Sun. May 14 - The lives of Island mothers & grandmothers

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning !

Happy Mother’s Day! I’d like to wish a pleasant Sunday to all of you readers who are mothers, to my own wonderful mother of course, and also to any of you for whom this may be a difficult day.

Today for your Sunday reading, we have a roundup of stories about Island mothers and grandmothers as well as items on the researchers listening to the sea and the observatory looking at the stars.

FEATURE

Our stories on Island mothers and grandmothers

Over the past few years we’ve done many stories that cover the lives of Island mothers and grandmothers.

These stories cover the ways local mothers care for their kids, and the ways their kids care for them. They cover connections made with the past lives of late mothers, and with fellow grandmothers halfway across the world. They cover single mothers, and those surrounded by four generations of family.

Today, for Mother’s Day, we’ve collected some of these stories together in one place.

Capital Bulletin

☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny. High 27C (22 near water) / low 15C. Humidex 30. UV index 8 (very high).

🌡️ Weather warning: Temperatures 10-15 degrees above usual could cause heat-related risks today and tomorrow, Environment Canada warns.

NEWS

Victoria scientists are eavesdropping on fish

New technology is allowing researchers to covertly monitor, record, and identify the sounds fish make underwater to try to unravel their deepest secrets.

Researcher Xavier Mouy, a recent PhD graduate at UVic, and his colleagues have devised a relatively low-cost portable audio-visual system that surreptitiously records the surprising range of acoustics fish produce, but more importantly, pinpoints what creature makes which sound.

Being able to do so is akin to identifying who is attending a noisy party in a dark room, said Mouy, with important outcomes for scientific monitoring, fisheries, and conservation in marine environments.

It’s no secret that fish as a whole make a bunch of different noises, like hums, clicks, grunts, and even farts for breeding, feeding, and protecting territory. But there are huge gaps in scientific understanding around the vocal repertoire of individual fish, he said.

Learn how the local team is working to fill those gaps, and to identify specific fish species from sound alone, in the full story at Capital Daily. 

FEATURE

History Mystery: An old photo of the place to view stars’ old photos

As reader Faye Lee guessed, the location was the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) on Observatory Hill in Saanich.

Lee took these photos in 2016 at one of the DAO’s summer star parties, which are events with telescope tours, astronomy lectures and presentations, music in the dome, and night sky / constellation viewings (there’s actually one this weekend with CBC Radio’s Bob McDonald). The floor plaque lists 1916, though the telescope’s debut was actually pushed to 1918 due to issues with the mirror.

The DAO currently has two research telescopes, as described by the National Research Council of Canada:

• The 1.8m Plaskett Telescope, built in 1918, which has been upgraded over the past century to become 10,000 times more sensitive than it originally was

• A 1.2-metre telescope, built in 1961, which is used mostly for optical spectroscopy and has a high-res McKellar spectrograph

The NRC credits these telescopes with helping to grow our understanding of the rotation, size, and mass of the Milky Way.

The archival photo came from the collection of Ainslie Helmcken, Victoria’s archivist from 1967 to 1983, who was a great-grandson of Governor James Douglas and grandson of surgeon John Sebastian Helmcken (a former Speaker of the House).

History Mystery #14
For this week, we have a “mystery” that is not very mysterious but should give you folks a good excuse to get outside and take photos in this summer weather. Send us an email submission with your guess for this one (and/or the other photo from last week). Put History Mystery #14 in the subject line and include the location and your current-day photo.

You can also always send in old photos of your own as potential History Mysteries.

SPONSORED BY VICTORIA CHINATOWN MUSEUM SOCIETY

Awakening Chinatown back for second year

After the incredible success of its inaugural event, the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society presents the second annual Awakening Chinatown, May 28, noon to 5pm in Victoria’s Historic Chinatown.

