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Nanaimo, Parksville and Area

invasive species
Crews destroy invasive species from pristine island off Nanoose Bay
NANOOSE BAY - An extensive volunteer effort freed an island BC Parks day-use site of damaging invasive plant species recently. Between April 11 and 14, BC Marine Trails (BCMT) volunteers paddled to the 12 hectare Gerald Island to remove English Ivy, according to a news release from the organization. "...originally...
19h ago
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whale rescue
Bigger boats, more nets, people arrive in Zeballos for new orca rescue attempt
ZEBALLOS, B.C. - A large seine fishing vessel capable of casting a net strong enough to hold a nearly 700-kilogram killer whale calf has arrived in Zeballos, B.C., to participate in the latest attempt to rescue the young orca stranded in a remote tidal lagoon. The flat-bottom aluminum vessel has a built-in crane-like d...
22h ago
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high profile development
Howard Johnson rezoning still supported amid 'significant concerns' from SFN
NANAIMO - A proposed development at the gateway of the city's downtown is back to where it was earlier this year, despite continued objections from Snuneymuxw First Nation (SFN).Re-zoning of the former Howard Johnson Hotel site across multiple lots on Comox Rd., Mill St., and Terminal Ave. again passed third reading af...
Apr 19, 2024
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closing arguments
Crown refutes self-defence claims for Nanaimo woman on trial for murder/dismembering ex-boyfriend
Editor's note: This story contains graphic details which may disturb some readers. Discretion is advised. VANCOUVER - No other options were available to a woman who smashed her estranged boyfriend's head with a hammer as he slept face down and slit his throat, according to her lawyer. Acknowledging his client killed he...
Apr 19, 2024
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rental rules
Thousands of short-term rentals go back to long-term May 1: B.C. government
LANGLEY, B.C. - British Columbia Premier David Eby says his government is tilting the rules towards families who need a home, and speculators should invest in that instead of short-term rentals and houses to flip. Eby made his comments today in advance of the rule changes on May 1 that limit short-term rental units to ...
Apr 18, 2024
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sweet sounds
Nanaimo woman tries to coax trapped killer calf out of tidal lagoon with her violin
A Nanaimo woman says she is serenading a killer whale calf with her violin, hoping to entice the orca to leave the remote lagoon where she has been trapped alone for almost four weeks. Carol Love says she is watching the tides at the Vancouver Island lagoon and will be playing the violin at every high tide to entice th...
Apr 18, 2024
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British Columbia

First Nation solar farm in B.C. expected to save 1.1 million litres of diesel a year
ANAHIM LAKE, B.C. - A First Nation in central British Columbia will build what the federal government says will likely be the largest off-grid solar project in Canada. Nearly $16 million in federal and provincial funding is going toward the solar farm in Anahim Lake, home to the Ulkatcho First Nation, where power is cu...
15h ago
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Lululemon cutting over 100 jobs in Washington distribution centre closure
VANCOUVER - Lululemon Athletica Inc. says it is cutting more than 100 jobs as it plans to close a distribution centre in Washington state. It says some employees at the Sumner, Wash. centre will be retrained and relocated to other facilities, but that "just over" 100 positions with be eliminated because of th...
15h ago
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Polish leader tells B.C. audience NATO allies need to spend more on defence
VANCOUVER - Poland's president says members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, including Canada, must raise defence spending to three per cent of GDP to deter Russia's war in Ukraine from spreading. Andrzej Duda made the comments at a speech in Vancouver on Friday, a day ahead of his meeting with Prime Ministe...
18h ago
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Coroner's inquest to probe death of B.C. man shot dozens of times by police in 2018
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - The British Columbia Coroners Service says it will hold an inquest into the death of a man who died in a hail of police gunfire after starting a shootout with RCMP officers in Kamloops. The service says the inquest will begin on May 6 at the Kamloops law courts to determine the facts related to the de...
20h ago
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Province calls Gate Gourmet, striking airline catering workers back to bargaining
The union representing striking airline catering workers says Ontario mediators have called them back to the table for talks with employer Gate Gourmet. About 800 food service staff at Toronto's Pearson airport went on strike Tuesday, leaving thousands of passengers without meals this week. The workers cook, package an...
21h ago
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Bigger boats, more nets, people arrive in Zeballos, B.C., for new orca rescue attempt
ZEBALLOS, B.C. - A large seine fishing vessel capable of casting a net strong enough to hold a nearly 700-kilogram killer whale calf has arrived in Zeballos, B.C., to participate in the latest attempt to rescue the young orca stranded in a remote tidal lagoon. The flat-bottom aluminum vessel has a built-in crane-like d...
Apr 19, 2024
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Canada

What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles have appeared on vehicles in Saskatchewan's capital, but they're not sticky little water-dwelling crustaceans. The bright yellow devices, used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to other parts of the country. "You will see more and more Barnacles," Coli...
2h ago
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Liberal government turning to influencers to get its message to younger Canadians
OTTAWA - Dennis Mathu and Stephanie Gordon first started posting financial-advice videos on YouTube three years ago - a side hustle that helped to scratch a creative itch. They never imagined it would lead them down some of the most powerful political corridors in Canada. Mathu and Gordon - Steph & Den, as they'r...
4h ago
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Indigenous healing lodges face chronic underfunding across Canada, critics say
SAINT-ALPHONSE-RODRIGUEZ, Que. - Every morning, Indigenous men at the Waseskun Healing Centre north of Montreal gather for a healing circle, where they smudge, share stories and sometimes gain spiritual guidance from elders. The centre is the equivalent of a minimum-security prison but here, the men are called resident...
4h ago
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U.S. FAA to probe baseball coach in cockpit during a flight from Denver to Toronto
LOS ANGELES - Authorities in the United States are investigating after a video surfaced on social media of a hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies sitting in the cockpit of an aircraft "at cruise altitude," while bound for Toronto. A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration says an investigation i...
15h ago
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Police to search Saskatoon landfill for woman missing since 2020
SASKATOON - Police are planning to search a Saskatoon landfill for a woman who has been missing for almost four years. Mackenzie Lee Trottier was last seen in December 2020. Police say a substantial amount of data was collected late last year that identifies a specific area of the landfill that may contain evidence in...
16h ago
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Disability expert resigns from federal advisory group over benefit program
OTTAWA - One of Canada's leading disability scholars is quitting a federal advisory board, saying the government failed to properly fund the disability benefit. Michael Prince, a professor of social policy at the University of Victoria, says he's deeply disappointed with the Canada Disability Benefit. He's resigning f...
17h ago
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