North Vancouver news

• Santa and his reindeer get in fender-bender in Victoria

  28-11-2017 23:17 via vancouversun.com
  Dude, Santa hit your car!
  That’s what Cordova Bay resident Rick Cochrane was told after the Island Farms Santa’s Light Parade, when he returned to find his car, parked in a parking lot, pushed onto the sidewalk. Cochrane tried to brush the man off, assuming he was on drugs.
  “Ya, cool man,” Cochrane replied politely.
  “No man, Santa and his reindeer hit your car,” the stranger insisted.
  Cochrane might have brushed him off again, but the man said: “I h
  
  Read more

• Whistler RCMP still searching for missing Aussie Alison Raspa

  28-11-2017 22:45 via vancouversun.com
  Whistler RCMP have been searching underground parking lots, creeks and parks, along with security camera footage, and still have not found any sign of Alison Leanna Raspa.
  The 25-year-old Australian woman has been missing since last Wednesday, 11:30 p.m., when she was spotted leaving the Three Below Bar on Blackcomb Way in Whistler. Her cell phone was recovered at 6:30 a.m. the next day — more than five kilometres away — at Alpha Lake Park. 
  Related
  Remains of long-mis
  
  Read more

• Ex-Mountie in consensual relationship with woman, defence tells B.C. trial

  28-11-2017 22:39 via vancouversun.com
  VANCOUVER — A lawyer for a retired RCMP inspector accused of sexually assaulting a civilian employee says the complainant consented to a relationship with his client.
  David Butcher told provincial court the woman was motivated by financial gain when she said Tim Shields kissed and groped her in a unisex washroom at the department’s British Columbia headquarters in 2009.
  Butcher says there is no basis for the Crown’s argument that Shields abused his position of authority to coer
  
  Read more

• Notice to Vancouver Sun email subscribers

  28-11-2017 22:29 via vancouversun.com
  Postmedia experienced a technical glitch this morning that resulted in an email being sent, in error, to a number of Vancouver Sun email subscribers. We have since corrected the glitch, and will do our best to prevent this from happening again.
  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
  If you would like to unsubscribe from email communications, you can manage your preferences here.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Pop quiz: Do milk cartons go in your garbage cart, your blue box, or your grey box? And what about toothpaste tubes… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  28-11-2017 22:26 via twitter.com
  Pop quiz: Do milk cartons go in your garbage cart, your blue box, or your grey box? And what about toothpaste tubes… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
  Read more

• Wow, lots of rain again today! See a problem? Help us fix things faster. Use #CityFix app to report issues.… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  28-11-2017 22:00 via twitter.com
  Wow, lots of rain again today! See a problem? Help us fix things faster. Use #CityFix app to report issues.… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
  Read more

• Spending pressures mean smaller surplus for B.C. budget: minister

  28-11-2017 21:07 via vancouversun.com
  VICTORIA — Firefighting costs and other financial pressures have forced the British Columbia government to revise its financial forecast, but Finance Minister Carole James says the province is still on track for a balanced budget.
  The second quarter financial update shows a projected surplus is now $190 million, $56 million lower than what was projected earlier this year.
  James says increases in spending to fight wildfires, cost pressures at the Insurance Corporation of B.C., and lower per
  
  Read more

• B.C. now the worst destination in Canada for oil and gas investors: survey

  28-11-2017 21:00 via vancouversun.com
  A handful of years ago, British Columbia’s immense natural gas deposits caught the attention of top global investors eager to produce them and export liquefied natural gas to Asia. Now they’d rather put their cash almost anywhere else.
  According to the Fraser Institute’s Global Petroleum Survey 2017, oil and gas investor perception of British Columbia has plummeted since the election of an NDP/Green government last May and the province now ranks as the least attractive jur
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Two Vancouver seniors found dead in South Granville home

  28-11-2017 20:38 via vancouversun.com
  Vancouver police are investigating the “suspicious deaths” of a 77-year-old woman and 79-year-old man, whose bodies were found inside their south Granville Street home Monday night.
  In a release, VPD Sgt. Jason Robillard says the bodies were discovered just before 5 p.m. inside a residence near Granville Street and West Fifth Avenue, just on the southside of  the Granville Street Bridge.No names have been released.
  Robillard says police do not believe the public is at risk. 
  