The lively afternoon of festivities includes a traditional ceremony to “Awaken the Lions,” lion dancing and martial arts by the Wong Sheung Kung Fu Club, magician Justin Louie, performances by Chinese Dance Victoria, Evergreen (Senior’s) Choir, Sunshine Fitness Group, House of Rice, Happy Drum Group, Victoria Chinese Opera Club, and Pacific Opera Victoria.

Plus learn Chinese arts and crafts, play Chinese games, and enjoy demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy and fortune telling. Awakening Chinatown is free, through the generous contributions of sponsors, including Lion Sponsors Townline Homes Ltd, and Nicola Wealth.

Learn more.

Capital Picks

 🔄 Levidrome: Which two words spell each other backwards and are described by this clue: Too proud of Wrigley’s
Answer on Facebook or Twitter and tag #levidrome and #capitaldaily.
Last time: she/they, right? = he/eh

🧍Mayfair’s living mannequin: HeroWork GM Trevor Botkin is on display this weekend in the mall to raise $70k for the Radical Renovations programs. Capital Daily previously covered HeroWork, a charity that helps other local charities with their spaces, during its renovation for Cool Aid.

📣 Honest, intimate, and enthralling, the Belfry Theatre’s new season features a Joni Mitchell musical and the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play. Tickets and information.*

🎙️ Mother’s Day Doris Day and Judy Garland tribute: Today from 2:30-4pm, watch Diane Pancel and Kim Greenwood’s performance at St. Mary’s Oak Bay. [Details]

🎭 Friends of Timothy: Pacific Opera Victoria celebrates Timothy Vernon at McPherson Playhouse May 15. [Tickets]

⚽ Soccer Sunday: Pacific FC (2-1-1) hosts York FC at 3pm in Langford. [Tickets]

🏴‍☠️ Last Buccaneer Day: Esquimalt’s pirate-themed annual festival concludes today with rides, a pie plate contest, a sky diver demo, a model train demo, a market, a plant sale, and more. [Schedule]

*Sponsored Listing

In Other News

📃 W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council signs new Letter of Understanding with BC
The LOU commits the Province and council to working to resolve priority issues identified by the local Tsartlip and Tseycum communities the council represents. Discussion issues include Douglas Treaty Rights recognition and implementation; land acquisition; wildlife harvesting; education; revenue sharing; BC Ferries and RBCM. The LOU may also loop in federal reconciliation discussions.

⛴️ BC Ferries almost denied entry to woman with MS
Pender-Island-bound Lisa Prat had to convince staff at Swartz Bay terminal that she was not intoxicated, just exhibiting symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Prat said the experience traumatized her. [CHEK]

🚨 “Fake nurse” who worked at View Royal clinic charged with more fraud
Brigitte Cleroux is now charged with committing impersonation and fraud over $5,000 against a Surrey dental surgeon in May 2020. She is currently imprisoned in Ont. for crimes including impersonation, and faces charges in BC including 10 accusations of assaulting patients. Cleroux worked briefly at a View Royal private surgery clinic in Nov. 2020 while on administrative leave due to allegations on the mainland. [CBC]

SPONSORED BY HEAT SAVERS HOME COMFORT

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Heat Savers partners with leading manufacturers to provide the best solution for your space and budget.

Get your free in home estimate today and qualify for immediate install, with no payment and no interest financing for three months.

In Case You Missed It

📊 Victoria sets budget: Details of the city’s 2023 spending in Saturday’s newsletter. Plus: Driver and officer both in hospital after Duncan RCMP shoot man who allegedly drove into cruiser.

🥞 The best brunches in town: Reader-voted picks for the best local spots to eat at on a Sunday like today. [Tasting Victoria]

💌 Find out what Oak Bay locals are talking about in our weekly newsletter, Oak Bay Local, with the latest news, events, and community spotlights. Subscribe today!

🏞️ How to save a river: Volunteer streamkeepers’ efforts to fix up the mainland’s Miami River are similar to waterway restoration efforts seen on the Island. [Fraser Valley Current]

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