Wednesday - Jan. 31, 2024 - Langley moves $100,000

🌧 High 12C

Good morning!

Today, I’m using the intro to share with our members an interesting story about Second World War balloon bombs launched at North America. But for you, our non-member crew, this is a kind reminder that this newsletter is possible because of those folks who support us. They get fun stuff like a weekend wrap-up edition, and extra food and events coverage. But mostly they are supporting us deliver this newsletter each and every morning. If you are able to join them, you can do so here.

– Tyler

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

🚘 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

Township cuts $100k from community grant budget; hands mayor $100k discretionary fund

Langley Township has given its mayor a $100,000 fund to use for anything he wants. The township has also cut $100,000 from its Community Grants budget.

But Mayor Eric Woodward—who says he has no plans for how he'll spend his $100,000—says the two budgetary decisions aren't linked.

Whatever the case, the thinning of one budget and the thickening of another demonstrates a different, small shift—not in where Langley Township’s money is spent, but who gets to make those calls.

• Today, Grace writes about why the location of $100,000—a drop in a municipal budget bucket—matters. 

Related

Need to Know

🚐 The dispute between Metro Vancouver bus supervisors and their employer hasn’t yet been resolved—a special mediator will deliver recommendations by Friday [CTV]

☀ Abbotsford was 18C on Monday and the warmest place in the country, breaking a 64-year-old heat record for the date [Toronto Star]

💦 A flood watch remained in effect for the Sumas River Tuesday, but its waters—and those of the Nooksack—aren’t expected to rise much this week [BC River Forecast Centre/NOAA]

🔥 An Aldergrove Save-On-Foods was evacuated after a clogged heater left the store smelling like smoke [Aldergrove Star]

🔊 A protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza will be held Saturday in Abbotsford’s Jubilee Park [Abbotsford News]

🐄 Two companies won thousands of dollars at a “Farmers Den” competition for agritech businesses held at the Pacific Agriculture Show [Chilliwack Progress]

🌲 Efforts to save a 21-year-old Aldergrove home by moving it have revealed how the cost to move buildings has increased dramatically [Aldergrove Star]

The Agenda

Bourquin bus hub to be centre of Abbotsford’s transit development area

Construction is set to start soon on a new bus exchange in Abbotsford’s historic downtown—but it’s another bus hub that will be subject to new provincial density rules.

Provincial regulations requiring municipalities to designate high-density areas near major bus exchanges will apply to Abbotsford’s mall-adjacent Bourquin exchange, not the new bus exchange planned for the city’s historic downtown.

That detail is included in regulations that accompany the new housing law passed by the province last year, according to a city staff report to council. Abbotsford and other municipalities have until the end of June to adopt a bylaw that officially designates their “transit-oriented areas.”

Higher density around Abbotsford’s Bourquin Exchange won’t dramatically alter the city’s plans. The area is included in Abbotsford’s City Centre Neighbourhood Plan, which already foresees apartments and towers rising in the area and replacing the current malls and parking lots.

On Tuesday, the city announced that construction on a new transit exchange in its historic downtown would start soon and be completed by the end of summer. The exchange will have 10 bus bays and was originally intended by the city to replace the Bourquin exchange. The project is funded by the city and both the provincial and federal governments.

SPONSORED BY BC TRANSIT

Go with Umo

BC Transit’s new electronic fare system, Umo, is ready for use in the Central Fraser Valley, Chilliwack, Agassiz-Harrison, and Hope transit systems!

It’s your choice how to use Umo – mobile app or reloadable card.

Visit bctransit.com/umo for more information, including videos and FAQs.

🤝 Now hiring

• Jail guard at the Agassiz RCMP

• Mechanic at Mission Automotive

• Disability management advisor at Township of Langley

• Advertising director at Musora in Abbotsford

• Community support workers at Chilliwack Society for Community Living

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.

Think you know where this week’s Current Cam was taken? Fill out this form.

🗓 Things to do

Open mic: Russ Rosen hosts an open mic night every Thursday at the Bez Arts Hub. Sign up at 7:15pm, performances start at 7:30pm. Details online.

Canucks vs. Barracuda: The Abbotsford Canucks host the San Jose Barracuda at Abbotsford Centre Feb. 2 and 3. Tickets online.

Agassiz classical: Cheam Vista Concerts hosts the Rose Gellert String Quartet at Riverside Christian Reformed Church in Agassiz Feb. 6. Details and tickets online.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

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