Sat. June 17 - $35M lotto winners revealed

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning !

The latest local millionaires have come forward, and these lottery winners are planning to spread some of the money around.

If you’d happened to buy that fateful ticket in View Royal that day, what would be the main thing you’d do (aside from the usual things e.g. getting a house)?

NEWS

Local couple wins $35M lottery, plans road trip to hand out money

Debbie Ramsay and Lahsen Rezrazi have come forward as the co-holders (along with someone in Ontario) of the winning 7 digits in a recent $70M Lotto Max draw. The ticket was known to have been bought in Greater Victoria—it turns out it was at the Quality Foods in View Royal.

Rezrari said he was on the way to pick his wife up and stopped for groceries at a Save-On, figuring he should also check his three lottery tickets. They were all winners: the first won 10 bucks, the second won a free play, and the third won $35,000,000.

Ramsay said she didn’t believe him at first, and kept scanning the ticket other places—the original Quality Foods, the lotto app—to confirm it. Their win comes just months after a fellow local, Sidney bookkeeper Scott Gurney, won a $55M jackpot.

They’re now looking to celebrate the win, and their upcoming anniversary, by buying an oceanside home and a fancy camper van to road-trip across Canada visiting family.

“We’re going to go surprise relatives at the door to give them money,” said Ramsay. “Helping family is the biggest thing for us, and we can’t wait to see their faces!”

Capital Bulletin

⛅ Today's weather: Mix of sun and cloud. Light wind in the afternoon. High 19C/ low 11C.

🌦️ Upcoming weather: Sun and cloud for the next few days, then cloudier and possible showers early next week. [Forecast]

🌫️ Air quality: Low risk today (2/10), and no smoke expected tomorrow.

NEWS

Victoria racer finishes third in Race to Alaska

Pestou, the trimaran powered by Eric Pesty, arrived in Ketchikan Friday after completing the course in 7 days, 23 hours, and 19 minutes. He is the fastest solo racer to have completed the race—a 1,200km route that bans motors or supports—and said he only slept substantially three times since taking off in Victoria. As third place, he unfortunately misses out on both the first-place prize of $10,000 and the second-place prize of a set of steak knives.

Pesty rang the official bell to celebrate his arrival in Ketchikan and told the finish-line crowd and livestream viewers that “today was a bit sporty…but I made it in one piece, that’s what matters.”

A fight to the finish after nearly 8 days at sea
Pesty took a different approach to the finish from the other racers, deciding to travel along the outside of Dundas Island. But he had to push at the end to beat the two other boats that were hot on his heels.

“It’s been a battle getting here,” he said, “in the last 15 miles I used all sail combinations.”

Pesty’s sail mastery was on display in the last 15 metres, too—he took the sails down in the harbour and glided smoothly to the dock, drawing praise from the crowd of fellow sailing enthusiasts.

Other locals still sailing
Victoria’s Ship of Fools team sat in in 6th (best among remaining racers) at 8pm Friday with about 80km to the finish line, while local paddle-powered soloist Sporting Chance was up to 15th, 625km away.

Read our story on those local teams here, and see the live map here.

By Sarah Madsen

NEWS

The parking lot that brings the community together

For years, the swap and shop at the Western Speedway was a local favourite. Sean Chewka and his business partner both loved going there and discovering unique treasures.

But then the Speedway was knocked down for redevelopment. Chewka says he was “broken a little bit”—so he became the co-owner of the Westshore Swap, Shop, and Market. The weekly Sunday market in the Juan de Fuca Rec Centre parking lot mixes elements of swap/flea markets, craft fairs, and farmers markets.

He worried about the finances, the insurance, the logistics, and whether they could get enough people to do it. But eight weeks later, it has nearly 70 weekly vendors and 1,200 attendees.

Read The Westshore’s story on how the popular market is connecting the community through the well-loved items that it helps keep from going to waste.

For news, community stories, and events from the western communities twice every week, subscribe to The Westshore.

