The Citizen has a municipal affairs reporter again (and maybe a court reporter?)
And who eats at the airport? An awful lot of y’all
In doing my news roundup this week, I’ve noticed the Citizen has had a lot more court stories lately. Like, a lot:
The byline for all of them is Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter. The Local Journalism Initiative, or LJI, is the federal government program created in 2019 that funds local reporters at newspapers across the country. All told there are something like 400 of them.
As for the reporter, Bob Mackin is a name that has been around a while — the Richmond News, Vancouver Sun, Business in Vancouver, The Tyee and his own website, The Breaker. His beat is pretty Lower Mainland-centric and his various social media bios still link to the Breaker and describe him as a freelancer so I’m not sure what the deal is here — if he’s been hired to do court reporting for the Citizen, or if some other outlet made the case that he do court reporting and the Citizen is picking it up in aggregate (LJI stories can be used by most outlets) or… what? The thing about a lot of court reporting is you don’t actually have to be in the city to do it, you can write based off of decisions and dial-in to courtrooms from anywhere, though there is certainly some value in being there in person. I guess I could email the Citizen and ask and I probably will but it’s late right now and I just want to make this observation.
I’ve also noticed another new name, Colin Slark, who actually interned with me at the CBC once before going on to the Brandon Sun. But he is now officially back in Prince George, as the municipal politics reporter for the Citizen, according to his LinkedIn, and his first story (or the first I’ve noticed, sorry if I missed another one, Colin!) is about the upcoming city council discussion on public bathrooms. Glad to see the Citizen is hiring reporters again, I think it’s basically been two people doing all the reporting for half a year now.
Who eats at the airport? An awful lot of y’all
Turns out A LOT of you eat at the airport.
Rikki does:
I have found myself relying on the airport cafe a few times this month and it really saved me. It's not even about being hungry on the moment--although it saved me there too. It was about being able to grab food and drink past security I could bring on my longer flight when I didn't have time to grab anything during a very short layover. It is a shame that it will be closed for a while.
Kathy does:
I will often take the "stupid early" flight out of PG. My connection to Wpg in Vancouver is always very short, and there is no food on the PG-Vancouver flight. So that means from the time I get to the airport to the time there is food service on the Wpg flight it's 6 hours or more. Having the option for something, anything, at YXS is good. Mind you, I could never manage their breakfast sandwiches with whatever that sauce was on them. And their coffee was not awesome. Always very tinny. But anyway. It was something.
(Someone needs to mount a campaign to end the storage of coffee in metal containers. I'll get on that.)
Darrin does:
I follow in my father's footsteps of being one of those arrive-way-to-early-to-the-airport travellers so I would say I qualify as an airport restaurant frequent flyer.
Heather does:
I’ve also used the cafe for the early flight. It’s just easier to get out the door with the kids. No dishes, etc.
4streegrrl does:
I had to fly out yesterday morning, so I can say that I grabbed a small breakfast at the cafe after going through security. Six bucks for a coffee and a yogurt "parfait", which actually is pretty reasonable (edit: although as Kathy notes, the coffee is terrible). I live east of the airport and if I had time to go to town, THEN back to the airport, I would have gotten something better in town. Alas, there are people like me who didn't organize well enough to make a smoothie, nor pass by any better options, before leaving for the airport.
I can tell you who is drinking at the airport, though. Three guys were deep into several beers at 9am in the passenger lounge, presumably at the end of their camp shift somewheres and heading back home. Drink up, my friends. They may be your last at YXS for awhile.
On that note, throwback to the time Donald Trump Jr. was drinking at our airport.
Winter signs
Wall of Fame.
The Weather Network.
News roundup:
Scientists identify potential link between wildfire smoke exposure and dementia diagnoses.
Mayor sees modular housing as a big part of Prince George's future (also by Colin Slark).
New business expo to bring entrepreneurs together in Prince George.
PacifiCan providing funding for Prince George tourism and recreation projects, including the downtown plaza and the paved cross-country ski trails.
PG Chamber Executive Director says Canada needs to get serious about border security.
Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation targets new equipment.
Ravensbergen shines playing for Team Canada in Prospects game.
Zone champion College Heights Cougars tackle triple-A provincial challenge.
Fort St. James National Historic Site management plan approved by Parks Canada.
Snow removal operations in PG bracing for another blast of winter.
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.