Local News

A BC Ferries vessel approaches the Saltery Bay terminal on the Sunshine Coast. (John McKinley file)

BC Ferries fares could climb 9.2 per cent each of the next 4 years, CEO says they won’t

Cap does not reflect the $500 million coming from provincial government to limit fare hikes

From left to right: Pacheedaht First Nation Chief Jeff Jones, Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care, Langford-Juan De Fuca MLA John Horgan, and Sooke School District board chair Ravi Parmar at the announcement on Friday (March 31) at the Sooke School District office in Langford. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)

Progress underway to upgrade one of B.C.’s ‘most seismically unsafe’ schools in Port Renfrew

‘Current school is made of cinderblock with mortar that would be dust in a strong breeze’

From left to right: Pacheedaht First Nation Chief Jeff Jones, Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care, Langford-Juan De Fuca MLA John Horgan, and Sooke School District board chair Ravi Parmar at the announcement on Friday (March 31) at the Sooke School District office in Langford. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)
Norm McInnis was the community’s seventh CAO since 1999. (Tim Collins / Sooke News Mirror)

Sooke CAO steps down after cancer diagnosis

Norm McInnis is leaving his position

Norm McInnis was the community’s seventh CAO since 1999. (Tim Collins / Sooke News Mirror)
A new supportive housing project on Albina Street has just opened. (Screenshot courtesy of Grant McKenzie)
A new supportive housing project on Albina Street has just opened. (Screenshot courtesy of Grant McKenzie)
The Mental Health and Substance Use Service Link 1-888-885-8824 connects people to information and services in their community seven days a week. (Black Press Media file photo)

New number links Island Health residents to mental health, substance use resources

Mental Health and Substance Use Service Link 1-888-885-8824 available 7 days a week

The Mental Health and Substance Use Service Link 1-888-885-8824 connects people to information and services in their community seven days a week. (Black Press Media file photo)
Victoria mayor Marianne Alto said federal commitments around combating climate change, building affordable housing and more protection from natural disasters will help the city be livable and sustainable. (Jake Romphf/ News Staff)
Victoria mayor Marianne Alto said federal commitments around combating climate change, building affordable housing and more protection from natural disasters will help the city be livable and sustainable. (Jake Romphf/ News Staff)
Disability advocate Jeff Leggat (left) and Saanich North and the Islands MLA Adam Olsen of the BC Greens (right) discuss the importance of disability funding outside the B.C. legislature Thursday (March 30). (Brendan Mayer/News Staff)

‘Trying to survive’: Vancouver Island disability advocates, MLA demand more funding

The latest provincial budget included $558 million for further income and disability assistance

Disability advocate Jeff Leggat (left) and Saanich North and the Islands MLA Adam Olsen of the BC Greens (right) discuss the importance of disability funding outside the B.C. legislature Thursday (March 30). (Brendan Mayer/News Staff)
A handful of bunnies in Esquimalt draw attention mid-March and most of them remain roaming in that neighbourhood. (Lisa Ishizaki/Facebook)

Rabbit family dumped in Esquimalt sparks concerns area will be overrun once again

Amy’s Bunny Barn in Sooke – with foster homes across Vancouver Island – says it’s beyond capacity

A handful of bunnies in Esquimalt draw attention mid-March and most of them remain roaming in that neighbourhood. (Lisa Ishizaki/Facebook)
The District of Sooke’s application for a funding for wastewater service expansion at Whiffin Spit. (Courtesy Leanne Robertson) Reader’s Lens Early morning at Whiffin Spit. To submit a photo to Reader’s Lens, please email editor@sookenewsmirror.com. (Contributed - Leanne Robertson)

Sooke wastewater treatment expansion rejected as funding dries up

District says considerable grant funding required for project to proceed

The District of Sooke’s application for a funding for wastewater service expansion at Whiffin Spit. (Courtesy Leanne Robertson) Reader’s Lens Early morning at Whiffin Spit. To submit a photo to Reader’s Lens, please email editor@sookenewsmirror.com. (Contributed - Leanne Robertson)
This file photo shows a model of a Tyrannosaurus rex on display in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Pucker up? Victoria scientist says T. rex had lips

New study suggests popular depictions of Tyrannosaurus rex, velociraptors are wrong

This file photo shows a model of a Tyrannosaurus rex on display in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson (left) and former Langford mayor Stew Young have differing views on this year’s budget. (Black Press Media File)
Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson (left) and former Langford mayor Stew Young have differing views on this year’s budget. (Black Press Media File)
A transit bus headed for the Swartz Bay ferry terminal stops to pick up passengers on a snowy Douglas Street in Victoria. Observers are concerned that B.C.’s push for a clean public transportation network is not paying enough attention to rural and remote communities. Don Denton file photo

Will clean transportation shift take rural Vancouver Island along for the ride? ​​​​​​​

Some worried only thing B.C. has been concentrating on is electrified vehicles in bigger centres

A transit bus headed for the Swartz Bay ferry terminal stops to pick up passengers on a snowy Douglas Street in Victoria. Observers are concerned that B.C.’s push for a clean public transportation network is not paying enough attention to rural and remote communities. Don Denton file photo
Upgrades into trails and other work protecting ecologically sensitive areas in Gowlland Tod Provincial Park are expected to take until mid-June. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)

Ecological protection, trail upgrades start in Gowlland Tod Provincial Park

Trail boardwalks, bridges, and signs coming while some sensitive areas being protected

Upgrades into trails and other work protecting ecologically sensitive areas in Gowlland Tod Provincial Park are expected to take until mid-June. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)
The Capital Regional District has approved its $690-million budget with funding for wastewater systems, the regional water supply, landfill upgrades and more. (Courtesy of the Victoria Foundation)

CRD approves budget with tax increase, saying vital services protected

Plan includes $292 million for capital projects aimed at essential infrastructure

The Capital Regional District has approved its $690-million budget with funding for wastewater systems, the regional water supply, landfill upgrades and more. (Courtesy of the Victoria Foundation)
The Carpenters’ Regional Council Local 1598 in Victoria is providing free naloxone kits and training to its members. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria trade union offering naloxone kits to construction workers

The kits are being offered through the B.C. Construction Industry Rehab Plan

  • Mar 29, 2023
The Carpenters’ Regional Council Local 1598 in Victoria is providing free naloxone kits and training to its members. (Black Press Media file photo)
The loggers pole at Sooke Flats collapsed during a windstorm on March 29. (Photo-Robert Halliday)

Sooke landmark knocked down during windstorm

The Loggers Pole was carved by Randy Carvagallio

The loggers pole at Sooke Flats collapsed during a windstorm on March 29. (Photo-Robert Halliday)
The City of Victoria is lowering speed limits on all local streets to 30 km/h. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria lowering speeds limits on roads considered ‘local streets’

The Hillside-Quadra neighbourhood will be the first to see the change

The City of Victoria is lowering speed limits on all local streets to 30 km/h. (Black Press Media file photo)
City of Victoria electric vehicle chargers n Store Street. The city will need to ramp up the number of public chargers it builds in the coming years to keep up with the expected demand and its own timelines. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)
City of Victoria electric vehicle chargers n Store Street. The city will need to ramp up the number of public chargers it builds in the coming years to keep up with the expected demand and its own timelines. (Jake Romphf/News Staff)
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