Nanaimo news

• Heavy police presence in Campbell River near an elementary school lifted

  05-06-2026 18:58 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Campbell River RCMP were heavily involved at a scene near École Des Deux Mondes Elementary School (EDM) on June 5.
  “Police are responding to a concern in the community; it does not have anything to do with the school,” said a press release from School District 72 issued at 8:56 a.m. “Student safety is our priority. EDM bus students are being held at École Phoenix Middle School under staff supervision until the police presence is lifted.”
  It also said parents
  
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• BRIONES: Going cuckoo over photographing birds

  07-06-2026 23:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Lately, I’ve become obsessed with photographing different species of birds.
  It’s a major departure from my longtime passion for sports photography.
  Earlier this year, I found myself looking up more often, paying attention to the birds chirping overhead and flying from tree to tree. Some scanned the horizon from lofty perches, while others hunted patiently before swooping down to catch a meal.
  Before long, birdwatching became something I couldn’t ignore. Now, it’s a habit
  
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• City of Nanaimo wants public input on impacts of rising sea levels

  07-06-2026 22:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The City of Nanaimo is encouraging people to complete a survey related to rising sea levels and its impacts on the city.
  Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said in his mayor’s report at the council meeting on May 25 that the city is moving into the second and final round of public engagement for the ‘Our Coastal City’ project, an initiative that, in partnership with Snuneymuxw First Nation, is developing a plan to better understand and respond to rising sea levels.
  He said that technic
  
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• 250 original ancient objects bring Egypt to life in Victoria museum

  07-06-2026 22:20 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Mummification, the underworld, the grave and the afterlife take centre stage for the next year at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.The exhibit Ancient Egypt: Obsessed with Life shares rituals, beliefs and artistry that supported this complex civilization’s transition from one existence to the afterlife.
  Hands-on activities and a virtual three-dimensional ride through the Egyptian underworld also create physical experiences designed for children and families.
  “We’re thrilled to w
  
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• Vancouver Island’s Nicoll brothers sign pro baseball deals in Hamilton

  07-06-2026 21:35 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Two baseball players from Coombs, Brandon and Trevor Nicoll, have signed up to play with the Hamilton Cardinals in the Canadian Baseball League for the 2026 season.
  The Cardinals are a professional side in Southern Ontario.
  For Brandon, this will be his second stint with the Cardinals, who signed him up last season. In his CBL debut with the Cardinals, Brandon batted .305 and led the Hamilton team with seven home runs in 39 games, earning him an all-star selection.
  Prior to joining the Cards, Br
  
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• One fatality in vehicle crash on Highway 5 near McLure: RCMP

  07-06-2026 19:42 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Update, 11:17 a.m.
  A person has died in a vehicle collision on Highway 5 near McLure.
  B.C. RCMP have confirmed that at around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 7, B.C. Emergency Health Services called in to report that a semi-truck collided with an SUV, which resulted in one fatality.
  The location of the crash was on Highway 5 near McLure.
  A reconstructionist was notified as well as the coroner, RCMP say.
  The highway was closed for the investigation.
  As of 11:05 a.m., Drive B.C. was notifying the public
  
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• Business Notes: Expect lots of fun at Landlubber Pub during FIFA games

  07-06-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Landlubber Pub has big plans for soccer (football) fans during the upcoming FIFA World Cup series.
  Owner Andrew Pederson said the popular Nanaimo pub will select a game a day during the five-week series, which runs from June 11 to July 19, and broadcast it on Landlubber’s numerous screens.
  He said the games chosen will include teams favoured by his customers, and they will likely include competitions with France, England and Canada in them.
  “Nanaimo has a big international community,
  
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• Deception used to fool Nazis prior to D-Day invasion, says Nanaimo Legion exec

  07-06-2026 01:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Canada’s contributions to a seminal moment in the Second World War were commemorated at Royal Canadian Legion branch in Nanaimo.
  Legion Branch 256 (Mount Benson) held a memorial Saturday, on the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day invasion when Canada and its allies landed at Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. Lew Forth, Branch 256 second vice-president, emceed the event, remembering the lives lost on Juno Beach.
  The first line of German defences was “completely smashed by evening,” h
  
