DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!

An archaic practice that should have gone the way of leeching and lobotomies. All the academic expounding on the subject in the world won't push this pig through the python for me.

I feel like lobotomizing myself twice yearly on this one.

How about commenting on the lack of tipping food delivery drivers. I find it absolutely unbelievable just how cheap some (though growing to be much more than some each day) people in this town are.

These same people I am sure tip when they go to a restaurant but when ordering from home find it so easy to just close the door in your face after you have struggled to make sure they get their dinner on time.

Not only are gas prices rising for no reason, Esso is saying there will be a gas shortage soon just to drive prices up further. Why is it Coquilam is paying 116 p/l and they have the transit tax of 7 cents per liter and we are paying over 118. Thieves is the only answer, thats why we have to pay before we pump.

"An archaic practice that should have gone the way of leeching and lobotomies."

Leeching is still common medical practice for warding off infection.

Leeching is still common practice of some of your financially challenged friends.

While performing your own lobotomies is dangerous at best, one should consider the use of leeches. Makes the surgical incisions sterile, and should the scalpel veer off course the other leeches will manage your wallet. Not so archaic is it?

When is the Kinsley empire going to stop pushing through their own agenda and start listening to the voting public. The energy plant downtown is going to be another nail in the coffin of people who already have respiratory problems. It seems that the city will hear no ill talk of their wonderful "bioenergy" plant which is going to be the greatest thing to come to PG.

I would like to see some discussion regarding the companies who went door to door to sell the 5 year locked in rate for natural gas. Although, I agree that a person should always read the fine print, the way these salepeople spun the sale, it made it seem like a great deal. I remember them being very high-pressure to get me to sign, and I refused until my husband and I could discuss it. We ended up not doing it (thankfully) yet I could see how people could be pressured into it as they made it sound too good to be true.
I have a friend who did sign up for it. She is a single mom of two small children and she felt having a 'guaranteed rate' would be cheaper in the long run. She is currently paying $3/GJ MORE than what Tereson charges and will pay that for the next 5 years. She cannot afford it, but can't get out of the contract.

i too was just visited by some one trying to get me to lock in for 5 years for my natural gas. i would lock in at 9.66 gj while my bill from Terason is only 6.92 she was quite upset with me that i said no thank you. I wish there was more information out there on this subject. so at least you would be making an informed descison. Not being bullied into it

Mining, we keep hearing how its going to take over from forestry. Well don't bet on it. Anyone see a mine start up yet? Kemess expansion got shut down because the natives didn't want a lake, one of hundreds in the area, used as a tailings dump. Also before the mine I am sure they had never heard of that lake. Now they are threatening the Milligan mine. I agree mines are not pretty but with proper envirmental controls they are viable.
So folks don't expect much, and natives if you keep shutting down prospective industry where do you think the money for your programes is going to come from. You are shooting yourselves in the foot.

See Letter to the Editor on this site. I I am wondering if this is a good day to organize those that have posted regarding our air quality and in particular the proposed "bioenergy plant". Our airshed needs cleaning up not messing up with more particulates in the air.
Bridge your ratepayer's association sounds interesting. Sometimes we have to introduce items more than once in our information overload culture.
Owl, how about organizing those names you mentioned?
It is all clear in Miworth and pollution laden pea soup in the bowl this morning. Same tax rate!!
Lots of wisdom on this site. How about Palopou and Eagleone and earthtotheground, to name but a few.

There are 3 potholes at least 4 foot by 3 foot than span the entire witdth of Milwaukee way. There is no way around them and there will be an accident. Not if but when there is thats when it will be repaired. It is winter and tough to fix but this is unforgivable. Out of site out of mind at the back of the BCR

Submitted to us.. via E-mail



I guess it doesn’t matter “damn if you do and damn if you don’t” Not all persons will ever be satisfied and it goes with any job/organizations. We always say that the Western System is not fare to us as Aboriginal individuals in regards to services and then we have our own educated individuals who are making a difference ….we will always face prejudices. I encourage all the hard workers to keep up the good work at CSFS (it is a thankless job) These are services we never had otherwise! Thanks for those who have expressed their concerns…..all my relations

My natural gas story, I had a woman come to my door and said she represented terasen and wanted to me to sign a form to "confirm that I was a Terasen customer" and make sure I wasn't "getting a bad rate like some customes"....

