Latest news with #NorthVancouver
CTV News
12 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Man arrested after stabbing at North Vancouver construction site, RCMP say
Police have arrested a suspect following a reported stabbing at a construction site in North Vancouver on Thursday. The incident happened shortly before noon at a worksite near West 1st Street and Pemberton Avenue, North Vancouver RCMP said in a news release. Responding officers managed to locate and arrest a suspect 'a short distance' from the scene, the RCMP said. The victim was taken to hospital with injuries that authorities described as minor. 'This was a frightening and unsettling incident for the workers,' said Cpl. Mansoor Sahak, in a statement. The motive for the stabbing is unclear, but authorities said the suspect and victim know each other. Officers from the West Vancouver Police Department were in the area and helped in the response, Sahak said. The RCMP asked anyone who witnessed the incident and hasn't spoken with police to contact the North Vancouver detachment at 604-985-1311 and quote file number 25-11369.
Globe and Mail
17 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
The best time to make a lump-sum mortgage payment, according to the experts
Being mortgage free can seem like a distant goal when the outstanding balance is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and most of your regular payments are going toward paying interest. But if you can afford it, financial experts say making additional lump-sum payments can help speed your path to being debt free. 'Making lump sum payments on your mortgage is a pretty powerful strategy to save on your interest and become mortgage free a lot sooner,' says Patty Hopper, a mobile mortgage specialist at Vancity in North Vancouver, B.C. By making a lump-sum payment on your mortgage in addition to your regular payments, you reduce the outstanding balance. This saves you cash in the long run because you'll no longer be paying interest on that amount. Hopper said a lot people don't have the extra cash flow to make an extra payment, but if you're lucky enough to receive a bonus at work or a tax refund, that can be used to make a lump-sum payment once a year. 'Any little bit is going to save you interest,' Hopper said. When mortgage rates were less than two per cent, the case for using extra cash to make additional payments instead of investing that money in hopes of making more than you were paying in interest was hard to make. But with higher interest rates combined with volatile stock markets, the case for trying to do better by investing the money versus the sure thing of paying down additional debt and saving on interest is harder to make. Mengdie Hong, a senior financial planner at RBC in Ottawa, said you want to compare your mortgage rate and expected return on the investments. 'In simple words, if your mortgage rate is higher than what you expect from your investment ... it may be best to allocate this excess cash to the mortgage, but if your expected return is noticeably higher than the mortgage, you may want to invest,' Hong said. Making lump-sum payments on your mortgage can also help keep any rise in your payments in check if you face a higher interest rate upon renewal, because your outstanding balance will be lower. And if you find yourself selling your home before you've fully repaid your loan, you'll end up with more cash in hand because of the lower amount you owed. 'You've got more cash on hand to make your next purchase or to move forward in the next leg of your journey,' Hopper said. The size of any lump-sum payment aren't without restrictions, which will vary between lenders. How much you can repay early and how often will be laid out in the documents you signed when you took out the loan. Both Hong and Hopper say extra payments on your mortgage shouldn't be made in isolation and must be considered as part of your overall financial plan. The status of your emergency fund, RRSP, RESP and TFSA contributions, and other debts all need to be considered. Hong said if you have other, higher-interest debt, such as outstanding credit card balances, that may be where you want to be making extra payments. 'So before you apply this lump sum, you may want to review all the debts that you have,' she said. Hong says paying down your mortgage and becoming debt-free sooner feels great, but you don't necessarily want to do it at the expense of flexibility. 'We always want to have flexibility and options in our financial plan,' she said.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Art Windsor-Essex to launch digital museum of Iain Baxter& works
Iain Baxter& at his exhibit at the North Vancouver Museum in Presentation House. (judy_and_ed/ via The Canadian Encylopedia) Art Windsor-Essex (AWE) has announced it has been chosen for funding to launch a digital museum of Iain Baxter&: What's the Big Idea? The funding is from Digital Museums Canada and will bring AWE a bilingual, accessible project. 'Iain Baxter& set out to become a schoolteacher, and it feels like a full-circle moment to create a project that will connect Iain, and his irrepressible ideation to educators and students,' said Nadja Pelkey, digital initiatives and partnerships coordinator with AWE. 'This is the time to think big and imagine outside of what we understand to be possible.' The digital form will allow AWE to utilize his art through 3D models, animations, and illustrations. 'Digital technologies provide a means to explore some of Iain Baxter&'s ideas that have been considered physically or logistically impossible,' read a news release. 'Using 3D models, animations, and illustrations, users will explore impossible ideas from new perspective and engage with classroom-ready resources designed to train expansive thinking - the foundation of innovation.'
