federal grant
Feds supply funding for proposed Ravensong Aquatic Centre expansion
QUALICUM BEACH - With a referendum fast approaching to upgrade Oceanside's only public pool facility, a substantial grant would help absorb some costs. On Wednesday, March 19 the Regional District of Nanaimo announced a $7 million federal government grant had been approved for the Ravensong Aquatic Centre (RAC) project...
2h ago
Read More
Staying closed
Busy downtown Nanaimo intersection to remain closed for vehicular traffic
NANAIMO - Vehicles won't be passing through the key Bastion/Commercial St. intersection anytime soon. Scheduled to re-open at the end of February after its closure on Jan. 2, the City of Nanaimo pivoted, electing to keep the intersection shuttered for vehicular traffic for several more months as Commercial St. revival ...
9h ago
Read More
top flight soccer
'Top opposition:' Nanaimo United prepare for big pre-season test
NANAIMO - With a new season still weeks away, the city's semi-professional soccer team will see how they stack up against some of the country's best players.The newly renamed Nanaimo United, formerly Harbourside, will welcome Victoria's Pacific FC for a pre-season game at q'unq'inuqwstuxw Stadium on Wednesday, March 19...
22h ago
Read More
What's Trending
safe living spaces
'Safe and supported:' Nanaimo's Haven Society opens new housing complex
58m ago
NREMR: November 2024
Nanaimo Real Estate Market Report: November 2024
federal grant
Feds supply funding for proposed Ravensong Aquatic Centre expansion
2h ago
Staying closed
Busy downtown Nanaimo intersection to remain closed for vehicular traffic
9h ago
Nanaimo, Parksville and Area
ramping up
Hundreds of firefighters returning ahead of Island wildfire season
NANAIMO - The first of three rounds of seasonal recalls is underway for the Coastal Fire Centre, as they ramp up staffing numbers ahead of the warm, summer months. While the official start of the fire season is still two weeks away on April 1, training has commenced for the Centre's full-time staff, along with those in...
23h ago
Read More
increased coverage
'It's a growing area:' Nanaimo cell tower sent to feds for approval
NANAIMO - A new cell tower proposed for north Nanaimo is one step closer to reality, however some nearby residents aren't feeling the connection. A 31-metre-tall monopole tower is envisioned at the northern edge of Nanaimo city limits off Mary Ellen Dr. between Shoppers Drug Mart and the Island Hwy. Brian Gregg of Site...
Mar 18, 2025
Read More
life-saving skills
'I have to act fast:' Nanaimo woman honoured for saving her mother's life
NANAIMO - A local woman has been honoured by the provincial emergency health service for helping to save her mother's life. Camryn McLeod was only 19 years old when her mother fell in their Nanaimo home and experienced cardiac arrest in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2022. McLeod, who is visually impaired, found he...
Mar 18, 2025
Read More
new investment
Carney announces plans to boost Canada's military footprint in the Arctic
IQALUIT - Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Ottawa will expand the Canadian Armed Forces' presence in the Arctic and turn to Australia's over-the-horizon radar tech to monitor threats from adversaries such as China and Russia. Carney also pl...
Mar 18, 2025
Read More
hold the line
B.C. Hydro rate caps pledged amid 'turbulent' economic climate
VANCOUVER - B.C.'s energy minister unveiled proposed electricity bill payment hike limits for the next two years. During a Monday, March 17 news conference in Vancouver, Adrian Dix said B.C. Hydro will submit an application to the B.C Utilities Commission for BC Hydro increases to be set at 3.75 per cent. "It mean...
Mar 17, 2025
Read More
locked up
Prolific offender allegedly throws axe at truck, bear-sprays two Nanaimo Mounties
NANAIMO - Police had their hands full this past weekend responding to a report of a man throwing an axe into the back of a truck near Woodgrove Centre. It happened on Saturday, March 15 at about 4:30 p.m., where Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O'Brien said a civilian pointed out the alleged axe-thrower, who's allegedly 40-...
Mar 17, 2025
Read More
British Columbia
Advocates and family of man shot by RCMP launch 'people's tribunal' to probe police
VANCOUVER - Laura Holland says she's "tired of waiting" for justice for her smart and affectionate son, who was killed by police in Campbell River, B.C., in July 2021. The B.C. Prosecution Service says Jared Lowndes, or Jay as his family called him, was shot twice in the back as he emerged from his vehicle ca...
