A small group of Dontay Lucas’ family and friends attended a Port Alberni city council meeting on the evening of January 29th, some carrying framed photographs of the little boy who died at the hands of his mother and stepfather on March 13, 2018.

When you enter Port Alberni’s United Church you are greeted with a long foyer filled with gift items on shelves, a reception area, books and comfy armchairs. At the end of the foyer was a set of double doors, painted white.

“There was an event here and Geena seemed to have a problem with white walls and asked if we’d be interested in her doing something,” said Mary Heatherington with a smile, the Alberni Valley United Church worship assistant.

Wallace Watts of Tseshaht spent his 38-year career as a commercial pilot for United Airlines traveling the globe visiting countless places every week. He received two awards for preventing a plane crash on two different occasions and was one of the first Indigenous pilots to get hired by a commercial airline.

To improve connections to its traditional territory, the Uchucklesaht Tribe plans to introduce more regular trips to Ethlateese this year.

On Jan. 18, the provincial government announced funding allocated to mid-Vancouver Island communities to help “implement new provincial legislation” to streamline the delivery of homes.

Of the communities throughout Nuu-chah-nulth territory, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District is to receive $142,686, Ucluelet, $160,031, Port Alberni, $237,804, and Tofino gets $161,467.

A downtown Port Alberni hotel-turned-rooming house has fallen into disrepair and is being ordered by the city to make necessary repairs within 30 days - or the local government will do the necessary work and bill the owner.

Port Alberni city council discussed the matter at their January 22nd meeting, ordering the owner of the Port Pub, Peter Wang, to complete an extensive list of repairs and cleaning to make the space safe for the upstairs tenants. Council imposed a remedial action order for the property located at 5170 Argyle Street.

When the cold weather snap brought record breaking temperatures through British Columbia, Victoria’s dropped to as low as -10 with a wind chill of -20 - a cold front that the unhoused population was not prepared for.

“Nobody was prepared,” said Karen Mills, co-founder and lead coordinator for the Peer2Peer Indigenous Society, of Victoria’s homeless.

She added that the unhoused are often not aware of extreme conditions unless pre-warned by outreach workers since they usually don’t have phones and computers.

This month First Nations across B.C. received funding to support the preservation of their distinct cultures, with the money coming from a ministry that specializes in emergencies.

On Friday, Jan. 19 British Columbia’s Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness announced approximately $580,000 for 22 projects, including several initiatives being launched by Nuu-chah-nulth nations.