NANAIMO - A pair of chargers were dismantled and others tampered with in an early morning fire deemed to be arson. The incident was called into 911 on Saturday, March 15 just after 3 a.m. at the Woodgrove Centre beside Chapters on the Island Hwy., with responding crews finding two of the seven chargers on fire.Nanaimo ...

LADYSMITH - Transforming the downtown core of a quant mid-Island community into a small town in Colorado is evidently a good fit for a popular American-based TV series. Taping of the popular fictional series Resident Alien returns to Ladysmith for its fourth season, with filming taking place between Monday, March 17 an...

NANAIMO - Over 100 new rental units are being envisioned for a currently forested lot in central Nanaimo.The property at 3400 Barrington Rd., off Rock City Rd. would feature 102 rental units spread across four storeys and ranging in size from studio apartments to three bedroom units.Paul Koopman with dHKarchitects told...

NANAIMO - The local Special Olympic basketball players are making their mark in B.C. sports, with their hard work and dedication paying off with an impressive tournament victory recently.For the first time, ten players and four coaches from the Nanaimo Timberwolves participated in the North Shore March Madness tenth an...

NANAIMO - A true team effort has helped plan, and will host hundreds of players, parents and team staff over the next three days.The U15 Tier-2 BC Hockey Championships will be held at the Nanaimo Ice Centre from Saturday, March 15 through Tuesday, March 18 and see seven visiting teams take on the host Nanaimo.Matt Hugh...

Editor's note: This story contains extremely disturbing details regarding child sexual abuse and may not be suitable for all readers. Discretion is strongly advised. NANAIMO - A man will have to wait to find out how long he'll spend behind bars after being convicted of disturbing sex crimes against his own infant daugh...

NANAIMO - The city's crown jewel park is looking a little more patriotic this spring.Usually decorated with an array of international flags, the gallery at Maffeo Sutton Park, overlooking the Comox Rd./Terminal Ave. intersection, is instead a sea of red and white after an initiative from the City's parks department.The...

NANAIMO - Fewer people are losing their lives to drug toxicity than in recent years.New data from the BC Coroner's Service showed two people from Nanaimo lost their lives to toxic drugs in January, a massive reduction from the average in years past.During record-setting years in 2023 and 2024, Nanaimo's average number ...

LANTZVILLE - A homeowner in his late 80's was awoken to the sounds of a man and woman outside his bedroom. It happened on Saturday, March 8 between 5:30 and 6 a.m. at a home located near Lantzville's village core, said Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O'Brien. "He hears a noise in his house and he gets up to inspect it...

NANAIMO - While the skies aren't likely to be completely clear, forecasted conditions are improving for a special celestial show. A total lunar eclipse will occur overnight Thursday, March 13 into Friday, March 14, spanning a period of around six hours for those on Vancouver Island and turning the moon a deep, blood re...

NANAIMO - Local Mounties appeared quickly and en masse to a local grocery store Wednesday evening, after reports of a gun being brandished. RCMP members were called to the Country Grocer complex at the corner of Bowen Rd. and Dufferin Cres. on Wednesday, March 12 around 5:30 p.m. after reports from a security guard of ...

NANAIMO - Turquoise shades of water signal an active herring spawn that escaped the Nanaimo area this year. However, fishing boats have been active to the north in Parksville-Qualicum Beach, as operators look to cash in on nearly 12,800 tonnes of herring, or 14 per cent of the estimated adult herring stock available in...

NANAIMO - Local police with backing from VIU students are trying to put a cork in risks associated with unattended drinks and high-risk alcohol consumption involving young adults. Nanaimo RCMP Reserve Cst. Gary O'Brien said posters are scheduled to be placed by next week at several bars and pubs in Nanaimo to draw atte...

NANAIMO - Prime lake fishing season has arrived. Thousands of rainbow trout are being delivered into urban lakes across mid Vancouver Island this week, part of an annual Freshwater Fisheries Society of B.C. campaign throughout the province. All three Colliery dams, Diver, Green and Brannen lakes received a combined 4,0...

