Times Colonist

Victoria woman slowly coming back to life after contracting vaccine-preventable virus

Advised against taking a vaccine for a rare disease, a Vancouver Island woman set out on the trip of a lifetime in Southeast Asia only to lose a lifetime of memories and abilities after a virus attacked her brain. Kelly Worthen, then 58, and the...

‘Presumptive positive’ hantavirus test for one of four isolating on the Island

B.C.’s provincial health officer says one of the four Canadians isolating on Vancouver Island who had been on board a cruise ship where there was a hantavirus outbreak has received a “presumptive positive” test. Dr. Bonnie Henry said Saturday that the...

Eby pushes back as Ottawa and Alberta revive plan to build pipeline across B.C. to coast

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday they’re eyeing a fall 2027 start date for construction of a new bitumen pipeline that would cross B.C. on a journey to the West Coast. It’s part of a plan to accomplish the...

Safety plans ramp up as region braces for another hot summer

With the arrival of the May long weekend, often considered to be the unofficial start of summer, the region’s emergency co-ordinators are rolling out plans to keep people safe in case heat waves hit. Tanya Seal-Jones, the City of Victoria’s emergency...

Jump start to high school track and field titles

Levi Venables of Royal Bay Secondary flies over a hurdle during the senior boys 110-metre hurdles event at the Lower Island High School Track and Field Championships on Wednesday at Centennial Stadium. Venables cruised to victory in a time of 14.83...

UVic can now punish AI cheaters, even after graduation

The University of Victoria will update its student academic misconduct policy this fall to give instructors more power to address the use of artificial intelligence and punish cheaters even after they graduate. The UVic senate approved an expanded...

Islanders hit by longer, more severe allergy season

Even as spring progresses and some plants stop producing pollen, experts say allergy season isn’t stopping any time soon. The season of sniffles and itchy throats is especially bad in Victoria this year — the city was recently labelled the worst in...

High 19. Low 9.

Langford superfan family wins trip to watch Blue Jays play

Jenny Erskine of Langford bleeds blue. But she’s feeling anything but blue after winning a contest that has sent her and her family to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays this Mother’s Day weekend. Jenny and Dave Erskine and their children, eight-year-old...

Councillors praise church and housing project

A project that intends to reimagine a North Park block and provide 129 new residential units has cleared the first hurdle with Victoria city council. Council voted unanimously Thursday to endorse Aryze Development’s rezoning application and...

Death after hospital discharge prompts calls for changes to B.C.’s Mental Health Act

Within an hour of Jesse Flowerdew’s discharge from Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, where he had gone to seek help for suicidal thoughts, he killed himself. Flowerdew, who would have turned 48 on Monday, had a documented history of suicide attempts....

PreparedBC is B.C.’s emergency preparedness education program and we are here to help you get ready for the hazards we all face

In recent years, B.C. has coped with a pandemic, a record-breaking heat dome and a devastating atmospheric river event. These emergencies were felt across the province and are having lasting effects on those still recovering. As we look ahead, we know...

B.C. lumber producers miss out as Ottawa unveils $1.5B in tariff relief

The federal government said Monday it will put $1.5 billion toward tariff relief in response to the United States expanding the range and depth of its tariffs, but help for B.C. softwood lumber producers was not on the list. The announcement includes...

Times Colonist book sale continues today, Victoria Curling Club, 1952 Quadra, 9 to 5 Book lovers from near and far descend on sale

Tonatiuh Amor flew from Mexico City to Victoria for the annual Times Colonist book sale just to buy titles for his bookstore. The English literature student said he heard about the sale from a friend and decided to make the trip north to hunt for...

Orcas wow spectators at Ogden Point

Amy MacCutchan was having a tough day at the B.C. Cancer Centre at Royal Jubilee Hospital, where, as a medical secretary, she sees every day the suffering, worry and pain of so many. Heading home on Thursday afternoon, she saw a socialmedia post that...

‘Game changer’ blood test is beloved brother’s legacy

Angela Lee of Nanaimo says that when her brother was told he had three months to live, he fretted about not having a legacy. Little did he know that the genetic cancer testing he did was his legacy — benefiting generations of his family to...

