Nanaimo news

• ‘A special day:’ Tour de Rock wraps up in downtown Victoria

  03-10-2026 04:21 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A team of 23 cyclists, including Victoria News’ own Tony Trozzo, has completed the two-week, 1,200-kilometre ride around Vancouver Island for the 29th annual Cops for Cancer Tour de Rock.
  On the eve of Friday, Oct. 2, riders completed their last leg of the tour and ended up at Ship Point to meet their families and celebrate their achievements over the two weeks – meeting with community members and raising over $700,000 for childhood cancer research and support services at the Canadia
  
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• Woman arrested after allegedly threatening Hullo ferry workers with weapon

  05-10-2026 23:03 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A 52-year-old woman was charged with a number of offences after allegedly threatening employees with a weapon at the Hullo ferry terminal in downtown Nanaimo.
  Reserve Constable Gary O’Brien, with the Nanaimo RCMP, said police were called to the scene on the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 4 at approximately 1 p.m..
  He said the woman was refused boarding onto the ferry.
  “She apparently took exception to that and may have produced a knife,” O’Brien said.
  “She had left the s
  
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• Hope veteran’s death shines spotlight on little-known Legion service

  05-10-2026 23:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  When William James (Jim) Earnest Ager passed away, Charlene Pacholuk knew she wanted her longtime friend to have a ceremonious send-off.
  As a veteran of the Korean War, it only seemed right that Ager would get the kind of funeral service befitting a Canadian veteran.
  Pacholuk said she attempted to figure out how to make this happen without many resources at her disposal, and eventually discovered what she was looking for after talking to former Royal Canadian Legion Branch 228 president Ian Will
  
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• NDP announces seniors’ health care plan at Victoria stop

  05-10-2026 22:36 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  After watching a few shots at the Victoria Curling Club, NDP leader David Eby, joined by other South Island NDP candidates, laid out a seniors’ health care plan as the campaign trail continues ahead of Oct. 24.
  “In terms of health care, though, when I think about groups that are particularly concerned about and interested in the future of health care in the province, it’s the people who helped build this province, the seniors,” he told media. For seniors in our province,
  
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• Kelowna General Hospital Foundation raises over $45M to improve care

  05-10-2026 21:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  After four years, the Closer to Home Than You Think campaign for Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) Foundation has closed, surpassing its goal by over $5-million.“What our community has accomplished through this campaign goes far beyond exceeding an ambitious fundraising goal,” said Allison Young, CEO of the KGH Foundation. “Thousands of people chose to invest in a shared vision for better health care here in the Interior, and the result is an impact that will be felt by hundreds o
  
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• Options being considered for B.C.’s Historic O’Keefe Ranch

  05-10-2026 21:03 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  After investing $4.12 million over the last 30 years, the City of Vernon is cutting off the Historic O’Keefe Ranch and Interior Heritage Society.The lease is up for the Ranch on March 31, 2027 and will not be extended as the city says it is looking at future options for the property, “that will provide a financially sustainable path forward while recognizing the importance of the Ranch to our community,” an Oct. 1 letter to the society reads from Vernon’s chief administra
  
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• ‘Life behind each name’: Victoria monument honours Japanese Canadians interned during WW2

  05-10-2026 20:57 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A sprawling new monument just minutes from the B.C. Legislature honours the Japanese Canadians interned during the Second World War.
  “A monument does not restore homes, businesses, fish boats, property or years that were taken, but it can make a positive record permanent,” said Japanese Canadian Legacies Society President Paul Kariya. “Here in granite, in the provincial capital, the names of those who were uprooted will endure.”
  The centrepiece of the monument, located at
  
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• Fingerstyle guitar prodigy brings jaw-dropping technique to Vancouver Island

  05-10-2026 20:55 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Modern fingerstyle guitar prodigy Alex Misko makes his way down Vancouver Island in a series of concerts promising jaw-dropping technique, emotional depth, and genre-defying style.Fusing classical precision with elements of jazz, rock, and modern fingerstyle, Misko’s performances are hailed as technically astonishing and deeply moving.
  He began playing at the age of 12. Now in his 20s, a German-based multigenre guitar maestro with eight album projects under his belt, plus global tours.
  Aft
  
