Running 28 minutes, Midcoast Morning covers local news and current affairs happening in Nanaimo and on the Salish Sea. Midcoast Morning focuses in on one big story per show, interviewing reporters about their stories, as well as those making news and those impacted by it. We also feature the curators and creators in our local arts and culture scene. Midcoast Morning broadcasts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 8:30 A.M.. The podcast edition releases at the same time.
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Lauryn Mackenzie — Host and Producer.
Jesse Woodward — Executive Producer.
Arbie Fru — Technical Assistance.
And other contributors in our news department.
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More than a dozen authors, poets, profs, and students spoke at a festival aimed at fostering connections between Palestinian and local literature this past weekend. The 2nd annual Watermelon Seeds festival of literature took place at VIU Saturday.It comes on the heels of an event last spring that took place at the Palestinian solidarity encampment that had been set up on campus…
Read MoreWith Nanaimo City Council voting in favour of a motion Monday to name the park at 933 Park Avenue Five Acres Farm Community Park, Midcoast Morning explores the history behind the name, as well as the urban farming that’s still taking place on the land.
Read MoreCree artist and creator George Littlechild is sharing his art with the Comox Valley this fall with a vast exhibition at the Comox Valley Art Gallery and a special film screening at North Island College. The film being screened this Saturday, October 4th is nanekawâsis, a documentary featuring Little Child's life and art. Both the artist George Littlechild and the filmmaker Conor McNally will be in attendance at the screening on Saturday…
Read MoreOn the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, hundreds walked along fifth street in downtown Courtenay before gathering in Lewis Park. Midcoast Morning spoke with some of those present about the meaning of the day.
Read MoreFollowing decades of advocacy, Hamilton Marsh near Qualicum Beach appears on its way to becoming a protected area. Earlier this month the Regional District of Nanaimo announced it had reached a conditional agreement with Mosaic Forest Management to buy 360 hectares of land for $30 million. That land includes the marsh itself, which is about 36 hectares in size, and a mature forest, that if undisturbed, will reach old growth status within 150 years…
Read MoreThe Island Corridor Foundation’s CEO wants Nanaimo’s planning department to keep the potential of the old rail corridor in mind. Thomas Bevan spoke at a Nanaimo city council meeting Monday night to provide an update on the work of the Island Corridor Foundation, as they look to determine the future of what was once the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway. Midcoast Morning spoke with Bevan about the current state of the corridor.
Read MoreIt’s a new year at VIU, and there’s a new president on campus, looking to help steer the school through its financial challenges. Dennis Johnson was appointed as interim president in June. His tenure will be up to two years. Midcoast Morning speaks with Johnson, as well as VIU Students Union Board Chair Sarah Mei Lyana about hopes for the upcoming school year.
Read MoreA new partnership between Habitat For Humanity’s Restore and non profit Lighthouse’s Building Material Exchange program aims to save construction material from the landfill. The Nanaimo Restore, which sells donated construction material and home furnishings, celebrated an expansion as well as the launch of the new partnership at an event Monday. Proceeds from the Restore go to Habitat for Humanity Mid Vancouver Island, which has a goal of building affordable housing. The organization most recently completed a housing project in 2021. Midcoast Morning spoke with representatives from the Restore, Lighthouse, and Habitat For Humanity Mid Vancouver Island.
Read MoreNanaimo’s night market continued to grow this year, according to its organizer. Midcoast Morning visited the market ahead of the final 2025 edition Thursday night. Plus, the Picnic in The Plaza aims to bring the community together downtown on Sunday.
Read MoreMidcoast Morning hears about events in Nanaimo and Parksville to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Plus VIU instructor Sarah Lovegrove, Vice President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association speaks about the day in the context of a backlash against harm reduction.
Read MoreA new BMX pump track is coming to Cedar, funded by the Stevie Smith Legacy Foundation. Midcoast Morning speaks with Foundation founder Michelle Corfield. This weekend on Saturday, Primary Skateboards is hosting it’s third annual block party on Victoria Crescent in Downtown Nanaimo, Midcoast Morning speaks with co-owner Jordan Pletz and longtime skateboarder Rigo Gonzalez.
