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On the Street: New name for ferry, Island restaurants lauded

Island restaurants named country’s best new eateries Two Vancouver Island restaurants have been named to a top-10 new Canadian eateries list by Air Canada and American Express.
Malaspina Sky, Powell River
NEW NAME: Standing in front of the new sign on the former Island Sky ferry, now named Malaspina Sky, are [from left] Linda Comber, the ship’s godmother; Kim Barton Bridges, chair of the northern Sunshine Coast ferry advisory committee; and Mark Collins, BC Ferries president and chief executive officer. Paul Galinski photo

Island restaurants named country’s best new eateries

Two Vancouver Island restaurants have been named to a top-10 new Canadian eateries list by Air Canada and American Express. The list is put together by national restaurant experts and an anonymous food critic.

In fourth place is Ucluelet’s Pluvio restaurant + rooms, 1714 Peninsula Rd. Owned and operated by chef Warren Barr and Lily Verney-Downey, the restaurant features seasonal and wild ingredients.

Victoria’s 30-seat Nowhere *A Restaurant, offering sustainable seafood, is in fifth place. It is at G4 - 1001 Douglas St., in the Sussex Building. Chef Clark Deutscher is also behind its nearby sister restaurant, Hank’s.

New name for B.C. Ferries vessel

The 335-foot Island Sky intermediate-class ferry has been renamed Malaspina Sky. Constructed in 2008 in Vancouver, the B.C. Ferries vessel carries 112 vehicles and serves the Earls Cove-Saltery Bay route on the Sunshine Coast, as well as Powell River and Comox.

A renaming ceremony for the vessel was held at Saltery Bay on Thursday. “The name Malaspina Sky highlights the Northern Sunshine Coast, which is a beautiful part of our province,” said Mark Collins, B.C. Ferries president and chief executive.

Two new Island-class electric-hybrid ferries will be added to the fleet next year, with up to a dozen Island-class ferries envisioned. Each ferry in that class will see the word “Island” as the prefix in its name.

Janion developer wins National Trust Award

Reliance Properties has won the National Trust’s Board of Governors’ Award for its preservation of The Janion in Victoria. The Trust said in a statement: “Reliance Properties had a vision to bring the long-derelict Janion building on Victoria’s waterfront back to life.”

Reliance is known for its heritage revitalization work in Vancouver’s Gastown. This award is the ninth time the Janion project has been honoured since 2012, the company said.

John Herbert Turner, former mayor of Victoria who also served as B.C. premier, built the Janion Hotel in 1891 with about 40 rooms. Its new addition includes 122 micro-homes and commercial use on its ground level.

Don’t miss

Victoria coding bootcamp Lighthouse Labs is launching Nov. 1 a free 21-Day Coding Challenge, with a smart-city theme, to promote digital literacy. Its goal is to teach people to code through one daily challenge at a time. Participants can sign up individually or as a team for a chance to win prizes. Each daily challenge is expected to take between 15 and 30 minutes. To register, go to coding-challenge.lighthouselabs.ca/register