The Local Weekly The heart and soul of our communities with news and information about the Sunshine Coast

Tip of the Week:   Aries (Mar. 21-Apr. 19) The fires of Sagittarius are a source of energy and inspiration. You continue to deal with sobering considerations regarding your future, but you are finally ready to make some big decisions. A spirit of adventure will guide your reasoning process. You have probably been working extra hard ... Read More »

A townhouse development at 741 Hillcrest Road and a mixed-use site on Sunshine Coast Highway at Hough Road received approvals to move forward at the Dec 1 Gibsons Council meeting. The 20 unit townhouse development was subject to one design adjustment at the Town’s Planning Committee Meeting hosted earlier that day. The driveway on the ... Read More »

Gibsons residents with views on Town spending in the coming year should watch their mail for details on how to share these with Council. Town staff will be reaching out with a mailing as well as through print and social media to gather input into and explain the municipality’s 2021 budget process. Timelines for the ... Read More »

The Grandmother’s Charity Chair Auction has moved online this year due to COVID-19. Sixteen local artists have generously taken a children’s wooden chair and lovingly turned it into a work of art. Starting on Friday, Dec. 4, you can bid on your favourite chair. Just keep checking in as the bids increase. At the end ... Read More »

Area residents need to prepare to pay more for SCRD water in 2021. At the Nov. 26 board meeting, annual fees to properties receiving this service were raised between $72 and $208. North Pender Harbour clients will see the largest increase in their water bills. While parcel charges for water in this area are not ... Read More »

Resident priority access to ferry sailings is not being considered in BC Ferries’ (BCF) Sunshine Coast engagement process. During public online presentations on Nov. 25 and 30, Carrie McIntosh, engagement manager at BCF, said the corporation will not be discussing solutions around that subject until the community agrees on “what such a program should look ... Read More »

While COVID-19 may be keeping District of Sechelt staff physically distanced from one another, it has not deterred their hopes of increasing their numbers by 12 in 2021. The District currently budgets for 68 full-time positions. Approving all the new 2021 staffing requests would equate to a 17 percent increase in municipal employees. The requests ... Read More »

School District #46s (SD46) operations budget proposals for its 2021/22 school year were released to the public in a Nov. 26 online session. Board of Education Chairperson Amanda Amaral as well as District Superintendent Patrick Bocking and Secretary-Treasurer Nic Weswick presented the details. Weswick opened the one hour session with an overview of how that ... Read More »

At its Nov. 26 meeting, the SCRD board asked for additional time to consider next year’s fee increases for properties on its wastewater systems. Leading up to a special meeting on Dec. 3, area directors are to consult with their communities on frontage and user fee adjustments for sewage disposal. Staff recommended that frontage fees ... Read More »

Recently I’ve been thinking about what a low-carbon life might look like. We would drive and fly less and mostly cycle, walk and ride transit. We’d eat less meat and more plant-based foods. We’d heat our energy-efficient homes with electricity or geothermal and get power from the wind and sun. It might also be a ... Read More »