Sunday, March 29, 2020

Blog Watching: Week ending March 29, 2020

A most remarkable week for the North Coast as the COVID-19 story followed a number of differing narratives, though the final note for the week has been that of much of the last six weeks.

That of the need for the public to not become distracted or confused on direction and to follow the guidance and orders of Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Province's Public Health Officer, specifically her notes on the importance of Physical Distancing.

Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain once again made his Facebook page the focus for much of his attention, with message after message of the Council  plans eagerly reviewed and commented on by those who follow his social message platform.

For those that rely on the official Civic website, the volume of material was significantly slimmer, the city relaying notes on first the Declaration of a Local State of Emergency and then it's suspension under order of the Province of British Columbia.

Along the way to Friday much drama played out through the social media stream, as the Mayor's rebuttal to the Provincial order served to stoke some outrage among some of his followers; making for a fascinating situation of the City seemingly set to remain on a contrarian path when it comes to the wishes of the Premier and Solicitor General for a more unified message across BC.

And with the situation evolving as it has through the week, many of our notes on those themes vaulted to the most read range, though a few other items managed to make some space by weeks end.

That as our reviews of the apparent reduction in ranks of the City's Bylaw officers and the absence of any semblance of a plan for the homeless in the area during this COVID-19 crisis also captured a few eyes through to Friday.

However, the most read story of the week, found a large audience intrigued at the political theatre that became the Declaration of a Local State of Emergency and its subsequent suspension by the Provincial Government.

State of Local Emergency Declared in Prince Rupert ... details to follow sometime this week -- As things turned out the City's Declaration of a Local State of Emergency  towards a COVID-19 response, and issuance of Local Orders only lasted until Thursday. That the day that Premier Horgan and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth suspended it. A decision which Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain took exception to, his comments making for another twist in what is clearly a significant difference in opinion between the Mayor, City Council and the province.  (posted  March 23 , 2020)

That article was followed by:

Northern health gains one more case report of COVID-19 as part of Monday update from Provincial officials --  While the case count in the North, currently at 12,  remains significantly low compared to other areas in BC, every announcement of an uptick attracts immediate attention throughout the Northern Health region. (posted March 23  2020  )

Facebook follower commentaries should not be misconstrued as wholesale support for political themes -- With a growing increase of use for the Mayor's Social Media Facebook page to deliver day after day of posts on the Mayor and City's COVID-19 themes and other civic notes to a supportive audience. The actual public forum in place for City Council discussion and overview of city governance by the elected councillors is becoming increasingly diminished in purpose and value.   (posted  March  27 , 2020)

City down to one bylaw officer  --  During his Thursday rebuttal of the Provincial government's decision to Suspend the Local State of Emergency Order in Prince Rupert, the Mayor observed as to how the city is at the moment only served by one Bylaw officer  (posted March  27, 2020)

City and Province need to outline what measures they have in mind to assist Prince Rupert's homeless during this pandemic -- After a week full of Facebook posting and stance taking, there has still been no public declaration by either a provincial, or municipal politician as to what plans, if any, are in mind to help house the Homeless of Prince Rupert in the wake of the new social distancing and other COVID-19 requirements.     (posted March  25, 2020 )

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

You can also review the full listings of the week just past, from our Blog Archive index page found on the right hand side of the page.

For those looking for updates to items as they are posted to the blog, don't forget about our email alert access.

A daily review of the latest items on the blog can be delivered to your email in box, simply by entering your email address into the information bar, items posted to the blog will be delivered to your e-mail account each day.

You can find the link to that feature on the upper, right hand side of the blog. It can be found underneath the Follow the North Coast Review by Email indicator.

As well, those who use Twitter can get updates as we post new items from our twitter feed

Our archive of weekly Blog Watching  can be found here.

To view the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

No comments:

Post a Comment