Read MoreAdam Olsen wrote in The Tyee this week that this month’s BC Supreme Court ruling that recognized Cowichan title to a section of lands south of the Fraser River was “part of a legal trajectory the Crown has been warned about for decades.”
Olsen joined Midcoast Morning to share his perspective on the case.
Read MoreWith wildfires bringing smoke to the region, Midcoast Morning spoke with researchers about what we know about its health impacts, and heard about a community based research project aiming to help people use DIY tools to improve air quality.
Read MoreTransit workers in the Cowichan Valley have been on strike since Febraury 8th. Last week workers voted against going to binding arbitration to settle the dispute with contractor Transdev. Midcoast Morning speaks with a Unifor representative, as well as the Mayor of Lake Cowichan, and a case worker with the Cowichan Brain Injury Society
Read MoreThe BC Green party is getting set to choose a new leader. Three candidates are in the race to replace Sonia Furstenau. Voting will happen in September. To be eligible to vote in the contest a person needs to be a member of the party ahead of a deadline Sunday August 10. Midcoast Morning speaks with each of the candidates in the race.
Read MoreNanaimo City Council is calling on BC Housing to contemplate sober housing for those who qualify for supportive housing and who are in recovery. Council also wants to see a sober housing model used for a planned site at 250 Terminal avenue. Midcoast Morning speaks with B.C.’s new Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle, as well as Francesca Plewes, a person in recovery who now manages a Nanaimo supportive housing site.
Read MoreMonths after Tod Maffin’s Nanaimo Infusion garnered the city international attention, stories of healthcare workers moving here continue to circulate. The Nanaimo infusion was an event in April that attracted hundreds of visitors from the United States come to the city. It started when Nanaimo resident Tod Maffin mused about the idea in a TikTok that went viral.
Read MoreNanaimo has met its provincial housing targets this year, but it didn’t add a single unit of affordable housing.There were 875 units issued occupancy permits issued in the last year in Nanaimo. Just over 100 supportive housing units also came online through the provincial HEART & HEARTH program.
The vast majority of new housing in Nanaimo is rental housing, with a relatively balanced mix of one, two, and three or more bedroom units.
The vacancy rate has risen in the past few years, currently estimated at 2.9 per cent, approaching the 3 per cent level city staff suggest is needed to help create a healthy rental market.
Provincial legislation in 2023 created housing targets for municipalities. City staff presented a report sharing Nanaimo’s progress towards meeting those targets at a council meeting this past Monday. Lisa Brinkman, Manager of Community Planning with the City of Nanaimo, spoke with Midcoast Morning about the year in housing.
Read MoreWhen you think of invasive species on the West Coast, you might think of Scotch-Broom or English Ivy or European Wall Lizards. The Gabriola Island Shore Keepers Association is thinking of a different invasive species, the European Green Crab. They're hosting a talk Tuesday evening with Christine Spice about the crab and preventing their spread. Today on the program we speak with Isabel Pearsall, a volunteer of the organization, about this invasive species and also about what the association is doing more broadly in the community. We also speak with Tom Therriault from Fisheries and Oceans Canada for further information about the crab and Nick Wong from the Invasive Species Council of BC about how we can prevent their spread.
Read MoreThe future of a drop in centre and overnight shelter in the south end was the subject of extensive discussion at a pair of council and committee meetings this past week.
The Hub is a facility on Nicol Street and Victoria Road that offers daytime services for people experiencing homelessness run by Island Crisis Care Society, and an evening shelter run by the Nanaimo Family Life Association. Between a Finance and Audit Committee Meeting and a Regular Council Meeting, council heard from more than ten community members about the impacts they feel the service has had on their neighbourhood. Council ultimately voted to extend funding for the site through the end of next winter. Nanaimo City Councillor and south end resident Erin Hemmens spoke with Midcoast Morning about the issue.
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