Parksville city council has approved an advance of levy funding to the Parksville Downtown Business Association. The association’s executive director, Teresa Cooper, and treasurer Michelle Jones highlighted the growth the association has seen and its plans for the future at Monday’s council meeting. There are currently 257 businesses in downtown Parksville and approximately 1,500 people work there. The association asked council for an advance amount of $50,000 from the levy funding so they can s...
Mar 19, 2024•4 min
At a Regional District of Nanaimo, or RDN, board meeting on Tuesday, March 13, directors voted to defer a motion that would have seen a four per cent increase to curbside collection utility fees. Curbside garbage and recycling pick up is mandatory for all residential properties containing up to four dwelling units in the RDN. This service is also optional for eligible bare land strata and townhouse complexes. A report by the RDN, said currently approximately 30,000 households fall into the servi...
Mar 15, 2024•4 min
A dam safety engineer told Nanaimo city council that there would be serious consequences if dams the city owns and maintains were to fail. Dave Bonin, a senior hydrotechnical engineer with Hatch Ltd. presented at Monday’s governance and priorities committee meeting that he is concerned that at least two of the city’s dams could fail if an earthquake hit. Support local news reporting through our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month . Want more news on the Sal...
Mar 15, 2024•4 min
At a Regional District of Nanaimo, or RDN, board meeting on Tuesday, March 13, directors voted to defer a motion that would have seen a four per cent increase to curbside collection utility fees. Support local news reporting through our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month. Want more news on the Salish Sea? Check out Midcoast Morning . ★ Support this podcast ★...
Mar 14, 2024•5 min
Utility boxes around the Ladysmith area are getting a new look. Ladysmith council passed a motion at its meeting on Tuesday, March 5 for staff to recommend designs and locations to wrap utility boxes. The designs could include archival photographs, Indigenous cultural designs or artistic designs for up to 15 utility boxes. Councillor Duck Paterson suggested one idea of what could be featured in the designs. “I think it's a fantastic idea, and would help brighten up this vibrant community,” Pater...
Mar 12, 2024•3 min
A proposal for school children to help clean up an empty lot led to a heated debate at the Lantzville council meeting on Wednesday, March 6. The original motion was for district staff to develop a work plan and agreement with Seaview Elementary School to restore 7101 Stevens Place to a natural park space, have city staff remove all the invasive blackberry bushes, and allocate $2,500 to purchase native plants. Support local news reporting through our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining d...
Mar 12, 2024•5 min
Leader of the federal NDP, Jagmeet Singh stopped by Nanaimo on Friday, March 8. He and Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Lisa Marie Barron spent some time volunteering at Loaves’ & Fishes free food market. Support local news reporting through our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month . Want more news on the Salish Sea? Find more news from our Nonprofit Newsroom with our local news updates and Midcoast Morning . ★ Support this podcast ★...
Mar 09, 2024•4 min
Another local environmental group has spoken to their town council about the potential impacts of recent changes to B.C.’s Local Government Act could have on urban forests in the community. Bill 44 amended the law to allow fourplexes to be built on any property within a municipality’s urban containment zone, and six plexes near transit hubs. At a Comox town council meeting on March 6, Mel McLauchlin from Save Our Forest - Comox Valley spoke to council about his concerns that an increase in multi...
Mar 08, 2024•3 min
Parksville city council voted to defer a motion that could have seen an Official Community Plan, (OCP) bylaw amendment to limit multi-unit developments along the Englishman River. ★ Support this podcast ★
Mar 06, 2024•5 min
A new building of micro rental suites ranging from 323 to 366 square feet is coming to downtown Nanaimo after city council approved a development permit for a five-storey, 31-unit building at 337 Robson Street. ★ Support this podcast ★
Mar 06, 2024•2 min
Nanaimo city council is asking the provincial and federal government to help preserve the unique ecosystem in Harewood Plains. The city has received a subdivision and development permit application for the land, which includes dedicating five per cent of the land as park space and a no-build, no disturbance covenant on a section of the land that has been designated as an environmentally sensitive area. Support local news reporting through our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation...
