• Taking the plunge

    Taking the plunge
    RITUAL: A hot spot with cold therapyThe post Taking the plunge appeared first on Abbotsford News.
  • ‘I’m grateful it’s over’: B.C.woman wins appeal over $110K B.C. tax bill

    In May of 2025, Maureen Washington recieved a letter from the Ministry of Finance stating that she owed $110,076.91 in relation to the Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT). On Jan. 13, she received another letter confirming the debt had been fully cancelled following a successful appeal.
    Washington described the eight months between those two moments as a fight for her home.
    “I was relieved, but relieved in a way that’s hard to put into words,” Washington said of opening the lette
  • Millions spent at B.C. ostrich farm

    More than $6 million was spent leading up to the killing, and the execution, of more than 300 ostriches in Edgewood last year.
    Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee MP Scott Anderson sought out these figures in the House of Commons, questioning the Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-Food on Dec. 9.
    The numbers in response to action against the Universal Ostrich Farm were provided and tabled on Monday, Jan. 26.
    “The drama significantly affected the Canadian public’s distrust of federal instituti
  • B.C. paramedics plan strike vote over 2-week period in February

    The union representing more than 6,000 ambulance paramedics and emergency dispatchers says a strike vote will begin in early February.
    The Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. said in a news release Tuesday (Jan. 27) that the union has reached an impasse and a strike vote is “imminent.”
    Union president Jason Jackson said the union met with the employer, the provincial government, in an effort to advance negotiations and avoid any disruptions to services. But Jackson said “no positive p
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  • Salvation Army shelter in Abbotsford plans to increase capacity from 19 to 36

    A new housing agreement that would see the Salvation Army in Abbotsford double the capacity of its emergency shelter on Gladys Avenue is nearing final approval.
    City council on Tuesday (Jan. 27) approved third reading of the related bylaw.
    Under the new agreement, the agency will accommodate up to 36 people – 26 men and 10 women.
    The previous agreement, which had been in place since 2004, permitted up to 19 men over the age of 18.
    The new housing agreement, which permits the continued oper
  • IHIT has investigated 307 cases in Surrey to date

    Since the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team assumed the responsibility for investigating homicides from the Surrey RCMP serious crimes section in June 2003 it has taken conduct of 307 mandated cases in this city.
    This includes all homicides – culpable or not – and suspicious sudden deaths and missing persons cases where foul play is suspected.
    Sergeant Freda Fong said four cases have since been transferred to either another investigative unit or were returned to the police of ju
  • ‘Borderline friendly’: B.C. Premier Eby meets with Alberta’s Smith, PM Carney

    The prime minister met with the premiers of Alberta and B.C. on Wednesday (Jan. 28) in Ottawa, with the premiers finding some “common ground” but continuing to strike different notes on their desire for a new oil pipeline from the oilsands to the west coast.
    Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the trio talked about the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that commits to working toward a new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast. She and Prime Minister Mark Carney signed the agreement in Novem
  • VIDEO: Vancouver FC prepares for game against Mexico’s Cruz Azul

    With less than two weeks to go before Vancouver FC faces Mexico’s Cruz Azul, the Langley team took a flight to Phoenix, Arizona for a pre-season training camp on Jan. 22.
    It was a lot warmer, 19 Celsius under sunny skies as of Sunday.
    Back in Langley, at the VFC home stadium in Willoughby, it was also a sunny Sunday, but just four degrees.
    As part of their preparation, VFC was scheduled to have two “friendlies” – tune-up games against United Soccer League side Phoenix Ris
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  • No charges approved against VicPD officer in fatal 2021 shooting

    The BC Prosecution Service (BCPS) announced today that no charges will be laid against a VicPD officer following a five-year investigation into a fatal shooting.
    On Sept. 21, 2021, VicPD officers responded to a report of a man in distress who had allegedly committed a theft and was threatening self-harm with a knife.
    Upon arrival, officers located the man near a shopping mall. Police attempted to contain the situation while a trained crisis negotiator engaged the individual in an effort to de-es
  • 3 of Canada’s Top 100 most romantic restaurants found in Kelowna, Vernon

    This season of love around the corner, Central Okanagan residents can celebrate at some of the most romantic spots in Canada.
    On Wednesday, Jan. 28, OpenTable released its Top 100 Most Romantic restaurants for 2026. The list was compiled of over 900,000 diner reviews, ratings, and reservation demands from Dec. 1, 2024 to Nov. 20, 2025.
    Of the 100 restaurants across the country, with three local restaurants made the cut:Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate Winery (West Kelowna);
    Home Block
  • New urgent and primary care centre opens in Surrey