  Read more

• B.C. tests app to block use of mobile devices while driving

  28-11-2017 20:31 via vancouversun.com
  B.C. motorists could see reduced insurance rates if they agree to use a new app the government and ICBC are testing that disables their phone while driving.
  For the pilot program, set to launch in January, 200 volunteer ICBC customers will use phone apps paired with telematics that block the use of a handheld device when the technology senses that the vehicle is moving.
  Telematic technology involves fitting a vehicle with a small device that plugs into the car and communicates with an app instal
  
  Read more

• Live: Coquihalla closed in both directions from Othello to Merritt

  28-11-2017 20:27 via vancouversun.com
  The Coquihalla Highway is closed in both directions from Othello Tunnels, east of Hope, to Merritt due to a vehicle fire.
  Emergency Crews are responding to a semi truck fire two kilometres west of the Carolin Mines exit.Drive B.C. says there is no detour available at this time, but Highway 1 or Highway 3 could be used as an alternate route. 
  Check Drive B.C.’s website for the latest updates.
  Meanwhile, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning this morning for Coquih
  
  Read more

• Weather, terrain pose challenges in search for small plane near Revelstoke

  28-11-2017 20:11 via vancouversun.com
  Low cloud and heavy snowfall haven’t stopped the search for a small plane with two people aboard in southeastern British Columbia.
  Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokeswoman Katelyn Moores says the search area has been narrowed to a region 18 kilometres outside Revelstoke.
  Moores says the grid was refined based on more complete information from radar and the cellphone tower that picked up a signal from the pilot’s phone at about the same time the plane was reported missin
  
  Read more

• Man accused in Abbotsford police officer's death appears in court

  28-11-2017 20:02 via vancouversun.com
  ABBOTSFORD — A man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a British Columbia police officer has appeared in court.
  Sixty-five-year-old Oscar Arfmann of St. Paul, Alta., didn’t speak during his brief appearance in an Abbotsford court.
  He is charged in the death of Abbotsford Const. John Davidson, who died Nov. 6 after responding to a report of shots fired.
  The accused has a beard, grey, shoulder-length hair and was wearing a prison-issued red jumpsuit as he sat in t
  
  Read more

• Style in the City: Paul Marlow

  28-11-2017 20:00 via vancouversun.com
  Name: Paul Marlow (a.k.a. Tall Paul)
  Occupation: Personal trainer and social media influencer 
  Personal style: Casual 
  Get social: Paulmarlow.ca
  Get the look: Love Paul’s outfit? Here are a few options to help you recreate it. The coat
  The cold months are officially here, so that means it’s time to add a timeless topper to your wardrobe. Looking to update your coat collection with an option that’s as fashionable as it is functional? Consider this Woods
  
  Read more

• It’s a fact. Doors can be dangerous. Shoulder check first, then Look Think Go. cnv.org/LookThinkGo… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  28-11-2017 20:00 via twitter.com
  It’s a fact. Doors can be dangerous. Shoulder check first, then Look Think Go. cnv.org/LookThinkGo… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
  Read more

• Beauty Bar: Being by Sanctuary Hibiscus & Coconut Water Body Scrub

  28-11-2017 20:00 via vancouversun.com
  What it is: A new-to-Canada line, Being by Sanctuary offers a collection of delicious-smelling body products created for millennial beauty fans. 
  The range, which is exclusive to Shoppers Drug Mart, includes body lotions, fragrances, scrubs and more, each featuring a unique scent story merging unexpected combinations such as Hibiscus & Coconut, Salted Caramel & Macadamia and Cloudberry & Lychee. 
  The Hibiscus & Coconut Water Body Scrub serves up a “mouth-wate
  
  Read more

• Three envelopes full of cash turned into Coquitlam RCMP

  28-11-2017 19:41 via vancouversun.com
  Coquitlam RCMP are in possession of three envelopes full of cash that were found in public places on three separate days in separate locations.
  The latest incident was on Nov.  22 when an envelope was found at a supermarket at 2929 Barnet Highway, Coquitlam. Other envelopes of cash were turned in on Nov. 18 and Sept. 21. In two of those cases, police say the owners of the money are described as Asian.
  Coquitlam RCMP say they want to return the cash to the rightful owners.
  Related
  Did y
  
  Read more

• We're recruiting for a Regular Full-time Client Services Specialist. Click here to apply. ow.ly/QoVt30gS8YU

