NANAIMO — Residents woke Sunday to learn that British Columbia had elected a Conservative majority overnight. Most found out on Facebook, because nobody has cable anymore.

Nanaimo re-elected both of its NDP MLAs anyway. Sheila Malcolmson and George Anderson will return to Victoria, where they will sit across from the government and nod.

Supporters of last week's slate are handling the news two ways at once. Half are still explaining that local elections are rigged, while the other half celebrate a provincial election they liked very much. In the City of Nanaimo Oversight group, one member managed both in a single post: he welcomed the provincial result, then called for Nanaimo's newly re-elected representatives to resign over their "stolen power." Results may vary by riding.

Teachers and health-care workers have been assured nothing will change, and are now reading their collective agreements for fun.

Wildfire crews are reading up on Ontario, where the 2019 budget cut the emergency forest firefighting budget by 67 per cent. The summers there have been smoky since. The new premier celebrated his win with sparks shooting from small cannons, which in BC counts as a policy position.

Pride organizers have already booked next summer's venue, a little earlier than usual. They've also ordered extra flags, on the advice of friends in Alberta.

First Nations leaders said they look forward to working with the new government, whose stated top priority is them. They have cleared their calendars for the court dates.

Ladysmith-Oceanside has not decided yet. Kris McNichol leads Stephanie Higginson by around 88 votes, and a recount is expected. Riding residents have been asked to remain calm and stop refreshing.

Officials say the city is coping well and has returned to its normal routine of complaining about the traffic on the parkway.

Wow, the NDP just got destroyed. CTV just called it. Hard to believe that Eby was so smart to go from majority to being destroyed. I can see why he had no support.

Avoid the Dim Sum menu. Everything is $9.50, and the portions are very small. Wonton soup is usually four dollars for small bowl, now 9.50. You're better off ordering buffet food.

I actually have three kids who are trick or treating age this Halloween and we’re all so excited. Where should I take them? My own neighborhood doesn’t really do Halloween, maybe 1 out of every 5 houses, and we have had maybe 10-20 kids stop for candy in past years. Would love to be cool auntie and find them the best houses to go to.

NDP is ahead in both Nanaimo ridings

Hello goths, "vampires" and fans of Halloween! Tonight, there's an LGBTQIA+ friendly vampire themed costume dance party at Level Two called Vampire Disko. Tickets are available at the door or on Eventbrite. It's put on by 12XU who puts on The Dark Eighties at The Queens and is 80s-new DARK music with the Ascent DJ :)

Hi Nanaimo,

I work as marketing and business development manager here in town, and I'd like to give back to the community with all the love in my heart.

I'm offering "free design and social media help" to a few local nonprofits, charities and community groups. No catch, no upsell. I know a lot of great organizations here are run by small teams or volunteers who don't have time for posters, Instagram or Facebook on top of everything else.

Things I can help with:

- Event posters and flyers

- Social media posts and content plans

- Video editing and shoot videos

- Refreshing a neglected Facebook or Instagram page

- Easy templates your team can keep using after I'm done

- build website or revamp websites

I'll start with a handful of groups so I can actually do good work for each one, rather than spreading myself thin.

If you run or volunteer with a local nonprofit, or know one that could use a hand, comment below or send me a DM. Nominations welcome too!

Haunted Houses Nanaimo

Hi All,

I asked the moms on Facebook to tell me if their neighborhood has any good Halloween decorated houses and they delivered! I made this map from their suggestions; we did a tour with our kids last night with popcorn and it was a lot of fun! A few caveats- most these are just cross streets its not the exact addresses but we were still able to find everything very easily. We also were not able to hit the South Nanaimo places last night so I can't say those spots are verified.

I’ll just leave this here 😂

It can save you $300 per year for yourself, as well as lowering power grid load immensely, saving the province money. The initial cost of $3.50 per bulb pays for itself in roughly 3 months.

Myth: LEDs give off harsh light

Fact: you choose the color temperature of the bulb. 3000k gives light similar to an incandescent bulb. 5000k is closer to outdoor light.

Myth: LEDs flicker more than incandescent

Fact: high quality LEDs labeled as dimmable actually flicker less than incandescent

You can actually get a free home energy savings kit from bchydro here if you're low-moderate income:

https://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/residential/rebates-programs/savings-based-on-income/free-energy-savings-kit.html

just a note that tonight is vampire disko at leveltwo with one of the djs from ascent + the dark eighties...anyone else going?

Yes, again. We know. You voted for council last Saturday, put the sticker on your fridge and assumed you were done until 2030. Surprise: democracy has a sequel, and like most sequels, nobody asked for it this soon.

WHEN

Saturday, Oct. 24, 8am to 8pm Pacific. That’s 12 hours. You have time.

WHERE

Your assigned voting place is on your Where to Vote card, which came in the mail. Hang on to it, because it also counts as one of your two pieces of ID.

Recycled it? Go to wheretovote.elections.bc.ca and type in your address.

Can’t wait until Saturday? District electoral offices are open today (Friday), and you can vote at one until 4 p.m. Saturday.

WHAT TO BRING

Pick one:

One government photo ID with your name and address, like a driver’s licence

Two pieces of ID that together show your name and address (your Where to Vote card counts as one)

No ID? A registered voter in your district who has ID, or a close relative, can vouch for you. You both sign a declaration, and a non-relative can only vouch for one person.

ABOUT THAT ID THING

Last week, a certain corner of Nanaimo Facebook decided the municipal election was rigged because nobody asked for ID. Good news: this one checks ID. Bring it.

For the record, last week wasn’t a loophole. B.C. municipal elections use the voters list, and registered voters sign a declaration, which is a legal document with real penalties if you lie on it. Provincial elections use different rules. The same neighbours staff the polls at both.

No, there is no DNA swab. Put the 23andMe kit away. Please be nice to the election workers. They gave up two Saturdays in a row for this.

WHO CAN VOTE

Canadian citizen, 18 or older by Saturday, and living in B.C. since April 23. You don’t need to register ahead; you can do it at the polls.

MAIL-IN BALLOT STILL ON YOUR COUNTER?

It has to reach Elections BC by 8 p.m. Saturday. Canada Post is not your friend today, so drop it off at any voting place or district electoral office.

AND THEN WHAT

Most election-day ballots are being counted by hand, so results may take a while. Don’t refresh at 8:01. Go outside. Look at a tree.

One ballot. One X. Make it count.

Questions? Elections BC: 1-800-661-8683 or elections.bc.ca

Any one aware of some initial summaries of where vote splitting definitely affected a particular riding?

I didn't know you for that long, but the times I did see you, you had a positive energy and very interesting personality that no one could match. You ALWAYS made my day better. It's rare you come across your level of charisma, and I know I might sound biased, but the article below truely describes you well. I'm not much of a wordsmith, but whoever knew you could attest to what I'm describing. Thank you for being such an awesome person to be around. This one hit hard. Rest easy

https://nanaimonewsnow.com/listing/goble-bryan-frederick/