...She actually looked shocked when I challenged her and said no.

I can see how pople could have been tricked into signing something that was misrepresented to them....

We also had problems with the "gas companies". We were visited by so many
this last Summer that we eventually had to
put up a No Soliciting sign. We found the
sales people to be pushy, rude and downright beligerant and some on them could barely speak English. We would have liked to have lodged a complaint but found nowhere to do so. We did not show them a copy of our bill or sign up because of their obnoxious behavior and they are not welcome at our door. They have screwed it up for anyone else going door to door(charities, etc.).

I cant wait for this province to hit rock bottom then maybe some of the bullshit legislations will be changed to encourage economic development.

-Mining permits dont generatge revenue.
-Carbon Tax doenst reduce carbon.
-Small value added forest companies are slaves to the larger corporations and the forest tenure system because they cant get fiber.
-Olympics!(Enough said!)
-Mine plans being shot down.
-Selling our canadian businesses to the states, CN, BC-Rail,
-Im sure you guys can think of lots more that is bleeding the life out of this province.
Time for the campbell govt to wake up and re analize where the money comes from and actually keep it in B.C.

I`d like to comment on the article re: Police asking businesses to add more security. Trained security guards are lucky if they can make $10.00 an hour at their jobs because businesses are loathe to pay even that amt.Even our airport authority..(itself a group of businessmen), cut our airport security from 4 to 6 guards per shift, down to 2 per shift to save money. Nobody wants to pay for security, even when they run all-night businesses that are most vulnerable to robberies/crime. How many night security guards do you see in convenience stores, gas stations, donut shops, and other 24/7 businesses?? Wake up folks...welcome to the real world.

MP'S BEHAVIOR IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS!
It is a disgrace to all Canadians to witness the rude and inconsiderate shouting of other members when another member is trying to speak. It is hard to believe that these same people are responsible for so much legislation that affects us all. If anyone else in our society acted in this manner they would be a candidate for psychiatric evaluation. What kind of an example are they setting for our youth? What will it take to create a change in the present situation?

You have a very good point Honestjoe, and yes,it IS embarrassing to all canadians!
Unfortunately,you will also notice that it has gone on for years and they are still getting away with that kind of behavior.
That's because these over paid,underworked do-nothings know damn well there is very little we can do about ANYTHING that takes place in government!
The only time they really give a damn about what we think is when they are busy lying to us at election time!
And I believe it is actually is getting worse!
But it IS nice to see that someone else notices the crap that goes on!
That kind of behavior is a direct reflection on the speaker of the house.He is the guy who is supposed to control that behavior!

It's way past time for our politicians to make necessary changes, to protect injured workers, and our health care system from Worksafe BC abuse. How many times do we have to hear about injured workers losing everything they own and love, as a result of being injured at work ?

Even a criminal is innocent , until proven guilty. But instead of doing as their policy states, and providing expedient medical care and diagnosis, Worksafe BC has the power to over ride your health care providers decisions, based on a Medical Adviser's opinion (who has never even seen you in person for consultation) You are then left to put the cost of diagnosis on our Health Care System, and yourself.

Many times I hear people make comments on injured workers, and " What are they whining about , Worksafe BC has been good to me ? " And I feel like reaching out and shaking them, they obviously had a simple injury easily diagnosed, God help you if it doesn't show up in xrays, or you are off longer than Worksafe feels necessary for whatever diagnosis their Medical Advisor dreams up.

My thoughts and heart go out to all injured workers today, may God help you in your battle, and keep you from giving up !

