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It is truly a sad day for us here at the Prince George Free Press, and for the community of Prince George. As of May 1, the Prince George Free Press will cease publishing. The first issue of the Free Press hit the streets on October 31, 1994 and the last issue today, May 1, 2015 … just over 20 years of telling the stories of Prince George. But it’s sad for the community as well. Two newspapers is good for a community. Having two newspapers provides readers with different perspectives on the...

Back before computers ruled the day in newspaper offices, reporters would type -30- at the end of each story. It was done to inform the typesetters that they had reached the end of the story. Well … this is the end. Friday is the final issue of the Prince George Free Press. Aberdeen Publishing owner Bob Doull announced to staff Thursday that the Free Press will cease publishing as of May 1. The reason? Declining revenues. “It’s not the fault of anyone at the paper,” he said. “We had...

  A proposal to turn the parking lot behind the Wood Innovation and Design Centre isn’t sitting too well with at least one downtown businessman. “Is this what we want to spend our money on?” said Barry Libby, owner of Final Chapter Books. “Shouldn’t the public have some say?” The $750,000 proposal, designed by van der Zalm and Associates Inc. from Langley, would see the area mid-block between Fourth and Fifth Avenue, and between George and Dominion Street become a park and transit...

The city has been busy filling more potholes that usual this year, and spending more money to do so. In 2012 the city spent $107,257 on cold-patching potholes, in 2013 it spend $165,600, and in 2014 $294,337. “The cost of having spent $142,820 in just the first two months of 2015 raises concern that pothole repairs are on track to surpassing the cost of repairs in 2014, which was the highest in the last six years,” according to report submitted to council Monday. In addition, as more spent...

Mayor Lyn Hall is right when he says that the city is in a precarious situation when it comes to the farmer’s market foofaraw. No one can fault city council for not wanting to play referee in a dispute that is deep-rooted (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun) and has seen a lot of bad blood between the two groups. It’s not the city’s job to iron out the mess. That would hold true if the city wasn’t forcing the issue between the two groups. Council, following up on a myPG ‘visioning’ session, has...

With both Victoria and Ottawa pondering the value of the B.C. Treaty Commission process and last year’s Tsilqot’in Supreme Court decision, one thing is certain, the issue of land claims won’t go away. In addition, dealing with First Nations in an open, up-front way will get results. That was the message given by a couple of First Nations leaders at the Council of Forest Industries convention in Prince George on Wednesday. “The courts bring us victories,” said Dallas Smith, President and...

The province has tabled a balanced budget. But what does that really mean for ordinary families?. According to NDP leader John Horgan, it means the middle class in British Columbia is getting squeezed, while the top two per cent of income earners in the province get a tax break. “They’ve taken $700 million in new fees and taxes from regular people through ICBC increases, Hydro increases, Medical Services Premium increases, camping fee increases, and the list goes on and on,” he said...

Kerry-Lynne Findlay is proud of a pair of golden scissors that sit on her desk. The scissors come from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and are in recognition of the federal government’s efforts to cut red tape for small business. Findlay is the minister of national revenue and so much of her work is spent trying to eliminate red tape. “Red tape, as the prime minister has said, is the silent killer of jobs, we know that,” Findlay said during stop at the Prince George Chamber...