a particularly good quote today!

To the Women of Northern British Columbia who were the winners in this court decision.

It is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong stumble, or where th…e doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the one who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if they fail, at least fails while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Congratulations to everyone who didn’t give up and who dared greatly to make a better community. In particular, Dr. Michelle Sutter and the board, Craig Wood, Brian Fehr, Tom Sentes and Selen Alpay and of course our MAYOR Shari Green who put her career and future on the line and never gave up no matter how hard vicious or personal it got in order to stand up for women in Northern BC. Three Cheers!

I’m looking forward to a trip to the island for a week at the end of this month. Hopefully my sinus’s will clear up, even for a short time. Sick and tired of the sore throat, stuffed up nose.

Does anyone know what is being built on Victoria St between 10th and 11th? They’ve been pile driving all week.

Our air quality would be much better if the city crews were more effective when cleaning our streets. Three passes one after another with a water truck to spray the road down and three days later still no sweeper by to pick anything up. Street is long since dried up by now. What a waste of fuel, not to mention the emissions from the heavy truck adding to the poor air quality!

New AllWest Glass building I believe on victoria.

Pollen might be the issue our air right now.

If any of you anti-union bashers think you’re OK because your employer is ‘one of the good ones’ just look at how you’d really be treated if we didn’t have unions today.

Temporary Foreign Workers are reporting all sorts of abuse and exploitation at the hands of their Canadian employers. Long hours with little pay, being forced to live in substandard housing, threats of ‘sending them back where they came from’ if they complain. Its rampant and its exactly the way EVERY worker in this country would be treated IF we didn’t have a voice and a bit of power directing they how’s and why’s of employment standards in this country.

Open your eyes people.

Eagleone, although this wasn’t one of your usual rants peppered with anti-semitism, one can only assume the May Fair placement, is part of conspiracy hatched by evil Carneys, to inconvenience good gentiles like yourself.

Re: Air Quality

Might be the business located part-way up the Hart Highway responsible for some of the bad air quality. Thursday morning, 4 – that’s right 4!!!! – fire trucks were called to put out a fire at this business. Turns out they were using their wood furnace/boiler at 1:00 a.m. and had it cranked up and damped down so bad that the smoke filled not only the valley along the Hart Hwy but nearby neighborhoods. You couldn’t see the business from across the street the smoke was so thick. Fireman at the scene were wondering what they were burning. Owner of the business doesn’t think there is anything wrong with doing this over and over again, all year long, even when it’s warm enough outside.

I never go to the fair. I think its silly to let a guy with a grade 3 education running a rag tag piece of crap portable equipment take all of my money. It is a huge rip. And don’t get me started with the evil carnies. They are evil…..

Posted by: Mercenary on May 9 2014 9:29 AM
If any of you anti-union bashers think you’re OK because your employer is ‘one of the good ones’ just look at how you’d really be treated if we didn’t have unions today.

———

Huh? Wouldn’t an anti-union basher be someone who is pro union?

I stopped going to the fair years ago. Huge scam. You pay PNE prices for 1/10th the entertainment value.

In a very large national union you do not get to vote individually for your union president. Your “delegate” votes for you. Is that democracy? In some peoples eyes. Same scenario for aboriginals voting for their Grand Chief. Individual appointed and hereditary chiefs vote for them. Here’s hoping that in both cases your opinions identically match your delegates opinions. Democracy? Yeah, right.

In a very large national union you do not get to vote individually for your union president.
==========================================
This is not correct. It depends on the constitution of the union. There are unions where the membership vote for their President. And it dosen’t much matter which constitution the union is affiliated with they all work for the members.

By the way did you vote for Harper to be the Prime Minister or was he elected to the post by delegation?
Cheers

In Canada you do not vote for your Prime Minister, you vote for your MP. Is this democracy?

Okay Eco-conscious, carbon sensitive, BC government. Can we get a ban on plastic grocery bags or at least mandate the option of being able to purchase paper vs plastic. Support Forestry, lower oil demand.

or use re-usable shopping bags so you are not consuming any materials after the initial acquisition?

Once the residential recycling bins project commences, watch for changes in the way products are packaged. The manufacturer will be charged for the cost of recycling the disposal products they produce. They’ll either pass the cost on to us, the consumer, or they’ll start cutting down on all the plastic they use to package the product. Unfortunately there’s not much the newspapers can do, except maybe layoff staff or bump up the cost of the paper.

Plastic generally made from natural gas. Saw a test done on reusable bags, filthy. Same with the outside bottoms of purses, filthy.

Reusable bags are washable seamut. Duh.

plastic is a petroleum product, not natural gas.

natural gas is an almost pure form of volatile flammable substance, while petroleum is broken down to usable products.

