I like the style of the new homes at the foot of the Yellowhead Bridge near Fort George Park. Not sure who is building them, but if we had neighborhoods with homes like that it would go a long way to changing PG's image to a more positive one. Its great to see show homes like that at the entrance to the city.

Outstanding editorial in last Wednesday's Prince George Citizen about Prince George City Hall, and the way they are spending taxpayers' money. It was entitled "A logical way to fix our roads."

THANK YOU Prince George!
We moved from Vancouver Island to Prince George to be active over the winter months (cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing & sledding) and to enjoy the bright blue, sunny skies. We were tired of the gray skies and continuous winter rains from November to May. Over the past two years we have learned the following about Prince George:
• Otway is an amazing cross country skiing area where you can be night skiing after work!
• Hart Highlands Ski Hill (where every child can learn to ski and snowboard very young and be home in time for bed)
• The huge Greenway Trail System behind UNBC, and the many city trails around PG
• We love the little community outdoor skating rinks, where families can teach their children to skate.
• The big skating oval.
• Six indoor skating surfaces.
• You have one of the few surviving Drive-in Theatres in BC.
• Two beautiful community pools.
• Northern Sports Centre - Wow…what a place!
• YMCA Facility - Need I say more…
• Innumerable outdoor sports fields.
• Snow removal, clearing out the mouth of your driveway (unheard of on the Island, and the Maritimes).
• The easy garbage container pickup system here, it was a drag lugging garbage cans to the curb.
• UNBC & CNC – Your kids can go to College and University and still live at home.
• CN Centre – (rock concerts that you can drive home after in 15 minutes, instead of getting a hotel and taking a ferry)
• BIG Airport – Direct flights to Mexico!!! Woo hoo!
• Four Directions of Travel – Standing at the crossroads of 97 & 16 deciding which direction for our next road trip. North, South, East or West.
• There are tonnes of Lakes, Trails and Hiking to explore.
• Wildlife in town for the viewing – Moose, Moose, Moose & Bears, Coyotes – very cool!
• You are the Hub of the North – everyone else comes here to shop for groceries, cars, sports equipment and entertainment.
• Great passenger trains that will take you to the Coast or all the way across Canada.
• Amazing Live Theatre.
• Nechako and Fraser - Two Rivers that meet and provide lively summer entertainment.
• A STABLE economy…many diverse industries that allow for lots of employment and growth.
• Affordable housing, wow you can buy your first starter apartment here, most were only rented where we were from.

And best of all, you are a young community with lots of babies, families, students and a bright future in front of you.
PS…about the air quality…we climbed the 5th highest mountain peak on Vancouver Island on a clear, sunny summer day only to view the pulp mill plumes from Powell River, Campbell River, Port Alberni and Nanaimo. Keep up the good work PGAIR & PACHA, for bringing attention, accountability and improvement, so we can continue to enjoy all the great things that Prince George has to offer. Have a great day!

WOW, That is an awsome post. I hope all the negative people on this site read it and realize that to people outside of PG this is so much more than a 'Dirty little Mill town'

I fully agree and also think people who say there is nothing to do in PG read this then get their A$$ off the couch and go do any 1 of the items listed above. Kudos CuriousKat.

Yes, it an awesome post! Sure makes ya stop & think for a minute doesn't it. PG is a wonderful place to live. I've lived in many other communities and none clear the roads as good as PG does, despite what everyone else says.

yeah baby! Victoria has nothing on us?
What are tulips anyway?

I still cant believe how many people are still talking on their cell phones and driving...

I'd like to say a job well done regarding the upgrades done to the Spruceland Mall. Much more modern looking now.

I went to see Alice In Wonderland 3D this past Sunday, and I have two comments regarding some people in the theatre...

1) Who in right mind brings a toddler who appeared no more then 2 years old to a 10:15pm show? The dad was up and down with a fussy child the entire movie.

2) To the young ladies that who sat there giggling and texting during the entire movie, why did you pay $10 each to sit there and text for 2 hours?

3) I've seen it for years now, but when did it become socially acceptable to hang your legs and dirty street shoes over the back of the seat in front of you?

I can hardly wait until I can afford my big screen TV in the fall, so that I don't have to deal with such boorish behavior anymore.

wavoes

you mean like the people who continue to speed, not stop at stop signs, fail to use their turn signals, not wear their seatbelts?

