Local Journalism Initiative

Bryant Doradea is a rapper who grew up in foster care in East Vancouver. instagram @hkeezay

Hip-hop artist and former child in ‘care’ brings message of visibility to B.C. legislature

Artist and youth worker presents ‘The Foster Kid Survival Guide’ to government officials

Bryant Doradea is a rapper who grew up in foster care in East Vancouver. instagram @hkeezay
Vancouver Island University is applying to offer programs in Canada’s north. (News Bulletin file)

B.C. university wants to offer remote degrees in the Northwest Territories

Vancouver Island University has applied to deliver a remote Bachelor of Education program

Vancouver Island University is applying to offer programs in Canada’s north. (News Bulletin file)
(File photo by BLACK PRESS)

Paramedic shortages still plague B.C. rural areas, but remedies may be in the works

Part-time staffing model, better on-call wages may help areas facing staffing gaps

(File photo by BLACK PRESS)
The snow-covered top of Mount Seymour is visible through low cloud as a Harbour Air floatplane approaches Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday December 28, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

North Shore Rescue saves two backcountry skiers lost on Mt Seymour

Pair of women got lost after accidentally skiing into the out of bounds

The snow-covered top of Mount Seymour is visible through low cloud as a Harbour Air floatplane approaches Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday December 28, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Juvenile Rockfish in Barkley Sound. (Photo courtesy of Emily Adamczyk)

B.C. scientist eavesdropping on fish to fathom their underwater secrets

Researchers have devised a relatively low-cost portable audio-visual system for tracking fish sounds

Juvenile Rockfish in Barkley Sound. (Photo courtesy of Emily Adamczyk)
The Scott Island Marine National Wildlife Area was the first protected marine area established under the Canada Wildlife Act. (Government of Canada screen capture)

Oil and gas ‘sleeper permits’ surrendered for sensitive B.C. coastal areas

Environment groups halt court challenge after Chevron surrenders historical rights in hot spots

The Scott Island Marine National Wildlife Area was the first protected marine area established under the Canada Wildlife Act. (Government of Canada screen capture)
A recent Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found 1 in 10 B.C. workers were working jobs that were explicitly short-term or casual, and 17 per cent said their income could vary significantly week to week. (pixabay photo)

In B.C., precarious work is becoming the new normal: study

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives looks at jobs without uncertain pay, hours or protection

A recent Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found 1 in 10 B.C. workers were working jobs that were explicitly short-term or casual, and 17 per cent said their income could vary significantly week to week. (pixabay photo)
Research is underway in order to help replenish diminishing kelp forests on the B.C. coast. Unsplash/contributed photo

B.C.’s kelp forests battle climate change, offer crucial environmental resources

Kelp forests, foundational to coastal ecosystems and B.C. Indigenous culture, are at risk

Research is underway in order to help replenish diminishing kelp forests on the B.C. coast. Unsplash/contributed photo
Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band watches as band member Jane Stelkia, 93, speaks to the crowd at a land ceremony in Okanagan Falls Friday, April 15, 2023. (Mark Brett/Local Journalism Initiative)

Traditional land returned to Osoyoos Indian Band

The land has been an ancestral place of culture and sustainability for Indigenous peoples

Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band watches as band member Jane Stelkia, 93, speaks to the crowd at a land ceremony in Okanagan Falls Friday, April 15, 2023. (Mark Brett/Local Journalism Initiative)
Maynard Johnny Jr. looks over the Salish Heron, featuring his design, at BC Ferries Fleet Maintenance Unit in Richmond. Johnny is one of 14 artists featured along with legend Bill Reid in the Bright Futures exhibition. (Photo by BC Ferries)

Exhibit asks ‘What would Bill Reid think of Northwest Coast art today?’

