Sept 9 - Island wins half of Canada's golds

Good morning !

Hope you had a great weekend. A few Island athletes did, and now they're bringing new medals back to BC from Paris. Read more, and see some of their Paralympic feats, below.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today ⛅ 20 / 11

Tuesday: ☀️ 19 / 11

Wednesday: ☁️ 16 / 10

7-day forecast

NEWS

Islanders won half of Canada’s Paralympic gold medals

The national team finished Paris with 29 medals including 10 golds; 5 of those golds were won by athletes who were born on, raised on, or currently living on the Island. 

Pair of Paralympians win their second golds and set records

These Islanders were the only Canadians to reach gold twice. Victoria wheelchair racer Cody Fournie set a Paralympic record time (19.63 seconds) in his 100m-T51 victory on Friday.

Meanwhile, Parksville's Nicholas Bennett easily won the 200m individual medley SM14 with a Paralympic record that fell just short of his own world record. Last weekend these two Islanders won Canada’s first two golds of the Paris games. 

Victoria-based racers grab medals in final days

Another locally training wheelchair racer, third-time Paralympian Austin Smeenk, won gold on Saturday. That adds to his prior bronze and his world records set earlier this year. He led the whole way in the T34 800m to finish in 1:39.27. Smeenk, originally from Ontario, has spastic paraplegia. 

Nate Riech of Victoria was born in the US to a family with an Olympian father, a Team Canada pole-vaulting mother, and an NHL grandfather. He holds the world record in the 1500m T38 Final, a foot race he specialized in after his right side became affected by a childhood brain injury. He secured silver by just 0.01 seconds, in what he expects will be his last Paralympics. 

Bennett chosen as flagbearer

For the second time in just a month, a young East Island man co-carried the Canada flag at the closing ceremonies. Like Ethan Katzberg at the Olympics, Nicholas Bennett's podium success saw him selected as the country's male flagbearer.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Air Quality: 3 (low risk). Smoke expected to recede. UV index high (6)

Some wind, which will lower temps about 3 degrees where it blows onshore.

Hwy 4 delays to/from Tofino for road repairs. 24/7 single-laning  from today to Oct. 18

Navy training going on, today to Friday, at Bentinck Island / Rocky Point / Whirl Bay. 

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

FOOD

This summer’s top dishes in Victoria

Despite the warmth last week and this weekend, the summer is starting to slip by into the rearview. But that doesn't mean we can’t still meet and eat like it's July. And after a few months of sampling food and drink in the city, we’ve come up with a list of the season’s best.

From hearty dinner plates and late night cocktails to midday sandwiches and baked goods, these are the foods and drinks that Tasting Victoria thinks you should try before summer 2024 fully fades away.

Read about them here. 

SPONSORED BY THE CANADIAN CLUB OF VICTORIA

First event of the 2024-25 Program

Don’t miss out on the Royal BC Museum tour and luncheon on September 18, featuring Board Chair, Dr. Leslie Brown.

Whose Stories Count? Challenges and Opportunities for the Royal BC Museum

Museums tell stories, but whose stories get included and whose do not? This talk explores some of the stories that the RBCM has told in the past, the ones it is currently telling and the challenges and opportunities that future storytelling holds in our commitment to reconciliation, inclusivity and respect for all.

Luncheon will be held at the Hotel Grand Pacific. Visit the website for details!

⭐️ Capital Picks

🦉 A northern pygmy owl, on a branch and on the wing, near Nanaimo. [Facebook photos]

📚 International Literacy Day was yesterday; check out the Greater Victoria Public Library's curated book list marking the occasion. 

👅 6 tasting menus to try in Victoria. [Tasting Victoria]

🕷 “Painted with gold”: A jumping spider on a Japanese Maple leaf in Comox Valley. [Photos]

💪 Why get a Dexa body composition scan? A Dexa scan gives you a complete picture of your bone density, lean mass, and fat tissue and helps identify health risks. Book now at Tall Tree Health.*

*Sponsored Listing

🗞️ In Other News

Friday was one of Victoria's 10 hottest September days 
The high of 29.8C was tied for 6th place in records dating back to 1898. [YYJ Weather Records]

By allowing low parking, Victoria aims to trim digging costs for new housing
New council approvals went to a Quadra 91-unit tower, replacing the Abbey, with just 4 parking spots, and a 56-unit mixed-use with 19 spots. The Victoria Real Estate Board chair said that though some buyers would pay more for places with parking, more options and lower costs will help overall. [Times Colonist] 

Orange Shirt Day group expedites eye surgery for local support worker
A Squamish Nation woman has kept working in local Indigenous supportive housing despite losing sight for two years and taking several major falls. Orange Shirt Day took out a loan to get her private eye surgery, and is now holding a raffle to offset those costs. [CHEK]

🗓️ Things to do

📸 Free public photo show: For the Victoria Camera Club's 80th anniversary, the Bay Centre is displaying 100+ juried photos taken by club members. Noon-5pm, Tues.-Sun. 

🚂 Victoria Model Railway Show is Sun. at Mary Winspear. 10am-4pm.

 🎶 Rifflandia is on this weekend at its new harbour in Rock Bay. [Info]

⚓ Ship Point music continues tomorrow. 6-7pm from Ryan Oliver Soul Jazz Quartet.

🚥 Last week for Night Illuminations, which lights up the Butchart Gardens in the evenings. Get a glimpse of it in this photo from reader Bennett Guinn:

📆 More events this week: Subscribe to This Week In Vic to get the full list.

👀 In Case You Missed It

Seals make UVic sensors their dinner bell: Researchers were testing fish responses to sonar & light; like Pavlov's dog, the seals learned that those things meant food was around. [Capital Daily]

Ferry in repairs for 6 months: Plus: An intense ultramarathon in the Westshore. A nasty mess on the tennis court. [Sept. 8 newsletter]

Sat. news: Ferry propeller sinks. Vic tourism rises. [Sept. 7]

Jasper wildfire now listed as under control. [Global]

Colour-changing spider: This flower crab spider matches a pink flower—for now. 

Where to find great burgers in the Westshore. [The Westshore]

New one-take video from Victoria pop-funk singer Diamond Cafe, now based in LA. “Sweet Cherry”

That’s it!

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