NANAIMO - Police believe a person living in a south-end home where an early morning fire broke out may still be inside.The fire at 1019 Old Victoria Rd. was reported on Wednesday, Nov. 20 just after 5 a.m., with flames and thick smoke seen shooting from the home just south of McKenzie Rd.Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O'B...

NANAIMO - Power outages are expected to persist this week as BC Hydro learns more about a punishing windstorm inflicting widespread damage across coastal B.C. Ted Olynyk, BC Hydro's manager of community relations for Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, said there are an unknown number of downed trees on lines and ...

NANAIMO - Wind gusts in excess of 170 kilometres per hour hit parts of the B.C. coast overnight as a strong storm system came as advertised.Close to 40,000 BC Hydro customers remain without power as of early Wednesday, Nov. 20 with outages beginning around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday night and continuing to mount despite the ...

NANAIMO - Traditional fare products will soon no longer be sold to Regional District of Nanaimo's transit customers. As of Dec. 1, physical tickets, along with monthly and semester passes, won't be sold to RDN transit riders, while physical tickets will still be accepted as payment until they run out. The BC Bus Pass P...

NANAIMO - A forecasted 'bomb cyclone' storm system has caused swift and widespread impacts to the region's power grid. BC Hydro reports over 30,000 of its customers from south of Nanaimo to north of Qualicum Beach were without power as of 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Most major populated centres had major outages inc...

PARKSVILLE - Sidewalks lining priority routes could soon be clear of snow when the white stuff falls in Parksville. During a Monday, Nov. 18 council meeting, councillors agreed to advance a two-year sidewalk snow removal pilot project for consideration as part of upcoming budget discussions. Chief administrative office...

NANAIMO - A strong fall storm moving into the region over the next day is already causing some issues for ferry travel. BC Ferries have pre-emptively cancelled the 8:45 p.m. sailing from Nanaimo's Departure Bay for Tuesday, Nov. 19, along with the corresponding 10:10 p.m. return trip from Horseshoe Bay. The final sched...

NANAIMO - A seven-member jury have made a pair of recommendations to both BC RCMP and BC Emergency Health Services (EHS) following a week-long inquest. The jury were tasked with determining relevant facts about the death of 39-year-old Jerry Robert Smallwood, known as Jer Wood, on May 8, 2018 as he exited Departure Bay...

NANAIMO - BC Hydro says they have a full complement of crew ready to respond however they're needed over the next 24 hours.A strong system from the Pacific, dubbed a 'bomb cyclone' due to its quickly dropping pressure, is poised to make landfall throughout Tuesday, Nov. 19 and continue with rain and blustery winds over...

NANAIMO - He was warned he'd likely go back to jail if he didn't report to a southern interior treatment centre and that's exactly what happened. Peter Jonathan Cameron Ludvigson was ordered to serve the remainder of a six-month conditional sentence order in jail after his prior community-based sentence formally collap...

VICTORIA - A freshly sworn-in cabinet features a few ministers retaining their former positions, along with an expected significant turnover.B.C. lieutenant governor Janet Austin swore in the 27-member cabinet during a Monday, Nov. 18 ceremony at Government House in Victoria. Nanaimo-Gabriola riding MLA Sheila Malcolms...

NANAIMO - A group of Vancouver Island physicians known as Doctors for Safer Drug Policy who tried to launch an unsanctioned overdose prevention site (OPS) outside NRGH were quickly shut down by hospital staff. A group of just over a dozen people including local doctors, healthcare workers, and advocates attempted to se...

NANAIMO - Despite forecasts predicting a "bomb cyclone" moving through coastal B.C. mid-week, one Environment Canada meteorologist doesn't forsee any major issues locally. Brian Proctor said a "very significant" low pressure system is swirling in the Pacific, with strong winds and heavy rain forecas...

PARKSVILLE - A local group working with area students to help them navigate the social challenges of high school just got a huge boost. The 'Guys Groups' at both Ballenas and Kwalikum Secondary schools were recipients in early November of a $17,000 donation from the 100 Fine Gentlemen of Oceanside, a group where member...