25 years after the death of the Haida master artist, a new show highlights what followed in his wake

Maynard Johnny Jr. looks over the Salish Heron, featuring his design, at BC Ferries Fleet Maintenance Unit in Richmond. Johnny is one of 14 artists featured along with legend Bill Reid in the Bright Futures exhibition. (Photo by BC Ferries)
Wallace Antoine and Emanuel Sampson of Khowutzun Forest Services work on packing and hauling sandbags during Chemainus River flooding in November 2021. (Photo by Don Bodger)

B.C. First Nations salvaging the sacred from climate disaster

New campaign aims to to target care of sensitive artifacts in the wake of fires and floods

Wallace Antoine and Emanuel Sampson of Khowutzun Forest Services work on packing and hauling sandbags during Chemainus River flooding in November 2021. (Photo by Don Bodger)
Port Moody Fire Rescue honoured Massimo Cerantola yesterday May 25 with a Medal of Merit. PortMoodyFireRescue@PortMoodyFR photo

B.C. firefighter honoured after being badly burned by car blast in off-duty response

Massimo Cerantola says he’s no hero after suffering burns to 41 per cent of his body

Port Moody Fire Rescue honoured Massimo Cerantola yesterday May 25 with a Medal of Merit. PortMoodyFireRescue@PortMoodyFR photo
A Nelson group wants the province to start its own inter-city transportation system. File photo

Nelson-based group advocates for province-wide transit service

They say a inter-city electric bus transportation should be prioritized

A Nelson group wants the province to start its own inter-city transportation system. File photo
A transit bus headed for the Swartz Bay ferry terminal stops to pick up passengers on a snowy Douglas Street in Victoria. Observers are concerned that B.C.’s push for a clean public transportation network is not paying enough attention to rural and remote communities. Don Denton file photo

Will B.C.’s shift to clean transportation take rural communities along for the ride? ​​​​​​​

Some worried only thing B.C. has been concentrating on is electrified vehicles in bigger centres

A transit bus headed for the Swartz Bay ferry terminal stops to pick up passengers on a snowy Douglas Street in Victoria. Observers are concerned that B.C.’s push for a clean public transportation network is not paying enough attention to rural and remote communities. Don Denton file photo
Mussels had a hard time in the dual heat and low tides. Here’s one from Vancouver Island’s west coast, cooked in a happier time. (Zoe Ducklow/file)

Unchecked climate change puts Canada’s West Coast in hot water

Warming temperatures having a particularly pronounced effect on the Salish Sea

Mussels had a hard time in the dual heat and low tides. Here’s one from Vancouver Island’s west coast, cooked in a happier time. (Zoe Ducklow/file)
Black Press file photo

Fisheries and Oceans Canada faces deluge of calls to improve ‘suspect’ science

Report yields 49 recommendations to address concerns about how DFO science presented

Black Press file photo
Courtenay residents included in the city’s residential curbside collection program can now participate in weekly food waste collection. File photo

Tiny B.C. island community’s answer to climate change? Feed everyone

Quadra Island volunteers combing discarded food for nutrition, getting it to those who need it

Courtenay residents included in the city’s residential curbside collection program can now participate in weekly food waste collection. File photo
Two North Shore business owners, Trish Neufeld and her brother David Smyth (at bottom, right and left), were given a night to remember when they bumped into David Beckham and his son at a pub in Dublin. (David Smyth/ Facebook)

Chance encounter sees B.C. duo partying with soccer legend David Beckham

North Vancouver pair get some unexpected company at their table in a Dublin bar

Two North Shore business owners, Trish Neufeld and her brother David Smyth (at bottom, right and left), were given a night to remember when they bumped into David Beckham and his son at a pub in Dublin. (David Smyth/ Facebook)
Members of five Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations — Tseshaht, Hupacasath, Uchucklesaht, Tlaoquiaht and Huu-ay-aht — perform a series of songs and dance in Port Alberni. MIKE YOUDS PHOTO

B.C. women working to keep Indigenous traditions and roles alive

On International Women’s Day, Maamiqsu are guiding the path to the revival of sacred ways

Members of five Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations — Tseshaht, Hupacasath, Uchucklesaht, Tlaoquiaht and Huu-ay-aht — perform a series of songs and dance in Port Alberni. MIKE YOUDS PHOTO
Companies can now apply for the federal investment tax credit to help cover the cost of the pricey equipment needed to capture carbon from industrial processes and store it underground. (Photo by Don Bodger)

Ottawa gives B.C.’s CO2 storage regulations stamp of approval

Province now just one of 3 eligible for federal carbon capture tax credit

Companies can now apply for the federal investment tax credit to help cover the cost of the pricey equipment needed to capture carbon from industrial processes and store it underground. (Photo by Don Bodger)