Wednesday, August 2, 2023 - 0.00000225 pennies per litre

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023 | Today: ☀️ High 24C

Good morning!

My sister and I are going on a trip to Europe next summer. It’s a year away but we’ve already started planning. So far, we have a list of countries we want to see and have started researching how train travel works. And I realized, suddenly, that I’ve never been on a real train before (I don’t think skytrains or subways count). There isn’t a whole lot of passenger rail service in the Lower Mainland.

Members can learn more about what the trains in the Fraser Valley do—and where they go—from Tyler at the bottom of today’s newsletter. That's in response to a question from an Insider. Today's feature story was also prompted by a reader email. Feel free to shoot other inquries at us!

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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

Water-bottling companies in BC could face new rules, but still pay little for public H20

Need to know

👉️ A woman serving a life sentence for murder was charged with assaulting prison guards in Abbotsford [Abbotsford News]

🛥️ A man who bought a boat in the US and towed it across the Canadian border, claiming it was a gift, received a heavy fine [Langley Advance Times]

🔥 The Hunter Hill and Davis Lake wildfires are under control; The Chehalis River wildfire is still out of control and 767 hectares in size [BC Wildfire Service]

🚒 The death of a woman in a house fire in Boston Bar prompted an IIO investigation; police officers had conducted several wellness checks at the home the week before [IIO]

🟦 Meta has announced the official end of news on its platforms in Canada yesterday [CBC] / Tell your Facebook-loving friends to subscribe to The Current

➡️ An inmate died at the Mountain Institution in Agassiz [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

👉️ The Abbotsford Police Department is seeking public assistance to help locate a missing woman [Fraser Valley Today]

👨‍🚒 Chilliwack River Valley firefighters have joined the teams fighting forest fires across BC [Fraser Valley Today]

🌲 A new online interactive tool will allow the public to track old-growth logging in BC [Nelson Star]

👉️ A person was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after a stabbing in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

⛴️ BC Ferries is urging even walk-on foot passengers to reserve their place on the boat ahead of the BC Day long weekend [Global News]

👮 A prolific offender in Chilliwack returned to court for another sentencing; he’s currently serving time for previous offences [Chilliwack Progress]

➡️ The Chilliwack man accused of shooting at RCMP during a stand-off in May is co-operating with the courts [Chilliwack Progress]

The Agenda

Treehouse rental an online hit—and is now legal

A short-term treehouse rental that was first built without city approval has recently received significant online attention and is now legal.

When The Current last reported on the Ryder Lake treehouses, the fate of the structures were before Chilliwack council. The owner had gone ahead and constructed two treehouses for short-term tourism without a permit. In March, the ALC denied the property owner’s application to retain the treehouses for use as tourist accommodations because the land was in the ALR and treehouses are not a conforming land use. In its decision, the commission did say the property is permitted one additional residence up to 90 metres-squared if approved by local government.

Recently, the city confirmed to The Current the treehouse has been brought into compliance and the property owner was issued a business licence for its use as a short-term rental. But if you’re looking to spend a weekend among the treetops you’ll likely have to plan ahead a few months. The listing doesn’t have any weekend availability until late fall. The culprit may be a social media video that was shared last month and has now garnered nearly half-a-million views.

In addition to touring the treehouse, the video also highlights a private cedar hot tub and Scottish Highland cattle roaming the property.

There is also an active development variance permit application pending for a second treehouse to convert its use to an ancillary building, the city said.

July significantly hotter, drier than previously normal

Last month was the eight-warmest July in Abbotsford since records began being kept in 1945. It was also, unsurprisingly, very dry.

Just 24.3mm of rain fell at Abbotsford International Airport. That’s about half the normal amount—or at least what had once been considered “normal.” 

The Current reported at the start of the month that Fraser Valley summers are now, on average, twice as dry as they were just 30 years ago. Over the past 10 years, an average of around 45mm of rain has fallen during each year’s July and August months. With just over half that sum in July, the valley is on course to hit that average—but not exceed it by much.

🤝 Now hiring

• Gardener at the City of Langley

• Part-time egg collector at Jay Bee Farm in Abbotsford

• Senior financial analyst at Molson Coors Chilliwack Brewery

• Baker at Lepp’s Bakehouse in Abbotsford

• Customer service associate at Value Village in Langley

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

🎻 Outdoor concert: Tiller’s Folley, a folk/Celtic roots band, will play at the Willoughby Community Park Amphitheatre on Thursday, August 3. Find details online.

🎸 Live music: Mission’s Twilight Concert Series continues in the Fraser River Heritage Park on Wednesday, August 2. More details online.

🖼️ Art crawl: The Hope Art Crawl will feature 40 artists along Hwy 7 on August 12 and 13. Locations include homes, gardens, porches, art galleries, a brewery and businesses that sell handmade local art. Maps can be picked up at the Hope Visitor Centre. Email [email protected] for more information.

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