Blog Watching, Week Ending July 6, 2014

As part of a weekly feature on the blog, every Sunday we offer up this weeks recap of the top five items viewed over the course of the last seven days.

Included in the countdown, we will provide links to the articles in question, offering up with one click of the mouse, those items of the week that you may have missed.

This week,  more fall out from the cutbacks in service to BC Ferries on the Northern and Central Coast routes, as tourism operators in the Cariboo outline their concerns.

The remainder of the week found much interest in the prospect of the Maher Terminal operation being sold by its parent company. Readers also made popular our items on the search for suspects in a downtown Break and Enter at the Belmont Liquor store, the prospect of an LNG terminal for Digby Island and an ongoing search for investors for a Dairy Queen restaurant for the city.

Kicking off the top five items, the impact of Ferry cuts far from the North Coast.

BC Ferries issues of concern to Interior Tourism officials  --  A look at the effects of reduced service to the North and Central coast. (posted June 30, 2014)

That item was followed by:

Psst! Wanna Buy a Container Port?  --  Our item on the prospect of the sale of Maher Terminals by corporate owner Deutsche Bank AG (posted June 30, 2014 )

Prince Rupert RCMP seek three suspects in Belmont Break and Enter -- The Prince Rupert detachment of the RCMP seek the help of the public in locating suspects in a downtown break and enter  (posted July 2, 2014)

Add Digby Island to the LNG inventory of available development sites--   CNOCC/Nexen outline a second possible location for their Aurora LNG terminal proposal  (posted July 3, 2014)

Dairy Queen to test the investment climate in Prince Rupert -- The restaurant chain looks for investors for a potential Prince Rupert location  (posted July 4, 2014)

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.

The Permanent link to the feature can be found here or above our Blog Archive section, found on the right hand side of the title 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.

Golf Tourney season in full swing on the North Coast

While the weather hasn't been the most cooperative for local golfers in recent weeks, neither rain, nor wind or cloud will stop the summer months of tournament action for Prince Rupert.

June has already provided for a number of tournaments of the short golf season for the North Coast,  with the Prince Rupert Marine Rescue Society Golf Scramble raising close to thirteen thousand dollars in support of the organization from their 3rd annual event held recently.

Already this spring and summer,  the Prince Rupert Golf Course has played host to the Vic Marion Seniors Open as well as the Men's and Women's Jubilee Tournaments.

And July is shaping up as a busy month for tournament season, with a pair of high profile events on the calendar.

This weekend it's the Prince Rupert Firefighters Best Ball Scramble, which takes place on Saturday. That event will host teams of 4 with an entry fee of 60 dollars per player, all proceeds from the Saturday tournament will benefit the Fire Fighters efforts for Muscular Dystrophy.

July 19th provides the opportunity to golf with the Rampage, as the local Senior Men's hockey team hosts their annual Prince Rupert Rampage Charity Golf Scramble, the fifth year for that event.  The entry fee of 70 dollars will  provide entry for teams of 4 or 5 to take to the course, with proceeds to benefit the Prince Rupert Wildlife Shelter and other charities.

You can keep up to date on the developments at the Prince Rupert Golf Club from their website and facebook page.

We have more on Golf in the Northwest on our archive page.

BG Group highlights Ridley Island biodiversity assessment on corporate website

The process of evaluation continues for the BG Group, as one of the would be proponents of an LNG Terminal development for the North Coast examines the environmental issues related to their proposal.

The company recently highlighted some of that work on their International corporate website, providing some background into the current process of their biodiversity assessment into the project.

BG is conducting their studies into such concerns as air and water quality, freshwater and marine fisheries, vegetation and terrestrial wildlife and habitat, as well as impact on marine mammals and birds.

Upon completion of their field work, BG will work on the detailed analysis of the data that has been collected, all part of their environmental and social impact assessment. The results of which they plan to adapt to their project design, looking to minimize disruption to wildlife and fish and reduce their environmental footprint.

The company also outlines some of the financial support that they have provided to the British Columbia Cetacean Sightings Network, the local program is run by the Vancouver Aquarium and has been studying much of the marine life on the north coast in the last few years.

According to the update to the BG website, the company intends to commit to funding for the Network through to the end of this year and perhaps extending their support into the future.

Should BG deliver final investment approval for the project, the most recent time line that the company has suggested would see a four year construction process, leading to LNG shipments leaving Terminal at Ridley Island sometime in late 2019 or early 2020.

