Federal Fisheries Minister steps down to address personal issues

Hunter Tootoo, the Federal Fisheries Minister
andMinister responsible for the
Canadian Coast stepped down Tuesday

A key minister in the Liberal cabinet has stepped aside to take care of personal issues,  a shift in personnel at the Federal level which will leave some important items for the North Coast up in the air for the short term.

Hunter Tootoo, the Minister of Fisheries and the Coast Guard announced his departure from the federal scene with a statement late Tuesday afternoon, citing his desire to address addictions issues and asking for privacy at this time.

In addition to his Ministerial responsibilities, Mr. Hunter represented the Nunavut riding as the MP for that community in the House of Commons.

The news out of Ottawa quickly spread from the national capital as the evening moved forward, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issuing a statement early Tuesday evening Ottawa time confirming the news of Minister Tootoo's departure.

For the North Coast the timing of his departure will leave a number of important files still to be addressed, including issues related to the CEAA process for the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG project, the Federal Governments plans for a Tanker Ban on the west coast, as well as some initiatives that have passed his way when it comes to concerns over the west coast salmon fishery.

You can review some of the items of note that have been forwarded to the Fisheries Minister from our archive pages below:

Fishing Industry
Pacific NorthWest LNG project
Oil Terminal Proposals for the Northwest

Dominic Leblac, the Federal Government's House Leader will take up Minister Toottoo's cabinet responsibilities.

Some background on today's announcement can be found below:

Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo resigns from cabinet to seek addiction treatment
Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo leaving caucus over 'addiction issues': PM
Hunter Tootoo resigns as fisheries minister, leaves federal caucus
Hunter Tootoo resigns from cabinet, leaves Liberal caucus
Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo leaving caucus over 'addiction issues'
Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo resigns
Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo resigns from Trudeau cabinet, cites 'addiction issues'
Canada's Fisheries Minister Tootoo Quits Post, to Seek Treatment
Justin Trudeau appoints Dominic LeBlanc as fisheries minister following resignation of Hunter Tootoo
Federal Fisheries Minister steps aside over addiction issues
Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo resigns, seeks treatment for 'addiction issues'
Hunter Tootoo resigns as fisheries minister to seek alcohol treatment


More background on the Federal Political scene can be found on our Darcy McGee political portal.

Glad tidings from Gladstone, Australia and a bit of advice for Prince Rupert

The Curtis Island LNG project in
Gladstone, Australia 
(image from the Bechtel project page)

Last week the Northern View offered up an overview of a recent Chamber of Commerce presentation by Melissa Case, a representative from the global industrial company Bechtel and a former resident of Gladstone, Australia now based in Prince Rupert working as the community relations manager for the global engineering company.

Bechtel was awarded the contract for the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal project back in 2013.

Ms. Case shared her review of how the LNG industry arrived in the Queensland State of Eastern Australia and the key areas that Prince Rupert may wish to address when it comes to any anticipated growth.

A theme from the Chamber meeting which the Northern View provided some background on.

Lessons from Down Under: Gladstone, Prince Rupert's sister city?

So taken by the presentation was the weekly paper, that in an editorial last week they noted with some alarm that Prince Rupert's City Council had not yet picked up the phone and urged Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain to get in touch with officials in the Australian community, suggesting it was time to call our sister.

In Our Opinion: Call your sister

As it turns out, our sister already has had offered up some counsel for our community, with a paper in Gladstone, Australia taking note of the interest in how development there had taken place with some background on the LNG story from Australia.

The Gladstone Observer provides their own observations on both the industry and the "strangely" named town of Prince Rupert" (an interesting note from a country with its own creative town names such as Banana, Chinchilla, Woolloomooloo and Kooloonooka and a range of others stretched across the South Pacific continent) as well as some thoughts on what the Bechtel boom as they call it, delivered in  that community.

And while the article from the Observer itself is a fairly good account of events, it's the comments and advice from Gladstone residents that provide for an interesting review of how that community handled the challenges of growth that LNG brought there.