Mar 06, 2024•5 min
The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) has approved a new health and wellness service for Gabriola Island. This comes after an Alternative Approval Process (AAP), for the new service only received 101 forms in opposition to it. Support local news reporting through our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month . Want more news on the Salish Sea? Find more news from our Nonprofit Newsroom with our local news updates and Midcoast Morning . ★ Support this podcast ★...
Mar 01, 2024•4 min
According to a report by Third Space Planning, short term rentals in Qualicum Beach are harming the local housing and rental markets and making life less affordable. Eric Swanson from Third Space Planning presented the findings to the town council on February 28. Support local news reporting through our Nonprofit Newsroom with a monthly sustaining donation of $5 to $10 a month . Want more news on the Salish Sea? Find more news from our Nonprofit Newsroom with our local news updates and Midcoast ...
Mar 01, 2024•3 min
Currently, it is illegal for RCMP to enforce school zone speed limits at many schools in the city as the “roads do not abut the school building or school grounds,” per a report by city staff. According to the report, if a school’s property line is over 50 meters from the street, the school is not considered to be adjacent to that street and the school zone speed is unenforceable Staff recommended that council repeal the existing school zone policy and adopt a new one that follows provincial law ...
Feb 29, 2024•4 min
BC’s minimum wage will be increasing from $16.75 to $17.40 an hour on June 1st. The province also introduced legislation that would tie future increases to the minimum wage to inflation. Alternate minimum rates for residential caretakers, live-in home-support workers and camp leaders will also receive a 3.9 per cent increase on June 1st, and the minimum agricultural piece rates will see the same percentage increase on December 31st. Anastasia French is the provincial manager for Living Wage for ...
Feb 28, 2024•4 min
On February 21, Parksville city council voted to move ahead with an application to allow the development of a non-market rental building at 1225 Franklin Gulls Road by the Parksville Lions Society. The land for the development is a city-owned lot and the plans are for a four-storey 36 unit rental apartment building with 18 one-bedroom, 15, two-bedroom and three three-bedroom apartments. According to Councillor Mary Beil, the city will continue to own the land but lease it to the Lions Housing So...
Feb 28, 2024•4 min
Although the winter weather is still in the air, the Village of Cumberland is already looking forward to their annual summer concert series — and the noise it may bring. A motion was brought to the Cumberland Village Council meeting on February 27th, for an exemption to the Noise Control Bylaw from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday evenings from July to August. This would allow for their Summer Concert Series performances that take place in the Village Square to run later into the night. Ryan Part...
Feb 27, 2024•3 min
Paul Manly, executive director of the Naniamo Unitarian Shelter, is speaking out after a 23-year old woman named Sophia — who worked at the shelter — died after struggling to access primary care. “She was a real rising star young, 23 years old when she died. Just very bright, and, and very compassionate, and dedicated to her work,” he said. “She was really well liked by other staff and guests at the shelter.” Sophia had been on a medical leave of absense from work when Manly heard from her mothe...
Feb 24, 2024•4 min
The biggest francophone celebration on Vancouver Island kicks off in Nanaimo tonight. The three-day event is to celebrate French culture, language, food and music. The Maple Sugar Festival is the biggest celebration the Nanaimo Francophone Association puts on every year. Pauline Maerten is the cultural and administrative coordinator for the Nanaimo Francophone Association. Maerten said the association is a meeting place for the French community in Nanaimo. They host various French cultural activ...
Feb 24, 2024•6 min
Nanaimo’s Seventh Street Pump Station is getting an early upgrade after heavy rains in November 2021 overwhelmed the system. During the atmospheric river event, both of the system's pumps had to operate at the same time, meaning if one failed, sewers in the area could have overflowed. At the city’s finance and audit committee meeting on February 20, Bill Sims, general manager for engineering and public works, said the budget for the project this year needs to increase by $450,000 from $573,887 t...
