Overnight security plus a place to sleep a win-win for van dweller Raffi the dog pops his fluffy head out the RV window, eager for pets. Judy Dreger shouts a greeting from the kitchen in the back of her van, a 76 Dodge Chinook Sportsman with moss-green siding, where she lives with Raffi and Dexter, […]
Housing
Improvements at Highland Manor slow, stuck in red tape
Occupants wondering when things will get better The new owners of Highland Manor are making some progress toward improving safety and living conditions as promised. But improvements are sometimes undone within hours, leaving tenants wondering if things will indeed get better. Greg Vance, who bought the building with business partner Mario Morrison in February, said […]
True extent of homelessness on North Island unknown
Mt. Waddington Health Network prepping a survey to get the full picture ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Feb. 11, 2021 10:52 a.m. Apartments in Port Hardy. (Zoë Ducklow photo) Even though it just completed an intensive housing needs assessment, the Regional District of Mount Waddington still can’t say how many people are experiencing homelessness, […]
Infamous Highland Manor sold to Creekside owners
New owners promise to improve living standards in the run-down apartment ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Feb. 9, 2021 12:48 p.m. An infamous apartment building in Port Hardy has a new owner, and with that, hopes of improved living conditions. Highland Manor, a 41-year-old, 50-unit building has been called a fire hazard. It has […]
Families displaced by fire still looking for housing
The suspicious January fire dispossessed 15 families in Port Hardy ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Feb. 3, 2021, 3:52 p.m. Published in the North Island Gazette Two weeks after a fire ripped through an apartment in Port Hardy, the six families still looking for new homes are drawing attention to the housing shortage on […]
‘Suspicious’ Port Hardy apartment fire could keep tenants out of their homes for months
A burning mattress created smoke and heat, causing several tenants to jump from windows ZOE DUCKLOW, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER Jan. 19, 2021 1:57 p.m. A hallway fire that ousted dozens of people from their homes late Sunday is considered suspicious, say RCMP, and an investigation is ongoing. The fire started in the second floor […]