As the official end to winter draws nearer, there are certainly signs of spring in the air. How fortunately we are to live on the “wet” coast, compared to the fierce cold weather and piles of snow they have been experiencing back east. At least here the snow stays on the mountains, where it belongs.
I don’t know if by the time you read this column the big weather jackpot on 1130 AM radio will have been won, but it hit a record $10,000 (at time of writing). That doesn’t mean that weatherman Russ Lecate has been spot on with his daily predictions (he does get great leeway), it means that our climate is more consistent than we give it credit for. After all, who doesn’t like to complain about the weather?
So while the pot at the end of the rainbow continues building for one lucky listener, that other weather predictor – Mr. Groundhog – saw his shadow and that should mean an early spring. Hopefully it comes with lots of sunshine.
For me the sure signs of spring are the start of Major League Baseball training camps in Florida and Arizona, and local thoroughbred farms and the racetrack in Vancouver at Hastings gearing up for another season. Horse racing resumes there on Saturday, April 13 and continues until the Thanksgiving Day holiday Monday on October 14. There will be 69 live racing days to go along with the various simulcasts now being offered year-round.
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In the “it’s only going to get worse” category, gas prices continue to creep up and are passing the $1.40 mark in some areas.
Predictions are that the price at the pumps will continue to increase to $1.60 by holiday season when school is out. We are being robbed folks, and held hostage by a greedy industry and governments struggling to balance their budgets.
In doesn’t take a genius to figure out that with fuel efficient cars and better mileage, we are using less gas – which is a good thing.
But those gas companies like to make big profits and that means they will keep upping the prices to make up for it. And governments don’t mind because it means more revenues from gas taxes.
With people using the media to complain about the cost of transit and annoying bicycle lanes, it distracts from the real issue noted above.
The worse offender continues to be the federal government with it’s “tax on a tax”. And it won’t be going away anytime soon because they never get the blame!
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Easter comes early this year at the end of March, so some schools are taking extended spring breaks which will run into Good Friday. Unfortunately there are no uniform dates from school district to school district, so be extra careful out there when driving near parks and schools.
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FINAL NOTE: As we move through the Year of the Snake, always watch your step – especially in business deals. The snake has cunning and wise characteristics so it should always be “buyer beware”.