The weather is HOT... thank goodness they can't tax that.

Have an enjoyable and safe weekend.

I have taken some time to reflect on the pg is the armpit of bc controversy. Quality of life in Prince George is horrible compared to similar and smaller sized communities in bc. Hockey players do not want to play here and immigrants do not want to work here, two of the biggest economic drivers for the canadian economy. lets understand the fact the we are not looked at very favourably by other Canadians and that we need to figure out how we can make our community better. PG sucks but it is my home and I want to make my home better. metro Vancouver is rated one of the best places to live in the world for a few reasons, PG is not, why is that? how can we change it?

Well, hood rich, I feel the same way. Some positive things happening are; I believe Canfor is finally doing something about the smell etc. Cottonwood will be repaired soon I hope, The clean team is helping to keep the downtown neater. I think we are lacking in a couple of big "draws". Something that will make people say "Lets go to Prince George and try their ?" I'm not sure what that ? could be....
Prince George has two rivers that meet. I feel that we could utilize them more. A couple of people I talked to have suggested a sternwheeler type boat with fine dining. Perhaps a replica of an actual one. Or perhaps the restaurant idea on Connaught hill (rotating of course) Mega bucks needed for good projects like this but I seriously think something big would be needed. I am constantly thinking of ideas but of course I lack in funds and have limited knowledge on how to raise funds etc. Does anyone else have some ideas they would like to share....

What the hell, it's home. I think that I share the feeling that for all its faults, Prince George is still not a bad place to live if you live in a better neighbourhood without too many crack shacks.
Yes, Vancouver has attractions but I would not consider living there. I lived in Victoria for a couple of years and, unless one lives in Oak Bay, it is not great. For four years I lived in California and would not return on a bet.
Like many others, I will stay in this, my adopted home, until unable to cope with the property on which I now live.

i also have lived in cal and florida and etc ,pg has its faults but ya know its got a perfect size,great medical care ..well but i find the people to be the friendliest !!you can pick apart anything but when i go to work it doesnt take me an hour,NICE PLACE !

Yes, I cannot imagine being stuck in rush hour traffic in the larger cities or taking 1 or 2 hours just to get to work. I can get to work in 10 - 15 min. Depends on if I stop at Timmys. Sometimes we just need to count our blessings. Our daughter is bringing her boyfriend to Prince George in Aug. She is trying to "sell" Prince George to him. He was raised in the lower mainland and has not spent a lot of time in the interior. She has a busy weekend planned for them. She wants to show him all that Prince George and area has to offer.

PG if fine. Its a matter of personal taste although some of the great things I remember growing up are gone. There is no small town feel anymore (no one trusts their neighbors, the drug trade has certainly impacted how safe it feels) but there is great access to rainbow trout!

The climate sucks and it does smell but property prices are reasonable and smaller town people are way nicer than city people. To each their own.

Gordon Campbell after finding out there were 100,000 "cattle guards" in BC, in a cost cutting move has laid off 50,000 of them.
Carol James has ordered a public inquiry and demanded a six month retraining period for these "cattle guards" and a two year extension of benefits.

But did he tax the cattle guards RIP?

There are times when you can't get out in winter because it's to cold but other then that skating and cross country skiing and down hill is big up here I cross country. Cycling is easier, Lots of educational facilities, wildlife roaming at times through the city, Fine parks and two big rivers . The cleanest water around, nice scenery. The public friendly and approachable.

I have two young children and have had to visit emergency three times in the past couple years for kids stitches and breathing problems (not related to air quality). I can't say enough about how happy I was with the service provided. We didn't have to wait very long, the staff was caring and very helpful. the facitlities are great. I was very confident in the quality of care. The kids are doing great. Maybe it was just because they treat kids better than other patients but based on my experience with our family doctorn, the emergency ward and the walk in clinic, I am very happy with our local health care services.

I say grow hemp :) mills wouldn't like though

I am an avid jetboater and I take pride in the courtesy and respect that "most" boaters have while on the water. We utilize many launches throughout BC and most are user built and maintaned. I use the Cottonwood and Myworth launches frequently and very rarely see garbage left behind. But this recent round of sunny weather has the river full of tubers and floaters and I have noticed a large amount of garbage being left behind. Clean up behind yourself.... There is a lot of talk about the pride of PG.... Show it...

There are aspects of PG that I do not like, but location, weather (we get all 4 seasons and they are fabulous), size, etc keeps me here. There is plenty to do if you are active and outgoing and willing to get out there and find it. Yes, more to offer tourists would be nice, but you couldn't pay me to live in Vancouver. Not a chance in hell.