1h ago
Read More
B.C. shuts door on secondary-suite incentive program over 'uncertain financial times'
VICTORIA - The British Columbia government says it is cancelling an incentive program meant to entice more homeowners to build secondary suites, saying the decision is "due to uncertain financial times." The government says in a statement that the pilot program won't accept applications after March 31. It say...
1h ago
Read More
UBC bans Chinese AI DeepSeek from its devices and networks, citing privacy, security
VANCOUVER - The University of British Columbia has banned Chinese AI tool DeepSeek from being used or installed on university-owned devices and networks, citing "a high degree of privacy and security risk." The university says it reached the decision after a review of public information and third-party assess...
1h ago
Read More
Gang police allege Vancouver man ran 'sophisticated' gun importation scheme
SURREY, B.C. - A 24-year-old Vancouver man faces several charges after investigators dismantled what they say was a "sophisticated" gun importation operation. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says the charges come after an investigation that began in June 2023 when packages with gun parts were &qu...
2h ago
Read More
Ottawa provides $20M for B.C.'s forest sector amid softwood duties, trade war
RICHMOND, B.C. - The federal government is providing about $20 million in funding to support British Columbia's forestry sector, part of Ottawa's effort to bolster the economy amid the Canada-U. S. trade war. Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says it's more important than ever to support the sector, which is subject t...
2h ago
Read More
Commercial truck hits B.C. highway overpass, losing lumber load and snarling traffic
RICHMOND, B.C. - British Columbia's Highway Patrol says another commercial truck has hit an overpass in Metro Vancouver, causing no visible damage, but snarling traffic on Wednesday. Police say a load of lumber the tractor trailer was hauling along Highway 99 hit the Blundell Road overpass. Highway patrol spokesman Cpl...
2h ago
Read More
Local Sports
new challenges
Nanaimo twin golfers fore-ging individual collegiate paths
NANAIMO - Together since before they can remember and always each other's biggest supporters, two local golfers are going their different ways in pursuit of a university education. Isabel and Maria Schwager celebrated their commitment to university golf on Wednesday, March 13, signing letters of intent to attend UBC-Ok...
Mar 14, 2025
Read More
Going for Gold
VIU Mariners women's basketball team looks to cap off one loss season with national title
NANAIMO - The VIU Mariners women's basketball team is chasing down a second national gold medal in three years. The team is in New Brunswick preparing for their first game against the Mohawk Mountaineers out of Ontario on Wednesday, Mar. 12 at 9 a.m. Mariners athletic director Danielle Hyde is proud of a group that has...
Mar 12, 2025
Read More
biggest stage
Nanaimo high schools fall just short of top provincial basketball honours
NANAIMO - Untimely losses for a pair of local high school boys basketball teams proved costly over the weekend.Both Dover Bay and Wellington Secondary schools earned semi-finals appearances in their respective divisions at the B.C. School Sports Basketball Provincial Championships, held in Langley and ending with the g...
Mar 10, 2025
Read More
ClippersNOW
Playoff Bound
Clippers clinch BCHL playoff spot with win over Capitals
NANAIMO - The Clippers will play in the BCHL post season after punching their ticket with a 4-2 win over Cowichan Valley.Nanaimo sits in sixth place in the standings with four games remaining in the season, three points behind a trio of teams tied for third place in Cowichan Valley, Victoria and Coquitlam.The Clippers ...
Mar 16, 2025
Read More
Sixth Place
Clippers win to jump Bulldogs in Coastal Division standings
NANAIMO - The Clippers capped off their season series against Alberni Valley with a 6-3 home ice victory.Chase Hull opened the scoring and added an assist in his 100th career BCHL game.Hull and Luke Lavery both had power play markers in the game's first 13 minutes.Connor Frost scored a first period goal for the Buldogs...
Mar 15, 2025
Read More
Going in Hot
VIDEO: Clippers look to bring strong second half play into the BCHL post season
NANAIMO - With a half dozen games remaining in the BCHL regular season the Clippers don't know where they'll finish in the standings and they're still trying to solidify a playoff spot. Nanaimo can still mathematically finish anywhere from second to ninth but the focus isn't on their seeding it's about getting immediat...
