Category Archives: Nanaimo

Weekends in jail concludes lengthy Nanoose Bay wrong-way driver case
NANAIMO - More than seven years after causing a head-on crash on Hwy. 19, the offending driver has at last taken responsibility for his actions. An alcohol impaired Maverick John Millen, 32, was drivi...
May 21, 2026 Maverick John Millen was handed a 90-day intermittent jail sentence to be served on weekends after crashing an SUV while travelling the wrong way on a divided section of Hwy. 19 in Nanoose Bay. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Oceanside woman receives three broken ribs after collision with dirt bike riders
QUALICUM BEACH - A local woman is nursing three broken ribs and other injuries after being knocked off her bicycle and into a ditch over the weekend. The 63-year-old was riding along the 1100 block of...
May 21, 2026 Police are looking to identify a dirtbike rider who collided with a 63-year-old cyclist along Meadowood Way on Sunday, knocking them to the ground before leaving the scene. (Image Credit: Google Maps)

Two drown in separate incidents at Nanaimo's Departure Bay
NANAIMO - Two people have drowned in what RCMP are saying were separate incidents on Wednesday night, prompting major search effortsMounties received a check-well-being call at around 6 p.m. on Wednes...
May 21, 2026 Two people have drowned in separate incidents in Nanaimo on Wednesday, May 20, with one incident sparking a large search effort. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Recruitment and retention incentives behind new NDHF campaign
NANAIMO - After developing a deeply impactful and lasting legacy of ensuring local healthcare staff have the equipment they need to do the job, the Nanaimo District Hospital Foundation is charting a n...
May 21, 2026 Recruitment of healthcare workers to Nanaimo is behind the latest campaign from the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation in their attempts to make the central Island as attractive as it can be to prospective medical professionals. (Image Credit: NDHF)

'Something we've really enjoyed:' Island residents bidding farewell to Snowbirds
COMOX - Time is running out to see the Canadian Forces Snowbirds for the foreseeable future.The federal government announced Tuesday, May 19, the squadron would be grounded after this year's air show ...
May 20, 2026 Thousands gathered along the Nanaimo waterfront last August to watch the Snowbirds perform, in what would turn out to be their last appearance in Nanaimo for upwards of a decade. Their aging Tutor jets are being retired after the end of the 2026 air show circuit. (Image Credit: File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Transit safety to be examined amid Nanaimo exchange revamp
NANAIMO - A closer look at safety on board local transit vehicles and at bus stops across the region is due in the coming months.Regional District of Nanaimo directors discussed the issue Tuesday, May...
May 20, 2026 The safety of those on board, as well as those waiting for a bus, is poised to be looked at in the coming months, after a number of high-profile incidents in the last year. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Allegedly impaired driver arrested after crashing through Nanaimo sushi restaurant
NANAIMO - Several people required treatment for minor injuries after a vehicle crashed into a downtown restaurant over the May long weekend.The incident at Nana Sushi on the corner of Victoria Cres. a...
May 19, 2026 A car drove through the front of Nana Sushi on Monday, May 18, however no-one was seriously injured. One person, a Nanaimo man in his late 40s, is facing impaired driving charges. (Image Credit: Greg LePage)

Scammers forging grocery vouchers from Oceanside non-profit
PARKSVILLE - Oceanside scammers have been caught using fake food vouchers at local grocery stores, illegally replicated from a local charity.In early April, Oceanside RCMP were contacted by the unname...
May 19, 2026 Scammers fraudulently duplicated grocery vouchers from an Oceanside non-profit recently, using them to get thousands of dollars worth of food and other items from local grocery stores. (Image Credit: File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Offender threatened to kill Nanaimo gas station attendant
NANAIMO - Fast action from local Mounties led to the arrest of an erratic, armed man in Nanaimo's north end. James Denis Picard, 44, received a time-served jail sentence recently at Nanaimo Law Courts...
May 19, 2026 James Denis Picard was sentenced earlier this month for the attempted robbery of the Chevron gas station in North Nanaimo. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Comox group conducting first-of-its-kind fundraiser for Nanaimo Cancer Centre
NANAIMO - For the first time ever, a Comox Valley-based organization is chipping in for a much-needed healthcare project down Island. Members of the Auxiliary Society for Comox Valley Healthcare are m...
May 18, 2026 Members from the Auxiliary Society for Comox Valley Healthcare are actively fundraising for equipment at the Nanaimo Cancer Centre, due to the facility's benefit to those living on the north Island. (Image Credit: BC Cancer Foundation)