Prince George is an OK town. Not a bad place to raise Kids and has all the ammenities, however it is no more or less than a thousand towns in Canada.

There is a downside. Prince George business's are rip off artists and the City taxes us to death.

1.Even though we have a refinery right in our back yard, we pay the same or more for gas than they do in Terrace or Kitimat, or Quesnel, Williams Lake. These other areas have to pay transportation costs for fuel and we dont. You would think that our prices would be cheaper.

2. You can pay anywhere from $90,000.00 to $150,000.00 for a lot to build a house on. These bloody lots are nothing more than a sand pile, and the cost of servicing them is cheap. The selling price reflects the rip off mentality of this town.

3. You can buy a new car approx $1500.00 cheaper in Quesnel, or Vancouver than you can in Prince George. Another rip off.

4. Prices for other commoditys are higher because the merchants want to rip off the out of town shoppers. No competition means higher prices.

To give you an example of how we get screwed take a single airline ticket to Vancouver.

1. Base Price $129.00
2. Airport Improvement Fee 18.00
3. ATSC 7.32
4. Nav/Ins 18.00
5. HST 20.65

Total Price $192.77

The Airport Improvement fee in 2003 was $5.00 it is now $18.00 and you are getting nothing for this increase.

The GST on the ticket prior to July 1st would have been $8.60 it is now $20.65 an increase of $12.05. and you will get nothing for this increase.

For the supporters of the HST I say thanks a lot for the increase.

In any event we have a lot of room for improvement in reducing taxes, prices, etc; that would help to attract people to this community and keep them here, however dont hold your breath.

Fester1, I agree. I'm an avid floater and travel the river frequently. Have been doing so for years either in inflatable boats or with my canoe. The fairly recent increase in people floating down the river has brought a few that seem unfamiliar with what I believed to be common etiquette: carry out what you carry in. It does seem like it is a small percentage of people but when I see cans circling a floating party like satellites around a planet it pisses me off immensely. Please, if you are going to be on the river (or any of our lakes for that matter), keep it clean and carry out your trash!
Also, the majority of boaters (motorized) that I encounter have been very courteous. I have only seen one true exception, but hey, there is always an exception.
Have a great weekend everyone and I’ll see you on the water!

How you feel about the place you live is a reflection of yourself. You can be happy or unhappy anywhere on earth, it's up to you. People like Palopu are sad examples - spending all their time looking for negatives and not seeing the positives - get a life and enjoy!

My expenditures from July 1st to July 8th resulted in paying an additional $28.65 in HST, or $3.58 per day. If the trend continues I would end up paying an additonal $1306.70 in a year. Anyone who thinks that this HST is not a huge tax grab need only keep track of the amount you pay for the next year.

I am not a big spender, so you can guess what some people will end up paying.

Thank you Gordon Campbell and Mr. Hansen. Hopefully you will collect enough in HST so that you both can take early pensions and get out of Government.

I've been tracking my spending and the amount of HST charged as well, and like you Palopu, I am not a big spender. The amount I have paid in ADDITIONAL taxes is ridiculous. Just wait until back to school time starts and then it will be much, much more with having to pay HST on my kids clothing (who wear size small or xtra small adult sizes), wear adult size shoes, school supplies (I'm still not clear on what is or is not taxable as far as school supplies go).

Newtechie sorry you are being taxed for the hot weather thanks to HST and the carbon tax scam. Notice how the province has bought into the carbon BS and at the same time tourism BC abvertises travel BC

For those negative on PG and can't see what you have here, please leave. I enjoyed PG more when it was smaller.

It's nice to see these positive comments about PG. I agree we have our problems here, but the same types of problems exist to some extent in all communitees. I've heard many people say that they came here for what was supposed to be 1 or 2 years and 20-25 years later there still here. (That says something). Many of my friends have moved away over the years. Many have come back and say PG aint so bad after all. As mentioned above, tons of indoor and outdoor sports and activities to keep us busy. Our soccer facility is one of the best in Canada.

The winters here are a bit long though. lol
Take advantage of the good weather while its here!

By the way kolberg, I couldn't agree more about the quality of care we're provided. Both my parents are elderly and not well these days. The care they recieve from the hospital staff and family doctor couldn't be better.

Cheers!

