Blog Watching: Week ending August 25, 2019

While the City Council Agendas have been somewhat light in recent months, the opportunity for the public to raise a few issues has provided for some interesting topics, with a pair of themes from the Committee of the Whole speaking opportunity making for some newsworthy items out of the August 19th session.

The first offered a glimpse of the current state of the city through the eyes of a one time Rupertite, who has been back a few times for a visit. Monday she provided for a look at what others may be thinking of how our downtown looks, as well as the scarcity of options for those looking to return to the city to live and purchase an affordable home or condominium unit.

The Second topic to come out of this weeks public comment period, was to put the spotlight on the work of Redesign Rupert, with a participant of the Committee of the Whole period seeking to learn more about how the program works, who has authority over it and what relationship the city has with the project.

The recent sale of Ridley Terminals to an American investment firm makes for another popular item of the week, as a large number of readers explored our look at and expanded background on the themes related to Social Licence that were reviewed in a National Post item of earlier this week.

As the work almost wraps up on the new Elders/Seniors Residence on the east side of the city, the Cedar Village Housing Society has opened up the application process for those in the community that may wish to live in the new residence.

This week also brought more interest towards the upcoming rebuild for the Rupert Lawn and Garden Centre at Seal Cove, with our story exploring some of the new additions that the rebuilt store will feature finding a good reception.

However, the top item of the last seven days, puts the focus on the downtown area and housing issues in the community, as seen from an out of town visitor.

Observations on the state of downtown and lack of housing make for contribution to public comment period of Council session  --  Monday's City Council session brought a former resident to the Council Chambers, offering up some notes on what she had observed during her recent tour of the city and how the City may look to entice those who have retired or are soon to be retired to move to the city. (posted   August 21, 2019)

That article was followed by:

Ridley Terminals sale an example of the rising cost of Social Licence?: National Post article -- The recent sale of one of the Industrial giants on the North Coast has caught the eye of national media, with an article in the National Post exploring what role that the concept of Social Licence may have played in the Federal Government's decision to sell.  (posted  August 21, 2019)

Questions on structure of Redesign Rupert raised at Council session -- The Public Comment session from Monday's City Council meeting offered up a few themes on the night, one of which came from a resident seeking some background on how the Redesign Rupert program works and how it is managed.   (posted August  21, 2019)

Cedar Village Housing Society opens applications for new Elders/Seniors residence on Green Street -- Anyone who has made the drive down 8th Avenue East recently has noticed how work on the new Elders/Seniors residence is nearing its completion, as they get closer to the finishing touches, officials with the Cedar Village Housing Society have started accepting applications from potential residents. (posted  August 20 , 2019)

Cafe plans the latest addition for new Rupert Lawn and Garden Centre expansion -- The wrecking crews take over the Seal Cove site on Monday, marking the start of what could be a seven month process to deliver a new Rupert Lawn and Garden Centre which will feature a number of new features for residents of the North Coast.     (posted  August 21, 2019)

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