The British Columbia Federation of Students says the province’s post secondary system is in crisis. The organization says that there have been almost 1000 layoffs in the sector since 2023, with 80 programs suspended, paused or cut…
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Following push-back from members of the community, a zoning change proposal failed to pass first reading at Nanaimo City Council on Monday. Council heard from 8 delegations opposed to a rezoning application for 2367 Arbot Road, which is currently home to the Westwood Lake Tennis Club…
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More than a dozen authors, poets, profs, and students spoke at a festival aimed at fostering connections between Palestinian and local literature this past weekend. The 2nd annual Watermelon Seeds festival of literature took place at VIU Saturday.It comes on the heels of an event last spring that took place at the Palestinian solidarity encampment that had been set up on campus…
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With Nanaimo City Council voting in favour of a motion Monday to name the park at 933 Park Avenue Five Acres Farm Community Park, Midcoast Morning explores the history behind the name, as well as the urban farming that’s still taking place on the land.
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Cree artist and creator George Littlechild is sharing his art with the Comox Valley this fall with a vast exhibition at the Comox Valley Art Gallery and a special film screening at North Island College. The film being screened this Saturday, October 4th is nanekawâsis, a documentary featuring Little Child's life and art. Both the artist George Littlechild and the filmmaker Conor McNally will be in attendance at the screening on Saturday…
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On the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, hundreds walked along fifth street in downtown Courtenay before gathering in Lewis Park. Midcoast Morning spoke with some of those present about the meaning of the day.
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Following decades of advocacy, Hamilton Marsh near Qualicum Beach appears on its way to becoming a protected area. Earlier this month the Regional District of Nanaimo announced it had reached a conditional agreement with Mosaic Forest Management to buy 360 hectares of land for $30 million. That land includes the marsh itself, which is about 36 hectares in size, and a mature forest, that if undisturbed, will reach old growth status within 150 years…
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The Island Corridor Foundation’s CEO wants Nanaimo’s planning department to keep the potential of the old rail corridor in mind. Thomas Bevan spoke at a Nanaimo city council meeting Monday night to provide an update on the work of the Island Corridor Foundation, as they look to determine the future of what was once the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway. Midcoast Morning spoke with Bevan about the current state of the corridor.
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It’s a new year at VIU, and there’s a new president on campus, looking to help steer the school through its financial challenges. Dennis Johnson was appointed as interim president in June. His tenure will be up to two years. Midcoast Morning speaks with Johnson, as well as VIU Students Union Board Chair Sarah Mei Lyana about hopes for the upcoming school year.
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A new partnership between Habitat For Humanity’s Restore and non profit Lighthouse’s Building Material Exchange program aims to save construction material from the landfill. The Nanaimo Restore, which sells donated construction material and home furnishings, celebrated an expansion as well as the launch of the new partnership at an event Monday. Proceeds from the Restore go to Habitat for Humanity Mid Vancouver Island, which has a goal of building affordable housing. The organization most recently completed a housing project in 2021. Midcoast Morning spoke with representatives from the Restore, Lighthouse, and Habitat For Humanity Mid Vancouver Island.
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Nanaimo’s night market continued to grow this year, according to its organizer. Midcoast Morning visited the market ahead of the final 2025 edition Thursday night. Plus, the Picnic in The Plaza aims to bring the community together downtown on Sunday.
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Midcoast Morning hears about events in Nanaimo and Parksville to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Plus VIU instructor Sarah Lovegrove, Vice President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association speaks about the day in the context of a backlash against harm reduction.
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A new BMX pump track is coming to Cedar, funded by the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation. Midcoast Morning speaks with Foundation founder Michelle Corfield. This weekend on Saturday, Primary Skateboards is hosting it’s third annual block party on Victoria Crescent in Downtown Nanaimo, Midcoast Morning speaks with co-owner Jordan Pletz and longtime skateboarder Rigo Gonzalez.
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Adam Olsen wrote in The Tyee this week that this month’s BC Supreme Court ruling that recognized Cowichan title to a section of lands south of the Fraser River was “part of a legal trajectory the Crown has been warned about for decades.”
Olsen joined Midcoast Morning to share his perspective on the case.
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With wildfires bringing smoke to the region, Midcoast Morning spoke with researchers about what we know about its health impacts, and heard about a community based research project aiming to help people use DIY tools to improve air quality.
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Transit workers in the Cowichan Valley have been on strike since Febraury 8th. Last week workers voted against going to binding arbitration to settle the dispute with contractor Transdev. Midcoast Morning speaks with a Unifor representative, as well as the Mayor of Lake Cowichan, and a case worker with the Cowichan Brain Injury Society
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The BC Green party is getting set to choose a new leader. Three candidates are in the race to replace Sonia Furstenau. Voting will happen in September. To be eligible to vote in the contest a person needs to be a member of the party ahead of a deadline Sunday August 10. Midcoast Morning speaks with each of the candidates in the race.
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Nanaimo City Council is calling on BC Housing to contemplate sober housing for those who qualify for supportive housing and who are in recovery. Council also wants to see a sober housing model used for a planned site at 250 Terminal avenue. Midcoast Morning speaks with B.C.’s new Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle, as well as Francesca Plewes, a person in recovery who now manages a Nanaimo supportive housing site.
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Months after Tod Maffin’s Nanaimo Infusion garnered the city international attention, stories of healthcare workers moving here continue to circulate. The Nanaimo infusion was an event in April that attracted hundreds of visitors from the United States come to the city. It started when Nanaimo resident Tod Maffin mused about the idea in a TikTok that went viral.
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Nanaimo has met its provincial housing targets this year, but it didn’t add a single unit of affordable housing.There were 875 units issued occupancy permits issued in the last year in Nanaimo. Just over 100 supportive housing units also came online through the provincial HEART & HEARTH program.
The vast majority of new housing in Nanaimo is rental housing, with a relatively balanced mix of one, two, and three or more bedroom units.
The vacancy rate has risen in the past few years, currently estimated at 2.9 per cent, approaching the 3 per cent level city staff suggest is needed to help create a healthy rental market.
Provincial legislation in 2023 created housing targets for municipalities. City staff presented a report sharing Nanaimo’s progress towards meeting those targets at a council meeting this past Monday. Lisa Brinkman, Manager of Community Planning with the City of Nanaimo, spoke with Midcoast Morning about the year in housing.
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