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- Friday - Nov. 22, 2024 - UFV plans new programs in AI, journalism
Friday - Nov. 22, 2024 - UFV plans new programs in AI, journalism
Grace Kennedy
November 22, 2024
🌦 High 9C
Good morning!
We just wanted to send out another reminder that we are still looking for responses for this month’s FVC Perspectives edition. We want to hear your thoughts on rail safety in your community—including places where you think the railways or your municipalities need to do more to protect pedestrians and motorists. We also have a section where you can share your memories of people who were lost because of trains. We thought it would be a way for our FVC community to recognize some of the hundreds of people who have passed away, and their families who miss them.
– Grace
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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
FVC’s guide to holiday events
Harrison’s Lights by the Lake, Aldergrove’s Christmas Light Up Parade, and Abbotsford’s Winter Jubilee are all bringing holiday cheer to the valley this year. 📷 Lights by the Lake/Facebook; Aldergrove Fair/Facebook; Downtown Abbotsford/Facebook
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Markets filling every hall.
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir,
And shows playing wall-to-wall.
Everybody calls the valley such a festive place,
One with lots of Christmas joy.
Family groups, wanting holiday space
Will find activities to join
They know that Santa’s on his way,
Along with ballerinas dancing on the stage.
And every mother’s child is going to spy
To see if tree lights are more charming outside
And so, we’re offering this simple list
For kids from one to ninety-two.
We have tried our best, to make sure nothing’s missed,
There’s a lot of things to do.
There’s a lot of things to do.
Happy Holidays from Grace Kennedy and Nat King Cole.
There are so many events happening in the Fraser Valley that we couldn’t fit them all into one story. Insider members, check your Thursday events listing to see all the activities as they come up—including Grinchy happy hours, pictures with Santa Claus, and holiday crafting. (Become an Insider here.)
Related
Need to Know
⛔ A faulty ammonia detection sensor sparked the evacuation of the Aldergrove pool Tuesday [Langley Advance Times]
🚔 Police confiscated cocaine and meth from a driver who had been going the wrong way down a one-way street in Abbotsford [Abbotsford News]
🏠 Chilliwack staff say the city is on track to have an additional 28,000 housing units by 2044 [Chilliwack Progress]
🏥 Plans are in motion to bring a primary care clinic to Harrison Hot Springs [Agassiz Harrison Observer]
🚑 One person is dead after a serious crash on the Coquihalla between Hope and Merritt Wednesday night; the crash closed the northbound lanes overnight [Castanet]
📸 Mission RCMP will be among the first departments to wear body cameras, with the rollout beginning Sunday [RCMP]
⚖ An Abbotsford inmate says correctional officers used excessive force on two separate occasions in 2022; he is suing the Kent Institution and Pacific Regional Treatment Centre [Abbotsford News]
👉 The site of the Chilcotin River slide remains unstable, a salmon task force says; the slide’s impact on salmon populations is still unknown [CBC]
💸 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a two-month ‘holiday’ on GST for things like children’s clothing, Christmas trees, booze, and prepared foods; he also announced a $250 rebate for everyone who made less than $150,000 in 2023 [CBC]
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SPONSORED BY CITY OF ABBOTSFORD
Flood recovery update | Mayor's message
Though it’s been three full years since the devastating flood of November 2021, the impacts and efforts for recovery and long-term mitigation remain top of mind and part of our daily work here at the City of Abbotsford. While a large majority of our recovery works and repairs have been completed, crews continue to work on the few remaining larger-scale infrastructure projects throughout the community, and at City Hall, our focus on advocating for critical funding support for our long-term flood mitigation needs is as steadfast as ever.
The Agenda
Students at UFV could soon have the option to learn about AI or journalism in new programs. 📷 University of the Fraser Valley/Facebook
UFV set to create new AI, journalism programs
The University of the Fraser Valley has fast-tracked a new artificial intelligence program for its computer science department. It’s also set to introduce a new arts minor for a profession in a very different economic place these days: journalism.
The university’s senate is being asked to sign off today on the creation of three related computer science post baccalaureate diplomas, including one focusing on AI and machine learning. (The others are concentrated on cybersecurity and software engineering economics.) The program’s development has been expedited, with a process that normally takes years starting last March. A proposal says the programs have been specifically designed to meet workplace demand in the fast-growing fields. Those taking the diploma must first have completed an undergraduate degree.
Meanwhile, the university is also moving forward with the creation of a minor in journalism for arts students. That program, which would be administered by UFV’s School of Communication, has been in the works for years. An early proposal for the program stressed that it would focus on field-based freelance journalism, and include skills such as grant-writing. The proposal said the techniques learned in the program could also be used in a variety of other journalism professions.
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🗓 Things to do
Comedy night: Middle Aged Boy Band, a music parody and comedy shows, comes to Langley's Chief Sepass Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 23. Details and tickets online.
Arts & crafts: The Reach Gallery Museum hosts two family art-making workshops on Saturday, Nov. 23, one from 12:30pm to 2pm, the other from 2:20pm to 4pm. Families of all kinds are welcome, although pre-registration is required. Details online.
Music show: Cathy AJ Hardy and her band return to Mission's Clarke Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 23 for her Restoration of Love concert. Cathy will be accompanied by a team of musicians, including Boris Sichon who we profiled here. Details and tickets online.
Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.
That’s it!
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