Pickleball courts coming to Crystal Garden
Oil risks for local marine life, kittens saved from trash bin, Grade 4 student wins card contest
Good morning !
It’s no secret that we’re a publication that keeps things local—we’re all about highlighting what’s going on in our own backyard in the CRD and throughout the Island. But with so much going on in the world right now, we’re curious where our readers go to keep up with global headlines.
Where do you get national/international news?
🌡️ Weather Forecast
NEWS
City to open 2 ‘pop-up’ pickleball courts in Crystal Garden
The area’s growing pickleball community got some great news yesterday when the City of Victoria unveiled two new, albeit temporary, courts inside Crystal Garden.
The keyword is inside.
The Greater Victoria Pickleball Association (GVPA) says its membership has swollen to 840, and many members have been scrambling to find an indoor court.
Now that we’ve hit the rainy season, you can understand the uh, pickle these players are in if there’s no place to play without getting soaked.
There are indoor facilities within the CRD, but none in Victoria.
Beginning Jan. 9 and for five weeks, the above courts (the city bought four of these transportable floors for $60K) will be free for anyone to use, with registration beginning Thursday.
Meantime, a group has emerged, ready it says, to open an indoor racquet-sports facility—including pickleball—in the Westshore as early as Feb. 1.
⚠️ Capital Bulletin
Santa Claus to visit children and their families at Vic General Hospital today.
Missing Victoria senior found.
Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.
NEWS
No spill response can eliminate risk to marine life in the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Last week, Capital Daily reported that the new Western Marine Response Corporation (WMRC) vessel, the K.J. Gardner will be docked in Beecher Bay early in the new year. The ship is purpose-built to patrol the BC coastline and respond in the event of an oil spill.
The ship is being deployed in anticipation of 450 tankers per year bringing TMX pipeline oil out of Burnaby and through the Straight of Juan de Fuca.
Those tankers will also pass by the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve (RRER) off the coast of East Sooke where, according to Warden Derrick Sterling, “Humpbacks are visible every day.”
According to the RRER site, Southern Resident orcas also pass south of Race Rocks reserve heading west, and Bigg’s (Transient) orcas pass, heading East.
⭐️ Capital Picks
🎄 Grade 4 student wins Saanich mayor’s Christmas card contest.
🚲 Everyone benefits from a ride: Six years in, Cycling Without Age is increasing its impact throughout Greater Victoria. Click here to read more about how a group of volunteers give seniors and less-abled people the simple experience of a bicycle ride.*
*Sponsored Listing
🗞️ In Other News
Port Alberni bans comments on its social media sites
After negative comments directed at a staff member were left on a social media page, the city chose to turn off commenting options moving forward, with the council in full support of the decision. Residents are encouraged to still engage with the city through email. [Times Colonist]
Protester assaulted at Liberal Party of Canada gathering in Victoria
A group of Jewish protesters calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza were forcibly removed after peacefully disrupting the Liberal Party’s Saturday gathering. A video captured at the event shows a man believed to be the event host physically harassing one person and using explicit misogynistic slurs against the group.
Campbell River police cleared of wrongdoing in shooting against homicide suspect
A newly released IIO report showed officers fired 31 shots toward the docked vessel last year after hearing a single gunshot (a self-inflicted shot that killed the man). The man had earlier killed a fellow boater and taken hostages before the standoff.
Kittens saved from trash before heading to the landfill
Four kittens were plucked from the garbage at a waste transfer station in Duncan after a visitor spotted them in a bin. It’s not clear how they ended up at the site, but Foster Kritters Feral Cat Rescue group have cleaned them up and are taking care of the seven-week old cats who are now up for adoption. [Cowichan Valley Citizen]
🗓️ Things to do
Holiday Movie Night: Watch A White Christmas at Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Tonight. Doors 7:15pm, movie 7:30pm. [Join waitlist]
Attend COAST's casual networking mixer at Vancouver's Clough Club on January 24. Network with innovators in Pacific Canada's sustainable blue economy. Register now!*
Kennel Club Karaoke: Sing your heart out at The Vicious Poodle. Now allowing Christmas songs. Tonight. 8-11pm.
👀 In Case You Missed It
How a pair of shoes shaped Victoria’s Black history. [Capital Daily]
Gift guide: Shop these local spots for the foodie in your life. [Tasting Vic]
Listen to December's Vital Victoria Podcast! Anne McIntyre discusses creating Soap for Hope Canada – a non-profit dedicated to providing hope and dignity through hygiene.*
Black bear spotted eating a whale near Tofino. [CBC]
*Sponsored Listing