Opinion

On blustery, rain drenched days like today, the School-Based Weather Station Network is an interesting place to explore. It’s at victoriaweather.ca.

Now that the lazy gloriousness of the holiday season is well and truly over — students have gone back to school, businesses have opened up again and I think (although I’m not positive) that I’ve paid most of my bills — we’re back to normal.

Christy Clark, B.C.’s premier, threw down the gauntlet several months ago, saying, among other things, that she would only support the Northern Gateway pipeline if her province receives a fair share of the economic benefits.

As 2013 drew to a close, we counted up what people were looking at on timescolonist.com. That led to this popular list of the 25 most-read stories of the previous 365 days.

Saanich delivered our new rolling garbage and kitchen scrap bins on Thursday. We’re not supposed to use them until April, when Saanich households will be required to put kitchen scraps in one bin and garbage in another.

The formal apology to Chinese-Canadians by the B.C. government for the way their ancestors were treated is still in the works. But most people are a bit vague on the details.

Ah, Canada! One of the things that makes the true north strong and free so great is that when it comes to our leaders, it isn’t necessary for heavily armed men to stand on guard for them.

In the taxi to the airport in England, for the trip home to Victoria, my host became ill, and we diverted to a hospital emergency room. I missed my flight. I bought another ticket and thought I would just have to absorb the extra cost.

For those returning home after the holidays, here’s a question you might have pondered: Why does it cost so much to travel? Answer: government policy. Consider two examples, starting with taxi fares.

There’s a development in the liquor world that is overshadowed by all the news about happy hour and kids being allowed in pubs.