Tumbler Ridge families likely to seek US$1 billion in OpenAI lawsuit

An American lawyer representing some of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting says they will likely be seeking more than US$1 billion in their California legal action against OpenAI and its founder, Sam Altman. Chicago-based Jay Edelson has...

Pro-Palestine marchers demand return of police traffic control

Organizers of weekly pro-Palestine marches in downtown Victoria are demanding that police resume providing “reasonable traffic control,” a month after VicPD scaled back its presence. Maureen Stone, one of the march organizers, said police are obliged...

Call to build 20 hotels in a decade finds support

The ambitious goal to build up to 20 new hotels and add 2,000 new rooms to the region over the next decade is gaining momentum with municipalities, First Nations and developers, says the chief executive of Destination Greater Victoria. Paul Nursey...

Esquimalt mulls pausing new missing-middle housing projects

Esquimalt council is considering halting new applications for missing-middle housing projects due to concerns about “jarring” three-storey houseplexes being built next to one-storey bungalows. Council asked staff this week to look at whether the...

Royal Roads will help train military again

Royal Roads University is returning to its roots by offering military officer training this fall in a new partnership with the Canadian Armed Forces. The university replaced Royal Roads Military College after it closed in 1995. University president...

New whale-watching vessel visits Victoria to mark Clipper’s 40th year

Long-awaited post-secondary financial review due at end of April Cowichan Valley District postpones decision on controversial bylaw

To trades workers: Don’t ‘walk it off,’ text Pain B.C.

Ben Marsolais began working in home construction with his stepfather at the age of 11, and by 20, he had developed chronic back pain. Unlike colleagues who self-medicated with drugs and alcohol, however, the 47-year-old Coquitlam man had family he...

Victoria Day Parade route shortened as part of safety changes

Big changes are coming for the Thrifty Foods Victoria Day Parade, including cutting the length of the route from four kilometres to 1.6. After years of being on Douglas Street, the 126th edition of the parade will follow the same route as last year’s...

After Times Colonist book drive, volunteers help prepare for book sale May 2 and 3

Jane Mertz gives directions to volunteers sorting books at the Victoria Curling Club for the upcoming Times Colonist book sale, set for May 2 and 3. Tens of thousands of books were donated this past weekend during a two-day book drive at the curling...

Reader’s delight: Books pour in for Times Colonist’s annual book sale

Volunteers in bright orange vests carried boxes and pushed shopping carts filled with books Saturday as donations for the annual Times Colonist book drive poured in. Some take time off work to help sort the books, while others travel to Victoria from...

Co-op to get $677,500 grant from Victoria

The first co-operative housing project in Victoria in recent memory will get a helping hand from the city, after council approved a $677,500 grant to the newly formed group behind the initiative. The funding, from the city’s $4.5 million Housing...

Evicted residents do not have to remove mobile homes from Songhees reserve: court

The B.C. Court of Appeal has ruled that residents evicted from a mobile home park on Songhees Nation lands no longer have to remove their homes from the property, but they aren’t entitled to compensation for leaving them there. Residents of the...

Victoria historian, known for graveyard tours, brought lost flag of Vancouver Island to life

Many people knew Victoria historian Michael Halleran for his Sunday tours at Ross Bay Cemetery, including his “murder most foul” talks that dug into the darker side of those buried in the historic Fairfield burial ground. But one of his biggest...

Swimmers eager to return as Crystal Pool reopens after gas incident

Four days after she was forced to leave when Crystal Pool was evacuated after a chlorine gas release, Sally Ziskowski was back in the water Tuesday for her aquafit class. The 65-year-old was one of 90 patrons and 12 staff who had to leave on Friday...

Brain injury a shadow crisis amid overdose deaths in B.C.

Edwin Bergsson’s friend broke down the door of his recording studio in Victoria about five years ago, found him unconscious and saved his life. “It’s incredible that I’m here today,” said Bergsson, who had overdosed after taking what he believed was...

Doctors moving from U.S. find new opportunities, better work-life balance

Of all the books oncologist Kira MacDougall has collected, her favourite is her Canadian passport — it’s allowed her to track gorillas and scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, scuba dive in Iceland, and climb glaciers in Ecuador. And now, after more...

