News

An ambulance with the BC Emergency Health Services heads thru the village area of Gabriola on March 21, 2022 with lights and sirens on. Sounder photo Sounder News Emergency response agencies serving Gabriola Island are asking the public to remember to pull over and...

Sounder News BC Ferries says it is is introducing two-ship service on the Nanaimo Harbour-Gabriola Island route effective April 12, 2022 - and has released the sailing schedule for the two-ship system. Two new Island Class ships will replace the MV Quinsam. The ferry...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The proposed budget increase to the Huxley redevelopment has passed. The Regional District of Nanaimo board of directors passed the proposal to increase the construction budget from $773,700...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News The Gabriola Fire Chief is asking the Islands Trust to make it a requirement to renew Short Term Vacation Rental Temporary Use Permits every year, instead of every three years as is currently done. There is also a concern on the part of the...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News An arrest warrant has been issued for 39-year-old Kelly Jordan, in relation to the hit and run on June 28, 2020 where Gabriolan Josh Marsh was injured. Jordan is charged with of impaired operation causing bodily harm, and dangerous...

Carol Fergusson Executive Director Gabriola Arts Council Cause for celebration is in the air and while we’re not suggesting to run out and throw caution to the wind, at least we can gather in a more relaxed fashion and even shake our booties. What is the Gabriola Arts...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The discussion about whether owners should have to leash their dogs while visiting parks on Gabriola has been renewed. At its Feb. 16 meeting, the Electoral Area B parks and open spaces...

Sounder News A long standing item has been ticked off the wish list of many Gabriolans. BC Ferries has activated free WiFi at both of the terminals serving the Gabriola Island ferry route. Heather O’Sullivan, co-Chair of the Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee, sent a...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The Regional District of Nanaimo staff are recommending the RDN Board approve a budget increase to the Huxley Park redevelopment project. The proposal to increase the budget by $262,900 to...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A prescription for reducing fire risk for the 707 Community Park is in and it recommends reducing the density of trees from 5,000 per hectare to 600. The fuel management prescription,...

Debbie Marshall Sounder News “A conditional sentence is a jail sentence in the community.” These were Judge Brian Harvey’s words at the February 1 sentencing hearing of the Gabriola man charged with sexual interference of a person under fourteen. According to Crown...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A much-anticipated evacuation route guide for Gabriola, and all of Electoral Area B, has been released. Produced by Calian Group Ltd on contract with the Regional District of Nanaimo, it will...

Presentation to Gabriola LTC forthcoming Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A charge on new development to fund land purchases for the school district has received support from the Regional District of Nanaimo board, joining...

Sounder News With the announcement that two of the current physicians will be leaving the Gabriola Medical Clinic shortly, the Clinic and the Gabriola Health Care Foundation are working together to recruit new doctors to Gabriola and to manage patient care in the...

Sounder News On January 25, 2022 Heath Handy failed to attend court in relation to a Nanaimo and Gabriola investigation. The courts have issued an unendorsed warrant for Handy, who is now wanted for several violent and non-violent offences. Unendorsed means if Handy...

Gabriola Live Press Release Gabriola Live is taking it slow. We have no desire to be a super spreader event, so we are live-streaming a concert, at no charge (donations always welcome), onto your computer, tablet or phone. Ron Cote, our Sound Engineer, is very adept...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News A man facing three charges stemming from the sexual assault of a person under the age of 16 was scheduled to be in Nanaimo Provincial court this past Monday, Jan. 17. Specific charges in this case are Sexual Interference with a person under...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder With the deluge of snow, so came a deluge of comments and phone calls to Regional District of Nanaimo directors about the delays in curbside recycling, garbage and organics pickup. At the...

Gabriola Arts Council Press Release Summer seems so far away, but the Gabriola Arts Council (GAC) thinks it is the perfect time to talk about Cultivate 2022. The festival will be back at the Gabriola Commons June 30 – July 3. We are running with the notion that...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder A total of 69 building permits have been issued on Gabriola so far this year. Through the end of the third quarter, the RDN has issued 421 permits across all electoral areas, including 69 in...

Gabriola Island Community Investment Co-op Press Release Extreme heat, drought, wild fires, flooding…..the weather this year leads many Gabriolans to wonder what concrete actions we can take to mitigate the effects of climate change in our own backyard. On this front,...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder The latest iteration of the Regional District of Nanaimo’s draft parks and trails strategy will proceed to a public comment phase sometime in spring 2022. Details of how residents will be...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder Funds to develop a recreation, parks and trails master plan for Electoral Area B have been added to the Regional District of Nanaimo’s 2022-26 financial plan. A total of $70,000 – $35,000...

Derek Kilbourn Sounder News As part of the final news conference of 2021 on the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer for BC spoke to how the Omicron variant has changed the response to the pandemic. She was asked, given how fast Omicron is...

Rachelle Stein-Wotten, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder. The Regional District of Nanaimo board does not want to introduce a social planning service. After receiving the 255-page social needs assessment and strategy completed with funds from a...