Well I'm just about ready for spring, seems like it has been a long winter.

Anyone willing to wager a guess about where our fuel prices will be by summer?

Some of us really have to wonder what level of additional taxes our governements collect with each raise in the per liter price??? I wonder why Pat and Shirley are always so quiet on this issue???

My guess is around 1.50 p/l we have to match Vancouver prices although they pay around .12 cents transit tax. BC has the highest gas prices in the country thanks to the Liberals carbon tax, transit tax and all other taxes they can think of.

Take a look at prices throughout the country

http://www.bcgasprices.com/index.aspx?

Oh yeah, another comment on the subject of high gas prices. It should really help the tourism in B.C. Not!

With all the advertising and promoting of a PAC we see in the newspaper these days and with a civic election looming in the fall it is time to add an extra line to the ballot. A referendum on the PAC. It will cost no extra funds to add the question and will give the citizens of PG a chance to voice their opinion on a PAC in a proper fashion.

It is certainly a much fairer approach to the question of a PAC than going down the road of a reverse petition, which is designed to fail.

Somewhere between Oct and Jan, the PG Aquatic Centre started charging tax on locker tokens. I hadn't been there since the end of Aug (before their questionably long service shut-down) and the tokens were 70 cents for a large locker. Now it's 70 cents plus 4 cents tax.

The Four Seasons Pool used to use quarters for their lockers, but I noticed that they have switched to a token system as well (after their VERY long shut down in Dec). They wouldn't have been able to charge tax if people brought in their own quarters.

The front counter service people will tell you it's the HST, but that doesn't add up properly. 70 cents x 1.12 equals 78 cents not 74. Plus when you get tokens they never punch them in to a cash register or give you a receipt, so how are they keeping track of what they are supposedly collecting for the Gov't?

It all smells a little fishy to me.

The Northern Cancer Lodge. Am I the only one who thinks public spending on buildings is way out of wack? $10,000,000.00 for temporary housing for a maximum of 18 families.
What the ****, over!
Why don't they buy a local motel for $3.5 mill., spray some fancy paint on it and house 40 families?
Or they could buy 18 of those $400,000.00 condos on False Creek and have money left over to fly people back and forth from Vancouver.

For all you Conservatards out there.
Jus who is holding this no gooder responsable GW Harper that is.
His MP's can LIE and LIE not be held accountable??
On this crime bill,build more PRISONS and he will fill em 10 BILLION AND COUNTING!Next we gomnna have his pic on the 3 dollar bill.
Funny how 64% of BCers support decrim of the HERB and not a single politican will touch it!

Myopicman, your post is not worthy of a reply - I nominate it for most ignorant post of the week!

Have a nice cancer free day!

Pylot Project. Just a guess but GST of 5% might have already been included in the 70 cent locker fee at the aquatic center. Therefore the HST brought up the original amount by only 7%. But my math with this calculation shows you would be paying 75 cents.
As far as tracking the number of tokens sold, they are likely counting them as they are removed from the lockers. The HST payable is calculated based on that information.
Once again this is all pure speculation, but I really doubt there is anything fishy going on.

Prince George.
As a matter of fact I am a cancer survivor and also donate to the cancer society. That has no bearing on this huge waste of donated funds to build a shrine to some local egos. I am sure the families of cancer patients have little interest in the architectural wonder of such an ediface, they just want a place to stay that does not cost an arm and leg.

Nothing fishy? At an aquatic center? Something odd about that statement.

When did the Hart get the "keep right except to pass" signs??

When where the invisible speed limit signs saying "Minimum 90" get put up on the Hart 500?

There is no way that the city will put the PAC on the November ballot because they know it would not pass by a huge margin. The current leadership at city hall see this as one of the cornerstones of downtown redevelopment and are going to try to ram it down our throat.
Look at the article in yesterday's paper, Mike Davis the city's Manager Communication and Citizen Engagement(??)said that the city is funding and taking their advice from a society set up specifically set up to advance the PAC. Talk about preaching to the choir.

As a manager of communications, I think he is suffering from the same problem the CBS reported at the Grammys had. Direct quote from the Citizen "There has been some work done to date, as the council funded the society to do specific tasks in phase one and in the near future Davis said that he will provide more information about what lead to a phase II agreement and what this agreement calls for." Gibberish.

The society say that Vanier Hall does not have the proper ambiance to get people out. Give me a break. Look at Theater Northwest, you can't tell me that Parkhill is jammed to the rafters with ambiance. Yet they have kept going and are on record as saying they would not relocate to the PAC for $$$$ reasons. If people are not coming out is is because there is no demand for what they are offering.

