Island restaurants named country鈥檚 best new eateries
Two Vancouver Island restaurants have been named to a top-10 new Canadian eateries list by Air sa国际传媒 and American Express. The list is put together by national restaurant experts and an anonymous food critic.
In fourth place is Ucluelet鈥檚 Pluvio restaurant + rooms, 1714 Peninsula Rd. Owned and operated by chef Warren Barr and Lily Verney-Downey, the restaurant features seasonal and wild ingredients.
Victoria鈥檚 30-seat Nowhere *A Restaurant, offering sustainable seafood, is in fifth place. It is at G4 - 1001 Douglas St., in the Sussex Building. Chef Clark Deutscher is also behind its nearby sister restaurant, Hank鈥檚.
New name for sa国际传媒 Ferries vessel
The 335-foot Island Sky intermediate-class ferry has been renamed Malaspina Sky. Constructed in 2008 in Vancouver, the sa国际传媒 Ferries vessel carries 112 vehicles and serves the Earls Cove-Saltery Bay route on the Sunshine Coast, as well as Powell River and Comox.
A renaming ceremony for the vessel was held at Saltery Bay on Thursday. 鈥淭he name Malaspina Sky highlights the Northern Sunshine Coast, which is a beautiful part of our province,鈥� said Mark Collins, sa国际传媒 Ferries president and chief executive.
Two new Island-class electric-hybrid ferries will be added to the fleet next year, with up to a dozen Island-class ferries envisioned. Each ferry in that class will see the word 鈥淚sland鈥� as the prefix in its name.
Janion developer wins National Trust Award
Reliance Properties has won the National Trust鈥檚 Board of Governors鈥� Award for its preservation of The Janion in Victoria. The Trust said in a statement: 鈥淩eliance Properties had a vision to bring the long-derelict Janion building on Victoria鈥檚 waterfront back to life.鈥�
Reliance is known for its heritage revitalization work in Vancouver鈥檚 Gastown. This award is the ninth time the Janion project has been honoured since 2012, the company said.
John Herbert Turner, former mayor of Victoria who also served as sa国际传媒 premier, built the Janion Hotel in 1891 with about 40 rooms. Its new addition includes 122 micro-homes and commercial use on its ground level.
Don鈥檛 miss
Victoria coding bootcamp Lighthouse Labs is launching Nov. 1 a free 21-Day Coding Challenge, with a smart-city theme, to promote digital literacy. Its goal is to teach people to code through one daily challenge at a time. Participants can sign up individually or as a team for a chance to win prizes. Each daily challenge is expected to take between 15 and 30 minutes. To register, go to
