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

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a number of Hometown Heroes step forward to help their neighbours and in so doing, continue the tradition of a compassionate community the First Nations and our pioneer families established when they first settled on these generous shores. This community culture of caring should be celebrated – not ... Read More »

With the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) conference over, elected officials on the Coast are waiting to hear if their requests for grant funding from provincial ministries have been successful, as all local governments are starting to look at priorities for the 2014 budget. In the past two months, politicians have been busy with ... Read More »

An innovative approach launched last year to increase the number of BC children who are engaged, competent readers is seeing great success, Education Minister Peter Fassbender announced today. Launched under the BC Education Plan, Changing Results for Young Readers is a provincewide approach that focuses on teacher collaboration, in-class support and current research on how ... Read More »

A question of harm Before you add your name to the petition to legalize pot, consider this: a forty-year research study conducted in New Zealand has found that teenagers who smoke pot can lose 8 IQ points, and it’s permanent. Madeline Meier, lead researcher, says, “Marijuana is not harmless, particularly for adolescents” (Globe and Mail, ... Read More »

When families struggle – whether due to conflicts, substance misuse, illness or because they require specialized care for a child with complex needs – it’s comforting to know there are safe havens available for the children and teens who have nowhere else to turn. Every day in British Columbia, more than 3,100 foster families open ... Read More »

Last week, Theresa Leone Meyer stood before a special session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women—an adolescent girl speaking on behalf of the millions of girls around the world.   Photo www.pathfinder.org Millions of girls face barriers to education and not just in developing countries. In Canada, many adolescent girls struggle to ... Read More »

SCCU CEO committed to giving back to community Sunshine Coast Credit Union Chief Executive Officer Shelley McDade, an avid supporter of the cooperative business model, is passionate about living the ripple effect – of giving back to community not only financially but also from an educational perspective. A well respected advisor to a variety of ... Read More »

This is a great time to be a Canadian woman in business. More Canadian women are self-employed than ever before – more than 800,000 of them, according to StatsCan. And this growth is occurring in all provinces across Canada. In fact, growth in the number of Canadian unincorporated businesses owned by women has surpassed the ... Read More »

As the leaves fall, people’s moods can too. That’s why October is good timing for the 19th annual Beyond the Blues: Depression Anxiety Education and Screening Day, which has helped 66,000 people across BC since 1995. “October is a ripe time to talk about mental health,” says Sarah Hamid-Balma, Director of Mental Health Promotion for ... Read More »

Agreement ensures province has access to monitoring system, provides for shared operating costs. The governments of Canada and British Columbia have renewed their water quantity monitoring agreement, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council and BC Environment Minister Mary Polak ... Read More »