The full article and growing list of comments is available for review here.

Among the contribution to the comments section was a correspondence from Ms. Case who shares her observations on LNG and her affection for Prince Rupert for the folks back home.

Gladstone is fortunate to have such a large industry base that provides stable employment for so many people, invests so much money into the community and largely supports all of the local businesses in town. We take it for granted, and don't appreciate what we have. When I see people desperate to work, struggling every day to feed their families, local businesses trying so hard to keep their doors open and so much homelessness and poverty I have realised what a charmed life we have in Gladstone. 

Prince Rupert is a beautiful community full of amazing, positive people. I have completely fallen in love with this place and its people and will do anything I can to help them out. I am excited for this community's future and feel fortunate to be here to share lessons learnt from my home town and help navigate the community on their journey. -- Ms. Melissa Case, the sustainability and community relations manger for Bechtel Corporation in Prince Rupert providing the view from Prince Rupert for the folks back home in Gladstone

Readers of the Observer newspaper in Gladstone Australia
have provided some comments on LNG development to consider
after an article on Prince Rupert's plans appeared 

Other reviews from those on the other side of the Pacific Ocean provide for what may become familiar themes for North Coast residents, particularly when it comes to issues of housing issue and the impressions of some on some of the changes that the industry delivered to Gladstone, a community of some thirty thousand residents North of Brisbane.

The comments also highlights that when it comes to the development of LNG resources and terminal projects, differing opinions and controversy is a common thing far beyond the North Coast of British Columbia.

A look at what the LNG industry looks like in Gladstone can be found from Bechtel Curtis Island LNG project page

The community is host to the Santos GLNG terminal, the Australia Pacific LNG project

Included in the Gladstone Observer article were a few other items that might be of interest to North Coast Residents.

Gladstone and 'LNG service centre' in Curtis Island new phase
Curtis Island LNG exports create 'winners and losers'
Curtis Island case against CFMEU reps 'a bloody disgrace'
Company chooses Santos for $6M after Curtis Island GLNC job

A review of the Chamber of Commerce presentation from mid May was also provided by CFTK TV, you can learn more about the topic here.

You can review the list of proposed LNG projects for the North Coast and Northwest BC from our archive page here.

Popular Prince Rupert Restaurant goes up for sale with 2 million dollar plus asking price

Galaxy Gardens is the latest
Prince Rupert commercial property
to be placed in the For Sale listings

Should someone meet the asking price, one of Prince Rupert's long time eating establishments may soon be changing hands, with Third Avenue's Galaxy Gardens now on the For Sale listings with a local real estate firm.

The For Sale listing appeared on the Remax Coast Mountain Real Estate website over the weekend, making note of Galaxy Gardens long time of service to the community and highlighting the capacity of 110 people that the restaurant offers, as well as the long time reputation for quality food and service.

The asking price for the restaurant is $2,280.000.

It's appearance in the commercial listings for the region, adds to a growing list commercial properties on the market at the moment joining some other high profile locations available for those looking to enter the business world or expand their current holdings.

You can review some of the other opportunities in the city from both the Remax and Royal Lepage listings.

For more items related to Prince Rupert's commercial sector see our archive page here.

More changes to come for CFTK Television as reporter Emad Agahi departs for Manitoba

The magic number for Prince Rupert television reporters seems to be six, as in six months of service and see ya.

Over the course of the last few years, North Coast television reporters that arrive in Prince Rupert to take up cameras for CFTK TV have put in a half year of work in news gathering and then make the break and depart for other markets.

The latest to add the entry on their resume of former reporter at the Prince Rupert bureau for CFTK TV is Emad Agahi, who filed his final report, for the Terrace based television station on Monday evening, providing a review of the weekend Relay for Life at Prince Rupert Middle School.

CFTK's Emad Agahi covering a story at Port Edward's North Pacific
Cannery Historical Site, the reporter filed his last story on the North Coast on Monday

The Rupert based reporter posted his departure note to his personal twitter feed just prior to 6 PM on Monday, making note of his new career opportunity which will take him to Winnipeg, Manitoba where he will take up his new duties on June 15th as an evening reporter with CTV Winnipeg.

