National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Ottawa is committing close to $12 million to boost sustainable Indigenous fishing enterprises on the West Coast.
Continue reading Ottawa invests $11.8 million in Indigenous commercial fishing ventures on West Coast
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
B.C. communities large and small are suffering devastating losses as deaths from toxic street drugs reached an all-time high with 2,224 people dying from overdoses in the province last year.
Every health authority saw a record loss of lives in 2021 as an average of six people died each day from toxic drugs, said B.C.’s Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe on Wednesday, and communities across Vancouver Island were no exception.
Continue reading Island Health not exempt from B.C.’s record toxic street drug death tollAccording to the provincial government’s Daily Update, there are now at least 3,906 active COVID cases on Vancouver Island. This statistic is low. The number of people who are believed to have COVID and gone into self isolation, but have not yet been tested, is growing
“As many people have noted in the past few weeks, we reached our capacity both from testing, from the lab equipment, from the personnel and the reagents,” said BC Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry on Friday.
Continue reading As Omicron spreads, the number of unreported COVID cases keeps growing ( local data)Fifteen youth, aged 8 to 14, signed up for the Reel Youth Partners in Education (PIE) film program, which starts on Monday January 10th.
This online program is run by the Powell River School Board but, as might be expected, considering Reel Youth’s strong connection to Cortes Island, seven of the fifteen students are Cortesians. (Five students come from the Comox Valley and three from Powell River.)
Continue reading Reel Youth’s ‘Partners in Education’ course launches January 10thNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
This morning, my 79-year-old dad was out in the winter dark shovelling a path through a half foot of fresh snow to ensure his hummingbird feeders were full of fresh, sugary liquid by dawn’s first light.
And it wasn’t the first time.
He’s one of a legion of residents across southwestern B.C. and Vancouver Island on a crusade to ensure resident Anna’s hummingbirds don’t perish in the unusually cold weather gripping the region the past few weeks.
Continue reading Hummingbirds have humans eating out of their hands during cold snap