    B.C.’s minister of health was in Surrey Wednesday for a soggy press conference to announce the opening of a new urgent and primary care centre.
    Despite the chill and rain, several politicians and dignitaries showed up just before the new Cloverdale urgent and primary care centre (UPCC) opened Wednesday (Jan. 28), including Minister of Health Josie Osborne and parliamentary secretary for primary care Stephanie Higginson.
    The new centre, located at 5711 176A St., offers year-round, seven-day
  • Verbal sparring at Langley Township council as opposition councillor’s motion delayed

    It’s unusual for municipal councils to spend much time on approving their meeting agendas, but that process turned into a 20-minute argument at Langley Township on Monday, Jan. 26.
    The current council is divided between five members of Mayor Eric Woodward’s Progress for Langley slate and four independent councillors.
    Independent Councillor Margaret Kunst had a motion on Monday’s agenda about municipal wells, and the potential to drill new ones to reduce Township reliance on Met
  • Coastal First Nations condemn Fulmer for spreading ‘disinformation’ about group

    Coastal First Nations President Marilyn Slett is pushing back on B.C. Conservative leadership candidate Yuri Fulmer’s assertion that the alliance is “just an advocacy organization,” calling his comments in a video and on social media, “disinformation.”
    “We’re a coalition, an alliance of communities that have very ancient and old relations amongst each other, that ties us together,” said Slett, who is also the chief of the Heiltsuk Nation. The allia
  • Abbotsford Film Society screens Sorry to Bother You

    The Abbotsford Film Society (AFS) celebrates Black History Month in February with a special screening of Sorry To Bother You, the directorial debut from Boots Riley.
    The screening takes place Friday, Feb. 6, at The Banquet Room (3471 Clearbrook Rd.).
    Riley has described the film as “an absurdist dark comedy with aspects of magical realism and science fiction inspired by the world of telemarketing.”
    The film follows the life of Cassius Green, a young African-American telemarketer who
  • ‘I feel alive’: Kelowna man receives kidney transplant after six months of waiting

    After a long battle with health struggles, Kelowna resident Troy Chapman, is on the road to recovery from a kidney transplant.
    Chapman was one of 357 people to receive a kidney transplant in British Columbia last year, a new record BC Transplant announced on Wednesday, Jan. 28. In 2025, 525 B.C. residents received an organ transplant, also a record-high.
    “I feel alive!” said Chapman. “I now have all this energy to get active, get out in the bush with my 4×4 and enjoy time
  • PHOTOS: New departure lounge open to travellers at Kelowna airport

    After nearly two-and-a-half years of construction, the new Kelowna International Airport (YLW) departures lounge is now open to the public.
    Travellers flocked to YLW in droves on Jan. 28, getting a chance to use the new amenities for the first time.
    The opening of the new lounge represents a key milestone in the Airport Terminal Building expansion project, the first phase of which is set to complete later this year. In total, it adds 5,590 square metres of new space to the terminal building.
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  • U.S. ICE wants to buy B.C.’s Jim Pattison Group-owned building in Virginia

    The development arm of B.C.’s Jim Pattison Group won’t be commenting on the private transaction of the sale of one of its buildings to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
    A statement to Black Press Media Wednesday (Jan. 28) acknowledges the “conversation around immigration policy and enforcement is particularly heated, and has become much more so over the past few weeks.”
    However, the statement pointed to the company’s policy that is doesn’t comment
  • SkyTrain line to Langley on track for late 2029 opening

    The SkyTrain line between Whalley and Langley City is on track to be opened for service in late 2029. Gilles Assier, executive project director of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain Project, presented an update to Surrey’s council-in-committee on January 26.
    He outlined “key progress” looking ahead that includes most guideway foundations and substructure being completed this year.
    “All stations will be under construction in the first half of this year which is another big step f
  • No clean getaway in case of stolen trailer full of sinks

    The police got back a stolen trailer unit now they have to figure out who owns what’s inside.
    On Saturday, Jan. 23, Langley RCMP recovered a 53-foot trailer containing a large quantity of new sinks.
    Investigators have since spoken with the registered owner of the trailer. They don’t belong to the trailer owner.
    Police believe the property maybe unreported stolen goods and are working to identify the rightful owner, explained Sgt. Zynal Sharoom, of the Langley RCMP.
    “We believe
  • Grammy-nominated quintet brings worship tunes to Abbotsford