BTW gus

I think you vastly over estimate what it would cost to renovate Vanier Hall.

They have lots of parking in the evening when a majority of the events would be held.

There are plenty of restaurants in close proximity.

What a novel idea to have a civic facility that is shared and used to it's full potential rather than heating a mostly vacant space.

That Tick,tick you hear while driving , is your Signal, turn it off and you don't Signal 5 miles and 20 Intersection in Advance. I survived another Day of Driving in PG .

For all of you that are worried about gas prices going up. Go open up a tax free trading account and start buying oil company stocks. That will pay for your expensive gas in the next few months.

Also, look at this new article.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/02/18/bc-nurse-gangster-training.html

How do you like Gordon Campbell's pension?
When he turns 65 in 2013, his mla pension will start at just over $100,000.00 per year. That is for as long as he lives, and it IS indexed to the cost of living, unlike most of OURS. If I work until I am 60, I will have 42 yrs of service in a construction union, which luckily still has a fairly healthy pension plan. That will get me a gross of less than $36,000.00 per year. But for now, Gordo will have to make do with his "transition allowance" of over $127,000.00 per year, and his taxpayer funded re-training allowance of $9,000.00, if he chooses to "re-train"
I say he should go for it! He is abundantly qualified for a position as assistant Wal Mart greeter!
metalman.

I agree with lonesome sparrow. I read the article in the citizen and was surprised to learn that the intetion is to build a PAC with a capy of 800 and that Vanier hall already has capy of 800.

Of course the disadvantage of Vanier Hall is that it is attached to a high school so it will never be as 'cool' as a stand alone building downtown. And if we didn't have Vanier Hall already I would probably recommend building the PAC downtown. But guess what, we already have Vanier Hall. Renovating it to make it a better facility, perhaps with a new entrance to the south of the building would have to be a lot cheaper than building a new facility downtown.

If I din't have to pay for it I would be 100% in favour of building a PAC downtown right now.

However, I do have to pay for it so I would really like to see an unbaised analysis of what it would cost to build & operate the facility. We often get too focused on the capital cost of building a facility and forget about the ongoing operational cost.

I also want to see some analysis of what it would be used for and whether it would generate any new activity/income that it wouldn't just take from other existing venues.

I repeat. I am 100% in favour of a new PAC downtown if it is in the best interests of the community. However, I have not seen any data to date that suggests it would be.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!! whew we all made it through another week!!

Take care and stay safe out there!!

{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs to you all}}}}}}}}}}}}

I agree with lonesome sparrow. I read the article in the citizen and was surprised to learn that the intetion is to build a PAC with a capy of 800 and that Vanier hall already has capy of 800.

Of course the disadvantage of Vanier Hall is that it is attached to a high school so it will never be as 'cool' as a stand alone building downtown. And if we didn't have Vanier Hall already I would probably recommend building the PAC downtown. But guess what, we already have Vanier Hall. Renovating it to make it a better facility, perhaps with a new entrance to the south of the building would have to be a lot cheaper than building a new facility downtown.

If I din't have to pay for it I would be 100% in favour of building a PAC downtown right now.

However, I do have to pay for it so I would really like to see an unbaised analysis of what it would cost to build & operate the facility. We often get too focused on the capital cost of building a facility and forget about the ongoing operational cost.

I also want to see some analysis of what it would be used for and whether it would generate any new activity/income that it wouldn't just take from other existing venues.

I repeat. I am 100% in favour of a new PAC downtown if it is in the best interests of the community. However, I have not seen any data to date that suggests it would be.

Myopicman is guilty of clear thinking,
not insensitivity toward families of cancer patients. Obviously, those who are temporarily housed in a "cancer lodge" (what a stupid name!) are only there to be near a loved one. Why would any right thinking person complain? A renovated motel or small apartment building is the way to go. If we leave the government out of it, and run such a facility with volunteers (Friends of Northern Cancer Lodge, perhaps?) then it won't cost a gazillion dollars per year to maintain. Remember, the acronym for any level of government is: F.U.B.A.R. What the 'bleep'>>>>>:over;>)
metalman.

All I can say is thank Gord Campbell is finally gone!! now as long as we don't get another hitler in to take his place the province may have half a chance of recovering from the last 10 years of the holocaust that Campbell called governing.

Can there actually be a decent government in BC? stay tuned.