You can review the environmental update from BG from their International corporate website here.

Updates on the progress of the Prince Rupert Terminal project can be found on the Prince Rupert LNG website, while we have a wider overview of issues related to the BG project available on our archive page.

Dairy Queen to test the investment climate in Prince Rupert

Another sign that perhaps the turn around of the local economy is finally picking up speed is the growing interest from national chains in looking for investors for Prince Rupert opportunities.

The latest on that theme is the recent interest shown by the Dairy Queen restaurant chain which is seeking inquiries from those who may be interested in owning and operating a Prince Rupert location of their DQ Grill and Chill franchise for the national chain.

The DQ brand is not unfamiliar to the North Coast, with the restaurant chain once located at the corner of McBride and 3rd Avenue West, the last tenant as it turned out for that building which has sat empty ever since the chain shut down its operations in the city in the nineties.

The company would seem to be dipping their toe back into the market having recently placed an advertisement in the weekly newspaper, this week a quarter page ad that provided some photos of current DQ locations and a contact number for those interested in the opportunity for a Prince Rupert start up.

So for those looking to explore the prospects a little more here's some background.

According to their website, here's what you should bring to the table to move forward with your interest.  Liquid Capital of 400,000 dollars, with a Net Worth Requirement of 750,000 dollars. Those requirement comes in addition to your Franchise Fee of 35,000 dollars., Royalty Fees of 4 per cent, and marketing fees listed as between 5 to 6 per cent.

Expectations for any location include a Lot size of between 20,952 and 19,670 square feet.  The Building size is listed as requiring between 1,886 and 2,712 square feet.

You can review more on the DQ experience from their website franchise page here.

Those seeking more franchise information can contact Fiona Bottoms at fiona.bottoms.@idq.com or by telephone at 705-794-1508.

DQ is not the first of the national chains to show renewed interest in Prince Rupert.

As we outlined on the blog last year, Boston Pizza was looking for investors for a North Coast location, however there hasn't been much heard on that theme since the initial request for applicants.

For more items on commercial developments on the North Coast see our archive page here.

Cow Bay Merchants welcome all to Saturday's Cow Bay Day!

The theme of everything Cow will get a workout this Saturday, as the Cow Bay Merchants offer up a number of activities and events with the Cow motif at the heart of their offerings for this years Cow Bay Day.

The annual celebration in the Cow Bay area of the city will get underway at 11 AM, with events continuing on through until 4 PM.

Twenty merchants of the Cow Bay area offer up such events as a Moo Maid Colouring Contest, the Dung Flung along with other non bovine themes as a spaghetti eating contest, crab and boil barbecue a Kiss the Fish contest, obstacle course and Angry Birds game to name just a few. (Full list can be found below)

Fundraising is also a focus for the day, with a number of merchants providing opportunities to help out such local groups as the Prince Rupert Wildlife Shelter, BCSPCA, Prince Rupert Marine Search and Rescue and Cops for Cancer.

Cow Bay Day organizers have been working through the year to review what has worked in the past as well as to come up with new ideas and an expanded listing of events to make the Cow Bay District the place to be this Saturday.

In no particular order, here's what you may find on your walkabout on the afternoon.

Events Around Cow Bay

Bracelet Weaving hosted by Coastal Fibres
Children's Art Workshop hosted by the Ice House Gallery
Chainsaw Carving hosted by SeaSport
Dung Flung hosted by Cowpuccino's
Egg Racing hosted by Harris and Wick
Graffiti the Truck hosted by RONA
Handbag Draw at udder Bags
Jail and Bail for Cops For Cancer hosted by RONA
Face Painting hosted by Cow Bay Gifts
Kiss the Fish hosted by Dolly's Fish Market
Moo Maid colouring contest hosted by Advantage Printing near Opa Sushi
Parade of the Mascots hosted by Cow Bay Merchants
Scavenger Hunt hosted by Opa Sushi
Sidewalk Chalk Art hosted by Eagles Bluff Bed and Breakfast
Spaghetti Contest hosted by Cow Bay Cafe

Events at Atlin Terminal Parking Lot

Angry Birds Game hosted by Overwaitea
Pop the Balloon hosted by Udder Bags
Obstacle Course hosted by BCSPCA
Aquarium Table hosted by Vancouver Aquarium
Fire Truck and Ambulance Display hosted by CrimeStoppers

Other Games and Events at Atlin Parking Log: Face Painting, Animal Balloons, Hop Scotch, Hula Hoops, Guess the Beans, Fishing Game, Bean Bag Toss, Balloon and Ball toss and a Bouncy Castle.

