NANAIMO - On a rainy morning as many people enjoyed their weekends, marine search and rescue volunteers were hard at work.Semi-annual training exercises, held in Nanaimo Saturday, Feb. 22, were testing out response to a multitude of different situations on and off shore.One scenario depicted a mock rescue of a routine ...

NANAIMO - For the second time in just over four months, the local RCMP detachment is changing its leadership ranks.Following his promotion to the Nanaimo RCMP's top job in October 2024, Supt. Andrew Burton announced his retirement on Thursday, Feb. 20, after a 32 year career with the Mounties.Prior to Nanaimo, Burton s...

LADYSMITH - It appears people in Ladysmith are paying close attention to who will be next to sit in the community's mayor's chair. Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Ladysmith Downtown Business Association, are hosting a mayoral candidates forum on Monday, Feb 24 at Aggie Hall at 1110 1st Ave. The event...

UPDATE: An official with strata management firm overseeing the Emerald Woods neighbourhood states impacted residents have been informed it's safe for them to return. "I can confirm that a Geotechnical Engineer has attended, and has noted their opinion that the buildings are not at further risk, and that they are s...

NANAIMO - A global program to fight food insecurity is again returning to the local level through a Harbour City secondary school.Students and staff at Nanaimo District Secondary School will host their annual Empty Bowl night on March 5 at the school's cafeteria. It's an event where ticket holders receive a handmade po...

NANAIMO - Fresh off back-to-back record-breaking fundraising years, Island Crisis Care Society is back this weekend for its biggest event of the year.The Coldest Night of the Year takes place on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Nanaimo and Oceanside, with the past two events raising record amounts, with over $125,000 and $118,000 ...

NANAIMO - A magnitude 5.1 earthquake has been recorded just north of Sechelt.A strong, brief jolt was felt through much of the Nanaimo and Oceanside region at 1:26 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21, when the tremor struck roughly 27 kilometres north of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast. It occurred at a depth of around one kilometre...

NANAIMO - A weekend packed with francophone culture will be on full display this weekend at Beban Park Social Centre. The popular and well attended Maple Sugar Festival, staged by the Nanaimo Francophone Association (NFA), takes place beginning the evening of Friday, Feb. 21 to Sunday, Feb. 23. Camille Veron, NFA execu...

NANAIMO - A young mastiff dog is now under the care of the Nanaimo and District SPCA after being rescued from a local property. The SPCA reports an animal protection officer seized the dog from a property in the city after reports were made indicating the dog was living in deplorable conditions. BC SPCA spokesperson Ei...

NANAIMO - City Council appears to be on board with adjusting timelines of the ambitious Commercial St. renewal project to ease impacts on beleaguered downtown businesses.The plan was endorsed for consideration during the Feb. 19 finance and audit committee meeting which explored adjusting construction timelines on seve...

PARKSVILLE - A larger, more accessible space has organizers for the annual Parksville Beach Festival, and associated sand sculpting competition, excited for the future. City Councillors recently approved $150,000 to top-up $50,000 in Society funds to move the sand sculpting competition away from its long-time home next...

UPDATE - Traffic resumed travel along the Nanaimo Parkway around 2:20 p.m., however congestion is expected to last through Thursday afternoon. EARLIER, NANAIMO - Two people have died after an early morning crash along the Nanaimo Parkway. Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Sherri Wade said the incident involved a car and a semi-truck a...

NANAIMO - By this spring a trio of supportive housing complexes are expected to be operational in Nanaimo, aimed at providing relief for the unhoused and mitigating social disorder. Up first is the largest of the three complexes to come online: 1298 Nelson St. (former Travellers Lodge site), to be operated by Pacifica ...

LADYSMITH - A business in Ladysmith had its business licence cancelled after accusations it was being used in the sex trade. Natural Massage Spa, located at 16 High St., received a business licence last November, but only a month later, Ladysmith RCMP and bylaw enforcement began receiving reports it was allegedly being...