Those using cell phones are now aware of the penalty, they chose to accept the risk.

No doubt. Why would any one stop doing something they have always done just because they may get fined. If they don't agree with the law they break it.

I did choose to get a hands free device for my truck cause it makes life easier. It was way too hard to talk on the phone and drink beer while I was driving really fast. :)

What Time daily do the Passenger Trains leave for the Coast ? News to me, last was the BCR but that has been gone for Years from Prince George, or do you speak about the Train for rich Tourists ? Worst Air Shed in BC, high Home Taxes and most Potholes per Mile of Road plus 6 month of Winter, so not all is perfect , lets see what you say after living here for 34 Years.

Outwest,

with a name like that you would realize that Prince Rupert is on the coast as well.

6 months of winter is a good thing in some peoples minds, its all about perspective.

Oh and as for air shed, I dont know the numbers, but have you spent any time in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope? Unless there is a strong wind you cant see the mountains, a nice leftover gift from Vancouver.

Yes Pylot thats exactly why I built my own theater room complete with front projector and ten foot screen,I can make my own popcorn(for a lot less money)and nobody bothering us when we decide to watch a movie.
More people should get into this type of home entertainment it is not as expensive as one might think.

The natives say no pipeline,YEA!! good to see them stand up to these oil barons.
Now Bob's yer Drunkel ,is going jobs ,jobs.WHooa,best go have another drink there CaMpBeLL,Hicup!
How many of these bands has this GOV. settled up with???any guesses?
Will he try and push it down there throats! you bet he will and the out come won't be pretty.How many more years of this jerk do we have to put up with?
The YACKERS,you no the ones that have to take that most important call while behind the wheel,other day I counted 12 ppl YACKING.x 167=2004.oo,enuff 4 coffee and 2 donuts each!
Curiouskat,did you not notice the SMELL of that POISON in the air,OR THE blue AIR ON STAGNET DAYS,a mix of pulp mill,ashpalt,refinery and diesel ,you must live on another planet!

zyblxteu

you have options, Alberta is waiting.

Good point Pylot Project...which is exactly why I don't go to theaters anymore.

CuriousKat nice to see. I moved up here from the Island in Aug 01 for a lot of the reasons you stated. I am here for those reasons that you posted.

CuriousKat nice to see. I moved up here from the Island in Aug 01 for a lot of the reasons you stated. I am here for those reasons that you posted.

Good post CuriousKat. Nice to be reminded of some of the so called "positive" aspects of the community. Many, of course, have existed for some time, including the view of the Rockies on clear sunny days, from some of the higher vantage points on the perimeter of the city.

We moved from Ottawa/Toronto a long, long time ago because we saw the gret potential in this community. Because of its location, it needed to be relatively self-sufficient, so was unlike many small communities around those larger eastern cities. Those were primarily on their way to becoming bedroom communities.

That being said, I am finding that the community stopped maturing as an urban centre about 25 years ago. The 10 years just prior to that were great with lots more to look forward to. But then, some did not happen, and other amenities that existed at one time, disappeared, such as a downtown that people actually came to for shopping and working.

The biggest surprise came when UNBC was built. The next biggest one came when UBC located part of their medical school there. To me, that has been the single largest asset that has been added to this community in the last 25 years.

The cancer clinic will be another one.

What are we lacking? Remember, for some of us, to strive for something, to improve things, means to live a meaningful life, in addition to being grateful for those things we have.

So,
- move heavy industry out of the bowl over the next 10 to 20 years
- with new, state of the art industrial properties, continue to draw primary manufacturing to this community
- draw a larger proportion of secondary manufacturing to this community to utilize the new/upgraded tranportation links and the large availability of land and inexpensive housing costs
- grow the high tech intellectual industry
- transform the downtown to what it once was, the "heart" of the City
- give "culture recreation" the same place in this community that "sports recreation" has enjoyed for some time
- with some of that infrastructure, begin to increase amenities for tourists to use this as the hub from which to fan out to the wilderness all around us.

Finally, something we hear very little of these days. Make this the true "Northern Capital" ... decentralize some of the government services that are located in Victoria and the lower mainland.

