Lauren Collins

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Howard Geddes Skelding was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of assault causing bodily harm and forcible confinement for assaulting a SkyTrain attendant back in 2021. (Now-Leader file photo)

B.C. sex offender gets 10 years for assault on SkyTrain attendant

Howard Geddes Skelding was released into Surrey in 2020, 11 months before the assault

Howard Geddes Skelding was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of assault causing bodily harm and forcible confinement for assaulting a SkyTrain attendant back in 2021. (Now-Leader file photo)
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks Thursday (May 16) ahead of the final sitting of day of the provincial legislature and the upcoming fall election. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

B.C. premier marks last day of legislature with campaign-style rally speech

B.C. gearing up for provincial election in the fall

B.C. Premier David Eby speaks Thursday (May 16) ahead of the final sitting of day of the provincial legislature and the upcoming fall election. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer’s uniform on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Three men have been charged in a Vancouver police investigation into a fentanyl lab. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

3 men charged in fentanyl lab investigation by Vancouver police

14-month investigation led to seizure of $7.8M worth of suspected fentanyl, cocaine

A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer’s uniform on Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Three men have been charged in a Vancouver police investigation into a fentanyl lab. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
North Vancouver RCMP is investigating after a beloved pet chicken was stolen from a home in the early hours of May 11, 2024. (North Vancouver RCMP handout)

Family devastated after chicken stolen from North Vancouver home

CCTV footage shows 2 men entering the coop and snatching Snowflake the chicken

North Vancouver RCMP is investigating after a beloved pet chicken was stolen from a home in the early hours of May 11, 2024. (North Vancouver RCMP handout)
The Vancouver Barwatch program is upping its current groping ban to two years from one, the organization announced May 13, 2024. (Pixabay)

Vancouver barwatch program increases groping ban to 2 years

Offenders will also be immediately evicted, and the incident will be reported to Vancouver police

The Vancouver Barwatch program is upping its current groping ban to two years from one, the organization announced May 13, 2024. (Pixabay)
Whitney Burnand was in a freak accident in 1993 when she was five years old when the boat she was on in Ladysmith harbour exploded. Burnand was left with burns on 55 per cent of her body. (Whitney Burnand/Contributed to Black Press Media)

B.C. camp helped teen left with burns on 55% of her body after boat accident

The Hometown Heroes Lottery supports the B.C. Burn Fund and its annual week-long camp

Whitney Burnand was in a freak accident in 1993 when she was five years old when the boat she was on in Ladysmith harbour exploded. Burnand was left with burns on 55 per cent of her body. (Whitney Burnand/Contributed to Black Press Media)
Coquitlam RCMP is looking for additional victims after police recovered more than $50,000 worth of sports memorabilia that was stolen from a storage locker. (Coquitlam RCMP handout)

$50K worth of NHL, NFL, other sports memorabilia recovered by B.C. RCMP

Stolen items included signed Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson jerseys and Muhammad Ali photos

Coquitlam RCMP is looking for additional victims after police recovered more than $50,000 worth of sports memorabilia that was stolen from a storage locker. (Coquitlam RCMP handout)
The Northern Rockies Regional Municipalities issued an evacuation alert May 9, 2024 at the recommendation of BC Widlfire Service due to the potential risk of wildfires in the Patry and Nogah creek areas. (Northern Rockies Regional Municipalities)

2 wildfires lead to evacuation alerts in northeastern B.C.

North Rockies Regional Municipalities issues alerts in Patry and Nogah creek areas

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipalities issued an evacuation alert May 9, 2024 at the recommendation of BC Widlfire Service due to the potential risk of wildfires in the Patry and Nogah creek areas. (Northern Rockies Regional Municipalities)
A police officer runs past debris and fires after rioters burned police cars after the Vancouver Canucks were defeated by the Boston Bruins in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday June 15, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Collaboration key in keeping Canuck viewing parties family-friendly

Vancouver is planning smaller, neighbourhood gatherings for Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs

A police officer runs past debris and fires after rioters burned police cars after the Vancouver Canucks were defeated by the Boston Bruins in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday June 15, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
ICBC CEO David Wong says eligible drivers will get a $110-rebate in summer 2024 after better-than-expected investment returns. (The Canadian Press files)

$110-rebate coming to B.C. drivers by end of July: ICBC CEO

No increase in basic insurance rate until at least March 1, 2026

ICBC CEO David Wong says eligible drivers will get a $110-rebate in summer 2024 after better-than-expected investment returns. (The Canadian Press files)
Paramedics respond to a call as Vancouver city councillor Jean Swanson attends a march to remember those who died during the overdose crisis and to call for a safe supply of illicit drugs on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

572 British Columbians died of fatal overdoses in first 3 months of 2024

Rate of death among women, girls is climbing year over year: BC Coroners Service

Paramedics respond to a call as Vancouver city councillor Jean Swanson attends a march to remember those who died during the overdose crisis and to call for a safe supply of illicit drugs on International Overdose Awareness Day, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
An aerial shot of the Tla’amin community of t̓išosəm (tishosum), meaning “where the waters run milky with herring spawn.” (Courtesy of Georgia Coombs)

A B.C. First Nation’s 3-year effort to change a city’s name

Powell River’s name currently reflect a man whose main goal was to assimilate Indigenous people

An aerial shot of the Tla’amin community of t̓išosəm (tishosum), meaning “where the waters run milky with herring spawn.” (Courtesy of Georgia Coombs)
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island on Thursday (May 2). (Earthquakes Canada)

4.8-magnitude earthquake recorded west of Vancouver Island

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island on Thursday (May…

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island on Thursday (May 2). (Earthquakes Canada)
B.C. has the country’s highest rate of adults co-owning a home with their parents – and immigrant parents are more likely to co-own properties with their adult children, a new report from Statistics Canada showed (Pixabay)

Adults more likely to co-own homes with their parents in B.C. than elsewhere

Co-ownership also more likely among immigrant families, Statistics Canada says

B.C. has the country’s highest rate of adults co-owning a home with their parents – and immigrant parents are more likely to co-own properties with their adult children, a new report from Statistics Canada showed (Pixabay)
App logos for Facebook, left, and X, formerly known as Twitter. The Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered a man to pay $5,200 to another man in one of the first rulings under B.C.’s new Intimate Images Protection Act. (AP Photo/Paula Ulichney)

B.C. man to pay $5K for sharing stranger’s nearly nude photos on social media

Civil Resolution Tribunal has made more than 30 decisions under the Intimate Images Protection Act

App logos for Facebook, left, and X, formerly known as Twitter. The Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered a man to pay $5,200 to another man in one of the first rulings under B.C.’s new Intimate Images Protection Act. (AP Photo/Paula Ulichney)
The Kitimat General Hospital and emergency department. (File photo)

Addictions specialists at hospitals among plans for B.C.’s drug-use ban

The government has listed 7 actions the Health Ministry plans to take ‘to make hospitals safer’

The Kitimat General Hospital and emergency department. (File photo)
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during an announcement in Delta, B.C., on Monday, March 18, 2024. The provincial government announced Friday (April 26) that it would be moving to band drug use in more public spaces, specifically inside hospitals, on transit and in parks. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. to ban drug use in public spaces, including inside hospitals

Province working with feds to make changes to legality of possession

B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during an announcement in Delta, B.C., on Monday, March 18, 2024. The provincial government announced Friday (April 26) that it would be moving to band drug use in more public spaces, specifically inside hospitals, on transit and in parks. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Canned products sit on shelves at a food bank in Ottawa, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Food Banks BC executive director Dan Huang-Taylor said that in March there were just under 98,000 people in B.C. accessing Food Banks BC’s 107 member organizations. It’s the highest Food Banks BC has seen, and a 30-per-cent increase from 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Food Banks BC sees 30% increase in users since 2022

Executive director says cost of living, climate emergencies all contributors

Canned products sit on shelves at a food bank in Ottawa, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Food Banks BC executive director Dan Huang-Taylor said that in March there were just under 98,000 people in B.C. accessing Food Banks BC’s 107 member organizations. It’s the highest Food Banks BC has seen, and a 30-per-cent increase from 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The factory at Strathnaver near Quesnel is owned by Drax, a company specializing in turning under-utilized wood and sawmill waste fibre into burnable energy pellets. (Frank Peebles photo - Quesnel Cariboo Observer)

Demand for wood pellets fuelling B.C. forest loss, report claims

Forests Minister says source materials are actually sawmills, shavings, chips, forest residues

The factory at Strathnaver near Quesnel is owned by Drax, a company specializing in turning under-utilized wood and sawmill waste fibre into burnable energy pellets. (Frank Peebles photo - Quesnel Cariboo Observer)
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu rises during Question Period, in Ottawa, Monday, April 15, 2024. Hajdu was stopped at Lytton First Nation on April 24, 2024 to announce $1.3 million for the First Nation through the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Feds to ‘fast-track’ 20 homes for Lytton First Nation, 3 years after wildfire

$1.3M for 20 new units, construction of 175 more homes in next decade: Indigenous Services Minister

Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu rises during Question Period, in Ottawa, Monday, April 15, 2024. Hajdu was stopped at Lytton First Nation on April 24, 2024 to announce $1.3 million for the First Nation through the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld