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If anyone needed a reminder that homelessness and mental health are problems that still cry out for community-wide solutions, Victoria Police Chief Frank Elsner provided it this week.

The Harper government is considering making a life sentence without parole automatic for certain crimes. While that is consistent with the Conservatives’ get-tough-on-crime agenda, it is not consistent with a fair and effective justice system.

A tax break alone won’t revitalize Government Street, but it’s an idea worth exploring. More important, it advances the discussion on what to do with a downtown street that is looking a little down at the heels.

When it comes time to name the new Johnson Street Bridge, there’s a famous bridge in Venice that might serve as an inspiration — the Bridge of Sighs.

The low oil prices that are bad news for Alberta could be good news for sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, if Premier Christy Clark succeeds in luring British Columbians back home to fill jobs in this province’s resource industries.

It appears the flu season now passing its peak will be one of the nastiest in recent times. According to the sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Centre for Disease Control, doctors across the province are reporting case loads significantly above the historical average.

Looking for ways to trim the budget, Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier wants to cut the number of representatives in the provincial legislature. Perhaps sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ should consider doing the same.

In considering the heroes and villains among Vancouver Island’s early European settlers, Capt. Walter Colquhon Grant would definitely fall in the latter category. It was he who gets the credit for introducing Scotch broom to the Island.

With the death of Ted Harrison last week, we lost a truly Canadian artist — one who showed us our country in a unique way. Harrison, who died in Victoria at 88, had lived in the Yukon for a quarter of a century.

New provincial guidelines for police record checks strike a good balance between protecting the vulnerable and ensuring that people aren’t tarred unfairly. Enshrining the rules in law would make them stronger.