Nanaimo news

• Karen Eileen Mullen

  09-11-2026 19:26 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  In Loving Memory ~
  April 21, 1956 ~ October 30, 2026
  It is with profound shock and unbelievable grief that the family of Karen Eileen Mullen announce her passing in the late evening of Friday, October 30, 2026, in palliative care at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. Karen had suffered a major stroke while at home and after being taken to the hospital by ambulance just after noon, it was discovered that the stroke had caused an inoperable brain bleed.
  Karen was born on April 21, 1956, to John Ke
  
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• Rain shadow protects Victoria while Vancouver Island faces 150 to 200 mm of rain

  10-11-2026 20:30 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Overlapping “orange” warnings of water across Vancouver Island should have residents eyeing storm drains.A couple of storm systems arrive on the coast back-to-back starting Tuesday, with Victoria through Nanaimo soggy, but the rest of the Island drenched in up to 200 mm of precipitation, prompting alerts from Environment and Climate Change Canada as well as the provincial River Forecast Centre.
  For Victoria and parts of the South Island, the rain shadow is helpful, says meteorologist Mike Gi
  
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• Cabot opens 2027 bookings at B.C. Interior golf course for hotel guests only

  10-11-2026 20:30 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Green fees have been announced for Revelstoke’s new luxury golf course set to open next summer, though only hotel guests may play for the first season.
  Bookings for staying and playing at Cabot Revelstoke starting July 2027 have opened, its team announced early this month.
  The inaugural season for the 18-hole course at Revelstoke Mountain Resort will run July 2 to Sept. 30, but exclusively for golfers staying at the new 155-room Karl Hotel that overlooks the 18th green.
  For both local and visi
  
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• 133 people died in B.C. in September from drug overdoses

  10-11-2026 20:22 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The B.C. Coroners Service says 133 people fatally overdosed in B.C. in September.
  The coroners service released the latest data Tuesday (Nov. 10) which showed approximately four people died per day in September.
  Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, there have been 1,143 drug-toxicity deaths in B.C. In 2025, there had been 1,399 deaths during the same period.
  So far in the 2026 data, deaths among people aged 30 to 59 accounted for 70 per cent of all fatal overdoses. Seventy-six per cent of those who have
  
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• UPDATE: Search suspended for missing canoeist north of Sayward

  10-11-2026 20:18 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The search for missing 35-year-old James “Dakota” Smith has been suspended.
  Sayward RCMP said in a release that “utilizing the most current and effective search technologies, the JRCC, the RCMP and multiple search and rescue teams consolidated their knowledge and expertise to conduct a methodical and thorough search of the area.”
  “Despite the intensive search through inclement weather consisting of high unpredictable winds, heavy rainfalls and the frigid water temperature, the chances
  
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• Kelowna BMX rider pedals his way into Canadian Hall of Fame

  10-11-2026 19:57 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A Kelowna BMX rider has earned recognition with an induction into the 2026 Canadian BMX Freestyle Hall of Fame.
  ​According to the hall of fame, Dom Mach has been riding since 1988, when he initially fell in love with the sport. The BMX rider first started riding his bike on the streets before turning to ramps and skateparks in his early years.
  ​According to a social media post by the Canadian BMX Hall of Fame, Mach has been “ripping everything and everything on his bike” since the age of
  
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• Song & Surf plans its 2027 swan song on the shores of Port Renfrew

  10-11-2026 19:36 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Tickets for the Song and Surf finale are on sale now as the small music festival in Port Renfrew prepares for its swan song.“At the very first Song and Surf way back in the winter of 2008, no one knew that the small gathering was planting the seed for a collective of friends to bring 25 music festivals,” the festival said in a social media post announcing the final event in February.“This February, as we once again gather on the salty shores of Port Renfrew, we will celebrate all this and
  
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• Building blocks of electronics: UVic engineering student plugs the science of building for all ages

  10-11-2026 19:30 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Five days spent sleeping on a Thermarest in a Copenhagen office are a small price to pay for a childhood dream come true.
  The days between those fitful sleeps are what excite third-year mechanical engineering student Michell Brule. The UVic student was working at an advanced robotics lab in Germany for the summer when a good friend called to see if he wanted to come visit in Denmark; it turned out there was an ulterior motive – that friend was hoping he’d jump on board with a new business.Co
  