Mar 14, 2025
Read More
Canada
UBC bans Chinese AI DeepSeek from its devices and networks, citing privacy, security
VANCOUVER - The University of British Columbia has banned Chinese AI tool DeepSeek from being used or installed on university-owned devices and networks, citing "a high degree of privacy and security risk." The university says it reached the decision ...
1h ago
Read More
Montreal begins annual effort to clear tonnes of garbage exposed by snowmelt
MONTREAL - Street cleaning is a rite of spring in Montreal, after receding snow exposes months' worth of cigarette butts, dog waste, and other garbage. The city says its fleet of street sweepers, sidewalk washers and other cleaning staff will need betw...
1h ago
Read More
Quebec effort to ease internal trade means less red tape for racehorses, undertakers
MONTREAL - Quebec is taking some halting steps toward scrapping interprovincial trade barriers with measures that will reduce red tape for funeral directors, real estate brokers and racehorse owners. The government is also looking to harmonize regulati...
3h ago
Read More
Foreign affairs minister says China executed four Canadians
OTTAWA - Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says China executed four Canadians in recent months. China's embassy in Ottawa confirmed Wednesday that Beijing executed Canadian citizens earlier this year. The embassy says China has solid and sufficient...
3h ago
Read More
Prairie canola producers brace for 100 per cent tariffs from China
CALGARY - Canola farmers on the Prairies are bracing for impact as China prepares to impose hefty tariffs on the industry. China is expected to enact a 100 per cent levy on Canadian canola oil and meal starting Thursday. The tariffs are a response to C...
4h ago
Read More
Main political parties won't say how, or if, they're vetting Indigenous candidates
OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives and NDP won't say how or if they're vetting their candidates' claims to Indigenous identity - even though both parties went after a Liberal MP last year over his shifting statements about his background. The Liberal a...
4h ago
Read More
World
Pentagon reviews plans to cut troops handling migrants at Guantánamo by as much as half
WASHINGTON (AP) - Military officials are reviewing plans that would cut the number of U.S. troops deployed to the Guantánamo Bay naval base in Cuba to handle detained migrants by as much as half, because there are no detainees there now and the program has stumbled during legal challenges, The Associated Press h...
52m ago
Read More
Minnesota jury convicts alleged ringleader of massive pandemic food fraud scheme on all counts
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A jury found the alleged ringleader of a massive pandemic fraud case in Minnesota guilty on all counts Wednesday for her role in a scheme that federal prosecutors say stole $250 million from a program meant to feed children in need. Aimee Bock - the founder of Feeding our Future, the group that prose...
1h ago
Read More
Arizona executes a man who murdered his girlfriend's ex-husband
FLORENCE, Arizona (AP) - An Arizona man who kidnapped and murdered his girlfriend's ex-husband was executed Wednesday, the second of four prisoners scheduled to be put to death this week in the U.S. Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, was lethally injected with pentobarbital at the Arizona State Prison Complex in the town of Flor...
3h ago
Read More
Sponsored Content
sponsored content
NatureNurture Mental Health Gala Sparks Conversations, Awareness, and Action
For one night in September, the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in Nanaimo was transformed into an immersive, vibrant forest of creativity and compassion. A showcase of vibrant local talent, the IGNITE2024 NatureNurture Mental Health Gala brought together a community of artists, volunteers, sponsors, and attendees. ...
Dec 03, 2024
Read More
sponsored content
Your Opinion Matters: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Mapping Survey
At the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society (CVIMS), they believe every resident deserves to live in an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming community. Since 1979, CVIMS has provided support for immigrants, refugees, and even those who are just new to Nanaimo. They offer settlement, language, and community pro...
Nov 25, 2024
Read More
Sponsored Content
The Wellhouse Accepting New Patients
Do you feel like your health concerns are being ignored? Are you and your loved ones tired of attending appointment after appointment, feeling rushed, improperly examined, or treated without enough time spent on a complete and accurate diagnosis? Experience a fresh approach to family health care at The Wellhouse! Since...
Aug 01, 2024
Read More