Agahi follows Christa Dao, Devon Johnson and Laryn Gilmour down the highway, leaving Prince Rupert once again home to a vacant news spot in the evening news lineup.

So far there is no listing for the opening on the Bell Media job board.

Agahi's departure once again makes for a situation that could in the short term see local political issues and other stories of the region find less space on the TV 7 news cycle.

Some past notes on the North Coast media scene can be found on our archive page here.

BC Ferries announces additional sailings to Haida Gwaii to address demand

Extra sailings for the Northern Adventure
on the scheduled for the month of June

Those travelling back and forth to Haida Gwaii will want to take note of the announcement of two additional sailings for June  with BC Ferries noting that he decision to provide the two extra sailings stems from heavy vehicle and commercial traffic

The first add on to the schedule comes tomorrow, with a  Wednesday June 1st sailing set for 10 AM with a 5 PM arrival at Skidegate; the return journey to Prince Rupert takes place at 10 PM on June 1st arriving at Fairview Bay on Thursday June 2nd at 7AM.

The second sailing of the month is set for June 15th with the same departure and arrival times in place for the mid month sailings.

You can find more background on Ferry transportation issues for both BC Ferries and the Alaska Marine Highway from our archive page here.

Letter from Scientists calls for Federal Government to reject Pacific NorthWest LNG project

The reading list on the theme of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project is getting longer and longer for Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as the Ministers of Natural  Resources and Justice.

The latest contribution to the briefing notes, is a correspondence from Ninety scientists and academics who have put their name to a document calling into question the Greenhouse Gas emission projections from the proponents of the Lelu Island terminal project and calling on the Liberal government to reject the proposed development.

The collection of scientists and academics features a strong British Columbia contingent, along with other Canadians and Americans, as well some British and Australian participation makes up the global contingent in opposition to the proposed development.

The theme of their letter does approach one area of concern that the Liberals have expressed concern about in the past,  with the concern related to Green House Gas emissions a topic that the Federal cabinet ministers have been issued direction on.

Last fall upon taking office, a number of ministers were tasked to meet the Federal Government's Greenhouse Gas ambitions through their Ministry mandate letters of November of 2015.

It's on that topic where the concerns from the letter may best resonate with federal officials.

The letter that was delivered to the Federal Government on May 26th and takes issue with the research into the GHG levels that made up the Pacific NorthWest application. With the collection of scientists and academics stating that the project poses serious risks to climate change targets, that GHG emissions from the project are likely to be underestimated and that there is inadequate climate policy to reduce impacts for the project.

The scientists/academics also call into question the belief that the LNG delivered from the project will replace the use of coal in Asia.

A copy of the letter was also provided to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency which is currently reviewing the application from Pacific NorthWest LNG.

The full text of the letter can be reviewed below (click to expand):

You can review the full letter and the entire list of signatories from this link to the document.

The latest addition to the information flow on the proposed project has also resulted in a pair of rebuttals to the letter from the scientists/academics, with both industry and provincial government officials challenging some of the observations in the letter.

BC environmental minister Mary Polak called the letter a myopic view of the situation and observed that the Provincial government is planning to announce a number of GHG reduction measures later this month. She also outlined how the use of LNG would play an important transition fuel role for Asian countries as they look to replace coal.

