Tuesday - Nov. 19, 2024 - Crime plunges in Langley

💨 High 5C | Special weather statement

Good morning!

Since publishing our rail safety series, we have heard from several people whose personal lives have been impacted by train-related fatalities in the region. For this month’s Perspectives edition, we want to hear your thoughts about rail safety in your community and what can be done to reduce fatalities in the Fraser Valley. If you or your family have been personally impacted and would like to share, you can do so here.

– Tyler

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope (We have had to temporarily change our forecast links to the Weather Network due to a technical error.)

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

Q&A: Kent’s mayor on housing, fundraising, and the relationship with Harrison Hot Springs

It takes a village to run a village. Or at least a district.

That’s what District of Kent Mayor Sylvia Pranger told the Current when we asked her about her council’s ongoing work in the district. Pranger talked to The Current about her community’s ongoing projects, including the ambitious new Lets’emot Aquatics Centre.

In an interview halfway through her third term as Kent’s mayor, Pranger talked about how important the support of a community is in pursuit of such a project—and how those community ties form valuable connections not just between people but between neighbouring cities, towns, and First Nations. Pranger also talked about housing development, transit, and her municipality’s relationships with Harrison Hot Springs and local First Nations.

• Read Grace Giesbrecht’s interview with Pranger here.

• This is part of a series of mid-term interviews with the mayors of Fraser Valley communities. You can read the others here: Ross Siemens (Abbotsford) | Paul Horn (Mission) | Ken Popove (Chilliwack) | Victor Smith (Hope) | Fred Talen (Harrison). Our interview with the mayor of Langley City will be published in an upcoming edition. Langley Township has ignored The Current’s request for an interview with Mayor Eric Woodward.

Related

Need to Know

🖥 Tyler will be on CBC’s The Early Edition this morning around 7:40am to talk about journalists’ use of Twitter/X and BlueSky, an increasingly visible competitor. You can listen live here [CBC] / The Current has a new BlueSky account that you can follow here; Tyler has an account here; Grace has an account here [BlueSky]

🚧 Highway 7 remains closed west of Hope; it isn’t expected to be open until Nov. 27 [Hope Standard]

🚐 An Aldergrove bus manufacturer has gone bankrupt [Aldergrove Star]

📈 Chilliwack city staff have recommended a 7.2% tax revenue increase [Chilliwack Progress]

⚡ Strong winds are expected today and tomorrow; prepare for power outages; click here to find BC Hydro’s listing of outages [BC Hydro]

👉 Agencies that provide space for winter homeless shelters in Langley often only do so for one year, the city’s mayor says [Langley Advance Times]

🐔 More bird flu cases have been found at Abbotsford and Chilliwack poultry operations [Canadian Press}

🤚 Premier David Eby’s new cabinet has been appointed; Mike Farnworth has been appointed the minister of transportation and transit [CBC] / The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has been split into two separate bodies; the latter is focused on controlling costs [Urbanized] ; Lana Popham has taken over the Ministry of Agriculture from Pam Alexis, who lost her seat in October

⛸ The City of Chilliwack has launched an on-ice program for neurodiverse skaters Monday afternoons [City of Chilliwack]

👎 Vandals sprayed graffiti on an Aldergrove heritage building [Langley Advance Times]

🗳 The federal Green Party has named a candidate for the upcoming by-election in Langley [Langley Advance Times] / We reported on Friday on the NDP, Liberal, and Conservative candidates who will be on the ballot in December [FVC]

SPONSORED BY CITY OF ABBOTSFORD

Abbotsford Mayor's Christmas Card Contest

Do you have a little artist? Time is running out to submit your entry into the Mayor's Christmas Card Contest! Kids in Kindergarten and Grades 1 through 5 can submit entries by email or drop off by Nov 22.

Email: [email protected]
Drop off: City Hall Reception Desk at 32315 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC

Good luck!

The Agenda

Langley records double-digit crime rate decline

Property and violent crime rates in Langley have plunged by more than 10% through the first three quarters of 2024, according to data released this week by a neighbouring police department.

The Abbotsford Police Department’s quarterly report for council showed that while crime has increased slightly in the force’s own jurisdiction, reported offences to the west, in Langley, have plunged compared to last year. (The APD report compares Abbotsford’s crime rate to those in neighbouring communities.)

Reported violent crimes in Langley decreased by 12% while property offences have dropped by 10% over the first nine months of 2024, according to the APD figures. That’s the largest change of any of the Fraser Valley jurisdictions. Crime rates in Chilliwack continue to be more than double those in Abbotsford and Langley. The crime rate there has mostly held steady.

In Abbotsford, violent crime has increased by 5% while property crime has risen by 2%. In Mission, violent crime is up 4.5%, but property crime has declined by 8%.

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