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As 2025 comes to a close I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some of the stories in our community that I have had the honour of telling. I have collected some of my favourite stories from this year in today's newsletter.
And keep scrolling to see some of my favourite photos from the year, too.
I'm looking forward to continuing to report on what’s happening in our community in 2026.
Happy holidays, Mick Sweetman
P.S. You won't receive regular newsletters from me until the new year as I and some of our team members will be taking some time off for the holidays. But keep an eye out for some special emails from our team!
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| | Mick's favourite stories of the year |
| Former youth in care featured in photo exhibit at VIU
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This year I participated in the Spotlight: Child Welfare Collaborative, a multi-year journalism project hosted by the Tyee and led by former Discourse reporter Brielle Morgan, with a story on Trish Dowling’s photo exhibit of former youth-in-care at Vancouver Island University. The story was republished in The Tyee as well as APTN, prompting the CBC to interview her for its national radio show As it Happens.
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| VIU basketball team supports trans teammate, boycotts games at bible college
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Early this year, players on the VIU women’s basketball team supported their transgender teammate Harriette Mackenzie by refusing to travel for an away game at Columbia Bible College after she was targeted in a previous game by the opposing team’s coach. Through my reporting, I got to know Harriette and her mother Megan Cunningham and was truly honoured by the trust that we built in helping tell those stories.
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| How much crime in Nanaimo is drug related?
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After a Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson claimed, without evidence, that 85 per cent of all crimes in the city are drug related I wanted to explore that question deeper. So using both scientific studies and interviews with subject matter experts I researched and wrote my story “How much crime in Nanaimo is drug related?” in which one expert told me that “we have a lot of harms related to opioids, but the overall costs and harms are significantly less than alcohol.”
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| | Mick’s favourite photos of the year |
| Long Lake boathouse upgrade needed for safety and accessibility, paddlers say
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When I was reporting on the often heated public debate on if the city should build a new boathouse on Long Lake for the Nanaimo Rowing Club and Nanaimo Kayak Clubs, I was offered the chance to go out on the water and watch the athletes train. I literally jumped into the boat with the coaches and was able to capture some beautiful photos for my story of the young paddlers training.
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| In photos: Snuneymuxw Days 2025
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This summer I attended Snuneymuxw Days 2025 and documented the canoe races, which were very impressive with athletes as young as six years old paddling faster than I ever would have thought possible. I also attended and photographed the ceremony in the Snyneymuxw Longhouse that welcomed the paddlers from the Tribal Journeys Paddle to Elwha trip as they stopped on their way to Washington State. It was a great community event and I would encourage everyone to stop by and check it out next summer.
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| In Photos: Nanaimo Remembrance Day 2025
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One of the more meaningful photo assignments in the year for me is the Remembrance Day Service in Nanaimo. This year was a nice fall day that drew thousands of people to the Cenotaph in downtown Nanaimo. It is always an honour and a challenge to capture the somber tone of the day in photos.
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| What did you think of this newsletter? |
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