May 13 - Locals petitioning to save downtown multiplexes

Good morning !

Today, we have stories about funding for a new walk-to-school program and the end to the Victoria Grizzlies’ season. But first, local film lovers are pushing to save Victoria’s downtown multiplexes—read more below.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

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NEWS

Moviegoers don’t want to see the curtain go down for the last time

A group of cinephiles worried about the loss of Victoria’s downtown theatres is asking the city council to explore ways to ensure there are screens in the downtown area that can continue to show movies. 

“The imminent closure of our downtown movie theatres presents a unique opportunity for the city to explore options for expanding the purview of its support of Arts & Culture in Victoria to include cinema,” the group writes on a petition that went live Sun. night on change.org.

“Don't let this be the final screening for accessible cinema in downtown Victoria,” the petition reads.

Last week, we found out that the building that houses the Odeon Theatre on Yates is for sale for $8.5 million. The listing, on JLL Investor Centre, says the location allows for “mixed-use development including residential, hotel, retail, and office” and makes no mention of maintaining the Cineplex-brand seven-screen theatre.

The nearby Capitol 6 theatre is operating, but for how long is unclear because building owner Jawl Properties has been looking to develop the parcel of land at Yates and Blanshard, and was approved to build a 10-storey office space. Three years after gaining that approval, there’s been no sign of development. A message Capital Daily left at Jawl was not returned in time for inclusion in this story. 

If both theatres were to close, it would leave the IMAX in the Royal BC Museum as the lone downtown theatre screening major releases, and Silver City at Tillicum the closest multiplex cinema.

“If we do lose these multiplex theatres downtown, that puts a big hole in the availability of space for the Victoria Film Festival (VFF) to screen programming, which I think is overall detrimental,” John Forte, the petition organizer, said.

Read the full story here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Saanich traffic advisories: See the latest info on road closures. [Details]

Prime Minister Mark Carney is to name his new cabinet this morning.

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

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NEWS

Walking School Bus program in Greater Victoria gets provincial funding

The province is putting $1.1M toward the program, which combines outdoor exercise with commuting, in partnership with Society for Children and Youth of BC (SCYBC).

The program is available to students in Saanich, Esquimalt, Langford, Sooke, and Central Saanich and will be expanded to other municipalities soon. Paid staff and volunteers will pick up kids along a route—similar to a school bus route—and will walk them to school as a group. 

“Walking to school offers a wonderful opportunity for students and parents to connect with their community,” said Ravi Parmar, MLA for Langford-Highlands. He says it’s rewarding to see children in his hometown of Langford developing “healthy habits” through the program.  

A similar program for a Biking School Bus is in the works and will launch in a select number of municipalities. This program will have leaders from HUB Cycling guiding a group of kids to school by bike. 

The province says the program will teach children safe commuting skills and build healthy habits. It was piloted in Vancouver and has since helped more than 350 children get to and from school. 

Stephanie Howell, executive director at SCYBC, says the program helps to instill “active travel habits” in children. The program aligns with the province’s continued investments in active transportation routes. 

NEWS

Victoria Grizzlies fall short of BCHL finals

The Westshore-based Grizzlies were eliminated by the Chilliwack Chiefs last Fri., ending their season in the third round. Victoria won the first game of the conference final but lost every game afterward to the higher-seeded Chiefs.

The Grizzlies’ delivered a respectable showing in the playoffs with a final-four appearance, an improvement from finishing the regular season 10th with a 28-17-8-1 record. They also boasted half of the playoffs’ top six point-scorers; Reegan Hiscock was in the top spot as of yesterday with 21 points, with Chase Pirtle (19 points) and Thomas Molson (17) slightly back. Pirtle and goalie Oliver Auyeung-Ashton were all-stars this season. 

Successful season featured throwbacks to champion Salsa team

The team celebrated its 30th anniversary this season, marking it by bringing back the original “Victoria Salsa” name and jerseys for some games—both of which the franchise had when it won the championship in 2001. That was the last time the team reached the BCHL final (Fred Page Cup), though this third-round finish is the farthest the Grizzlies have made it in the 2020s. 