NANAIMO - The manager of a year-round farmers market in the city has been left scratching her head after two instances of seemingly senseless vandalism.After years of work, planning and government process, signs were erected on Hwy. 19A promoting the Island Roots Farmers' Market, held Wednesday's at Beban Park's Centen...

NANAIMO - A local couple is making this Christmas season extra special for a few deserving families by bringing holiday cheer right to their door.Dave Payne and Alison Laharty started 'Santa's Surprise House Calls' last year, with Payne donning the classic red suit and Laharty acting as his helper elf to hand-deliver w...

PARKSVILLE - Eight fire departments servicing the Parksville-Qualicum Beach region are accepting donations to help extinguish hunger and provide presents for youngsters this winter holiday season. Led by Parksville Volunteer Fire Dept. since 1997, Fill the Boots focusses on generating cash to bolster Parksville based S...

NANAIMO - New arrivals to the Harbour City vow to carry on the tradition of a popular grocery store operating on the edge of Nanaimo's downtown for decades. The Patel family, originally from New Dehli, India, were handed the keys to independent grocer Superette Foods on Friday, Nov. 15 on Albert at Milton Streets. With...

NANAIMO - A teenage boy has suffered serious injuries after being struck by a vehicle along Departure Bay Rd. The incident occurred at the intersection of Loat St. and Departure Bay Rd. around 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, after a 13-year-old boy was hit by a vehicle driving southbound up the hill. Speaking at the scen...

NANAIMO - A new major player is preparing to enter the local transportation market. Global ride sharing giant Uber has begun a driver recruitment campaign across the province, with hopes of attracting enough personnel to rollout service across B.C., including Nanaimo and Parksville, beginning early in the new year. Mic...

NANAIMO - An experienced commercial angler remains on the hook for a $250,000 fine for damaging an environmentally sensitive ecosystem while bottom fishing for prawns. An appeal launched on behalf of Dean Keitsch, 61, was heard and ultimately recently denied by a B.C. Supreme Court justice who disagreed the offender's ...

NANAIMO - Local Mounties are looking into what sparked a fight between a group of youth at a local high school Wednesday evening.Police say a fight broke out around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, along a pathway at John Barsby Secondary School and Harewood Centennial Park, the site of a junior varsity playoff football g...

NANAIMO - Mounties are putting out a warning about drinks being spiked with potential date-rape drugs at local nightclubs. The warning comes after a woman was at a local nightclub recently and reported a "foreign substance" in her drink, thinking something had been added to it. Reserve. Cst. Gary O'Brien said...

NANAIMO - A B.C. Supreme Court justice swiftly dismissed an application by property owners adjacent to Nanaimo Airport requesting the cancellation of an easement to a small portion of property. In a judgment published online this week following a mid-October judgment in Vancouver, the petitioners who've owned Haslam Cr...

VICTORIA - Nearly a month to the day after winning their seats in the Legislature, two new mid-Island MLAs and two returning members were sworn in to serve their ridings. Nanaimo-Gabriola's Sheila Malcolmson and Mid-Island Pacific Rim's Josie Osborne are returning to Victoria for the new session, joined by first-time m...

NANAIMO - An overnight wind and rain storm came as advertised, although damage locally from the system appears to be minimal. Just one outage of note was recorded by BC Hydro with around 2,300 customers on Gabriola Island losing power in the late evening hours of Tuesday, Nov. 12, with service being restored by around ...

NANAIMO - Following multiple missed court appearances and an unsuccessful bid to have a blood sample warrant dismissed, a Port Alberni woman finally had her case concluded a painful five-and-a-half years later. On March 22, 2019, Belinda Mary Hainsworth, with several drugs in her system, crossed the double yellow centr...

NANAIMO - A 39-year-old man is facing potential mischief charges after an apparent tire slashing-spree targeting downtown vehicles.Police were called to 20 vehicles in parking lot in the 200 block of Franklyn St. as well as another three parked on the street in the 300 block of Selby St., in the early morning hours of ...