  28-11-2017 18:58 via twitter.com
  We're recruiting for a Regular Full-time Client Services Specialist.Click here to apply. ow.ly/QoVt30gS8YU
  
  Read more

• Not often you get advice from a bagel! Line your kitchen container with paper to keep it clean. vimeo.com/235810644 #SoEasy #NorthVan

  28-11-2017 18:01 via twitter.com
  Not often you get advice from a bagel! Line your kitchen container with paper to keep it clean. vimeo.com/235810644 #SoEasy #NorthVan
  
  Read more

• Video: Vancouver comic Ivan Decker kills on Conan

  28-11-2017 17:37 via vancouversun.com
  Rising Vancouver comedian Ivan Decker made his U.S. television debut Monday with an appearance on Conan.
  The 30-year-old standup earned the spot with a standout performance earlier this month at Conan O’Brien’s eighth annual “Comics to Watch” standup showcase at Caroline’s in New York. Former showcase alumni include Michael Che and Brooks Whelan, who went on to star on Saturday Night Live, Ali Wong, and Tonight Show writers Jo Firestone and Josh Johnson.In
  
  Read more

• Sunshine forecast for this weekend's Santa Clause Parade in Vancouver

  28-11-2017 17:35 via vancouversun.com
  It looks like the sun will come out for this weekend’s Santa Clause Parade in downtown Vancouver.
  But bundle up the kids, it’s going to be chilly, according to Environment Canada.
  The federal weather agency is forecasting a mix of sun and cloud, and highs of seven degrees C.
  Now entering its 14th year, the parade will feature more than 50 marching bands, choirs, festive floats and community groups. The festivities begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday at Christmas Square in front of t
  
  Read more

• Global money hit Vancouver real estate 'like a ton of bricks,' Mayor

  28-11-2017 17:35 via vancouversun.com
  On the eve of a comprehensive, 10-year housing strategy going before Vancouver city council, Gregor Robertson reflected on the impact of offshore money in local real estate over his three terms as mayor of Canada’s most-expensive city.
  “In my travels this year in Sydney (Australia) and New York, my sense is that Vancouver’s seen the most rapid impact of global capital of any big city globally,” Robertson told Postmedia News on Monday. “We’re among a group of b
  
  Read more

• Threat reduced to B.C. coast as fuel barge safely reaches protected waters

  28-11-2017 16:51 via vancouversun.com
  BELLA BELLA — The coast guard says a loaded fuel barge that broke away from its tug off British Columbia’s central coast has reached safer waters and is now moored.
  A tweet from the coast guard says the barge Zidell Marine 277 is at anchor, along with the tug that towed it to Norman Morison Bay at the northern tip of Campbell Island, on the Inside Passage.
  The coast guard says booms have been placed around both vessels as a precaution, but no pollution has been observed.
  The barge wa
  
  Read more

• Vancouver's rental costs surge, while vacancy drops: CMHC report

  28-11-2017 16:48 via vancouversun.com
  Metro Vancouver has the highest rental accommodation in the country, as national vacancy rates drop, according to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report.
  The 2017 Rental Market Survey, released Monday, found rental rates in Vancouver surged 6.2 per cent over the last year. Kelowna rates jumped even higher at 8.6 per cent, the highest increase in the country. 
  The report says the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in new and existing buildings are highest across Metro
  
  Read more

• Daily Poll: How do you feel about the royal engagement news?

  28-11-2017 15:21 via vancouversun.com
  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement on Monday. Markle, who is American but has been working in Canada, is already a media darling in this country, particularly given her love for Canadian designers. But how engaged is the Canadian public with matters involving the monarchy? How do you feel about the royal engagement?
   Take Our Poll
  
  Read more

• Highway 1 now fully re-opened at Bridal Falls

  28-11-2017 05:02 via vancouversun.com
  Crews have finished clearing debris from the roadway of the Trans-Canada Highway east of Chilliwack and the vital road link to B.C.’s interior is completely open once again.
  Three mudslides near Bridal Falls completely closed the road last Thursday. The highway was partially re-opened over the weekend, but the right-most lane for eastbound traffic remained closed on Sunday.
  Work continued Monday to remove the remaining debris from the road and to rebuild the shoulders of the highway. Late
  
  Read more

• Opinion: On Giving Tuesday, praise for community's generosity in funding cancer research

  28-11-2017 05:00 via vancouversun.com
  This past month, I had the honour of speaking with a mother and son who have walked a path no family wants to be on. And this was their second trip. After being successfully treated six years ago, the son’s cancer recently returned. But thanks to specialized treatment and a successful clinical trial drug, the Grade 12 student is once again in remission. In his mother’s words, this drug is a miracle.
  These miracles are directly related to investments in science.
  In my role as CEO of t
  
  Read more

• Dan Fumano: Global money hit Vancouver real estate 'like a ton of bricks,' Robertson says

  28-11-2017 04:37 via vancouversun.com
  On the eve of a comprehensive, 10-year housing strategy going before Vancouver city council, Gregor Robertson reflected on the impact of offshore money in local real estate over his three terms as mayor of Canada’s most-expensive city.
  “In my travels this year in Sydney (Australia) and New York, my sense is that Vancouver’s seen the most rapid impact of global capital of any big city globally,” Robertson told Postmedia News on Monday. “We’re among a group of b
  
  Read more

• Marpole modular housing permit receives conditional approval

  28-11-2017 04:12 via vancouversun.com
  After saying they’ve heard both criticism and support from the community, the city of Vancouver is going ahead with a plan to build 78 modular housing units in the southwestern neighbourhood of Marpole.
  Gil Kelley, Vancouver’s general manager of planning, urban design and sustainability, said he had heard many criticisms of the development in meetings with people in the community and had added new oversight measures for the development since it was first proposed last month.
  “T
  
  Read more

• Lions Gate Bridge climb is up in the air

  28-11-2017 04:02 via vancouversun.com
  A lofty proposal to allow climbers to scale the Lions Gate Bridge in what would be North American’s first bridge climb has been grounded. 
  Kevin Thomson, co-founder of the Vancouver to Whistler GranFondo, has been working for three years to make the city’s iconic bridge a tourist attraction for adventure-seekers. 
  Last week, he received a letter from the Ministry of Transportation nixing the project, citing “the mandate of our new government” in its decision not
  
  Read more

• Vaughn Palmer: Speaker should reprimand NDP over constituency office staffing change

  28-11-2017 03:41 via vancouversun.com
  VICTORIA — Premier John Horgan and his ministers are quietly installing political staff in the supposed-to-be nonpartisan constituency offices provided to them as members of the legislature at public expense.
  The change, undertaken surreptitiously and over a behind-the-scenes backlash, was made public when the premier fessed up during debate on his office budget in the legislature.
  “Premier, the word on the street is that you intend to put executive assistants from the ministers&rsqu
  
  Read more

• Electoral Reform: Are there better ways to consult the public than opinion surveys?

  28-11-2017 03:00 via vancouversun.com
  We’ve all had the experience: you get up from the dinner table to answer the phone, only to find it’s a pollster, wanting to ask a “very short” series of questions about an issue you know little about.
  Depending on your mood, you either fend off the invitation or, out of a sense of citizenship — a sense that you should be contributing to the public conversation — you decide to answer, perhaps thinking, “Better me than someone else.”
  Then, under pre
  
  Read more

• Spot a great Christmas lights display? Let us know!

  28-11-2017 02:52 via vancouversun.com
  Have you gone all-out decorating your house for the holidays? Or have you spotted a spectacular display in your neighbourhood? Please help us compile a list of the best Christmas light displays around Metro Vancouver.
  Email [email protected] with the subject line “Christmas Lights”, and include the following:
  • A sentence or two describing the display.
  • The home’s street address or cross street.
  • If there are hours of operation, or if money is being collecte
  
  Read more

• UBC looking to raise $100 million for students

  28-11-2017 02:35 via vancouversun.com
  The University of B.C. is hoping to raise $100 million for student awards, scholarships and bursaries over the next three years.
  In what’s being called the “Blue & Gold Campaign,” this new round of fundraising “will support a range of student awards, including fellowships, scholarships, bursaries and experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses,” a UBC news release said.
  The focus of the
  
  Read more

• Opinion: Vancouver's housing strategy needs a rethink

  28-11-2017 02:35 via vancouversun.com
  The City of Vancouver has an addiction. Like all addicts, the first step is to admit they have a problem. The city has finally taken that step.
  The city’s addiction is to increasing density through rezoning that has been inflating land values. Along with large speculative inflows of capital that treats housing as a commodity rather than a home for people who live and work here, this has created an affordability crisis. It is positive that for the first time, the city has finally made this
  
  Read more

• Burns Lake-area non-profit works to 'fix' feral-cat problem

  28-11-2017 02:07 via vancouversun.com
  It’s taken four years of hard work, but a small non-profit society has almost stabilized the feral- and stray-cat population in and around the northern B.C. community of Burns Lake.
  Community cats, which include both feral and stray cats, have long been a problem in the Lakes District, said Alistair Schroff, a volunteer with the Lakes Animal Friendship Society.
  “It was kind of a classic situation,” Schroff said. “The refrain was, ‘Somebody should do something about
  
  Read more

• British Columbians speaking out about investment fraud

  28-11-2017 02:06 via vancouversun.com
  British Columbians bilked of money in investment frauds where police decide not to take on their cases are speaking out about their anger and frustration with a system that does not take white-collar crime seriously.
  They are telling their stories after a Postmedia investigation reported Saturday that police investigation and criminal prosecution of investment fraudsters is rare. Earlier, Postmedia reported that more than half a billion dollars in fines and orders to pay back the proceeds of fra
  
  Read more

• Demographer's analysis of Vancouver byelection hints at 2018 general ballot

  28-11-2017 02:02 via vancouversun.com
  Shifting sentiments shown in the results of Vancouver council’s recent byelection suggest voters may be more ready to talk about where they will allow increased housing density, according to demographer Andy Yan.
  Hector Bremner of the Non Partisan Association won the council seat with a 3,100-vote margin over second-place candidate, independent Jean Swanson, in an election that attracted barely 11 per cent of eligible voters.
  SFU City Program director and demographer Andy Yan.
  Yan said it
  
  Read more

• Your City Council meets at 6pm. Want to tune in online? PC, smart phone or iPad, no problem.… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  28-11-2017 02:00 via twitter.com
  Your City Council meets at 6pm. Want to tune in online? PC, smart phone or iPad, no problem.… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
  Read more

• B.C. task force proposes vehicle and licence seizures to target illegal guns

  28-11-2017 01:54 via vancouversun.com
  VICTORIA — B.C. should crack down on illegal guns by targeting drivers and seizing their vehicles, says a new task force proposing an innovative approach to targeting organized crime.
  The B.C. Task Force on Illegal Firearms report released Monday recommended the government revoke the driver’s licence and vehicle registration privileges of organized crime associates, their friends, and family who use vehicles to carry illegal firearms. The province should also enhance its civil forfei
  
  Read more

• 'One-man wrecking ball' should get 20-25 years without parole: Crown

  28-11-2017 01:40 via vancouversun.com
  A man who brutally beat his girlfriend to death and left her decomposing body for nearly a month in his apartment should spend 20-25 years behind bars before he can apply for parole, a prosecutor argued Monday.
  In October, a B.C. Supreme Court jury found Daniel Alphonse Paul, 45, guilty of the second-degree murder of Crystal Rose Paul, 36, a mother of five.
  Second-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 25 years of parole ineligibility.
  
  Read more

• Council meets tonight at 7pm at District Hall. Can't make the meeting, or prefer to watch it from the comfort of ho… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…

  28-11-2017 01:28 via twitter.com
  Council meets tonight at 7pm at District Hall. Can't make the meeting, or prefer to watch it from the comfort of ho… twitter.com/i/web/status/9…
  
  Read more

• Mark your calendars for the Open House at @NVArtsCouncil Dec 7 | 4 - 8 PM twitter.com/NVArtsCouncil/…

  28-11-2017 01:00 via twitter.com
  Mark your calendars for the Open House at @NVArtsCouncil Dec 7 | 4 - 8 PM twitter.com/NVArtsCouncil/…
  
  Read more

• Early works begin for Surrey light-rail project

  28-11-2017 00:53 via vancouversun.com
  An unassuming bridge, an underground water main and storm sewer, and several overhead transmission lines are expected to be among the earliest casualties or displacements of a planned light rail system in Surrey.
  The existing assets along King George Boulevard and along or near 104th Avenue are due to be dug up, replaced, moved or raised next year in advance of the main thrust of work on a light rail line from Guildford to Newton that could begin as early as mid-2019.
  Scott Neuman, an LRT projec
  
  Read more

Follow @NorthVancouver_ on Twitter!