Wednesday - March 6, 2024 - End of a saga?

🌤 High 5C

Good morning!

My daughter learned to sew over the weekend. Some might suggest that you can’t learn such a complex task in such a short time. My daughter would beg to differ. Yesterday she manufactured a legit shirt for a stuffed bear out of two squares of fabric. It’s incredible, especially given her genes. My mom still tells the story of the one school class that I basically failed: a two-week sewing course in Grade 8. Technically I didn’t fail, but that’s only because I brought home the boxers I was supposed to be sewing but had butchered and got my mom to fix them. And I look at the stuff my daughter is sewing and know I would fail just as spectacularly if I tried to replicate her work.

– Tyler

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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

Black Press pays off hackers, US feds
to set stage for sale of papers

The largest roadblock obstructing the sale of troubled local newspaper chain Black Press has been resolved—but not before the astonishing revelation that the beleaguered company paid a six-figure ransom in January to get its computer servers back from a group of international cybercriminals.

This week, the Canadian newspaper company announced it had struck a $2 million deal with an American federal agency to resolve $45 million in outstanding pension obligations and clear the way for its sale.

The company’s legal filings also revealed that just days before it filed for creditor protection, Black Press’s Hawaii subsidiary was hacked by cyber criminals. Two weeks later, after the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the chain paid the extorters a six-figure ransom sum to unlock its servers.

• Today, Tyler writes about the deal that will pave the way for the sale of the Fraser Valley’s newspapers to its lenders and a small US publisher—and about the extortion attempt that cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars it didn’t have.

Related (members only)

Need to Know

⚖ Testimony began in the trial of the man accused of driving his car into people during a residential school march in Mission in 2022 [Mission Record]

🅿 Chilliwack will erect a replica of the Paramount sign’s P downtown, council decided Tuesday [Chilliwack Progress] / FVC reported yesterday on the plans for the sign and the decision facing council [FVC]

📽 A train destroyed a motorhome in Langley but nobody was injured; video shows the occupant escaping just before the vehicle was struck [Global]

🌹 A new café serving both coffee and flowers opened in Abbotsford [Abbotsford News]

🗳 The chief of Seabird Island First Nation says clean-up is going well after a train accident caused a diesel spill [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

💰 The mayors of Langley Township and Langley City are upset that their communities were denied federal housing funds [Langley Advance Times]

👉 A man who duped investors out of more than $600,000 by promising to build a ski resort near Hope never repaid money he owed to BC’s security commission; he’s far from the only one [CBC]

THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT GOLDEN PLATES 2024

Nominate your favourite Fraser Valley restaurants!

It’s time for a time-honoured tradition from our sister publication, The Georgia Straight: the Golden Plates Awards.

Nominations for the 27th annual food and drink awards are now open. Every year, readers select their favourite restaurants, breweries, bars, cafes, coffee shops, food trucks, and more, recognizing the best of Vancouver’s vibrant local food scene.

This year, they’ve introduced new categories to nominate your favourite restaurants in the Lower Mainland. Click here to nominate your favourite restaurants in Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and more! 

The Agenda

Snowpacks grew in February but remain well below normal

Rain and snow in late February have bolstered snowpacks across BC but they remain well below their typical early March levels. As of mid-February, snowpacks in the Lower Fraser Basin were at less than half their normal level for the time of year. By the start of March, snowpacks were around 65% of the median—better but still well below typical levels. The rest of the Fraser Basin posted similar increases.

Prior to the late-February snowfalls, snow levels at automated stations had been at record lows, according to the province.

Low snowpack levels mean a reduced likelihood of a flood during the spring freshet. But less water in rivers mean warmer and poorer conditions for salmon and fish. Low snowpacks can reduce the ability of BC’s hydro-electric system to generate sufficient electricity to power the province. When that happens, BC Hydro buys power from other jurisdictions—an event that can cost the provincially owned utility billions of dollars. And a lack of snow can also have implications for Abbotsford’s water system, which relies on water collected in reservoirs north and east of Mission.

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🤝 Now hiring

• Front of house supervisor at Roots and Wings Distillery in Langley

• Human resources generalist at Conair in Abbotsford

• Bottle sorter at Mission Recycle Centre

• Early morning stocker at PetSmart in Chilliwack

• Food counter attendant at Cheam Sushi

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

Paddling films: The Paddling Film Festival's world tour comes to the Clarke Theatre in Mission March 7. Details online.

Wildfire talk: Wildfire expert Bob Gray will talk to the Harrison Hot Springs Interface Fire Prevention Group and other interested community members Sunday, March 9 at 10am at Harrison Memorial Hall during a rally for interface fire prevention. Admission is free.

Mind your mind: Aaron Pete’s Bigger Than Me podcast presents a live show Thursday, March 14, about enhancing mental health and performance with clinical counsellor Kylie Bartel and flow coach Chris Bertram. Tickets online.

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

Catch up

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