Jan 29 - Furstenau decides to go

Good morning !

Sonia Furstenau is leaving the BC Green Party, which will be looking for a new leader. That’s our first story on this first day of the Year of the Snake—a year for renewal and regeneration. We have your Lunar New Year events listings in our second story.

Remember that 35-storey tower possibly coming to a street corner near you (if you live downtown)? Well, turns out a full two-thirds of you aren’t impressed.
Below are Mon.’s poll results. Sorry for the small typeface.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 6 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌤️ 6 / -1

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 5 / 4

Friday: 🌧️ 8 / 3

NEWS

Sonia Furstenau steps down as leader of the BC Greens

Furstenau leaves the political stage following a years-long career focused on environmental advocacy, governmental transparency, and cross-party collaboration. 

She entered politics amid a fight to protect clean drinking water in Shawnigan Lake. Furstenau served as the MLA for Cowichan Valley from 2017 to 2024 when she lost in the riding of Victoria-Beacon Hill.

The Greens—a party of two—say they will select a successor before the end of September. Furstenau, 54, had been their leader since 2020. Under her stewardship, the Greens championed issues such as protecting BC’s old-growth forests, housing affordability, and a green recovery following COVID-19. 

Known for her relentless focus on transparency, including pushing for lobbying reforms and banning big money in politics, her departure marks the end of an era for the BC Greens. However, her influence and legacy in the province’s political landscape will remain strong.

Sidney Coles has more about Sonia Furstenau’s career, here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Cryptocurrency fraud warning. [VicPD]

Citizens’ Assembly on Vic-Saanich amalgamation public meetings. [Register here]

Flurries are in the forecast for Victoria this weekend. [Environment Canada]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

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NEWS

Lunar New Year celebrations in Victoria

Today is the start of Lunar New Year celebrations around the world, marking the beginning of the Year of the Wood Snake. Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian cultures—by one billion+ worldwide—starting with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ending two weeks later with the first full moon. The Year of the Wood Snake is believed to bring themes of wisdom, renewal, transformation, calmness, and creativity. 

Check out our roundup of events happening in Victoria and immerse yourself in cultural celebrations happening over the next two weeks.

Year of the Snake at the Museum | Today | 11am-5pm
The Victoria Chinatown Museum will host a variety of free family games for the Lunar New Year, including Chinese Lego exhibits, a scavenger hunt, and red envelopes containing possible prizes. The museum announced last year that it would be a permanent fixture in the city’s historic Chinatown.

Lunar New Year Celebration at Mayfair | Feb. 1 | 12:30-4pm
Mark the beginning of the Year of the Wood Snake with a lion dance, face painting, choirs, dance, magic, arts, crafts, and more, at Mayfair Shopping Centre.

Lucky Draw at Mayfair | Feb. 2 | 11am-3pm
Snag a red envelope with a $10 Mayfair gift card or enter a draw for eight grand prizes for a year of abundance. 

Lunar New Year in Esquimalt Town Square | Feb. 2 | 3pm
Welcome the Year of the Wood Snake with the Wong Sheung Kung Fu Club. 

LNY Splash | Feb. 1-2 | (Afternoon/evenings) 
Celebrate family ties this Lunar New Year with a mini film festival, featuring stories about Asian families in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam, at the Vic Theatre. 

Chinese New Year Dinner | Feb. 2 | 5:30pm
Join this sit-down dinner at Don Mee Sea Food Restaurant in Victoria’s Chinatown. 

Lunar New Year Parade & Blessing of the Merchants | Feb. 9 | 11:30am-3:30pm
Ring in the new year in Canada’s oldest Chinatown. Witness an eight-lion dance by the Wong Sheung Kung Fu Club, a dragon dance by the Victoria Chinese Public School, and traditional Chinese dances. After the parade, two lion teams will visit merchants, who hang offerings of lettuce and money in red envelopes for the lions. The lions will bless the businesses by performing a routine to scare away evil spirits and bring them good luck, prosperity, and good health for the entire year. A portion of Fisgard will be closed from 8am-5pm.

