CP
It's been quite a year for news in B.C., and the stories that captured your imagination ran the gamut from human interest to politics, to business, to the environment.
In politics, nothing could beat Christy Clark's comeback in the provincial election, securing a win that confounded pollsters and commentators alike, and left the BC NDP licking their wounds and wondering where it all went wrong.
Federally, B.C. became quite the attraction for Justin Trudeau, who spent a large part of the summer on a hybrid vacation/campaigning trip around the province, and came back in December to hand out food in the city's poorest neighbourhood.
The move to decriminalize pot by Sensible BC failed to gather enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue, with many prominent activists putting their weight behind legalization and regulation, instead.
Not that we want to be merchants of doom, but there's no denying David Suzuki's dire West Coast warning about what could happen if Fukushima's nuclear plant had another disaster, going viral in spectacular fashion.
Check out our top news stories of 2013. Story continues below slideshow.
Year In Review 2013: B.C. News Stories
B.C. Election 2013(01 of60)
In politics, nothing could beat Christy Clark's comeback in the provincial election, securing a win that confounded pollsters and commentators alike. (credit:CP)
Politics(02 of60)
B.C. became quite the attraction for Justin Trudeau, who spent a large part of the summer on a hybrid vacation/ campaigning trip around the province, and came back in December to hand out food in the city's poorest neighbourhood. (credit:CP)
Most Popular(03 of60)
Beauty queen Patricia Celan's bold move to shave her head for a cancer research fundraiser was the most read story on HuffPost B.C. this year. (credit:Facebook)
Cory Monteith(04 of60)
"Glee" actor Cory Monteith succumbed to an overdose in a Vancouver hotel room. (credit:Getty)
Elisa Lam(05 of60)
The tragic circumstances surrounding the death of young Vancouver woman Elisa Lam in a Los Angeles hotel were revealed. (credit:LAPD)
#Fail(06 of60)
The move to decriminalize pot by Sensible BC failed to gather enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue, with many prominent activists putting their weight behind legalization and regulation, instead. (credit:Facebook)
Crime(07 of60)
The B.C. crime story that interested Huffington Post B.C. readers most in 2013, was that of Kayla Bourque, the notorious animal killer who decided to make her home in Vancouver. (credit:Handout)
Real Estate(08 of60)
We couldn't believe our eyes at Roberto Luongo's condo, put up for sale when he thought his Canucks term was done (oops!). (credit:MLS)
Real Estate(09 of60)
We were fascinated by the monthly "most expensive" list. (credit:MLS)
Real Estate(10 of60)
We sat up and took notice when the Mercer House in Chilliwack was offered free to anyone who could take it home. (credit:Handout)
Real Estate(11 of60)
We wondered if we could be more creative with our laneway space. (credit:Lanefab Design/Build)
Hollywood North(12 of60)
James Franco and Seth Rogen turned downtown into North Korea. (credit:CP)
Hollywood North(13 of60)
Vancouver hosted Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, the night before the show's final ever episode aired. (credit:AP)
Hollywood North(14 of60)
The city's streets became the setting for steamy scenes from "Fifty Shades Of Grey". (credit:Splash News)
February: Fire Splash Photo In B.C. Goes Viral(15 of60)
B.C. photographer Rob Leslie's spectacular "fire splash" picture showed a rock hitting the water and apparently setting the sea aflame. No surprise it was named "National Geographic Photo of the Day." (credit:Rob Leslie)
February: Cody Green Dances With The Stars At The Oscars(16 of60)
Cody Green danced up close and personal with Catherine Zeta-Jones at the 2013 Oscars. The Surrey-raised performer was handpicked by awards choreographer Rob Ashford because of his work on Broadway. Green had previously performed in "West Side Story" and "Grease." (credit:AP)
June: Bob Erb Gives Huge Tip To Diner Owner After Lotto Win(17 of60)
Terrace's Bob Erb made last year's good news list when he won a $25 million Lotto Max jackpot. He made this year's list, not by good luck, but through a good deed, when he left a $10,000 tip for the owner of a Saskatchewan diner whose daughter had been recently diagnosed with cancer. (credit:Facebook)
June: Megan Kelly Yearbook Quote From Harry Potter Goes Viral(18 of60)