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• 9-year-old Vernon, B.C., DJ ready to spin

  10-11-2026 19:04 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  At just nine-years-old, Vaughn Gauvin is already making a name for himself as one of the world’s youngest DJs.
  The Vernon child started spinning on his eighth birthday, when his mom took him to Wentworth Music.
  “I tried to encourage him to get a keyboard and learn music first,” said mom. “But he saw a DJ board and said, ‘I want that.'”
  It makes sense, considering Gauvin grew up watching his parents’ friends spin music.
  “His dad and I are hardcore into dancing and electronic music
  
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• With PacWest titles in tow, VIU soccer teams eye gold at upcoming national championships

  10-11-2026 19:00 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Despite recently capturing Pacific Western Athletic Association soccer titles, there will be little time for Vancouver Island University Mariners soccer teams to rest on their laurels.
  The M’s women’s team maintained their perfect season, upping their record to 10-0-0 and earning a PacWest title, on the strength of a 2-1 extra time win against the Capilano University Blues on Nov. 1. VIU striker Emma Riccardi scored in the 28th minute, beating Cap goalkeeper Megan Thitchener, and attacking m
  
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• Heavy rain, flood warnings remain in effect for parts of southern B.C.

  10-11-2026 18:57 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Parts of B.C. could see up to 250 millimetres of rain through to Thursday morning, Environment Canada warns.
  Environment Canada issued the orange warning Tuesday morning (Nov. 10) that very heavy rain is expected on west and central Vancouver Island, with 150 to 200 millimetres of rain, with some areas exceeding 250 millimetres in the next few days.
  The warning says a “very robust” frontal system is continuing to hit Vancouver Island, and rainfall is expected to intensify Tuesday afternoon,
  
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• Hope Search and Rescue volunteer awarded for service

  10-11-2026 17:54 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A search and rescue volunteer from Hope has been awarded with an Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award for 40 years of service.
  Barry Gannon, search manager for Hope Search and Rescue (SAR), received the award during a ceremony in Edmonton on Monday (Nov. 9).
  “Barry Gannon has been a driving force in search and rescue, and emergency management, in British Columbia for nearly 40 years,” wrote a representative of Public Safety Canada. “Since joining Hope Search and Rescue in 1986, he
  
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• Hope Search and Rescue volunteer awarded for 40 years of service

  10-11-2026 17:54 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A search and rescue volunteer from Hope has been awarded with an Emergency Management Exemplary Service Award for 40 years of service.
  Barry Gannon, search manager for Hope Search and Rescue (SAR), received the award during a ceremony in Edmonton on Monday (Nov. 9).
  “Barry Gannon has been a driving force in search and rescue, and emergency management, in British Columbia for nearly 40 years,” wrote a representative of Public Safety Canada. “Since joining Hope Search and Rescue in 1986, he
  
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• VIDEO: Disney releases holiday short filmed in Agassiz

  10-11-2026 17:47 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  A holiday-themed Disney short filmed in Agassiz this summer has been released.“The Invisible Horse” is a three-minute short film shot in Agassiz as part of Disney’s “Make the Holidays Magic” campaign.Reilly Greenwood stars as Jack, a young boy who has seemingly outgrown the magic of Christmas whose mindset is challenged by the titular invisible horse. Dougal Wilson (“Paddington in Peru”) directed the short.
  During the summer, film crews with “Project Wayne” were seen throughou
  
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• Vancouver Island veteran remembers guarding Montreal Olympics with Army

  10-11-2026 13:35 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  David Livingstone joined the Canadian Army shortly after finishing high school and within a year was guarding the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
  He signed up for a student summer employment opportunity program through the Seaforth Highlanders in Vancouver, after moving to Richmond from Toronto when he finished his studies.
  Livingstone said he found the job interesting and so he signed on with the army reserve and volunteered to go to Montreal as part of the security force.
  There was a heightened state
  
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• Nanaimo Military Camp big part of city in Second World War

