Thursday, January 8, 2026
January 8, 2026
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Salt Spring Island and Gulf Islands news

Local assessments inch back to 2023 levels

The value of a “typical” single-family home in the Gulf Islands rose marginally last year to $876,000, according to BC Assessment — precisely the...

Islander Raffi promoted within Order of Canada

Salt Spring Island’s most celebrated children’s entertainer is being promoted within the Order of Canada, according to a New Year’s Eve announcement from the...

Pender firefighters’ social media messages get noticed

Social media darlings Pender Island Fire Rescue (PIFR) enjoyed a Christmas Eve interview with Chicago-based Nexstar Media Group affiliate WGNTV, highlighting the department’s success...

Ferry and terminal work impacts Gulf Islands

The Salish Heron is on temporary assignment for the Swartz Bay - Southern Gulf Islands route until Friday, Feb. 20, according to BC Ferries,...

LCC to seek input on bus fares

Salt Spring officials will be floating options for changing the island’s public transit fee structure in the new year, looking for public feedback on...

Weather

Salt Spring Island
broken clouds
5.6 ° C
5.8 °
4.5 °
76 %
1kmh
75 %
Fri
5 °
Sat
5 °
Sun
5 °
Mon
6 °
Tue
7 °

Gulf Islands life

Enthusiastic growers wanted for farm training program

After visiting Daria Zovi at her Quarry Collective farm on a sunny last afternoon of 2025, I spent the rest of the day wishing...

Saturna Island Free School among several included in historian’s book

SUBMITTED ARTICLE A bold experiment in alternative education on Saturna Island in the late 1960s and early ’70s is one of 10 that have been...

Driftwood’s Year in Review: news highlights from 2025

The following is a compilation of news bites from Driftwood coverage of events through the 12 months of 2025. See the print version in...

Youngsters’ holiday story charm endures

Once again, young Gulf Islands writers delighted Driftwood story contest judges with their creativity and ability to capture the holiday spirit. “I was impressed by...

Arts & Entertainment

Peter Pan set to fly with GISS

Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) 2nd Story Theatre students are in full production-prep mode after returning to school after the holiday break. Peter Pan is...

Cornerstone of bel canto repertoire performed

SUBMITTED BY ARTSPRING On New Year’s Eve, the Metropolitan Opera raised the curtain on its first new production of Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani in nearly 50 years....

Canadian Christmas thrills the crowds

Salt Spring Singers community choir went (almost) all Canadian for its holiday concert this year, compiling an astonishing 95.8 per cent of content from...

Photo of the Week

Subtitle

From left, Sophia Johnson, Zenah Rippingale and Virginia Mundy smile through varying levels of comfort in the chilly waters of Vesuvius Bay at the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim.

Photo by Rob Lowrie

Do you have a photo to share for the Photo of the Week space? Send it to news@gulfislandsdriftwood.com.

Opinion

Viewpoint: The Dismantling of the Islands Trust

By RONALD WRIGHT Fifty years ago, B.C. took a bold step to save our islands from “exploitation by real-estate developers and speculators,” passing the Islands...

Looking Back, Looking Forward: A Year of Transition and a Call to Action

By LAURA PATRICK Salt Spring Local Trustee & Chair, Islands Trust Council The past year marked a significant transition for the Islands Trust. In March, following trustee...

LCC looks to build on work done in 2025

By EARL ROOK Chair, Salt Spring Local Community Commission As the Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission (LCC) moves into 2026, the final year of its...

Obituaries

WARREN, James Darcy

James Darcy Warren died on the 29th of December at the Lady Minto Hospital in Ganges, Saltspring Island. Jim was born in Selkirk, Manitoba in 1934...

DAVIES, Larry

August 26, 1940 – December 2, 2025 Larry Davies (aka: The Gentle Giant or The Big Guy), passed away peacefully on Dec 2, 2025 at...

More Gulf Islands news

Trust Council exec recommends dropping newspaper notices

The Islands Trust is poised to hand over most of its public notice distribution to U.S.-owned Facebook next year, as leadership closed out 2025...

CRD director: Year of achievements enumerated

By GARY HOLMAN SSI CRD DIRECTOR The past year has seen an unprecedented level of investment in essential infrastructure and services. The Capital Regional District (CRD)...

Fulford slick contained by boom after barge and crane capsize

A pollutant-capturing yellow boom spotted floating at Fulford will remain there a while longer, according to Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) officials, after a work...

Kanaka Connector Trail celebrated

A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of a formerly unofficial pathway this week, as Salt Spring Island community members celebrated completion of Kanaka...

Federal agency gives Trust cell tower feedback

Ottawa’s “red tape reduction” agenda may have island implications, according to trustees, as a Dec. 10 meeting with representatives from Innovation, Science and Economic...

Spring 2027 targeted for Maxwell plant completion

In another year where tax hikes are the norm, customers of Salt Spring Island’s largest water district can at least expect a smaller-than-planned parcel...

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