I think a lot of you are missing the point of the Cancer Lodge. It's about being close to your family member that's in the hospital, not half a city away. Through personal experience, it's very difficult emotionally, physically and mentally not being right there. Not only that, but the lodge is there to help the families financially as well. The added cost of travel would make it more difficult. If they provide a shuttle service think of that added cost.

And we can't forget that the lodge will also house patients that are going for treatment as well. How would you like to go through a round of radiation treatment or blood work then have to get into a cab or on the bus (because you are not allowed to drive due to the treatment) to get back to a housing unit that's not right there? You wouldn't. Having watched my mother go through that and seeing her traveling across the city, it's not easy.

So converting an old hotel or apartment building would definitely be cheaper. It would make it harder on those who will be using the facility. And let's face it, that's what it's there for. Who knows you might find yourself having to use it one day and will be thankful it's only 100 feet away from the clinic.

You can rest assured that the City will never go to a referendum for the PAC if they can avoid it. Their preference is the reverse onus option, because as stated above it is designed to fail, and therefore gives the City easy access to borrowing for these types of projects.

The PAC society has been formed and has support from the City and IPG, and its mandate is to look into the feasibility of building a new PAC. Considering that all the people in the society are in favour of the PAC I wonder what their recommendations will be. What a bloody laugh. Much like the Liberals appointinge their buddies to a **independent** board to look into the benefits of the HST. Duhhhh.

The fact that the City has to go into huge borrowing and spending for the new police station, boundry road, community energy system, and the winter games, I doubt if they will have an appetite for borrowing more money for the PAC anytime soon. We are going to get a substantial increase in taxes this year, and after the election we will get much bigger increases for 2012,2013. They might not increase in 2014 because the people in power will want to get re-elected so that they can **preen** when the much vaunted winter games comes to town.

Keep your eye on these dudes, because they have only one concern, and that is to tax you and spend your money.

I have to agree that a Cancer Lodge is a good thing, for all the reasons outlined above by **Erin**. They presently have these facilities in Vancouver, and people who go to Vancouver for treatment stay there. The rate per night is I beleive $55.00 which includes meals.

I have no problem spending money on facilities that help people, especially those who are seriously ill. I do have a problem spending tax dollars on projects that have no return for taxpayers, and just line the pockets of vested interests.

Myopicman, here it goes:

The Vancouver Cancer Clinic has a proper lodge, right across the street from it.

The Kelowna Cancer Clinic has a proper lodge, right across (actually behind) the radiation clinic.

The Prince George Cancer Clinic will have a proper lodge, right next to it.

The Canadian Cancer Society decides it. It has ZERO to do with local egos.

Neither Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna or Surrey have converted old motels for Cancer Lodges.

I expect Prince George to be no different than other cities.

You have the option of NOT using it. You can stay at an old converted motel.

As pointed out by Ben Meisner some time ago the silence surrounding the next Civic Election is baffling.

Is anyone going to run for Mayor or Council, or will they get re-elected by acclamation??

For all the complaints about the present group, you would think that people would be beating the doors down to get nominated and elected, to replace these dudes and get the job done right.

Whats the problem????

When did the Hart get the "keep right except to pass" signs??
They have been there for quite some time. Nobody notices them though from the left lane. For all you people who think they have a right to drive in the left lane and have to be passed on the right, it is not only rude, it is also dangerous. I think of it as no different than standing in the middle of the aisle of a grocery store not letting anybody by
I am Tractor and this is one man`s opinion.

Hmmm, cancer must be more important than other illness. Cancer gets gov't funded lodges? Where were the gov't funded lodges for other illness in this province?

I know many families including myself that were on their own when family members were in hospitals in other cities. There were no lodges or gov't funds available. $125.00 per night for a roof over your head in Vancouver 4 blocks from VGH.

It's no wonder we are taxed to death!

You cannot see the "Keep right" signs on the Hart at night because there are not enough street lights present to illuminate them. And then there is Foothills Blvd - the road with no lighting......

"You cannot see the "Keep right" signs on the Hart at night because there are not enough street lights present to illuminate them. And then there is Foothills Blvd - the road with no lighting......"


You shouldn't need to see the signs. If you have a driver's license it's assumed that you understand the basic rules of the road. Of course, we all know that's an erroneous assumption and not just in this town. Have you ever tried to cross the street at a marked crosswalk in this town? That's an adventure and a half. Try it at an unmarked crosswalk if you need an adrenaline rush (and the finger).

