Latest news with #SiteC
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BC Hydro says Site C dam near Fort St. John now fully operational
VICTORIA — BC Hydro says the Site C dam in northern B.C. is now fully operational after the sixth and final power-generating turbine has come online. The Crown corporation says in a statement released Saturday that the dam along the Peace River near Fort St. John will now be able to generate 1,100 megawatts of electricity -- enough electricity to power half a million homes per year. Adrian Dix, B.C.'s minister of energy and climate solutions, says this development means that "generations of of British Columbians will benefit from reliable and affordable clean electricity." With Site C now fully operational, it will serve BC Hydro customers for the next century, says Charlotte Mitha, BC Hydro president and chief executive officer. Construction of the controversial dam started in July 2015 under former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark, and continued under late NDP premier John Horgan, following a review of the project. With a final price tag of $16 billion, nearly double of its initial price tag, the dam is considered B.C.'s most expensive infrastructure project. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2025. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Vancouver Sun
28-07-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
David Eby threatens to step in if Metro Vancouver ducks external probe of huge sewage plant cost overrun
VICTORIA — Metro Vancouver's decision to delay a review of the $3-billion-overbudget North Shore wastewater treatment plant does not let the regional district off the hook on accountability to taxpayers, Premier David Eby said Monday. 'We're reviewing the decision of Metro Vancouver to delay doing a full review … that Metro had committed and promised to us that they would deliver,' the premier told reporters. 'We'll have a look at the justification for the (delay) decision. But the bottom line is that Metro Vancouver needs to ensure accountability for taxpayers and we'll make sure that happens.' A daily roundup of Opinion pieces from the Sun and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Informed Opinion will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The Metro board's rationale, announced Friday, was that it wanted first to resolve a lawsuit with the former contractor on the troubled project, which is now expected to cost nearly $4 billion. 'There are two obviously crucial values for taxpayers,' Eby conceded. 'One is to know that Metro Vancouver has the tools and the capacity to do and deal with big infrastructure projects and do it responsibly and in a way that minimizes costs for people at home. 'The other is that Metro Vancouver, if they were wronged by contracting companies, that they're able to recover in court and offset losses the taxpayers and all of us are facing as a result.' Metro chair Mike Hurley cited the latter consideration in explaining the board's decision, taken in private on Friday, to suspend the independent review. 'The board has decided the public interest is best served by resolving the legal dispute with the previous contractor before undertaking the review,' Hurley said by news release. Hurley had launched the independent review just five months ago, citing it as evidence of his commitment to transparency and accountability since he took over as Metro chair in July of last year. 'When I came in as the chair, I committed to bringing in an independent party to review the North Shore wastewater treatment plant,' said Hurley. 'We look forward to sharing the results of this work with the public once complete.' The lead reviewer was Peter Milburn, former deputy minister of finance in the B.C. government. Milburn reported on the overrun on the Site C project, which led to the budget being increased from $10.7 billion to $16 billion. Hurley announced the appointment of Milburn and his associates on Feb. 28. Then in April, Metro went to court to try to delay its two-way legal battle with Acciona, which the region's sewerage and drainage district terminated as contractor on the wastewater treatment plant three years ago. Acciona is claiming $250 million in damages over the termination. The regional district's counterclaim 'exceeds $1 billion,' court was told. The two sides were set to square off in B.C. Supreme Court starting on March 1, 2027. But Metro asked for the proceedings to be delayed to September 2028, a request that raised a judicial eyebrow with the presiding B.C. Supreme Court judge, Bruce Elwood. 'The district says in effect it cannot be ready for a trial in the one year and 10 months that remain before the trial date and that an adjournment of one and a half years is necessary to ensure that it receives a fair trial,' the judge observed. 'Three years have already passed since the termination of the project agreement, four to five and a half years since the events leading to the termination, six years since the project agreement was negotiated and 10 years since the procurement period commenced. 'If the trial is adjourned there will be a further 3½ delay before the witnesses can start to provide their testimony.' Though Metro asked for more time to process some four million documents produced by Acciona, the judge said the case is also dependent on the memories of dozens of witnesses whose testimony will be heard over an estimated 130 days of court time. Some key witnesses have moved away, others have retired and one has died. Instead of granting the lengthy delay, the judge urged Metro to put more staff to work on preparing for trial. The case is still set to go ahead March 1, 2027, well after next year's civic elections. But rumours persist that Metro is exploring an out-of-court settlement, probably including non-disclosure agreements for both sides. The Metro politicians have already gagged themselves by making decisions in private on this fiasco. Last year, they were sworn to secrecy on what their own internal reports said about the overrun. On Friday, they refused to disclose how individual board members voted on the decision to suspend the review. This week, a quartet of local political leaders — New Westminster Coun. Daniel Fontaine, Richmond's Kash Heed, Surrey's Linda Annis and Burnaby's Richard Lee — called on Eby to intervene with a review of his own. Eby hasn't ruled out the possibility. 'There's no question that work has to be done at Metro to get things under control and in hand,' he said last week. 'We're counting on the chair and the Metro Vancouver council to deliver that — and if they can't, the province is prepared to step in.' He should do just that, if Metro's pattern of delay and coverup persists. vpalmer@
