CBC star to host U.S. reality show /16
TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2006

Military defends training of reservist killed in action /6

Olson prepares for parole hearing /5

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Downtown condo development wins council's approval
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff City council approved a development variance permit for the first phase of the Metropolis condominium project slated for downtown Prince George and got a closer look at what's planned in the process. According to a staff report, the first phase will consist of 16 residential units and five street-level commercial locations at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Quebec Street. The exterior facade will consist of stucco in a range of colours -- yellow, blue, brown and grey -- and wood, possibly from beetle-killed pine -- will be incorporated into the balconies overlooking the streets. Amenities will include an open plaza, clubhouse, gym and 21 parking spaces for the building tenants, although they are not required by city bylaw. Landscaping in the open plaza will consist of trees, benches, sculptures and open areas. Each of the residential units will cover about 1,450 square feet and will include hardwood flooring and granite countertops. And the main floor in each unit will have an option wall to convert a portion into an additional bedroom or study area. The city's advisory design panel "was very pleased with the design of the project." according to the report. The project's San Francisco-based developer and architect, Yves Ghiai, has said he wants 70 per cent of the units presold before construction can start. But he has also announced intentions to build a further 16-unit complex, along with a boutique hotel, on the same property As well, Ghiai has said he intends to build 65 rental apartments, geared to university students and academics, on Second Avenue between Dominion and Quebec streets near UNBC's downtown campus in the former BMO Bank of Montreal building. The project is being regarded as the catalyst to get the city's downtown back on its feet. Breathing new life into the area can't begin until there are people living in the area, it's been argued. Ghiai was applying for a variance that would allow him not to build loading spaces on the site. Council was told it would mean the sacrifice of one to two spaces out on the street but that would be more than made up by the 21 spaces on the property itself.

Transit numbers soaring
by MARK NIELSEN Citizen staff Riding the bus is getting significantly more popular in Prince George. The system took on 163,000 more passengers during the 2005-06 fiscal year, according to numbers released Monday by B.C. Transit, a whopping 18-per-cent increase. Transit analyst Warren Hall credited a series of small improvements yielding large jumps in the number of riders. "Every time you make a better connection or a couple better connections, it just makes a huge difference to the service," Hall said. "People can get somewhere faster and have more options." The most important improvement was to introduce the UNBC/15th Ave. bus, which travels directly between UNBC and downtown via 15th Avenue instead of detouring through Spruceland Mall and Pine Centre Mall as was previously the case. "Now, that bus has 50-some people per hour, it's just exceptional ridership and it's the number one bus on the whole system," Hall said. "It also connects perfectly with the Heritage bus -- there are lots of students who live in the Heritage area as well -- so, Heritage has the second-best ridership in the system. "It was a matter of making things a little quicker. You can go anywhere, usually with one connection, fairly quickly now." In all 1,072,807 rides were taken on the transit system during 2005-06 -- and Hall expects this year's total to come close to 1.2 million because the system is averaging 10 per cent more per month over last year. "It was only a few years ago that we used to get calls from people saying that they didn't like seeing the empty buses driving around and we never, ever get those calls anymore," Hall said. "Now, we get calls about buses being overloaded. You don't drive by a bus stop in Prince George, it seems to me, without people ready to pick up a bus. "It's just a totally different environment." Come September, Hall said there will be a Sunday service for more than half the routes, from just about 10 a.m. to a little after 5 p.m. A handyDART service will also be available on Sundays.