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• ‘This happens all the time’ Mid Island resident died without access to modern cardiac care, NRGH doctor reports

  05-10-2026 20:54 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Without access to a cardiac cath lab in Nanaimo, local residents are paying the price with their lives.
  This is according to Dr. David Forrest, head of infectious disease and critical care at NRGH, who pressed the need for a cardiac cath lab and new patient tower, to attendees at the Fair Care For All Public Health Forum on Sept. 24.Forrest said recently, medical staff responded to a case of a 65-year-old woman who collapsed in the washroom, which was heard by her husband, who found her barely b
  
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• PHOTOS: Thousands of Vancouver Islanders flock for gander at 116th fall fair

  05-10-2026 20:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  There may have been no elephants, but there was jumbo-sized fun – and one very unusual-looking creature turning heads at the Luxton Fall Fair.
  With its white, curly feathers, Sebastopol goose Lucky was hard to miss as visitors streamed through the Luxton Fairgrounds for the three-day event, held Oct. 2 to 4.
  Lucky was one of many farmyard animals on display, alongside a packed lineup of entertainment, antique farm equipment, historic steam machinery and the usual thrills and spills of the
  
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• 1 dead in single-vehicle crash on Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park

  05-10-2026 20:22 via nanaimobulletin.com
  A 23-year-old Invermere man is dead after a crash on Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park on Friday (Oct. 2).
  Columbia Valley RCMP received a report of a single-vehicle crash on the highway, just north of the Floe Lake trailhead, on Friday around 11:10 p.m., according to a news release from B.C. Highway Patrol.
  Police found a black Nissan Maxima on its side after leaving the road and travelling down an embankment.
  The female driver wasn’t “seriously hurt,” police said, but the
  
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• B.C. man creates local election quiz to help increase voter turnout in Kelowna

  05-10-2026 20:09 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A Kelowna man wants to make it easier for residents to engage with municipal politics, and he’s created a tool to do so.
  Giuseppe Gaspari, a software developer by day, has recently found himself more interested in the workings of the City of Kelowna ever since the birth of his child this year.
  “I really care about the kind of city that my son is going to be growing up in,” he said.
  For around two weeks, after his work and responsibilities, Kelowna born-and-raised Gaspari would
  
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• Curling Classic wraps today in Vernon

  05-10-2026 20:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Eunji Gim’s curling stay in B.C. has been extended.
  The 2024 Women’s World Curling bronze medalist and her Korean teammates earned a spot in the Grand Slam of Curling’s Co-Op Invitational Oct. 13-18 in Victoria by capturing the women’s championship at the Prestige Hotels and Resorts Curling Classic.
  Gim, a 15-time Korean women’s champion, defeated Japan’s Yuina Miura 5-2 in the championship Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Vernon Curling Club. The victory earned Gim a s
  
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• Ontario man sentenced for attempting to smuggle cannabis on Vancouver-London flight

  05-10-2026 19:49 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A man who attempted to smuggle cannabis in his suitcase on a flight to London’s Heathrow Airport has been sentenced.
  Alaaddin Koc, from Windsor, Ont., pled guilty to possession of cannabis for the purpose of exportation on July 27 following an investigation by the RCMP’s Federal Policing Pacific Region. He was given a one-year prison sentence and a lifetime firearms ban on Sept. 1.
  Koc, 56, was caught attempting to smuggle cannabis in his luggage on a flight from Vancouver Internatio
  
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• Candidates finalized in all 93 ridings for B.C. election

  05-10-2026 18:39 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Only one party is running candidates in all 93 ridings, according to the finalized list from Elections BC.
  Candidate nominations for the provincial election later this month closed at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 3). There are 93 ridings across B.C.
  There are 335 candidates for the snap election, with 340 of those representing 10 political parties. Fifteen candidates are running as independents or unaffiliated, Elections BC said in a news release Sunday.
  The B.C. Conservatives is the only party to h
  