I am finding it very refreshing to see mostly positive comments on Friday Free for all! It is about time.
I live in PG because it is so much cheaper here than other places we could live. DH works in Alberta, and we just could not bear to pay for a home there. Given that, and the awsome recreational opportunities within a couple of hours of home, we will be staying. I live in a decent neighbourhood, and have had no problems with crime. My child attends a wonderful school, with awsome, caring teachers. We have great medical care here. My street gets plowed within a day or so of a snowfall. In my opinion, many of the posters here are just very negative. I think you would be much happier if you spent less time dwelling on the negatives, and start seeing some of the very very good things about Prince George.

Headline:"Clifford Olson threatens lawsuit over pension".
It would be nice if a guard "accidentally" let Olson into the general population of that prison.

Sorry to be negative..but that just burns me!

I have a rant.....last weekend we were coming back from our families cabin and we thought we'd stop in to Great Beaver Lake on the way back. We pulled into an empty site that still had a fire going....lo and behold the wood in the fire was what was left of the picnic table.....and then we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw the many garbage bags strewn around with all the weekends garbage from the campers that camped there. It was so disgusting!! Along with about 20 dozen Budweiser cans. So my family and I gathered up all the stinkin' garbage that was there, and all the wetwipes that were left behind from these pigs. No wonder there is a bear problem....sometimes I think there is no hope for mankind.....:-(

We have never been to Prince Rupert so for a holiday we took the drive, the senery was beautiful. The towns along the way were nice and clean and you felt safe walking around. The first thing you see coming into Prince George on 20th is a Hooker, in fact we counted four Hookers on 20th and Queensway, a couple of new faces. We have the new Baldy Hughes treatment center for addicted people from all over Canada. I am asking the question again, WHAT HAPPENES TO THE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT FINISH THE PROGAM? Are they sent back to where they came from? It seems like the fund raising in Prince George is going in one direction.

Bitter so thats the best you can do is come up with few hookers on Qweensway. Look at the size of PG compared with the towns out west there is bound to be issues. Oh Prince Rupert also has hookers.

I see the cost over runs for the Owelimpics are now coming in. The Liberals spin starts in 3...2...1...

Two Kamloops RCMP officers have been charged with assault in separate incidents stemming from earlier this year.

Const. Ryan Sheremetta has been charged with assault after he allegedly punched another man, Ian Mcleod, in a street fight near a local bar on March 7.

Sheremetta, who was off duty at the time of the assault allegation, was involved in a high-profile fatal shooting in 2004 when he worked in Vanderhoof.
Source: http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_thompson_nicola/kamloopsthisweek/breaking_news/98124004.html

How many people predicted this type of problem with this particular individual?

I suppose how many people predicted that is really not all that important.

I think what is more important is how many people in a position to do something about it predicted that and have not done anything about it.

And, moving forward, as they say, how many will be in a position to do something about it and will not be doing anything about it?

Firing for cause would be a good place to start. And if he sues for wrongful dismissal, and wins, so be it. Consider it part fo the insurance policy to keep the people of Canada,who may be next in his line of fire, safe.

sledhead, nice of you to take the time to pick up the garbage etc. A lot of people might have walked away. I know some people are ignorant when it comes to that kind of thing (leaving their garbage) but it is nice to have people like you who take the time to make it a pleasant place for the next one. Hats off to you...

Has anyone tried to email a story from Opinion 250? It seems to be missing the "send" button on my computer. Maybe something I am doing wrong! Geek needed!

Most of my knocks on Prince George are legitimate, and they need to be said.

Happiness comes from within and so it doesnt matter where you live, if you live right you are happy. I would feel the same living in Vancouver, Enderby, Kamloops, etc;

I have lived in Prince George for a lot of years, and there is a lot of things I dont like, Mainly Politicians, and Municipal Con jobs, however at the end of the day I am happy.

I agree with sledhead, some people are real pigs, and shouldnt be allowed in the bush.

Seamutt, I was born in Prince George so I guess I like it as I am still here. I just wish the City would stop putting all it's problems in one area. WE have an Alderman that's getting to powerful and another Alderman who has worked hard,had the guts to speak out, and is being taken to the cleaners or should I say taken to the Courts. He was the only Alderman who tried to help with the Hooker problem that was pushed into our Residential Area thanks to the last Downtown clean up.It looks like they have clipped the out spoken Alderman's wings ,you hardly hear a peep out of him. I wish him well.

Another beautiful day today. Supposed to get much colder overnight. We'll see.

Finally it cooled off a bit.