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• Nanaimo RCMP asks for public’s help in finding owner of stolen tools

  06-06-2026 22:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Nanaimo RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the lawful owner of a large quantity of hand tools and multiple sets of nail guns recovered from a stolen vehicle.
  On Friday, May 22, officers located the tools inside a red pickup truck parked near the intersection of Northfield Road and Spencer Road.
  Despite ongoing efforts, investigators have been unable to determine who the tools belong to.
  Photographs of some of the recovered items, which include two nail guns and a met
  
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• VIDEO: Vancouver Island restaurant destroyed in early morning fire

  06-06-2026 22:05 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Fire crews tackled a blaze at a family-owned Brentwood Bay restaurant.
  Central Saanich Fire Department says they attended a structure fire early Saturday morning (June 6) at Garden Fork Restaurant around 3 a.m.
  Fire Chief Stacy Lee said crews arrived to find the restaurant heavily involved in fire, with flames affecting the basement, main floor and attic.
  The fire was effectively knocked down by about 4:30 a.m., though firefighters remained on scene Saturday morning dealing with hot spots.
  Unfor
  
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• New six-storey housing development with 95 units proposed for Northfield Road

  06-06-2026 19:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A development that would see 95 new housing units constructed on a 1.5-acre property on Northfield Road is being proposed.
  The project proposes the construction of a two-storey commercial office building fronting the property at 2124 Northfield Rd., with a six-storey residential building behind it.
  The property is located just east of Beban Place, close to the Northfield-Bowen Road intersection.
  Currently, an industrial building and multiple modular office trailers are located on the property.
  T
  
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• Maple Ridge pro cyclist wins silver in Italian race

  06-06-2026 18:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Maple Ridge pro cyclist Maggie Coles-Lyster got on the podium at a race in Italy.
  Coles-Lyster, 27, got her first medal on the World Tour, as she sprinted to a second-place finish at the Giro d’Italia Women. It was the sixth stage of the event – a 160 km race from Ala to Brescella. She races for the Human Powered Health team.
  “This is a dream result at this point,” Coles-Lyster said. “I know I have the skills to ride a finish like that, and the smarts, and so I just
  
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• LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Mark Carney and Bananarama

  06-06-2026 17:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  To the editor,
  On May 25, Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters that Premier Danielle Smith’s referendum question on whether to hold a vote to separate her province of Alberta from Canada, was a “dangerous bluff.”
  As an economist, Carney knows very well that uncertainty always frightens away investors, and he also knows a fair bit about bluff, if truth be told. Only recently a memorandum of understanding was signed saying that Canada will give priority status to a privately
  
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• ‘We desired to find a tunnel’: B.C. wall yields artifacts, no tunnels

  06-06-2026 16:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A major conservation project on a historic Wharf Street retaining wall has uncovered long-lost artifacts from Victoria’s early commercial waterfront, while putting a famous local myth to the test.
  The restoration, completed by Heritage Masonry & Conservation, focused on a retaining wall connected to two of the city’s earliest commercial buildings: the Hudson’s Bay warehouse and the Turner Beeton & Co. office, both constructed in the 1800s.
  Holding layers of development
  
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• Langford dad leads age-old method to ‘teach the child and carve their character’

  06-06-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  As a dad to three young children, Dylan Warnberg knows the challenge of maintaining balance between keeping them moving, body and mind, and screen time.The Langford carpenter was on a lunch break, ironically perusing his own social media, when an Instagram post captured his attention.“It was a picture of kids at a workbench,” Warnberg recalls of his first brush with the Sloyd Experience. “I immediately dove into ‘what is this organization?’”
  Now the founder of
  
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• COLUMN: Climbing Mount Benson well worth the effort