Geek Tyrant
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH Behind-the-Scenes Footage Previews a Dinosaur-Fueled Survival Nightmare — GeekTyrant
Universal has released a thrilling behind-the-scenes look at Jurassic World: Rebirth , and if you thought this franchise had exhausted its supply of dinosaur chaos, think again. The footage teases a relentless survival story centered on the Delgado family, a group of unsuspecting civilians who stumble into the jaws of something much bigger than themselves. At the heart of the film is Site C, a brand-new location in the franchise's ever-growing mythos. But this isn't another Isla Nublar or Isla Sorna. Site C was InGen's dirty little secret—so hidden that not even most of the company knew it existed. This remote island wasn't built for tourists or attractions; it served as a shadowy testing ground for InGen's most extreme genetic experiments, including dinosaurs considered too aggressive, unstable, or unpredictable for any theme park setting. Basically, if Nublar was a zoo, Site C is a nightmare laboratory that nature itself rejected. The footage features the Delgado family, Reuben (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), Teresa (Luna Blaise), Isabella (Audrina Miranda), and Teresa's boyfriend Xavier Dobbs run into trouble at sea. A mosasaurus attack flips their sailboat and strands them in dangerous waters. Their story takes another sharp turn when they're rescued by Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali), two operatives aboard a submarine en route to Site C on a covert mission involving dinosaur DNA. In the film, 'The planet's ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. Those remaining exist in isolated equatorial environments with climates resembling the one in which they once thrived. 'The three most colossal creatures within that tropical biosphere hold the key to a drug that will bring miraculous life-saving benefits to humankind.' The director previously said that the movie is 'a giant love letter to Steven Spielberg and his earlier films. There are moments in this movie that remind me very much of Jaws. 'It's like little greatest hits of all those aspects of his films that I loved growing up as a child. It's essentially a little adventure odyssey across this island, a survival story, really.' The film is set five years after the events of Dominion , 'in which dinosaurs mingled with humans all over the globe, these creatures are now dying out. 'The present-day planet proved to be inhospitable to the prehistoric ilk, except for a small region in the tropics around the equator, where many of them now congregate. 'The three most colossal dinosaurs of land, sea, and air within this biosphere hold genetic material precious to a pharmaceutical company that hopes to use the dino DNA to create a life-saving drug for humanity.' The movie is in theaters now, and you should watch it!
News24
18-06-2025
- News24
Khayelitsha spaza shops reopen after extortionists agree not to increase fees
Foreign-owned spaza shops in Site C, Khayelitsha, reopened after extortionists agreed not to charged them increased protection fees. Shop owners say increased police visibility forced the extortionists to back off. The shop owners did not attend a Khayelitsha Community Policing Forum imbizo over the weekend. Increased police visibility in Khayelitsha has prompted extortionists to agree not to charge foreign-owned spaza shops increased protection fees, according to some shop owners. As a result, the spaza shops have reopened in Site C after a two-day shutdown. Police visibility was increased after the murder of three Somali nationals in Taiwan informal settlement last week. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the shop owners told News24 that they were forced to close their businesses after multiple extortion groups demanded increased protection fees. However, they said police visibility was increased in the area after the three murders, prompting the extortionists to agree not to increase their fees if the businesses reopened. 'The police were looking for them,' one shop owner told News24. 'So, the protection fee guys told us they'll decide who collects where and when. We cannot pay more than one group.' However, to add insult to injury, the shop owners pointed out that despite paying the fees, their safety wasn't guaranteed. 'Before, they used to help with unruly customers, robberies, even during community protests. Now, when there are robberies, they're nowhere to be found. If they really protected us, there wouldn't be so many gangs extorting us.' In an attempt to address the ongoing extortion crisis, the Khayelitsha Community Policing Forum (CPF) held an imbizo over the weekend. But none of the shop owners attended it, CPF chairperson Phindile George said. 'The community rather spoke about general crime, like robbery and gender-based violence. The shops had already reopened by then,' he said. Community activist Mbulelo Dwane also criticised the shopkeepers for not attending community safety meetings. 'They thought paying these 'boys' would keep them safe. Now the gangs have multiplied and spiralled out of control,' he added. Meanwhile, police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie urged shop owners to speak up. 'We cannot act unless these crimes are reported,' he said. News24 previously reported that residents said the resurgence of extortion networks was linked to the death of alleged gangster and taxi boss Yanga 'Bara' Nyalara. After Nyalara was killed in a shootout with police in the Eastern Cape in February, gangsters who previously fled from the Western Cape began to return, sparking a new wave of violence. Some of those who fled reportedly ended up in Gqeberha, where they allegedly joined or formed gangs.
