Sept. 19 - Where do the tips go?

Good morning !

Today we’re covering the confusion surrounding restaurant tip structures, where lack of transparency and murky laws have left many wondering if they’re being shortchanged. We also look at a read-a-thon for newborns and a Westshore art exhibit that calls for better old-growth protection.

— Robyn

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

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🌫️ Air quality: Low risk today (2/10). Current smoke forecast.

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NEWS

The confusion around restaurant tip outs

Restaurant work can be a challenge at times—hangry customers, overwhelmed staff, and long hours on your feet. But the promise of tip money can make the more unsavoury aspects of service industry work worthwhile.

We leave tips for service workers with the hope that it will end up in their pockets. However, it’s not always that simple. Tip pools can be handled in a multitude of ways, but with no clear standard enforced across the industry, each restaurant can take a varying approach—and when the money doesn’t add up, employees are not clear on what they can do. Apparently it’s equally mystifying for the managers, leaving many questioning: when does it constitute stealing? This question is top of mind for Victoria restaurant workers, though there are no clear answers on how to properly execute a tip pool.

From inconsistent tipping structures to accusations of managers stealing, Robyn Bell takes a look at the grey area of tip outs in Victoria.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Less than 2 weeks left to change your tires: It still feels like summer outside but Oct. 1 is coming soon, and that’s the date you need winter tires if you’re going to drive on the Malahat or many other BC highways—and you'd rather not pay a $121 fine if caught.

NEWS

From the mouths of parents to the ears of babes

Seven years ago, when Lynda Dominy left a career of teaching to work as a nursing unit assistant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Vic General, she was surprised to not see more parents reading to their newborns.

Dominy chalked some of that up to our brave new world of electronic screens, but then she decided to take a page from the book of an Oregon group that encourages young parents to read to their babies.

“We’ve seen the research show that when a child is in hospital a long time and under those conditions, they are missing that exposure to oral language,” Dominy tells Capital Daily.

“And that’s the basis for children learning to read.”

Dominy says newborns who spend more than four days in hospital are incrementally more likely to have delays in their ability to learn language; worse, it’s seldom discovered before entering formal school, and then they experience years of catch-up because “they have not had that listening foundation.”

Read more from Mark Brennae on the initiative to introduce babies to language.

NEWS

Old growth still dwindling, three years after promised protections

On Sept. 12, 2020, the provincial government commissioned an Old Growth Strategic Review; then-premier John Horgan accepted all of the panel’s recommendations and promised to implement them within a three-year timeline, but none of the 14 recommendations have been enacted.

Now a group of citizens from Metchosin, Colwood, and Sooke are hosting a forest-themed art exhibit to draw attention to the still dwindling ancient trees of Southern Vancouver Island.

“It’s a non-confrontational, inviting space for folks that might be intimidated by protests and want to be able to enter the conversation,” says Bonnie Farris, one of the members who helped put the exhibit together.

“We cannot understand how the desecration of these old-growth forests can continue.”

The exhibit will take place on Sept. 28 at the Metchosin School on Happy Valley Road, and is part of a provincewide Day of Action for Old Growth Forests.

Read more on the exhibit at The Westshore.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🚲 Free bike registration: Bring your wheels to the bike valet outside of City Hall on Wednesday to register it with the VicPD.

🐙 Saanich celebrates 65 years of the octopus at Cadboro Gyro Park with this archival photo.

🎤 Watch Mel C of the Spice Girls show Victorians why she was Sporty Spice with an up-tempo performance at Rifflandia. [Video]

🐋 See a humpback exhale in this ethereal black-and-white video taken in Island waters by photographer Liron Gertsman.

🦃 Thanksgiving feasting ready? The Root Cellar is the place for all your Thanksgiving feasting essentials – Reserve your Thanksgiving turkey NOW! Learn more at TheRootCellar.ca*

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🗞️ In Other News

Island MLA’s removal not a criminal or sexual harassment issue, Eby says
The premier says that, for human resources reasons, he can’t give specifics on why he cut Parksville-Qualicum’s Adam Walker from the BC NDP caucus this weekend. However, his comments on the misconduct investigation emphasized MLAs’ status as employers who run an office workplace. [CP]

Doc on Victoria’s Satanic Panic back in theatres
The new documentary on the 1980s Satanic Panic that began in Victoria is airing again this week at the Vic Theatre and next week at Cinecenta. Capital Daily interviewed the filmmakers this summer, and covered the panic in our own 2020 feature story.

Bonnie Henry urges patience with drug crisis at UBCM
As delegates look to expand bans on illicit drug use near child-specific spaces at the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention, Henry argues the province can’t arrest people out of this issue. Henry says while the pilot program for drug decriminalization is “not perfect,” removing the stigmatization from substance use can promote safer use, fewer instances of using alone, and potentially save lives. [Yahoo]

Turf trouble at Oak Bay High
Friends of Bowker Creek Society says remnants of rubber chunks from the school’s artificial turf field are ending up in the creek. The society says it’s tracked into the parking lot on students’ shoes and disintegrates into toxins when rain washes it into the creek. SD 61 says it has contacted the turf supplier and has taken some preliminary steps to mitigate. [CBC]

A dog owner has been fined a combined $500
Her unleashed dog was spotted chasing a great blue heron at Cadboro Bay Beach. The woman was fined $100 but when it became evident the incident happened in the Victoria Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary, a fine of $400 was added. [Times Colonist]

SPONSORED BY UWSVI

UWSVI Fundraising Campaign Goal

United Way Southern Vancouver Island (UWSVI) just launched its 2023 fundraising campaign with a goal to raise $5 million. Funds support local seniors, families, and people with mental health and addiction challenges. You can support UWSVI by donating online or buying a ticket to the Community Campaign Raffle (with amazing prizes!). If you’re considering making a leadership gift ($1200 or more), now (until Oct. 31) is the time, with a matching challenge to double your donation.

🗓️ Things to do

The Cyber Spree: See the Transformer-clad band at Capital Ballroom.

One Planet One People: Sing with the choir at today’s open house, 7-8:30pm at Pearkes Rec Centre.

Bands! Bands! Bands!: See local artists at this new concert series at Victoria Event Centre.

👀 In Case You Missed It

Monday’s headlines: Parksville-Qualicum MLA gets the boot from NDP caucus amid misconduct investigation, UBCM proposal to raise tax breaks for volunteer firefighters, and Victoria loosens restrictions on opening new childcare spaces. [Capital Daily]

The best seafood in Victoria: The three top local options as picked by readers like you. [Tasting Victoria]

📈 Stay up to date on Greater Victoria’s latest economic news, developments and insights in this weekly newsletter from economic development alliance South Island Prosperity Partnership.*

Mansion sold after 14 years, settling at $7.5M after once asking as much as $13.5M. [Oak Bay News]

Victoria firefighters rescue dog from roof. An excited pup was rescued from a rooftop by VicFD this week. [Vic News]

Sunday headlines: Huge sunfish spotted in Island waters. Suspicious death victim ID'd. The perfect fall time coffees & cocktails. [Sept. 17]

*Sponsored Listing

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