Parksville's Megan Kelly turned the traditional Yearbook quote on its head when she altered a phrase from "Harry Potter" to read, "Master has given Megan a high school diploma. Megan is freeeee!" The quote, which she posted to her Tumblr account, drew over 1.2 million views after it was shared on Imgur and Reddit. (credit:Imgur)
June: "Hobbit House" May Be Saved Amid Townhomes(19 of60)
Hobbit-lovers in Vancouver were ready to call on Gandalf to save a Tolkien-like home on King Edward Avenue after it was sold. But developer David Mooney engaged Donald Luxton, a heritage consultant, to see whether the popular home could be incorporated into a new project. (credit:MLS)
June: Simon Nessman Becomes Number 2 Model in the World(20 of60)
2013 was a great year for models from B.C. Ashley Diana Morris was named the new face of Guess, while Kate Bock was voted Sports Illustrated's "Swimsuit Rookie of the Year." But Vargas Island's Simon Nessman topped them all after being ranked second in the world's male models by models.com. (credit:Alasdair McLellan)
Quadriplegic SFU student Jessica Kruger sought to prove that "different" is beautiful when she entered a contest to be the new face of Lise Watier's "Something Sweet" perfume. The Coquitlam woman beat out 400 other contestants. (credit:SFU)
July: Patricia Celan, B.C. Pageant Contestant, Shaves Her Head(22 of60)
Patricia Celan wasn't content with a tiara. Just after winning Miss Charity BC in the Miss BC pageant, the White Rock woman had her head shaved on stage at Langley's Chief Sepass Theatre. Her message? "You can be beautiful, even with short hair." (credit:Facebook)
July: Lucy Johnson, Missing B.C. Woman, Found In Yukon(23 of60)
Miracles do, apparently, happen. Fifty years after she went missing, Lucy Johnson, who was found in the Yukon by her daughter Linda Evans. She was reunited with her daughter in September. (credit:RCMP)
July: Jenny Stewart's Mountie Dream Comes True(24 of60)
Jenny Stewart had dreamed of meeting a Mountie in Red Serge since she was 10 years old in her native Scotland. Her wish finally came true at the age of 88, when an RCMP officer wearing the force's traditional outfit visited her at a hospice in Port Alberni. (credit:RCMP)
August: Kayla Smith's Stolen Bike Stolen Back After Spotting Craigslist Ad(25 of60)
Revenge is a dish best served cold, says the old Klingon proverb. But Kayla Smith served hers with a smile when she stole back her own bike after it was lifted from Vancouver's Olympic Village and put up for sale on Craigslist. Smith met the seller, tried out the bike, then rode away and never came back. (credit:Imgur)
September: Steve Thurber's Message In A Bottle Near Tofino May Be World's Oldest(26 of60)
If you found the world's oldest message in a bottle, would you open it up and read it? Courtenay's Steve Thurber couldn't bear to after finding a bottle with an envelope dated Sept. 29, 1906 on Schooner's Cove Beach in Tofino. When he looked online, he discovered that the next oldest bottle was just under 98-years-old, a few years short of his 107-year-old discovery. (credit:Shutterstock)
October: "Yertle The Turtle" Ban Lifted From B.C. Classrooms(27 of60)
Who could deny schoolchildren the best-ever story on the subject of turtle stacking? The Prince Rupert School District, apparently. Back in 2012, a teacher in the northern B.C. town was told she could not display a quote from Dr. Seuss' "Yertle the Turtle" that read, "I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we too should have rights," because it was deemed too political. Common sense eventually prevailed, but not until the B.C. Teachers' Federation settled a freedom of expression grievance with the B.C. Public School Employers' Association. (credit:Flickr/JonDresner)
November: Facebook Fundraisers For Erica Macklin's Family Bring Strangers Together(28 of60)
Social media users stepped up in a big way for Richmond's Erica Macklin and her family when her husband Paul died from skin graft surgery complications. Members of the Facebook group Richmond B.C. Bidding Wars, where users normally sold furniture, toys and clothes, raised money and cooked meals for Macklin and her four children, even though many only knew her through the social network. (credit:Facebook)
November: Emily Morris Wins Mitacs Award(29 of60)
UBC student Emily Morris won the national Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation for her work on a genetic condition known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Patients with the condition are missing chromosomes and suffer heart defects, immune problems and learning disabilities. They also face higher risks of psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and psychosis. Morris's research found that geneticists with higher levels of stigma around mental illness were unlikely to discuss the psychiatric risks with patients' families. (credit:Courtesy of Emily Morris)