Feb 23, 2024•2 min
Registration has opened for Inclusion BC’s Everybody Belongs! Conference that will be held in Nanaimo this spring. The conference connects participants to the latest information and resources on inclusion and diversity. The conference will be held from May 30th to June first at the Vancouver Island Conference Center, in downtown Nanaimo. This year it will be held in partnership with the Nanaimo Association for Community Living, and the Clay Tree Society. Karla Verschoor is the executive director...
Feb 23, 2024•6 min
As the provincial election approaches in October, Elections BC has a new tool to help voters find what electoral district they are in. The Elections BC website now has a search bar where people can type their address and it will show what riding you are in and what the boundaries of it are. This year, British Columbia will have 93 electoral districts, up from 87, as the province’s population continues to increase. Not only will there be six more ridings, other ridings have been redrawn, in order...
Feb 22, 2024•4 min
Registration has opened for Inclusion BC’s Everybody Belongs! Conference that will be held in Nanaimo this spring. The conference connects participants to the latest information and resources on inclusion and diversity. The conference will be held from May 30th to June first at the Vancouver Island Conference Center, in downtown Nanaimo. This year it will be held in partnership with the Nanaimo Association for Community Living, and the Clay Tree Society. Karla Verschoor is the executive director...
Feb 21, 2024•4 min
Chocolate can be one of the sweetest gifts to give the person you love for Valentine's Day, and student Grace Poirier knows a thing or two about chocolate. The second-year Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bakery and Pastry Arts student has recently returned from Europe after a school field trip with seven of her classmates. But on this trip, Poirier got a special opportunity to learn the secrets behind chocolate and create her very own. This came after a contest that was held among the students...
Feb 16, 2024•5 min
The RDN board was debating developing a regional strategy for net zero buildings and localized energy generation. “At the risk of offending every true climate believer I think the whole climate thing is a bit of a fiasco,” he said. “We've been facing this global warming thing now for 45 years and it's not happening.” As the alternate director, Fell attends RDN board meetings when Area F director Leanne Salter is unable to. Fell then argued that the science that carbon dioxide emissions affect th...
Feb 16, 2024•5 min
Chocolate can be one of the sweetest gifts to give the person you love for Valentine's Day, and student Grace Poirier knows a thing or two about chocolate. The second-year Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bakery and Pastry Arts student has recently returned from Europe after a school field trip with seven of her classmates. But on this trip, Poirier got a special opportunity to learn the secrets behind chocolate and create her very own. This came after a contest that was held among the students...
Feb 14, 2024•4 min
Nanaimo city councillor Tyler Brown says he was threatened at a city council meeting on Monday, February 5. “I think what he was saying was we'd end up in a gas chamber,” Brown said. “Then, as another gentleman was leaving, I happened to just be getting up from my seat, and he basically just looked at me right in the face and said, ‘Watch your back Brown’.” Brown isn’t the only politician who has been threatened. On February 8, Premier David Eby said MLA Selina Robinson received a death threat ....
Feb 14, 2024•6 min
At a special council meeting on Monday, February 12 Nanaimo City Council voted to cancel a second Alternative Approval Process, or AAP, to take out a $48.5 million loan to rebuild the public works yard. The city made a fatal error when elector response forms were not available until a day after the official notice for the AAP was posted. According to a staff report, this error meant that the AAP did not meet the requirements of provincial legislation. Council also voted to abandon the borrowing ...
Feb 13, 2024•1 min
Sometimes laughter is the best medicine and a new laughter yoga class is finding new ways to help people destress and boost happiness. Crystal Lee, a certified laughter yoga leader and a career coach, has started offering laughter yoga classes in Nanaimo. She describes laughter yoga as a series of movements and breathing exercises designed to simulate laughter and cultivate an inner sense of joy. She first got into it 11 years ago when living in Vancouver. She said at the time several laughter c...
Feb 09, 2024•7 min
The City and Regional District of Nanaimo are looking for people to join the Acting for Climate Together program, or ACT, for a second year. Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog says that the program is part of a larger effort to reduce the impact of climate change. “Basically, we're saying to people get together, organize yourselves and do something that will have a positive impact on the environment,” he said. Past actions have included people participating in Earth Day events, Go by Bike Week, tree pla...
Feb 08, 2024•3 min
