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Beekeeper Don Lambert points out the queen bee in Cairns’s hive which has been marked with a yellow dot. (Chadd Cawson/Connector)

Catch the buzz: Sweet hobby keeps Island beekeepers busy year-round

Cowichan Beekeepers hope to have their new mobile education trailer outfitted and ready by May

Beekeeper Don Lambert points out the queen bee in Cairns’s hive which has been marked with a yellow dot. (Chadd Cawson/Connector)
(Adobe stock photo)

Vancouver Island residents share their best Christmas memories

What they’re talking about in downtown Courtenay

(Adobe stock photo)
Left to right, Sebastian Medina, Juan Ochoa and Sama Osman display the Hanoi Droid they have been working on for four months. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

VIDEO: Students showcase 3D-printed robot and more at B.C. college

Camosun technology students display their final projects on campus

Left to right, Sebastian Medina, Juan Ochoa and Sama Osman display the Hanoi Droid they have been working on for four months. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
Visitors look at a replica of the U.S. Supreme Court adorned with different varieties of poinsettias on display at the Smithsonian’s U.S. Botanical Garden, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Behind the foliage: the surprising history of the Christmas poinsettia

Botanical holiday tradition emerged from Mexico where it is known as ‘flor de Nochebuena’

Visitors look at a replica of the U.S. Supreme Court adorned with different varieties of poinsettias on display at the Smithsonian’s U.S. Botanical Garden, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Electric vehicle owners and potential buyers often overlook the logistics and cost of at-home charging setup before bringing their brand-new car to their garages or condo parking lots. An electric vehicle is charged in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Plugging in your EV is not as easy as plugging in your iPhone

Beware costs and logistics of at-home chargers before buying an electric car

Electric vehicle owners and potential buyers often overlook the logistics and cost of at-home charging setup before bringing their brand-new car to their garages or condo parking lots. An electric vehicle is charged in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Dutchies are photographed at the Tim Hortons test kitchen in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Beloved dutchie back as Tim Hortons marks 60th anniversary

Restaurant promising four retro doughnuts will reappear for a limited time on its menu in 2024

Dutchies are photographed at the Tim Hortons test kitchen in Toronto, Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
What do you do when it’s a balmy 10 degrees outside and all you want is a snow day? Find out from the teachers at École Alberni Elementary in their annual holiday rap, which premiered online last week. (SCREENSHOT COURTESY JEFF BORDAL)

B.C. elementary school teachers ‘hoping for snow’ in holiday music video

Annual holiday rap music video stars school staff members

What do you do when it’s a balmy 10 degrees outside and all you want is a snow day? Find out from the teachers at École Alberni Elementary in their annual holiday rap, which premiered online last week. (SCREENSHOT COURTESY JEFF BORDAL)
(Pixabay.com)

Bad financial advice comes in many forms, spotting it can save you money

Real estate, self-directed investing and education are three areas where people are going wrong

(Pixabay.com)
FILE - An 8.8 carat purple sapphire appears at John Marshall’s jewelry shop in South Bend, Ind., May, 1, 1998. (AP Photo/Jim Rider, File)

Deep purple: shade an old hue that’s rich in meaning and history

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color…

FILE - An 8.8 carat purple sapphire appears at John Marshall’s jewelry shop in South Bend, Ind., May, 1, 1998. (AP Photo/Jim Rider, File)
Celine Dion’s sister says the Grammy Award-winning singer doesn’t have control of her muscles as she continues to live with a rare neurological disorder. Claudette Dion says in a new French-language interview that her sister is working hard to overcome her illness, called “stiff person syndrome.” Dion performs in concert at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Sunday, July 31, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Celine Dion has ‘stiff person syndrome’, lacks muscle control: sister

Poorly-understood disorder causes rigid muscles and painful spasms

Celine Dion’s sister says the Grammy Award-winning singer doesn’t have control of her muscles as she continues to live with a rare neurological disorder. Claudette Dion says in a new French-language interview that her sister is working hard to overcome her illness, called “stiff person syndrome.” Dion performs in concert at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Sunday, July 31, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The Azhar family has finally arrived in the Cowichan Valley after more than four years of efforts by the Mill Bay Baptist Fellowship Church to bring them here. Pictured, from left, is Elisha, Pastor Norm Sowden, Asyia, Azhar Javed, Eshaan, Arish and Pastor Jon Emanuel. (Robert Barron/Citizen)

