Opinion

File - In 2023, are celebrations such as Black History Month still needed? This writer weighs in. Picture shown is an event promoting Black history month at the The Nanaimo African Heritage Society in lieu of their second annual online gala. (News Bulletin file photo)

HITCHINS: In 2023, yes, Black History Month is still important

Recognizing accomplishments by those of African origin vital to identity

File - In 2023, are celebrations such as Black History Month still needed? This writer weighs in. Picture shown is an event promoting Black history month at the The Nanaimo African Heritage Society in lieu of their second annual online gala. (News Bulletin file photo)
Advocates for decriminalization and safe supply of drugs stood outside Nelson’s city hall on April 14th. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

OPINION: Why the drug poisoning crisis in B.C. won’t be addressed by decriminalization

On Jan. 31, B.C. began a three-year pilot project under which simple possession of some drugs

Advocates for decriminalization and safe supply of drugs stood outside Nelson’s city hall on April 14th. Photo: Bill Metcalfe
BC Ferries regularly cancels sailings between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen. (Black Press Media file photo)

CAMPBELL: ‘You owe us!’: passenger berates BC Ferries staff for chronic tardiness

Passengers fed up with delays when BC Ferries penalizes drivers when they are late

BC Ferries regularly cancels sailings between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen. (Black Press Media file photo)
Jessica Peters is a reporter at the Abbotsford News.
Jessica Peters is a reporter at the Abbotsford News.
Certain apps can make users more mindful of their social media use. Photo by Marc Kitteringham/Campbell River Mirror

KITTERINGHAM: Why I unfollowed 500 social media accounts this month

Social media was depressing me, so I did something about it

Certain apps can make users more mindful of their social media use. Photo by Marc Kitteringham/Campbell River Mirror
(Pixabay.com)

OPINION: High income taxes make B.C. less attractive and productive

Horgan government increased B.C.’s top personal income tax rate from 14.7 per cent to 20.5 per cent

  • Feb 1, 2023
(Pixabay.com)
Surrey City Hall. (File photo: Anna Burns)

OUR VIEW: 15 of 16 spots on Surrey committees is more of the same

Surrey Connect’s grip on 15 of 16 appointments to Surrey’s Select Committees of Council supports notion that in politics the more things change, the more they stay the same

  • Feb 1, 2023
Surrey City Hall. (File photo: Anna Burns)
David Lee Roth (left) and the Chilliwack man who for years has impersonated him, David Kuntz-Angel (right). Kuntz-Angel was convicted on Aug. 2, 2019 of various counts connected to sex with an underage girl. A mistrial was declared and now the trial continues Jan. 30, 2023. (Twitter/Brantford Expositor)

OPINION: Warrant issued for Chilliwack’s David Lee Roth wannabe who jumped bail

David Kuntz-Angel a no-show Monday for his B.C. Supreme Court underage sex trial’s closing arguments

David Lee Roth (left) and the Chilliwack man who for years has impersonated him, David Kuntz-Angel (right). Kuntz-Angel was convicted on Aug. 2, 2019 of various counts connected to sex with an underage girl. A mistrial was declared and now the trial continues Jan. 30, 2023. (Twitter/Brantford Expositor)
Jock Finlayson is a senior policy advisor with the Business Council of British Columbia.
Jock Finlayson

FINLAYSON: 2023 could be one of the weakest years for B.C. home sales in two decades

Despite market volatility, the long-term fundamentals for housing in B.C. remain attractive

  • Jan 27, 2023
Jock Finlayson is a senior policy advisor with the Business Council of British Columbia.
Jock Finlayson
Frank Bucholtz

AND FRANKLY: Hard choices to be made about Surrey’s farmland

Keeping agricultural land in production is more challenging than ever as urban uses encroach

  • Jan 26, 2023
Frank Bucholtz
A strata council enacted a bylaw to restrict out-of-wedlock relationships. (Pexels photo)

