Blog Watching: Week Ending July 2, 2017

The last seven days delivered some drama on the provincial scene, with a change of government now in motion and North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice now finding herself on the government side of the BC Legislature.

As well, on the local scene a range of topics coming out of Prince Rupert City Council caught the attention of our readers over the last week, many of which will set the tone for much of Council's themes through the summer and into the fall.

The item that captured the most attention came from our preview of Monday's Prince Rupert City Council session, where we offered up some of the talking points on the night from Luanne Roth, who appeared at Council to make a presentation to the Council members on air shed concerns related to the proposed Digby Island Aurora LNG project.

Two other City Council items also provided for much attention from our readers, with Council's discussions on the potential introduction of Sm'algyax to road signs and buildings in the future finding a strong readership, as did our review of City Council's discussion on the need for renovations for the city's jail cells to bring them up to national standards and the larger issue of replacement for the Prince Rupert RCMP detachment.

An unsightly mess left at the Kaien Road Recycling Centre after hours, has made for a popular theme on Facebook and we reviewed some of that discussion this week, while our notes on the political drama in Victoria also found a larger readership, as we recounted North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice's enthusiastic response to the prospect of NDP leader John Horgan becoming Premier.

Our top story however, the LNG files of the Northwest and a public presentation to Council on airshed concerns related to the Aurora LNG project proposed for Digby Island.

Aurora LNG air quality the focus for presentation to Council this evening --  Our preview of a presentation by Luanne Roth from the T Buck Suzuki Society highlighting concerns on airshed levels should the Aurora LNG project move forward topped the reading list for the week, our follow up notes that outlined some of the questions from Council members also generated some significant interest this week.  (posted June 26, 2017)

That article was followed by:

Piles, upon piles of garbage at the recycling centre making for conversation theme on Facebook -- An ongoing theme of North Coast residents showing some disregard for the after hours community recycling station on Kaien Road has become a hot topic on the social media platform Facebook.   (posted June 27, 2017)

Councillor Thorkelson promotes prospect of Sm'algyax to be included in future naming projects for the city -- Sometime over the course of the next few City Council sessions, the city's council members will be reviewing a proposal from Councillor Joy Thorkelson to address her concerns over the naming procedures for streets and buildings in the community, with the Councillor proposing a new process which would increase the focus on First Nations of the region.  (posted June 29, 2017)

Prince Rupert's COP COOP chickens come home to roost --  Prince Rupert Council members explored the immediate need to replace the city's jail cells and then reviewed some of the past history in their efforts to come up with a long overdue replacement plan for the city's RCMP detachment   (posted June 30, 2017)

Jennifer Rice hails John Horgan's rise to power in Victoria -- The return to the business of the Legislature this week provided for a historic moment for BC politics, as the Liberal government of Premier Christy Clark was defeated in a non-confidence motion, paving the way for Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon to invite John Horgan and the NDP to form the next B.C. Government. North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice shared some of her thoughts on the dramatic events from Victoria. (posted June 30, 2017)

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