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B.C. Santa fired for naughty photos has new gigs

A Santa Claus fired from Penticton’s Cherry Lane Shopping Centre earlier this week for naughty photos taken on his own time offsite has received overwhelming support from the community, with new requests for his services pouring in. “I (previously) had just three or four bookings because the mall had tied me up for so much time, I really didn’t have time to do much else,” Gary Haupt says.…

Naturespeak: Best of both worlds—deciduous conifers

on a spur-of-the-moment trip last year, I saw the ravages mountain pine beetles have caused in the lush forests near Jasper National Park. Since the 1990s, this wood-boring insect has attacked nearly 50 per cent of the total volume of commercial lodgepole pine in British Columbia.…

British Columbians support mobile phone ban in classrooms

Mb>The government of Ontario has provided its share of controversial decisions since the election of a Progressive Conservative majority government in 2018. One that has garnered coverage all over Canada was a proposal to restrict the use of mobile phones in K-12 classrooms, with an exception if the devices are required for health or medical purposes, or to support educational needs as decided by an instructor.…

This is how to avoid shopping scams on social media: BBB

The Better Business Bureau is warning holiday shoppers to be on the lookout for fraud when purchasing items from a social media seller. The latest scam, according to BBB, involves an Instagram seller dealing in rare and unique sneakers.…

LIBERTÉ: A Call to Spy brings little-known history to light

Film about female spies in Second World War gets North American premiere at Whistler Film Festival

When Sarah Megan Thomas set out to write her latest film, she cast a wide net. “I always start with a genre that I think is commercial and lacking in female empowerment stories that will also attract a male audience,” she says.…

Whistler girl’s legacy of love lives on

Do It For the Love foundation raises half a million dollars 18 months after Mischa Arnott’s passing

at an electrifying fundraising concert in San Francisco last month, musician Michael Franti took the stage, a delicate red glass heart from a Whistler girl hanging from his mic stand. The heart was a present from 11-year-old Mischa Arnott, given to Franti and his wife Sara Agah Franti to thank them for making her musical wish come true—seeing and meeting Katy Perry in concert last year and telling her, when Perry asked, that “Roar” was the song she was hoping to hear the most.…

Failure to address climate crisis puts children at risk

On Nov. 12, Veneto, Italy’s regional council was debating climate policy in its Venice offices. Minutes after a majority voted against budget amendments to address climate disruption, the chambers were inundated with water.…

Ellis eighth to start luge season

Pemberton luger enjoys great start to 2019-20

THOUGH SHE’S just 17, Trinity Ellis already has her first Viessmann FIL World Cup top-10 finished under her belt. The Pemberton product posted an eighth-place finish at the season-opening race in Igls, Austria on Nov. 23, finishing 0.290 seconds off the pace set by winner Tatyana Ivanova of Russia.…

B.C. tour company ordered to pay $35K for using bait to attract bears

COS says it’s the highest fine ever imposed by a B.C. court for such an offence

CLEARWATER, B.C.—The British Columbia Conservation Officer Service says a guiding company in the province has received the highest-ever fine imposed by a B.C. court for using bait to attract bears. A statement from the service says a judge in Clearwater imposed a $35,000 fine this week on Russell and Debra Critchlow.…

A highly unscientific ranking of movie-theatre junk food

Get your fill during the Whistler Film Festival, Dec. 4-8

Last week, my esteemed fellow foodie columnist, Glenda Bartosh, dished with another esteemed Pique columnist, film writer Feet Banks (we’re all esteemed around these parts), about his favourite cinematic food scenes. Following in their footsteps, and in honour of the 19th annual Whistler Film Festival, I’ve decided to compile a highly unscientific ranking of movie-theatre snacks, those sticky, salty and sweet treats that play the perfect accompaniment to our most formative cinematic memories.…

This Whistler grassroots movement has collected tons of garbage along Highway 99

Organizer Yoann Barelli hopes to take the idea global

If you’ve driven on the highway over the past several weekends you may have noticed them: A loosely organized group of volunteers collecting all matter of garbage. Last Saturday, volunteers braved heavy rain and frigid temperatures, collecting a 450-kilogram haul of garbage that included three discarded bikes and a ladder.…

Whistler’s winter programming kicks off today

Skating at Olympic Plaza, Family Après, holiday season events on tap

IT’S BEGINNING to look a lot like… early October? Natural snow in the valley or not, Whistler’s winter programming kicks off today with the opening of the skating rink at Olympic Plaza.…

Range Runners takes survival thriller genre into the woods

Film set for Canadian debut at the Whistler Film Festival on Dec. 7

Devon Colwell and his wife were hiking a small section of the 3,500-kilometre Appalachian Trail when his wife made a comment that instantly changed his perspective on outdoor recreation. “I’ve always had a secret fantasy of doing the entire Appalachian Trail—dropping everything and doing it,” he says.…

Grappling with the mysteries of parenthood

I slept a solid nine hours last night. While, unlike many people, I’m a pretty decent sleeper on any given night, it was a different, deeper, more blissful sleep than usual.…

Jordan earns first NorAm Cup win

Whistler Mountain Ski Club alum tops the field at Copper Mountain

WHISTLER MOUNTAIN SKI CLUB (WMSC) alumnus Asher Jordan found himself atop the heap at the first NorAm Cup alpine action of the season at Colorado’s Copper Mountain on Nov. 22. The slalom win, his first ever on the circuit, was an early birthday present for Jordan, who turned 20 on Nov. 23.…