Cold and beautiful: refugee family settles into life on Vancouver Island

Azhar family fled religious persecution in Pakistan to find new home in Cowichan Valley

The Azhar family has finally arrived in the Cowichan Valley after more than four years of efforts by the Mill Bay Baptist Fellowship Church to bring them here. Pictured, from left, is Elisha, Pastor Norm Sowden, Asyia, Azhar Javed, Eshaan, Arish and Pastor Jon Emanuel. (Robert Barron/Citizen)
A sign pointing shoppers to self-checkout stations is shown at a store in New York on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. Self-checkout faces a reckoning of sorts just as retailers are in the midst of their busiest time of the year. (AP Photo/Anne D’Innocenzio)

Self-checkout here to stay, but not without frustrations, not for everyone

Theft and clunky technology plague retail push to save labour costs

A sign pointing shoppers to self-checkout stations is shown at a store in New York on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. Self-checkout faces a reckoning of sorts just as retailers are in the midst of their busiest time of the year. (AP Photo/Anne D’Innocenzio)
The title-track of Trigger Mafia’s new EP, Barnburner, was shot in Langley’s Sportsplex hockey rink, in Walnut Grove back in early September. The band is lead by local musician Shawn Meehan. (Special to Langley Advance Times)

Barnburner: B.C. rockers craft next potential hockey anthem

Trigger Mafia, a Langley-based band, releases new EP and title-track video, Barnburner, next week

The title-track of Trigger Mafia’s new EP, Barnburner, was shot in Langley’s Sportsplex hockey rink, in Walnut Grove back in early September. The band is lead by local musician Shawn Meehan. (Special to Langley Advance Times)
What term was given when online content creators were honoured by Time in 2006? (Black Press file photo)

QUIZ: A tribute to Time Person of the Year recipients

Each year, Time designates an individual, group, object or concept as its Person of the Year

What term was given when online content creators were honoured by Time in 2006? (Black Press file photo)
Danikka Murphy stands in her classroom at École Nesika Elementary where she teaches Secwepemctsín to students. Nov. 2023. (Kim Kimberlin photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

B.C. TikTok teacher says learning her traditional language saved her life

Williams Lake’s Danikka Murphy uses social media to teach Secwepemctsín language

Danikka Murphy stands in her classroom at École Nesika Elementary where she teaches Secwepemctsín to students. Nov. 2023. (Kim Kimberlin photo - Williams Lake Tribune)
A production called <em>The Painter</em> was filmed at Mission Trailhead in Maple Ridge on Dec. 12, 2022. (City of Maple Ridge/Special to The News)

B.C.-filmed ‘The Night Agent’ was Netflix’s most watched title this year

Series was filmed in Golden Ears Provincial Park and along Maple Ridge’s Abernethy Way

A production called <em>The Painter</em> was filmed at Mission Trailhead in Maple Ridge on Dec. 12, 2022. (City of Maple Ridge/Special to The News)
File Photo

Holiday tipping: your guide to who and how much

Etiquette experts address some of the questions of the season

File Photo
FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. A judge ordered Prince Harry on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, to pay nearly 50,000 pounds (over $60,000) in legal fees to the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid for failing to knock out its defense in a libel lawsuit. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

Prince Harry celebrates phone hack win that could change UK media landscape

‘Today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability’

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. A judge ordered Prince Harry on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, to pay nearly 50,000 pounds (over $60,000) in legal fees to the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid for failing to knock out its defense in a libel lawsuit. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
This year, students created more than 3,000 custom Christmas cards for distribution to local seniors in Langley. (Special to Langley Advance Times)

For some B.C. seniors, these are the only Christmas cards they’ll get

‘So beautiful’: volunteer Langley bureau delivers 1,000s of cards crafted by school kids

This year, students created more than 3,000 custom Christmas cards for distribution to local seniors in Langley. (Special to Langley Advance Times)
FILE - Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, poses for a photo at the Pancoast Hotel, Aug. 13, 1941, in Miami, Fla. The earliest version of Disney’s most famous character, Mickey Mouse, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo, File)

Mickey Mouse — with conditions — becomes free for you to use in the New Year

Disney icon set to legally become a public domain figure when it turns 95

FILE - Walt Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, poses for a photo at the Pancoast Hotel, Aug. 13, 1941, in Miami, Fla. The earliest version of Disney’s most famous character, Mickey Mouse, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. (AP Photo, File)