For it's part Pacific Northwest officials outlined their concerns over the letter, reinforcing previous aspects of their presentation to the CEAA that the LNG terminal once in operation would supply the world's cleanest LNG to partners in Asia, who are eager to import the same natural gas that British Columbians use in their daily lives"

Pacific NorthWest LNG rejects climate experts' environmental concerns
B.C. environment minister says climate scientists' letter 'doesn't meet with reality'

An overview of some of the media coverage of the latest contribution to the debate over LNG in British Columbia can be found below:

Pacific NorthWest LNG project 'deeply concerns' climate change experts
Climate scientists from around the world ask Canadian government to stop B. C. LNG project
Climate scientists' plea: Reject B.C. LNG project
Scientists call on Feds to reject LNG project
More than 90 scientists dispute LNG project's emissions estimates
90 scientists and climate experts call on Trudeau to reject Pacific NorthWest LNG 
Scientists ask P.M. to reject proposed LNG plant
More than 90 climate experts, including Tim Flannery and James Hansen, call for rejection of Petronas LNG plant


The environmental review process for the Pacific NorthWest LNG project is currently in a pause mode while the CEAA reviews some requested information from the proponent, it's anticipated that the entire file will be turned over to the Federal cabinet in June, with a final cabinet decision to be delivered sometime this summer.

You can review more background information related to the Pacific NorthWest LNG project from our archive page here.

City set to adopt new Emergency Management Program tonight

Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Chief
Dave McKenzie will be named
Emergency Management Coordinator
at tonight's City Council session

The blue print for how the City of Prince Rupert will deal with any emergency situations is now ready for review, with Council members set to receive the final draft of the proposed plan tonight.

Prince Rupert City Council will look over the final details of the major overhaul of the City's Emergency Management Plan, with Council members then asked to vote to put the procedures in place as part of this evening's council session.

The new Management plan provides for a substantial improvement over the previous edition, creating a program which will oversee the maintenance and execution of the plan that will be put to use in the event of a major emergency in the City of Prince Rupert.

The Emergency Management Plan outlines the responsibilities of the City Council when it comes to any emergency situation, as well as to provide some background to the process involved with the Emergency Management Program Committee.

Once City Council reviews the document tonight, it will move to appoint The City's Fire Chief, Dave McKenzie as the City of Prince Rupert's Emergency Management Coordinator.

You can review the full document related to the new Emergency Plan from the Agenda for tonight's City Council session, it can be found from pages 15 to 20.

A preview of some of the other items related to this evening's Council session can be found on our Council Preview item here.

Further background to Council issues and discussions can be found on our Council archive page.

Seven Seas Mariner port call sends visitors ashore Sunday

The Seven Seas Mariner arrived in
Prince Rupert on Sunday afternoon

The second cruise ship of the 2016 Cruise Season pulled into Prince Rupert Harbour on Sunday afternoon, as the Seven Seas Mariner tied up at the Northland Cruise Terminal at 1PM, with many of its passengers taking to the sights to be found ashore through the afternoon and into the early evening.

Many it appears took advantage of some of the shore based excursion opportunities offered at the Northland Terminal, or by way of the bus and walking tours of the region, while others wandered on their own, checking out the Cow Bay area and ventured further into the downtown core of the city.

The prospect of Sunday arrivals though may be a making for a day which offer some challenges for those looking to rebuild the city's cruise industry.

Yesterday, a number of local small businesses and restaurants chose to keep the Sorry Closed for the Day signs up in their windows.  Something which left those travelling up and down the two main streets of the downtown area to view a range of closed doors, or empty storefronts along their tour of the city's main shopping area.

City Hall was closed for the day
during the Sunday visit of the
Seven Seas Mariner

The Closed for the day theme even extended to City Hall, which normally hosts tours and provides for a resting place for cruise ship visitors during the work week, on Sunday however, the lights were off and the doors closed to visitors.

That made for one less downtown attraction for visitors to view as they took the complimentary shuttle service that was taking visitors from the Cruise Ship dock to the city's downtown district.

And while shopping and attractions may have been limited, the visitors did find things to do to mark their stopover in Prince Rupert.

Many were spotted on Sunday taking in the various murals that mark the city's buildings, while some of the adventurous  travelled further afield, taking some of the city's walking trails to explore a bit beyond the downtown area and into some of the city's neighbourhoods.