Keep up the good work demonstrating the actual extent of your knowledge. Really puts into perspective your opinions on the energy issue.

;)

Re-useable bags are available. Should one forget them,or not bring them, or stop by the store unexpectedly, paper should be an option. Made from a renewable resource, by BC industry, and biodegradable. What’s the benefit of plastic over paper?

Is Stephen Harper okay?

I get the fact that there will be political differences of opinion with others. I get that he has his quirks. I get that the job is stressful. I get that the Cons are going through some rough times. Okay, fine.

But seriously, openly questioning the integrity of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (and thus the institution itself) on something that virtually everyone agrees was well within her scope to do?

What is wrong with these people?

Strange in a province covered with vegetation that a bio plastics industry has not been helped to flurish . Poor leadership is very expensive .

Meanwhile, in Ontario politics, voters will have a choice between the Liberals who have spent like drunken sailors and the PC’s who will do more slashing than a psycho killer in a bad horror flick.

Are there any sane politicians left?

TERRIBLE smell right from the pulp mills in this city!! Also, A LOT of the streets are STILL not cleaned…maybe time for a move. This is very sad.

Loki here ya go
THE OIL MYTH
 

There is a claim repeated over and over again on the Internet that plastic bags are made out of oil and that 12 million barrels of oil are used annually in the United States to make the plastic bags that Americans use.
 
It is not true.

About 72.5% of plastic bags used in the United States are made in the United States. Plastic bags are made out of polyethylene. In the United States, ethylene is made of ethane which is a waste by-product obtained from natural gas refining. Domestically produced plastic bags are not made out of oil.
 
The ethane must be removed from the natural gas anyway to lower the BTU value of the natural gas to an acceptable level. Ethane burns too hot to be allowed to remain in high levels in natural gas that is delivered to homes and businesses for fuel. There is nothing else that the ethane can be used for except to make ethylene. If ethane is not used to make plastic, it will have to be burned off, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions.
 
Using the ethane to make plastic does not in any way reduce the amount of fuel available for transportation or power generation or increase our energy imports.
 
If we were to abolish plastic bags, it would have zero impact on our dependence on foreign oil. 
 
The United States is an exporter of polyethylene. The United States imports virtually no polyethylene.
  

Just had to close all the windows in the house because the pulp mill smell is sooooo bad…is making me cough and sneeze…sinus trouble for sure!You wait for warm weather to open windows and now have to shut them because of the terrible chemical smell…sure doesn’t make any sense.

Paper grocery bags are a better environmental choice than plastic bags. False

Plastic bags are 100% recyclable and for all environmental impacts related to air emissions, water emissions and solid waste – those of paper bags are significantly greater than that of plastic grocery bags: • Plastic bags use 40% less energy to produce and generate 80% less solid waste than paper1 • Paper bags generate 70% more emissions, and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.2 • Even paper bags made from 100% recycled fiber use more fossil fuels than plastic bags3

posted by JB “I stopped going to the fair years ago. Huge scam. You pay PNE prices for 1/10th the entertainment value.”

I stopped going to The PNE years ago. Huge scam. You pay Disneyland prices for 1/10th the entertainment value.

“But seriously, openly questioning the integrity of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (and thus the institution itself) on something that virtually everyone agrees was well within her scope to do? What is wrong with these people?”

Harper also waited 9 months to show his displeasure. That is a slow to erupt volcano.

Is it only the Haldi Road residents that actually understand what the Judge’s ruling on the OCP amendment meant?? This ruling means that council of the day can put anything, anywhere, when they want to. IMO this is such a dangerous ruling because now politicians backed by special interest groups will be doing whatever they want to without any consideration to the general public.

“Is it only the Haldi Road residents that actually understand what the Judge’s ruling on the OCP amendment meant?? This ruling means that council of the day can put anything, anywhere, when they want to.”

As the ruling stated, the OCP is not meant to be a static document. It is a fluid document. I actually agree with the residents that the Recovery Centre is the right project, but wrong location, but the Haldi Rd. residents don’t have a legal leg to stand on.

There is no city that has a set in stone development plan, it would be ridiculous to have one. As the need of the people and the city change then so does the development needs .

The location of the treatment centre at Haldi Road is nothing more than a con job.

It could have very easily been put in the Nechako Centre which the Government closed down a few years ago, or it could have been located at Hutda Lake, or anywhere that the zoning allows.

To suggest that it should be put in an area, because an old school happened to be located there is bogus.

The real winners in this situation are the Haldi Road people, who stood up for what they thought was right, put their own dollar where their mouths are, and fought the good fight.

