April 29 - Should we combine the fire departments?

Good morning !

Just over half of you caught the full “pink" moon last week, and a few of you even sent in photos. We've included one down below, but first some weekend news.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌦️ 13 / 3

Tomorrow: ⛅ 12 / 3

Day after: ☀️ 13 / 6

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NEWS

Saanich looks at “unifying” local fire services

Today Saanich’s council will hear a report from its fire chief recommending that it contact Victoria, Oak Bay, and Esquimalt about unifying the core departments and finding “integration opportunities.” The report cites Saanich's 2023-27 strategic plan, passed last fall, which includes intent to “[s]upport regional efforts to unify the four core fire departments to better serve residents.” See the meeting agenda here.

Saanich councillor Colin Plant recently told CHEK that a merged force could have more buying power, faster response times, and more ability to keep up with regulations.

The core four departments already collaborate often

Last August, they all signed a combined mutual aid agreement (formalizing the ways they help each other out with fires) that lasts to 2028. Saanich and Oak Bay departments also do trainings together, and Oak Bay recently hired a former Saanich deputy as its new fire chief. Both have also recently added staff and are in the midst of upgrading facilities. Saanich is redeveloping its No. 2 firehall for $45M and Oak Bay is expanding its hall with a new bay that its newest and tallest truck can actually fit into.

General amalgamation meetings begin this fall 

This look at further integrated fire crews comes as Victoria and Saanich get closer to their Citizens Assembly, which will look at the pros and cons of merging municipalities. More efficient services are often touted as a benefit of such amalgamation, although that can be overstated—the same population and land size will still need service. Capital Daily looked at some of the overarching issues.  

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Weather this week: The full gamut of sun, rain, cloud, sun/cloud, and even sun/rain.

Road closures: Check this map to see which roads are under construction in Victoria.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

6 of Victoria’s best tasting menus

A tasting menu or menu dégustation has mini-versions of various dishes so that you can try a little of each. And when you're eating at some of Victoria's best restaurants, the more you get to try the merrier.

Here are a half-dozen such restaurants that are especially renowned for their tasting menus. In this list you'll find classic French country cooking, “nose-to-tail” resourcefulness, fresh local ingredients, and inspiration from the other sides of both the Pacific and Atlantic.

Read it at Tasting Victoria. 

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🐾 How to tell a mink from a marten: Island nature enthusiasts help identify a cute Nanaimo-area visitor. 

🩰 Subscriptions to Dance Victoria's 2024/25 Dance at the Royal Series are now on sale! Learn more about next season's incredible line-up of world-renowned dance companies here.*

🐕 “Adopt a shelter pet day” is on Tuesday, with half-off adoption fees at BC SPCA. 

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🗞️ In Other News

Emerson the seal’s antics shut Beach Drive for 3 hours
Oak Bay Police shut part of the seaside street on Sunday morning after the local celebrity seal kept crossing it; he returned to the water in the afternoon. 

London Drugs stores close abruptly across Western Canada
Sunday’s closure “until further notice” affected the Harris Green, Tillicum, and Westshore locations. The chain cited an “operational issue,” later confirmed to be a cybersecurity incident, but said its pharmacies can still be phoned to make urgent prescription arrangements. 

Saanich councillor gets nomination to run for MP
CRD board chair Colin Plant announced Sunday that he has won the federal NDP candidacy over government lawyer Devon Black, and will run for federal Green co-leader Elizabeth May’s current seat in Saanich - Gulf Islands. If he wins, Saanich would need a by-election.

166 years since first Black pioneers reached Victoria
After the Dred Scott decision blocked Black Americans from US citizenship, hundreds sailed to the Island from San Francisco including eventual local councillor Mifflin Gibbs. The first group of 35 arrived April 25, 1858. [BCBHAS]

Reeling family remembers brothers who died while kayaking
Despite their age gap the brothers were inseparable since childhood, family said. Nicholas West, 26, was a carpenter and lead of local band Electric Jane, while Daniel MacAlpine, 36, was an autobody worker who enjoyed drawing and exploring historic sites—such as former leper colony D’Arcy Island, where they visited on the kayak trip. [Times Colonist]

🗓️ Things to do

🎶 All Together Now Drop-in Choir: Sing along to the music of Tracy Chapman at Victoria Event Centre. Today. 7pm.

🎥 The Zone of Interest at Cinecenta: The Oscar-winning film about a German family living next to Auschwitz plays today at the UVic theatre. 5pm & 7:10pm.

🏢🕊 The urban landscape & natural world collide and recombine in a new art show by Amanda Wood, opening May 2 (7-10pm) at the fifty fifty gallery on Douglas.

📅 Looking for something to do this week? Subscribe to This Week In Vic to get the full list of local events.

👀 In Case You Missed It

Victoria, illustrated: The creator of Hand Drawn Victoria spent 15 months here drawing local life. [Capital Daily]

Seeing the future in the past: What UVic research on plankton fossils can tell us about climate change. [Sun. newsletter]

“A living skyscraper”: Photographing the climb up the largest tree in the Carmanah Valley. 

Canucks up 3-1 in series after Sunday comeback and 4-3 overtime win over Nashville, despite loss of star goalie Demko. [CP / Sportsnet]

An orca leaves & a princess arrives: [Sat. newsletter]

115 wildfires burning in BC as of Thursday.

Trudeau’s UVic visit: Read about the local research that's being funded at Victoria Tech Journal.

That’s it! Here's the moon.

Readers who caught the full moon described watching it from Moss Rock, the Sidney waterfront, and Oak Bay’s Beach Drive. One of you described taking a good long look, saying “Time slips by. A full moon reminds me we live in an amazing universe.”

Speaking of amazing, here's the photo from the Inner Harbour sent in by Cecile Guillemot.