Running 28 minutes, Midcoast Morning covers local news and current affairs happening in Nanaimo and on the Salish Sea. Midcoast Morning focuses in on one big story per show, interviewing reporters about their stories, as well as those making news and those impacted by it. We also feature the curators and creators in our local arts and culture scene. Midcoast Morning broadcasts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 8:30 A.M.. The podcast edition releases at the same time.
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Joe Pugh — Host and Producer.
Jesse Woodward — Executive Producer.
Arbie Fru — Technical Assistance.
And other contributors in our news department.
Have a lead on a story? Feedback regarding an episode? Drop us a line. We read all of our emails, and respond when we can.
Plans for a development near a wetland ecosystem in the Rock City area have generated concern among local residents, and prompted multiple delegations before city council this month. To better understand what systems are in place to regulate development around wetlands, Midcoast Morning spoke with Russell Chiong, a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law.
Read MoreNanaimo is looking to get more active on bringing non market housing to the community. The City’s Governance and Priorities committee voted Monday in favour of recommending Nanaimo City Council send $75,000 to the Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation to facilitate a non-market housing delivery system pilot.
Read MoreAs Canada’s time hosting the FIFA world cup comes to a close, Nanaimo is hosting some of B.C.’s youth soccer talent.
Read MoreBarry Lyseng says he’s been advocating for pedestrian improvements on Hammond Bay road for 27 years…
Read MoreThe City of Nanaimo is in the process of creating a tenant protection bylaw, but staff are recommending against some of the enhanced protections offered by bylaws in other B.C. communities…
Read MoreA plan to shape the future of the Woodgrove Area is now complete and has made its way before Nanaimo City Council.
Project Manager Kasia Biegun of the City of Nanaimo’s planning department spoke with CHLY about what’s envisioned for the area through 2046.
Read MoreA recent Nanaimo press conference saw the leader of BC’s Green Party joined by a community advocate and a pair of city councillors in a call for more stringent regulation of the data centre industry. Midcoast Morning speaks with Martin Karsten, a University of Waterloo computer science professor, to walk through some questions around how data centres work, and to get his take on some of the factors at play in Nanaimo’s situation…
Read MoreThree groups made a pitch this week for a new organization to coordinate bringing affordable housing to Nanaimo. At a governance and priorities committee meeting, Nanaimo City Council received an ask to fund a Nanaimo Housing Collective…
Read MoreThe CEO of Nanaimo Forest Products says that while nothing is decided yet, he expects it to be months before a rezoning application for lands in the southeastern part of Nanaimo makes it back before city council…
Read MoreA public hearing around the potential rezoning of lands near Cable Bay Trail is set to continue into a third session this week. With Nanaimo receiving more than 900 written submissions about the proposal, and more than 100 people speaking to the matter in person or over the phone so far, there has been significant community interest in the matter…
Read MoreA public hearing on the potential rezoning of lands near Cable Bay trail packed the Vancouver Island Conference Centre Thursday April 16th, and is set to continue this week. Around 68 people spoke to the matter, with 24 of them calling into the hearing, with council also receiving 907 written submissions…
Read MoreTo mark World Water Day, a UN observance intended to highlight the importance of freshwater, Midcoast Morning spoke with Mike Squire, Manager of Water Resources with the City of Nanaimo. We check in on the state of Nanaimo’s water supply and water infrastructure, the city’s ability to regulate water users, and its expected capacity in the future.
Read MoreThe Hub, a drop in centre for people experiencing homelessness, is set to close at the end of the month…
Read MoreWe're marking Nanaimo's move from 2025 into 2026, with a focus on transportation. We talked transit and traffic calming with Jamie Rose, the City of Nanaimo’s Manager of Transportation about how things changed in the last year, as well as what's on the radar for the next one…
Read MorePlans to light a section of the E&N Trail next year won’t be going ahead, as funding has been reallocated to other to be determined projects. A section of the trail between Northfield and Rock City roads had been scheduled to receive lighting upgrades in 2026. Instead, around a million dollars of funding will be redirected into other pedestrian and active transportation projects next year…
Read MoreA motion about industrial land use divided Nanaimo city council in a narrow 5-4 vote Monday night. On the meeting agenda the motion from Councillor Paul Manly asked staff to prepare a zoning amendment that would have prevented six different industrial scale uses, including certain garbage incineration facilities, chemical plants, petroleum refineries, and Liquified Natural Gas export facilities…
Read MorePlans for a data centre in Nanaimo have generated significant attention in recent weeks. The centre is proposed for 2090 East Wellington Road, and the area was rezoned in 2023. Midcoast Morning explores recent community concerns with Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, and shares information revealed at a Nanaimo city council meeting about potential water use at the site.
Read MoreFollowing 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…
Read MoreWith 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.
Read MoreNanaimo 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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