A shuttle bus stands ready to take
visitors downtown from the
Northland Cruise Terminal 

Visitors of the Seven Seas Mariner 
were offered the Opportunity 
of a Free Cruise Shuttle on Sunday

Sunday's visit brought the possibility of over 700 passengers and staff from the Seven Seas Mariner  ashore to explore the city, the next Cruise Ship Day for the city arrives on June 14th a Tuesday when the MS Regatta arrives in town.

There are three more Sunday arrivals for local organizers to focus on as well, with 1070 passengers to arrive on Sunday July 24th aboard the Crystal Serenity.

Smaller passenger loads will be found on July 31 and September 11th when smaller pocket cruise ships arrive in town. The Sunday arrivals make up one quarter of all of the twelve cruise ship visits for the 2016 Season.

A few more snapshots from Sunday's Cruise visit can be found below:

Visitors from the Seven Seas Mariner wait for their shore based excursion
plans to get underway Sunday Afternoon

A view of the Seven Seas Mariner from the Cow Bay Dock on Sunday

There was lots of room to explore on the Cow Bay Dock but a low tide
may have kept a number of the visitors from taking the walkway down to the boardwalk

The Seven Seas Mariner at berth at the Northland Terminal

You can find more about the 2016 Cruise ship season from our archive page.

City Council Preview, Monday, May 30, 2016

Council members return to their public duties after a three week absence from the scheduled meetings, with the end of May session the first public gathering for the city's elected officials since May 9th.

Tonight's session for the most part is a light one, with a single public presentation and a number of Bylaw items making up the bulk of the work schedule.

Opening up the evening's proceedings will be a Committee of the Whole Session, which offers residents of the community to raise issues of concern to the Council.

The Agenda for the Committee of the Whole portion of the evening can be found here.

The Regular Council session features a presentation from a pair of Terrace based Conservation Officers with some background on the issue of wolves in Prince Rupert the topic of the discussion.

Four blyaws will make up the bulk of the evenings work for Council as they look at issues related to the a review of a Policy to require Development Approval Information, a report on the Official Community Plan, Emergency Management Program and a road closure bylaw item for a stretch of road access near the Besner Block.

The full review of the evening ahead can be found from the Agenda for the Regular Council Session for Monday, May 30, 2016.

Council will also host a session at 5 PM closed to the public, to address items related to:

personal information about an identifiable individual who holds or is being considered for a position as an officer, employee or agent of the municipality or another position appointed by the municipality;  

negotiations and related discussions respecting the proposed provision of a municipal service that are at their preliminary stages and that, in the view of the council, could reasonably be expected to harm the interests of the municipality if they were held in public.

Below we'll highlight the different elements of this evenings work from the Regular session Agenda, for further background on each item, the page number from the Agenda is listed in red.

The Regular  Council session starts off with the adoption of agendas and minutes.

Petitions and Delegations --  Terrace based Conservation Officers Mr. Tracy Walbauer and Mr. Ryan Gordon will make a presentation on the topic of Wolves within the City of Prince Rupert.

Any Unfinished Business is then up next on the Agenda.

Followed by Reports and Recommendations and any Correspondence For Action

Resolutions from Closed Meetings

Bylaws mark the next item of the Agenda on the night and makes for a short list of items to be addressed.

Report from the City Planner -- Background on the Bylaw to Establish Policies and Procedures to Require Development Approval Information (see page 7 of the Agenda)

Report from the City Planner -- Details of the Quality of Life - Official Community Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 3394, 2016 - A Bylaw to Permit Impact Assessment (see page 11 of the Agenda)

Report from the Fire Chief -- Background on the Emergency Management Program Bylaw No. 3392, 2016 ( see page 15 of the Agenda )

Report from the Director of Operations -- Background on the Road Closure and Removal of Road Dedication Bylaw No. 3391. 2016 for a portion of 3rd Avenue West at the Besner Block ( see page 21 of the Agenda)

The evening then moves on to Additional Items from Council members, as well as Reports, Questions and Inquiries from Members of Council.

Council will also hear an update from the Mayor on the Housing Committee.

The Live broadcast of the City Council session can be found here, a video archive of past sessions is available here.