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Capital Picks

🎙️ Music in the Park: The Soul Shakers will perform at Beacon Hill Park’s Cameron Bandshell. 1:30-3:20pm.

🌿 Atla'gimma (Spirits of the Forest): The traditional Kwakwaka’wakw mask dance will take place today at the Wawadit’la big house in Thunderbird Park, 12-2pm. A community feast will follow the dance.

🎉 FernFest: This community celebration in Fernwood Square will include live music, food, an artisan market, and kids’ activities. 11:30am-10pm today.

📈 Visit the Victoria Foundation's Vital Victoria Data Hub and dive deeper into the issues in Greater Victoria, with 75+ indicators on quality of life.*

🎧 Downtown Mischief at Studio 545: Dance along to the psychedelic funk band tonight in Chinatown, 10:30pm. [Tickets]

🌺 Victoria Arts Council garden party: The garden party will feature an art auction, cocktails, and bites to eat in honour of The Victoria Arts Council Gallery being renamed the Pat Martin Bates Gallery, after its founder.

🪕 Cowichan Valley Bluegrass Festival: Enjoy bluegrass and old-time music from professional and amateur performers this weekend at Laketown Ranch Music Park. [Details]

🤝 Now hiring: Investment Administrator at Meritage Financial.

🎈 Oaklands garage sale day & street party: Discover unique finds at the neighbourhood sale today at Oaklands Elementary, 9am-2pm. A street party with food vendors and live music will follow at Oaklands Community Centre, 12-4pm.

🎸 Lester Quitzau Trio at Hermann’s: TheJuno winner performs with drummer Damien Graham and bassist Scott White tonight. 5:30pm. [Tickets]

*Sponsored Listing

In Other News

🚒 Friday morning fire guts Ricky’s Grill on Douglas
The blaze began around 3am, took five hours to fight, and led to Douglas’s closure from Finlayson to Hillside for much of Friday. There were no injuries, but police now believe the cause is suspicious. [CHEK]

📈 Canada hit 40 million people on Friday, per StatsCan
The current 2.7% growth is the highest since 1957, adding 1.1M people in 2022 mostly from temporary and permanent migration. Canada was at 30M in 1997 and could hit 50 by 2043. [StatsCan] The Island has some of the country’s fastest-growing regions including Langford (municipality) and Nanaimo (census metropolitan area), despite Greater Victoria having the country’s largest gap between deaths and births and lowest fertility rate.

🤝 Now Hiring

Thinking of making your next career move? Let us help!

• Accountant at Victoria Hospice Society

• Cooks at The Butchart Gardens

• Player Success Representative at Kano

• Comfort Advisor (Outside Sales) at Sasquatch Heat Pumps

• Digital Marketing Specialist at Westin Bear Mountain Resort & Spa

• Life Enrichment Coordinator at Amica Senior Lifestyles

• Client Support Technician at ISM

• Veterinary Technician at Sooke Veterinary Hospital

• Tenant Legal Advocate at Together Against Poverty Society

Looking for more openings? See 50+ jobs open now on YYJobs.

Hiring? Post your job to have it featured here, and fill your opening fast!

In Case You Missed It

⛴️ Behind the scenes at the ferry terminal: Our BC Ferries photo series takes an inside look into the everyday operations of ferries, passengers, and staff at Swartz Bay. [Capital Daily] 

🍺 South Island breweries win big: At theCanadian Brewing Awards, local craft beer took home two golds, three silvers, and two bronzes. [Tasting Victoria]

🌈 Celebrate Pride with Dustin Miller, a trusted realtor in Greater Victoria for 10 years. Find your dream home with a pro who supports the LGBTQ+ community. Happy Pride!*

🏢 Esquimalt evacuees can now return: Two apartment buildings were evacuated on Tue. after a nearby excavation pit wall caved in. [Times Colonist]

🗳️ Advanced voting: Select locations are open for Langford - Juan de Fuca early voting until June 21.

*Sponsored Listing