I am quite pleased to see opinion 250 offering a forum such as this for us readers to vent about whatever we need to. As I have seen in the past there are plenty of very strong minded people in PG. Good job.

I would like to question the actions of the Prince George BC Assessment Authority, their competency and who, in government, they are answerable to. The values they generate for various properties seems to wander all over the map with little consistency. The appeal procedure is awkward and time consuming, which requires five copies of all documents and photographs, if you submit your appeal in writing, otherwise you have to take a day out of your life to appear before a 3-member Property Assessment Review Panel. The BC Assessment Authority provides the homeowner with no documentation,other than their Christmas gift to all of us, which we received, in my area, on January 02, 2008, to provide their latest figures. When you ask to speak with the individual who is responsible for the latest assessed value on your home, they will not tell you.
My neighbour and I have similar properties but my assessment is over $116,000 higher than his. I have been phoning the Prince George office and submitting documentation to them since January 03, 2008 but I am meeting with total indifference from them, regarding the huge difference in assessments between my property and my neighbour's property. All my figures are obtained from the BC Assessment website. All information has been submitted by regular mail. They seem to have a dictatorial attitude, totally removed from our democratic processes. There should be a reasonable process outlined in legislation, to make them more accountable for their actions, without having to file appeals. My assessment increased 49% in 2006 and 54% in 2008. Considering my home was new in 2002 and no improvements have been made since that time, how do they justify such increases? Market values have not increased at the rate of increase of my assessments. I am left feeling a victim of more bureaucracy which has no accountability to the homeowner. Which government Ministry is the BC Assessment Authority answerable to? I would appreciate some help without having to turn to very expensive legal action. Does anyone have some helpful advice?

This may not be helpful Honestjoe, but I'll throw in my 2 cents worth anyways. You didn't indicate the age of the home next to you. Were the property values different or was the bigger discrepancy in the value of the home. Perhaps if the values of the home is the larger discrepancy, it may have to with the age of the home and costs associated with the construction. I'm just guessing here though. Nonetheless Assessments jumped for everyone it appears and quite significantly, my theory is this scenario was indeed masterminded by the politicians, I see it as another revenue generating tax grab. My assessment also rose with no improvements and no justifiable reason for such an increase. I'm certain The Assessment gang is busy, as appeals surmount. Screwed again by the MAN.

Thanks pisspulper. Both homes are the newer style double wide manufactured. Mine is newer by about 10 years, mine has a few more square feet, I have a garage, my neighbour does not. I expect my assessment to be higher but not by more than $116,000. I am higher than most regular homes in my area, which sit on full foundations with daylight basements. My neighbour and I are sitting on concrete pillars and 6x6 timbers.....not my first choice but money was a factor. I have been finding out that there is wide spread dissatisfaction with the PG Assessment Authority and they are dealing with a huge number of appeals. I think this fact alone indicates a problem with the system. Is there possible political interference involved?

