Nanaimo news

• Youbou Community Bowling Alley that still uses hand-set pins celebrates 75 years

  02-07-2026 19:58 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Youbou Community Bowling Alley is on a roll, this year marking its 75th anniversary.
  A community staple, and kingpin
  Since 1951, Youbou Bowling Alley has been a cherished gathering place where generations have come together to bowl, socialize, and create long lasting memories. What makes this alley unique is that it is one of the few remaining facilities that still uses hand-set pins. Manually reset by pinsetters, they continue to preserve a rare piece of bowling history that has almost complete
  
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• Nanaimo’s former poet laureate would like to see local writers highlighted on plaques

  03-07-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A campaign is underway that would see local poets and authors recognized on public plaques as part of a national initiative called Project Bookmark Canada.
  Kamal Parmar, Nanaimo’s former poet laureate, and Arlene Blundell, cultural award recipient, spoke to city council at its meeting on June 22 asking for the city’s support to begin installing poster-sized bookmark plaques around Nanaimo.
  Parmar explained that Project Bookmark Canada is a nationally registered charitable organizatio
  
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• Alberta government submits West Coast pipeline application

  03-07-2026 02:58 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Alberta has officially submitted an application to the federal Major Projects Office for listing as a project of national interest to build a new pipeline to the West Coast.
  The proposed pipeline runs through southern British Columbia, largely following the existing Trans Mountain pipeline corridor to a deep-water, VLCC-capable port terminal on B.C.’s southwest coast.
  To facilitate this project, Alberta’s government will enter into a partnership with Trans Mountain Corporation and Pe
  
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• ‘Put on the map’: Blue Jays gift $50K to Victoria baseball, softball academy

  03-07-2026 02:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A wave of disbelief hit Graham Campbell when a former major league outfielder told him the Toronto Blue Jays were sending a major grant to Saanich.
  The Blue Jays and Jays Care Foundation are donating $50,000 to the Lambrick Park Baseball and Softball Academy. The funds are part of the Jays Care First Pitch Fund, distributing $300,000 across Canada to celebrate the franchise’s 50th season.The local academy was selected for the financial boost by former major league outfielder and 2004 Lambr
  
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• VIU tech diploma program modernized and includes cybersecurity and AI

  03-07-2026 02:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  An upgraded technology program will spotlight cybersecurity and AI, says Vancouver Island University.
  After VIU benched the web and mobile development diploma program for a year to conduct a comprehensive analysis, it has given way to the business information technology systems diploma, stated a press release, with “a stronger focus on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and business skills.”
  The two-year diploma melds technical training with functional, hands-on projects, with th
  
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• PHOTOS: Vancouver Canucks draftees get first taste of action at Abbotsford camp

  03-07-2026 01:35 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The public got its first look at the new class of Vancouver Canucks in action on Thursday (July 2) as the team held a three-on-three scrimmage at Rogers Forum.
  The mini tournament capped off a development camp in Abbotsford, which included 25 players hoping to skate for the Canucks in the upcoming season.
  Included among the group was the third overall pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, Caleb Malhotra, who is also the son of new Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra.
  In addition to running various shooting,
  
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• Campbell Riverite goes from local mascot to Trooper drummer

  03-07-2026 01:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  “I’ve never played a Trooper song in my life and I’d rather keep it that way.”
  That’s what Clayton Hill told a bandmate during a 2006 fill-in gig in Quesnel, moments before floundering his way through the classic rock staple We’re Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time). Less than a day later, he got a phone call on his Nokia that would change his life, an invitation to audition as the new drummer for Trooper, one of Canada’s most enduring rock bands.
  Hil
  
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• Man dead after Cranbrook arrest, police watchdog investigating

