Tuesday, January 20, 2026
January 20, 2026
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Salt Spring Island and Gulf Islands news

New submarine cable to improve islands’ hydro connection

Work will begin this spring on overhead power line upgrades that will support a new underwater cable connecting Salt Spring and North Pender Island,...

Crews readying for winter shutdown at Cusheon Creek project

Two-way traffic across Salt Spring Island’s newest bridge will have to wait a few more weeks, according to officials, while crews complete final safety...

Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership Society looks back and to the future

The Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership Society (SGITP) has operated for several years, but raised its profile in the last year with the release...

‘Lifetime’ boat licences expiring soon

The new year marks the beginning of the end for so-called “lifetime” licences for pleasure boats, with many owners in the Gulf Islands now...

LCC chair, CRD director share provisional 2026 budget details

By EARL ROOK, SSI LCC CHAIR & GARY HOLMAN, SSI CRD director The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board approved the 2026 provisional budget, including that of the Salt Spring Island Local...

Weather

Salt Spring Island
few clouds
1.4 ° C
1.8 °
1.4 °
96 %
1kmh
20 %
Wed
5 °
Thu
4 °
Fri
5 °
Sat
4 °
Sun
3 °

Gulf Islands life

Island’s ‘foodways’ explored in two-part series

BY ANDREA PALFRAMAN Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust Salt Spring Island’s foodways have sustained people for thousands of years. Yet today, the majority of the food...

Veteran broadcaster launches sleep aid program

If gentle meditations, “rainsong” on rooftops or whispered storytelling aren’t your thing for falling asleep to, a former national news anchor living on Salt...

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...

Arts & Entertainment

Candy Roberts shares lovable hoser Larry in comedy show

Everyone has a “Larry,” agreed Candy Roberts; hers dropped by one day down from Campbell River, put his feet up, made himself at home...

Victoria Baroque and The Fretless on tap

SUBMITTED BY ARTSPRING ArtSpring’s January lineup is all about breathing new life into classic musical traditions, and Victoria Baroque and The Fretless are kicking off...

Appeasing a mountain in Everest Dark

BY STEVE MARTINDALE Salt Spring Film Festival Society Salt Spring Search and Rescue joins the Salt Spring Film Festival at ArtSpring on Wednesday, Jan. 21 to...

Photo of the Week

Subtitle

HAPPY 100TH!: Kit Lewis blows out the candles on a beautiful birthday cake at her 100th birthday party held at Meadowbrook on Jan. 14.

Photo by Sofya Raginsky

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

Opinion

Viewpoint: Current OCP housing policy works

BY MAXINE LEICHTER I wish to comment on Laura Patrick’s article in last week’s Driftwood that mentions the review of the Salt Spring Island Official...

In Response: Islands Trust rejects green shoring proposal

By ETHAN WILDING There has been a great deal of misinformation circulating about the Baker Beach shoreline proposal, and I feel it is important to...

Opinion: Construction workers need more than hard hats

The following was written in response to a Jan. 8 New York Times article headlined “A Construction Worker’s Suicide Highlights a Wider Crisis.” By PETER...

Obituaries

TWA, Heidi May

Dec. 4, 1968 - Nov. 7, 2025 Heidi May Twa passed away after a long hard journey with Huntington’s Disease. Born on Salt Spring Island, Heidi...

JUTRAS, Michel Louis

Sept. 10, 1946 – Dec. 10, 2025 Michel Louis Jutras passed away on Dec. 10, 2025, at his home in Qualicum Beach, B.C. He was...

More Gulf Islands news

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...

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...

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...

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...

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