Aging billionaire comes to town to celebrate opening new store where we can pay him for food
And is the city a Swiftie?
Jim Pattison came to town for the grand opening of the new Save-On Foods at Pine Centre Mall. Born at a time when ballpoint pens didn’t exist and people would have been confused if you referred to World War I, Pattison’s net worth is estimated at $9.5 billion USD, making him only the 202nd richest person in the world, according to Forbes. In order to go through $9.5 billion you would have to spend $1,000 every day for 26,030 years. For perspective, a mere 11,500 years ago we were leaving the last ice age and entering the current Holocen Epoch, so that’s a lot of money.
Anyways, Jim Pattison was very happy to be here to open a new place for us to buy food, which we need to live, on salaries much lower than $1,000 a day. But we all knew the store woud be opening, the real mystery is what is happening to the now-empty space at Parkwood Place. For that, we must turn to Save-On CEO Darrell Jones, that guy who gives us Darrell’s deals when we are buying food from the 202nd richest man in the world:
“We are in the process of working out a plan for a new concept store for the Parkwood Mall and it will be open next year,” said Jones. “It won’t be Save-On-Foods, it will likely be another banner, perhaps a discount (store).
“We haven’t confirmed or made definite plans, we’re working on it. It will be some kind of excellent supermarket for that part of Prince George.”
In another story published in the Citizen yesterday, food insecurity among Indigenous kids is a ‘public health crisis’, according to a family physician who says she often sees parents in tears over not being able to provide a proper diet to their kids.
I met Jim Pattison at his office once. It was up a very tall elevator and he had many pictures of himself with presidents and 1980s-era celebrities and he wore a lot of rings.
You can read more about the store opening here.
It’s controversial but I like this tweet:
Quick news:
Here’s a list of events happening to mark Truth and Reconcilitation Day tomorrow.
Not only is University Way open again but the 18th Ave. roundabout is fianlly complete. The city put out a video using toy cars to explain how to use it which, again, I actually find pretty funny.
Up in Dawson Creek, the Rolla Pub is auctioning off its collection of curios.
The Rocky Mountain Rangers are holding a change of command ceremony tomorrow.
Northern Bear Aware is petitioning the city for bear-resistant garbage cans.
CNC’s Faculty Association is taking a strike vote but classes are continuing.
PS I saw Mousetrap. It was good but I won't tell you who done it. Talk Monday!
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LOVING the salt in this one
I'm on the fence about the billionaire thing. Yeah, they make a lot of money and it would be amazing if our prices were lower -- they can afford that. And then, most of the rich people I've heard about or known, have also been huge sponsors of things like hospitals, community projects, etc that most of us can't afford to support. So there is that.