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- March 8, 2023: Fraser Valley Current newsletter
March 8, 2023: Fraser Valley Current newsletter
Our daily newsletter for March 8, 2023
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 | Today: 🌧 High 9C, Low -1C | 7-day forecast
Good morning, there!
I can’t usually watch movies about journalists (the exception being based-on-a-true-story movies like Spotlight from 2015, with which I’m obsessed). I’m not entirely sure why. But I still hear some of the stereotypes. One of these, which I’ve found to be somewhat accurate so far, is the “notebooks everywhere” trope. There’s a specific type of notebook that I like, I have a dozen of them (all half-full), and I keep losing them in couch cushions and the passenger-side footwell of my car.
The smaller the town, the larger the pile of cash it gets from BC’s Growing Communities Fund.
NEWS
DATA: Small cities get best bang for the buck from provincial windfall
The Fraser Valley’s cities and towns were handed a cool $97 million last week.
But the surprise gift from the provincial government didn’t land equally.
The money came from a new, one-time “Growing Communities Fund” that the province created to dish out $1 billion from its surprise surplus this year.
But while municipalities bent over backwards to thank the province for the sudden influx of cash, on a per-person basis, some places made out much better than others.
Your view: What do you want your city to do with the money? |
Related story
Need to know
💾 Modernizing information technology in hospitals is a struggle for Fraser Health [CTV]
🚏 Fraser Valley bus drivers will start a three-day strike effecting Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Agassiz-Harrison and Hope tomorrow [BC Transit]
➡️ A peace bond hearing in Chilliwack was delayed for a woman who returned from ISIS territory [Chilliwack Progress]
🍅 A park in Walnut Grove got 28 new community garden plots and a playground [Langley Advance Times]
👮 Policing in Langley Township has been “quiet” recently, says the head of the local RCMP detachment [Langley Advance Times]
🚘 A slushy, snowy high-speed chase in Hope ended in the arrest of one man [Hope Standard]
👧 BC introduced legislation that targets the gender pay gap by increasing salary transparency [Province of BC]
😺 A local cat shelter is running an adopt-a-thon in a strategic location: Langley’s PetSmart [Langley Advance Times]
➡️ The trial for a man charged with killing an off-duty Abbotsford RCMP officer in Nelson began on Monday [Abbotsford News]
🚧 Glover Road in Langley will close at the Highway 1 overpass for construction beginning Monday [Province of BC]
➡️The BC coroner reported 211 toxic drug deaths in January [CBC]
⚖️ Jurors are being picked for the upcoming trial of a man charged in a 2019 killing near Cultus Lake [Chilliwack Progress]
🚓 A traffic stop led Agassiz RCMP police to discovering cash and a stash of ammo and illegal drugs [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]
SPONSORED POST
TOGETHER WITH FESTIVAL DU BOIS
Festival du Bois returns Mar. 24-26!
Grab something plaid and a few pals and say “bonjour” to Festival du Bois at Mackin Park in Coquitlam, Mar. 24-26.
The Grand Chapiteau (big tent) on-site welcomes Les Grands Hurleurs (the “great howlers”) playing traditional Québécois music bursting with new ideas; sensational Senegalese soul-rocker, Élage Diouf; Forró do Cana’s hip-swivelling Brazilian dance music; Québécois music’s power trio, Genticorum; BC’s Métis Jiggers; la belle songstress, Jocelyne Baribeau; Devon and Louis Léger’s French-Canadian and Acadian tunes, and more.
Visit the Métis Village Experience. There are also fabulous shows for kids and families in the Petit Chapiteau, entertaining roving performers, workshops, shopping, exhibits, and fabulous cuisine traditionnelle!
Tickets are affordable, with discounts for families, seniors, and students at FestivalduBois.ca.
The Agenda
Chilliwack is installing EV chargers at several points around the city. 📷 New Africa// Shutterstock
More electric vehicle charging stations coming to Chilliwack
Chilliwack bought 12 new electric vehicle charging stations last month.
The chargers will be installed at different popular points around town. City Hall, Sardis Sports Complex, the Chilliwack Landing Leisure Centre, Chilliwack courthouse, and the tourism centre will all see at least one dual-port charger up and running in the near future. The Victoria Avenue parking lot will have two, faster single-port chargers.
The last chargers purchased by the city were installed in 2013. They’re located at City Hall and the Chilliwack Visitors Centre and remain free of charge for public use.
Langley Township Council approves 2.2% service fee for permit applications made by credit card
The Langley Township now accepts credit payments for permit applications, but it will cost you extra in fees. Council voted to allow credit card payments for online ecommerce and in-person payments for building and engineering permits at a recent council meeting, but it comes with an additional 2.2% in service fees.
The fee passed on to the credit card user is to recoup money charged by credit card companies, a report to council said. Cash, cheque, and debit will also continue to be accepted and will not incur additional fees.
Other municipalities have also applied a credit card service fee. Langley City also charges 2.2% while Abbotsford charges 1.75%, according to the staff report.
Your view: Do we need more protections for old buildings?
Yesterday, as we reported a plan to demolish a 111-year-old building in Abbotsford, we asked you if Fraser Valley governments did enough to preserve heritage structures. More than 250 of you responded.
Just over two-thirds of you said more should be done, and that the region doesn’t value its old buildings enough. About one-third of you said there were enough protections in place and that not every old building is worth preserving. Thanks for taking part!
“There are remarkably few historic buildings in Abbotsford!” Aird Flavelle wrote (you can add comments in our polls!). “I wonder if it's because nobody makes money from preserving them?”
SPONSORED POST
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CUPE FRASER VALLEY TRANSIT WORKERS
First Transit workers need a lift
Workers with First Transit make 32% less than other transit workers in the region—and they have no pension. They’re on strike now for a fair deal. Tell First Transit to get a deal with the workers of CUPE 561 to keep services running.
Learn more at WeNeedALift.ca.
📸 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.
Around town
THIS WEEK
🎺 The Fort Langley Jazz Festival’s March 26 education workshop is open to all levels of jazz instrumentalists and vocalists. Deadline to register is Friday.
🎨 Corky’s Irish Pub in Chilliwack will be home to two guided painting parties (one at noon and one at 6pm) on Saturday. All abilities welcome, find more details online.
COMING UP
🔫 The Historical Arms Collectors Society will hold its 51st annual gun show at Heritage Park in Chilliwack. Tickets are $5 and available at the door.
🌲 Join BC Cannabis Stores at their newest Langley store for their grand opening on Saturday, Mar. 18. Location details here.*
Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted in Around Town.
*Sponsored Listing
Catch up
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