This is for our Mayor and Ken Craig, manager, bylaw services, City of Prince George.
Numerous phone calls regarding illegaly parked heavy trucks in residential areas of our city have fallen on deaf ears. Why?
The last call to your office regarding this problem was met with the answer, "we can't do anything after 5:00 pm as we have no one on duty, how are we suppose to catch them?"
Well sir, your office has a file that has the name of the offending local business, who, I may add, has a yard where thier trucks can park. In fact those were the words of one of your bylaw,(LMAO)enforcement officers. Why should we as taxpayers put up with damage to our streets just so these truck drivers don't have to use thier own vehicles to and from work? Do you know what it is like to breathe diesel exhaust while you are sleeping, not to mention the constant blowing off of the air dryers. Recently I have discovered our city has ammended the bylaw regarding truck parking in city limits. How did you sneek this one by us all. You people are allowing heavy trucks to park in any residential area for 3 hours at a time, 24/7. That is according to the women that answers the phone in your office. By the way perhaps you could ask her to cheer up a little, sounds like she needs a holiday or a transfer to another department where she doesn't need to have a civilized tone of voice on the phone.
Are you at bylaw services going to enforce our parking bylaws the same way as you enforce our noise bylaws?
The city has increased our taxes 4% to pay for road repairs. That in itself is a joke. This past year saw more potholes than ever. One street had many such holes along its entire length. Patching crews show up and fix a few, then show up weeks later and fix a few more, and so on and so on. Pretty efficient managerial practices happening there. Two summers ago I watched a city worker with a can of spray paint marking potholes and other road damage. He was there for two days. Not one of those potholes was repaired until the following season. Glad we taxpayers paid for his wages those days, not to mention the many cans of paint that were wasted. Heavy trucks, whether they park for 3 hours or 3 days do tremendous damage to our streets. I request you send my 4% tax bill to those trucking companies that you allow to park in our neighborhoods, or maybe you can pay it. Bylaw services needs to do something about this. I suppose we can always deal with it in city council chambers. Remember we live in a democracy.
Stop running things like a dictatorship.

Sorry boys, but my biggest beef is inconsiderate people and their use of cell phones. It's bad enough that some of these people don't know how to drive but put a cell phone in their hand at the same time and they become a menace to society. I am tired of phones ringing at the most inappropriate times like when you are out trying to have a nice meal, or on the golf course, or even while shopping. I have no interest in listening to other peoples' conversations though I think these people like to speak extra loud so as to gain some attention. I find it rude and obnoxious so consider others, people and get a life. I would personally like to tell them to shove that phone where the sun don't shine but afterall, I'm a lady.

Honestjoe and others
High assessments, high gas prices and everything else that increases, are a tax grab to pay for the olympics and war.

The Mayor wants to put a new polluting wood burning power plant into the downtown and offset the harmful emissions by offering owners of wood stoves an incentive to convert to cleaner burning stoves.

He has absolutely no assurance whatsoever about how many people are actually going to switch. His expectations may never be met, and then what?

A big deal has been made of the Mayor's task force on clean air! With me, it has no credibility at all if this is allowed to happen. ALL efforts should be on verifiable actual reductions of emissions and any plan that has a *hope* factor built into it that some expectations will indeed be fulfilled in the future is based on wishful thinking and only motivated by the urge to grab some available grant money.

Both federal and provincial experts and politicians should take a deep breath (a shallow one if they are in the downtown!) and go back to square one on this one.

The plant does not need to be there. It can be miles out of town and feed electricity into the Hydro grid while burning biomass.

I am watching this issue with great interest and hopefully will not have to utter the famous *I told you so* when it turns into the predictable boondoggle.

I would like to mention the apparent lack of interest and whitewashing of the Brian Mulroney inquiry by the government AND the media!
This guy stinks, and with all that has gone on within the Conservative party over the years,we should have learned something!Just how deep does it go?
Read Stevie Cameron's book "On the Take" if you want to get an idea of what actually goes on in Ottawa, and what the Conservative party appear to be capable of.
Harper and his gang are carrying on the tradition obviously,and we should all be aware of what has gone down within the party.
Now we have a Prime Minister attempting to use blackmail to get his way in the house?
I do have to question WHY he wants to remain in Afganistan so badly after 2009!
What is it that we don't know?
We really DO need an election!

Good morning Ben,
Have you given any thought on maybe doing a streaming audio show on line say Fridays? Or just doing the old show online?

I'm old and I hate everything.

"I do have to question WHY he wants to remain in Afganistan so badly after 2009!"

-Maybe he's trading stock in a military suplier(s)! Military campaigns generate huge revenues for arms dealers and logistics companies. So if you create a campaign you know the value of your stock will skyrocket. Hey it worked for american politicians and the people who deal with them.

""Harper and his gang are carrying on the tradition obviously,and we should all be aware of what has gone down within the party.""