Pylot Project ..... yes, the Spruceland Mall has been spruced up once more. Shows once again that one does not have to tear a place down to improve it. Outdoor malls are back in vogue now. Nice to still have one with a covered walkway between the stores.

Some trees along the road would be nice. Another thing City Hall caved in on. They allowed the mall a variance from the required "landscaping" since a few zoning required parking spaces would have to be removed. The lot is never full.

More bad decisions by administration and council.

CuriousKat. Don't go telling a lot of people how much you like it here. Especially folks in 604. It might cause an influx of southerners fed up with 604. This "gritty (not dirty) little mill town" works for me. I've lived here for over twenty years and I wouldn't live anywhere else. It's the people. Just the people. You can buttonhole the mayor at Tims. Try that in Vancouver with the mayor there. We have Eugene Fetterly. 604 doesn't. You can talk to the editor of our newspaper, he isn't behind a glass window with three secretarys to get through, IF you have an appointment. We only have the minutest inkling of the Vancouver downtown eastside. We don't have a bridge (like the Port Mann) where you go from four lanes into two and then to one to get on the bridge. We don't have rush hour here. In 604 it is not "rush hour". It's called "peak periods". We don't have Aircare. Kelowna is just a small Vancouver. CuriousKat? Keep our secret. Thanks

I moved up from the lower mainland 4 years ago and I'll never go back. Sure the bowl is an unpleasant place and the first couple of winters were a shock, but it's home now and there's no place like home.

"You can talk to the editor of our newspaper"

Do we have one? We have a publisher and an associate editor. Editor long gone. Publisher won't listen.

Now, if CuriousKat were the Publisher, we might be able to lift the spirit in this community again.

Second the motion for CuriousKat.

Some guy just found a parking space in Vancouver. Then he went and bought a car. (old joke)

I've lived here for 40 years. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Well, ok, the bahamas maybe, but until I am in a position to actually do that, I'm very happy where I am.
It's truly nice to see someone have something positive to say about our city for a change. We tend to focus on the negatives and have a difficult time crawling out of the potholes to actually remember how nice it really is here.

Regarding our movie theatre - that place is a sh&thole! The bathrooms are disgusting, the floors are filthy, the lineups are far too long, never enough staff, concession is a rip off. I used to go and pay for just the price of admission, skip the concession and was ok with that, but now you can't even go to the bathroom without feeling the need to vomit as soon as you walk in and I can't stand the feeling of my shoes sticking to the floor and sitting on seats that have god knows what filth on it. That place needs a top to bottom cleaning, new and improved bathroom facilities (with paper towels please! not the blow dryers with the germ infested vents that don't even blow warm air, or work at all for that matter!). More staff, shorter line ups, ticket kiosks that actually work!

The theater is gross!!! Are you listening management? Or does having a monopoly negate any effort to maintain and upgrade your premises?

Great post curiousKat

I have always been a believer that there is no utopia. Each place has its negatives and positives to varying degrees and no place is perfect. There will always be a fly in the ointment so to speak. One man's paradise is not always anothers. PG is no paradise or utopia, but for me it beats a lot of the competition hands down. I was born and raised here and I'm not going anywhere soon. Too bad all the winters couldn't be as easy as this last one... there's that fly that I was talking about. Mind you it keeps things interesting and one learns to appreciate and be thankful for the other 3 seasons.

On a different subject:
The Federal Liberals and Ignatieff are trying to make much of the treatment of Afghan detainees. Lets get this straight we are to abide by the Rules of Engagement when treating enemy combatants who will blow up anybody including women, children and fellow countrymen. We handed prisoners over to the Afghans who may or may not have tortured them for info.
Since 911 there have been approximately 4,500 terrorist/jihadist/fundamentalist/extremist attacks around the world.
Call me politically incorrect, barbaric or uncivilized, but I side with the Australian politician who commented on a couple of Australian soldiers caught with an Afghan terrorist bomber with a battery hooked to his privates
He said " I have only three things to say about that.Red is positive. Black is negative. Make sure the parts are wet."
If it saves the life of one of our soldiers so be it.

RIP commonsense ......

apt name, since you cannot spot a hoax if it hits you in the face .....

http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/bechtol.asp

For those of you who care about the "Fight the HST Initiative". Elections BC got so many applications from people to be canvassers that it flooded their office. Good Sign!