Victoria welcomes first cruise ship of the season

Passengers on the first cruise ship of the season poured off the Nieuw Amsterdam and into Victoria with lively chatter and wide smiles on Friday morning. Some boarded buses and vans headed for Butchart Gardens and regional tours, while others boarded...

Rustad says ‘dirty trick’ by B.C. United may have cost Conservatives election win

Former B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad says he was “furious” to learn that B.C. United had been behind a website calling for him to be ousted before the 2024 provincial election, after Elections B.C. fined the party. Rustad said in an interview...

Getting ready for today’s World Cup watch party

The ball will roll from Stadion Bilino Polje in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to BMO Stadium in Toronto, to the lawns of the Legislature in what is promising to be an extraordinary day for soccer spanning the globe. The latter is the site of the...

CRD explores options as Hartland landfill fills up

The Capital Regional District is looking at long-term options for waste disposal as the Hartland landfill slowly fills up, including a new landfill site on the south Island, using new technology to deal with waste and exporting waste to other...

She’s giving birth next month. Her midwife might be deported

A Saanich woman due to give birth next month says she’s appalled by Canada’s treatment of her midwife, saying the threatened deportation of a skilled health-care worker is “incongruent” with B.C. efforts to attract them. Anika Bell, who is due April...

Seniors advocate calls on landlord to ‘do the right thing’

B.C.’s seniors advocate is calling on the landlords of a Cook Street Village building to let a 63-year-old man facing eviction over $74.52 in missed rent-increase payments stay in his home. “Give this person a break,” Dan Levitt said in an interview...

Victoria man, 63, faces eviction over $74.52 in missed rent

A 63-year-old Victoria man who doesn’t own a computer or smartphone is being evicted from his home of more than five years for failing to pay a rent increase he was notified about by email. Mark Plank has until the end of the month to vacate his...

As hiking season nears, no sign of Juan de Fuca trail reopening

Hikers and the business owners who cater to them are in limbo as another summer season approaches without an update on whether the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail will reopen. The 47-kilometre coastal hiking trail closed following severe storms in late 2024...

Two pilots killed after Air Canada jet crashes into fire truck at N.Y. airport

Clément Lelièvre says the pilots of the Air Canada jet that collided with a fire truck on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport likely saved his life and the lives of other passengers late Sunday night. The pilot and co-pilot of Flight AC8646 were...

Prospect of dark mornings prompts call for better lighting, paths for kids

With the switch to year-round daylight time in B.C., a Langford councillor is calling for provincial funding for better pathways and lighting on school routes. Kimberly Guiry said Langford has many areas without sidewalks and street lights, and the...

Hermann’s Jazz Club closing strikes heavy chord in Victoria’s live-music scene

News of the impending closing of Hermann’s, the longest continually running jazz club in Canada, has left the live-music community reeling. Citing financial hardship, the Arts On View Society, which operates both Hermann’s Jazz Club and the adjacent...

Monument honours Cowichan sweater and knitters

When Marie Jack gets into a rhythm with her knitting needles at her home in Duncan, she can go for hours. By the end of a week — sometimes even less — she has produced a woollen masterpiece: the durable, warm and world-renowned Cowichan...

Plan in works for new park around Fort Rodd Hill

The City of Colwood is working with Parks Canada and local First Nations to create a national urban park around Fort Rodd Hill-Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site. Parks Canada land around Fort Rodd Hill would be combined with pieces of...

About 400 U.S. health workers have accepted B.C. jobs: Eby

A mass shooting in 2022 at the hospital where she worked in Tulsa, Oklahoma, sowed the seed for a decision by pathologist Dr. Anne Herdman Royal to move to B.C. A man armed with an AR-15 style rifle opened fire on June 1 of that year at Saint Francis...

Downtown police patrols paying dividends for businesses, agencies

Tucked into budget motions passed by Victoria council last week was a line approving the Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan. It was an unnecessary addition, given that the plan was approved last July, but Mayor Marianne Alto said she wanted to tie...