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• Ignazio (Jimmy) Babuin

  05-10-2026 18:20 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  In Loving Memory ~
  January 2, 1935 – September 19, 2026
  It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved father, husband, brother, grandfather and friend who passed away peacefully with his family by his side.
  Born in Pordenone, Italy he immigrated to Canada in 1954 to begin a new life, working as a Heavy Duty Mechanic in the forest industry, where he was known for his hard work, dedication and ability to fix just about anything.
  Ignazio shared 67 wonderful years of mar
  
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• Jack Harding

  05-10-2026 18:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  In Loving Memory ~
  July 27, 1932 – September 22, 2026
  “Jackson Quinten Harding”, a refined English gentleman who was renowned for the twinkle in his blue eyes, his charming smile and his photography, departed after a short struggle with his health on September 22, 2026. His family held his hands as he breathed his last on earth and took his next breath in the heaven that awaited him. His journey began in the east end of London, England, on July 27th, 1932. During the war to esc
  
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• Halloween Train at BC Forest Discovery Centre in Cowichan sure to draw a crowd this October

  05-10-2026 16:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The BC Forest Discovery Centre is gearing up for another spooky Halloween season with even more opportunities to ride their Halloween train.
  Their biggest Halloween event yet: this year, the BCFDC is offering 12 nights aboard the popular train, which organizers say will be 100 acres chock-full of chills, new surprises, and even more fun for even more families.The fun begins Friday, Oct. 16 and goes until Tuesday, Oct. 20, and then returns Friday, Oct. 23 and runs until Monday, Oct. 26, and again
  
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• Nanaimo considers purchase of Lost Intersections art pieces

  05-10-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  It’s likely that the three Lost Intersections temporary public-art installations in downtown Nanaimo will soon be owned by the municipality
  The Nanaimo’s finance and audit committee unanimously recommended at its meeting on Sept. 30, that council purchase the art from Chinese Canadian artist Jackie Wong for $15,000, and include them in the city’s permanent public art collection.
  Coun. Hilary Eastmure, who made the motion at a special council meeting on July 27 to direct staff t
  
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• Gatcomb nets winner as Golden Knights earn 3-2 win over Vancouver Canucks

  05-10-2026 05:47 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Marc Gatcomb’s goal stood up as the winner, helping the visiting Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in NHL action Sunday at Rogers Arena.
  Mitch Marner and Victor Olofsson also scored for Vegas (2-1-0), with Adin Hill making 17 saves to pick up the goaltending victory.
  Paul Cotter and Jonathan Lekkerimaki replied for the Canucks (2-2-0). Kevin Lankinen stopped 25 of 28 shots and took the loss.
  Lankinen, who gave up eight goals in his last start against Edmonton, wa
  
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• B.C. NDP leader Eby promises tax hike on wealthy to fund health care

  05-10-2026 05:38 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  At a Victoria rally, B.C. NDP leader David Eby announced his plan to tax the wealthy to help pay for health care.
  If elected, Eby will increase income tax for the top two tax brackets and create a new bracket for those earning $1 million or more.
  “We’re going to be honest with people about how we’re going to pay for these things, because these things do in fact cost money,” he told the crowd gathered in the Fernwood Neighbourhood House Sunday evening (Oct. 4).
  “Can&
  
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• BC Conservative Party leader Lorne Doerkson hits campaign trail in Cariboo-Chilcotin

  05-10-2026 02:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C. Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson spent Sunday (Oct. 4) swinging through the southern part of his riding, where he met with residents at events in Savona, Cache Creek, and Clinton.
  At the Cache Creek stop, Doerkson emphasized that while he is the interim party leader, he was there campaigning to be the MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin, the riding he has represented since first being elected in 2020.
  “I’ve enjoyed being your MLA. I’m unbelievably committed to the Cariboo-
  
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• Kelowna metal band named best in Western Canada

  05-10-2026 02:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Up-and-coming Kelowna band Freeze the Fall is getting national-level recognition after being named the Metal & Hard Music Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards.Freeze the Fall beat out four other metal bands such as Archspire (B.C.), Blue Youth (Sask.), Gnarwhal (N.W.T.) and Valley of Despair (Alta.) to win the award. The Kelowna band was presented the award in Victoria last week on Oct. 1.The band will soon be returning to Kelowna. On Oct. 17 they will be playing at Red Bi
  
