NANAIMO - Local Mounties are being equipped with an application on their mobile devices to better serve those with hearing challenges in the community.Project DECIPHER will be piloted in Nanaimo, Langley, Kelowna, and Prince George over the next six months, offering front-line members easy access to secure American Sig...

Editor's note: This article contains graphic details of child sexual abuse. Reader discretion is advised. NANAIMO - A former substitute teacher will spend a year in jail for possessing child pornography while he was working in Nanaimo schools. Darrell Christopher Gilkes, 33, was sentenced in a B.C. provincial court on ...

PARKSVILLE - For the third time in just over three months, Oceanside RCMP are investigating a major loss from a local business connected to an ongoing scam. An industrial business in Parksville reported losing around $400,000 after receiving an email on Feb. 24 allegedly from one of their vendors asking the business to...

NANAIMO - Facing a likely conviction, an accused cut his losses by pleading guilty to a public child luring offenceA visibly distressed Lorne Earl Seifred, 63, pleaded guilty on Monday, March 30 at Nanaimo Law Courts to telecommunicating to lure a child under 16, reversing a prior not guilty plea and an imminently sche...

NANAIMO - The BC Highway Patrol is dedicating the month of April to remind drivers to slow down and move over whenever they see flashing lights on the side of the road.This includes the flashing red and blue lights of ambulances and police vehicles, as well as the usual amber lights related to construction and road wor...

HAMILTON, ON - A local singer is continuing to announce his presence on the world stage. Nanaimo's Cameron Whitcomb earned two Juno Awards on Sunday, March 29, including for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, as well as Country Album of the Year for "The Hard Way". Accepting the award for Breakthrough Artist, a...

NANAIMO - One more round of night work and a new traffic signal pattern will be active at a Parkway intersection. Following work earlier this month to create a protected left‑turn lane from Jingle Pot Rd. to northbound Hwy. 19, along with two through lanes toward Mostar Rd., crews will return April 7 for overnight wo...

NANAIMO - A few months ahead of kickoff of the world's largest sporting event, FIFA is coming to Vancouver Island. Hosted on the grounds of the provincial Legislature in downtown Victoria on Tuesday, March 31, three games will be streamed on a big screen, including a pair with major World Cup implications, among other ...

NANAIMO - Some considerable capital expenditures in the short and long-term plans are behind a nearly $50 million budget passed this week. Directors on the Nanaimo Regional Hospital District board adopted their 2026 budget on Tuesday, March 24, with an expected tax requisition of $49.5 million due from taxpayers this s...

NANAIMO - A familiar local offender will spend more time behind bars after threatening to shoot his probation officer. Kym Robert Arkell, 41, was given 61 additional days behind bars and 12 months probation in relation to a February incident where he threatened to return to the building and shoot the officer in the fac...

NANAIMO - After serving 291 actual days behind bars, a young man will continue attending treatment instead of more jail time, after he was caught and beaten for attempting to break into a south Nanaimo home. Calvin Anthony Michael, 23, was given enhanced time served credit of 437 days after pleading guilty to multiple ...

NANAIMO - Neighbourhood geography has triumphed over lines on a map for 16 properties south of the city.The Regional District of Nanaimo Board gave its unanimous approval on Tuesday, March 24, to a boundary realignment between Areas A and C, mainly affecting a row of properties on Plecas Rd., just west of the Duke Poin...

NANAIMO - When Kayla Okada heard the news she'd been selected for the prestigious Loran Scholar Award, she'd already mentally prepared herself for disappointment. "I was so shocked, I started crying on the floor, and my parents were outside of the room seeing me crying and they weren't sure whether (it was good ne...

PARKSVILLE - Inattentive chefs and overzealous landscapers have kept local firefighters busy in the first three months of the year. Emergency crews were called out to a home on Maple Cres. around 11 a.m. on Monday, March 23, after a homeowner attempted to rid their property of some weeds by using a propane torch. Actin...