OMG>>>and you think the other political parties are squeaky clean? So soon we forget eh?

Its not the pot holes that bother me. Its like an apple that has a few brown spots when you cut it open the entire apple is rotten on the inside. And so goes the administration of our City. Its completley rotten on the inside.

Our City has total debt of close to two hundred million and yet we borrow more money to maintain our infrastructure. They have a wish list as long as your arm for pet projects that they will have to borrow even more money

Most of the civic properties operate in the red. There is no control over spending. The most recent offensive item during budget deliberations was to borrow $11,000,000.00 for projects that should be on a pay as you go basis.

They are now talking about clean air for the City and the first item on the list is to hire two more people, an air quality manager and an enfforcement officer.They are holding the tax payers responsible for the poor air quality when the poor air quality dosent even come under their jurisdiction.

It costs almost as much to administer the affairs of our City as the cost of the RCMP or the Fire Deparment. The biggest concern at City Hall is the economy of our City when the economy has to be driven by the business community. Let them take the fall for poor managemnt not the tax payer.

This fall we have an election but will things change. Not likely. those that have a vested interest in our City, the business community will get out and vote. And the rest of us will sit back and whine when the sh***t hits the fan instead of getting out and shaking the tree and getting rid of the bad apples. Have a nice day.

Cheers

City debt? Not to worry. Being a taxpayer and not really a legal and obligated co-signer to all this debt, I do not worry. Why? I can move away and leave this debt behind. Just take my real debts with me. And leave this city debt to the bozos who buy my house and take over my taxes, too. No problem for the likes of city hall council either. They eventually get booted out of their jobs and guess what? They leave the debt they created with the new bozos who get elected. Nobody wins, nobody loses. Don't worry. Be happy.

Death to socialism, you made me laugh so hard I shot coffee out my nose.

You should win an award for that. Call it the Abe Simpson Award or something.

Or the maybe the new name for this forum.

FARM FISH
Do you eat it? It's very unhealthy. If so you are contributing to the demize of the Pacific wild salmon.
You are making corporations, (mostly foriegn) rich and allowing them to destroy our environment. When eating out, do you ask your server if the fish you want to order is wild or farmed? Ask for proof. Do you buy salmon from your local grocer? Is it farmed or wild? It will state that on the packaging. We as consumers have the power to put an end to this destruction. There is scientific proof that it's not a good thing. Do a google search on the subject. DON'T BUY FARMED SALMON! BOYCOTT THOSE THAT SELL IT.

Drivers who think just because they are driving the speed limit they can stay in the fast lane. Good for you for following the rules but please have respect for others who may want to pass and let them. My other pet peeve is drivers who yield in a merge lane and merge in a yield lane, I think alot of people who have their driver's license would not be driving if they had to go back to driving school. And for those driving on the highway and see a merge lane you are to let those people and keep the traffic moving, please don't speed up so that the person merging has to slam on their brakes.

On Jan. 9, 2008, Opinion250.com ran a story titled "Security Worker's Job Impacted After Run In With Mayor Kinsley"

The following paragraphs are from this story.

"Prince George, B.C. - A Prince George man says he was banned from working as a security guard at the CN Center and the Civic Center after he refused to allow Mayor Colin Kinsley passage into an event at the Royal Bank Cup. The man says the Mayor failed to provide him with the proper documentation to pass into the secure area."

"According to MacIntyre, Kinsley then escalated the situation "Threatening me with removal from my post because he had authority to do so."

"On December 20th-2007 MacIntyre received a letter from his employer, Rod Holmes ,President of Regional Security Services. The letter says,” This letter confirms the previous conversations both in person and by telephone that the City Of Prince George has asked that you no longer work for us at the CN Center or the Civic Center.

It is my understanding that this was the result of an encounter you had with the Mayor during the Royal Bank Cup. We are more than willing to schedule you at any other works sites as we are happy with your services with us.”

