NANAIMO - It'll take some searching, but a once-in-a-lifetime comet is making its way across our night sky.The hunk of space rock, ice and gasses, formally named C/2022 E3 (Z.T.F.) but better known as "the green comet" was discovered in March 2022 by a Californian facility.What makes it different than most co...

NANAIMO - Despite a career in the arts over the last two decades, Amy Pye said seeing a piece of hers in public "never gets old."Pye was one of a handful of artists selected by the City of Nanaimo to complete a series of public arts pieces throughout the region, including a utility bin which Pye was assigned ...

NANAIMO - It's a major chunk of change which is hoped to bridge the gap between vulnerable people and vital services.United Way Central and Northern Vancouver Island (UWCNVI) has opened applications for their Community Services Recovery Fund, a $400 million cash injection from the federal government of which just over ...

NANAIMO - A project nearly a decade in the making is finally finished.A new mural made entirely of bottle caps is now hanging in the library of Departure Bay Elementary Eco-School in Nanaimo, the result of a labour of love for the school's outgoing principal.Annette Noble, who officially retired from her role on Friday...

NANAIMO - It's not the colour of medal the team wanted to end up with, but the VIU Mariners women's soccer team still ended their season on a high.The Mariners earned bronze at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships near Montreal Nov. 9 through 12. The team dropped their opening matc...

NANAIMO - "I just enjoy the idea that somebody else will get pleasure finding them, it brings a little light into somebody's day."Debra Hagen spends hours gluing small pieces of glass, gold or ceramic onto rocks, before leaving them wherever she happens to be walking with her dogs. She calls them "petros...

NANAIMO - With roughly a third of the rainfall and little end in sight to a record run of warm, dry conditions, meteorologists are pinning the current weather pattern on two factors.In a typical September, the Nanaimo region should normally see 35.8 millimetres of rain, however just 10.8 millimetres was measured this y...

NANAIMO - After more than two years of COVID precautions which closed their doors to the public, SPCA branches around B.C. have returned to their regular hours for public access and adoption viewing.The change came on Oct. 1, and now potential pet adopters no longer have to do virtual meet-and-greets with an animal the...

PARKSVILLE - For the first time in the hockey club's history a player from Australia is playing for the Oceanside Generals. Ethan Hawes is among those patrolling the blueline for the team this year after growing up in Newcastle, along Australia's east coast about two hours north of Sydney.He began to play the sport aft...

NANAIMO - Everyone knew it was for a good cause, but most who stood on a ledge and took a brave bungy plunge wondered at one point, why they were there.The second annual Toss the Boss fundraiser for the Nanaimo and Victoria Brain Injury Societies was held at WildPlay Nanaimo on Friday, Sept. 23. Dozens of department he...

NANAIMO - Dave Lawrence thought 2022 might be the last time he trades a story or drawing for a haircut...but community generosity proved him very, very wrong.Lawrence, owner of That 50's Barber Shop, will hold his annual Fresh Start event at the downtown Nanaimo library between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sep. ...

NANAIMO - She'll be one of the youngest competitors in her field, but a local runner is preparing to hit the finish line hard.Ava Gauthier, 13, will lace up her running shoes and represent Nanaimo at the 2022 BC Summer Games in Prince George beginning July 21.Student and member of the Nanaimo District Secondary School ...

NANAIMO - A novel idea for the Harbour City is helping give a new lease on life for some four legged friends.Kitties & Cream in Nanaimo's Old City Quarter partnered with a pair of Saskatchewan-based animal rescue organizations to help find forever homes for the animals west of the Rockies.Owner Kelly Whiteside told...

NANAIMO - Christmas isn't just for the kids to enjoy.A local campaign encouraging people to 'Be a Santa to a Senior' wants to make sure nobody is being left out of the holiday season fun, while also making sure they have all their essential items. The Nanaimo and Courtenay branches of Home Instead are teaming up with l...

NANAIMO - It's been getting a little brighter at NRGH lately.An annual fundraiser put on by the Hospital Foundation is collecting donations in exchange for extra lights on trees at Nanaimo hospital.Janice Perrino, CEO of the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation, said the request from staff at the facility this ye...

NANAIMO - Locals clearly have a sweet tooth and a passion for fundraising.The Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation said a record $27,500 was raised in 2021 during the Tim Horton's Smile Cookie campaign in September.Janice Krall, chief development officer of the foundation, told NanaimoNewsNOW the money will go towa...

NANAIMO - A local woman decided to harness online chatter about a popular Netflix series into tangible positive change.Kerri Isham, a Nanaimo based sexual health educator, was moved by the series MAID, based on the true story of a young mother fleeing an abusive relationship and struggling to make ends meet.Isham set u...

NANAIMO - Coleen Bud's house on Shady Mile Way is hard to miss, especially at night. For almost every major holiday or celebration, she adorns the front of her house, yard and driveway with all sorts of on-theme and on-point decorations.And Halloween is one of her favourites."I love it. I enjoy it. I do it bigger ...

NANAIMO - A newly-created weekly meal service is providing a hot start to the week as the weather cools.Nanaimo Foodshare, in partnership with St. Paul's Anglican Church, recently created a new by-donation meal service called "Monday Lunch Together". It runs weekly from Noon until 1 p.m. at the church on Chap...

NANAIMO - More visitors, more vendors and more tasty treats has led to a record year for a local summer favourite.The Cedar Farmers Market saw upwards of 2,500 people shopping each Sunday, a 25 per cent increase on previous years. Market manager Kate Poirier told NanaimoNewsNOW more people are becoming passionate about...

NANAIMO - Rain or shine, the show must roll on for a major fundraiser for cancer research.The Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock is making its way down Island, again in a modified format, which will see local rides featuring local alumni riders instead of one travelling peloton.Riders will tour through Nanaimo on Sunday, Sep...

GABRIOLA ISLAND - A program aiming to divert unrecyclable and undesired clothing and other materials from the landfill has made some early strides.The Gabriola Island Recycling Organization (GIRO) hosted an open contest for residents on Gabriola in spring 2021, to take some of the thousands of pounds of worn clothes an...

NANAIMO - When a doctor assumed Debbie Graves' delayed recovery from fractured ribs was age related she knew something more was wrong.Stricken with severe pain six weeks after slipping on a boat in the summer of 2018, the then 58-year-old Graves suffered another serious injury.She was performing light yard work when he...

NANAIMO - A Nanaimo cyclist exceeded their fundraising goal by riding up and down their steep mid-Nanaimo street 100 times. Marc Gervais pedalled along Chestnut St. in mid-July to raise money for the Nanaimo Child Development Centre. He raised more than $1,600, exceeding his $1,500 goal. "I knew the Nanaimo CDC di...

NANAIMO - Community spirit is helping the Nanaimo SPCA pay medical bills for animals in need. The annual Lock-In For Love event, held virtually in 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic, raised $16, 410. Executive director Leon Davis told NanaimoNewsNOW they usually average around $10,000. "It's awesome. With COVID we h...