Ella Matte

Raymond and Stacey Donison won the $5-million Classic Jackpot from the Nov. 18, 2023 Lotto 6/49 draw. (Courtesy of Lotto 6/49)

‘Beers, pizza, and champagne’: B.C. couple wins $5M lotto

Vancouver Island duo will celebrate with a Hawaii vacation

Raymond and Stacey Donison won the $5-million Classic Jackpot from the Nov. 18, 2023 Lotto 6/49 draw. (Courtesy of Lotto 6/49)
Dr. John Forster-Coull at Victoria Compounding Pharmacy holds an Influenza vaccine. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

Flu vaccination numbers slip back to pre-pandemic levels: Statistics Canada

B.C. residents should get COVID-19, flu shots together: pharmacist

Dr. John Forster-Coull at Victoria Compounding Pharmacy holds an Influenza vaccine. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
Oscar and Libby store owner Teri Hustins reports that the store makes a quarter of of their annual income during the 24 days of the holiday season. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

‘Pinched’ B.C. shoppers using credit cards less amid Christmas season

78% of Canadians plan to cut back on holiday spending, according to survey

Oscar and Libby store owner Teri Hustins reports that the store makes a quarter of of their annual income during the 24 days of the holiday season. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
Perry Chow, who has diabetes, stands beside the pickup truck he wasn’t allowed to drive for five weeks while his licence was suspended. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

Mixup ends in suspension of diabetic man’s driver’s licence in Victoria

Delayed mail and letters land driver in car trouble

Perry Chow, who has diabetes, stands beside the pickup truck he wasn’t allowed to drive for five weeks while his licence was suspended. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
BC Ferries has cancelled several sailings due to forecasted high winds for Vancouver Island for this evening. (Black Press Media photo file)

BC Ferries cancels some sailings as high winds predicted

BC Ferries will continue to monitor the weather system and share further information

BC Ferries has cancelled several sailings due to forecasted high winds for Vancouver Island for this evening. (Black Press Media photo file)
Mona Consignment store owner Deanne Young by the loungewear racks. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

B.C. consignment store sees surge in people dumping COVID-19 clothing

Many no longer wear the leisure wear they purchased during the pandemic, so they consign it

Mona Consignment store owner Deanne Young by the loungewear racks. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
The AccessBC campaign for free prescription contraceptives started in Saanich in 2017. Six years later the motion passed. (Courtesy of AccessBC)

Grassroots group celebrates campaign that gave B.C. free contraception

A few friends complaining about expensive birth control turned into a provincial motion

The AccessBC campaign for free prescription contraceptives started in Saanich in 2017. Six years later the motion passed. (Courtesy of AccessBC)
Vancouver was the ‘rattiest’ city in B.C. in 2023. (Black Press Media file photo)

B.C. communities dominate list of ‘rattiest’ cities in Canada

Vancouver, Burnaby and Kelowna are included in the top 5

Vancouver was the ‘rattiest’ city in B.C. in 2023. (Black Press Media file photo)
Two Victoria Clipper vessels pass each other. One is on the way to Seattle and the other is about to dock at the Belleville Terminal, which is set to be redeveloped. (Black Press Media Photo File)

$303M redevelopment of Victoria/Washington State ferry link moves forward

Request issued for design and construction of downtown Belleville terminal

Two Victoria Clipper vessels pass each other. One is on the way to Seattle and the other is about to dock at the Belleville Terminal, which is set to be redeveloped. (Black Press Media Photo File)
Jennifer Bonnell posing with her book Stewards of Splendor: A History of Wildlife and People in British Columbia. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

‘Stewards of Splendor’: new book charts history of B.C.’s people and wildlife

The 496-page book presents B.C. findings from 1774 to the present

Jennifer Bonnell posing with her book Stewards of Splendor: A History of Wildlife and People in British Columbia. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
Cole Alexander is a Saanich teenager trying to get his driver’s licence. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

B.C. family cries foul over driving test delay due to diabetes

A processing delay with teen’s medical form makes him unable to book a test

Cole Alexander is a Saanich teenager trying to get his driver’s licence. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
BC Community Bat Program is encouraging people to get involved this coming Bat Week. (Courtesy of Osoyoos Desert Centre)

B.C. Bat Week a fang-tastic time to learn about our only flying mammals

The BC Community Bat Program has a variety of ways to contribute during the week

BC Community Bat Program is encouraging people to get involved this coming Bat Week. (Courtesy of Osoyoos Desert Centre)
Grade 4 student Finely Comartin is dyslexic and since doing online tutoring he has moved up eight reading levels. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

‘Absolutely unfair’: Families of B.C. dyslexic children spending thousands

Parents are requesting the province provide funded diagnoses and updated learning material

Grade 4 student Finely Comartin is dyslexic and since doing online tutoring he has moved up eight reading levels. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
A teenager was arrested after a fire was set in a BC Ferries ship’s washroom. (Black Press Media Photo File)

Teenager arrested after fire set in washroom on BC Ferries ship

Ship was headed to Swartz Bay

A teenager was arrested after a fire was set in a BC Ferries ship’s washroom. (Black Press Media Photo File)
Forest ecologist Becky Miller showing the flammability of a grand fur tree. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

Why Parks Canada wants to eradicate invasive deer from B.C. island

As pushback mounts, advocates answer questions about process and timeline of Victoria area project

Forest ecologist Becky Miller showing the flammability of a grand fur tree. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
BC Transit user scanning their monthly transit pass on the mobile app Umo to ride the bus. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

BC Transit rolls out $23.2M electronic fare system

Nanaimo and other BC transit regions will adopt the fare system in the future

BC Transit user scanning their monthly transit pass on the mobile app Umo to ride the bus. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
Jordan Reichert, campaign director of Animal Alliance of Canada, is displeased with the eradication of fallow deer on Sidney Island. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

Plan to eradicate fallow deer population from B.C. island faces backlash

Animal Alliance of Canada speaks out about alternative methods to preserve Sidney Island ecosystem

Jordan Reichert, campaign director of Animal Alliance of Canada, is displeased with the eradication of fallow deer on Sidney Island. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
Passengers stand on the top outside deck of the BC Ferries’ vessel Coastal Celebration in Active Pass during a sailing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. (Black Press Media Photo File)

8 sailings a day cancelled on Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen route after boat breaks

Coastal Celebration sailings won’t return until late next week, says BC Ferries

Passengers stand on the top outside deck of the BC Ferries’ vessel Coastal Celebration in Active Pass during a sailing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. (Black Press Media Photo File)
A trench rainwater tree plant in Vancouver on Richards Street to help cool the surface area of the local environment. (Courtesy of PICS)

$180K B.C. project uses trees to combat extreme heat waves in Vancouver

‘Urban forests are essential for adapting to climate change’

A trench rainwater tree plant in Vancouver on Richards Street to help cool the surface area of the local environment. (Courtesy of PICS)
Cargo containers are unloaded from the Maersk Stockholm ship with gantry cranes while docked at port in Vancouver. (Black Press Media File Photo)

B.C. school studies Canada’s first zero-carbon emissions shipping corridor

‘This project will be contributing to the global discussion of where shipping is going’

Cargo containers are unloaded from the Maersk Stockholm ship with gantry cranes while docked at port in Vancouver. (Black Press Media File Photo)