Assault charges have been laid against two Vancouver Police officers in a violent incident that happened in the city in late 2023. Global News reports both Joshua Wong and Brian Hunt were off-duty at the time. Neither is serving in an operational role right now while their case is before the courts. Constable Wong was one of several officers investigated in a violent assault that resulted in the death of Myles Gray in 2015 - he was never charged but did testify at a coroner’s inquest.

Was it a homicide? That’s what investigators are trying to figure out after an adult woman and a school-aged child plunged from an apartment balcony in North Vancouver. There’s no official word on what floor the two fell from on East Esplanade in Lower Lonsdale early Tuesday morning. Officers say the two knew each other and are not looking for any suspects at this time.

Wildfire crews are getting a much needed break thanks to wetter and cooler weather around the province. Only a third of the 370 wildfires are classed as out-of-control, down from 40 per cent just last week. The large fire between Cache Creek and Spences Bridge is now contained. Most of the fire danger is now in the northern part of the province and in areas of Yukon.

Power crews spent most of Sunday getting the lights back on for many of the up to 12-thousand BC Hydro customers hit by blackouts around the South Coast. High wind and multiple lightning strikes followed a storm late Saturday evening that made its way up the coast from northern California. The bad weather followed a warm Saturday with highs that topped 30C in many areas of the Lower Mainland.

Late and over budget. The provincial government now admits its latest cost projections for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain Extension will be $6B. That’s a stunning 50 per cent more than first promised. The Ministry of Transportation also says it now expects the project to be finished at the end of 2029…not 2028 as previously announced. The government blames market conditions, rising costs, labour shortages and supply chain issues for the extra costs. Even though work is already underway, BC Conservative leader John Rustad says he doesn’t think the NDP government will ever deliver on this project.

The provincial government has announced - or re-announced - close to $3B to complete Highway 1 improvements from Langley to Abbotsford. Most of that is to cover improvements in Abbotsford including those at Mount Lehman Road. Those improvements will eventually extend to Chilliwack and require even more money. Highway 1 improvement work has been underway in Langley for several months.

A young Burnaby man is now charged with close to two dozen counts of sextorting teens across Canada. The majority of the victims are between 15 and 18 and the investigation started after police looked into threats of explicit photos being shared online of teens in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Anwer Jelassi, 19, is charged with multiple counts of child luring, child pornography and extortion.

It’s a frightening warning for cyclists who use the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge. RCMP say they’re looking into reports a wire was strong across the eastside cycling lane at the north end of the bridge. The incident apparently happened last week and police say it’s lucky no one was hurt.

Two more weeks! That’s the latest word on how long that collapsed construction crane is expected to block West 41 Avenue near Collingwood Street in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood. The crane came down during that massive Tuesday night fire that destroyed a couple under-construction buildings and heavily damaged several homes. The cause is still being investigated while some area residents remain out of their homes.

Boaters have been dodging logs and debris along the Lower Mainland stretch of the Fraser River after water broke through the Chilcotin River log jam earlier this week. Officials are warning people to stay off the river in Langley, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Surrey. A debris trap near Agassiz has been working, capturing much of the dreck before it floats further downstream.