1. Newsmaker of the year: Safe consumption site vote
Hundreds of protesters came to city hall in mid-February as council sat through two nights of raucous public hearings about having a safe drug consumption site in Richmond.
City council was deliberating on a motion about asking the health authority to set one up at the Richmond Hospital precinct.
In the end, despite dozens of people speaking against the proposal, city council voted 7-2 in favour of the motion.
Protests were held at the city hall plaza before the two nights of meetings, and people crowded into council chambers, spilling out into an over-flow area in the foyer.
As things got rowdy in city council chambers, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie admonished the audience, telling them that demonstrations wouldn’t be tolerated.
“This is not some kind of theatre or a carnival,” Brodie said. “This is a very solemn occasion where we are making important discussions and decisions for the city.”
While council voted in favour of a safe consumption site in Richmond, the health authority came out with a statement the next day saying they wouldn't be setting one up.
#2: Fire destroys Super Grocer & Pharmacy in Steveston
A massive fire ripped through an iconic Steveston grocery store on Jan. 26.
Super Grocer & Pharmacy burned almost to the ground and the site has since sat empty.
A temporary store has been set up just a block away, and the pharmacy has moved to Chatham Street.
Owner Sam Lu is hoping to rebuild on the Super Grocer property, but he's looking for a developer who will work with him to possibly build a mixed commercial/residential building.
#3: Massive fire on trestle bridge
A fire that appears to have started on an empty loading bay and private dock on River Drive burned a trestle bridge on the Fraser River on June 20.
The fire started around 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, spreading to the historic Marpole CP Rail Bridge near River Drive.
The thick black smoke could be seen for kilometres and caused the closure of the Oak Street Bridge as visibility was near zero.
Richmond Fire-Rescue was unable to determine a cause for the fire and the case was closed in August.
#4: Provincial election flips two seats
The Oct. 19 provincial election resulted in two BC NDP candidates losing their seats after a historic flip in 2020 when the governing party managed to take three out of the four Richmond ridings.
But it wasn't the newly named BC United party that swept through Richmond. Just six weeks before the election, BC United leader Kevin Falcon withdrew his party from the campaign and urged people to support the BC Conservatives. Long-time Richmond MLA Teresa Wat had already switched her allegiance from BC United to the Conservatives.
This withdrawal left two Richmond BC United candidates in limbo - Jackie Lee, running in Richmond-Steveston and Wendy Yuan, running in Richmond Centre. Both decided to run as unaffiliated candidates.
While neither took a large chunk of the vote, it didn't stop some on social media from blaming Lee for causing the Conservative candidate, Michelle Mollineaux, to lose to incumbent Kelly Greene.
Wat held her Richmond-Bridgeport seat, but Henry Yao lost his Richmond Centre seat to BC Conservative Hon Chan and Aman Singh lost his Richmond-Queensborough seat to Steve Kooner.
#5: Northern Lights dazzle Richmondites
A glorious display of lights in Richmond skies delighted residents and photographers alike on Oct. 10.
According to the Canadian Space Agency, northern lights occur when the sun's charged particles collide with gas in the Earth's upper atmosphere, producing small flashes filling the sky with colour.
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter.
💬 Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