CAMPBELL: This ‘prudish’ B.C. strata sued to stop owner from living with her boyfriend

Case raises the question of whether strata bylaws should be able to restrict certain relationships

A strata council enacted a bylaw to restrict out-of-wedlock relationships. (Pexels photo)
Kathi Diewert of Chemainus captures many interesting nature shots around the Island. No matter what it looks like outside, there’s no sense in creating any false sadness on so-called Blue Monday and beyond. (Photo by Kathi Diewert)

BODGER: Blue Monday is bogus, stop looking for reasons to be sad

There’s no evidence one day should be the saddest compared to any other

Kathi Diewert of Chemainus captures many interesting nature shots around the Island. No matter what it looks like outside, there’s no sense in creating any false sadness on so-called Blue Monday and beyond. (Photo by Kathi Diewert)
Drag queen Gigi Monroe reads a book about a wig during a storytime in the States. (File photo: Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

COLUMN: It’s 2023 why are we still protesting drag queen storytime?

Imagine taking your child to the local library to hear a Disney…

Drag queen Gigi Monroe reads a book about a wig during a storytime in the States. (File photo: Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
(Photo: Needpix)

OUR VIEW: Cheers to moderation, Surrey

Canada’s latest guide on alcohol and health suggests more than 6 alcoholic beverages per week puts health at risk

  • Jan 18, 2023
(Photo: Needpix)
Two children under 18 held in custody by the Iranian regime that have been sponsored by Federal Canadian MPs to try to help stop their execution. Ali Rakhshani, 17, is endorsed by Fleetwood-Port Kells MP Ken Hardie, and Mohammad Rakhshani, 16, is endorsed by North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson. (Twitter @balo0chgirl)

OPINION: Iranian woman living in Fraser Valley urging MPs to sponsor prisoners to avoid execution

Nine federal Liberal MPs ‘sponsor’ Iranian detainees by sharing their plights on social media

Two children under 18 held in custody by the Iranian regime that have been sponsored by Federal Canadian MPs to try to help stop their execution. Ali Rakhshani, 17, is endorsed by Fleetwood-Port Kells MP Ken Hardie, and Mohammad Rakhshani, 16, is endorsed by North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson. (Twitter @balo0chgirl)
Worker at Swartz Bay terminal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito)

CAMPBELL: Couple ‘evicted’ from B.C. ferry terminal gets zero sympathy here

Couple posts video of confrontation onto social media after being 4 minutes late

Worker at Swartz Bay terminal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito)
Frank Bucholtz

AND FRANKLY: A financial breaking point is drawing near and fallout will be grim

2023 will be a year of tough decisions for everyone

  • Jan 12, 2023
Frank Bucholtz
Jessica Peters is a reporter with the Abbotsford News, and an invasive cervical cancer survivor.

OPINION: Cervical cancer awareness didn’t seem important to me, until it was

January is cervical awareness month and a time to understand how devastating the disease really is

Jessica Peters is a reporter with the Abbotsford News, and an invasive cervical cancer survivor.
Someone in Victoria had a frustrating birthday after a sign meant for them was put on the wrong lawn. (Pexels photo)
Someone in Victoria had a frustrating birthday after a sign meant for them was put on the wrong lawn. (Pexels photo)
FILE - This undated image provided by the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory shows the NIF Target Bay in Livermore, Calif. The system uses 192 laser beams converging at the center of this giant sphere to make a tiny hydrogen fuel pellet implode. (Damien Jemison/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via AP, File)

OPINION: Nuclear fusion may change our world but renewable energy sources will save it: experts

Harnessing nuclear fusion could take more than 40 years, while some solutions already exist

  • Jan 8, 2023
FILE - This undated image provided by the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory shows the NIF Target Bay in Livermore, Calif. The system uses 192 laser beams converging at the center of this giant sphere to make a tiny hydrogen fuel pellet implode. (Damien Jemison/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory via AP, File)
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