  10-11-2026 13:30 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Thousands of troops-in-training at the Nanaimo Military Camp in 1943 were called into action in the cold and miserable Aleutian Island Campaign off of Alaska in 1943.
  Elements of the 13th Infantry Brigade and other Canadian military units that were training to go to war at the Nanaimo Military Camp joined up with American troops in an invasion of the barren and desolate Kiska Island, and other islands in the Aleutian chain, to expel Japanese air and naval units that had taken them over the previ
  
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• Philadelphia Flyers dump Canucks 3-1 in coach Tocchet’s return to Vancouver

  10-11-2026 06:20 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Travis Konecny’s power-play goal early in the second period stood up as the winner, as the visiting Philadelphia Flyers picked up a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks in NHL action Monday at Rogers Arena.
  Michael Bunting and Travis Sanheim also scored for the Flyers (5-10-5) with Joseph Woll making 18 saves to earn the win in goal. Former Canucks coach Rick Tocchet, now behind the Flyers bench, was victorious in his return to Vancouver.
  Jonathan Lekkerimaki managed the lone goal for the Canuck
  
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• Mother testifies at inquest into police shooting death of B.C. teen

  10-11-2026 02:20 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  An inquest to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Surrey teen Chase de Balinhard, who was fatally shot by police in February 2025, began Nov. 9 in Burnaby.
  The inquest follows a December 2025 report by the Independent Investigations Office (IIO)—B.C.’s police watchdog—that found the two officers who opened fire on the autistic teen were legally justified.Separate from the IIO investigation, the inquest does not look at criminal or civil liability in Chase’s death. During t
  
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• Nanaimo RCMP seek owners after numerous industrial equipment and tools recovered

  10-11-2026 01:09 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Nanaimo RCMP seek help in identifying the owners of a multitude of recovered property believed to have been stolen from logging operations, fire suppression sites, and other industrial work locations.
  The items were recovered at approximately 1 a.m. on Nov. 3, from a vehicle located on Jackson Road in the area of Jack Point and Biggs Park.
  “We believe many of these items are connected to thefts that may never have been reported to police,” said Insp. Donovan Tait, operations officer at Nanai
  
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• Millar Western to indefinitely curtail operations at Quesnel River Pulp mill

  10-11-2026 00:41 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. will indefinitely curtail operations at its Quesnel River Pulp mill, citing market conditions and uncertainty surrounding economic fibre supply.
  The Quesnel Cariboo Observer obtained a copy of a letter sent out on Nov. 9, to employees at the Quesnel River Pulp mill. In the letter, executive chair and CEO Karl Meyers said the company had made the “very difficult decision” to curtail Quesnel River Pulp mill for an indefinite period.
  “Based on current contr
  
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• Abbotsford ball spinning record holder featured in 2027 Guinness World Records book

  10-11-2026 00:34 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  There’s once again a little piece of Abbotsford in one of the world’s most popular books.
  A colour picture of Abbotsford’s Sandeep Singh Kaila’s legendary ball spinning exploits appears in the 2027 Guinness World Records book and this marks the third time in the past eight editions he has been featured with a photo.
  Kaila initially began making headlines in The Abbotsford News back in 2018 when he established a new time record of 60.5 seconds for spinning a basketball on a toothbrush. Th
  
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• Accused cross examined in Kelowna sexual assault re-trial

  09-11-2026 23:52 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  WARNING: This article contains details about a criminal sexual assault trial and may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact the Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society at (250) 763-4613 or the RCMP.Crown counsel is questioning the reliability of the accused’s memory in a sexual assault trial taking place in Kelowna on Nov. 9.On Monday, Brandon Hildebrand Acosta was cross-examined in the Supreme Court in relation to the incident on
  
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• Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr speaks on federal budget to ‘end homelessness’

  09-11-2026 23:23 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The Federal government’s plan to “end homelessness” within 10 years could have impact in Kelowna.
  On Nov. 5, the federal government tabled its 2027 budget, which includes almost $30 billion dedicated to the goal of eliminating homelessness within the next decade, as well as $15 billion to triple the number of annual non-market housing starts to 24,000.
  “Canadians always care for each other. The crisis of homelessness that has deepened since the pandemic strikes at the heart of Canadian v
  
