Michael John Lo

Canada

Breaking News and Weekend Reporter at Times Colonist

journalist for the @timescolonist daily newspaper, @EUinCanada fellow. ✍️ in @globeandmail @TheTyee @capitaldailyvic. he/him

Articles

Oak Bay Starbucks union drive only took a week: organizer

3 days ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

It only took a week for Starbucks workers in Oak Bay to get the votes needed to file for unionization, says a barista who helped put together the union drive. “We did have a lot of pro-union sentiment in the store before we started, so finding the numbers wasn’t very difficult,” said shift supervisor Syssillia Reid.
KPMG aquires assets of insolvent Victoria tech firm Llamazoo for $1.45M

4 days ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

KPMG in Canada has acquired the assets and remaining workers of a Victoria tech firm that went bankrupt and laid off most of its staff last year following a downturn in the tech market. B.C. Supreme Court approved the accounting firm’s $1.45-million purchase of LlamaZOO on May 20.
Chinese Freemasons flock to Nanaimo for national convention

4 days ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

A 162-year-old Chinese Canadian organization with secret-society origins is convening in Nanaimo to choose a new leader this weekend. About 100 members of Chinese Freemason branches from B.C. to Quebec, as well as representatives from Australia’s Chinese Freemasons, are expected to descend on Nanaimo’s Best Western for the organization’s 40th national convention in Canada this weekend. The Chinese Freemasons’ first national convention was held in Victoria in 1919.
VIU Cowichan trades program to move to Nanaimo next year

6 days ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

Vancouver Island University says it will operate its Cowichan trades programs from a “repurposed, substandard” former elementary school for only one more year before it relocates its programs to Nanaimo in 2026. VIU acting president Emily Huner said the Cowichan Trades Centre would have required millions of dollars in upgrades to continue operations, something that’s not possible in light of the university’s financial troubles.
Former motel-turned supportive housing site in Victoria being demolished

6 days ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

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Last days at Hudson’s Bay: Empty shelves and bargain hunters

1 week ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

There’s just one more day to go for the Hudson’s Bay Co. as shoppers walk through Canada’s oldest retailer for the last time to try to snag a deal among empty shelves and undressed mannequins. The 355-year-old department store chain is wrapping up its liquidation sale today as it goes through bankruptcy proceedings. Goods for sale at the two Hudson’s Bay stores in Victoria have steadily gone out the door in the past few weeks amid news of the company’s demise and of possible discounts.
Cat lovers invited to an urban feline safari in Fernwood on Saturday

1 week ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

Hundreds of people are expected to be in Victoria’s Fernwood neighbourhood on Saturday for an urban safari of the feline variety. Stylized cat stop signs have sprouted in the neighbourhood in recent weeks to advertise the Fernwood Cat Walk, a 7.5-kilometre ramble through the neighbourhood that involves stopping by 21 different homes where cat owners have agreed to put their animals on display.
Cat lovers invited to an urban feline safari in Fernwood on Saturday

1 week ago | vancouverisawesome.com | Michael John Lo

Hundreds of people are expected to be in Victoria’s Fernwood neighbourhood on Saturday for an urban safari of the feline variety. Stylized cat stop signs have sprouted in the neighbourhood in recent weeks to advertise the Fernwood Cat Walk, a 7.5-kilometre ramble through the neighbourhood that involves stopping by 21 different homes where cat owners have agreed to put their animals on display.
Cyclist killed in Saturday collision with minivan on Trans-Canada Highway in View Royal

1 week ago | timescolonist.com | Michael John Lo

An 80-year-old man cycling on the Trans-Canada Highway was killed Saturday in a collision with a minivan. The crash closed northbound lanes on the highway for several hours. Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the area just north of the Six Mile Road exit shortly after 5:20 p.m.Despite life-saving measures, the man succumbed to his injuries. He has not been publicly identified.
Cyclist killed in Saturday collision with minivan on Trans-Canada Highway in View Royal

1 week ago | nsnews.com | Roxanne Egan-Elliott |Michael John Lo

An 80-year-old man cycling on the Trans-Canada Highway was killed Saturday in a head-on collision with a minivan. West Shore RCMP said the man was cycling south in the northbound lanes “on the right-hand shoulder” when he collided with a grey Toyota Sienna. Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the area just north of the Six Mile Road exit shortly after 5:20 p.m.Despite life-saving measures, the man succumbed to his injuries. He has not been publicly identified.