So why doesn't the PAC society mortgage their homes and build it themselves then they can have their own exclusive club.

Also do not forget the city is making noises about building a new #1 firehall. It will have to be a design extraordinaire like the cop shop.

The PAC Society could contact the Canadian Cancer Society or the Spirit of the North Foundation for information on how to effectively raise funds for a project.

The Spruce Kings Home Lottery could be used as an idea about how to raise funds and lay a good cash foundation for the PAC and then apply for government grants which are sometimes given for the arts.

Fund raising and signing up members is a very good measure of how much community support there actually is for such a venture.

Just borrowing 60 million and forcing everyone to pay more taxes is a bad idea when we already have an 800 seat venue in the city - Vanier Hall.

Besides, the planned PAC building design shown in the paper is awful - it looks more like a #1 Firehall than a centre for the arts.

It does have a tower for hanging the hoses and a few bays for parking the trucks!

Palopu maybe no one is running as they have figured it out that the council is controlled by the administration. One past council member said that if you don't do as the administration wants you find yourself on the outside and you can not get any information you need to help the taxpayers. We need some strong people that will take back control of the City and control the administration.

Start with a new city manager - the golden parachute will be worth it in the long run.

Over the last seveeral years, the School district has closed almost half the schools. These especially included many rural and outlying.

No problem they said, we will just bus all the students.

Now they are making noises about charging for the service.

Another example of short sighted greed by the board.

If they do this, I strongly recommend that any student being charged for this "privilege" take the alternate tack of withdrawing from the school district and go home school or distance learning.

You all know the consequences of a dramatic drop in school district enrollment.

Such a shame our young must bear the brunt of board selfishness.

When are hey going to reduce the size of the board to be in line with the number of students?

And it's always the people that drive in the left lane that tell people how fast they should be driving. It is just plain co-operation to stay right until you need to pass. I know you have "the right" to drive in whatever lane you choose. Life is so much easier with a little co-operation.

Hey Campbell don't let the door hit ya on the way out. Now you can visit your buddy Arnie and blow on the windmills.

I think its great to have PAC downtown, it will be the big anchor to the downtown.

Well, Mayor Dan, just make sure the chain is long enough, so when you throw the anchor off your boat, it don't pull the boat under water.

I think it should be built, but not for 50 million dollars. They built one of the same size in Brandford???? for less than half that.

There seems to be a fundamental issue with logistics, especially when the largest theatre in town, has clearly indicated that they will not move into the new PAC, that has got to tell you something.

Vanier Hall, sits idle most nights, hmmmm makes you wonder what else it can be used for.

As far as having an anchor for downtown, sorry but you boneheads missed the mark when you decided to build Kin4

I wonder if Vanier hall could be retro-fitted to be a theatre, and show old classic movies.. Have Cinema CNC use it as well. There is way more seating at Vanier Hall than in the College theatre.

Faxman, I agree with you. My comment was just my way or pointing out the lack of street lights on those two roads.

I don't think you would need to do much to show movies in that theatre, other than install new speakers specifically for movies. Its probably the best acoustical building in town.

I think what the city should do is, tell the school district, we will build you a new drama room, we take over Vanier hall.

"Faxman, I agree with you. My comment was just my way or pointing out the lack of street lights on those two roads."

Street lights are designed for pedestrian traffic, not vehicle traffic. There is no need to have them all up and down the Hart or on Foothills.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen anyone walking on Foothills. Odd.

The roundabout on pulpmill road seems to be working fine..EXCEPT for the people coming off the bridge and heading up the hart... They think they get the right of way for some reason ? They dont slow down to the speed limit and shoot straight through and up to the hart. Slow down and work with everyone using the traffic circle please.

Traffic entering a roundabout from your left has the right of way. People coming from the pulp mill are required to yield to those coming off the bridge. (Who are required to yield to those entering from North Nechako).

Traffic ALREADY IN a roundabout to your left has the right of way over you. You don't have any right of way over anyone until you are in the circle.
If you are ENTERING the circle you don't have any right of way over anyone.

I say we get pizza and Chinese this weekend...

I like the drivers who drive in the left lane all the way from Austin Road keeping pace with the driver in the right lane only to cut you off at Fifth and turn right. Idiots.

I'm always in the right hand lane driving exactly at the speed limit and I really don't care about the tailgating, speeding and swerving which goes on in the left lane!

Why didn't those idiots leave a few minutes earlier?

Nobody knows.

