Thursday, July 13, 2023 - British gangsters brawl in Langley

Thursday, July 13, 2023 | 🌤 High 25C

Good morning!

Have you heard of a “digital nomad”? It’s a new lifestyle trend where people who have a desk job work remotely from a laptop and live wherever they please. Usually it involves a tropical location with inexpensive rent and a lot of pineapples, or the back of a van in the mountains. (I’m never sure how they find reliable cell service.)

It seems like a pretty nice life—until you need to file your taxes in a foreign country. There are plenty of careers that involve travel these days. Some—like one in today’s story—that you might not expect.

WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / Check the BC Wildfire Dashboard here

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

NEWS

English gangsters brawl with local thugs—and other highlights from Langley’s top cop visit to council

A group of thugs from England brawled with local gangsters while visiting Langley earlier this year.

One of the participants was stabbed in the incident and several of the English brawlers were sent home, Langley RCMP Supt. Adrian Marsden told the Township’s council recently.

Mounties are also investigating a human trafficking case involving girls as young as 12 working out of a hotel in Langley.

The previously undisclosed investigations were revealed during Marsden’s quarterly visit to council.

Despite the incidents, Marsden said it has been a relatively quiet year so far.

“We actually haven’t had a homicide here since October of 2022. Not every year is like that.”

• Today, Joti writes about the highlights from Langley’s top cop visit to council.  

Need to know

🎷 Many local musicians will be playing at the Aldergrove Fair this weekend [Aldergrove Star]

🔥 The Davis Lake Wildfire north of Mission remains out-of-control; it is still listed at 110 hectares in size [BC Wildfire Service]

⚽️ Nearly 200 teams travelled to compete in an annual tournament hosted by the Abbotsford United Soccer Club [Abbotsford News]

🚧 A rockslide temporarily closed Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton on Wednesday [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🎞️ A short film following the journey of a transgender Stó:lō woman will be screened in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

🚓 Surrey RCMP is looking for a Langley man who allegedly fled from a traffic stop and later ran into the woods [CityNews]

🏠️ Unattended cooking is believed to be the cause of a Chilliwack townhouse fire [Chilliwack Progress]

🏎️ A driver caught travelling double the speed limit had their car impounded in Agassiz [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

👉️ An emergency shelter on Pauline Street in Abbotsford may become permanent [Abbotsford News]

🛵 An electric scooter crash shut down 56 Avenue in Langley Wednesday afternoon [Langley Advance Times]

➡️ Marijuana vape juice tested positive for benzos in Chilliwack [Chilliwack RCMP]

🚓 A suspected case of “tire fraud” lead RCMP to a Mission home [Mission Record]

🏎️ The Old Farts Car Club is preparing to run their second-annual Cars Against Cancer fundraiser [Langley Advance Times]

👉️ A 19-year-old missing Chilliwack man was found [RCMP]

📷 CURRENT CAM: Congrats to Anton, who was the first to identify Emilio Finatti's pizza joint on Fraser Highway as the location of yesterday’s Current Cam photo.

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The Agenda

Langley Township council to consider borrowing $18.5 million to complete new pump station

Langley Township council will consider borrowing $18.5 million to complete the Jericho Water Booster Pump Station.

The project was initially estimated to cost $11 million when it was first approved in 2018. But construction of the booster pump station had to be deferred until Metro Vancouver completed construction of the Jericho Reservoir, which was done last year. Staff attribute the rising cost to the delay in the supply chain brought on by the pandemic.

The pump station was identified as a priority project given the rapid growth in the Willoughby neighbourhood. The existing Willoughby Pump Station—constructed in 1992—does not have the capacity to deliver enough water to meet the growing demand in the area, a staff report said. The new pump station will utilize water from Metro Vancouver’s Jericho Reservoir (204 Avenue and 73A Street).

The original request by staff asked that council authorize “an additional $7.8 million from various funding sources” to complete the project. Mayor Eric Woodward proposed that the entire project ($18.5 million) be funded by a loan to then be paid out by development cost charges. The updated proposal was approved with councillors Margaret Kunst and Kim Richter opposed. (Coun. Steve Ferguson was absent.)

Council will make a final decision on whether it borrows those funds at a future council meeting.

South Fraser Way commemorative street renaming ceremony next week

A commemorative street renaming ceremony will be held in Abbotsford next week in honour of the 1914 Komagata Maru tragedy, a racially motivated incident.

On July 22, the City of Abbotsford will unveil commemorative street signs for a stretch of South Fraser Way with a second name: Komagata Maru Way. The signs will be added to the arterial road between Fairlane to Ware streets to honour the 352 passengers on the Komagata Maru that were denied entry to Canada. Passengers, primarily from Punjab, India, were left stranded in the Burrard Inlet for two months. The immigrants were later repatriated to India, where some were killed.

The ceremony will be held outside Abbotsford’s historic Gur Sikh Temple, where three interpretive panels will be unveiled showcasing the humanitarian efforts of Abbotsford’s Sikh community to help those stranded.

That same day, a new exhibition showcasing the transnational story of BC and the contributions of the Sikhs in the early 1900s is also opening at the Sikh Heritage Museum—located at the historic site.

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Throwback Thursday

The 115th person to carry the Olympic torch, Tracy R., walked through Abbotsford on Feb. 7, 2010.

The Vancouver Winter Olympics, after getting off to a rocky start (literally: Cypress Mountain didn’t have enough snow that year), would go on to see Canada’s first gold medal won on Canadian soil. Team Canada would also set a record that year for medals won by a national team in a Winter Olympics with 26 podium finishes—14 gold, seven silver, and five bronze.

🗓 Things to do

Ongoing, July 13 to 19

🎼 Concert: Langley Township is holding free concerts every Thursday night in July and August. This Thursday, July 13 catch Krystle Dos Santos in Willoughby Community Park at 7pm.

💐 Flowers: Langley’s Full Bloom Lavender Farm is in its summer season. Tickets are $10.

🎪 Fair: The Aldergrove Fair is happening this weekend (Friday, July 14 to Sunday, July 16). Find games, activities, live entertainment, and more at the Aldergrove Athletic Grounds.

🐴 Horse show: The Arabian Horse Association is holding regional championship equestrian competitions in Langley from Tuesday, July 18 to Thursday, July 20. Details online.

Thursday, July 13

🎭️ Performance art: The Chilliwack Cultural Centre will host an evening of performance art on Thursday, July 13. The show is called Community Action in Motion and showcases grief in the toxic drug crisis. More information and tickets online.

🧙 Trivia: The Fraser Valley Cider Company in Langley is holding a Harry Potter Trivia Night on Thursday, July 13 at 6pm. More info online.

🍅 U-pick: Archway Urban Farm is holding a u-pick veggies event in Abbotsford on Thursday, July 13. Bring your own scissors and baskets. Get tickets online.

Friday, July 14

🕺 Dance: Rock Step Swing Dance is hosting a Midsummer Night Swing Dance at Murrayville Community Memorial Hall on Friday, July 14. Details online.

🏀 Basketball: The Vancouver Bandits will play the Brampton Honey Badgers at the Langley Events Centre on Friday, July 14. This game will feature a sock-toss competition. Tickets online.

Weekend

➡️ Members have access to our full list of more than two dozen things to do across the valley over the next week. Sign up to become a member. 

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