    Abbotsford, which is often referred to as the “Bible Belt of B.C.”, is staying true to its name and will soon be hosting the Christian band MercyMe.
    This isn’t the first time that this American band from Oklahoma has brought their religious songs to Abbotsford, with the group previously playing here in 2017.
    The contemporary Christian quintet has been well-known in the religious music scene for quite some time, ever since their 2001 song I Can Only Imagine broke into the Billbo
  • Felix Leuzinger

    With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Felix Leuzinger. Felix was born in Switzerland on May 2, 1945 and left this world peacefully in the Abbotsford Hospital, on January 23 2026, at the age of 80, surrounded by his three sons. He was a devoted father, proud grandfather, and a man deeply rooted in family, community and service.
    Felix was an active and dedicated member of the Sasquatch Lions club and a respected retired member of the dairy farming community, where his strong work ethic and
  • Darlene Scott (nee Taylor)

    In Loving Memory ~
    It is with deep love and sadness that we announce the passing of Darlene Scott (nee Taylor), a cherished sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, on 16 January 2026 at the age of 80. She passed peacefully after a series of illnesses.
    Darlene was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia to George Taylor and Gladys Taylor (nee Talbot). She spent her formative years in the Fraser Valley, where she graduated from high school and initially worked as a bookkeeper, then as a teleph
  • Court supports euthanization of ‘dangerous dog’ after pedestrians attacked in Shuswap

    A B.C. court judge supported an application for the euthanization of a dog that attacked several pedestrians in Silver Creek.
    In his Dec. 16 (2025) decision following a two-day hearing, Judge George Leven determined Sandy and Colin Burger’s pet Luna to be a “dangerous dog” that could not be returned to the family as she “would remain likely to seriously injure or kill another person.”
    “I find on all of the evidence before me that Luna is a dangerous dog. She h
  • New $300K art project approved for Abbotsford Police building

    A $300,000 art project has been approved for the exterior of the Abbotsford Police headquarters.
    The project – the first under the city’s new public art policy – came up for discussion at the council meeting on Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 27).
    A staff report to council states that the budget for the expansion of the police headquarters included $300,000 for “site-specific public art.”
    The first phase of the expansion – a 105,000-square-foot four-storey addition &n
  • Kootenay MLA returns to work while recovering from stroke

    A month after experiencing a stroke, Kootenay-Rockies MLA Pete Davis is back to work on reduced hours in his Cranbrook constituency office.
    Davis has been posting videos of his journey on social media, and is walking, talking and ready to take on as much of his duties as possible without impeding his recovery.
    “In life sometimes you just get a hard pitch and it’s tough to deal with, but you just move on and see what you can do,” Davis said, during an interview at his office.
    On
  • Kootenay MLA retuns to work while recovering from stroke

    A month after experiencing a stroke, Kootenay-Rockies MLA Pete Davis is back to work on reduced hours in his Cranbrook constituency office.
    Davis has been posting videos of his journey on social media, and is walking, talking and ready to take on as much of his duties as possible without impeding his recovery.
    “In life sometimes you just get a hard pitch and it’s tough to deal with, but you just move on and see what you can do,” Davis said, during an interview at his office.
    On
  • Man with knife draws ‘significant’ response from Abbotsford police - theprogress.com

    Man with knife draws ‘significant’ response from Abbotsford police  theprogress.com
  • Man with knife draws ‘significant’ response from Abbotsford police

    Police responded to a man walking through an Abbotsford neighbourhood with a large knife attached to a pole on Tuesday (Jan. 27).
    According to a social media post from the Abbotsford Police Department, the man was in a state of psychosis and was apprehended under the Mental Health Act.
    The reports of the knife drew a significant police presence to the Blueridge Drive and Townline Road area at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
    Police said no one was injured.
    “Frontline officers respond to
  • Aldergrove zoo welcomes new red panda resident

    The Greater Vancouver Zoo (GV Zoo) is welcoming a 10-year-old male red panda named Kelly.
    Kelly was transferred from Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Man., and was greeted by GV Zoo staff and volunteers upon arrival. He will be joining Paprika, the zoo’s 8-year-old resident red panda, in the southern end of the zoo’s Asian section.
    GV Zoo’s director of animal care Menita Prasad said Kelly quickly made himself at home.
    “Kelly was very excited to discover his new home,&rdq
  • 100 Mile House judo sensei still throwing at 90

    For his 90th birthday, there was nowhere else Bob Griechen wanted to be other than on the mats at Kokoro Judo 100 Mile House.
    Griechen is one of the club’s senseis, a sixth-degree black belt, training adults and children alike in the unarmed Japanese martial art. He’s been practising the sport for seven decades now, a fact even he finds surprising. On Monday, Jan. 26, the day after his birthday, he was out on the mats spending time with his students.
    “I told them last year, tow

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