Mid Island NewsNews and history from Nanaimo and mid Vancouver Island.https://midislandnews.com/en-caBailey Studio Nanaimo: the community theatre on Rosstown Roadhttps://midislandnews.com/barefoot-in-the-park-on-at-bailey-studio-nanaimo/https://midislandnews.com/barefoot-in-the-park-on-at-bailey-studio-nanaimo/The Bailey Studio in Nanaimo grew from a Rosstown Road miner's shack into a 172-seat theatre: its history, a 2011 Barefoot in the Park, and tickets.Sat, 17 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)BC Housing in Nanaimo: subsidized homes, the waitlist and the disputeshttps://midislandnews.com/bc-subsidized-housing-in-nanaimo/https://midislandnews.com/bc-subsidized-housing-in-nanaimo/How BC Housing subsidized housing works in Nanaimo, from the registry and the 30 per cent rent rule to Uplands Walk and the 250 Bryden Street dispute.Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Ravensong pool closures, the 2025 expansion vote and the renovationhttps://midislandnews.com/closure-of-ravensong-aquatic-centre/https://midislandnews.com/closure-of-ravensong-aquatic-centre/Why Ravensong pool in Qualicum Beach closes every August, how the 2025 expansion vote failed, and what the $13.5 million renovation will change.Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Ladysmith fire department: joining, its history and the island’s hallshttps://midislandnews.com/hiring-ladysmith-fire-department/https://midislandnews.com/hiring-ladysmith-fire-department/Ladysmith Fire/Rescue is a paid-on-call department founded in 1904. How to apply, and how it compares with Nanaimo and Nanoose Bay fire services.Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry schedule, bookings and route changeshttps://midislandnews.com/changes-to-departure-bay-ferry-schedule/https://midislandnews.com/changes-to-departure-bay-ferry-schedule/The Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ferry schedule: how many sailings Route 2 must run, why vehicles now need a booking, and what changed at Departure Bay.Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo Horticultural Society: the plant sale, seed swaps and marketshttps://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-horticultural-society-plant-sale/https://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-horticultural-society-plant-sale/The Nanaimo Horticultural Society sells member-grown plants each spring. Where its sale, the seed swaps, local markets and food programs fit in the year.Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)CatNap Society and Nanaimo's feral cats: colonies, bylaw and birdshttps://midislandnews.com/feral-cats-in-nanaimo-problems-and-concerns/https://midislandnews.com/feral-cats-in-nanaimo-problems-and-concerns/CatNap Society traps, fixes and rehomes Nanaimo's feral cats. How colonies grow, what the 2021 animal bylaw allows and why birds come into it.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo convention centre: the VICC and the hotel lot left emptyhttps://midislandnews.com/vancouver-island-conference-centre-in-nanaimo-empty-planning/https://midislandnews.com/vancouver-island-conference-centre-in-nanaimo-empty-planning/Nanaimo voters backed the conference centre by 52 per cent in 2004. Its promised hotel took until 2023, and the city still covers about $1 million a year.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Battle of Beaumont-Hamel: the Newfoundland Regiment on July 1, 1916https://midislandnews.com/battle-of-beaumont-hamel-world-war-i/https://midislandnews.com/battle-of-beaumont-hamel-world-war-i/On July 1, 1916, about 800 men of the Newfoundland Regiment attacked at Beaumont-Hamel and 68 answered roll call. How Nanaimo remembers the war.Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Shack Island BC: Pipers Lagoon Park and the shacks beside the lagoonhttps://midislandnews.com/pipers-lagoon-nanaimo-people-saving-paradise/https://midislandnews.com/pipers-lagoon-nanaimo-people-saving-paradise/Shack Island sits off the headland of Pipers Lagoon Park in north Nanaimo, a 1983 park bought by the province on a lagoon that once held a whaling station.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Yard waste removal in Nanaimo: Church Road, the carts and the feeshttps://midislandnews.com/yard-waste-removal/https://midislandnews.com/yard-waste-removal/Where yard waste goes around Nanaimo: tipping fees at Church Road and Cedar Road, what the green carts take, and which plants must go to the landfill.Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo: painted turtles, yellow iris and a riverhttps://midislandnews.com/buttertubs-marsh-nanaimo/https://midislandnews.com/buttertubs-marsh-nanaimo/Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo is a 55 ha reclaimed floodplain on the Millstone River, home to painted turtles, a bird-banding station and a dogs-free trail.Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Garbage Gobbler: BC’s roadside litter monster, from Langford to todayhttps://midislandnews.com/garbage-gobbler/https://midislandnews.com/garbage-gobbler/The Garbage Gobbler was a green-and-yellow litter bin designed by Len Shaw in Langford. About 250 stood along BC highways; fewer than 20 survive.Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)School District 68: Nanaimo-Ladysmith schools, its board and budgethttps://midislandnews.com/school-district-68/https://midislandnews.com/school-district-68/School District 68 runs 28 elementary and six secondary schools from Lantzville to Ladysmith. How it formed, what it costs and who sits on the 2026 board.Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Qualicum Beach shuttle bus: from Shop to Shore to today's Route 98https://midislandnews.com/newqualicum-beach-shuttle-bus/https://midislandnews.com/newqualicum-beach-shuttle-bus/Qualicum Beach's free Shop to Shore shuttle ran two summers. What replaced it, how the Oceanside routes work now, and the Green Thumb transport debate.Thu, 20 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Black squirrels in BC: what the black squirrels around Nanaimo arehttps://midislandnews.com/black-squirrel/https://midislandnews.com/black-squirrel/The black squirrels in Nanaimo are eastern grey squirrels in a dark coat, descended from an escape near Victoria in 1966. How to tell them apart.Tue, 09 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo Airbnb rules, the hotel tax and the events centre referendumhttps://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-events-centre-phase-3-and-4-fire-plan-avicc/https://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-events-centre-phase-3-and-4-fire-plan-avicc/How Nanaimo regulates Airbnb and VRBO hosts, who controls the 3% hotel tax, why voters rejected an $80M events centre, and what Beban Park offers instead.Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Parksville landfill, the plastic bag ban that failed and the RDN planhttps://midislandnews.com/parksville-to-ban-single-use-plastic-bags-and-the-rdn-garbage-plan/https://midislandnews.com/parksville-to-ban-single-use-plastic-bags-and-the-rdn-garbage-plan/Parksville announced a plastic bag ban in 2018, then council killed it 6-1. Where its garbage goes and what the RDN's 90 per cent plan has done since.Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Casinos on Vancouver Island: a guide to the gaming venues and ruleshttps://midislandnews.com/casinos-and-gambling-on-vancouver-island/https://midislandnews.com/casinos-and-gambling-on-vancouver-island/Six BCLC gaming venues operate on Vancouver Island, from Victoria to Campbell River. What each one offers, who regulates them and where the money goes.Tue, 12 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Artificial intelligence and the threat to humans, from Seoul to Ottawahttps://midislandnews.com/artificial-intelligence/https://midislandnews.com/artificial-intelligence/From AlphaGo's 2016 win and Hawking's warning to Canada's AI safety institute, B.C. school guidance and VIU's rules: where the AI risk debate stands.Thu, 27 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)BC ferry waits at Departure Bay: lineups, data and the booking rulehttps://midislandnews.com/five-hour-bc-ferries-waits/https://midislandnews.com/five-hour-bc-ferries-waits/Departure Bay had most of the coast's longest BC ferry waits in 2016. Since October 2025, every vehicle sailing there from Horseshoe Bay must book.Mon, 24 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Caveman Camper: the 1958 truck camper, its maker and the island storyhttps://midislandnews.com/caveman-camper/https://midislandnews.com/caveman-camper/Caveman campers were sold from 1958 to about 1980. Trademark records point to Grants Pass, Oregon; one later account places the maker on Vancouver Island.Mon, 11 Jul 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo property assessment, tax increases and the big projects aheadhttps://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-property-taxes-housing-prices-and-mega-projects/https://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-property-taxes-housing-prices-and-mega-projects/Nanaimo's typical home was assessed at $769,000 for 2026 while city taxes rose 6.4 per cent. How the bill is built and what it is meant to pay for.Thu, 07 Jul 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Pacific Scandal of 1873: Macdonald, Hugh Allan and BC’s railway dealhttps://midislandnews.com/pacific-scandal/https://midislandnews.com/pacific-scandal/How Hugh Allan's 1872 election money for a railway charter brought down Macdonald in 1873, and how the broken BC promise ended in the E&N land grant.Sat, 25 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Duke Point Terminal expansion: Nanaimo’s deep-sea berth and neighbourshttps://midislandnews.com/duke-point-terminal-expansion/https://midislandnews.com/duke-point-terminal-expansion/The Duke Point terminal south of Nanaimo is getting a 325-metre berth and electric cranes. How the port grew, who objected and where it stands now.Fri, 04 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Diver Lake in Nanaimo: a coal-country lake, its park and its odd namehttps://midislandnews.com/diver-lake/https://midislandnews.com/diver-lake/Diver Lake sits southeast of Brannen Lake in north Nanaimo. Its park has a fishing float and off-leash field, and its name may go back to a mine collapse.Thu, 03 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Rutherford Elementary in Nanaimo: the closure vote and the reopeninghttps://midislandnews.com/save-rutherford-elementary-school/https://midislandnews.com/save-rutherford-elementary-school/Nanaimo trustees voted 5-4 in 2015 to close Rutherford Elementary on Hammond Bay Road. It shut in 2018 and reopened for 2025-26 as the north end filled up.Thu, 03 