Fire danger dropping
by STEPHANIE MORGAN Citizen staff With lower temperatures and more rain, the fire rating has dropped across the Prince George Fire Centre. "It certainly is helping reduce fire activity and helping our crews to continue to work on fires," said Barbara Durau, fire information officer. "The more precipitation we receive will assist in reducing the fire danger rating. However, it will take a large amount of precipitation to bring the danger rating down in areas that are (considered) high." There were 43 spot fires started over the weekend, with the largest fire at around one hectare. Each fire was caused by lightning. That compares with the 70 spot fires that were started by lightning on July 3. The fire danger rating ranges from high and extreme in the southern part of the Centre (the lower half of the Mackenzie zone, Peace River area, southern half of Fort St. James zone and much of the Vanderhoof and Prince George zones), to low in the northern areas around Fort Nelson. Durau stated that the remaining areas are moderate. "The evacuation alerts that were in place for the Wonowon area have been rescinded. The Wapiti Forest Service Road and Rat Lake Road restrictions have been rescinded (though) portions of the Hourglass Road are still designated a restricted area." Although the weather has been wetter, all bans are still in effect for campfires, backyard and industrial burning. If a wildfire is spotted report it to 1-800-663-5555 or *5555 on most cellular networks.

Citizen photo by Brent Braaten

BRICK BY BRICK -- Bricklayers from Zettle Masonry work Monday on the outside of the Teaching and Learning Centre under construction at UNBC.

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Nix lumber deal, go back Turnout pleases to court, NDP critic says Pride organizers
by GORDON HOEKSTRA "I think provincially (Premier GorCitizen staff don) Campbell needs to stand up and Even if B.C. was to secure all four of go toe-to-toe at the political level with its demands to support a softwood (International Trade Minister David) lumber agreement between Canada Emerson and (Prime Minister and the U.S., it would still be a "terriStephen) Harper with the position ble" deal, says NDP forestry critic Bob that there isn't a deal to be salvaged Simpson. here, and it's time to go back to supIt's a point being lost in the increasporting industry on litigation," said ing criticism over an agreement alSimpson, the NDP MLA for Cariboo ready signed by Canada, Simpson said North. Monday. The deal was initialed on JuThe B.C. Liberal government has SIMPSON ly 1, and criticism has been mounting said several demands must be met in since. order for the province to support the agree"Concessions don't fix the worst aspects of the ment. Forests Minister Rich Coleman has noted deal," said Simpson, a former forestry executive that enough producers in the province oppose from Quesnel, who has been a vocal critic of the deal to block it. That's possible because the the agreement. deal needs the compliance of companies comHe said the running rules and treatment of prising at least 95 per cent of tariffs on deposit lumber remanufacturers make the deal unten- with the U.S. able. Simpson added the deal will be more unCompanies must also drop their legal cases. palatable as the lumber markets in the U.S. Companies like Canfor, Pope & Talbot and soften. He predicted that Canadian companies Weyerhaeuser support the deal, while West will be paying export taxes of 15 per cent under Fraser, Tolko, and Western Forest Products are one of the options before the end of the year. opposed. Tariffs in place now are 11 per cent. During negotiations in the past two months, Simpson says, instead, Canada should return B.C. did get recognition that its market-based to its legal fight where it has won a number of pricing system, introduced in the Interior on significant victories and is poised to win more. July 1, does not constitute circumvention of the There's a critical U.S. International Court of agreement. Trade ruling expected soon. -- See ASSOCIATIONS on page 3 by STEPHANIE MORGAN Citizen staff This year's gay pride event was the most successful ever, according to organizers. "It was phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal," said Valentine Crawford, committee chair of Pride Prince George. This year marked the 10 annual Pride festival, and instead of being the typical three day event, it was extended into a week-long celebration. The event was also changed to July from August. Events included a parade, dance, drag show and two separate movie nights. "We've seen a growth in the parade. The drag show itself pulled in just over 170 people, which is a big jump from last year. It was a great success," Crawford said. Another major draw came with the "Embracing The Future With Pride" dance, which drew in almost 200 people. New faces also appeared at the festivities. "We talked to a few people that we've never seen before." Crawford mentioned this may have had something to do with the intervention of the Vancouver Pride Society, who were up during the beginning of the week to help the newer society with its events. Overall, Crawford said the events went "better than expected."

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INDEX
Annie's Mailbox . . . . . . . . . 16 Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Business . . . . . . . . . . . .22-24 City, B.C. . . . . . . . . . . 3,5,6,13 Classifi ed . . . . . . . . . . . 18-21 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . 16 Horoscope . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12 World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,15

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