Why aren't there more bike racks in downtown Primce George?

I find stories like this to be an interesting challenge: it’s an issue that affects people’s lives, but it can be so easy to present in a boring way. I was happy with how much people engaged in this piece.

May 30, 2014

Bike Racks

CBC Radio had some technical difficulties today, causing it to loop a short clip of audio again and again and again. I recorded as many feeds as I could and put them together with the song "all" by Soundcloud user @eauxbleek. 

Technical Difficulties - CBC Radio vs eauxbleek "That's It" remix

From suspicious chemical to Communist plot to the current referendum to have it removed from Prince George taps, fluoride has been a source of controversy for over fifty years.

Explore more: http://bit.ly/1wYbuFe

Something In The Water: Fluoride from Communism to conspiracy

Part of the special series, "At Home in the Hood": http://www.cbc.ca/daybreaknorth/at-home-in-the-hood-stories-from-prince-georges-inner-city-vla-neighborhood.html

The VLA neighbourhood of Prince George was originally built to provide affordable housing for World War II veterans. 
Today, it has a reputation for crime and poverty. In order to understand the hood, you have to understand your history- so we get a little help from two students at UNBC who have been researching the area's history: Lisa Krebs and Willow Arune. They take us from the burning of First Nations village to the end of World War II, right up to the end of a once-thriving neighbourhood on the banks of the Nechako River. And we find out why it's called the VLA.

A Brief History Of The VLA

March 6, 2015 is the 100th anniversary of the city of Prince George. I'm happy to celebrate, but I also think it's important to reflect on how we got here. An important part of the story is what happened to the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation in order to make way for the city: the burning of their village and their removal to the reserve of Shelley, on the outskirts of town.

This track is an expansion of the A Tribe Called Red song "Burn Your Village to the Ground". All the music, as well as the monologue in the middle (an excerpt from the movie Addams Family Values), is part of the original track.

I've added portions of interviews with land use planner Lisa Krebs and Lheidli T'enneh band member Rena Zatorski about the burning of the Lheidli village prior to that monologue, and the second half includes clips from stories on missing and murdered women and residential schools from northern British Columbia. The final words are from Lheidli elder Edi Frederick welcoming everyone to the traditional lands of the Lhedli T'enneh.

The goal is to shine a light on the complicated history surrounding the creation and ongoing existence of Prince George, and make us think about how best to move in to the future together.

Credits:
Music and Addams Family sample: A Tribe Called Red (atribecalledred.com)
History of Lheidli, Truth and Reconciliation, and first missing and murdered women audio clip: Betsy Trumpener, additional audio from my own archives
Image source: lheidli2015.ca

Burn Your Village to the Ground - 100 Years Since Lheidli

The story of how professors and students at the University of Northern British Columbia banded together to save their copy services.

#ISupportBarry

In 2007, the city of Toronto changed the design of its street signs. From now on, they would be dark blue in the middle, with the street name in bright, white letters. The new signs were bigger, clearer and easier to read, but they also stirred up old resentments.

Just ten years earlier, six cities had been swallowed up to create this new, bigger version of Toronto and street signs were one way for neighbourhoods to hold on to their distinct identity. And so exceptions were made - for historic communities, old neighbourhoods, and for streets signs written in multiple languages.

The decision speaks to the power of street signs to identify not just where we are-- but who we are.

Signs

My parents live near a champion arm wrestler. Later, I found out that he was training a guy I went to high school with in how to be a competitive arm wrestler. When I found out that <i>he</i> was headed to the world championships after a few successful national runs, I went to find out what it takes to be one of Canada's top arm wrestlers. It was a fascinating interview, learning about all the strategy involved and how it's treated differently in different countries. The sound was a bit off since we were moving around during the interview, so I added a musical bed underneath that I found using a creative commons search on Soundcloud for things similar to the "Rocky" theme. If you're interested, it's a <a href="http://soundcloud.com/stormcat/durandal-theme-stormcat-extended-mix">remix of the Duranandal theme</a> by a talented artist out of Nevada (where the world championships are being held!) going by the moniker of "<a href="http://soundcloud.com/stormcat">Stormcat</a>."



This originally aired on November 7, 2010.

Prince George's Best Arm Wrestler

For a contest at CBC, we're asking people to share their favourite holiday memories. To get things going, the staff have recorded some of theirs. Here's mine. The song is <a href="http://soundcloud.com/fco_rmz/03-jinge-bells-8bit-version">8-bit Jingle Bells</a>, uploaded by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/fco_rmz">foc_rmz</a>.

My Favourite Holiday Memory

Greatest hits: http://soundcloud.com/akurjata/sets/sampler

Deep cuts: http://audio.andrewkurjata.ca

Mixtapes: http://andrewkurjata.ca/mixtapes

Andrew Kurjata

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