  03-07-2026 01:08 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C.’s police watchdog agency is investigating after a man died at East Kootenay Regional Hospital after being taken into custody following a police incident on June 27.
  According to the Independent Investigations Office, preliminary information provided by RCMP states that around 9:15 p.m. on June 27, 2026, officers responded to a call about a man on the roof of a building near the intersection of Briar Avenue and 5th Street.
  Police arrived and located the man, who was in possession of we
  
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• Machleary-Campbell intersection in Nanaimo closed into next week

  03-07-2026 00:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The city is advising of a temporary traffic change for people driving near Sid Gyro Park into next week.
  In a social media post, the city said the intersection at Campbell and Machleary streets will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. on Friday, July 3 to 7 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7, to accommodate a community art project.
  Only local traffic will be allowed on streets approaching the intersection, the city said, and people should travel through different routes.
  The community art project, led by the
  
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• Surrey judge sets 4-year sentence for driving ‘rampage’ that led to 13 crashes, 9 victims injured

  03-07-2026 00:15 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A Surrey provincial court judge has sentenced Harinder Singh Sihota to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing bodily harm to two people, dangerous driving and failing to remain at the scene of a crash that occurred late at night on Sept. 16, 2023.
  With credit for time served, Sihota has 874 days left to serve.
  Judge Reginald Harris also ordered Sihota, a 41-year-old heavy duty mechanic, to pay to victims Stacey Johnson $26,845.98 and Krystle Zimmer $12,543.07 in
  
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• Coastal First Nations alliance praises new deal to uphold North Coast tanker ban

  02-07-2026 23:52 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Coastal First Nations alliance is applauding the new agreement struck between the B.C. and federal governments to uphold the ban on heavy oil tankers docking in the region, regardless of whether a new pipeline gets built.
  “Today is a good day,” said Chief Marilyn Slett of the Heiltsuk Nation, one of six in the alliance. “As our coastal communities, we are very pleased to hear that the North Coast will remain protected from the threat of an oil spill.”
  Earlier in the d
  
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• B.C.’s Teresa Kleindienst to be inducted into Canada Basketball Hall of Fame

  02-07-2026 23:31 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Mission’s Teresa (Gabriele) Kleindienst will be inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame this summer.
  Canada Basketball announced the 2026 class on Thursday (July 2) in a news release. Kleindienst will be recognized alongside nine others at a live induction ceremony in New Brunswick in August.
  The Heritage Park Secondary alumna boasts a long list of accomplishments from her basketball career.
  “Through her sustained excellence, international achievements, and unwavering commit
  
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• B.C. Civil Forfeiture seeks to seize vehicle linked to Surrey extortion shooting

  02-07-2026 23:14 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C.’s director of civil forfeiture has filed a claim to seize a Honda Civic that is suspected to have been involved in a January extortion-related shooting in Surrey.
  The notice of claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on June 19 against the owner of the 2004 Honda Civic, Damanveer Singh.
  On Jan. 20, Surrey Police responded to a call of a shooting in the 7200-block of King George Boulevard around 4:30 a.m. Police found that a business and several vehicles had been damaged by
  
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• Search continues for boat that capsized of coast of Richmond, leaving 6 dead

  02-07-2026 22:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The search is continuing for a fishing charter boat that capsized off the coast of Richmond four days ago.
  Richmond RCMP say the search efforts are continuing Thursday (July 2) with the RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team and West Coast Marine Services to locate the vessel that sank near Roberts Bank on June 28.
  Police say crews are using SONAR technology to search underwater
  However, conditions in the water have been “challenging, making the search slower and more difficult.”
  A sl
  
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• B.C. attorney general announces chronic property offenders program

  02-07-2026 22:36 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A new province-wide program aims to tackle chronic property crime and public disorder.
  Deputy Premier and Attorney General of British Columbia Niki Sharma made the announcement during a visit to Smithers this morning (June 23).
  She said the new initiative is a response to a lot of municipalities and small businesses that have been saying that chronic property offenders are a problem.
  Dubbed the Chronic Property Offending Intervention Initiative (CPOII), Sharma said the program aims to target chr
  
