As the year of the dragon comes to a close, 2024 proved to be a frantic, frenzied and sometimes feverish year for Victoria residents and Victoria B次元官网网址 journalists who provided daily, on-the-ground reporting for the community.

The stories that piqued readers' interests varied from frustrations with oversized pickup trucks in the downtown core to the creatures found in the waters off Victoria's shores to a reporter's day spent at the heart of the region's homelessness crisis.

Here are the stories that generated the most interest with vicnews.com readers in 2024:

1.  B次元官网网址� Feb. 14

Thirty-six Victoria International Airport staff members were fired Feb. 6 and 7 following a complaint to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA).

Preliminary findings prompted a deeper investigation into screening operations at the airport in December and January, CATSA said in an email. B次元官网网址淭he investigation identified multiple instances of incomplete screening at a non-passenger checkpoint by screening personnel employed by Allied Universal, CATSAB次元官网网址檚 screening contractor.B次元官网网址�

CATSAB次元官网网址檚 screening officers conduct screening of non-passengers accessing restricted areas at major airports. Non-passengers include flight and cabin crews, airline customer service personnel, caterers, maintenance personnel, baggage handlers and other airport staff.

B次元官网网址淭he findings indicate that the personnel involved did not fulfil their core responsibility to protect the travelling public,B次元官网网址� CATSA added. B次元官网网址淎t no point did CATSA request that the employer terminate the individuals involved.B次元官网网址�

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said the employer B次元官网网址� Allied Universal B次元官网网址� intended to bring the majority of affected employees back to work with a corrective action after determining that their conduct deviated from standard operating procedures but was not grounds for termination.

The association reminded its members to comply with screening procedures at all times and follow CATSAB次元官网网址檚 standard operating procedures.

2.  B次元官网网址� Jan. 1

A photo posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, of a large pickup truck with its box sticking out into the road sparked a conversation about whether or not downtown Victoria can accommodate the mammoth vehicle and others like it.

B次元官网网址淒oes that look like it fits in the space?B次元官网网址� asked Tim Bracken, who posted the photo with the accompanying hashtag #Banoversizedtrucks. B次元官网网址淧robably the most off-road driving this thing will ever do.B次元官网网址�

More and more, Victoria is turning into a city that is made for pedestrians and cyclists, with new bike lanes being added every year. Many downtown streets that were designed decades ago can barely handle todayB次元官网网址檚 cars and SUVs, with little-to-no room for larger pick-up trucks.

B次元官网网址淚 say ban them,B次元官网网址� said Colin Smithe, who recently moved to Victoria. B次元官网网址淲hat I love about the downtown Victoria streets is many of them are now designed for cyclists. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what we should be looking at, not allowing oversized trucks. Those things are dangerous. Outside of the downtown core is fine, but get rid of these beasts.B次元官网网址�

3.  B次元官网网址� March 21

At the tail-end of the winter season, Victoria diver Steph Brulot-Sawchyn and his brother spotted an unusual creature under the waves near Clover Point.

B次元官网网址淚 have not a clue what that thing is,B次元官网网址� Brulot-Sawchyn recalled thinking when he saw the two-foot-long transparent creature with a jellyfish look.

B次元官网网址淪o I immediately, when I got home, posted it to iNaturalist and the Field Naturalists of Vancouver Island Facebook page,B次元官网网址� he said. After some back and forth, online experts identified it as a siphonophore and there are only a dozen or so local sightings of the species B次元官网网址� a deep sea organism B次元官网网址� listed on iNaturalist.

The praya dubia or giant siphonophore generally lives in the mesopelagic zone, 300 to 700 metres under the sea, said Moira Galbraith, a marine biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

B次元官网网址淭hey are kind of uncommon in our area,B次元官网网址� she said in a phone interview from her North Saanich office.

B次元官网网址淭his is interesting that you see these. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no way you should be snorkelling in 300 metres, this is not their area,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hey donB次元官网网址檛 have the ability to navigate stronger currents.B次元官网网址�

Seeing it so shallow, and so far north is indicative of recent warming of ocean waters.

B次元官网网址淭hese are all deep water so thereB次元官网网址檚 something in this movement of water that causes some sort of welling that brings water from deep, I think,B次元官网网址� she said.

4.  B次元官网网址� Jan. 1

According to a decision by the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal, a moving company had mostly won its case against a woman who sued it after it missed a Victoria-area ferry and also threatened to B次元官网网址渄umpB次元官网网址� her items.

Tamara Gorski hired Micro Logistics Group Inc. to move her from Vancouver Island to Vancouver. She was claiming $1,100 in costs and $3,300 in damages, while Micro filed a counterclaim that was seeking more than $1,700.

Gorski said Micro did not move all her items, so she had to finish moving the rest herself. She said she suffered mental distress as a result of MicroB次元官网网址檚 incomplete job.

One issue that arose was that Micro arrived at the Swartz Bay ferry terminal too late for a ferry so it had to take a different ferry two hours later, making it unable to reach a storage business before it closed that day, said the tribunal decision. Micro held GorskiB次元官网网址檚 items overnight.

B次元官网网址淢s. Gorski argues Micro did not properly plan its route or itinerary so should be responsible for the additional time caused by missing the 3:00 p.m. ferry,B次元官网网址� read the decision.