NANAIMO - Two men convicted of manslaughter last year will spend the next four to eight years behind bars.Mark Jayden Harrison and Aiden Matthew William Bell, both 21 years old, were formally sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Tuesday, Feb. 19, nearly two-and-a-half years after they assaulted and fatally sta...

NANAIMO - Around 40 Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCM-SAR) personnel are preparing for semi-annual training in the city this weekend.Crews from Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Deep Bay and Port Alberni will be in attendance on Saturday, Feb. 22, alongside response teams from the Canadian Coast Guard, RCMP, Nanaimo Port ...

NANAIMO - Vastly expanded housing and dining services are within reach at a key downtown Nanaimo social agency provider. Salvation Army's New Hope Centre is in the midst of a significant renewal with a modernized four-storey complex replacing the facility's demolished 135-year-old two-storey Community & Family Serv...

NANAIMO - Local Mounties are trying to positively identify the remains of a woman found on Valentine's Day in Lantzville. Lantzville Fire Rescue requested help from Nanaimo RCMP officers around 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14 after the body of a woman was located on a beach in the District by someone out for a walk. Cst. She...

VANCOUVER - An unsanctioned midwife recently charged with manslaughter has unsuccessfully argued the search and seizure of items from her property was unlawful. Gloria Jeanne Lemay, 77, was charged last month with manslaughter in connection to the death of an unresponsive baby born in December 2023.She argued via legal...

QUALICUM BEACH - Proposed enhancements to the Oceanside region's only publicly accessible pool facility will receive additional attention in the coming weeks. A referendum takes place on Saturday, April 5 to ask whether eligible voters support borrowing up to $30 million to double the size of Ravensong Aquatic Centre (...

NANAIMO - Police in Nanaimo are trying to locate and identify a man allegedly seen abusing a small dog.Mounties report just before noon on Wednesday, Feb. 12, a man was seen walking along Aulds Rd., west of the Nanaimo Parkway, with a witness saying the man was beating a small, brown dog."The witness saw him pick ...

NANAIMO - The Family Day weekend is once again upon us, with plenty of fun and free family events taking place across the mid-Island on Monday, February 17. In Nanaimo, the Aquatic Centre is hosting a free swim for everyone from noon until 5 p.m. The Nanaimo Ice Centre's pair of rinks will host an open free skate from ...

NANAIMO - Self-admittedly scared to check whether he'd been nominated, Eric Bearclaw was finally alerted to some recent good news by his former landlord.Multiple congratulatory texts and calls from friends and family on Tuesday, Feb. 11 helped Bearclaw build the courage to see he'd been nominated for a Juno Award for i...

NANAIMO - Suffice to say a Nanaimo Minor Hockey grad is having a lot more fun now compared to last season. Brayden Boehm, who celebrated his 21st birthday last month, is concluding his five-year Western Hockey League career close to home as a productive top six winger with the Victoria Royals. He was acquired in an ear...

NANAIMO - Calls for assistance to Nanaimo RCMP detachment continued a trend downward last year, reaching their lowest point in five years.Overall, 42,743 calls for service were requested in 2024, a decrease of six per cent compared to 2023, according to data presented by Nanaimo RCMP Insp. Eric Rochette on Wednesday, F...

NANAIMO - Frustrated by the limited array of tools available to communicate with his non-verbal, autistic granddaughter, a local man is taking the DIY approach. Thomas Pepler's four-year-old granddaughter, Amelia, struggles to communicate her most basic needs to her parents and caregivers, ranging from whether or not s...

NANAIMO - A 26-year-old local man has been charged in relation to the death of a senior in Cedar last year.Justin Kenneth Nicholls was arrested and formally charged Wednesday, Feb. 12 with one count of failing to stop at an accident causing death, after he allegedly struck and killed a 90-year-old woman in the 2800 blo...

PARKSVILLE - Allowing exhausted migrating geese room to recuperate is behind an annual advisory banning dogs from Oceanside area beaches. In Parksville, Rathrevor Beach is closed between Saturday, Feb 15 and April 30 to dogs, while the same restriction is in place for Parksville Bay Beach from March 1 to April 30. Rest...