When this issue first started it was referred to as the David and Goliath battle, and so it turned out to be, only in this case Goliath won. (Or seemed to win)

The real winners will be determined in the next election.

Agree with P Val. These things have to be flexible. The key is that there also has to be a genuine interest and commitment on behalf of the city to actually use something like an OCP the way it was intended.

I remember watching a council meeting when I was in Whitehorse one summer and a developer was proposing a small residential development on the outskirts of the city. It wasn’t a huge development, the plans looked nice, there was interest, etc.

What blew me away (having come from PG of course) is that council was virtually unanimous in rejecting the application. Their community plan was such that they were focused on fully developing areas within the city core before allowing any further development to take place outside of that section. They did thank for proponent for their interest though and they also invited him to draw up a proposal that was in line with their current plan.

Some cities get it and some don’t.

while poly bags may be recyclable, they don’t make it to the facilities, they get landfilled, wind up in ditched, and end up in the oceans. They don’t rot away. How many BCers are employed by the industry? I thought carbon and fossil fuel concerns were a scam?

Tortuga I have wondered about that because the two solid lines are quite far apart. More like they are representing an extension of the median. Anyway I don’t turn into the Mohawk there unless I don’t have any approaching traffic. It is definitely not safe otherwise and as you say probably not legal.

Krusty you just need to move up to the northern edge of the city to get away from the bad bowl air. (:

NMG “Is Stephen Harper okay?” answer: NO!

I am old enough to remember that we were told to use plastic bags to “Save the Trees”. The question at the till was “paper or plastic” and any time you said paper you got a dirty look and was told that plastic was better.

Comment Posted by: Stanwich on May 9 2014 4:27 AM
Im curious to see if the carnies will do us the honour in wearing shirts this year. Sketchiest fairs ive ever seen.
—————————————–

You should see some of them drive!

Comment Posted by: axman on May 9 2014 6:13 AM
Keep right except to pass.
————————————

Where the sign says so!

Comment Posted by: Tortuga on May 9 2014 7:00 AM
Reminder-Turning left off the Hart into Mohawk/chevron is a double solid line. Safer and legal to turn into Hoffferkamp and go back.
—————————————–

Totally legal but only if you are not impeding traffic coming at you from behind.

Comment Posted by: Mercenary on May 9 2014 9:29 AM
If any of you anti-union bashers think you’re OK because your employer is ‘one of the good ones’ just look at how you’d really be treated if we didn’t have unions today.

Temporary Foreign Workers are reporting all sorts of abuse and exploitation at the hands of their Canadian employers. Long hours with little pay, being forced to live in substandard housing, threats of ‘sending them back where they came from’ if they complain. Its rampant and its exactly the way EVERY worker in this country would be treated IF we didn’t have a voice and a bit of power directing they how’s and why’s of employment standards in this country.

Open your eyes people.
——————————————

They just don’t get it!

The fair is in town. Be sure to secure all your personal belongings. Crime increases significantly when they are here.

Comment Posted by: govsux on May 9 2014 12:44 PM
In Canada you do not vote for your Prime Minister, you vote for your MP. Is this democracy?
——————————–

If they don’t win in their riding they just keep having by elections until they do win. Is that democracy?.

Ask Christy (families first) Clark.

Would you people on Princeton Cres in College heights please stop with all the yard waste burning every other day.

Time to wake up people. Corporations are poisoning you and your children!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fed-up-documentary-sugar-added-to-food-causing-obesity-1.2638301?cmp=rss

littlebird here is more info for you….

The building needs a total new lagoon system twice the size that L&M said at council meetings due to being in the north and not from info attained for the south.

The building as set up in their plans cannot legally contain 30 women – which means they will need to expand.

The city’s own fire admin has said the water system is not adequate for fire protection alone never mind for everyday usage. A fire truck loaded with water would actually be illegal to go on those roads due to the year round weight restrictions.

Let us not forget the councilman that went
to talk to planning after the 3rd reading with new information which is totally not what is legally allowed.

There is much more verified information to be given out….

All the city needs to do is wash down the streets after the sweepers have done their job. This would cut down the fine particulate by a HUGE amount.

Stuff you just can’t make up: Canada is falling in world governance rankings because of Harper majority, report finds; “Among the key reasons: the Senate expenses scandal, weakened environmental laws, and a lack of commitment to “evidence-based decision-making,” says a global ranking of sustainable governance released on Thursday by Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/tory-majority-linked-to-canadas-slip-in-governance-rankings/article18547974/

It must be embarrassing being a Harper Conservatard these days!

Palopu: “The location of the treatment centre at Haldi Road is nothing more than a con job.”

But, you think everything is a con job. At least by what I read in your posts.