Food 

Beef on a Bun -- Rupert Meats
Barbecue -- RONA
Shish Kabobs-- Filipino Canadian Association
Crab boil and BBQ-- Dolly's Fish Market

Prince Rupert in the spot light following recent Silver Shadow Port Call

When the Silver Shadow Luxury Cruise ship made its stop over on the North Coast last week, more than just the usual collection of tourists was along for the port call.

Among the group of visitors that took to the streets of Prince Rupert last Friday, was travel writer Aaron Saunders.

The Vancouver based writer who focuses on the cruise industry took advantage of his stop over in the city to collect some impressions of the region. Offering up some thoughts on how the community might want to approach in its ongoing quest to rebuild its cruise industry.

Mr. Saunders is a writer and editor of the website From the Deck Chair, a fairly comprehensive review of all things to do with the Cruise industry, with entries dating back to September of 2009.

His article from June 28th offers up his snapshot of what to expect on a Prince Rupert port call and provides up some interesting glimpses into how those that cross over the walkway view the city and what they might take back home with them as far as impressions go.

With a short narrative as to our colourful history tied to Charles Hays and more recent developments in marine transportation, Saunders gets to the current status of the Cruise Industry on the North Coast.

Part of that preamble outlines where Prince Rupert may be compared to other communities along the Alaska Cruise circuit, an overview that would suggest we are a bit behind when it comes to what's required to attract a larger volume of cruise ships at the moment.

As for the actual review of the city for his website, in words and through a large volume of photographs, he offered up his impression as to what Prince Rupert has to offer.

And while he suggests for the large mainstream vessels of the past we may not have the services and commercial opportunities that seem to feed that aspect of the cruise industry, he does see some great opportunity to help grow the industry here.

Instead, he suggests Prince Rupert may be more suited to the likes of the smaller cruise lines such as Silversea (the line he was travelling on for his piece this time) offering what he describes as the authentic experience.

An impression he believes was shared by some of those he met with while on the Silver Shadow during their journey along the coast.

The highlight of his stopover a journey to Butze Rapids, which offered up a sense of the service that local operators are looking to provide to rebuild the cruise experience for visitors.

According to the Saunders review, the bus that was scheduled to take the Silver Sea passengers to Butze had mechanical issues, so rather than cancel the excursion, taxi cabs were dispatched to take the group out for their Prince Rupert experience.

It was a gesture that resonated with the writer and reflected well on the local organizers and the region in general.

There's probably not much that can be done in the short term to improve the shopping prospects for visitors, but taking advantage of our natural surroundings and making sure that those that are visiting can find a way to get to them appears to be a good starting point to rebuild and expand the industry on the North Coast.

You can take a look at his full review of the SilverSea Prince Rupert port call here.

We have more items of note on the cruise industry on the North Coast available on our archive page.

Add Digby Island to the LNG inventory of available development sites

One of the current proponents of LNG development on the North Coast is offering up a second selection site, as part of their proposed Terminal Development in the Prince Rupert region.

Aurora Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd., has now identified Digby Island as another potential site for their development.

The request for consideration for a site on Digby Island a can be found in a correspondence between Associate Deputy Minister Doug Caul and  Ron Hallman of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

The letter dated June 24th, is a request for substitution, part of a Memorandum of Understanding on Substitution of Environmental Assessments.

The correspondence outlines that the Project Description for the Proposed Aurora LNG project was submitted to the CEAA on June 20th of 2014. 

The letter acknowledges that the Agency will have to first accept the Project Description and determine if a federal Environmental Assessment is required before it can respond to the request for substitution.

It is the first mention of any intention of Aurora LNG, to offer up a secondary site for development. 

Aurora LNG which is owned by Nexen, the Canadian subsidiary of the Chinese energy giant CNOOC previously had identified a site at Grassy Point near Lax Kw'alaams as the prospective location for their LNG Export Terminal facility.

According to the documents filed with the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office, the Digby Island proposal is for a terminal location on the southeast corner of the Island, which upon completion would produce up to 24 million tonnes per year of liquefied Natural Gas.

For the moment, no listing of the progress of any request from Aurora LNG has been listed on the CEAA data base of projects for British Columbia.

Information on the twin Aurora proposals can be found on the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office website:  (Grassy Point)   (Digby Island)

You can review more of our archive of items on Aurora's Grassy Point proposal here.