NANAIMO - An Asian grocery store chain, a large-scale lighted art installation, and what owners are calling a "social, wellness, and recreational hub" are all planned for the Island's biggest shopping centre. Ruby Liu, owner of a number of B.C. shopping malls including Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, announced a...

NANAIMO - A popular and highly requested shredding event is returning this weekend. Nanaimo & District Crimestoppers are hosting a document shredding day on Saturday, Sept. 12, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the Country Grocer at the corner of Bowen Rd. and Dufferin Cres. RCMP Reserve Cst. Gary O'Brie...

PARKSVILLE - One person sustained minor injuries after a car backed through a wall of a downtown business. The incident unfolded around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, when a car reversed into the wall of the Parksville Scotiabank at 102 Island Hwy. E. Parksville Fire Rescue assistant fire chief Cam Cruickshank said an emp...

NANAIMO - Keeping items out of the landfill and getting a fresh Halloween costume is the motivation behind a local nonprofit's campaign. The West Coast Costume Society (WCCS) is accepting donations of new or gently used Halloween costumes from now until Oct. 1, with their Boo-tique Costume Exchange event happening on O...

LANTZVILLE - A large chunk of well-travelled Lantzville Rd. will be closed for the next few weeks.The District of Lantzville states effective Thursday, Sept. 10 and estimated to last until Thursday, Oct. 1, the Bloods Creek culvert will be replaced at 7098 Lantzville Rd.As a result, a detour will be in place 24 hours a...

NANAIMO - Local Mounties teamed up with area partners, including a helicopter, to continue cracking down on high-risk drivers, resulting in over 100 Motor Vehicle Act charges.During the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 4, Nanaimo RCMP, together with officers from Oceanside, Comox Valley, BC Highway Patrol, and the RCMP Air 8...

PARKSVILLE - Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in a single-vehicle crash on Hwy. 19 in Parksville just north of the No. 46 exit off-ramp.It happened on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 7:10 a.m., involving a white Kia Forte, which police said went off-road to the right and landed overturned in a forested area.An Oceanside R...

NANAIMO - A pair of mid-Island non-profits are teaming up to help raise enough money to protect 122.5 acres of forests, wetlands, estuaries, and shoreline in Deep Bay. The BC Parks Foundation secured an agreement to buy the property west of Deep Bay, north of Qualicum Beach, for $4M, with donors already raising the vas...

NANAIMO - Crews are conducting extensive underground storm and water main line replacement work along a busy road network just east of Diver Lake.As a result, the traffic disruptions are expected until about mid-October on Kenworth Rd., Cienar Dr. and a portion of Shenton Rd."Please expect traffic delays, disrupti...

NANAIMO - After a longer-than-normal summer break, students are returning to class across the region. While most will only attend their respective schools for around an hour on Tuesday, Sept. 8, school zones go back into effect every school day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., meaning a major change in behaviour is needed from d...

NANAIMO - A routine inspection last summer netted a guide a costly fine. Ruzheng Ma, 71, was sentenced last month at provincial court in Nanaimo after he pleaded guilty to a pair of fisheries act violations in connection to a guided fishing trip in local waters on the afternoon of July 3 2025. A pair of local Fisheries...

PARKSVILLE - Scammers appear to be targeting Oceanside residents by using a local emergency management number. The City of Parksville is reporting an uptick in residents receiving calls, apparently coming from the municipality's Emergency Management number (250-954-4672), but it is in fact scammers soliciting sensitive...

NANAIMO - All youth across the mid-Island will ride for free on transit, beginning this weekend. A program approved by the Regional District of Nanaimo Board in April will see free annual Umo passes made available for youth aged 13 to 18, for an initial period of two years, beginning Sunday, Sept. 6. It's expected the ...

NANAIMO - Hundreds of local kids are receiving the freshest possible start to a new school year. The 12th annual Fresh Start event was held Saturday, Sept. 5, in downtown Nanaimo at Diana Krall Plaza and inside the Vancouver Island Regional Library Nanaimo Harbourfront branch, with barbers offering free haircuts and vo...

