Victoria News, July 29, 2015

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50/50 PROCEEDS GOING TO BELMONT FOOTBALL

Black Press Carrier Day PRESENTED BY:

VICTORIANEWS • July 30th • HarbourCats VS Cowlitz Black Bears at 12:35 pm • Royal Athletic Park

Chance meeting

Meeting with Namibian girl changes local’s life forever. Page A3

NEWS: Crime rates rise in Victoria /A2 COMMUNITY: Local tourism industry sees boost /A4 ESQUIMALT: Antique apprasial launched /A9

VICTORIANEWS Wednesday, July 29, 2015

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Don Denton/Victoria News

Splash down A Prince of Whales whale watching boat, the Ocean Magic II, kicks up a wake while crashing through waves off of Clover Point while heading back towards Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Whale watching and other tourism numbers are up this season. See story page A4.

Residents to speak against tent city in Topaz Park Kendra Wong VIctoria News

Resident living near Topaz Park are gearing up to speak out against the City of Victoria’s proposed motion to create a temporary tent city during a walkabout at the park this week. Last week, city council passed a motion 8-1 to consider setting up a designated tenting area for Victoria’s homeless population. Staff have identified Topaz Park as a suitable area.

Since the news broke last week, public outcry against the proposal has reached a fever pitch. On Saturday, concerned residents gathered in the park to discuss the issue, and a Facebook page called Victoria Citizens Opposed to a Tent City already has more than 400 likes since it was created late last week. Jeannette Allan recently bought a house on Glasglow Street, which overlooks the park. “It’ll be next to a daycare, these are for

people who have drug histories. There’s no way you can monitor just this confined area. It’s going to spread,” Allan said. “We’re concerned about our children’s safety and for anyone who is there who might step on a needle or something else unsanitary . . .This is a band-aid and not a humane way to go about a solution for the homeless people. It’s not a solution that’s going to solve anything.” Allan said the city has not been transparent about the project and should consult

residents and some of the city’s homeless population. However, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps disagrees. “The challenge is that we’ve been talking about this since April. It’s been on at least two or three council agendas, there’s been a map of proposed sites,” Helps said. PLEASE SEE: Topaz Park walkabout planned, Page A7

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