Using public transit in Metro Vancouver will cost a little more, starting July 1. TransLink has approved an average five per cent fare hike for buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus. An adult commuter who uses buses and SkyTrain to get from Cloverdale to Downtown Vancouver will now pay $6.70 for a three zone ticket - that’s $13.40 a day for a round trip. The TransLink board is also pushing for an increase in the transit portion of property taxes - one of half a dozen tax and levy streams it uses to raise cash from taxpayers.

A Tuesday windstorm has knocked out power for thousands of people in several parts of B.C. At one point, over 50,000 BC Hydro customers on Vancouver Island had to look for power alternatives. Other areas hit by high wind have included Prince George, the Peace region, the Cariboo, Thompson-Nicola and parts of the Central Coast. Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have been mostly spared. BC Hydro Crews and contractors continue to work to restore power to all areas.

Two separate Sunday avalanches in northern B.C. have claimed four lives. Three heli-skiers died in a snow slide on Mount Knauss, north of Terrace, early in the afternoon. A fourth skier is being treated for serious injuries. A second slide, a few hours later, killed one person in a remote area near the B.C.-Alaska border. Four others survived that avalanche, unhurt.

Two hikers are injured, one critically, after sliding down a treacherous area on Brunswick Mountain, near Lions Bay. It happened on Saturday as a group of 14 hikers tried to make their way down the hill. Lions Bay Search and Rescue, along with North Shore Rescue, used the help of two helicopters to bring the hikers to safety. A doctor provided advanced medical care on the scene before the injured hikers were hoisted.

Several people had to be rescued and power was knocked out for close to 5,000 BC Hydro customers following a mudslide in Coquitlam. It happened shortly after 5:30 a.m. Thursday, hitting four homes and two industrial properties. Search and Rescue used a private helicopter to rescue eight people, two dogs and a cat on Pipeline Road, north of Upper Coquitlam River Park. The heavy rain also forced a temporary closure of the West Coast Express at Port Haney Station. The atmospheric river is responsible for several advisories along Metro Vancouver’s North Shore and in Sea-to-Sky.

Meanwhile, the Fraser Valley Regional District has declared a local state of emergency in Electoral Area E - east of Cultus Lake. There’s been at least one small slide along Chilliwack Lake Road and more flooding and slides are anticipated. More than 1,500 people live in that area.

A flood watch is now in effect for the Fraser Valley as bands of heavy rain continue to hit parts of the south coast. The atmospheric river coincides with significant snow melt on area mountains - localized flooding is expected in areas like Chilliwack and Abbotsford. Some area trails are now closed and people are warned to stay away from fast flowing streams.

Premier David Eby is pushing back against the federal government’s planned expansion of the temporary foreign worker program. That plan would allow employers outside of urban centres to increase the number of lower paid TFLs until at least next year. Eby says it ties vulnerable workers to employers who often exploit them. He says there should be a path to permanent residency instead.

‘There’s no evidence of extortion’ - that’s what the Surrey Police Service says after a Surrey home was shot up early Monday morning. Police say the homeowner found bullet holes in his door and front window. He did not witness the shooting that occurred near 76th Avenue and 126A Street in the Strawberry Hill neighbourhood. While Surrey’s police chief claims extortion is on the decline now, there have been 77 reports of extortion so far this year.

A man’s been shot dead at a home in Surrey. It happened at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday as neighbours reported hearing gun fire. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made. While there is no word on a motive for the shooting, it comes only days after Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski praised his force saying extortion related violence is on the decline.

The stabbed body of a Vancouver man has been found on a small sailboat off the coast of Belize. Thomas David Harmon, 72, was found on a catamaran - investigators in Belize say a woman rescued from the same boat claims Harmon suffered a heart attack but authorities found the stab wounds and indications of decomposition. Harmon’s son is reportedly making arrangements to return the body to Canada.