🌄 Homeowners may be on the hook to fund millions in hospital upgrades

Good Morning Reader!
Can we all give a big round of applause to Nora? Last week, I asked for help to find my favourite allergy medication commercial, which had (to my knowledge) disappeared from the Internet. We received a lot of emails, and a few suggestions of which commercial it might be. But Nora was the one who figured it out. So thank you! For everyone who was eagerly awaiting the conclusion to this mystery, here it is in all its glory: It's just allergies. —Grace Kennedy, reporter

Today’s weather: ⛈ 13 C

Second wave of hospital improvements won’t come cheap

Fraser Health has plunked down $14 million to buy a large property next to Abbotsford Regional Hospital. Meanwhile, after missing out on the bulk of the health authority’s capital spending last year, Chilliwack’s hospital is in line for a suite of upgrades, while a primary care clinic is getting a new location nearby.

The moves are part of another wave of improvements in local hospitals. But they come amid a warning from Mission’s mayor that the current funding system may be broken, with Fraser Health spending first and asking local politicians to pay their share of the projects only afterwards.

This week, Victoria Lee, the health authority’s chief executive officer, will speak to local politicians about the plans.

Today, Tyler reports on major health care projects that have yet to be formally announced, why property taxes will go to funding some, but not all, of the new work, and why Mission’s mayor says one step of the process is "broken."

Missed yesterday’s story? Find it here: The wild cats among us

⚠ More than half of commercial vehicles inspected during a one-day blitz in Abbotsford were taken off the road, including a truck carrying a 12,000-pound excavator [Abbotsford News]

⚖ Chilliwack’s David Lee Roth impersonator will be facing a retrial for his sexual assault case [Chilliwack Progress]

🚦 A dedicated left-turn signal could be a major change-maker in Hope [Hope Standard]

🗳 Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove will be running for re-election this fall [Chilliwack Progress]

😷 COVID: 40% of British Columbians have had COVID-19 as of March, up from only 10% in October of last year; at least two-thirds of children have been infected [CBC]

☺TODAY’S SMILE: 75 years ago, Abbotsford school children protested against eight-cent candy bars [The Reach]; Have something good for this spot? Reply to this email with your suggestion.

MORE CAMERAS AIM TO EASE SNOWY COMMUTES
The City of Mission will spend $50,000 to purchase three video cameras to be placed along Wren, Sedar and Stave Lake streets. The cameras will help to inform residents and staff of road and traffic conditions, particularly during winter. The city already has cameras in rural areas, and staff say the new ones will help residents plan their routes before leaving home. The city will also consider spending money on designing new sidewalks (on Hurd Street, Cherry Avenue, and Silverdale Avenue), along with potential installation of a speed management project at a site still to be determined.

FUNDING APPROVED FOR STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN LANGLEY
More than $1.7 million of funding has been approved for the Yorkson Lowlands Stormwater Management and Ecological Restoration project in the Township of Langley. The money is a combined contribution from all levels of government to improve stormwater infrastructure. The work will include relocating creeks and the creation of a new pond on Township-owned land just north of 96 Avenue off of 208 Street in Walnut Grove. It will also include construction of a series of stormwater management wetlands, removal of existing stormwater infrastructure, and the installation of an access trail. Township council had approved submission of a grant application to the federal government in January 2020. The recipients of the funds were announced this month.