Oct 18 - One last pre-election primer for your perusal

Good morning !

As we get ready for a wet weekend—hello, atmospheric rivers!—we welcome the end of the weeks-long election campaign if only because it exponentially increases the chances that the knock on the front door is DoorDash or SkipTheDishes with supper and not some politician looking for your vote.

To that end, we begin with the third instalment of Promises, promises, and a look at child and senior care, mental health, and addiction.

— Mark

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧️ 10 / 9

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 13 / 11

Sunday: 🌧️ 12 / 8

NEWS

Which party is promising to put people—and their kids—first?

As BC grapples with the aftermath of COVID-19, surging inflation, and a hot and cold economy, candidates for tomorrow’s provincial election are proposing various solutions to complex problems, including how to square the rising number of seniors in need of care with a 13% decrease in the number of long-term care beds over the last five years. 

Childcare remains a critical issue, especially in regions of the CRD like the Westshore with higher numbers of kids. 

So far, the NDP's three-year goal of universal $10-a-day daycare still needs to be met, with significant staffing shortages all around. 

The Greens propose increasing early childhood educator wages and expanding childcare spaces, while the Conservatives support maintaining affordable care for single mothers.

In today’s third part of Promises, promises, Sidney Coles examines the pressing issues in child and elder care, mental health, and addiction in the CRD.

Read the third and final instalment of Promises, promises, here.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

BC Ferries: possible delays and cancellations today. [Nasty weather]

Traffic disruptions and CCTV deployment downtown. [Tomorrow 2-4pm]

Have your say: Albina Gorge Tillicum upgrades public information session. [Oct. 21, 4-8pm]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

NEWS

Great BC ShakeOut reminds us we're in an area that could suddenly shake violently

Hope you didn’t bump your head whilst you were under your desk yesterday.

Hundreds of thousands of British Columbians joined millions worldwide in hunkering down under their desks for that annual fire-drilly dress rehearsal called the Great BC ShakeOut.

We’ve been doing it for years and one day, one probably awful day, we’ll be glad we did because it’s all about muscle memory and somehow instinctively knowing what to do and where to go in a moment of alarm and most probably, horror.

“It helps people prepare psychologically for an earthquake so that it's not sort of some disastrous event out of the blue—people kind of know what's happening,” Taimi Mulder, an earthquake seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, tells Capital Daily.

From behind her desk at the Pacific Geoscience Centre in Sidney—we reached her well after ShakeOut—Mulder spoke with us about the next major quake that could hit us and how even though nobody knows, the math suggests it could very easily be a Not-So-Big-One.

And that Richter scale business, why is it we don’t hear that as much these days?

Read that story here. 

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⭐️ Capital Picks

🖊️ 2024 Victoria Book Prize Winners are Kathryn Mockler and Raina Delisle. [City of Victoria]

🩰 Just 3 shows left for Pacific Opera Victoria’s production of Mozart’s, La clemenza di Tito, at the Royal Theatre. Tickets from $35 are on sale now.*

📚 Best-sellers chat: Richard Powers with Michael Christie. [Munro’s Books]

🚪The Centre for Active Living 50+ open house. [Tomorrow 2-4pm]

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🗞️ In Other News

Tents come down, fencing goes up on Pandora 
“This is the next step in the move to do a reclamation of that block of Pandora,” Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto tells CHEK News. Most of the people displaced have been offered shelter, including at nearby Our Place, and the Salvation Army. A few have remained, saying they don’t feel comfortable off the street. “I don’t think there will be anybody living on the street by the end of the year,” Our Place’s Grant McKenzie tells CHEK.

First Nations propose new Inner Harbour maritime museum: it may float, too 
It would be across from the legislature in the Steamship Building and would combine the rich histories of the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations. The museum, currently housed in the Victoria Conference Centre, would have a floating component and feature a Lekwungen welcome centre and exhibition space along with Maritime Museum of BC displays and artifacts. There’s been no official agreement but the groups are readying to pitch the idea to the province. The estimated cost to build is $40 million. [Times Colonist]

YYJ to shut third-floor public observation deck, make offices
It was a popular spot to watch the planes take off and land but as of Wed., the Eagles Landing is closed. The Victoria Airport Authority (VAA) says YYJ is growing and needs a work area for administration staff. The First Nations artwork that adorned the room will be moved to other areas of the terminal. [Black Press]

Downtown diner to wind back the clock with 1984 prices next week
Waffles for five bucks. A dollar for a coffee? Where do I sign up? John’s Place, which opened in 1984, is celebrating 40 years of satisfying stomachs from around the world, and next week—Mon. to Fri.—it’s going to bring out some of its original menu prices. John’s Place seats 74, so get there early because they’re not taking reservations. [Daily Hive]

Note: The above story contained an error on the year and has been corrected.

SPONSORED BY VICTORIA FOUNDATION, COAST CAPITAL, AND NICOLA WEALTH

Victoria's 2024 Vital Signs report is online

Greater Victoria's community report card is here.

And you can read it online! Victoria's 2024 Vital Signs report snapshots the quality of life in the region, as perceived by the residents, themselves.

Twelve key issue areas are graded from A+ to F, including housing, education, arts, and more.

Delve into the findings on a new and interactive digital Vital Signs platform!

🗓️ Things to do

🚧 Saanich Operations Centre redevelopment project drop-in: District staff and consultants from CitySpaces and Colliers will be available to answer questions. 1040 McKenzie. Oct. 26. 1-4pm. [Info]

🏰 Curiosities of Craigdarroch: The After Hours Tour: Journey into the dark shadows of 19th-century history on a 90-minute tour every Fri., Sat., and Sun. this month, with extra shows added a week before Halloween. Through Nov. 17. [Info]

🥁 Bay Street Music Project: Presented by Victoria Military Music Festival Society. Music, information booths, interactive activities, food trucks. Tomorrow. Bay St. Armoury. Noon-4pm. [Info]

👻 Spooky at the Station: Free outdoor market. A spine-chilling event with a haunting mix of vendors offering unique, magical, and spooky items perfect for the Halloween season. Boo! Langford Station. Tomorrow. 11am-4pm. [Info] 

🎻 Victoria Chamber Orchestra: Conductor and Music Director Yariv Aloni leads the orchestra to play Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 9 and much more. First Metropolitan United Church. Tonight. 7:30pm. [Info]

👀 In Case You Missed It

Thursday’s headlines: BC election could determine future of species at risk; Contractor convicted of fraud; Vic’s Nathan Hirayama headed to BC Sports Hall of Fame. And more.  [Oct. 17] 

The environment: Where BC’s political parties stand. [Capital Daily] 

A Million Acts of Love: Colwood teen honours his late sister. [Capital Daily]

Vancouver Island named ‘5th best’ North American island.

Bruno’s Bark: VicPD dog thwarts would-be robber. [CHEK]

Blue Economy: Centre for Ocean Applied Technologies opens on Herald. [Times Colonist]

That’s it!

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