Tiny homes are in, social housing as a burden on local taxpayers is out and people think the affordable housing crisis is real – so say the majority of respondents to a Cowichan Post survey. Almost 30 per cent say they, or their families, are directly experiencing the problem. The survey, conducted through Survey Monkey, […]
Berkey’s Corner, one of the most densely populated area of North Cowichan lacks representation and a meeting of area residents this past week decided to do something about it. This issue, and the apparent increase in density of a subsidized social housing project next to the curling rink on Sherman Road, came out of a […]
Island Health has entered the business plan step as the second step in a five-step process to replace Cowichan District Hospital. The business plan will outline the service model, programs, a preliminary design and estimated cost for the proposed hospital. Once drafted, the business plan will be submitted to the provincial government for approval to […]
The Cowichan Valley Regional District has formally activated its new housing function by approving a three-year legal agreement with the Cowichan Housing Association (CHA). Last October voters approved a referendum providing an annual contribution of $765,000 to used to do basic research and recommending action around the affordable housing issue in the Cowichan Valley. The […]
Governments, of various stripes and at all levels, are making it hard for small business to stay in business, says George Gates, owner with his wife Evelyn of the Farm Table Restaurant and Bed and Breakfast west of Duncan. “Governments have a way of putting obstacles in the way of small business,” Gates said in […]
It’s a musician’s duty and responsibility to keep people up, keep them smiling. So says Harry Hull, Duncan’s piano man, who can be found seven days a week pounding the ivory on an old upright piano on Station Street in downtown Duncan. You could say its Hull’s full-time job because he can’t work because of […]
There are two power houses in the Cowichan Valley working to foster business development and job creation: Amy Melmock, Economic Development Cowichan (EDC) manager and Cathy Robertson, Community Futures Cowichan general manager. They come at it from different perspectives but ultimately, both recognize it’s about people and supporting the ambitions and aspirations of people who […]
Rachel Ayearst, owner of Style Sense Furniture at Whippletree Junction, has developed a living vegetable wall feature for the kitchen or patio. Living plant walls have been around for a while but Rachel has designed her own living vegetable wall that is being manufactured locally. She will stock this feature wall with whatever vegetables a […]
Cowichan Valley residents overwhelmingly support an economic development function that generates new jobs for the region, according to an informal survey conducted by the Cowichan Post. Respondents randomly invited to participate in the survey also narrowly favoured the Cowichan Valley Regional District over the Municipality of North Cowichan when asked who was best equipped to […]
Harriet Brooke, a Crofton resident, says it is time to develop cooperative housing associations with a self-governing property management model right here in the Cowichan Valley. The issue of affordable housing has been in the news lately. During the recent municipal election it was a topic on the agenda of a number of candidates who […]