Ahhh Gus
Thanks so very much for pointing that out. The original quote was on a radio program in Australia and the politician was of course roundly criticized by the politically correct left. It has probably been repeated often and a thumbs up from most people. Possibly not from you.
So is the hoax the added story or that we play by the rules with these terrorists/insurgents or is the hoax that our soldiers can die or be injured and we continue to treat these enemy with respect or the point of the whole thing and perhaps the Greatest Hoax is Bob Rae, Ujjal Dosanjh and Michael Ignatieff and the Federal Liberals spending so much time and money trying to tie this to the Harper Government?

Last Saturday was the first day of Spring, and it is the first time that I can remember the weather actually feeling like Spring here in PG. Spent all day outside - even raked some of my yard - In the Hart. Now we just have to wait for things to get green. I hope it does not take too long.

Great post, curiousKat. I like many others, moved here for a short period of time (promised the wife four years, and have stayed since 1976). It is a town full of very good people.

Well, I here the lying hypocrite wants to open a huge casino near BC Place and suing a non profit organization.Hmmmmmm

A very "good sign", Municca. Lets just see how much of a "done deal" the HST is when MORE than 10% of the electorate in EVERY riding have their names verified on that upcoming official Petition. Any politician who wants to survive "yields to pressure". Now's our chance to apply it.

CuriousKate surely got up on the right side of the bed to-day. Its an apple pie and ice cream day.

A few clarifications if I may, just to try and keep things in perspective, knowing full well that I will be accused of being **negative** So whats new.

1. Yes we have a direct flight once per week to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, but nowhere else in the world.

2. Four directions of travel by Highway? As opposed to two or five in other cities?

3. Passenger train to the Coast. Well yes, but dont forget that you have a 24 hour layover in Jasper.

4. Yes we have two rivers that meet. Unfortunetly we also have three pulp mills that dump their effluent into the Fraser River, so that the water South of the CN steel bridge is polluted. Only a fool would go into that water. West on the Nechako is OK.

5. A stable economy?? Tell that to all the people who are out of work from Rustads, Bear Lake, Winton Global, Plywood Plant (not rebuilt) plus some others. (You must have a Goverment job)

6. Affordable housing?? As I said you must have a Government job.

7. Prince George is no longer a **young** town. Look around you, and you will see a sea of grey hair, canes, walking sticks, and mobile wheel chairs. Average age of undergraduate university students is 25 and the average age of graduates is 36.

8. We do have a lot of ammenities, as you mentioned, however the upkeep for these recreational facilites is $12 Million dollars per year. In addition we are approx $100 Million is debt, and the service charges on the debt are approx $12 Million per year.

9. Yes the people from outlying areas come to Prince George to shop, mainly because the stores in their towns have shut down or downsized. Compliments of the Big Box Stores. These people also enjoy all the ammenities of Pr George, however they dont have to pay the taxes for them.

10. Snow removal from our drive ways. Dont for a minute think that its free. We pay for this service., Nor can you compare us to Victoria when it comes to snow.

Having ;pointed out a few inconsisties, I agree with most of what you say in regards to the overall area, recreational, etc; and I do a lot of backwoods travellingk, lakes, fishing, picnicing, etc; Certainly is much better than the lower mainland, but not necessarilly better than the Central Interior, or the Okanogan.

Have a good day.

palopu - why do you even bother getting out of bed in the morning? If PG is that bad for you then dont let the door hit you.. well you know that one.

Palopu. I think you should seriously consider running for the position of Mayor of Prince George in the next municipal election (in November 2011).

"The original quote was on a radio program in Australia"

You did not read the snopes report I see. You may not what snopes is. It seeks out "urban legends" to research where they might come from and how true they might be.

The story originated with a comedian on stage. Came from a STORY about doing tests with a monkey's brain to try to discover cures for AIDS.

This is his web site: http://www.tbubba.com

There are tons of people who are reported to have said this in many different countries. None of them have proven to be true.

Sure, it is something that some people would applaud. But it is not likely that any politican would have said in public. They are not exactly THAT stupid.

He would be lucky to get 2,000 votes ....

..... well, certainly not more than 2,500