Wednesday - Oct. 25, 2023 - Can Fraser Valley housing save Vancouver from itself?

☀ High 9C

Good morning!

I’ve got two things to plug here. First, today’s the last day members can register to sit in on our interview with bloggers-turned-mayors Nathan Pachal and Patrick Johnstone. You’ll also get a chance to ask your own questions about how they’ve turned a passion for writing about city hall into running the whole place. You can register here.

Second! My friend Aaron Pete, the host of the Bigger Than Me Podcast, is hosting a live show next week featuring musician Rebecca Sichon. There will be live music plus, I’m told, very good food and beverages, which is what sold me.

Aaron and I have also talked about doing an event together at one point, though that will depend on whether we think there’s an appetite out there that makes it worth the considerable time investment. Let us know what you’d like to see.

– Tyler

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WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

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

NEWS

Can Fraser Valley housing save Vancouver from itself?

The real estate market has left Vancouver increasingly unlivable, with high prices pushing residents out of the places they call home.

It’s an idea that you hear often these days. But not one that’s regularly said out loud by those in charge of pricing and selling homes.

So when Jamie Squires, the president of Fifth Avenue Real Estate Marketing, sent us an opinion piece declaring that the Fraser Valley needed to preserve mixed-income neighbourhoods in part to counter Vancouver’s increasingly unaffordability, we wanted to learn more.

• Today, we’re sharing a conversation with Squires about her vision for a valley—and whether it’s possible to achieve in today’s world.

Related

Need to know

🔎 Mounties are looking for help to find a missing Chilliwack woman [Chilliwack RCMP]

❄ The Coquihalla has gotten very, very snowy the last couple days; you can check the highway cameras here; you can find them in future editions in the Traffic & Weather section above [DriveBC]

🔇 Talks have broken down during negotiations to resolve Metro Vancouver’s wastewater strike [City News]

☁ Despite the rain, BC’s drought is still having an impact across the province [CTV] / Conservationists are getting help from beavers though [CBC]

🌲 Mission’s Silverdale Creek Wetlands are expected to reopen in November, but help is still needed to plant some trees [City of Mission]

🏀 A former Fraser Valley bandit played with the Boston Celtics during the NBA preseason and is sticking with the franchise’s minor league team [Fraser Valley Bandits]

🚧 Another truck hit another overpass on Highway 1 in Langley [Global]

👍 Abbotsford’s Crystal Gala raised enough money to fund the purchase of a crucial mammography device [Abbotsford News]

🚓 Langley Mounties are looking for dashcam footage from a Friday hit-and-run [Langley Advance Times]

☕ A Starbucks slated for Popkum has encountered further delays [Fraser Valley Today]

🐟 A new online map allows locals to find places to view spawning salmon [Mission Record] / You can find the map and nine local locations here [Pacific Salmon Foundation]

👉 Canada’s record year of fire has turned heads across the globe [New York Times] / Even so, no one in Canada calls BC “British California” [Twitter]

SPONSORED BY MASSEY THEATRE

Get your tickets to Dog Man: The Musical!

It's your last chance to get tickets to see Dog Man: The Musical at Massey Theatre! Four showtimes, one epic weekend. Petey's Café will be open with Dog Man cookies and merchandise, and there is a free Children's Book Fair & Market with a selfie booth! October 28-29 in New Westminster. See you there!

The Agenda

Local brewers honoured at beer awards

Six beers from five local breweries were recognized as some of the best in the province this weekend at the British Columbia Beer Awards.

Field House Brewing Company was the only local brewer to win a gold medal, with its Toasted Coconut Black Lager recognized as the best specialty fruit beer in British Columbia, nudging out a yuzu wheat ale from Brewall Beer and Twin City Brewing Company’s Out on a Limb.

Old Yale Brewing claimed two bronzes: its Sasquatch Stout picked up a third-place ribbon in the UK & Irish Stout class, and its Knotty Blonde Ale did likewise in the North American Light Ale category.

New Chilliwack brewery Sidekick Brewing Company’s Best Friend Jer won in the competitive Hazy IPA class.

Trading Post Brewing Company’s German Pilsner claimed third prize in the Pale Bitter German Lager category.

And Dead Frog Brewery also won third-place honours, with its Commander Reserve 2019 honoured in the North American Porter & Stout category.

🤝 Now hiring

• Emergency Management Program Advisor at Langley City

• Cook at Noodle Road in Abbotsford

• Full-Time Day Shift Shelter Worker at Mission Community Services Society

• Marketing Director at Westbow in Chilliwack

• Community Health Representative at Seabird Island Band

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

Improv: The cast of Very Very Improv Theatre takes to the Bez Arts Hub stage in Langley with comedy improv games and long-form improv the last Saturday of every month. Details online.

Classical music: The Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra plays its fall concert at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on Sunday, Oct. 29, with selections from the Phantom of the Opera, Harry Potter movies, and more. Tickets online.

Ginger Snaps: The Abbotsford Film Society will screen Ginger Snaps Friday, Oct. 27 at The Banquet Room at Emmanuel Mennonite Church. Doors open at 7:30pm, and the film starts at 8pm. Admission is $7 at the door. Details and tickets online.

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Catch up

That’s it!

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