The Radio Malaspina Society has announced that the nonprofit radio station CHLY 101.7 FM will be moving into the historic Globe Hotel building at 25 Front St. The society plans to use the property as a multimedia production space as well as a gathering place for community groups. The move comes after over a decade of operating out of a single studio below the Queen’s Hotel.
Dylan Perry, VIU Student and CHLY’s Program Manager, says that the opportunity to acquire the space came as a bit of a surprise but fits nicely with the strategic plans of the society to expand their role as a ...
On Feb. 15 the Nanaimo chapter of the Sierra Club held their event “Phasing out Pipelines–Folding in Clean Energy” at the Painted Turtle Guesthouse. The event was part of Spotlight Earth, an inaugural provincial-wide festival created by Vancouver-based group, Global Activators. Spotlight Earth combines education, arts, action and fundraising to raise awareness around the issues of oil sands pipelines, tanker traffic, and climate change.
Since Oct. 2012, Carla Stein, Sierra Club Nanaimo organizer, and her daughter, Rachelle Stein-Wotten, have been creating “3D petitions” against ...
KAMLOOPS (CUP)—Those affected by the student loan privacy breach announced on Jan. 11 are organizing and demanding government accountability.
“Student loan borrowers affected by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s (HRSDC) privacy breach,” a facebook group of 2,459 borrowers (as of 12:27 a.m. PST on Jan. 31) has organized, with more than 250 signing a letter released on Monday, Jan. 28.
The letter expresses concerns over HRSDC latest solution to the breach, an offer of a free fraud alert flag provided by credit bureau Equifax, something HRSDC said normally costs ...
Have you ever wanted to learn more about the Harbour City’s rich cultural heritage? The City of Nanaimo’s Heritage Commission is inviting the public to attend their annual Heritage Summit on Feb. 20 at the Nanaimo Museum from 7–9 p.m.
The 11th annual summit is part of National Heritage Week, Feb. 18–24, which raises awareness of heritage and history with activities across Canada. The summit also offers the community a chance to network with local organizations interested in heritage issues.
In recognition of Heritage B.C.’s 2013 theme of “Good Neighbours–Heritage Homes and ...
Idle No More supporters staged an information demonstration at Departure Bay Ferry Terminal on Feb. 11 to raise awareness and garner public support from Family Day travellers.
A canoe was symbolically launched at 2 p.m. to signal the beginning of the demonstration and to signify the “presence of the water” in the rally, as stated in a press release. Soon, a 200-person strong wave of demonstrators marched from the rocky boat launch towards the ferry terminal.
“With the new stat holiday, we wanted to take this opportunity to hand out information to help educate the larger public on ...
Cora Schiller is well-travelled, educated, and healthy. She owns an aesthetics and boutique store in Qualicum Beach, B.C. And she has an addiction. She describes this addiction as “magical” and says that for the past four-and-a-half years, it has had a huge effect on not only her mind and body, but her soul.
“It effects my life in every way,” says Schiller, 45. “It makes me happy, it lets me be creative, and it’s becoming ridiculous. All I do is think and dream about freaking hooping.”
Hoops are often mistaken as simply toys. In the 1950s they were introduced to the mainstream by ...
The Nanaimo River Estuary is the fifth largest estuary on the coast of B.C., and the largest on Vancouver Island. Fed by the two main branches of the Nanaimo River, the estuary lies between Duke Point and the south end of downtown Nanaimo. The land is home to the Snuneymuxw First Nations, and is used today for recreation and log storage. In the past two decades, the estuary has garnered renewed attention from First Nations, academics, and the general public, who are concerned for the future of this rich biological system.
In 2009, Steven Earle, a professor in the Earth Science ...
Once, the “Gates of Knowledge” were opened wide to me, but I turned my back on them and walked away. Instead, I willfully crossed the “Gates of Life University,” but a diploma from the university of life came at a high cost—economic and emotional—and did not guarantee success in any specific field. Hard work and luck would. Of course, the former depended totally on me, the condition of my health, stamina, and dedication. The latter was totally providential.
Throughout my life, I never envied people who had money, beauty, or fame, but I did envy those who had benefited from higher ...
Every so often, especially on rainy days or during times of stress, I daydream about the foods I grew up with. While this list does include packaged mac & cheese and packaged mashed potato flakes (I called it fish food), I also find myself thinking about bannock and homemade jam. This recipe is a modernized version on a comforting classic. A note about bannock: there are many species of this wonderful bread. Some of it is deep-fried and dubbed fry-bread, and some of it has a very soft texture. This particular bannock recipe is quite biscuity and stands up well as a slider ...
Evidentially, for Nanaimo-based alternative rock band Gold & Shadow, friendship and creativity are the catalysts that result in a stimulating musical reaction.
The group has been around since 2008, when founding member Dane Letourneau (vocals, guitar, keyboard) got together with current member Jesse Janzen (vocals, bass, drums) and a few other friends to experiment with tracks Letourneau had written.
“I had been coming up with some instrumental ditties on my laptop and recording them to eventually form most of what would be 2008’s Castles Will Burn. I brought some other friends ...
Some people run marathons. Some people write novels. A few people even read all of Finnegans Wake. My point is that everyone has some goal in mind that is both ambitious yet achievable, and this year I set out to finally achieve my goal of seeing all the Best Picture nominees before the Oscar ceremony. I know, it’s formidable.
This ambition formed a few years ago; it seemed very possible once I turned 18, but the Academy was not going to make things easy. In 2009, after forgetting The Dark Knight, the category was doubled to 10 films. Challenge accepted.
During the fall, as studios ...
Nanaimo Arts Council Awards
The deadline for the 2013 Nanaimo Arts Council Bursary and Achievement Awards is Mar. 15 at 5:30 p.m.