Loss of provincial funding raises questions about Garth Homer housing project

Loss of provincial Community Housing Fund money has left a society that provides programs for adults with developmental challenges scrambling in the midst of building a new facility with a housing component. The Garth Homer Society, whose clients...

Rejection of 35-storey tower sends chilling message to developers: CEO

The developer behind what could have been the city’s tallest tower says the City of Victoria’s land-use policies may have triumphed, but it will be the city that loses out in the long run. “Policy 1, progress 0,” said Jon Stovell, chief executive of...

A pool of memories: Downtown Y bids farewell to Broughton Street

Merrianne Holm has many memories of her 12 years enjoying the facilities at Victoria’s Downtown Y, but probably the top one is when she dropped her wedding ring while swimming in the pool. She despaired that it would never be found, but the lifeguard...

‘Comfort carts’ aim to ease ER waits for seniors

“Comfort carts” equipped with everything from blankets to hearing aids to keep seniors more comfortable during long emergency-department waits have been delivered to 13 acute-care hospitals on Vancouver Island. The carts, resembling rolling filing...

Student describes moments before woman was killed in her house

A university student says she was listening to a podcast on headphones in a ground-floor bedroom of her house near Uptown when she heard someone screaming “help me” outside. Sarah Paul heard footsteps coming up her front steps, and the front door...

Rehabilitated shoreline new feature at Esquimalt Gorge Park

If you had never been to Esquimalt Gorge Park and stumbled across a recent restoration project, you might be tricked into thinking the area always looked that way. And that’s exactly the point. It was designed using local plants and natural materials...

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On-the-move military spouses can now access WorkBC sooner

Military spouses and their adult children moving to B.C. can now access WorkBC services from outside the province, as part of a national effort to make it easier for military families that often have to move on short notice for the Canadian Armed...

B.C. targets weapons in supportive housing

The B.C. government has introduced legislation that would give supportive-housing operators more power to deal with weapons and violence — a change that has been needed for a long time, says the CEO of Our Place Society. Julian Daly, whose...

Esquimalt mayor wants apology after branches ripped from flowering tree

Esquimalt’s mayor wants an apology from a group of people who snapped off branches from a flowering plum tree in a public park, telling a bystander they were taking the branches for a wedding. “It’s extremely disappointing. Our parks are there for...

Past attempts at a year-round daylight time a failure: sleep expert

An expert in sleep and circadian rhythms says the move to yearround daylight time in B.C. is an experiment that history has proven will go “terribly wrong.” Camosun College psychology instructor Michael Pollock says research supports the benefits of...

B.C. moves to end time changes

B.C. residents will move their clocks forward by one hour for the last time on Sunday as the province moves to permanent daylight time. Premier David Eby made the announcement Monday in the B.C. legislature as an audience of South Park Elementary...

Port applies to dredge Burrard Inlet to boost exports

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has applied to dredge Burrard Inlet in a move that would allow tankers to more fully load with oil. In a proposal to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, the port authority seeks to dredge both sides of a...

Ukrainians hopeful about staying on Island 4 years after fleeing war

As Ukrainians mark four years since Russian forces invaded their country, many who came to Canada to escape the war have settled here and are hoping to stay. At a rally on the B.C. legislature lawn on Sunday marking the anniversary, Anastasiia...

Canadian men curl to Olympic gold

Canada’s Ben Hebert, Brett Gallant, Marc Kennedy and Brad Jacobs celebrate after beating Britain in the men’s curling gold-medal match at the Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Saturday.

Top U.S. court strikes down Trump tariffs; he says he has options, imposes 10% rate

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he will sign an executive order imposing a 10 per cent global tariff — and lashed out at Supreme Court justices hours after America’s top court struck down his use of an emergency legal tool to...

B.C. sets aside $50 million to expand naloxone access

The B.C. government will spend $50 million to expand access to easy-touse nasal naloxone across the province over two years in a bid to help prevent overdose drug deaths. Health Minister Josie Osborne made the announcement Thursday, saying nasal...

New taxes in B.C. budget will add to housing costs, industry warns

If the provincial government is intent on addressing what it believes is a housing shortage, it has a funny way of showing it, homebuilders and real estate experts say. The provincial budget delivered on Tuesday included an expansion of the provincial...