Our archive of items related to the May 30th session can be found here.

While our archive of all sessions of 2016  for council  is available here.

City Council Session, Monday, May 30, 2016

Our archive of items from the session can be found below.

Regular Session of Council for May 30, 2016

Home page and archive of sessions can be found here.

Live Broadcast of session can be found here


North Coast Review -- Preview of Regular Session for May 30, 2016

Agenda for the Committee of the Whole Session for May 30, 2016

Agenda for the Regular Council Session for May 30, 2016

Notice of Special Closed Council Session for May 30, 2016


Info to Council 

May 25, 2016
May 11, 2016


Attendance

Mayor Lee Brain -- Present
Councillor Barry Cunningham -- Present
Councillor Nelson Kinney -- Present
Councillor Blair Mirau -- Present
Councillor Wade Niesh -- Present
Councillor Gulvinder Randhawa -- Present
Councillor Joy Thorkelson -- Present


Minutes of Regular Session of Council May 30, 2016 (not available yet)
(not available yet)

Video Recording of May 30, 2016 Council Session

North Coast Review, City Council Timeline, May 30, 2016



North Coast Review Items for the May 30, 2016 Session of Council 

City of Prince Rupert rolls out new Procedures and Management plan to deal with potential Emergency Situations
City's process of implementing Land Use Policies begins to line up
City Council to tackle Enbridge extension and tanker ban issue at future session
Councillor Cunningham seeks timeline for introduction of new shuttle bus to airport
City Council receives briefing on wolf concerns in the community from Terrace conservation officer
City Council session takes note that McKay Street park bid came up short in BCAA competition
City to adopt new Emergency Management Program tonight

Media items from other sources for the May 30, 2016 session can be found in our Discussion Points from City Council feature 

Prince Rupert's Wheelhouse Brewery claims Bronze in National competition

They travelled, they served and they conquered!

Representatives from Prince Rupert's Wheelhouse Brewery Company spent the weekend in Vancouver sharing the now not so secret broth of their Smokehouse Porter with the North Coast craft brewers taking on a growing level of competition in the Craft Beer industry and tempting the judges with one of the signature brews of the local brewery.

When the froth had settled at the Saturday night finale, the Rupert brewery that is tucked away in the city's Atlin Terminal area had claimed a Bronze medal for their efforts.

And the Bronze goes to!

The Canadian Brewing Awards were handed out on Saturday night, with the North Coast representative collecting the Bronze Medal in the  overall there were 163 awards handed out during the celebrating of Craft Brewing held in Richmond.

The Bronze medal for Prince Rupert comes in the Smoked Beer competition, which saw Coal HarbourBrewing Co. claim the Gold with their Smoke and Mirrors Imperial Smoked Ale, while Waterloo, Ontario's Brick Brewing Co. collected the Silver for their Smoked Applewood Roggenbier.

You can learn a bit about the Smokehouse Porter here

The full list of award winners from all categories in the Saturday night competition is available here.

The Canadian Brewing Awards provided the launching point for a celebration of the brews at the Vancouver Craft Beer Week which continues through this week with Three Day Beer Festival from June 3 to 5 at the PNE.

Prince Rupert's Wheelhouse Brewing Company
collected a Bronze award in Saturday's
celebration of Canadian Craft Beer in Richmond BC

North Coast residents of course have access to award winning beer right in their own hometown, you check out the Smokehouse Porter and other concoctions from the Wheelhouse at the Brewery just up the hill from the Atlin Terminal.

They'll be showing off an award in the weeks to come at
Prince Rupert's Wheelhouse Brewing Company after
collecting a Bronze Medal in Richmond on Saturday

The gang at the Wheelhouse made use of their Facebook page  and twitter feed over the weekend to keep the folks back home up to speed on the event, celebrating their award with the local faithful on Saturday night.

More background on what the Canadian Brewing Awards is all about can be found here.