The following is the link to the story.

http://www.opinion250.com/blog/view/7965/3/security+worker's+job+impacted+after+run+in+with+mayor+kinsley

I think the allegations contained in this story are very serious.

Does anyone know of any news that has occurred with regards to this story, since this article was posted?

Has anyone on our City Council spoke up with regards to the allegations contained in this story?

I think these allegations against our Mayor are very serious, and I think it is the duty and responsibility of our City Council to conduct a full investigation into this entire matter.

Actually jim13135,I don't think that at all,they are ALL dirty!
Been around much too long to believe that!
But the party we SHOULD be concerned with,is the one in power, obviously.

Why doesn't the Mayor build a heated dome over this frozen hell-hole?????? Elections can't come soon enuff.

Why doesn't the Mayor build a heated dome over this frozen hell-hole?????? Elections can't come soon enuff.

What bugs me is people who drive right up on my bumper when I am driving a little over the speed limit in the "fast" lane. Unlike in the country, in the city there is no "passing" lane. If I am going the speed limit (or faster) you had better just follow me- I ain't movin.

Also, when turning right off of 5th onto the hwy. up to the hart you don't need to yield (or stop like some do) just MERGE.

Speaking of driving - why is it that old coots in compact trucks seem to always drive 10 klicks under the speed limit? Check it out, it's true.

"Drivers who think just because they are driving the speed limit they can stay in the fast lane. "

I have some very bad news for you Chloe. There is no fast lane. When there are two lanes of taffic the inside lane ia a "through" lane and the outside lane is the "on off lane" and when the speed limit is posted at 50 km it applies to both lanes.

What is anoying is when one is trying to make a right turn and the guy ahead has blocked the lane because they should of been on the inside lane to allow the off traffic to move when able to do so.

If you want to break the law and get a speeding ticket feel free to do so but you wont get my sympathy because of your bad driving habit. I often wonder why there is so much speeding in the City when it only takes 10 minutes to get across town.

Oh and further there are very few merging lanes in our city. Most are to short to do a proper merge.

Cheers

'Palpoo' All I ask is if you see someone behind you trying to pass and you can move over to the right lane, please do that so others can pass. The left lane is the passing lane and if you don't need to be in it please move.

'Bridge' You are correct it is my right if I want to speed and break the rules so please get out of my way so I can.

Death to Socialism

You say you are old and you hate everything and then you talk about old coots driving compact trucks.

To "Chloe" ... Why do I have the feeling that you are also driving while yapping on a cell phone, smoking a cig and trying to drink a coffee at the same time. If you want to speed, that is your perogative but it puts others in danger of an accident. Sounds like you are a professional driver and everyone else should get out of your way. Big whoop. The only one who is inconsiderate on the roads is you.

I want the dome covering the city to. Let's get to work and make it happen. If there's one thing I want to emphasize here is that if you want something you have to learn to work for it. Now be quiet. They're about to announce the lottery numbers on the radio.

Foo - If you are, in fact, one of these coots maybe you can explain the appeal of the combination of tiny, useless trucks & obstructive driving habits. I really am curious.

Nope, I am not one of those coots driving compact trucks.

I was just curious to see if you were telling whops about being old!

Depends if it's Monday or Friday

Well, my semi has been idling in my yard all day. I guess I should yield instead of merging & drive slowly up the Hart in the passing lane while talking loudly on my cell phone about what I support more, the war or the Olympics. Later, I'll probably sit in my over-assessed house & eat some farmed fish while worrying if the city should go further in debt to fix potholes & hire security dudes for the CN Centre.

Hope I didn't forget anyone, enjoy the weekend.

'Gardengirl' First off I do not smoke what an bad habit, and no I do not talk on my phone while driving I think it is far too dangerous, People who are calling can wait until I can safely stop. As for drinking coffee while I drive, that is a big no no for I admit I used too but after spilling hot coffee on myself and taking my attention off of the road for a second I almost had an accident. So the coffe can wait until I get to my destination or until I am at a stop light.
Far from being a professional driver am I; I have never once said that I was. I am not inconsiderate on the road I never tail people, nor do I cut people off. All I want is for people on the road to be considerate of all drivers.

