June 28 - CRD considers safety equipment for beaches

Good morning !

The CRD is considering outfitting a couple of its more popular beaches with some safety equipment. Seems like a no-brainer in this corner.

Staying with water, Langford City Hall got more than its share when a pipe burst and sent a river running through it.

It’s Friday, and that means we’re on an awesome collision course with another solid 🍁 weekend, starting with Pride kickoff.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌤️ 19 / 13 

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 18 / 13

Sunday: 🌤️ 21 / 12

7-day forecast

NEWS

CRD ponders pilot project:
Safety equipment on 2 beaches

There have been no lifeguards since 2003 and the plan doesn’t call for any.

CRD staff on Wednesday recommended equipping the main beach at Thetis Lake and Hamsterly Beach at Elk Lake with personal floatation devices (PFDs) and life rings to assist anyone struggling in the water.

“I feel that safety at area beaches is good but there are ‘risk takers’ that create an element of concern and more education and awareness should help,” Judy Brownoff, CRD board member and parks committee vice-chair tells Capital Daily.

“One of my fellow directors mentioned he used to jump off [the] cliff at Thetis and would not do it now. I remember doing that with my Irish Setter and swimming to the island; I too would not do that today.”

Brownoff said she agrees with Island Health when it says it’s not one particular strategy, but a combination that would best limit the number of water tragedies in the region. 

“Yes, there has been public support for lifeguards but some other things could help as well,” she said, adding more children taking swimming lessons as an example.

“I think partnerships with local governments will be important,” Brownoff said.

Read Mark Brennae’s full story here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Canada Day in Vic festivities information. [City of Victoria] 

Busking in Victoria: Five busking locations are being piloted along Government. Provide feedback in an online survey. 

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Celebrate Pride in Victoria at these food-related events

The Pride Parade and Festival are not until next weekend but a prelude of playful Pride things to see, do, and eat awaits as we head into the Canada Day long weekend.

Take today, for instance. If you’re on campus at UVic, you can take in a celebration of community and queerness with live drag performances and an open mic.

If you like beer—and we know a lot of our readers do—check out Vancouver Island Brewing which turns 40 in two weeks. VIB is celebrating Pride by offering limited-edition brews in its taproom, with a buck a beer from featured pints to be donated to pflag Canada—the country’s only 2SLGBTQ+ organization offering peer-to-peer support.

There’s so much going on for Pride this year, ain’t no way it’s all going to fit here. So we got our most excellent culinary contributor Sarah Madsen to draw up a list of 10 yummy food-related events in Pride ‘24.

Read Sarah’s full story here.

NEWS

Langford City Hall closed to public after ‘significant flooding’

A pipe in the attic above the third floor burst early Wed. evening, sending water cascading and flooding all three floors.

“I can tell you that the areas in City Hall that are affected are significantly affected,” Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson tells Capital Daily.

A large section of the building at 877 Goldstream was damaged, the city said, including three privately owned units and businesses.

Goodmanson said Langford Fire responded to an alarm around 5:30pm but found no fire, only a lot of water—and more spewing from the ruptured pipe. The flooding was so severe, he said, that firefighters could hardly open an office door to get to the source. They also had to pull a toilet to drain the water.

“City Hall is open, but not to the public,” Goodmanson said. “The actual work of the city is continuing today, tomorrow, next week—it's just that front-counter service that is not in operation today.” Goodmanson could not say how long he thought it would take to repair the damage.

The finance, administration, and planning departments were the most severely affected, and were closed yesterday, the city said. Some staffers were working from home or elsewhere off-site.

The city erected a tent on the front lawn for people to pay their property taxes, which remain due July 2. As of this morning, taxpayers can go to a temporary office space on the building’s ground floor to settle up.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🥚 Jumping eggs: Gall wasp eggs seen bouncing in Esquimalt. [Video/ photos]

🎵 Bring the family to the Cameron Bandshell in Beacon Hill Park on Sun. at 1:30pm. Songs for the Summer of Love! Heather Ferguson sings with horns and drums and stuff!*

🍽️ Somewhere* A Restaurant at Dorothy’s opens: Hanks is taking over Friends of Dorothy’s kitchen.  

🎇 Enjoy Fireworks at The Butchart Gardens—starting this Sat. and running through July and August. Original aerial and ground displays choreographed to music! See dates and times!*

🚗 Planning a summer driving trip in BC? [Know Before You Go]

🤝 Now hiring: Community Engagement Consultant at Sooke Region Museum & Visitor Centre

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

UVic promises 89 naloxone boxes on campus
UVic also plans to train the 3K students who live in campus dorms, in response to criticism of the school’s handling of the death of Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, in Jan. Paul Ramsey, the school’s chair, responded to a letter from the minister of post-secondary education, saying UVic has learned “difficult, but important lessons” from Sidney’s death. [Vancouver Sun]

Charges laid in March stabbing on Pandora
When officers arrived at the scene near Blanshard in the wee hours on March 31, they found one man dead and another injured. Yesterday, murder charges were laid against Robert Travers, who remains behind bars awaiting a court date. [VicPD]

Langford Pride crosswalk vandalized twice in two days
The rainbow crosswalk in front of Spencer Middle School was graffitied with profanities in spray paint in two separate incidents on June 24 at 2:30am and June 25 at 11pm. Both incidents were captured on camera and Westshore RCMP are seeking help in identifying the suspects. [Westshore RCMP]

Saanich to allow secondary suites on rural properties
The council on Mon. approved a bylaw permitting secondary suites on single-family lots outside the Urban Containment Boundary. The bylaw could allow 2,442 additional suites. Mayor Dean Murdock previously had asked the province for an exemption prohibiting secondary suites in rural areas, but it was declined. [Times Colonist]

Stolen bike built by late husband returned to Island owner
Tony Hoar—who raced in the 1955 Tour de France—built the road bike for his wife Gay Wise—also an accomplished cyclist—in the late 1980s. It was stolen 30 years ago while she was in Vancouver. Two years ago, a former employee of the bike shop she owned said they found it, albeit in rough shape. She’s since had it restored and is planning to use it as a training bike for long rides this summer. Her only regret is that her husband who died in 2019, wasn’t around to see it returned. [CHEK]

🗓️ Things to do

🍺 Vancouver Island Brewing's 40 Years Birthday Bash. VIB on Government. Fri. July 12. 3-8pm. [Info]

💍 Chi Cheng Lee: See artistic jewelry made by Lee at the Avenue Gallery, available to see for free until next Tue. [Info]

🎶 Laketown Shakedown: The music festival will take place this weekend at Laketown Ranch in Youbou, with headliners Gwen Stefani, Busta Rhymes, and Jesse Roper. Today-Sun. [Info]

😂 Bruce McCulloch: The Kids in the Hall legend will take the stage at the McPherson Playhouse to perform his solo work. Tomorrow. 8pm. [Info]

🎸 Hollow Coves: See the Australian indie rockers at the Capital Ballroom. Sun. 7:30pm. [Info]

🍁 Victoria Canada Day: Join in on the celebration at the legislature and Inner Harbour, with live music, food vendors, and a special drone and firework show. Mon. 11am-10:30pm. [Info]

🏳️‍🌈 Pride Party: Maryze will perform alongside DJ Lunasty and Vanessa Whyte at this party at Quadratic Sounds. Today. 6-9pm. [Info]

🖼️ The Chinese Canadian Museum launches its latest exhibition Victoria in the Time of Exclusion which explores the intergenerational impacts of the Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 through the lens of families living in Victoria from 1923 to 1947. #10-14 Fan Tan Alley. Tomorrow. 2pm. [Info]

😂 Strath Laughs Stand-Up Comedy Pride Edition: J. McLaughlin will host this comedy night in the Maple Room at The Strathcona Hotel. Featuring headliner Zane Oak and additional stand-up guests. Today. 8:30pm. [Info]  

🎷 Avataar: As a part of JazzFest, the Juno-winning Toronto-based world jazz band will perform at Bullen Park. Today. 7pm. [Info]  

🧶 Fernwood Summer Nights Market: Check out 50+ craft vendors, food trucks, music, and kids’ crafts at Stevenson Memorial Park. Today. 4-8pm. [Info]

🎹 Hilario Duran Trio: The Juno-winning pianist and composer will be joined by bassist Roberto Occhipinti and drummer Mark Kelso at Hermann’s Jazz Club during JazzFest. Today. 7pm. [Info] 

🎤 Snak The Ripper: The Canadian rapper will perform at Capital Ballroom. Today. Doors 8:30pm. Show 9pm. [Info]

🎵 Colwood’s Music in the Park: The Temps will perform at Herm Williams Park. Food trucks will be available. Today. 5:30-7:30pm. [Info] 

🪘Sunny Jain's Wild Wild East: The drummer and dhol player will be joined by vocalist Ben Parag, saxophonist Alison Shearer, guitarist Shubh Sarah, and bassist Almog Sharvit at Bullen Park during JazzFest. Today. 7pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Thursday’s headlines: Arrow House targets mothers with addictions; Missing Martel still owes $300M; Prepare for the heat this summer; And more. [June 27] 

We Unify conference hardly unifying. [Capital Daily] 

Missing Campbell River teen has been located. [RCMP]

Five kittens on the mend after suffering burns in Port Alberni wildfire. [CTV]

BC Summer Reading Club for kids 12 and under. [GVPL]

Crab trails on Qualicum Beach. [Photos]

That’s it!

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to a fellow Victorian.

And before you go, let us know: