News

Federal NDP leader Jack Layton has announced he is taking an indefinite medical leave from the leadership of the party, after being diagnosed with a second type of cancer.

With a unanimous vote, Comox council passed third reading of the Official Community Plan Wednesday, although not without a hiccup.

The debate of election signs on public property in Comox is getting a fresh perspective, as council agreed Wednesday to extend an invitation to a Courtenay-based lawyer who argues banning election signs is unconstitutional.

World Hepatitis Day is being marked around the world on July 28 to raise public awareness about hepatitis B and C, two forms of life-threatening liver disease. Today, approximately 500 million people — one in 12 worldwide — are infected with chronic viral hepatitis B or C. In Canada, an estimated 600,000 people have hepatitis, with many unaware of their status.

A public inquest will be held into the death of a Courtenay man in Comox Valley RCMP cells in 2009, the B.C. Coroners Service said this week.

Alan deJersey has resigned from the Union Bay Improvement District board of trustees, even though his term does not end until next spring.

If the Comox Valley can put on a big multi-day event like Vancouver Island MusicFest with more than 1,000 volunteers, Andrew Gower thinks the Valley can close some streets for four hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Bus ridership in the Comox Valley shot up 17 per cent from the previous year, BC Transit said in its 2010/11 annual report, which detailed another record-breaking year.

Last month, Georges P. Vanier Secondary School became the latest Comox Valley school to harness the power of the sun. Vanier received a $20,000 grant from SolarBC to purchase and install solar panels.

The regional district expects to install about 900 water meters in local service areas by early-September.