Greetings from the 56th Happiest City in Canada
A downtown beaver and a pending sense of doom. Which will win?
“According to a newly released happiness-index of Canadian cities, Prince George made the list of the 10 happiest cities in the province and 56th happiest city in the country,” the Citizen reports. It’s one of those gimmicky rankings put out by a company drumming up market awareness of its website using some metrics it chooses, like income spent on real estate on commute times. 56 is fine. My happiness went up when I saw this photo from a city bylaw worker who spotted a beaver walking around downtown. If not the happiest, perhaps we can be the most stereotypical city in Canada. Not everyone was happy, though — a few people in the comments decided to use the post as a chance to air out grievances about development in the city enroaching on green space used by wildlife like beavers which, fair enough — though if anyone can make people think twice about their dominance over nature, it’s beavers.
Remember, this is the hottest summer of your life
I think about this Simpsons meme a lot.
I also think about this variation of it.
Which is to say, I don’t love that we’re headed for multiple days of 32 C in the middle of May. I have nothing more to say about this. We know the underlying reasons for this. Summer is now a weird mix of enjoying warm weather and feeling in the back of my mind that this isn’t good. At least it’s not supposed to be a heat dome, this time. This makes me less happy.
Loan repayments and the correct spelling of Masich
First, apologies for mispelling Masich Place in yesterday’s blurb on the city deciding not to give a loan to the Kodiaks football club. It was pointed out to me by Bill Masich who also writes:
Although the city has had not had great success with loan repayment to various community organizations, in 1997 the Prince George Track and Field Club paid off their equipment loan from the city after a fire in December 1996 destroyed a significant amount of equipment and necessitated the rebuilding of half of Massey Place (now Masich Place) Stadium. The city is right to be wary of making loans and receiving repayment; however, there is precedent that it can be done.
Be prepared
Whic is as good a time as any to remind you that emergency alert systems int he province are going to be tested today at 1:55 PM. Your phone should go off then.
Quick news:
Prince George riders upset by destruction of Pidherny bike trails.
Northern B.C. projected to hit its lowest home sale mark in two decades.
Council recaps from other outlets:
Prince George council denies seniors housing complex proposal; Switch from student to seniors housing at 4500 Ospika denied by council again.
Police presence boosted downtown as part of enhanced security measures (including comments from Tim Bennett disagreeing with linking homelessness and repeat offenders); Prince George to move homeless to Moccasin Flats, remove Millennium Park encampment; Prince George city council approves plan to remove Millennium Park encampment; Council votes to take action on Millenium Park; Parks and Open Spaces Bylaw amendments approved, city to dismantle Millennium Park encampment.
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