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• Okanagan Nation blasts former Indigenous healer’s appeal in assault case

  09-11-2026 23:20 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  WARNING: This article contains details about a criminal sexual assault trial and may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact the 24-hour Sexual Assault Support Crisis line at 1-877-954-6242 or the RCMP.A former Indigenous spiritual healer banned from all Okanagan band territories will be back in court as the Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance blasts his “self-serving” appeal.
  Donald Wayne Ashley was convicted of simple assault follo
  
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• More accountability needed after truck in ditch on Highway 5: Clearwater RCMP

  09-11-2026 23:11 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  An RCMP sergeant shared some thoughts on highway safety after a semi-truck wound up in a ditch early Tuesday morning north of Vavenby.
  According to Sgt. Grant Simpson of the Clearwater RCMP, the driver reported the incident after it occurred on Highway 5 around 4:55 a.m. on Nov. 3.
  “Evidence at the scene suggests that the driver simply failed to negotiate the corner, likely due to speed or fatigue (despite having a relief driver on board as well) or a combination of both,” Simpson said. “N
  
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• From Munich to Kyiv: delivering ambulances an extraordinary, sobering journey for Duck Paterson

  09-11-2026 21:05 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  From Munich to Kyiv.
  This journey would not have been possible without the generosity of people in Ladysmith and beyond, including some I had never met. Their donations helped make my participation in a Ukraine Focus mission possible, delivering much-needed used ambulances and medical supplies to Ukraine.
  I first heard about the mission from my Salish Sea Stones friend, Peter Shepherd, who made the trip in May. When Ukraine Focus (UF) founder Brock Bierman visited Chemainus to meet Shep, I was i
  
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• B.C. Conservative Party flips another seat as mail-in ballots counted

  09-11-2026 20:15 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  The final count is in for the 2026 B.C. provincial election, and the Conservative Party has flipped another riding, expanding its count to 64 of 93 seats.
  The NDP lead in 27 and the B.C. Green Party in two.
  Burnaby South-Metrotown flipped to the Conservative column during the counting of absentee, mail-in and phone-assisted ballots, with Conservative Andrew Rose now ahead of NDP incumbent Paul Choi by 64 votes.
  Elections BC is still finalizing the results, with the count undergoing quality assur
  
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• Doerkson appoints more staffers, including ex-B.C. Conservative lead Isidorou

  09-11-2026 20:07 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson announced several additional hires on Monday as his transition team takes shape, including the former executive director of the Conservative Party and the former chief of staff to interim leader Trevor Halford.
  Angelo Isidorou, the former executive director of the B.C. Conservative Party, who quit under former leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, will serve as principal secretary.
  Allie Blades, Halford’s ex-chief of staff, will serve as Doerkson’s deputy chief of staf
  
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• Douglas James Rough

  09-11-2026 19:17 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  Lovingly Remembered
  1935 ~ 2026
  It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Doug who departed this life peacefully and with love, on October 26, 2026, in his 91st year.
  Dad was born September 2, 1935 in Enderby B.C. He was the youngest of 4 siblings and survived by Sister Dorothy and brother Bill.
  In 1951 Dad met his childhood sweetheart Arlene Storey (1938 – 1994) four years later they married. Son, Gordon arrived shortly after followed by Daughters Laurie (Brian) and Patti (1
  
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• Dorothy May Johnson

  09-11-2026 19:10 via Nanaimo News Bulletin
  
  In Loving Memory ~
  February 6, 1935 ~ October 31, 2026
  Dorothy ‘Dot’ Johnson of Nanaimo, BC passed away peacefully at the age of 91 on October 31, 2026, after enduring 4 years of Global Aphasia.
  Dot was born on February 6, 1935, in Beverly, MA. In 1947, she immigrated to Calgary, Alberta with her parents, Lillian and Stanley Coleshill, along with her sister Nancy. Dot enlisted in the RCAF in Calgary and served as a Radio Operator. It was in the service that she met Neil, and they married in
  
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