April 6 - Three Victoria murders explored on new podcast series

Good morning !

Our top story today looks at the latest season of Island Crime, the true crime podcast hosted by journalist Laura Palmer. It explores the details of three murders that took place in Greater Victoria in the early 1990s and sheds light on the insidious sex trade that targeted teenage girls in the city.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

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Today: 🌦️ 10 / 6

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Day after: 🌧️ 10 / 6

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NEWS

New season of Island Crime investigates three unsolved Victoria murders

Between 1990 and 1991, three teenage girls were murdered in Greater Victoria. Their deaths were never solved, with their cases going cold not long after their bodies were found. Veteran journalist Laura Palmer is hoping the new season of her podcast Island Crime, titled “Sweet Hearts”, will draw some much-needed attention to their stories.

Kimberly Gallup, 17; Cheri Lynn Smith, 18; and Melissa Maureen Nicholson, 17, were all killed within a one year span. Their three cases share similarities of young girls coerced into the sex trade and then violently murdered—and Palmer believes that their murders are in fact linked.

Factors such as the stigmatization of sex work and the lack of police resources and media attention at the time led these cases to go unsolved and forgotten. With her new podcast season, she hopes she can help bring the stories of these girls to light.

Read the full story by Robyn Bell here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

My Great Neighbourhood Grant: Applications open until Oct. 31. 

Downtown demo: Traffic disruptions/CCTV deployment. [Sat. 7pm]

City of Victoria community safety, wellbeing plan. [Take the survey]

Cougar sighting in Mystic Vale on UVic campus.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

We won’t see this in Victoria on Monday

Your best bet to see Monday’s total solar eclipse is to fly to Mexico or Newfoundland and Labrador, or anywhere within its continental south-to-northeast diagonal swath of high visibility—or just watch it on NASA TV. One expert who’s flying to Mazatlan to see it with his own eyes—through eclipse-viewing glasses, of course—says it’s “night-and-day different.”

Greg Arkos, a professor at Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) physics, engineering, and astronomy department tells Capital Daily the thrill of seeing the moon block out the sun as it passes between it and Earth is almost impossible to adequately describe.

“It's like seeing the shadow of the moon racing toward you,” he says. “And seeing, literally, the sky go from daylight to nighttime in a matter of seconds—even stars come out in the middle of the day.”

BC is not in the eclipse’s path of totality, so what we’ll see is a crescent ‘cut-out’ moving across the sun from 10:40am until 12:20pm during which a 28% bite will be taken out of the sun.

You’ll still need special eclipse glasses, which you would have had to order by now as they’re not found in everyday stores. 

Arkos says it only takes a few seconds to permanently damage your eyes, so don’t try to ‘MacGyver’ a pair of glasses. Make a pin-hole ‘camera’ out of box, instead. 

The last total solar eclipse occurred seven years ago and the next one after Monday’s will be in 2044.

“There are periods or orbital timings of the moon moving around the Earth, and the Earth's position relative to the sun,” Arkos says. “And so you have to get Earth, Moon, Sun lined up just right, to get an eclipse.”

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC Victoria) has this extensive eclipse preview.

SPONSORED BY DANCE VICTORIA

Dance Victoria presents: Ballets Jazz Montréal

Ballets Jazz Montréal (BJM) returns to the Royal Theatre on April 26 and 27 with Essence, a mixed contemporary ballet program featuring three landmark works by female choreographers that celebrates the company’s 50th anniversary. This presentation follows the success of two sold-out Dance Victoria performances of Dance Me to music by Leonard Cohen in 2018.
 
The company’s new triple bill pays homage to BJM’s roots and also serves as a springboard for a new artistic vision: a balance between the company’s DNA and the evolution of its mission into the next half-century. The program includes We Can’t Forget About What’s His Name, a new creation by company member Ausia Jones; Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue by Crystal Pite; and Les Chambres des Jacques by Aszure Barton. Learn more at the Dance Victoria website.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🐶 Moon Under Water has a dog menu: Treat your pup to dog beer, chicken stew, and more at the craft brewery at 350 Bay. 

🏡 Discover the elements of living at BELLA PARK. West Coast contemporary 1 and 2 bedroom residences, designed around a unique central wellness concept. Register today.* 

🛍️ Value Village Boutique coming to Westshore at new Colwood Corners development later this year. 

🤝 Now hiring: Seasonal Purchasing/Receiving Clerk at The Butchart Gardens.

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Stranded orca now being fed seal parts as rescue remains stalled
The orphaned calf stuck in a Zeballos lagoon has only been seen eating two birds since her mother died nearly three weeks ago. It’s unclear if the whale has eaten the seal meat that the DFO provided. Rescuers will be monitoring its food intake via drone. [Victoria Buzz]

YMCA-YWCA continues to fight road construction near Camp Thunderbird
An Alberta mining company has tried for years to build an access road through the forest near the Sooke Hills summer camp to reach nearby mining land. The company had its title claim removed from the area after a previous complaint from the YMCA. A recent court decision found the initial decision to be unstructured, leading to a new hearing. [Times Colonist]

Royals’ comeback season ends with sweep by Portland
Victoria lost two close games and two blowouts, ending its first playoff run since 2019 Wednesday on home ice. The team's play dipped in recent months, leading to a tougher first-round match-up. Age-20 stars Dawson Pasternak and Tyson Laventure have concluded their junior hockey careers.

🗓️ Things to do

🖼️ Spring Oak Bay Artists' Studio Tour: See what local art has to offer during this free self-guided tour across private home studios and at Monterey Recreation Centre. Today and tomorrow, 10am-4pm. 

🛍️ Indigenous Pop-up Shop: Check out the work of 25 Indigenous artists, with beadwork, carving, body care and more available for purchase at Norway House on Hillside. Today 10am-3pm. [Info]

🎻 Cara Luft and Shari Ulrich: In celebration of her 50th birthday singer Cara Luft will be joined for her Seaside Folk ‘N Fiddle show by multi-instrumentalist Shari Ulrich at Mary Winspear Centre. Today. 7pm. 

🎧 Cannabliss: See the DJ perform her bass music at Capital Ballroom tonight, 9:30pm. [Info]

🎶 UVic Chorus and Orchestra: See the musicians perform Messa di Gloria at The Farquhar today, 2:30pm. [Info]

😂 Ron James: The Canadian stand-up comedian will perform at McPherson Playhouse tomorrow, 7:30pm.

👀 In Case You Missed It

The best local cocktail bar? Join thousands of locals and vote for the best spots. [Tasting Victoria] 

Man gets trapped in Juan de Fuca Trail clay. [Capital Daily] 

Friday’s headlines: Killer whale protection not straightforward; Rescue plan now calls to lift orphaned orca; Suspect accused of exposure on bus. [April 5]

49 Below is expanding: The craft ice cream shop is launching Kulapops, its very own popsicle company. Available at 2575 Cadboro Bay. 

Emerson is at it again: The seal was seen attempting to cross a road. 

Road closure: Richmond at Quamichan closed for construction until Apr. 8. 7am-3:30pm. 

Summer camp registration: City of Victoria. [Opens April 15]

Tugwell Creek Honey Farm and Meadery closes. [Retirement]

That’s it!

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