November: Keian Blundell Becomes An Honourary Mountie(30 of60)
Langley's Keian Blundell was diagnosed with leukemia in July 2012. His trips to the hospital in Vancouver would take him past RCMP headquarters, which led to dreams of joining the force. And the Mounties were only too happy to oblige his wish., making him a miniature, personalized red serge uniform and naming him an honourary constable. (credit:Facebook)
November: Jessie MacIvor's Facebook Gallery Will Warm Your Heart(31 of60)
Jessie MacIvor, an artist with Down Syndrome from Princeton, saw her colourful drawings go viral after she shared them on Facebook. (credit:Facebook)
March: Fugitive Lookalikes Caught In B.C.(32 of60)
California fugitives Dustin Ilar and Daniel Mota thought they could fool police by passing themselves off as each other while hiding out in Victoria. They reportedly hoped that police would question Ilar thinking he was Mota and be forced back to the drawing board. Alas, no dice. Victoria police arrested the pair and handed them over to the Canada Border Services Agency. (credit:Victoria Police)
March: Victoria Bank Robber Returns To Scene Of Failed Heist(33 of60)
A would-be robber entered a Victoria bank and asked a teller for feedback on how his heist was going. Confronted with silence (and a lack of cash), he fled the scene, only to return, peer in the window and check on the progress of the investigation. He was arrested shortly after. (credit:Alamy)
March: Lululemon's Sheer Pants(34 of60)
Lululemon found itself bending over backward to recover its reputation after it emerged that its Lu-On stretch pants were too sheer. CEO Christine Day said in an earnings call that the only way to tell whether they were transparent was if customers bent over. And that allegedly happened in some outlets, as angry customers claimed on the company's Facebook page that sales clerks instructed them to bend and prove that you could see through the garments. The company later pulled the items off their shelves and re-sold them as "Second Chance" pants. (credit:Lululemon)
May: Christy Clark Runs A Red Light At Her Son's Urging(35 of60)
Christy Clark threw caution to the wind when, at her son's urging, she ran a red light through an empty intersection with a Vancouver Sun reporter sitting in the back of the car. It gave the NDP some fuel to use against the premier in the election campaign. But that was quickly forgotten when... (credit:Canadian Press)
October: Northern Gateway Poetry Makes The Muses Weep(36 of60)
Enbridge proved itself to be worse at poetry than the Vogons when the oil giant dropped some truly pathetic free verse in an ad. The attempt was rightly (and mercilessly) mocked on Twitter. (credit:Getty Images/Wikimedia Commons)
November: Chip Wilson's Big, Stupid Mouth(37 of60)
Lululemon founder Chip Wilson went on Bloomberg TV and said that "some women's bodies just actually don't work" in the yogawear retailer's clothes. Wilson expressed regret for the comments, saying he was "sad for the repercussions of my actions," but it wouldn't be long before he was out as company chairman. (credit:Canadian Press)
June: Bob Erb Gives Huge Tip To Diner Owner After Lotto Win(38 of60)
Terrace's Bob Erb made last year's good news list when he won a $25 million Lotto Max jackpot. He made this year's list, not by good luck, but through a good deed, when he left a $10,000 tip for the owner of a Saskatchewan diner whose daughter had been recently diagnosed with cancer. (credit:Facebook)
June: Megan Kelly Yearbook Quote From Harry Potter Goes Viral(39 of60)
Parksville's Megan Kelly turned the traditional Yearbook quote on its head when she altered a phrase from "Harry Potter" to read, "Master has given Megan a high school diploma. Megan is freeeee!" The quote, which she posted to her Tumblr account, drew over 1.2 million views after it was shared on Imgur and Reddit. (credit:Imgur)
June: "Hobbit House" May Be Saved Amid Townhomes(40 of60)
Hobbit-lovers in Vancouver were ready to call on Gandalf to save a Tolkien-like home on King Edward Avenue after it was sold. But developer David Mooney engaged Donald Luxton, a heritage consultant, to see whether the popular home could be incorporated into a new project. (credit:MLS)
July: Patricia Celan, B.C. Pageant Contestant, Shaves Her Head(41 of60)
Patricia Celan wasn't content with a tiara. Just after winning Miss Charity BC in the Miss BC pageant, the White Rock woman had her head shaved on stage at Langley's Chief Sepass Theatre. Her message? "You can be beautiful, even with short hair." (credit:Facebook)
