I'm sorry for keeping everyone out of the loop. About two months ago, with one day's notice, I got an editor/reporter/photographer job at the Lake Cowichan Gazette, a small community paper on Vancouver Island. Until now, I haven't had access to this website.
While I'd originally intended to keep the website going, in addition to a few special projects I'd already begun work on, the opportunity to actually get paid (in non-negative dollars) for journalism was too good an offer to pass up. The six years I spent in Prince George, interrupted by a year in Saskatchewan in there somewhere, and the eight months I spent working on Cutbanks in particular, was a very fulfilling time. Thank you everyone for your support.
I will keep this website here until the domain name runs out in a few months' time. If anyone is interested in picking up where Cutbanks left off, please e-mail me at pgculture@hotmail.com and I'll show you the ropes.
For now, check out Rob Budde, Jeremy Stewart, and other's new magazine, Dreamland. Go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=114070768623681&ref=ts  for more information. It looks like it'll be an interesting project, indeed.

Thank you again everyone for the support. It was fun, and I wish it'd lasted longer.

-Tyler Clarke
Cutbanks owner, now the editor of the Lake Cowichan Gazette;
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/lakecowichangazette/

Former local musician Scott Dunbar, who has since relocated to Montreal, recorded a couple of music videos in Montreal about six months ago, and the bootleg of Dunbar performing the Michael Jackson Billy Jean on the streets of Montreal have hit 670,000 views.



Click on the image to view Dunbar's music videos...

     There might be toxic levels of formaldehyde in Prince George’s air, at levels estimated to be 20 times over the BC action level, but no one knows for sure. Despite having collected air samples in the Millar Addition area with high levels of formaldehyde about 10 months ago, retesting to determine whether or not these samples were a fluke have yet to take place.
    President of PG Air George Stedeford offered local residents an apology for this inaction during a public meeting organized by PACHA on Wednesday March 10 at the Sacred Heart School auditorium in the Millar Addition, telling residents that although he doesn’t know why retesting didn’t take place, they should have.
    “PG Air apologizes for the fact that in 09 we didn’t jump out and get more samples,” he conceded.

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    Jezebel’s Jam, the annual celebration of local talented women took place March 8 at Art Space, the venue above Books and Company on Third Avenue downtown, to a respectable-sized supportive audience.
    Emceed by the awkwardly humorous Melanie Setter who provided information about various female-centred services available in town, such as the Women’s Centre at UNBC and the Phoenix Transition Society, the event proved to be both an entertaining and informative evening.
    UNBC Social Work professor Si Transken provided the audience with a snapshot into her feminist mind. Citing feminist anarchist Emma Goldman, Transken said “Emma is my spiritual mother… Sometimes when I’m having a terrible time with Gordon Campbell… is that a curse word? … and Stephen Harper – when they cut funding and subsidized housing – I think of Emma.”

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     Two Rivers Gallery is hosting the 3rd annual Live Art Auction in Prince George on Saturday March 20th @ 7.30.  The auction boasts 25 pieces of original art donated by artists from across Canada.  The evening’s entertainment includes live music, drinks, hors d’oeuvres, a treasure trove of cultural experiences in the silent auction with the Live Art Auction itself starting at 8.30.  The evening closes with the drawing of the door prize draw donated by Darrell Hubbell of Hubbell Designer Goldsmiths. 
    The Live Art Auction of drawings, paintings, photography, felted work as well as jewellery is a generous body of original artworks donated by artists that have an exhibition record with Two Rivers Gallery and are more than pleased to support the Gallery’s fundraising efforts.  The Live Art Auction preview can be previewed in the Rustad Galleria until March 19th .

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The Coldsnap Music Festival is one of many local arts-related things in town that faces a massive budget cut this coming year – with its entire budget cut.
Previously, as festival organizer Jo Beattie clarifies, the city has always supported the festival, consistently sponsoring $5 thousand of the $10 thousand they typically request. The funds came from a festival grant the city created, which they’ve decided to cancel this year.
“It’s a very foolish decision, to stop supporting it,” Jo Beattie said, adding that this year’s successful sold-out festival is evidence of its support from the community.

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