Your dedicated community reporter (that’s me) is pleased to announce the results of our community-powered story poll. As voted on by you, the people of the Cowichan Valley, my next investigation will be:
🏗️Development and growth: Are we making good decisions for this community’s future?
The top pick barely edged out the other options, which tells me that there’s a big need for better reporting on all of the story ideas, surfaced by you. I hope I can get to them all, and more, in due time.
Thank you so much for being a part of this process. If you have ideas of what specifically I should look into that falls under the umbrella of development and growth, let me know.
Meet your neighbours
Angela Pistrucci is an artist who lives in Shawnigan Lake, and works out of a studio at Collective Space in Duncan. Her life was thrown for a loop a few years ago when she discovered that she is the great, great, great grandniece of the renowned artist Benedetto Pistrucci, chief medalist of the Royal Mint in London.
She always had an affinity for engravings and relief work, but didn’t know she had these art forms running in her blood. She has since designed coins for mints in Britain and Italy, including modern interpretations of coins, made famous by her ancestor, like this one.
She says that, to her, the Cowichan Valley is a beautiful and healthy place. “The people here are interested in community and they’re friendly. It’s a really great community for sure. I like the fact that people in the Cowichan Valley are really down-to-earth and they’re rational people. You feel like you’re in an environment where everybody’s family.”
News of the week
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Across B.C., just 1.4 per cent of proportional representation ballots have been returned so far, CTV News reports. Three percent have been returned from the Cowichan Valley as of Wednesday. Elections BC must receive ballots by 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 30. Eligible voters who have not received a ballot can request one through Nov. 23.
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A new online tool will help people easily access information about proposed developments in North Cowichan, the Cowichan Valley Citizen reports. The “Building North Cowichan” tool will cost about $14,000 to implement and is expected to launch early next year.
- The B.C. government announced Tuesday that it will reduce the speed limit on Hwy. 1 between Cowichan Bay and Nanaimo and 14 other sections of B.C. highways, Victoria News reports. The announcement came the day after a fatal crash on that stretch of highway, outside the Nanaimo airport.
Let’s gather
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Nov. 10: Tourism Chemainus will host the 5k Family Fun Pumpkin Spice Run, with proceeds going to the Cowichan Neighbourhood House Association.
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Nov. 10: Riot Brewing turns two! Celebrate with live music and beer from 1 p.m. until late.
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Nov. 10: Cowichan Folk Guild’s November Coffeehouse will feature songwriter Kim June Johnson, followed by an open stage.
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Nov. 14: The Cowichan Women Against Violence Society will say farewell to outgoing executive director Jane Sterk and welcome new executive director Debbie Berg with snacks, refreshments, and stories. [end]
Editor’s note, Nov. 8, 2018: An earlier version of this story misspelled the word homelessness in the graph. This is from the Cowichan Valley weekly newsletter. Make sure you subscribe here.