NANAIMO - Cooler weather and a few rounds of precipitation in coastal areas were enough to keep B.C.'s snowpack level for March consistent with the previous month. The March 1 snow survey and water supply bulletin provided by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship shows Vancouver Island snowpack levels at...

NANAIMO - Worrying about wildfires encroaching on communities on Vancouver Island is no longer a distant concern. With ample evidence showing interface fires are an increasing threat in the province, regional fire crews received online training, as well as day-long field exercises under the watch of BC Wildfire Service...

PARKSVILLE - No injuries, but considerable damage was sustained to a local business early Monday morning.Shortly before 6 a.m. on Monday, March 10, Parksville Fire Rescue crews were called to a business in the 200 block of the Island Hwy. East, between Corfield St. and Weld St., after smoke and flames were seen from th...

NANAIMO - Police say a vehicle sped off from a Harewood parking lot at a high rate of speed Friday night, hopping curbs before crashing minutes later. It happened just after 9 p.m. when an older model Chevrolet Malibu careened over a retaining wall and crashed nose-first into the driveway of an Urbains Pl. driveway nea...

Editors note: this article contains descriptions of severe violence which some readers may find distressing. Discretion is advised. NANAIMO - A judge hopes treatment can help prevent future violent outbursts by a man responsible for irreversible harm caused to a former Nanaimo security guard. David Richard Patrick, 39,...

QUALICUM BEACH - An Oceanside organization which has helped families for almost 60 years is moving out of Qualicum Beach and centralizing all of its resources in Parksville.The Society of Organized Services (SOS) announced on their social media page they would be ending their tenancy at Qualicum Commons after a decade,...

NANAIMO - A handful of recruits have one more mission before their training is complete to join Nanaimo Search and Rescue's ranks. Based on the weather forecast, it's shaping up to be a wet weekend for 10 Nanaimo SAR trainees, tasked with a mandated extended field exercise on Mount Benson starting on the morning of Sat...

NANAIMO - Some people aren't too bothered by seasonal time changes, but others can be significantly impacted, argues a leading sleep specialist. Dr. Michael Mak, clinical vice president of the Canadian Sleep Society (CSS) said skipping clocks ahead by one-hour before going to sleep on Saturday, March 8 will directly co...

NANAIMO - With spring right around the corner, grade 12 students across Vancouver Island are getting ready for prom season, and one local group of volunteers wants to make sure they all look their best. Prom Closet Nanaimo, now operated by the Vancouver Island Prom Closet Society (VIPCS), is back once again, providing ...

NANAIMO - Unhoused people on the mid-Island died at double the rate in 2023 compared to the year prior, according to alarming new data. New data published by the BC Coroners Service on Friday, March 7 notes 55 deaths in 2023 involved people on central Vancouver Island experiencing homelessness, the second highest tally...

PARKSVILLE - After a recent run of relatively pleasant weather, Mother Nature is preparing to point a fire hose right at Oceanside. Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning on Friday, March 7, for areas between Nanoose Bay and Union Bay on eastern Vancouver Island, including Parksville and Qualicum Beach. The advis...

NANAIMO - An offender's developmental and behavioural disorders weren't enough to prevent him from going to jail. Elijah Grier-Gaiga, 29, was sentenced to federal penitentiary for four years after he was found guilty of a sexual assault charge in relation to six incidents between Oct. 1, 2019 and Feb 1, 2020. The Port ...

NANAIMO - RCMP officers are cracking down on "stunting". Local Mounties say they charged six different people in January alone under the Motor Vehicle Act for a range of dangerous driving-related incidents involving people riding motorcycles at high speeds and in an unsafe manner. Reserve Cst. Gary O'Brien to...

NANAIMO - A notable increase in conferences, trade shows, special events and more is helping boost the bottom line toward profitability for the Vancouver Island Conference Centre. Presenting financial data to City Councillors on Monday, March 3, the Centre's general manager Chuck Loewen said the facility set new post-C...