Friday, February 6, 2026
February 6, 2026
SEARCH

Salt Spring Island and Gulf Islands news

LCC plans old fire hall takeover

Salt Spring officials won’t have to raise taxes to maintain the old Fire Hall No. 1 in Ganges next year, having found efficiencies within...

Search and Rescue group drone team puts eyes in the skies

BY SALT SPRING ISLAND SEARCH & RESCUE When Salt Spring Island Search and Rescue (SSISAR) first began exploring use of a drone several years ago,...

CRD Transportation Committee bats SSIRT back to CRD Board

Salt Spring’s bucolic reputation may be working to the detriment of local active commuters, as regional officials from Vancouver Island municipalities struggled to recognize...

NSSWD corrects Maxwell plant estimate difference

If there’s comfort to be had for ratepayers surrounding the high costs for Salt Spring’s planned Maxwell Water Treatment Plant, it’s that at least...

Islands Trust tax increase firms up

As both federal and provincial agencies continue to announce job cuts and other belt-tightening measures, finance-focused officials at the Islands Trust hope they can...

Weather

Salt Spring Island
broken clouds
5.4 ° C
5.4 °
3.8 °
91 %
0kmh
75 %
Fri
8 °
Sat
8 °
Sun
7 °
Mon
6 °
Tue
6 °

Gulf Islands life

Visitor Info Centre volunteers predict busy 2026 tourist season

Fire, floods and Fulford-Ganges Road construction notwithstanding, 2025 brought a bump in visits to the Salt Spring Island Visitor Information Centre (VIC) — a...

One hour per week can make a huge difference

This week in our Stepping Up series we meet Elaine Shaw, who enjoys volunteering in the Extended Care Unit of Lady Minto Hospital. In addition...

Drum-Making Workshop Brings Indigenous Teachings to Salt Spring

BY SALT SPRING ISLAND FARMLAND TRUST On Sunday, Feb. 7, Beaver Point Hall will be filled with the sound of stories, tools and careful hands...

Lady Minto Thrift Shop welcomes volunteers

The second week of our Stepping Up volunteer series puts the spotlight on a beloved community hub that provides invaluable services: the Lady Minto...

Arts & Entertainment

Brass Roots album creates fresh musical force

I think it’s fair to say anyone attending last summer’s Fill the Cupboard musical fundraiser for the Harvest Food Bank at The Jam Factory...

Ensemble takes audiences around the world

BY MEGAN WARREN FOR ARTSPRING World music lovers are in for a special treat this week when Tamar Ilana & Ventanas take the ArtSpring stage as...

Award-winning Marlee Matlin film at ArtSpring

By STEVE MARTINDALE For SS FILM FESTIVAL SOCIETY At the age of 21, Marlee Matlin became a household name as the youngest-ever winner of the...

Subtitle

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Salt Spring Island Search and Rescue (SSISAR) drone team members, from left, Craig Jones, Michael Powell and Brent Simpson during a training session at Burgoyne Bay. Acquisition of an enterprise-grade drone with thermal-imaging capabilities that can fly in harsh weather has given SSISAR a powerful new tool.

Photo by Alan Bibby

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

Opinion

Opinion: Changing the tone of the ‘drip, drip, drip’ sound

By JON COOKSEY Drip, drip, drip. That’s the poison leaking into our community. Not the forever chemicals falling with our rain (though that’s bad too)...

Viewpoint: On Thought, Morality, and Other Unruly Forces

By DAVID GORDON People seem to treat thought as if it were a polite little house-guest — something that knocks before entering and wipes its...

Community Health Networks – What is their mandate?

By the Salt Spring Health Advancement Network When people hear the word “mandate,” they often think of government orders or legal authority. But in the...

Obituaries

MYCYK, Felicity (Lis) Anne Elizabeth

December 27, 1940- January 30, 2026 Felicity Anne Elizabeth Mycyk was born in England to a Welsh father and English mother on the eve of...

KITCHEN, Eric

Feb 12, 1946 - Jan 19, 2026 Eric passed away on January 19, 2026 at his home in Metchosin after a long and courageous battle...

More Gulf Islands news

Fire district creates Fulford hall pond

South-end firefighters have a new tool at their disposal: a recently completed 750,000-gallon water supply pond, now in service at the station serving Fulford.  Salt...

TreeFrog Daycare needs post-flood support

TreeFrog Daycare in Fulford has filled a vital community role for more than three decades, facing its share of “character-building” challenges, including its most...

Baker Beach petition against LTC dismissed

Chiding Salt Spring’s Local Trust Committee (LTC) about its process, a B.C. Supreme Court justice nonetheless dismissed a petition for review from three islanders...

Policy Statement session draws crowd

A standing-room-only crowd filled the Crofton Room at the Harbour House Hotel last Tuesday night to learn more about the Islands Trust Policy Statement...

BCF waves off local traffic boarding priority

BC Ferries has released a “what we heard” report summarizing the company’s Salt Spring Island engagement for the Crofton and Vesuvius terminal upgrade projects...

CRD simplifies island building permit process

Permitting for construction projects within the electoral areas will soon be more straightforward, according to Capital Regional District (CRD) officials, but projects valued at...

Sign up for our newsletter and stay informed

Read Southern Gulf Islands news weekly with our free email newsletter.

Your community newspaper since 1960
241 Fulford-Ganges Rd. Salt Spring, BC V8K 2K7 Canada
Office hours:
Monday–Thursday 9 am–4 pm
Friday 9 am–noon
250-537-9933

driftwood@gulfislandsdriftwood.com