Happy Eras Day to those who celebrate.

The city is closing washrooms in Lheidli T’enneh Park, Carrie Jane and by the Duchess Park playground. I always find this bizarre because it’s not like people don’t use these parks in the winter, especially since the closures typically last through April, which means for five months a year there are no bathrooms at some of the city’s biggest parks. I honestly can’t imagine being a visitor to the city and having to go to the bathroom. We’re not alone with this problem but I always find it bizarre when people complain about feces and urine when there is so often literally no other option for people who don’t have access to their own home or business in the entire downtown area.

Kelowna is getting tiny homes and Prince George isn’t

I’m making note of this story about the city of Kelowna getting 120 tiny homes to respond to the city’s housing crisis for this reason:

It’s that second paragraph that caught me eye. Kelowna just signed this agreement and is already working with the province on tiny homes. Prince George signed on to this plan in June and ??? I honestly don’t know if anything has happened. In fact, the only thing I can think about hearing in regards to this is the province saying it had offered the city temporary shelters and not been taken up on them, even as it went ahead and demolished the Millennium Park encampment — a mystery made deeper because several city councillors said they had no idea such an offer had been made. The answer I got from the city at the time was “The City continues to look into this issue, and will issue a statement in due course” but I don’t know that such a staement has been issued?

Anyways, it’s interesting to me that the mayor of Prince George campaigned largely on a continued promise to build emergency shelters for homeless people in the city and so far Kelowna has gotten them and the province says Prince George turned down the offer.

Space things

There was a Reddit post last night asking about a set of evenly-spaced lights moving through the sky. According to this tracker it was likely StarLink satellites which we are slowly getting used to, I guess? I remember seeing them for the first time last year and having on idea what they were, either, which is why I assigned it as a news story.

But the Reddit poster says this isn’t what they saw so **cue X-Files theme**

In other space news, there will be a partial solar eclipse tomorrow. Southern B.C is supposed to have the best views, except it’s gonna be cloudy there while the forecast here is for mostly clear skies and the observatory is hosting a viewing party at 8:13 a.m to just after 10.

Quick news:

• The downtown McDonald’s is investigating after the Citizen reported a man in medical distress asked for an ambulance to be called and was told it wasn’t store policy.

• No charges against Prince George, B.C., Mountie over 2020 death of Indigenous man.

• The mayor has issued a statement on the situation in the Middle East.

• UNBC is again ranked #2 for small universities in Canada by Maclean’s magazine.

• The Northern Undergraduate Student Society at UNBC is among the organizations getting new provincial funding for food banks.

• That suspicious incident at College Heights yesterday turned out to not be suspicious.

• Vanderhoof RCMP searching for missing woman.

• A fatal crash cut off Highway 97 south yesterday morning.

• Prince George's most expensive house listed at $2.8 million. Spoiler: It’s in North Nechako.

• The library book fair is this weekend.

• Dates have been set for the Festival of Trees.

• Monday’s council agenda is out.

• Look at this big ol’ pigeon I saw yesterday:

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