CTV News
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- CTV News
79-year-old piano teacher accepted to Oxford and Cambridge music programs
Susan Evans has been teaching piano to students on the North Shore for decades. She now might get the chance to go back to school herself at Oxford or Cambridge. (Courtesy: Abby Luciano) A lifelong love of music is reaching a crescendo for a passionate piano teacher at the age of 79. For more than 25 years, Susan Evans has been teaching little ones piano in North Vancouver's Lynn Valley. Last year, the piano teacher returned to school to get a master's degree in music theory at the University of British Columbia. As she wraps up, the aspirations for Evans don't stop there as she's been accepted to master's of philosophy of music programs at University of Oxford and Cambridge University for the fall. Studying music at one of those premier universities in the U.K. has been a lifelong dream of hers. 'Just being accepted is a big thing all by itself. Even if I don't manage to get to go, it pleases me hugely that they want me to go,' Evans said. Music has always surrounded Evans. Her mother played the piano and sang to Evans in their home in Wales. Her father was also musically gifted, playing piano and clarinet in a jazz band. By the time she was five, Evans asked her parents for piano lessons. Evans worked on mastering her craft, spending hours gliding her fingers over the white keys. In high school, she continued honing her skills while also learning to play the cello and joining the choir. Her cello skills eventually led her to play in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. She then went on to study cello, piano and composition at the Dartington College of Arts in Devon, England. 'There was a lot of music going on all the time,' she said. But then Evans decided to change career direction to work in film, another passion of hers. She went on to complete a masters degree in film and television production in London, later becoming one of the film editors on Led Zeppelin's award-winning 1976 concert movie, The Song Remains the Same. She then took on a new career challenge, becoming a freelance writer in Tokyo, Japan, writing restaurant and theatre reviews, cultural and local-interest features for an English-language weekly publication after backpacking through Asia. In 1981, Evans and her family moved to the Vancouver area, eventually settling in North Van. Evans returned as a student 15 years later, starting at Capilano University's music program then transferring over to UBC completing a bachelor's in music after putting her career on pause to raise her family. After finishing school, she began teaching students in her home near Princess Park. As she started to gain attention for her lessons, she was able to secure her own commercial space for a studio in Lynn Valley, teaching dozens of children for more than two decades. 'I love teaching on the North Shore,' Evans said. 'It's just been wonderful because the families there have been so supportive. I just felt so valued, and I enjoy teaching, it's my favourite activity. That's why I've been doing it for so long.' She has fond memories of teaching students, watching them go on to pursue careers in music or otherwise around the world. Now living in Vancouver, the piano teacher took a small hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic and rented a home in Nova Scotia, allowing a colleague to take over her teaching business. But now the piano teacher teaches again at the Lynn Valley studio once a week. Attending Oxford or Cambridge to study music theory has always been a goal of hers, and she applied on a whim just to see if she would be accepted. 'When I was at school, I really wanted to go to Oxford or Cambridge and my marks weren't good enough. It's a lifelong dream to go, and to be able to go is kind of fulfilling something I've wished [for] my whole life that I didn't.' 'If I don't go now, it's going to be too late. I've been wanting to do that for ages, and this is my very last chance to do it,' Evans added. Evans said she wants to complete a master's in philosophy in music theory from either university, with a particular focus in mid-20th century French composers, a topic that isn't widely available here. 'I wanted to specialize in music theory. I've been teaching piano for a long time, and I really enjoy music theory, and I'm very curious about where music comes from, how does it work, what's the structure of musical pieces and all that,' she said. As Evans ponders her decision, a big factor is money, she said. Her husband, Barry Rueger, set up a GoFundMe in May to try and help raise funds for her tuition. 'The challenge for us is to cover the costs,' the post reads. 'Although we own a small home in Nova Scotia, and have pensions and savings, the reality is that as an international student Susan will be charged more than £40,000 in registration fees for each year. That is, simply, just beyond our reach.' Evans said she might sell a piano she has in Nova Scotia or her car in Vancouver to make up some of the tuition money. But even if Evans doesn't go, she is thrilled to be accepted to both institutions. 'My main goal is that I'm really curious. There are things I don't know … and I want to learn more about the structure of music, the centre of music, the core of music,' she said. 'This is such an opportunity, it seems too big to miss.' Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘See how cool it can be': B.C. engineer inspired to make music video about wastewater treatment plant
Adam finds out the story behind an engineer who was inspired to write a song and film a music video about wastewater treatment. Adam finds out the story behind an engineer who was inspired to write a song and film a music video about wastewater treatment. NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. – When Sarah Ries was young, she felt like she was living a real-life Disney movie. 'I actually wore a Cinderella dress throughout my whole kindergarten, every day,' Sarah smiles. She would also constantly carry around a toy tape recorder and microphone, so she could sing along to all the songs from 'The Little Mermaid.' 'But (my younger self) had dreams of doing something bigger,' Sarah says. So Sarah paused performing until after she realized her dream of becoming an engineer, specializing in wastewater. 'When we developed sanitation, it was the biggest improvement in public health,' Sarah says. 'So (wastewater management) is super essential to human health.' Sarah's first big job was working on the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility in Tofino. She was so passion about the project, she decided to write a song about it. 'I know that most people just flush and no one ever thinks about it,' Sarah explains. 'So I thought (a song) was a good opportunity to tell people what's going on.' Sarah then summoned up the courage to play her 'Wastewater Song' at a local open mic night hosted by Geoff Johnson. 'She came in the first time,' Geoff says. 'And I thought, 'Oh. This is a little bit weird.'' But the next times, Geoff really listened to Sarah's thoughtful lyrics, noticed the enthusiastic response from the audience, and was so impressed, he pitched the possibility of making a music video 'There was a version of the video that had laser sounds zapping bacteria and they would explode,' Geoff says of the creative process. '(There were) little poop emojis dancing around and stuff like that.' But in the end, Geoff and Sarah choose to produce a more professional product. It features drone shots and behind-the-scenes mechanical backdrops, while Sarah plays guitar and sings about the plant's process. While the lyrics offer practical and scientific details about wastewater management, like 'You may not know it, the system is aerobic,' 'Organics get eaten in a vat of bacteria,' and 'We blast it with UV for disinfecting,' the chorus poses the comical question, 'Who's dealing with your s#!t?' The girl who wore fairytale dresses and sang 'Under The Sea' has grown up to don personal protective equipment and showcase the complex process of keeping human waste out of the sea. While it's unlikely a song about treating 'number two' will hit No. 1 on the music charts, Sarah does hope — like the fairytales with morals she once loved — her and Geoff's work both entertains and educates. 'For people to hear at least once how their wastewater is more than many have heard before,' Sarah smiles, before revealing the final lyric of the song. 'I hope you can see how cool it can be.'