I challenge our politicians to make a difference, quit protecting large companies, and allowing such abuse. Without the workers of this province we have nothing !

May I chime in on the mining debate? thank you. There are currently a large number of confirmed deposits ie future mines in the Rocky Mountain Trench, some are pending regulatory approval, some are waiting for mineral prices to go even higher, and all will be subject to the whim of the aboriginals. The mines do make a helluva mess, but between the Indians* and the environmental rules and regs they should be able to operate without ruining any streams or lakes, plus strict enforcement through cash bonds would ensure that when the mine is finished, the land is cleaned up, replanted with native vegetation & trees. *Indians; this comment is not meant to be derogratory, rather, it is important to have the people of the affected areas working at each of these mines, in a capacity to keep an eye on potential problems in terms of pollution. I think, I mean I know that there is enough money in it to do things right. They can go to the terrific expense of building roads, airstrips, infrastructure, all with the purpose of extracting minerals. Then some of what would be profit (if it was not for other party's concern for the land)
should rightfully go to reclamation and restoration. We only get one kick at the cat with mining, their resource does not grow back. Having said all that, I side with the Indians on Kemess North, I do not believe that a fish bearing lake should be sacrificed for a few jobs that will not last forever either. Kemess South already has a huge tailings pond with a manmade dam (or is it filling up?) and pumping stations and pipelines, they would have had to incur great expense installing more pumps and more pipelines, but so what? That would be a cost of doing business, and to heck with the greed for more more more short term profits, the future of the land is just as important.
Thanks.
metalman.

Metalman, I'm sure you meant First Nations people, not "Indians". :) Right "Cowboy"?

I hope everyone reading this is as concerned as I am about so called climate warming alarmists. The science on climate change is not settled by any means. If you are happy to pay carbon tax or watch the economy go down the tubes because of poor science then don't check out this web site, http://icecap.us. Did you know that a conference has just finished up in New York City attended by hundreds of scientists skeptical of mans involement in climate change. You won't find that information in main stream media, especially our local exalted Citizen. It was called 2008 International Conference on Climate Change. Here are two other must read web sites, www.co2science.org and www.junkscience.com along with www.friendsofscience.org

Oops I meant Paleface :0

Honestjoe: MP'S BEHAVIOR IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS!

It is the same in the B.C. Legislature! Try to find even one person who asks an intelligent thoughtful well-researched question in a civilized manner during Question Period!

Often, the answers are just as worthless!

It's just an expensive gong show (without a gong) or a circus full of monkeys and no trainer.

The way the provincial Liberals are throwing money around on the lower mainland is a disgrace!!
Now it's 50 million for the Vancouver Art gallery?
They are not kidding when they call Gordon Campbell the "mayor of Vancouver"!
It's pretty obvious he still thinks he is!
I can't help but wonder what that kind of dough would have done for our healthcare system?
But what the hell,it's all about the Olympics and buying votes to make sure Gordon Campbell is standing on the stage during the opening ceremonies!

Foo738, your right there is a time and place for all. And this is an excellent time to start thinking about change at City hall. And I have said time and again, "we need to get involved" if we want to make changes.

If the eleven people that supported Dr Hays post on this site were to form an organization to promote our candidates in the November election or become active in Municipal affairs the possabilities are endless. Needless to say this would be a very serious effort to get things going.

Ben Miesner offered his assistance for publicity on my last effort and I would imagine his help is still available. As a start I will agian stick out my neck and here is my email address Opatcho@yahoo.com. When I get 10 replies I will contact the senders and we can start to move on an organization to assist Council in their decision making.

Cheers

Holy reading these postings is depressing.

If you want a different result, you need to change the way things are done. Not someone else, but you. YOU.

seamutt, I tried climate change last week but did not get one responce. Seems dogs and cats are more important. Suzuki is determined that we are the sole cause of climate change. Actually I believe that the waste our society is involved in is far more important. And if it helps retard climate change great.