The decision also found that Gorski had B次元官网网址渘umerous large and bulky items that were not listed in her inventory. (Micro) says it didnB次元官网网址檛 know Ms. Gorski had three full storage units."

The tribunal blamed Gorski for Micro missing the ferry. 

Gorski also said she suffered mental distress partly because Micro threatened to B次元官网网址渄umpB次元官网网址� her items instead of keeping them overnight.

B次元官网网址淚f we donB次元官网网址檛 hear back from someone and the storage is not open (we) will have to take everything to dump station as we donB次元官网网址檛 (have) storage units (of) our own,B次元官网网址� read a text message Micro sent to Gorski, according to the tribunal decision.

Gorski received $100, but Micro was awarded $1,630.51 in the counterclaim.

5.  B次元官网网址� Feb. 29

At the start of a crackdown on derelict boats, the Coast Guard announced it handed out the second-ever ticket under the 2019 Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act to a boat owner at the Village of Masset on Haida Gwaii, whose vessel, the Dorothy Gale, sunk and damaged a public dock.

For some, this was a small step in trying to fix the long-standing problem of derelict boats that are polluting waterways, especially in B.C., but for those who call the boats home, like Mark Crocker, it seemed to be part of a concerted effort against so-called B次元官网网址渓iveaboards."

Crocker, 64 at the time of the story being written, had spent 35 years living on various boats in the Greater Victoria area. His home of the past seven years B次元官网网址� a big, blue metal sailboat named Illusie B次元官网网址� was stuck on a breakwater in North Saanich.

B次元官网网址淭his my home,B次元官网网址� Crocker said. B次元官网网址淓verything I own is on board, and as far as I know, itB次元官网网址檚 been looted and vandalized.B次元官网网址�

Coast Guard spokesperson Paul Barrett said boat owners are given plenty of opportunity B次元官网网址� and coaching B次元官网网址� to help solve the problems with their boats before it gets to the point of a financial penalty.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 only in cases where that didnB次元官网网址檛 work, then the next step is to issue them a notice of assessment to say, B次元官网网址楬ey, youB次元官网网址檙e responsible for thisB次元官网网址�,B次元官网网址� Barrett said.

If owners donB次元官网网址檛 act at that point, they are fined.

The first ticket issued under the 2019 law was a $15,000 penalty assessed this past summer after a boat washed ashore in Cadboro Bay.

6.  B次元官网网址� Aug. 15

The historic Hawaii Martin Mars water bomber made headlines during its journey to its new home on the Saanich Pennisula.

In April, Coulson Aviation announced that it was donating the last operational tanker, which was used to fight B.C. wildfires for over five decades, to the BC Aviation Museum to establish the plane as the centrepiece of a new B.C. wildfire aviation exhibit. 

The tanker's final flight was on Aug. 11 when it left the Alberni Valley to a temporary parking lot at the Canadian Coast Guard station in North Saanich before inching its way to the museum.

B次元官网网址淚t's been a massive preparing operation,B次元官网网址� Richard Mosdell, who piloted the campaign to save the plane, said of the final leg of the aircraftB次元官网网址檚 journey.

The bomber made a midnight move sometime during the week of Aug. 19 to 23 across the Coast Guard base, West Saanich Road and Victoria International Airport land to arrive at its new home at the museum.

The last shackles of the move came off on Aug. 29 as Hawaii Mars settled into its longtime resting place at the end of the 2.5-year mission, made successful by more than 300 individuals and a dozen organizations.

7.  B次元官网网址� Oct. 31

On Sept. 23, Black Press Media spent a day with the outreach team of Our Place Society, a charity serving Greater VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 unhoused population. The article delved into the daily reality of two front-line workers on Pandora Avenue's 900 block B次元官网网址� the epicentre of the cityB次元官网网址檚 homelessness crisis.

Outreach workers Madeline Tessmer and Cameron Harper started their day by cleaning the community centre as it transitioned from an overnight shelter into a lounging area while handing out coffees and connecting with those living on the street.

At the time, the community had recently experienced increasing stress levels due to a growing number of encampment cleanups conducted by city bylaws and police officers. 

B次元官网网址淲e're just trying to stay on top of the updates and let as many people know as we can so [sweeps are] less of a surprise,B次元官网网址� Harper said. B次元官网网址淲e want people to be prepared and give them time to pack up their belongings, keep their things safe, and be out of the way.B次元官网网址�

Later in the day, the team encountered a young woman experiencing a "particularly severe" overdose, though the woman did survive.

B次元官网网址淚t's not good because usually after one or two doses of Narcan they wake up pretty quickly,B次元官网网址� said Tessmer. B次元官网网址淚 think the hard part was seeing the chest compressions. Usually, paramedics always do artificial manual breathing.B次元官网网址�

Painting a grim picture, one man experiencing homelessness, Tyler, explained that overdoses are often a way for people to escape the harsh reality of life on the street without fully considering the consequences of their actions.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of these people are taking that hit thinking that they want it to be their last one,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭hey wake up mad because you rob them of the opportunity to escape this life they live in. It's sad to think of it like that but that is the reality.B次元官网网址