Dispatch
Oak Bay firefighter reports from volunteering in Peru Page A3
LETTERS: Dump find spreads good cheer /A4 SPORTS: Pick your pitch action this weekend /A7 HOMEFINDER: The Clive goes Platinum /A12
OAK BAYNEWS Friday, March 18, 2016
www.oakbaynews.com
Don’t focus on a crocus Trees are key to counting blooms in the billions Oak Bay News
Despite a count of 100 million blooms submitted by one resident, Oak Bay fell to seventh this year in the 41st annual Victoria Flower Count. Graham Bell, new Oak Bay resident, finds the climate more conducive to an early spring uprising here. Just a couple of degrees seems to make a difference between Oak Bay and the locale of Butchart Gardens where Bell honed his flower skills working in public relations until just over a year ago. “(Plants) were very far advanced for the time of year,” Bell said of the buds in his new community. “I actually found dandelions that had already gone to seed.” He discovered masses of azaleas and camellia, some so far in bloom, they were already falling off. “There is a phenomenal amount of early spring plants. Oak Bay should lead the pack.” Bell led the way in counting for Oak Bay’s seventh place finish – of 14 communities – in the annual Victoria Flower Count March 3 to 9. Residents of Greater Victoria counted 25,864,976,064 flowers, smashing last year’s second best count by 8 billion blooms.
SEWAGE SPECIAL
Christine van Reeuwyk
Arnold Lim/Black Press
Black Press journalists Don Descoteau, left, Pamela Roth and Dan Ebenal join photographers Don Denton and Arnold Lim at Clover Point. Their five-part investigation into the $1 billion sewage treatment project begins today.
Community newspaper investigation:
REPORT
IN TH E
CRD
Tackling the treatment issue Don Descoteau Black Press editor
The subject of sewage treatment has been a contentious one for more than 30 years in Greater Victoria and has so far cost taxpayers millions of dollars. While some in the region have already begun treating wastewater – Saanich Peninsula started in 2000, while Sooke completed a system upgrade in 2005 – the region’s core and West Shore municipalities send untreated sewage into Juan de Fuca Strait. The cost, siting and engineering of a regional treatment project make this a complex undertaking from a technical standPLEASE SEE: COSM_9303_OBN_b_X1a.pdf 1 2016-03-14 4:21 PM point, but also from a political one, as counOak Bay down for the count, Page A5
cil representatives from seven municipalities debate plans. In the past six years alone, the Capital Regional District has spent tens of millions of taxpayers’ dollars on research, consultant fees, land purchases and construction. Completion of the project is estimated to cost more than a $1 billion. Annual operating costs will add to the amount for which homeowners and commercial property owners will be on the hook. It’ll be up to municipalities and the CRD to determine how the tax burden is divided. But who’s making these decisions, and who is holding them accountable? To help readers gain a better understanding of where we’ve been, where we are now,
who’s involved and what the future holds, Black Press assembled an investigative journalism team to provide perspective and help simplify this complex topic. Starting in today’s Oak Bay News, our fivepart series will tackle issues ranging from where money has been spent and the sites being considered to what other cities have done and what scientists say. We’ll ask for feedback along the way and encourage you to connect with your community newspaper. Write letters to the editor or comment on Facebook and Twitter. This special Black Press presentation aims to give you new insights into this complicated issue. Turn to page A8 to get started.
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