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• PHOTOS: B.C. witches take to the waters of Semiahmoo Bay

  04-10-2026 22:31 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Around 50 witchy individuals traded their broomsticks for paddleboards Sunday morning (Oct. 4) as they took to the water for White Rock’s annual Witch Rock paddle.The group launched from the boat ramp at Bayview Park around 11 a.m., making their way toward the White Rock Pier before paddling back.The fog was thick over the water, giving the paddle a particularly spooky backdrop as witches in pointed hats, black clothing and capes moved through the mist.Participants ranged from children to
  
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• Rabbit population threatens Vancouver Island alpine garden

  04-10-2026 21:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A group of volunteers maintaining an alpine and rock garden at Nanoose Place is asking the Regional District of Nanaimo to help fund fencing to protect the garden from rabbits that have been destroying its plants.
  In a letter to Rick Daykin, interim director of RDN Recreation and Parks, the volunteers said the growing rabbit population has resulted in the loss of numerous plants, including some grown from seed by the garden’s original benefactor, Eswyn Lyster.
  Established in 2009, Eswyn&rs
  
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• Nanaimo Art Gallery celebrating golden anniversary

  04-10-2026 20:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Nanaimo Art Gallery is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
  Founded in 1976, according to the gallery, it started as the Madrona Exhibition Centre, established by a group of faculty members at the then-Malaspina College, now Vancouver Island University.
  Carolyn Holmes, gallery executive director, has been involved since 2000. She said that it started as one of many centennial exhibition spaces across Canada.
  “It was set up so that travelling exhibitions, science exhibitions, history exhib
  
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• Business Notes: MGM Restaurant is closing after 42 years.

  04-10-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Nanaimo’s iconic MGM Restaurant is closing after serving the community for 42 years.
  Co-owner Tricia Samaroo said the last day at the popular family-owned restaurant, long known for its old-fashioned homestyle comfort food, all-day breakfast, and a warm, welcoming community atmosphere, is set for Oct. 11.
  She said MGM, which is located at 240 Nicol St. in the city’s south end, was first opened by her parents, Helen and Tony Samaroo, who were uneducated immigrants when they first came
  
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• Third-period explosion lifts Vancouver Canucks to 4-1 win over Calgary Flames

  04-10-2026 07:11 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Vancouver Canucks erupted for four third-period goals, erasing a 1-0 deficit and earning a 4-1 win over the visiting Calgary Flames in NHL action Saturday at Rogers Arena.
  Liam Ohgren, defenceman Elias Pettersson, Drew O’Connor and Aatu Räty scored for the Canucks (2-1-0), with Linus Karlsson and Tom Willander each dishing out a pair of assists. Leevi Merilainen made 23 saves to earn the win in goal, his first as a Canuck.
  Matt Coronato had the lone goal for Calgary (0-2-0), with
  
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• Nanaimo considers making facilities more receptive for those with hidden disabilities

  04-10-2026 01:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Nanaimo is trying to make the municipality more receptive to those with hidden disabilities.
  The finance and audit committee unanimously voted to recommend that council register the city as a member of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Network at its meeting on Sept. 23.
  The international Sunflower program supports people with non-visible disabilities, including neurological, cognitive, developmental, or sensory conditions such as autism, ADHD, brain injuries, dementia, anxiety disorders and mor
  
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• Whyte boots 8 field goals as B.C. Lions hang on for 24-17 win over Toronto Argonauts

  03-10-2026 23:58 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Sean Whyte booted eight field goals and the B.C. Lions came up with a huge goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter, as they held on for a 24-17 win over the host Toronto Argonauts in CFL action Saturday at BMO Field in Toronto.
  Whyte’s eight three-pointers set a B.C. franchise record for field goals and eclipsed his previous personal best of seven.
  Quarterback Nathan Rourke threw for 254 yards and ran for 50 more for the Leos (9-6), who won their third straight game and are two games ba
  
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