NANAIMO - A two-week event highlighting the best in local food and fare continues to grow. Dine About Mid-Island starts Thursday, Jan. 23 and runs until Feb. 9 with nearly three-dozen restaurants, cafes and other establishments from Ladysmith to Qualicum Beach offering specially priced items or fixed menus for diners. ...

NANAIMO - A project much larger and more expensive than the City of Nanaimo originally envisioned is starting to come to fruition. The multi-faceted Midtown Gateway initiative hit a significant milestone on Wednesday, Jan. 22 when the traffic signal became operational at the new Bowen Rd./Boxwood Rd./Beban Parkway inte...

PARKSVILLE - Many more details need to be ironed out, however members of Parksville City Council appear to be on board with adjusting the use of the Wembley Mall property. Mall proponents, Parksville Properties Corp. aim to re-zone the property to allow for a mix use development on a vacant area at the lots southern ed...

NANAIMO - More than sixty years ago a young John Ruttan moved to the Harbour City with humble beginnings renting a $65 a month Rosehill St. bachelor pad. He would make significant contributions to countless service clubs, community events and the business community, culminating decades later to serve as mayor of the ci...

NANAIMO - Crown counsel is asking for prison sentences in the seven to nine year range for two men convicted of manslaughter for the shocking stabbing death of a man on Nanaimo's waterfront in 2022. In B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Tuesday, Jan. 21 Crown prosecutor Nick Barber made the sentencing recommendation for ...

Editors note: The following story contains descriptions of sexual crimes against children. Reader discretion is strongly advised. NANAIMO - Jail is a distinct possibility for a Parksville man who pleaded guilty to possessing over 1,300 images and 10 videos depicting the graphic sexual abuse of children. A joint submiss...

NANAIMO - A local residential treatment facility hasn't been around for long, but already one client appears to be on the right track. Island Crisis Care executive director Violet Hayes said their six-bed residential treatment centre known as David's Place Recovery Program has been in existence since late last summer. ...

PARKSVILLE - Those eyeing a chance to become a firefighter have a unique opportunity Monday evening. Parksville Fire Rescue is hosting its annual open practice session at their Fire Hall on Jensen Ave. beginning at 6:30 p.m. Assistant fire chief Steven Leidl said they encourage people to come down and see what skills a...

NANAIMO - Thieves have been prowling Nanaimo's downtown area targeting several businesses, with at least a pair of reports resulting in on-site cash being stolen. Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O'Brien said since Christmas Day five downtown businesses have been broken into. "It's what we call a smash and grab, a crim...

NANAIMO - If current forecasts hold true, snow shovels could go unused on the mid-Island this winter. A recent change in the weather pattern has brought largely clear skies to the mid-Island, ending a couple of weeks of gloomy conditions with on-again-off-again showers. Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor sa...

NANAIMO - Mother Nature is cooperating to allow for some peak viewing of a somewhat rare astronomical event.Beginning Saturday, Jan. 18 and continuing for several weeks, six planets will be aligned and visible in the night sky over central Vancouver Island shortly after sunset, following a path called the ecliptic.Dr. ...

NANAIMO - More information including a budget and timeline breakdown has been released related to adding a number of prefabricated modular classrooms to a pair of Nanaimo schools. During the Jan 15 strategic directions committee meeting, secretary-treasurer of Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools (SD68) Mark Walsh laid out...

NANOOSE BAY - A Canadian telecom giant intends to install a tower in Nanoose Bay to bolster the area's wireless services. Rogers Communications proposes to install a 53-metre tall communications tower with antennas and a lighting rod at 1800 Serenity Pl. in Nanoose Bay. In a statement to NanaimoNewsNOW, Rogers noted th...

NANAIMO - Two unrelated Bitcoin scams involving significant volumes of digital currency burned a pair of local men. Nanaimo RCMP say both incidents occurred on Wednesday, Jan. 15 with the complainants losing thousands of dollars after willingly sending the digital currency to recipients via the Woodgrove Centre Bitcoin...

