Living Green on a Budget
By Kristen Bounds It’s no secret that the planet needs and deserves our immediate attention (“climate emergency” was Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year in 2019), but it’s easy to feel helpless with the abundance of depressing information about the environment we receive every day. Many people respond by trying to adopt more sustainable habits […]
Deadly cocktail
By Benjamin Everett Over 40 fentanyl-related overdoses have been reported in Victoria and Nanaimo since December 20, 2015, 12 of them fatal. The victims have come from all walks of life, but Paul Hasselback, Medical Health Officer for Central Vancouver Island, says that “it’s the younger ones that are the most tragic.” Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate […]
Rising from the Ashes: My Journey to Quit Smoking
By Sarah Torgerson Nestled in the heart of Vancouver Island University’s Nanaimo campus is one of about a dozen designated smoking areas, where you are likely to come across a handful of generally unhappy-looking smokers wreathed in plumes of grey. I’m often among them. This mecca for the stressed-out and nicotine-addicted is where I take my […]
Good times in the Snoezelen room
By Leah Myers Almost everyone has a schedule they need to adhere to, whether for school, work, or otherwise. But during a busy week, who doesn’t want an hour to rock out to AC/DC or fall asleep in a large ball pit? Visitors to Nanaimo’s only Snoezelen room have the opportunity to do just that. […]