Some details on the Saturday night awards can be found below:

B.C. breweries shine at 2016 Canadian Brewing Awards
Four Winds breezes past competition, wins Beer of the Year at Canadian Brewing Awards 2016
Delta brews hit high note again as Four Winds wins Beer of the Year at Canadian Brewing Awards

And if this Vancouver Province story gains a bit of traction, the growing legions of Craft Beer fans will be heading for the Prince Rupert brewery, perhaps with a salutation of "to our health!"

For more items related to Prince Rupert's commercial sector see our archive page here.

Prince Rupert begins Bike to Work (and School) week today

The start of another week has already seen a number of North Coast residents taking to their bikes for the annual Bike to Work (and School) Week activity which continues through to June 5th.

Those that are participating have already registered through the online registration process available from Bike to Work Prince Rupert (see here) while those that participated in last years event can use their password from last year to automatically (log in here) become part of this years travels.

Schools around the North Coast can register as well with more background on the Bike to School Week plans found here.

Participants in this year's event are all in the running (or is that cycle?) to win a cycling trip to Vietnam as part of a national competition for this years program.

Javadot.cup is Biking central for this years event having hosted the Opening event on May 28th and serving as the city's Celebration Station through the week, with Save On Foods and Shoppers helping to fuel up the cyclists through the week.

The 3rd Avenue coffee shop is just one of many local sponsors that have joined up to help spread the work about Bike to Work, the full list of those lending a hand can be found on the poster to the right.

You can find more information about the seven day's of biking from the website or Facebook page created for the event.

Updates on the week's success can be found from those two options, as organizers keep track of the participants and the mileage accumulated as June 5th approaches.

Local Art Studio closes the doors

The city's downtown Third Avenue West street front features one new empty window, with the recent closing of the Happy Little Clouds Art Studio, an ambitious local project that provided an outlet for the artistic side of the city's youngsters.

Happy Little Clouds owner Tara Dias announced the closure in March, with a posting on the Studio Facebook page and the Happy Little Clouds website, though many may not have noticed its absence in recent weeks owing to the sidewalk reconstruction currently taking place along Third Avenue.

The For Lease sign us up in the former
location for Happy Little Clouds Art Studio

The Business was recently featured in the Thrive North Business blog, which outlined the lengthy process that entrepreneurs face to bring their dreams to realization in the business world.

The final post on the Studio's Facebook page from Mid March provides a glimpse into some of the challenges that the small business owner faces, challenges which sometimes in the end mean that they have to step back from their projects.

For those that found the Little Clouds Studio a strong addition to the local community there is some hope of a new approach, with Ms. Dias observing that she has ambitions to try and deliver some classes in the future, suggesting that those that enjoyed the Studio atmosphere check back to the Facebook page for any updates to her plans.

You can find more items related to Prince Rupert's business community from our archive page here.

Real Estate Tracker, Week ending May 29, 2016

Our weekly review of the listings of the local real estate agents, tracking those properties which appear to be driving the local price structure for the North Coast.

Every Monday, we look over the listing prices of the past seven days and outline the Top 10 asking prices in the area, providing a snap shot as to where the Real Estate market may be trending on a week to week basis.

The listings below are purely for information purposes, for further background on the properties recorded, see our links page for access to the individual real estate listings.

The Archive for our weekly review can be found here.

Our list of the top ten priced homes for the week ending May 29 is below:

Prince Rupert Real Estate
East Side May 29, 2016

Prince Rupert Real Estate
West Side May 29, 2016

There were no changes to the top end listings for North Coast real estate over the last seven days, the list of ten homes featuring the same line up for the most part that has been common over the last few months.

The ask price for the returning properties remains marked to the 449,900 dollar mark at its low point, with the top end listed at 639,000 dollars.

The balance of properties from east to west remains the same as it was last week.

Two properties are found east of McBride, while the remaining eight properties from this weeks listings are on the west side of the city, the majority of them in the Graham Avenue area. It also marks a clean sweep of listings for the Remax office in town for the week, with all ten of our top end findings coming from the website of the real estate company.

