Dec 23 - Your holiday wishes answered

Good morning !

Season's greetings, happy holidays, merry Christmas, and so on!

This is our last issue for the year, and we will be back late next week after a holiday break. Thank you for reading our morning newsletters this year. We truly appreciate it.

If you want to support what we do, then please consider becoming a Capital Daily Insider. To thank you for funding our work, you'll get perks including access to the full Sunday newsletter (part of which will become member-exclusive in the new year).

Today, we take you into the break with some holiday-related stories.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌦️ 11 / 8

Tomorrow: ☁️ 10 / 5

Wednesday: 🌧 9 / 6

NEWS

Your municipal wishes—and your councils’ responses

In the spirit of the season, we asked our readers if they had a holiday wish for their communities that would make things better and brighter for everyone. We gathered your wishes through emails and a poll and sent your answers on to your regional mayors and councillors.

Many (though not all) of them responded, and we now have a roundup of answers from most of the core municipalities and a few others.

The wishes range widely. Some wanted changes to specific street corners and parking lots while others wanted broader increases in transparency, or houses for the unhoused. Some people had specific ideas—such as libraries for seldom-used household items that councillors seemed excited about.

So who knows—in the new year, some of your wishes may even come true.

Read the full set of responses at Capital Daily.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Not a white Christmas, but a wet Christmas: Strong winds are expected today, Wednesday, and Thursday—with heavy rain also expected Wednesday. [Updates here]

West Island may get some coastal flooding today.

Expect closures at public buildings this week; check your local municipality for details.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

The most elaborate local light-ups, & where to see them

It seems like every year there are more—and more over-the-top—holiday yard displays going up in December.

One in Esquimalt is marking 30 years, and draws up to 6,000 visitors every year. One on Cedar Hill features a menagerie of Disney characters and Looney Tunes [photos]. One near Colwood Corners involves 100+ inflatable figures and takes a whole sea can storage unit in the offseason.

Last year, one local display even gained international attention—over a rude and angry note that insulted it as “Santa's whorehouse,” “the joke of the neighbourhood,” and so on. When Cheryl Dinse told CTV and others about how the setup was meant as a fun tribute to her late son, people from all over the world flooded her mailbox with much more positive letters.

Houses aren't the only places you'll find lit up, either: As James MacDonald recently photographed, there are plenty of local boats also decorated in the Inner Harbour.

Of course, there are also the public Lights of Wonder, which just added a glowing Ferris Wheel. Those are easy to find, in Centennial Square.

Where can you find all the others? See maps of where to find local light-ups at Victoria Buzz and the Times Colonist.

You can find more photos of past displays in photographer Colin Smith's holiday lights album.

NEWS

Christmas in the harbour: How ship crews spend the holiday

All year, international ships come and go in the Inner Harbour. Sometimes, that means their crews spend important times here instead of with loved ones around the world.

Two years ago, Capital Daily talked on Christmas Eve to those on a ship at Ogden Point about how they spend their holiday at sea. 

For the Maersk Trader, being anchored at Ogden meant that they could get out into Victoria to gather the ingredients for a multi-national feast with fish, rice pudding, mincemeat pies, and more. 

“If I have to be away at Christmas, this is the way I’d like to have it,” said Captain Trygvi Dalgaard, a Faroe Islander with three kids at home. “Normally when we have Christmas we’re out to sea.”

At those times, second mate Billy Snook told Capital Daily that “work goes on and you don’t even really realize it’s Christmas.” But here he was able to take crewmates to hockey games in the city, and in that 2022 December even caught some snow—which he rarely gets at home in Durham, UK. Nevertheless, “I’d rather be home with my wife and kids—but it’s part of the job,” he said.

Check out the full story at Capital Daily for more about sea life with the crew of the Maersk Trader..

⭐️ Capital Picks

🎥 See the lives of local hummingbirds with a window salesman who has observed them in his yard for 15 years. This 20-minute doc came out last week on CBC Gem, and releases later this week on YouTube.

🦦 Follow a satellite-tagged seal named Elf as he swims around South Island and Washington waters. [Facebook + map link]

🛥 Water taxis awaiting the day, in this beautiful early-morning photo. [Oak Bay Local Facebook]

📚 Favourite books of the year: Russell Books staff have been sharing theirs on the bookstore’s Instagram.

🎁 Give the gift of local news: We've added the option to give a Capital Daily Insider subscription as a gift.  

🗞️ In Other News

Orca known for carrying dead calf may have a new baby
Tahlequah / J35’s show of grief in 2018 made international headlines. She gave birth successfully in 2020 and is now believed to be the mother of the newest Southern Resident orca, seen this past weekend near Seattle. Photos & info at Orca Conservancy. [Facebook]

5 years after Christmas Eve murders in Duncan: no answers, no charges, & no closure
Nellie Williams and partner Francois Shurie Mauris, both living on the streets, were fatally injured by an attack in Charles Hooey Park. With no RCMP updates this year, Linda Williams is again pleading for more info about her daughter's death. [CHEK]

500+ served Christmas meals at annual Mustard Seed dinner 
Volunteers in Santa hats brought turkey to some of the city's most marginalized residents at the armory. [CHEK] The org is on the brink of its 50th anniversary, and now operates the massive distribution centre for the region's donated food. 

Worker at Greater Victoria group homes guilty of sexually assaulting teen
The court found that the worker, then aged 20-21, touched the boy, 14, in April 2022. This occurred during what was to be a last meeting before an employer-directed break in a relationship that was deemed increasingly inappropriate. [CBC]

🗓️ Things to do

5 local restaurants hosting New Year's Eve dinners

Next week, local restaurants will ring in the new year by hosting special events—some ticketed, others requiring reservations for a seat. Tasting Victoria ran down some of the most elegant local options—The Courtney Room, Bray's, Zambri's, Wild Mountain Dinners, and Part & Parcel—with details on dinner courses and pricing. Spots are limited, and going quickly as NYE approaches.

🕯 Christmas concerts: Vocal ensembles, sing-alongs, spoken word, The Nutcracker ballet, and more. Get the details on this week's events in our full list.

🎅 Find more local holiday events in our roundup of mainly municipal and free festivities. Scroll to the end for the late-December events. 

⛄ Gingerbread showcase is back for a 16th year, in support of Habitat for Humanity, at Hotel Grand Pacific. Until Jan. 5.

🎄Festival of Trees: Explore 90+ trees spruced up and on display for the community to vote on and enjoy over the holidays. Bay Centre. Through Jan. 5. During mall hours. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Victorians’ favourite restaurants: Go to Tasting Victoria to download the full pdf of readers' choices for the best local places to eat, drink, and be merry.

Oak Bay on province's naughty list with just 16 units of housing built. 2 years since winter storm wreaked havoc. How the Grinch was stolen before Christmas. [Sunday newsletter]

An absurd feud between neighbours in Campbell River, later litigated in court, culminated 9 years ago with one man jackhammering the other's retaining wall on Boxing Day while yelling “Ho ho ho!” [Capital Daily]

Internet celebrity dog moves to the Island: Brody announces arrival on Instagram.

Fall photos: Celebrate the end of (astronomical) autumn with these reader photos from The Westshore.

Bucks lock horns on Salt Spring. [Videos]