This post has pictures of rescue pigs and a moose with lights in its antlers
And debate over the 1st Ave. encampment and a r/princegeorge milestone and...
Tonight both a cold snap and Coldsnap are set to begin the latter of which, combined with Alefest, makes downtown in the last weekend of January a pretty hopping place.. It’s been a tough few weeks so there’s some fun in today’s newsletter, as evidenced by the title. Let’s get to the news first, though.
What to do about the 1st Ave. encampment?
That was the topic of the Prince George Citizen Thursday, first with an article about coun. Brian Skakun upset to see people living in the camp outside the regional district building plugged into their power bars:
“It took every bit of me not to unplug those cords. They are stealing the power, as far as I am concerned,” Skakun said. “What we are saying is it is OK to steal the power, it is OK to trash the property, it’s OK to destroy the sidewalk… because there is no consequences.”
Then editor Neil Godbout penned a column calling the camp “a disgrace” and suggests the folks living there be moved to the court-protected Moccasin Flats:
While the City of Prince George lost a court ruling last spring, regarding the Lower Patricia encampment known as Moccasin Flats, that decision does not seem to protect every camper, everywhere in Prince George. The City of Prince George successfully closed the George Street encampment across from the courthouse in November 2021 and moved its inhabitants into supportive housing. Why hasn’t the same thing been done to the First and George site, especially after a fire there this past November?
If it’s fear of another legal challenge, then why not simply follow what was done up the street less than 18 months ago? Doesn’t anyone who refuses to leave for supportive housing then have the option of relocating to Moccasin Flats?
I’m not going to guess as to why this camp has been allowed to stay after the city was so aggressive in shutting things down over the past two years but the regional district, at least, seems to be taking an approach of treating the camp as neighbours rather than a nuisance, according to their CAO Jim Martin:
“We are trying to co-exist with it as best we can.”
The power usage is a small cost to the regional district, Martin said, but it has bought the regional district some goodwill and leverage with their neighbours in Millennial Park.
“We are trying to show a little compassion,” he said. “(And) we have limited vandalism and break-ins… in part because of the goodwill we have.”
Anyways all of this just reminds me of this exchange about downtown 1st Ave:
The r/princegeorge subreddit hits 6,000 people and they are all debating urban planning right now
Years and years ago I created r/princegeorge as part of a joke way too niche to even explain. I then forgot about it until years later when I discovered it had somehow amassed something of a community so decided to put some effort into fixing it up. I’m still not super-involved and there are other admins there which is good but I got a notification yesterday that it had passed the 6,000 member threshold. And right now the hot posts are about planning which is cool: One about whether Tyner should be twinned and another about taking a False Creek approach to fixing up downtown.
First use of Apple Emergency SOS in B.C. may have saved two lives
This is a cool one from Hannah Petersen in the Citizen:
The first use of the new Apple Emergency SOS via satellite in B.C. may have saved the lives of two women who were stranded in the wilderness near McBride.
Apple Emergency SOS is a feature available with the iPhone 14 that allows users to connect with emergency services via satellite, so it can be used without WiFi or cellular service.
Luckily one of the two women had the iPhone 14, when the pair got lost on their trip back to Alberta on Dec. 23.
Prince George apartment vacancy rate reaches 4.0% in 2022
Brendan Panliw at My Prince George Now dug into the latest numbers from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation:
The average price for a two-bedroom apartment in Prince George is $1,112.
In 2021, the rental price was slightly lower at $1,017.
The current apartment vacancy rate in PG is 4.0% – up from the year prior when it was 2.2.
Nationally, the average price for a two-bedroom apartment is a bit higher at $1,258.
You can get more Prince George numbers here and be grateful we aren’t paying the rates of B.C.’s major metro areas here.
Also:
Resource Roundup
OK here are the pigs
In 2020 I did a radio story about a pig rescue asking for people to donate their Halloween pumpkins because pigs love eating pumpkins, which I got to witness:
It was a delight and I continue to follow the adventures of PG Tickled Pig Rescue with interest.
They’ve been pretty busy lately bringing in a new rescue who had escaped after his fellow pigs were slaughtered and I’m really not sure how many people even know we have a pig rescue in town so I just thought this would be a good time to let you know!
Ok and here is the moose:
This doorbell camera picture is with permission of Robin Draper in the Hart neigbourhood, who would like to remind you to keep your Christmas decorations up high where they can’t get tangled in moose antlers.
B.C.’s Conservation Officer Service advises the same and also says this is why you shouldn’t leave out hammocks, netting and ropes and if you see a situation like this to call them at 1-877-952-7277.
Alright that’s it for me this week! Thanks to all of you for subscribing, please forward this to a friend or share it on your social networks if you think it’s good. You can share your thoughts in the comments or by hitting reply to this email. Talk Monday!
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