"All I want is for people on the road to be considerate of all drivers"

Sounds like you just want them to be considerate of YOUR driving habits with no regards for the actual law.

Thanks "Death to Socialism" for summing up all our beefs for the day and thanks to Opinion 250 for letting us complain. I think Winter is starting to get to all of us. Too funny.

Saturday Feb.9 @ 7:00pm CTV's W-Five looks to be pretty interesting. (Channel 4 cable)

:) Andyfreeze you might like this! Now I hope I heard the commercial correctly as I was half listening but it's about RCMP members getting caught on video. Now if I heard wrong i'm sorry but it's worth watching to find out!!!

I love living in Prince George. I came here for one year and that was in 1974. The people I have met and worked with have got to be the greatest on earth. I thought that I would move when I retired but how can I leave such a wonderful caring group. Can't tell you how much the people here mean to my wife and family. Thank you!

I may be a young driver, but I know when things are not right. Just because the river is flooding, does NOT give the City of Prince George the privlage to skimp in other areas. The roads are notrotiously icy! They are only putting stones or sand near intersections, not where it needs to be which is everywhere! This needs to be remedied as I have seen many accidents that were caused because of no stones or sand. Had there been stones or sand, those accidents would not have happened, and most likely would have saved lives. Mr. Mayor, watch out, because of your lack of saftey on our roads, your time is limited!

Darn ... here's my big chance to spout off about something and I can't think of a single thing to complain about! :(

Sure have enjoyed reading everyone else's comments, though. :)

I stumbled across this article on the Toronto Glob and Mail today and found it curious that no media in Prince George has yet to report on this. I for one would like to know more about the Jewish policing of internet opinions and how this relates to free speech.

-----------------------------------

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080206.BCHATE06/TPStory/National
B.C. man sentenced for hate messages on Internet
The Canadian Press
February 6, 2008
PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- A man the Canadian Jewish Congress came to know as "Exterminance" on the Internet has been given a hefty sentence after being convicted of wilful promotion of hatred against identifiable groups, a CJC spokesman said yesterday.
Keith Francis William Noble, 32, was sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court in Prince George to six months in jail.
Mr. Justice Glen Parrett said that was the appropriate sentence for Mr. Noble's actions, but he gave the Fort St. John resident two months credit for 40 days spent in custody before and during the nine-day trial.
Three years of probation will follow.
Len Rudner, Ontario regional director for the Canadian Jewish Congress, said the congress first became familiar with Mr. Noble when the organization found some of his writings on the Internet, where he called himself Exterminance.
"I was aware of him in that fashion, but it was only after we were approached by the RCMP and asked to comment that I had the opportunity to study his work more closely," said Mr. Rudner, who testified at Mr. Noble's November trial.
Mr. Rudner said he doesn't know precisely what the word means because it is not in the dictionary. He said Mr. Noble made the point on the Internet that his name did not suggest a need to exterminate.
"I suppose Mr. Noble hates or dislikes anybody who does not fit his vision of what the perfect human being is, namely white with a heterosexual orientation."

I bet his 6-months in jail for expressing an opinion is far more then some of the crack dealers get for destroying a persons life.

I find it horrendous that a group that supports aparthied policies of generational genocide of native Palestinians, so as to steal their land, are the ones in Canada to determine the guilt of others for hate speach.

Re: Cell phones

I'm sure that they've got to have (or can easily develop) the technology to be able to jam cellphone signals coming from the driver's seat of a motor vehicle. Let the passengers talk but the driver can't unless he uses a hands-free set.

Me, I don't have a cell phone, my two tin cans and my long piece of string work just fine. Besides, I'd rather cook eggs with frying pans!