NANAIMO - About two weeks into operation the new year-round warming and cooling centre in downtown Nanaimo is already seeing a high turnout.Located at 55 Victoria Rd., the City partnered with the Island Crisis Care Society (ICCS) and Nanaimo Family Life Association (NFLA) to operate the centre year-round, switching to ...

NANAIMO - The new head of Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools (NLPS) is excited to get to work. Speaking at a Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday, Jan 16., was newly appointed superintendent Robyn Gray, who officially assumed the role on Nov. 19 following the retirement of longtime superintendent Scot...

NANAIMO - A mobile home was completely destroyed by a fire which broke out early Thursday morning.Smokes and flames were seen coming from a modular home at 25 Maki Rd. around 7 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16, with the structure destroyed in a matter of minutes as flames spread quickly.Assistant fire chief David Dales said o...

NANAIMO - A portion of hiking trail accessing popular Ammonite Falls west of Nanaimo re-opened, the Regional District announced. A Wednesday, Jan. 15 RDN statement noted Ammonite Falls Regional Trail between the Creekside trailhead and the falls re-opened following the presence of an aggressive cougar. A temporary clos...

NANAIMO - Arguably the city's most prolific criminal has complex challenges with no apparent resolution currently available for society or the offender in question. Aiden David Tye, 39, has over 165 criminal convictions since 2005, including nearly 80 for violent crimes with a vast majority of the offences occurring in...

NANAIMO - Mid-Islander drivers may have noticed another significant jump in prices at the gas pumps this week.As of Wednesday, Jan 15 at 2 p.m., gas prices around much of the mid-Island were sitting at an average of $174.9 cents per litre of regular gas, with some stations increasing prices by over 10 cents a litre sin...

PARKSVILLE - Two men and a woman from Nanaimo are facing multiple charges after allegedly using a rented U-Haul to break into multiple properties. Oceanside RCMP were made aware of a break-and-enter to a property on Horne Lake, overnight on Thursday, Jan. 9, where items were stolen from a compound. Sgt. Shane Worth tol...

NANAIMO - Crews are test-drilling along Nanaimo's Hammond Bay Rd. this week in advance of anticipated substantial wastewater infrastructure projects. James Haddou, Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) capital project delivery manager, told NanaimoNewsNOW ongoing geotechnical work represents feasibility and conceptual tas...

NANAIMO - Pierre Poilievre's pre-election push brought him to a Duke Point manufacturing business where he touted his party's plan while offering misleading data on repeat criminal offenders.The Conservative Party of Canada leader toured a facility on Maughan Rd. on Tuesday, Jan. 14, part of a multi-stop Vancouver Isla...

NANAIMO - A new intersection is about to open on a busy Nanaimo corridor as the City's Midtown Gateway project enters its final year of construction.In a release, the City of Nanaimo stated the traffic signals at the new Bowen Rd./Boxwood Rd./Beban Parkway intersection will be activated on Wednesday to alert road users...

NANAIMO - Police are trying to identify the driver of a truck seen loading around $5,000 worth of tires into his vehicle mid-last month. Mounties say a full set of all-season Kum Majesty 1/31 Solus KU50's were stolen from the Kal-Tire location on Norwell Dr., adjacent to Country Club Centre at around 1 a.m. on Dec. 18....

QUALICUM BEACH - A multi-family residential building and small hotel planned for an important vacant Qualicum Beach lot has been introduced. A developer intends to construct 60 two-bedroom condo units in a five storey building, along with a two-storey, 20 hotel room project on Memorial Ave. at Hoylake Rd. While the lan...

NANAIMO - Amid concerns regarding proposed building heights and parking, a proposed central Nanaimo rental apartment building cleared another hurdle. Developers are proposing a 93-unit rental apartment complex at 1960 Mountain Vista Dr., adjacent to the newly formed Powder Works Rd. created during the ongoing Midtown G...

NANAIMO - A group of nurses from across Vancouver Island descended on downtown Nanaimo on Friday, Jan 10, as part of a two-day regional bargaining conference prior to contract negotiations. Starting at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre (VICC) on Gordon St. just after noon, around 250 Island Health nurses and suppo...