THE FREE PRESS NEWS ’FEBRUARY'20, 2000*1 *'» CUPE looking for mediator with city A mediator might be appointed as early as next week to try to help resolve an impasse in contract negotiations between the City of Prince George and its workers. An application to the Labour Relations Board for a mediator was being made Friday, confirms Kathleen Soltis, director of corporate services for the City. She says mediators are typically appointed quickly. In a joint new release, the City and locals 399 and 1048 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees say they’re prepared to enter mediation. They say they hope to resume talks next week. Outstanding issues include job security, benefits and wages. About 400 CUPE members work for the City, says Ms. Soltis. Local 399 represents outside workers who perform duties such as snow removal and gardening. Inside workers are represented by Local 1048. The previous two-year deal covering both locals expired December 31, says Ms. Soltis, adding that the City's CUPE workers have never gone on strike. Alarm finds drugs A residential alarm on Thursday night has put two city man in court facing drugs charges. The RCMP was called to an alarm at a house in the 9500 Block of Wansa Road shortly before 8 p.m. When the dog handler got there, he came across a marijuana grow operation in full swing. Members of the RCMP’s Task Force came onto the scene with a warrant and searched the house. Inside, they found roughly 170 marijuana plants in the basement. Two city men, both 41 years of age, are Short STORIES facing charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. They have been released from police custody and will appear in court at some later, as yet unspecified, date. Real estate still slow Sales remain slow in the northern half of the province, confirms the president of the B.C. Northern Real Estate Association. A total of 142 units, mostly residential, were sold in the region in January, says Judy Gaboury in Prince George. That’s down from 151 the previous January in an area that stretches from Prince Rupert to Alberta and from 100 Mile House to Fort Nelson. The total of the sales was $14 million, she says, down from $17 million a year earlier. Not that it’s much comfort, but the region was one of eight among the province’s 12 areas that had a modest drop in sales from the previous January, the B.C. Real Estate Association says. Provincial residential sales through the Multiple Listing Service fell from 2,896 to 2,437. Ms. Gaboury cites the ongoing economic slump in northern B.C., although she senses increasing optimism in her travels. “I think there’s increased activity,” she says, while admitting it hasn’t translated yet into an increase in sales. Sale prices remain the lowest they’ve been in years, she says, adding that they’re 10 to 15 per cent lower in northern B.C. than a year ago. 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