Cheers

We had many gas sales people at our door. We didnt find them offensive but feel sorry for those that did sign a five year agreement.

What was so amusing was that now all these people have signed a five year agreement Terasen lowered the price of gas 9% and then increased the delivery fee which will apply to all gas users and that includes the group that have left Terasen.

Cheers

Hmm maybe because I live in the sticks no gas types sellers came. I did get some junk mail which I briefly looked at.

Annoying that it's just another thing we need to manage. I stuck with Terasen pricing

Most gas stations have cameras, if they don't put them in.
Then if someone drives off without paying, just get the plate number and call the cops.

This prepay is pure BS.
How the hell am i supposed to guess exactly what my truck will hold.
So i never get it full now, and since everyone has to go in twice its a waste of time.
If we have to prepay gas, why not make everything prepay.

Maybe sav-on foods can make us prepay to.....if i think i will buy 116 dollars of groceries i have to prepay it. And if i want the bag of chiips at the end, and that would make me $3 over, tough luck.

Maybe the dumbest law in recent times to be put in.

Post # 2, i got my gas rant out, now onto potholes.
City crews, could you at least do the major routes like say 5th ave.
I am pretty sure my full sized truck hit bottom going thru a pothole on 5th the other day.
In the dark, i never even saw it, but sure did feel it.
Those craters on 5th and other major drags could swallow a horse and rider whole.
Thats no longer a pothole, its more like a potlake, or potsea, or something.

As a security guard in this community I will agree it is difficult to find guards to work in this city. Compared to other cities and provinces I have noticed Prince George is one of the lowest wages on average. For those of you who do not know in order to become a contract security guard you must take a course. This course is in fact anywhere between $500-1000. So if the employer pays for it you either lose money on your wages paying it back or will be making just barely above minimum wage. Then your put out on your patrol or single site with little or no backup, that can be delayed in an emergency situation by 20 minutes. It also should be noted I found out recently if you want to even work in a casino or the new glorified bingo hall you need another course on top of the orignal course (which after looking at the justice institutes website I discovered it is the same course as the original with a few more pages added on to it) So I guess to end my rant there is going to be more shortages in security in this fine city unless the Companies are willing to pay a wage that makes saps like me want to risk my life protecting your bussiness

As a security guard in this community I will agree it is difficult to find guards to work in this city. Compared to other cities and provinces I have noticed Prince George is one of the lowest wages on average. For those of you who do not know in order to become a contract security guard you must take a course. This course is in fact anywhere between $500-1000. So if the employer pays for it you either lose money on your wages paying it back or will be making just barely above minimum wage. Then your put out on your patrol or single site with little or no backup, that can be delayed in an emergency situation by 20 minutes. It also should be noted I found out recently if you want to even work in a casino or the new glorified bingo hall you need another course on top of the orignal course (which after looking at the justice institutes website I discovered it is the same course as the original with a few more pages added on to it) So I guess to end my rant there is going to be more shortages in security in this fine city unless the Companies are willing to pay a wage that makes saps like me want to risk my life protecting your bussiness

I to am tired of our gas prices I donot have to drive for a living anymore but if you would stop and think of what you are paying for other things like bottled water that heaven only knows from where is about &10.00 dollars a gal pop is even more your daily tims works out too over & 20.00 a gal so four somethin a gal of gas to get you to and from work and what ever is not so bad

OK so what is up with NAFTA gate anyway. In essence, the truth leaked out (intentionally i take it) that Obama was pretty much fibbing about his tough stance on NAFTA. WHy is this such a disgrace? Seems like letting out the truth is bad manners, or maybe even unfair? Illegal? What a load of bull! If Obama was faking it then that should be the issue for those south of the border. As for Canadians, whay is this an issue at all? Really, who the heck cares?

"How about commenting on the lack of tipping food delivery drivers."