Mar 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Maffeo Sutton Park: the plans for Nanaimo’s busiest waterfront parkhttps://midislandnews.com/maffeo-sutton-park-future-planning/https://midislandnews.com/maffeo-sutton-park-future-planning/Maffeo Sutton Park went from foundry land to Nanaimo's busiest park. The master plan, the new washrooms, and Caledonia, Harewood and Cinnabar parks.Sun, 14 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Jump Lake and Nanaimo’s watershed: how the city’s water is suppliedhttps://midislandnews.com/nanaimos-watershed/https://midislandnews.com/nanaimos-watershed/Nanaimo's water is stored behind Jump Creek Dam, taken in at South Fork and filtered since 2016, on forest land the city does not own.Thu, 07 May 2015 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Parksville garbage dump, illegal dumping and where RDN waste goeshttps://midislandnews.com/illegal-garbage-dumping-in-nanaimo-regional-district/https://midislandnews.com/illegal-garbage-dumping-in-nanaimo-regional-district/Where Parksville and Nanaimo garbage goes, how illegal dumping is reported, and the incinerator, recycling and green bin fights behind today's system.Mon, 04 May 2015 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Parking downtown Nanaimo: free hours, meter fees and parkadeshttps://midislandnews.com/downtown-nanaimo-parking-free-fee/https://midislandnews.com/downtown-nanaimo-parking-free-fee/Parking downtown Nanaimo went free for 17 months and paid again on March 2, 2026. Rates, free hours, parkades and the Departure Bay ferry lot.Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Colliery Dam Park in Nanaimo: the coal-era dams, the fight and the fixhttps://midislandnews.com/colliery-dam-park/https://midislandnews.com/colliery-dam-park/Colliery Dam Park in Nanaimo kept its two coal-era dams after a three-year fight; a 2016 spillway fixed the lower one and the middle dam is next.Sat, 08 Nov 2014 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo Hilton hotel plan: Georgia Park, Front Street and the walkwayhttps://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-waterfront-deal-hilton-hotel-vs-georgia-park/https://midislandnews.com/nanaimo-waterfront-deal-hilton-hotel-vs-georgia-park/A 32-storey Nanaimo Hilton hotel was approved for Front Street beside Georgia Park, then shelved. What was planned, what got built instead, what is left.Mon, 13 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo bars: the history, the official recipe and the disputed originhttps://midislandnews.com/early-nanaimo-history/nanaimo-bars/https://midislandnews.com/early-nanaimo-history/nanaimo-bars/Where Nanaimo bars come from: the 1952 hospital-auxiliary cookbook, the 1953 Edith Adams name, the official 1980s recipe and why the origin is still debated.Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo coal mines: a history from the 1852 seam to Morden headframehttps://midislandnews.com/early-nanaimo-history/brief-history-nanaimo-coal/https://midislandnews.com/early-nanaimo-history/brief-history-nanaimo-coal/The history of Nanaimo coal from the Snuneymuxw seam of 1852 to the 1887 explosion, the great strike, Morden Mine and the Raven coal mine proposal.Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo zoning and the Duke Point incinerator fight: what I4 allowshttps://midislandnews.com/industrial-zoning-loopholes-for-duke-point-incinerator/https://midislandnews.com/industrial-zoning-loopholes-for-duke-point-incinerator/Nanaimo rejected a Duke Point garbage incinerator in 2014, but the I4 heavy industry zone stayed open. How it works and the 2025 fight to change it.Thu, 15 May 2014 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)CODE clinic Nanaimo: low-cost dental care on Wallace Street and the ERhttps://midislandnews.com/free-nanaimo-dental-clinic-opens/https://midislandnews.com/free-nanaimo-dental-clinic-opens/The CODE clinic on Wallace Street offers reduced-cost extractions and restorative care. Who pays, other cheap options, and when to go to the ER.Sun, 11 May 2014 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)The arbutus tree on Vancouver Island: where to see it in Nanaimohttps://midislandnews.com/arbutus-trees-in-nanaimo/https://midislandnews.com/arbutus-trees-in-nanaimo/Where arbutus trees grow in Nanaimo, how BC's only native broad-leaved evergreen tree survives dry rock, and what is behind the blackened leaves.Mon, 09 Dec 2013 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Nanaimo foot passenger ferry: from the HarbourLynx collapse to Hullohttps://midislandnews.com/foot-passenger-ferry-between-nanaimo-and-vancouver-gone-seven-years/https://midislandnews.com/foot-passenger-ferry-between-nanaimo-and-vancouver-gone-seven-years/Private firms tried a Nanaimo foot passenger ferry to Vancouver for decades. HarbourLynx folded in 2006; Hullo has carried 1.5 million people since 2023.Mon, 14 Oct 2013 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)Cedar Community Secondary: the 2013 closure, court case and reopeninghttps://midislandnews.com/facts-closure-cedar-community-secondary-school/https://midislandnews.com/facts-closure-cedar-community-secondary-school/Cedar Community Secondary School closed in June 2014 and reopened in September 2016. The plan, the lawsuit, the costs and the vote that reversed it.Tue, 10 Sep 2013 00:00:00 GMTcontact@midislandnews.com (Waldo Swift)