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🛫 New direct YYJ-YOW flights: Victoria to Ottawa via Porter. [Destination Greater Victoria]

🤴🏽 The Little Prince takes flight in a magical opera! Perfect for families, with $15 youth tickets. Be a part of the adventure, Feb. 19–25.*

🐍 Lunar New Year is today. First day on the Chinese calendar.

👶🏽 Join Olive Fertility x Maturn on Feb. 20, 6:30–8pm. for expert strategies on balancing career growth and family-building. Reserve your spot now!*

🪸 ‘Epic’ Sooke snorkel: See the colourful underwater world in Iron Mine Bay. [Facebook photos]

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🗞️ In Other News

Downtown retailers facing increased turnover: study 
In its 2024 Retail Rent Survey, commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE found Victoria’s suburban retail market was doing well with low mall vacancy rates, but the city’s downtown is in a bit of a downturn. “The continual urban decay in the downtown core caused by social issues, low foot traffic, and rent hikes on renewal have led to increased retail turnover,” the report said of Victoria. [CHEK]

Centennial Square sequoia planters say big tree should stay
The three-man city crew that planted the 50-foot tall tree in the early 1980s says “It doesn’t make any sense” to chop it down to make room for a reinvigorated City Hall square. The sequoia and fountain are on the chopping block as the city prepares for an $11M redesign. The city contends the sequoia threatens power, ­telecom, and water lines and says 14 trees would replace it. The Centennial Square retrofit project is in its nascent stages but some construction is slated to begin before summer. [Times Colonist]

Southern Resident killer whale calf continues to thrive
The surviving newborn of the two calves born over the holidays was spotted nestled beside its mother, J41, with another whale, J51, helping to break the choppy waves for the two. The sighting was last Thu. near Sheringham Point, west of Sooke. There was no sign of J35, or Talehquah, the orca mother who was seen pushing her dead calf for nearly two weeks (much like she did when her calf died in 2018). The Center for Whale Research wrote that the weather conditions were challenging and the pod was too spread out to check on all the whales.

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🗓️ Things to do

🤣 Sara Pascoe: The British comedian, author, and host of BBC One’s The Great British Sewing Bee visits Victoria to do a little standup. McPherson Playhouse. Feb. 14. 7pm. [Info]

😆 Nikki Glaser: The Emmy-nominated comedian—and recent Emmy host—will bring her standup to Victoria. Royal Theatre. Feb. 27 & 28. 7pm. [Info]

🎼 The Village Choir: A vibrant community choir based in Victoria, will provide you with an evening of captivating music. With a diverse repertoire spanning pop, R&B, indie-folk, rock, jazz, and soul. McPherson Playhouse. Sat. 7:30pm. [Info]

🎂 Cake Decoration Workshop: Join this fun and creative evening, learning new techniques with fellow cake enthusiasts at Flourish BeauTea in Langford. Tonight. 6:15pm. [Info]

🎸 International Guitar Night: Check out the world’s premier touring guitar festival at The Farquhar at UVic. Tonight. 7pm. [Info]

🎺 Kelby MacNayr's Blue Note Repertory All-Stars: Celebrate the Cannonball Adderley Quintet with an all-star lineup at Hermann’s. Tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]

🎥 Karuara, People of the River: The documentary, playing at Cinecenta, covers the fight to get legal personhood and protection for a river in the Peruvian Amazon. And there’s a strong UVic connection. Cinecenta. Tonight. 5:20pm & 7pm. [Info]

❄️ Wassail Day: Join this wonderful winter celebration with yummy food, live music, a craft station for kids, and more. Sea Cider Farm. Sun. 11am-4pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Tuesday’s headlines: Quadratic Sound turns the music down; Vic activist Zain Haq deported to Pakistan; Stolen drum hits a positive note. [Jan. 28]

Island’s tallest tower proposed for Blanshard and Pandora. [Capital Daily]

Diver finds GoPro camera with diving videos while scuba diving off Ogden Point. [CHEK]

Dating app swindler pleads guilty to defrauding 14 people of $200K in Vic-area scam. [Times Colonist]

Throwback photo: Government and Trounce Alley in 1982. (Note the Eatons sign). [Facebook photo]

Flexibility test: See a red-winged blackbird do the splits in Central Saanich. [Facebook photo]

That’s it!

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