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• North Vancouver volleyball coach charged with multiple sexual offences

  02-07-2026 22:17 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A North Vancouver volleyball coach is charged with multiple counts of sexual offences from alleged assaults dating back to 2016, with some involving youth.
  Iraj Mozaffari is facing 10 counts, including three counts of sexual interference of a person under 16, two counts of touching a young person for sexual purpose and five counts of sexual assault, North Vancouver RCMP announced Thursday (July 2).
  The offences are alleged to have occurred between January 2016 and December 2024.
  North Vancouver
  
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• MP Tamara Kronis given shadow positions for supply chains and food inflation

  02-07-2026 22:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Tamara Kronis, MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith, wants to make food more affordable for people in her riding and across Canada.
  She has recently been appointed by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to the official opposition shadow cabinet as shadow minister for supply chains, as well as chair of the newly formed Food Affordability Task Force.
  This dual appointment is meant to directly connect the vulnerability of Canada’s transportation, port, and logistics networks with soaring grocery costs h
  
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• B.C. nurses begin job action following 72-hour strike notice

  02-07-2026 21:46 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C. Nurses’ Union members have officially begun job action.
  The union issued the 72-hour strike notice to the employer – the provincial government – on Monday, noting that job action would begin Thursday, July 2 at 12:01 p.m.
  The union says its now beginning targeted job action at worksites across the province.
  That means beginning Thursday nurses will no longer perform non-nursing duties, which the union says will allows nurses to “focus on the work they were trained to
  
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• VIDEO: Chilliwack motorcyclist crashes in Vancouver after passing RCMP on shoulder

  02-07-2026 21:14 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  RCMP have released a video showing a Chilliwack motorcyclist crashing his bike, and police are reminding drivers it’s illegal and dangerous to pass on the shoulder following an incident in Vancouver.
  The collision happened in heavy traffic westbound on Highway 1 near East 1st Avenue in Vancouver on June 18 at 9:22 a.m.
  A BC Highway Patrol officer was passed by a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle on the right shoulder. When the police officer activated his lights and siren, a blue pickup tru
  
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• Organizers cancel 2026 Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival

  02-07-2026 21:01 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival will take a year off before an anticipated return in 2027, according to organizers.
  The festival, hosted by Nanaimo Paddling Centre, was scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, July 11-12 at the waters off Maffeo Sutton Park, but Holly Wylie, paddling centre president and operations manager, said teams are heading to other races, leaving the Nanaimo festival short.
  “The reason why we have to defer our festival is because we couldn’t get the teams right, becaus
  
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• Growing e-dirt bike trend prompts safety warning from North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP

  02-07-2026 20:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP are reminding the public that the use of e-dirt bikes on public roadways is not permitted under the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act.
  The use of electric-assisted bikes is growing in popularity but has raised safety concerns, according to police.
  “It is important for riders and parents to understand that e‑dirt bikes are not the same as street‑legal e‑bikes and are subject to different rules under the BC Motor Vehicle Act,” said a press release issu
  
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• B.C., feds agree to keep North Coast tanker ban, but still clear way for new pipeline

  02-07-2026 20:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The federal government will provide billions of dollars in support for B.C. projects and guarantee that the North Coast tanker restrictions will remain in place in exchange for a commitment not to oppose a new pipeline from Alberta to the coast.
  “We will not be going to court to fight a pipeline project,” B.C. Premier David Eby said in Vancouver on Thursday, July 2. “Instead, we will ensure we fulfill our constitutional obligations in good faith.”
  “Pipelines are fed
  
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• British Columbians reminded to use life jackets amid recent drowning deaths

  02-07-2026 20:29 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  There have been more than 20 fatal drownings so far this year, and a society that advocates for water safety warns it could be a record-breaking year for deaths.
  Lifesaving Society’s B.C. and Yukon branch says – by its count – there have been 27 drowning deaths so far in the province in 2026.
  Lenea Grace, executive director of the society, said there has been a recent spike in drownings in B.C., pointing to a recent reported drowning on Okanagan Lake on June 29 and the presumed
  
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• North Cowichan urging province to pay for bus route to new hospital

  02-07-2026 19:48 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Municipality of North Cowichan will send a letter to the province arguing the need for funding for bus service to the new Quw’utsun Valley Hospital.
  During the regular North Cowichan Council meeting on June 17, it was recommended that council authorize Mayor Rob Douglas consider sending the letter, urging funding for transit in time for the hospital’s anticipated spring 2027 opening.
  The letter addressed to Minister of Transportation and Transit Mike Farnworth, and to Minister of
  
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• Cowichan’s Damen Marinakis awarded Canada’s largest undergraduate scholarship

  02-07-2026 19:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow and 2026 Frances Kelsey graduate Damen Marinakis is one of those leaders.
  Marinakis is one of the 50 selected to receive a $100,000 Schulich Leader Scholarship (Canada’s largest undergraduate scholarship) which will allow him to work towards a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) at Queen’s University in Ontario.
  The Schulich Foundation supports Canada’s top STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) talent through its Sch
  
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• Canada Day earthquake felt in Washington, Greater Victoria

  02-07-2026 19:09 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Over 1,500 people reported feeling an earthquake that struck south of Victoria on Canada Day.
  Originating at a depth of 25 kilometres, a 3.8-magnitude earthquake hit Washington’s Oak Harbour around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
  Those who felt the earthquake said it was “weak” or “light” and nobody logged any damage.
  In Greater Victoria, 17 people reported feeling the earthquake, and 18 more felt it on the Lower Mainland.
  E
  
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• Nanaimo’s Chinese community want their history and heritage more recognized

  02-07-2026 19:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Sherron Soo, chair of the Nanaimo Chinatown Heritage Foundation, and her supporters continue to work hard for more recognition of the heritage and history of the city’s Chinese community.
  Soo and group of supporters, including Melody Ma, from the Foundation for Chinese Dignity, and Dr. Yao Xiao, a UBC scholar in Chinese diasporic migration studies, spent Monday, June 29, going door-to-door in what was once Nanaimo’s Chinatown in the Hecate Street area collecting stories and memories
  
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• Gardens can solve food and health crisis

  02-07-2026 19:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Over the weekend I watched the movie Farmacy of Light from Rob Herring, executive producer, which makes the case that the crises in our food system and in human health aren’t separate problems.
  They are one problem.
  The fresh produce sitting in your grocery store is measurably less nutritious today than the same vegetables grown just a few decades ago. This isn’t speculation. Researchers analyzing historical agricultural data have documented significant declines in essential vitamins
  
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• Reid Davidson Memorial Golf Tournament set for July 12 at Fairwinds

  02-07-2026 18:40 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The second annual Reid Davidson Memorial Golf Tournament is set to take place at Fairwinds Golf Club in Nanoose Bay on July 12.
  The event honours Davidson, who died in a tragic vehicular incident caused by a reported impaired driver on July 2023.
  The tournament also pays tribute to every life lost to impaired driving, for every family forever changed, for every friend left grieving and for every survivor rebuilding their life.
  “This year we are truly hoping to build more community and conn
  
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• Soil washing facility opens in Chilliwack, first of its kind in North America

  02-07-2026 18:05 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A mobile soil washing facility officially opened in Chilliwack and it’s the first of its kind in North America.
  Located at Shxwhá:y Village, the Shxwhá:y Soil Management Facility diverts contaminated soil from landfills by separating and cleaning it so it can be repurposed.
  The multi-million dollar Headlands Environmental facility officially opened on Tuesday, June 30. It is operated and staffed in partnership with Shxwhá:y Village.
  It was on that same site where Headl
  
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