NANAIMO - Mid Island local governments have mail-in voting packages available for those hoping to take advantage of the option ahead of next month's general local election.A Friday, Sept. 4 City of Nanaimo news release stated mail-in ballot applications can be picked up in person at city hall from the legislative servi...

NANAIMO - With Saturday being the big day, a local barber thinks this year's Fresh Start will be his best year ever.Back for its 12th year, Fresh Start offers free back-to-school haircuts and a collection of classroom must-haves, with the latest iteration of the event happening Saturday, Sept. 5, at Diana Krall Plaza.O...

NANAIMO - Police probing indications of child sex abuse/exploitation material uploaded by a Nanaimo man unexpectedly morphed into a substantial drug trafficking investigation. Angelo Anthony Banez, 34, was handed a nine-year, four-month federal penitentiary sentence on Thursday, Sept. 3, in Nanaimo provincial court fol...

NANAIMO - Loud and prolonged calls from local officials and advocates regarding a supportive housing complex in the city have finally been answered.The provincial government confirmed on Thursday, Sept. 3, updated housing approval for construction beginning in early 2027 at 250 Terminal Ave. would be run as a dry, reco...

NANAIMO - Local Mounties are welcoming their newest member in training, despite being only three months old. Basko is a German Shepherd puppy and is currently training in Nanaimo to become a Police Service Dog. Cst. Jordan Braid with the Nanaimo RCMP Police Dog Unit said while their canine units do help apprehend bad g...

NANAIMO - A troubled man impacted by severe trauma and substance misuse began stabbing a victim unknown to him following a brief confrontation last summer.A sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 2, in Nanaimo attempted to unravel the perplexing incident outside a Portsmouth Rd. apartment complex on the morning of Aug....

NANAIMO - A major gateway into downtown is finally back open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic after almost a year of detours. Traffic is moving along Third St. between Howard Ave. and Pine St. after construction began last November, part of the plan to build 'Complete Streets' in Nanaimo to create a safer environmen...

NANAIMO - S'mores are back on the menu, just in time for the final long weekend of the summer. The Coastal Fire Centre will remove its category one open fire prohibition, more commonly referred to as a campfire ban, at noon on Thursday, Sept. 3, for all areas of Vancouver Island and Coastal B.C. "Although fire dan...

NANAIMO - A little over two years ago, a hardened, longtime middle-aged criminal reached his rock bottom following his father's intentional fatal overdose.Ian Vernon Cooper was selling highly toxic illicit drugs to the city's most vulnerable populations in June of 2024 when local Mounties conducting surveillance interv...

NANAIMO - Parts of the island should batten down their hatches as the first big fall storm of the year makes landfall Tuesday evening, a few weeks before fall officially begins. Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for much of the west coast of Vancouver Island this morning, warning of "very heavy rain&quo...

NANAIMO - Police across the province have an increased presence this month attempting to curtail ongoing safety issues: distracted and unrestrained drivers.BC Highway Patrol's five units in the province are leading an education and enforcement campaign, including on Vancouver Island.BCHP Sgt. Michael McLaughlin told Na...

NANAIMO - Candidates interested in running for a variety of elected positions across the mid-Island can now make their intentions official Tuesday, Sept. 1 marks the start of an eleven-day nomination period for candidates to submit the required paperwork to be included on the ballot on Oct. 17 for municipal Mayor or Co...

UPDATE: Sept 1, 10:00 a.m.: BC Ferries has cancelled the 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. sailings out of Nanaimo's Departure Bay for Tuesday, Sept. 1, along with their corresponding return trips from Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay, due to ongoing mechanical issues on the Queen of Cowichan.A supplementary round trip from Departure B...

NANAIMO - More before- and after-school childcare spaces are coming across the province. Provincial minister of education Lisa Beare announced in Nanaimo on Monday, Aug. 31, a multi-million-dollar investment to add approximately 1,200 new, licensed before- and after-school spaces in elementary schools across 22 school ...