The once-divisive, now-nostalgic Salsa moniker featured two different rampaging anthropomorphic peppers as logos. By 2006, the team had moved from Victoria-proper to the Westshore and had been rebranded to be more conventional and to match the Bear Mountain connections that both the arena and a part-owner had at the time.

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🏈 BC Lions in Langford: New batch of tickets released for next week's CFL game. 

🏖 Beautiful Botanical Beach at low tide. [Colin Smith Takes Pics]

🌱 Celebrate 50 years of Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary! Join them June 12 at the Nature House for a free community social (4:30–5:30 PM) with refreshments, followed by their Annual General Meeting (5:30–6:30 PM).*

📚 Asian Heritage Month book list from Greater Victoria Public Library. [GVPL]

^{*Sponsored Listing}

🗞️ In Other News

Ward electoral system could be a reality in SD61
Esquimalt Coun. Tim Morrison’s push for the system—which ensures the school board has representation from all municipalities, including Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations— has gained support with nearby municipalities. Saanich is considering asking Education Minister Lisa Beare to create a task force on the matter. SD62 and SD63 currently use the ward system, while SD61 uses an at-large system where board members can be elected from anywhere in the district. Morrison says the board hasn’t had an Esquimalt member in nearly 30 years. [CHEK]

Langford hosts 5th annual Sarah Beckett Memorial Run
This past weekend's 3km and 5km runs raised money for the Goldstream Food Bank and BGC South Vancouver Island. Beckett was an RCMP constable killed in 2016 in a crash with an impaired driver. Her widower won a King Charles III Coronation award this year for his work on the now-annual charity run. 

Wildlife advocates want culverts and warning lights on Hwy 14
One volunteer has been putting signs up warning drivers to slow down, particularly in a stretch where bear cubs are killed every year. Another advocate fears that development could limit the wildlife corridor from Sooke Hills to the mouth of the Sooke River and force more species onto roads. [Sooke News Mirror]

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🗓️ Things to do

🦉 Victoria Bird Week: Celebrate local birdlife with a week of bird walks, talks, and workshops hosted by the Rocky Point Bird Observatory, today through May 17. [Info]

🎪 Cirque du Soleil: Crystal: See world-class skating and unexpected acrobatics at the first on-ice experience from Cirque du Soleil at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Today through Sun. [Info]

🧠 Trivia Night at Spinnakers: Weekly trivia covering movies, music, sports, and more tomorrow. 7pm. [Info]

🤣 Phillips Comedy Night: Laugh the night away with top local comedians at The Mint tomorrow. 8pm. [Info]

🎨 Date Night Wheel Throwing: Learn to create pottery together in this fun wheel-throwing class for two at Touci Ceramic Studio tomorrow. 6pm. [Info]

📚 Elaine Alec Book Signing: Celebrate the launch of Coming of Age. Munro's Books. Thur. 6pm. [Info]

🎡 Luxton Spring Fair: Enjoy thrilling rides, games, live entertainment, and delicious fair food at the annual Luxton Spring Fair—perfect for families and fair lovers of all ages. Thur.-Sun. 12-6pm. [Info] 

🥳 Block Party: Celebrate Turnabout’s 6th birthday and the grand opening of the Ottavio patio with free mini gelato scoops, samples, bites, live DJ, prizes. Sat. 11am-3pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Monday’s headlines: Could be a class-action suit against Victoria broker Martel; A busy cruise weekend & a pink ship; Dowler Place settling in in North Park. [May 12] 

Best iced matcha lattes in Victoria. [Tasting Victoria] 

Garry oaks in peril on Quadra property. [Times Colonist]

Coast Victoria Hotel and Marina workers vote 93% in favour of striking. [CHEK] 

Someone in BC is $80M richer: winning Lotto Max ticket sold in Surrey. [CTV]

Burnside Tillicum has public engagement events for tomorrow. & Thu., with more next week. [Saanich]

That’s it!

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