Dec 12 - Pickleball courts coming to Crystal Garden

Good morning !

It’s no secret that we’re a publication that keeps things local—we’re all about highlighting what’s going on in our own backyard in the CRD and throughout the Island. But with so much going on in the world right now, we’re curious where our readers go to keep up with global headlines.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 4 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌥️ 7 / 2

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 9 / 3

Thursday: 🌦️ 8 / 5

7-day forecast

NEWS

City to open 2 ‘pop-up’ pickleball courts in Crystal Garden

The area’s growing pickleball community got some great news yesterday when the City of Victoria unveiled two new, albeit temporary, courts inside Crystal Garden.

The keyword is inside.

The Greater Victoria Pickleball Association (GVPA) says its membership has swollen to 840, and many members have been scrambling to find an indoor court.

Now that we’ve hit the rainy season, you can understand the uh, pickle these players are in if there’s no place to play without getting soaked.

There are indoor facilities within the CRD, but none in Victoria.

Beginning Jan. 9 and for five weeks, the above courts (the city bought four of these transportable floors for $60K) will be free for anyone to use, with registration beginning Thursday.

Meantime, a group has emerged, ready it says, to open an indoor racquet-sports facility—including pickleball—in the Westshore as early as Feb. 1.

See Mark Brennae’s full story here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Santa Claus to visit children and their families at Vic General Hospital today. 

Missing Victoria senior found. 

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

No spill response can eliminate risk to marine life in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Last week, Capital Daily reported that the new Western Marine Response Corporation (WMRC) vessel, the K.J. Gardner will be docked in Beecher Bay early in the new year. The ship is purpose-built to patrol the BC coastline and respond in the event of an oil spill.

The ship is being deployed in anticipation of 450 tankers per year bringing TMX pipeline oil out of Burnaby and through the Straight of Juan de Fuca.

Those tankers will also pass by the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve (RRER) off the coast of East Sooke where, according to Warden Derrick Sterling, “Humpbacks are visible every day.” 

According to the RRER site, Southern Resident orcas also pass south of Race Rocks reserve heading west, and Bigg’s (Transient) orcas pass, heading East.

Read Sidney Coles’ full story on the risks experts say are top of mind and the work being done to mitigate them.

SPONSORED BY BELFRY THEATRE

Give a great night out

Belfry Theatre gift certificates make terrific Christmas, birthday, or anniversary presents.

It’s so easy. Get a Belfry Theatre gift certificate of any value and your friends, family, or co-workers can select whatever production and dates they desire.

In the new year, the Belfry will premiere As Above by Christine Quintana, one of this country’s most talented and celebrated artists.

The Runner, a thriller from Toronto's Human Cargo will headline the theatre's Spark Festival in March.

The Lehman Trilogy, winner of the 2022 Tony Award for Best New Play, chronicles the lives of the Lehman Brothers from 1844 in rural Alabama to the crash in 2008.

Gift certificates are available online or by calling the Box Office at 250-385-6815.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🎄 Grade 4 student wins Saanich mayor’s Christmas card contest.

🚲 Everyone benefits from a ride: Six years in, Cycling Without Age is increasing its impact throughout Greater Victoria. Click here to read more about how a group of volunteers give seniors and less-abled people the simple experience of a bicycle ride.*

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Port Alberni bans comments on its social media sites
After negative comments directed at a staff member were left on a social media page, the city chose to turn off commenting options moving forward, with the council in full support of the decision. Residents are encouraged to still engage with the city through email. [Times Colonist] 

Protester assaulted at Liberal Party of Canada gathering in Victoria
A group of Jewish protesters calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza were forcibly removed after peacefully disrupting the Liberal Party’s Saturday gathering. A video captured at the event shows a man believed to be the event host physically harassing one person and using explicit misogynistic slurs against the group.

Campbell River police cleared of wrongdoing in shooting against homicide suspect 
A newly released IIO report showed officers fired 31 shots toward the docked vessel last year after hearing a single gunshot (a self-inflicted shot that killed the man). The man had earlier killed a fellow boater and taken hostages before the standoff.

Kittens saved from trash before heading to the landfill
Four kittens were plucked from the garbage at a waste transfer station in Duncan after a visitor spotted them in a bin. It’s not clear how they ended up at the site, but Foster Kritters Feral Cat Rescue group have cleaned them up and are taking care of the seven-week old cats who are now up for adoption. [Cowichan Valley Citizen]

SPONSORED BY TALL TREE HEALTH

Who do you want to grow old with?

This holiday season, give the gift of a longer, healthier life. Until December 17, Tall Tree is offering an exclusive winter promotion on their longevity medicine program. Register a loved one for the longevity program, and Tall Tree will include a longevity gift basket ($250 value) full of items curated by their longevity team with proactive healthcare in mind.

Give the gift of longevity and help your loved one fight disease before it starts, when it’s easier to win. 

🗓️ Things to do

Holiday Movie Night: Watch A White Christmas at Oak Bay Beach Hotel. Tonight. Doors 7:15pm, movie 7:30pm. [Join waitlist]

Attend COAST's casual networking mixer at Vancouver's Clough Club on January 24. Network with innovators in Pacific Canada's sustainable blue economy. Register now!*

Kennel Club Karaoke: Sing your heart out at The Vicious Poodle. Now allowing Christmas songs. Tonight. 8-11pm.

👀 In Case You Missed It

How a pair of shoes shaped Victoria’s Black history. [Capital Daily]

Photo: “Crazy wave action” in Tofino. 

Gift guide: Shop these local spots for the foodie in your life. [Tasting Vic]

Listen to December's Vital Victoria Podcast! Anne McIntyre discusses creating Soap for Hope Canada – a non-profit dedicated to providing hope and dignity through hygiene.*

Photo: A trio of hooded male mergansers compete for a female’s attention.

Black bear spotted eating a whale near Tofino. [CBC]

*Sponsored Listing

That’s it!

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