Blog

Deal to provide sexual-assault exams locally under discussion

Vancouver Coastal Health doesn’t have $12,000 nurse-training costs ‘in budget’: Pemberton mayor

After years of advocacy, residents of Whistler and Pemberton may soon be able to get sexual assault forensic exams locally. Tired of waiting for the region’s health authority to fund the initiative, the Sea to Sky Regional Hospital District—a Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD) body that serves residents of Squamish, Pemberton, Whistler and Areas C and D—is considering funding nurse training so that victims of sexual assault can be examined.…

Becoming Blanche, Canada’s female undercover agent

On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Whistler remembers Sonya d’Artois, the 20-year-old who parachuted into German-occupied just France days before the invasion

Today is the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, where thousands of Canadian soldiers stormed the shores of Normandy during World War II. But nine days prior, one 20-year-old British secret agent parachuted into German-occupied France to help the Allied troops accomplish their mission.…

Woah … Is Keanu Reeves our biggest star?

Keanu Reeves is having a moment. While John Wick 3 continues slaying the box office as one of the best action flicks of the decade, Reeves also shows off his lesser-known comedic chops in Always Be My Maybe, an Ali Wong-driven romantic comedy that dropped on Netflix last week.…

WedgeWoods affordable housing rezoning submitted

Discussions remain around SLRD Regional Growth Strategy

A proposal from the developers of WedgeWoods Estates north of Whistler to add some affordable housing to their project is moving ahead with the submission of a formal rezoning application to the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District (SLRD)—but some discussions still remain around the SLRD’s Regional Growth Strategy. The affordable housing types envisioned in the proposal include family-style apartments and townhomes—enough to house 50 to 60 families—and would cater to those who are making good money but having trouble getting into the housing market.…

Naturespeak: BioBlitz focuses on big and old trees

This year is Whistler’s 13th annual BioBlitz, an event to share knowledge about all living things and to collect scientific data on what species live here. In the past 12 years, BioBlitz scientists have documented over 1,300 species for the first time.…

Mountain Bike Heritage Week returns for fourth year

Indigenous Mountain Biking talk set for June 7 at Whistler Museum

With Mountain Bike Heritage Week running from June 6 to 12 at Whistler Museum, there’s one thing Patrick Lucas wants riders to keep in mind every time they go out. “Every time you step out on a trail, you get on a bike, you’re taking on an explicit political act in terms of being out on the land and it having an impact on people other than you,” the Aboriginal Youth Mountain Bike Program executive director says.…

Iles earns career-best fourth at Fort William

Downhiller battled through after harrowing crash

Lining up in the start gate for the second Mercedes-Benz UCI Downhill World Cup of the season in Fort William, Scotland on June 2, Finn Iles wasn’t expecting to do much. After all, he was only a day removed from one of the worst crashes he’d ever suffered, going down in the rock garden during qualifying and needing extensive attention from the physiotherapist just to get in a position to compete in the race.…

Troubled waters

There is little doubt that Whistler has some of the best water in the world. We only have to turn on the tap to enjoy it—a pleasure and a human right I would argue, though it remains unavailable to millions globally including thousands here in Canada.…

Residents reminded to stay vigilant on wildfire

New Blackwell report close to being finalized

While there have been 256 wildfires in B.C. so far this year, only 42 were active as of June 4—and only one in the Coastal Fire Centre, which includes Whistler and the Sea to Sky—but as wildfire season ramps up, the message from local officials remains one of vigilance. “Keep an eye out.…

Making connections in support of mental health

Mountain towns meet in Colorado for Katz Amsterdam Foundation Convening

With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, more than 60 nonprofit, local government and health care leaders from 10 mountain communities gathered in Boulder, Colo., from May 29 to 31 for the first-ever Katz Amsterdam Foundation Convening. The event was designed to bring professionals working in mental and behavioural health together to establish a foundation for shared learning, said Beth Ganz, executive director of the Katz Amsterdam Foundation (launched last year by Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz and his wife Elana Amsterdam, with a commitment of almost $100 million).…

Letters to the Editor for the week of June 6

Where is the transparency and oversight? House Speaker Darryl Plecas shocked British Columbians with his bombshell report last year on inappropriate staff spending at the B.C. Legislature: Designer fashions, globetrotting travel, lucrative pension top-ups, watches, luggage and, of course, the famous wood-splitter.…

It begins with acknowledging prejudices

It’s hard to believe—I hardly believe it myself—that I’ve been writing this column for almost 24 years. More than 1,200 times I’ve sat down and stared at a blank computer screen and had it stare back at me, expectantly.…

Free will astrology for the week of June 6

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
“I don’t think we were ever meant to hear the same song sung exactly the same way more than once in a lifetime,” says poet Linh Dinh. That’s an extreme statement that I can’t agree with.…

Aude Ray celebrates release of Dreamcatcher

Whistler musician’s third album kicks off busy summer

In 2016, Whistler musician Aude Ray did the scariest thing she’s ever done and quit her job. She had been teaching music at a local school for a few years, but she longed to focus on her own projects.…

Dead grey whale found in Boundary Bay

Whale being towed by Coast Guard to Sea Island for necropsy on Thursday

Another grey whale has been found dead – this time in the waters of Boundary Bay. Fisheries and Oceans Canada A/Marine Mammals coordinator Paul Cottrell confirmed with the Delta Optimist Wednesday afternoon that while the DFO Marine Mammal Response Program was out on patrol Tuesday afternoon on another matter, the whale was discovered near the Boundary Bay mud flats.…