March 29, 2023 edition — Lessons from BC's longest bus strike

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 | Today: 🌤️ High 17C, Low 1C | 7-day forecast

Good morning!

I’ve been absolutely living for new episodes of The Mandalorian (think: Star Wars TV show about a space cowboy in a cult). I’m pretty used to watching TV shows on-demand on a streaming service now, so waiting a whole week for each instalment is annoying. But it gives me something to look forward to and keeps me from plopping onto the couch to watch several episodes at a time. So it’s probably a good thing.

Speaking of good things that you can subscribe to online, here at The Current we’re rolling out a membership that you can purchase to help us keep making the newsletter that you get every morning. (And you’ll get some fun extras with it, too.) We’ve made some good progress towards our goal but still have a ways to go! We might not have as many lightsabers as your favourite streaming service, but we tell some pretty great stories about your community—not some galaxy far, far away.

NEWS

Lessons from BC’s longest bus strike

One hundred and thirty-six days.

If you depend on buses in the Fraser Valley, you should probably know that number and what it represents: BC’s longest-ever transit strike

The strike wasn’t recent history; it happened just last year, a couple hours to the north in the Sea-to-Sky region.

• With no talks planned between local bus drivers and their employer, and with the province declining to step in, we talked to a politician of another region that went through a months’ long strike last year.

Need to know

🐰 Step aside, Santa: families lined up to take photos with the Easter Bunny in Langley [Langley Advance Times]

👙 The public mineral pool at Harrison Hot Springs will close for cleaning and repairs from April 1 to May 15 [Tourism Harrison]

🐶 A private rescue in Mission lost its appeal to have 63 dogs returned after they were seized by the SPCA [CBC]

👍️ Grade 5 students at Terry Fox Elementary in Abbotsford raised $3,000 for different local groups and charities [Abbotsford News]

🏅 Two men will be recognized for rescuing an injured driver from the Chilliwack Creek last year [Chilliwack Progress]

➡️ A Chilliwack senior’s expensive mobility scooter was stolen [Chilliwack Progress]

🏊‍♂️ Climbing property taxes in Kent will contribute to the district’s future regional aquatic centre [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🌳 Volunteers planted trees to repair riparian areas at Hope Slough in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

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The Agenda

Agassiz-Rosedale Legion will ‘sea’ a new mural

A landlocked legion branch in Agassiz-Rosedale will get a marine-themed mural.

The new piece of public art will feature a portrait of the HMCS Agassiz, a Flower-class corvette ship named after the town in 1940. Designed by an Agassiz public school student, the mural would picture the ship—a British design used to fight submarines in the Second World War—on the sea at sunset. According to the district staff’s report, the federal government named ships after cities and towns across the country to connect with the Canadian public.

The mural will be located on the east-facing outer wall of the legion building on Highway 9.

Council envisions upgrades to Fort Langley park, waterfront, and streetscape

Big plans are in store for Fort Langley.

Improvements to Fort Langley Community Park and the waterfront, along with updates to the community’s heritage streetscape plan. will be sketched out by staff after council requested the work at a recent meeting.

Coun. Kim Richter asked council to consider deferring the proposals to allow for public input on the community park and waterfront. Her suggestion did not garner support from her colleagues. Some councillors argued that the public was surveyed about the community park as recently as the spring of 2021 and there will be an opportunity to survey the public after a waterfront design concept has been completed.

All three proposals were approved by council. Mayor Eric Woodward, who owns a sizable amount of property in downtown Fort Langley, declared a conflict of interest and removed himself from the meeting when the proposals were discussed and voted on.

For the waterfront, council voted to pre-approved $250,000 in the 2023 budget to initiate a design concept that will include a public feedback process.

🤝 Now hiring

• Veterinary receptionist at NVA Canada, Langley

• Sign Maker at Saab Prints and Graphics, Abbotsford

• Bartender at CMH Heli-Skiing

Hiring in the Fraser Valley? Reply back and let us know!

📸 Current Cam

Each week we showcase a different photo from across the valley and invite readers to share their best guesses about where it was taken.

Any guesses as to where this week’s Current Cam was taken? Fill out this form with your best guess—or with a picture we can use in a future edition.

Things to do

📜 Archive tour: The Chilliwack Archives runs public tours on the last Friday of the month. Join the tour at the front desk at 3pm. Read our article about the archives here.

🥚 Easter Egg Hunt: The traditional scurry for treats and chocolate is happening in Fort Langley this Saturday. Find more information online.

➡️ The Laramie Project: UFV’s theatre department is presenting The Laramie Project, a play telling the story of Matthew Shepard, until this Saturday. Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors.

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