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On Sunday locals gathered in the Q Centre in Colwood to say goodbye to one of the most prominent people in the region's recent past. The following day, Langford council gathered to decide the future of another local sports facility. Read our recaps of both below.

— Cam

NEWS

Horgan memorial: Public & politicians remember a sports fan, leader, and dad-about-town

On Sunday some 3,000 locals and several of the most prominent politicians in the province and country filed into the Q Centre. They were there to pay tribute to a man who in life could often be found in that same arena, cheering on his beloved Shamrocks lacrosse team.

The team's flag was among the items that decorated the stage representing the late former premier, including a guitar, a copy of Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle, and the emblem of his favourite TV show Star Trek.

Eulogies for “John from Langford,” as he often introduced himself, came from current premier David Eby, longtime friend and former party leader Carole James, PM Justin Trudeau, and Horgan's children.

Anecdotes about the longtime Langford MLA emphasized his good humour, charisma, and values. Trudeau, who appointed Horgan to a Germany ambassadorship that was cut short by the fatal return of Horgan's throat cancer, described him as “unflinching in his values and beliefs.” Successor Eby, coming off a tough year and a tight election win, marvelled that “He left politics more popular than when he entered.”

“How did he do that? There are some lessons there for some of us,” Eby joked, though that punch line was underscored less than 24 hours later when the man who watched next to him, Trudeau, faced multiple calls from his own party to resign.

“At the end of the day, one of my jobs is to make him proud,” Horgan’s MLA successor Ravi Parmar told The Westshore after the event. He said that the previous day the Gurdwara on Topaz had dedicated a special prayer and ceremony to Horgan in what he believes is its first such gesture for a non-Sikh person.

But the most poignant tributes came not from Horgan's political peers, but from the family who for years had to share him with the province.

Eldest son Nate sang, with guitar and harmonica, about his father, while youngest Evan spoke of the “sea of grief" the family has felt in the past month. But he thanked those at the event for their tributes, saying “I don’t think any of us understood the scope and reach of his influence”—and that his father probably didn't quite imagine it either.

Keep reading with the full story here.

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NEWS

Langford will buy Westhills Aquatic Centre today

After three meetings and extensive public input, council voted unanimously last night to purchase the YW/YMCA building by today's offer deadline. Mayor Scott Goodmanson, before calling for the final vote, said that they heard residents' input from across the spectrum but the most common position was that the city should make the purchase.

However, at the meeting itself it was the purchase’s opponents who were the most vocal—such that Goodmanson couldn't get that final address out without the sounds of heckling breaking through in the background.

Why to buy? City lays out case & cites current costs

Langford is currently already on the hook for many of the Y's costs even as a non-owner, due to the tripartite deal signed for the $30M facility between the city, Y, and developer Westhills in 2013.

For instance, the city already expects to cover the estimated $14.8M in building lifecycle costs over the 17 years remaining on the deal. It would also be on the hook for the lease if the Y, which says it has lost $10M at the site over the past decade, defaults.

Last spring, Langford increased its annual subsidy to the Y after the organization said that it was losing too much money with diminished membership and Westhills requiring it to start paying partially deferred back-rent from the early pandemic period.

The city projects that buying the building will require a 1.75% tax increase from 2025 to 2028, but would save money in the long run: an estimated $10M over the life of the current lease and $121M over the next 42 years (mainly due to avoiding having to sign a new lease).

Last year we asked you what you thought the city should do with the problem of the struggling Y. Here's what you said.

Around the 'Shore

🐶 Langford opens new off-leash dog park in unused field next to Walmart. Through a licence agreement, the city gained use of the 0.2ha land from Walmart Canada while paying for the fencing, furniture (bench & garbage bins), signs, maintenance, and doggy bags.

☂️ Heavy rain in Port Renfrew area over next 24 hours, with up to 100mm falling. Localized flooding possible. [EnviroCan]

⚽️ Pacific FC selects UVic & Victoria-raised soccer stars in draft: Local Niklas Hallam, who won AAA BC championships for Reynolds High and now plays for U of T, was taken 4th. UVic's Finn Tugwell went 12th after being an All-Canadian and Canada West's Defensive Player of the Year this past U Sports season. PFC also recently re-signed Victoria-raised captain Josh Heard through 2026. 

🚨 Man dies on Langford sidewalk; RCMP seek witnesses & dashcams. First responders couldn't resuscitate a man, aged 40, found unconscious near Claude and Goldstream last Tues. night. West Shore RCMP said nothing so far suggests foul play, but they seek info from anyone walking or driving on Claude 9-10pm that night who may have seen a white man in dark jeans & a light-coloured coat with a black medium-sized dog. [RCMP]

🦝 Last week: Raccoon study & cleaning up Colwood parks. Impaired driving rising & minivan paramedics & fall photos.

Community Events

🏰 Hatley Castle is opening up to the public just a few times this winter, including a final time this weekend. You can tour the museum, warm up by the fire, go up the grand staircase (which isn't open in the summer), and take your holiday photos.

🛍 Find more Greater Victoria winter markets in this roundup from Tasting Victoria.

🌲 More free holiday events put on throughout this month by Westshore municipalities. [Our roundup]

🎼 Christmas Pops with the Victoria Symphony at Royal Roads Dogwood Auditorium. Weds. Holiday classics & carols. 7:30-9:30pm. [Tickets]

📖 Sooke Library events this week: Tech Tuesday, Lego club, Paws & Tails, a lantern-making workshop, & more. [Calendar]

💻 Family coding workshop tomorrow at Westshore Town Centre. [Schedule]

🥫 10,000 Tonight food bank donation drive continues as Sooke’s Ed Milne students collect food and money for the food bank door-to-door tomorrow.

🧊 Live professional ice carving at Langford Station on Sat. Dec. 21, and a Carousel in the Park this weekend, along with other WinterFest events.

What’s Offshore?

🚢 Off coast of Colwood: The GSL Effie is a container ship built in 2003 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia from Prince Rupert to Vancouver. The Cougar 61 military ops boat was also around the area last night, having come in from Nanoose.

⛴ Moving on: The HL Taean (built 2016, Panama flag, departed from Taean-gun in Korea).

Westshore Snaps

Synchronized flight of Northern Pintails at Esquimalt Lagoon. — Gary Woodburn

Fall leaves in the night and the day, by Novie Grace Malig. See the full roster of readers' fall photos here.

The wild winds & waves at Gordon's Beach in Sooke. [Doug Clement]

That’s it!

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