Are you kidding?! is this legitmate or some kind of joke. If (god forbid) you're serious about this topic, you're out of your mind! why would i tip you? it's your job? if you don't like your job, change it, it's not like there isn't a shortage of unskilled labor out there!

Oh, and I tip the server at the restaurant because the SERVE...you DRIVE...you want a tip? Stop at intersections, watch where you're going and don't cut me off in traffic because the pizza's cooling off.

Now back to real issues

I tip delivery drivers. 20% on a couple pies ain't gonna kill anyone. BTW, I know tons of servers & apparently the average tip in this town is under 10%. Pretty sad.

No one tips me in my job, no bonus either. Do your job and get paid. Suck it up.

I do not get tips in my work.
well rarely at least.

Pay your bill, and move on.
If servers and drivers do not like their wages, better your education and find a good job.
Stop snivelling that we owe you more than the bill says.

Here is a TIP for you.

Nobody owes you a tip........if they pay their bill, they did their duty.

When the restaurant advertises *Free Delivery * doesn't that mean *Free*?

Tipping is common etiquette in the service industry. The waitress at the truck stop must love you.

Here's a suggestion for all you guys who have to do the prepay trick at the pumps. Get a card lock card from the Vanderhoof Co-op and use the pumps at the BCR site at any time of day or night and get a couple of cents/l off as a member. Gas and diesel is available.

turbocat: "Thats no longer a pothole, its more like a potlake, or potsea, or something."

The mayor said the other day that for huge potholes that are deep and full of water the city will issue you a fishing license.

MeBubba

Here is a tip.. don't expect one! You are on by the hour..Not happy go to school get a trade..........

If you can afford to order out then you can afford to tip...or drive and get your own take out is another option. Respect is slowly fading away......

Nice plug for the Vanderhoof co op, but it works.

What is wrong with people nowadays? What ever happened to common courtesies? I realize tipping is just that, a courtesy and not a given. But my son was once a pizza delivery person and my daughter once waited on tables. Both went on to College and each got a trade. They had to start working somewhere. The tips they received were very much appreciated and in most cases, the patrons were very generous.

We tip the delivery drivers, but only if the delivery is free. For those restaurants that charge $5. to $8. for delivery, we don't tip. We always tip while eating in a restaurant and the only time we don't tip is when the service is particulary bad, which isn't all that often.

Don't worry all the uneducated, poor me Mill workers. Won't be able to order out food anymore or. They can have your delivery job.

Ok all you whiners and whalers get on board this is your last chance to get your pot holes filled, a fair shake with taxes, and some meaningfull planning at City hall. We need to amalgamate all the different activists in the City.

The particulate haze on our streets at this time of year and the poor air quality in the bowl will kill some of us. There have been some terrific ideas floated on this website. We want to hear from those posters. So lets get onboard. Drop an email to opatcho@yahoo.com and make a difference. The cup is empty.

Cheers

I love Prince George. I love Opinion 250.com too. Thank you Ben & Elaine and the silent real boss in the background.

Lovely to see that the attitudes I find at peoples doors are accurately depicted here.

Nice to know that someone who has to walk up your icy driveway, contend with your dogs that you cannot control, pay extra insurance on their personal vehicle, pay mechanics for said vehicle that will inevitably break down sooner than other vehicles on the road due to increased wear and tear deserves absolutely nothing for doing the same job if not more than a server in a restaurant.

Good thing this is not a serious post....

oh and here's a link www.tipthepizzaguy.com

It would be nice if the city would fix the timing of the lights at the intersection of Hwy 16 and 97. If you are heading North or South at rush hour you can expect to wait about 4 light changes to make it through. Meanwhile there's hardly a lineup at all for the through traffic going East or West.

Anybody know what all the road blocks are about this evening. Seems at least three of them out there.