  06-06-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  I’ve always been fascinated by Mount Benson, that 3,400-foot mountain that dominates the skyline in western Nanaimo.
  I remember sailing into Departure Bay when I first visited Nanaimo in the 1980s on a ferry from Vancouver, and Mount Benson immediately caught my attention as it loomed over the city, covered in trees right up to its summit. When I moved here about 10 years later, I was determined to climb to the top and see how far I could see in every direction.
  There are a number of clear
  
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• One B.C. forced to move venues in Kamloops after $7.7K security bill from city

  06-06-2026 02:50 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Free speech is in the spotlight after the City of Kamloops jacked up the price for controversial politician Dallas Brodie to speak at a publicly-owned venue — forcing her One B.C. party to scramble and change locations just days before the event.
  The city wanted Brodie, who represents Vancouver-Quilchena in the legislature and is the sole sitting member of One B.C., to pay more than $7,700 to cover security costs for a two-hour appearance at the municipally-owned Sandman Centre on Sunday,
  
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• Vehicle severs power pole on Nanaimo’s Norwell Drive

  06-06-2026 02:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Power went out in some areas around Country Club Centre Friday afternoon shortly after 4 p.m. after a SUV ran into a power pole on Norwell Drive and completely severed it.
  Firemen on the scene said speed was definitely a factor in the crash, which occurred just east of the Bowen Road/Highway 1 intersection, and left the vehicle several damaged
  At least one person was taken to the hospital.
  
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• Vehicle severs pole off highway in Nanaimo, knocking out power

  06-06-2026 02:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Power went out in some areas around Country Club Centre in Nanaimo after a SUV ran into a power pole and completely severed it.
  First responders were called out to the 2800 block of Norwell Drive on Friday, June 5, just before 3 p.m., after a report of a motor vehicle incident. Firefighters on the scene said speed was definitely a factor in the crash, which occurred just east of the intersection on Bowen Road and Old Island Highway, and left the vehicle severely damaged.
  At least one person was
  
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• PHOTOS: B.C.’s Science World fully transforms into FIFA World Cup match ball

  06-06-2026 02:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The “Beautiful Dome,” Vancouver Science World’s transformation into the FIFA World Cup match ball, is now complete.
  The design includes 131 panels installed to create a 360-degree, 40-metre-diameter re-creation of the Adidas Trionda, the official match ball of the 2026 World Cup, a joint release from Destination Vancouver, Science World and the B.C. government.
  Trionda, meaning “three waves” in Spanish, pays homage to the three host countries, a previous news releas
  
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• A third of B.C.’s drowning deaths in 2025 happened in the summer months

  06-06-2026 01:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  There were 93 accidental drownings in B.C. in 2025, updated B.C. Coroners Service data shows.
  The B.C. Coroners Service updated its accidental drowning deaths report on Thursday (June 4), detailing deaths from 2015 to 2025. The 93 deaths in 2025 were a five-per-cent decrease from the 98 deaths reported in 2024.
  Thirty-six of the deaths in 2025 were reported during the summer months, with 10 in June, 11 in July and 15 in August. There were drowning deaths reported every month in 2025, with the fe
  
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• Surrey mayor breaks silence on police chief firing maelstrom

  06-06-2026 00:50 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke is distancing herself from the media maelstrom that’s followed the Surrey Police Board’s ouster of founding Surrey Police Service’s chief constable Norm Lipinski earlier this week and subsequent resignation of the board’s chairman and another director.
  Her political rivals are slamming her as a notorious intellectual author of Lipinski’s departure. Former mayor Doug McCallum, who is again seeking the mayor’s chair with his Safe Surrey
  
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• Graham Clowes

  06-06-2026 00:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  1938 September 16 Toowooba, NSW.Aust.
  2026 February 25 Nanaimo, B.C.
  Survived by children Stuart, Laura (Brad), Robin (Caitlin), Tim (Dana) and grandchildren, stepson Andrew (Chelsea) and grandchildren and stepdaughter Alyson. Also survived by his wife Elaine.
  He will be missed.
  Celebration of Life: Yates Funeral Home
  (1000 Allsbrook Road, Parksville)
  on July 9, 2026 at 2:00 pm.
  