Pizza is a good idea, but Chinese turns me off ever since I ended up in Emergency with a tube sticking out of my arm after wretching for hours!

gas just went up 3 cents..and crude is down where is was before Christmas and we were paying $106.9 then...how do we spell rip off...as if we have a lot of choices..pay or walk...bus useless for me....

"Traffic ALREADY IN a roundabout to your left has the right of way over you. You don't have any right of way over anyone until you are in the circle.
If you are ENTERING the circle you don't have any right of way over anyone."

I don't believe the initial beef concerned vehicles already in the roundabout. The poster seemed to be under the impression that vehicles were supposed to "take turns" merging into the roundabout. Two vehicles arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the left has the right of way.

"I'm always in the right hand lane driving exactly at the speed limit and I really don't care about the tailgating, speeding and swerving which goes on in the left lane!

Why didn't those idiots leave a few minutes earlier?"

Good to see you're in the right hand lane. Thank you. A lot of drivers could learn from you.

As for leaving a few minutes early? I'd like to spend those extra few minutes with my family rather than having to spend them in my car just because a bunch of boneheads don't know how to drive.

"I don't believe the initial beef concerned vehicles already in the roundabout. The poster seemed to be under the impression that vehicles were supposed to "take turns" merging into the roundabout. Two vehicles arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the left has the right of way"

Yes and that wrong impression is what I was correcting. If you are not already in the circle you have no right away over anyone. It doesn't matter if you both arrive at the same time. If you arrive there at the same time, then enter it at the same time. Then you're equal.

Erin: "I think a lot of you are missing the point of the Cancer Lodge"

I am one who missed the point.
I did not realize that the lodge also accomodated patients, but assumed that its purpose was to provide accomodations for the families of the patients. For patients, it makes a lot of sense to have the Lodge close by the hospital facilities.
Thank you for putting this into perspective, Erin.
metalman.

"Yes and that wrong impression is what I was correcting. If you are not already in the circle you have no right away over anyone. It doesn't matter if you both arrive at the same time. If you arrive there at the same time, then enter it at the same time. Then you're equal."

Except that those on the left are more equal. Good grief. Yes, the average PG driver is a moron.

The lodge in Vancouver can also be used by patients other than Cancer patients if the space is available.

I know a chap with a heart condition that is going to Vancouver next week, and he will be staying at the lodge.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2011/02/18/pol-weston-glass-parl.html

Anyone still think politicians are trustworthy .

Faxman said: "Two vehicles arrive at the same time, the vehicle on the left has the right of way."

If two vehicles arrive at the roundabout at the same time, they both enter and go on their merry way. Neither is required to yield to the other. This is the whole point of a roundabout and how it smooths traffic flow.

If I'm doing the MAXIMUM speed allowed by law on a road with 2 lanes (going in the same direction) and I'm in the left-hand lane and you're behind me wanting to pass then you're just going to have to drive the MAXIMUM allowable speed limit too.

It's a fairly easy concept and I ain't moving for ANYONE!

Okay I take that back! Sorry... I WILL MOVE FOR SOME OF YOU.

Yep just like I did the day I was going up Peden Hill and some idiot was right on my ???? trying to get me to move over when I was ALREADY going the MAXIMUM allowable limit. Unbeknownst to him I had just come down the hill 20 minutes earlier so I had the privilege of knowing that the POLICE were at the top of Peden Hill with radar!!!

Yep... this one day I thought... okay BIG BOY... I'll let you by, and so I pulled over and he went past me like he was test driving a Formula 1 race car! Didn't even wait for me to get completely in the right hand land... and WOW... did I get "The Look" from him.

*Okay so you ALL know where this story is headed right?*

Oh yeahhhhhhh..........

When I came to the top of the hill he was ALREADY pulled over and eagerly awaiting his turn to discover why driving MORE than the legal speed limit in the left-hand lane is NOT ALLOWED.

And yes... when I drove past him I made sure that I gave him "The Look" in return...

I slept REALLY GOOD that night (still do)

newtechguy I can see you are part of the superspoiled me me me me me me and only me generation.

In 2005, I spent some time in the Kelowna Cancer Lodge, while I awaited treatment. It was very nice. The furnishings were outstanding. I got 3 squares a day plus snacks. It was wonderful. I had travelled from Prince George, and because of my illness, funds were limited. I hope the PG Cancer Lodge is the same if not better than the one in Kelowna. And NO, a renovated motel will not cut it. The whole place smelled of comfort and caring. Good on you Cancer Society, keep up the awesome work you do.