I wonder if it is standard practice for news organizations to take the opinion of the prosecutor as to what the motives of the defendant would have been?

It doesn't seem balanced and it would sure be nice to know what the offending remarks were that landed the man in jail for 6 months, and not just a 'supposed' hypothetical presented after the fact by the prosecutors.

We all know the record of Justice Glen Parrett and his revolving door for criminals in this town... so why such a large sentence for this internet thought crime when not a single internet pedophile in Canadian history has received a charge as lengthy?

Part of justice should be the ability of a reasoned judgement setting a common law precedent so as to guide future generations as to what the crime was and why it was a crime. To keep this secret and offer a 'suppose' to suffice as a reasoned determination smells of something that is not entirely above board and possibly a violation of one individuals rights for the expediency of special interest groups, thereby removing the rule-of-law from any determination made by the courts.

I did a google search on "exterminance". If the one that came up is the person involved, and he followed through in any way with the crap on his page, then he deserved what he got.

Promoting racist filth is illegal in Canada.

Diplomat. In regards to the co-generation plant a 5th & Scotia, and the so called trade offs by offering newer wood burning stoves to residents of the Miller Addition.

Have you noticed that in all the correspondence generated on this subject no one has stated how many residence's in the Millar Addition actually burn wood. Does the City have any idea at all as to the numbers involved. I doubt it, because if it was a huge number they would throw it out immediatlly. So in essence we are building a project and making trade offs with bogus numbers.

We need to hear a specific figure from the City as to how many residences burn wood, and when they burn it. I suspect at best it is a small number and would be seasonable, and therefore not likely to offset anything. Is the City being less than honest with us????

Are we going to hear anything more on the gravel extracted from the Ice Oval. Is the Freedom of Information application tendered by 250 being processed, or has this situation been quietly scrapped into the garbage bin????

As a visitor to PG..something that I find really disturbing is..when they cremate bodies during the day...I couldnt even think about lunch after seeing the billow of black smoke looming out the buildings chimney ..

Ammonra, I saw it as filthy heavy metal music with opinionated lyrics… that although offensive to most, they are not a criminal crime from what I can see. I in no way agree with what they say, but metal music isn't about catering to the politically correct and never has been. And the judicial system should not decide what ideological thought is allowed when limited to debate and not actions.

If parody and music lyrics become subject to the thought police of political correctness then who holds the key to the gate that decides how far the rule of law applies in free speech as societies develop and evolve? That is a very important question if we truly want to believe we live in a free country with rights of free speech.

Maybe this guy needs to be locked in jail with the key thrown away for his lyrics, but I would like that clearly defined as to what crime it was that was committed and how the act of the defendant breached that specific law.

Otherwise this is all an exercise by special interest groups to shield themselves from critical assessment by promoting vague ill defined laws with broad implications; and then going after the most vile little punk with no savings living in an apartment and provide the fully backing of a foreign funded 5th column consortium legal service for the prosecution of said individual for purpose of intimidation of free speech in other but related issues of national embarrassment for an illegitimate movement such as zionism for example.

So we have to ask is this not the first step in the judicial management of ideological thought?

Hmmmm .... 10 minutes to get accross town without going above the speed limit, eh?

it is more than 25 km from the northern to the southern city limits .....

so, to get "ccross town" in 10 minutes one would have to average 150 km/h .....

;-)

I know, I know, it is fun driving in this town and time goes by so fast when one enjoys driving ...

:-)

I may be a young driver, but I know when things are not right. Just because the river is flooding, does NOT give the City of Prince George the privlage to skimp in other areas. The roads are notrotiously icy! They are only putting stones or sand near intersections, not where it needs to be which is everywhere! This needs to be remedied as I have seen many accidents that were caused because of no stones or sand. Had there been stones or sand, those accidents would not have happened, and most likely would have saved lives. Mr. Mayor, watch out, because of your lack of saftey on our roads, your time is limited!