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• B.C. adds 25,000 jobs in May, but still falling behind Canada as a whole

  06-06-2026 00:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C. rode a Canadawide jobs wave in May, adding 25,000 for the month as part of the 88,000 added across the country.
  Canada’s unemployment rate dropped to 0.3 points to 6.6 percent, while B.C.’s rate remained steady at 6.8 per cent due to an increased number of people in the labour pool.
  Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon says the numbers show a “significant uptake” in full-time jobs, and an “obvious, clear opportunity” for work in B.C.
  This is also the message he hear
  
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• 2 mosquito species in B.C. show results for virus that can cause human illness

  06-06-2026 00:25 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Two mosquito species that were tested as part of a surveillance project have shown positive results for a virus that can cause illness in people.
  The surveillance project was launched in summer 2025 in response to a cluster of pediatric encephalitis cases – swelling of the brain – in the Whistler area where invasive species and evidence of California serogroup virus among mosquitoes in the Sea-to-Sky region was detected. Three pediatric cases were identified in 2024.
  The pilot projec
  
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• Nanaimo RCMP police chase results in two in custody on Friday

  06-06-2026 00:18 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A police chase through Nanaimo on Friday has resulted in two people taken into custody, drugs seized and a stolen vehicle recovered.
  On Friday, June 5, at about 1:30 p.m. Nanaimo RCMP Reserve Cst. Gary O’Brien said RCMP observed a “suspicious vehicle” leaving an area known to police for criminal activity in North Cowichan.
  As police had a helicopter nearby, it was assigned to track the vehicle. It was followed by police dog services.
  The vehicle was tracked to an end road in th
  
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• UFC pay-per-view era in Canada ending with move to Paramount Plus in 2027

  06-06-2026 00:13 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Ultimate Fighting Championship fans in Canada have a new home to watch the promotion’s biggest events starting in 2027.
  The mixed martial arts organization announced on Thursday (June 4) that they are moving away from the traditional pay-per-view model in Canada and will be offering its numbered events on the Paramount Plus streaming platform.
  The deal runs for the next six years and the shows are included on all Paramount pricing options. Plans start at $7.99 per month. UFC pay-per-views
  
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• VI Raiders open 2026 BCFC season with home tilt against Okanagan Sun

  05-06-2026 23:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Vancouver Island Raiders begin their opening drive of the 2026 football campaign next month.
  The Canadian Junior Football League’s 2026 regular season schedule has been released and the Raiders begin B.C. Football Conference play with their home opener against the Okanagan Sun on July 18 at Q’unq’inuqwstuxw Stadium.
  The team travels to play the Prince George Kodiaks at Masich Place Stadium on July 25, followed by a three-game home stand with a game against the Westshore Reb
  
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• Comox Valley RCMP seize 10 knives and imitation handguns from impaired driver

  05-06-2026 23:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Comox Valley RCMP had a productive afternoon on April 30, seizing a sizable amount of weapons and cash, including 10 knives.
  At 12:29 p.m., the police responded to a report of two individuals believed to be using drugs in a parked vehicle at the Aquatic Centre parking lot.
  Officers located the vehicle. The driver, a male, was in and out of consciousness behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition. A female associated with the vehicle was observed displaying signs of drug impairment
  
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• Anthony Alessandro Iormetti

  05-06-2026 23:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  January 30, 1982 – May 13, 2026
  We are heartbroken to announce the sudden passing of our beloved son, who left us far too soon at the age of 44. Born in Lethbridge, AB, raised in Burnaby and Nanaimo, BC, and spent most of his adult life in Vernon, BC.
  Anthony is survived by his loving parents, Joanne and Alex Iormetti and his sister, Pamela Iormetti (Jen). He will be fondly remembered by his Zia Jenny and Uncle Cliff, who were a big part of his life. Also remembered by Albert (Brooke), Vin
  
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