NANAIMO - An overnight windstorm was forecast to hit Vancouver Island, but the damage left behind in some areas surprised meteorologists. Environment Canada data shows wind gusts peaked at just 57 kilometres per hour in Nanaimo and 52 kilometres per hour at Qualicum Beach Airport, speeds very typical for the region thr...

NANAIMO - Power is restored to a vast majority of BC Hydro customers after an impactful wind storm knocked tens of thousands off the grid.Emergency crews and Hydro crews responded through the night to reports of downed trees and lines across the region on Tuesday, March 24, into Wednesday morning, cleaning up from stro...

NANAIMO - A popular volunteer-based fix-it event is returning to the Harbour City, helping to divert more items from the landfill. Repair Cafe Nanaimo returns on April 11, from 1 to 4 p.m. at St. Andrews United Church on Fitzwilliam St., where experts in a variety of fields will repair your broken household items, free...

NANAIMO - A strong windstorm has cut thousands of residents across the mid-Island off the grid. BC Hydro reports around 40,000 customers on central and northern Vancouver Island were without electricity as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, largely due to wind storms impacting wires and trees nearby.The largest outage in ...

NANAIMO - Local organizations working with those living rough in the community believe they've found a long-term home for a community hub, but several challenges remain. Representatives from Nanaimo Family Life Association (NFLA) and the Island Crisis Care Society (ICCS), who operate The Hub at 55 Victoria Rd., asked f...

NANAIMO - A local woman recently had the thrill of a lifetime after being invited on-stage to perform with one of her favourite bands. Sam Hackett, 36, was plucked out of the audience and performed The Goo Goo Dolls' hit song 'Name' live with the band, during their Thursday, March 19, concert in Victoria in front of 7,...

NANAIMO - Originally charged with dangerous driving causing death, a local woman will instead pay a fine stemming from a fatal motor vehicle incident in 2024. Jazmin Faye Patenaude, 24, pleaded guilty in provincial court in Nanaimo on Wednesday, March 18, to a charge under the Motor Vehicle Act and was fined $1,000 for...

NANAIMO - A major economic boost is being felt locally, thanks to the Harbour City playing host to a major sporting event last fall. The 55+ BC Games took place in Nanaimo in September, where over 2,700 athletes competed in 21 sports over four days, using 20 different venues across the region. Organizers recently annou...

NANAIMO - While the Harbour City is removed from the FIFA World Cup spotlight, Nanaimo's proximity positions the region to benefit, declared Tourism Nanaimo's chief executive officer.Vancouver's seven games between June 13 and July 7 means more than 350,000 spectators are expected to be in attendance at BC Place.Touris...

QUALICUM BEACH - Aside from a pair of COVID pandemic shutdowns, Family Day has been an annual Qualicum Beach tradition for 50 years. The annual Town of Qualicum Beach-sponsored and volunteer-driven event was in jeopardy of being cancelled without the necessary organizing committee to stage the day-long gathering. Mayor...

NANAIMO - Built in 1896, a highly recognizable downtown Nanaimo landmark is being modernized. The City of Nanaimo recently approved a building permit featuring several new additions to the courthouse at 35 Front St., with the project focusing on the building's historic half facing the waterfront. "The upgrades to ...

NANAIMO - A significant motor vehicle incident briefly closed traffic north of the city.RCMP report a pedestrian was struck along Hwy. 19, near the Shell service station at Lantzville Rd., shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, March 20.Few details about the nature of the incident are available, however RCMP tell NanaimoNewsN...

NANAIMO - It's being described as the bare minimum representation, but a recent count of those unhoused in the city is shedding new light on the scope of the challenges they face. A joint effort by Snuneymuxw First Nation, Nanaimo Family Life Association, Island Crisis Care Society and the City of Nanaimo saw enumerati...

UPDATE - Nanaimo RCMP report two suspects have been arrested, without incident, in connection to a stabbing on Victoria Rd. on Friday, March 20, thanks in part to assistance from Community Safety Officers. EARLIER, NANAIMO - One person was taken to hospital with serious injuries following a stabbing in the city's south...