Individuals of all ages and artistic disciplines are encouraged to apply for the awards, which provide funding for tuition, supplies, or equipment to applicants who are looking to continue, or begin, studies in the arts at universities, colleges, or educational workshops.
Applicants must live in the Nanaimo area or plan to participate in courses in the Nanaimo area. Applications require information on the field or discipline of study, planned attendance of ...
On Feb. 1 and 2, audiences were treated to 14 creative, clever, and climactic short films featured in this year’s Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF). The 8th annual festival, which was held in the Malaspina Theatre, included films from Vancouver Island artists and from other parts of Canada. The films selected for the festival by a team of award-winning artists and filmmakers—Sarah Schwartz, Brendan Tang, and VIU Visual Art professor Gregory Ball—and each selection had something interesting to offer. Awards, determined by judges Terence Fitzgerald and VIU Media Studies ...
Nicholas Hoult plays R, a zombie who cannot remember his full name. He shuffles around an airport with dry, witty narration filling his thoughts. M (Rob Corddry) is his best friend, and sometimes they get hungry and team up to go look for brains. During one of these meals out, R eats the brains of Perry (Dave Franco), and R finds Perry’s feelings for his girlfriend Julie (Teresa Palmer) becoming his own. R then saves Julie and hides her in his Wall-E-like shelter full of the remnants of human society.
Director Jonathan Levine made the indie coming-of-age film The Wackness, which was ...
Maartin Bayliss’ Wolf Thief EP is an album that challenges both alternative and electro expectations to create a sound that is entirely new.
Bayliss, who is from Nanaimo, has been involved in many different musical groups, and has pursued several different genres in his musical career—he played in Nanaimo-based punk band The 80th Action, recorded electro-albums under various names, and released a solo album titled The Things I Could’ve Said in Apr. 2012. Wolf Thief EP is his first, self-titled release under the title of his latest electronic endeavour.
Citing influences such as ...
It’s not often a sports team comprised almost entirely of first- and second-year players garners the praise of its coach, but that’s exactly what VIU’s badminton squad has done this season.
Of the 13 players on the Mariner’s roster to start the campaign, only three are beyond sophomore status. Regardless, coach Janice Walker is not only impressed by the team’s skill but also the players’ ambition to continue improving.
“Sometimes you’ll get a few that are real keeners and you’ve always got some who will come in and don’t have as much badminton background, and I find that this year the ...
Reigning North West League champions Vancouver Canadians will continue serving as an affiliate club for the Toronto Blue Jays with a new extension through 2016.
The Canadians were named Toronto’s Short Season A affiliate in 2011, and have since collected back-to-back league titles and registered record-breaking attendances at Nat Bailey Stadium.
They are the only baseball club in Canada to have an affiliation with a Major League Baseball franchise. Vancouver was a farm club to the Oakland Athletics prior to its relationship with the Blue Jays.
The agreement benefits Toronto as ...
Spring is on the horizon, temperatures are beginning to rise, and so too are the stakes at VIU, meaning only one thing: the PacWest Provincial Championships are around the corner.
The Mariners’ volleyball, basketball, and badminton teams compete at Provincials this month with PacWest conference bragging rights and a trip to CCAA National Championships on the line.
Each women’s and men’s team will head to their tournaments in excellent position to challenge for the championship, sitting near the top of their respective standings. Here’s a look at your Mariner’s as they embark ...
Feb. is Canada’s unofficial Mental Illness Awareness Month and popular sports icons across the country are leading the charge to increase an open dialogue.
Two major awareness campaigns take place this month, Bell’s Let’s Talk Day and the National Hockey League’s month-long Hockey Talks movement. The goal of each is to remove the stigma associated with mental illness to create an open dialogue for those suffering.
The main spokesperson of Let’s Talk is six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes, an iconic Canadian athlete who unknowingly suffered from depression for years during her ...
The 2012–13 season was the Nanaimo Buccaneers’ first in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) so why not finish first in their division?
On Thursday, Feb. 7 the Buccaneers’ home game win against the Westshore Wolves secured their first place lead in the North Division of the VIJHL. After dominating the period, Beau Blanaru of the Bucs opened the scoring at 17:45 of the first period with assists going to Garrett Dunlop and Will McNamara. Despite being out played, out skilled, and out skated the Wolves were able to go into the first intermission holding Nanaimo to a one goal ...
SACKVILLE (CUP)—Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) has had to deal with several large-scale issues over the past few years, with the problems lying in the schools themselves. Hazing, steroids, and eligibility issues have raised huge controversy in recent times, and the league, as well as its schools, has had to impose harsh sanctions on the teams involved.
Although the schools usually administer the punishment, often it comes down to oversights or lack of supervision by the athletics departments on their teams that cause these issues to come up.
In 2005, the CIS was rocked by ...
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All Signs
Maintaining equilibrium, or allowing old ideas to die and fertilize the soul so that new possibilities can grow, is painstaking at times and requires attention and fortitude. However, doing so with an added layer of politics, the negotiation one uses to navigate through the daily stress of external demands, can make the whole process feel overwhelming. But what if we decide not to pay attention to the surface and self-distracting jabber that is the world wanting to take our attention away from what is important? What if we turn the politicking around to suit our needs? Say, ...
Media needs to get past the smart-pretty dichotomy
Dear Navigator,
I would like to draw your attention to recent events in the media and how they have been covered by other newspapers and blogs.
First, South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius has recently been charged for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. These events have made headlines due to Pistorius’s Olympic fame, but the media have also reported the story in other, more troubling ways.
For instance, Steenkamp was a successful activist, model, and earned a Bachelor of Laws that lead her to work as a ...