Want to talk about courtesy in Prince George? My son was taking his last driving lesson today, in a car clearly marked as being a driving school with an L on the back. Some macho old fart in a big pickup comes up behind them and starts honking away - because the kid was doing the speed limit. Instructor told him to just ignore the idiot.
Fortunately it didn't put the youngun' off his game, and he passed his N level test later in the afternoon.
Kind of scary that we have drivers on the road who try to intimidate new drivers.

Ruez, the city doesn't control that intersection. That one is managed by the Province. Given it is two provincial highways.

Getting people together to fight the city over their "bioenergy plant" is a great idea but isn't that what Pacha is all about? It would be interesting to hear what their opinion is about this soon to be new polluter in town.

Pizza drivers get paid by the delivery, not by the hour, and I suspect they make about the same as security people. $8 to $10 per hour. As a general rule, people who dont tip are just cheap. Most people do.

"The waitress at the truck stop must love you." Haven't been to a truck stop in a very long time.

We always give a generous tip to whoever brings the food order to the door. We even tip in the restaurant when the food is lousy because that isn't the fault of the server.

Usually the service is much better than the food - there are some exceptions, of course.

If you really want to get the attention of the Gas Companies and Service Stations you should do the following.

(1) Only fill your tank half full. This means that you would have to fill up twice a week rather than once, however it also means that the Service Station would have twice the amount of work for the same amount of gas, and as a result may have to hire more people.

(2) When you fill your gas tank you become a gas storage facilitie for the Oil Companies. If people across the country went to half tanks, the oil would back up to the storage facilities, and thence to the refineries, who cannot operate efficiently unless they operate at capacity. This would cause all kinds of proplems for the Oil Companies and in order to keep the oil moving they would drop their prices.

(3) How many people would go to a service station twice, when they can do it all at once, and therin lies the problem.

Thanks so much for the belly laugh "diplomat", your comment from the mayor's office cracked me up!
Just to be clear to all you folks out there, I really love PG, and enjoy so very much about the city!
However, for the past two weeks, I have needed to be towed out of my garage to the main road, and then towed back into my garage in the evening (yes, the snow is that deep in the alley). No nothing is wrong with my car. But the alley has trenches so deep I could bury a whole class from Duchess Park (which I mention as I live nearby).
However, all is well with the world, because apparently this qualifies me for a free fishing license. Who knew!!!!!!
Wahooooooooooo!
That surely will be fair compensation for my damaged suspension!
Gotta go and find my rod!!!!!!!!!!

DOWNTOWN BIOMASS ENERGY PLANT:
Time is Critical.
By the 30th June there is a federal/BC governmental deadline; that if the citizens of Prince George do not protest the building of the Biomass energy plant in the downtown ..........then NO environmental study will be triggered. Also the FEDS will then hand over the money to the City, for the plant construction,on that date.
Site developers from Vancouver have already been up to Prince George to tender bids on the construction of the first phase of this multiphased energy plant. My understanding is that the Project bidders were not informed the plant is being build near homes!!!and one such individual from Vancouver was shocked to hear where this information.
The city has already laid down some preparatory hot water pipes under the alley way into 2nd avenue.
In Europe these biomass plants are situated far outside of city airsheds usually close to land fills where they can readily access biomass fuel.
Where the older European plants have been built close to houses,then property values fell by 50%, because nobody in their right minds wanted to live near such a health hazard with all of its particulates.
However, once the further planned plants modules are contructed in the same downtown area (and blueprints are already in existence for this) there will much more than one ton of particulates...and there will also be the pollution caused by exposure to electromagnetic waves carried in pylons and high velocity electrical wires built to transmit the generated electricity to the grid.People living near high velocity transmission wires have higher rates of cancer...........just like people who live in particulate
polluted airsheds.
How can the city council be allowed to get away with such madness ? is there no such thing as accountability to the people who live inPrince George ? Can we not stop this project before that looming final deadline of 30th June. ?

Dip, my comment wasn't directed at you, you just got your post in first.

COPS ON 5TH BY KFC since about 5:30pm....wonder what happened.