Below find our findings as of the Week ending May 29, 2016

160 Van Arsdol Street                  $639,900   -- Remax
2040 Graham Avenue                   $579,000  -- Remax
2085 Graham Avenue                   $575,000 --  Remax
2070 Atlin Avenue                        $570,000 --  Remax
1229 Conrad Street                       $495,000  -- Remax
1125 Summit Avenue                   $469,900  --  Remax
1735 Graham Avenue                   $469,000  --  Remax
144 Gull Crescent                         $464,500  --  Remax
100 Alpine Drive                          $449,900  --  Remax
1101 Borden Street                       $449,000  --  Remax

For more items related to Real Estate see our archive page here.

For background on Housing issues in the region see our past items here.

Second Cruise ship of the season set to pull in for eight hour stop over

Prince Rupert will be welcoming its second cruise ship of the 2016 Cruise Season this afternoon when the Seven Seas Mariner makes its arrival at Northland Cruise Terminal at 1 PM, offering the potential of over 700 guests and crew members into the streets to explore the City.

While not as large as the season opening visit by the Radiance of the Seas which carried 2100 guests into port, the Seven Seas Mariner marks the season return for the Regent Cruise Line back to the city, providing the North Coast the opportunity to showcase some of the attractions that could lead to more port calls in the years to come.

The ship is described as the world's first all-suite, all balcony ship and recently had a multi million dollar refurbishment, with a number of new looks for many of the ships guest areas.

It currently is being used on the Alaska Cruise service in and out of Vancouver, the vessel arrives in Prince Rupert having set sail from
Sitka, Alaska on Saturday evening.

The Seven Seas Mariner will be alongside Northland until its departure time of 9 PM tonight.

Once it leaves Prince Rupert harbour the vessel will travel the outside passage with a Port call in Victoria on May 31st prior to its return to Vancouver on June 1st

For more items related to the 2016 Cruise season see our archive page here.

Blog watching week ending May 29, 2016

A major step forward for the proposed Propane Terminal at Ridley Island was announced this week, with our look at a memorandum of understanding between AltaGas and Japan's Astomos energy grabbed the most looks over the last seven days.

Financial scholarship opportunities at Northwest Community college caught the attention of many readers during the course of the week, as did two items related to Charles Hays Secondary.

The first an announcement from CHSS Rainmaker's Justin McChesney that he will take his next step in education and basketball with the UBC Thunderbirds, followed up by significant interest in our look ahead to Friday evening's 2016 Commencement ceremony.

Property Tax time brings the review of five to an end this week, as a large number of readers reviewed our notes on the arrival of the City of Prince Rupert's Tax Notices earlier in the week.

However, the top item of the week was a look at some progress for one of the proposed industrial developments for the region and the latest steps for the AltaGas propane terminal at Ridley Island.

AltaGas Signs supply agreement with Japan's Astomos energy -- The proponents of a Propane Export Terminal at Ridley Island announce a major agreement with a Japanese client   (posted May 24, 2016)

That article was followed by:

NWCC offers $10,000 through Five Scholarship Opportunities -- Students attending Northwest Community College this fall can qualify for a financial program offering five 2,000 dollar scholarships.     (posted May 24, 2016)

Justin McChesney makes UBC T-Birds his post secondary choice --  It's commitment season for University sports and in basketball, Prince Rupert's Justin McChesney has decided that his future will be with the UBC Thunder Bird program   (posted May 25, 2016)

Charles Hays students to chart new paths following tonight's Commencement Ceremony -- Students from Prince Rupert's Charles Hays Secondary celebrated their 2016 Commencement this weekend  ( posted May 27, 2016)

The Taxman Cometh! City Property Tax Notices arriving in this week's mail delivery -- Residents of Prince Rupert learn the 2016 level of taxation as the City delivers this years tax notices to the public   (posted May 25, 2016)

You can find our Blog watching featured posted every Sunday morning by 9AM, a handy way to catch up to the week that was, at a leisurely weekend pace.

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Our archive of weekly Blog Watching can be found here