July: Lucy Johnson, Missing B.C. Woman, Found In Yukon(42 of60)
Miracles do, apparently, happen. Fifty years after she went missing, Lucy Johnson, who was found in the Yukon by her daughter Linda Evans. She was reunited with her daughter in September. (credit:RCMP)
July: Jenny Stewart's Mountie Dream Comes True(43 of60)
Jenny Stewart had dreamed of meeting a Mountie in Red Serge since she was 10 years old in her native Scotland. Her wish finally came true at the age of 88, when an RCMP officer wearing the force's traditional outfit visited her at a hospice in Port Alberni. (credit:RCMP)
August: Kayla Smith's Stolen Bike Stolen Back After Spotting Craigslist Ad(44 of60)
Revenge is a dish best served cold, says the old Klingon proverb. But Kayla Smith served hers with a smile when she stole back her own bike after it was lifted from Vancouver's Olympic Village and put up for sale on Craigslist. Smith met the seller, tried out the bike, then rode away and never came back. (credit:Imgur)
September: Steve Thurber's Message In A Bottle Near Tofino May Be World's Oldest(45 of60)
If you found the world's oldest message in a bottle, would you open it up and read it? Courtenay's Steve Thurber couldn't bear to after finding a bottle with an envelope dated Sept. 29, 1906 on Schooner's Cove Beach in Tofino. When he looked online, he discovered that the next oldest bottle was just under 98-years-old, a few years short of his 107-year-old discovery. (credit:Shutterstock)
October: "Yertle The Turtle" Ban Lifted From B.C. Classrooms(46 of60)
Who could deny schoolchildren the best-ever story on the subject of turtle stacking? The Prince Rupert School District, apparently. Back in 2012, a teacher in the northern B.C. town was told she could not display a quote from Dr. Seuss' "Yertle the Turtle" that read, "I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we too should have rights," because it was deemed too political. Common sense eventually prevailed, but not until the B.C. Teachers' Federation settled a freedom of expression grievance with the B.C. Public School Employers' Association. (credit:Flickr/JonDresner)
November: Facebook Fundraisers For Erica Macklin's Family Bring Strangers Together(47 of60)
Social media users stepped up in a big way for Richmond's Erica Macklin and her family when her husband Paul died from skin graft surgery complications. Members of the Facebook group Richmond B.C. Bidding Wars, where users normally sold furniture, toys and clothes, raised money and cooked meals for Macklin and her four children, even though many only knew her through the social network. (credit:Facebook)
November: Emily Morris Wins Mitacs Award(48 of60)
UBC student Emily Morris won the national Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation for her work on a genetic condition known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Patients with the condition are missing chromosomes and suffer heart defects, immune problems and learning disabilities. They also face higher risks of psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and psychosis. Morris's research found that geneticists with higher levels of stigma around mental illness were unlikely to discuss the psychiatric risks with patients' families. (credit:Courtesy of Emily Morris)
November: Keian Blundell Becomes An Honourary Mountie(49 of60)
Langley's Keian Blundell was diagnosed with leukemia in July 2012. His trips to the hospital in Vancouver would take him past RCMP headquarters, which led to dreams of joining the force. And the Mounties were only too happy to oblige his wish., making him a miniature, personalized red serge uniform and naming him an honourary constable. (credit:Facebook)
November: Jessie MacIvor's Facebook Gallery Will Warm Your Heart(50 of60)
Jessie MacIvor, an artist with Down Syndrome from Princeton, saw her colourful drawings go viral after she shared them on Facebook. (credit:Facebook)
10. Happiest Construction Worker In B.C.(51 of60)
Carry Thomas, a veteran flagger, often dances to her own unique rhythm as she directs traffic in Kamloops. "Life is too short to be grumpy," she says. (credit:YouTube)
9. Wayward Tortoise Reunited With B.C. Family(52 of60)
A 60-year-old tortoise named Alf made a "run" for it along a remote Vancouver Island highway in September. Against the odds, he was scooped up by an alert motorist, brought to a care centre and finally reunited with his family. (credit:Handout)
8. Vancouver Island Girl's SPCA Donation(53 of60)
Vancouver Island Girl's SPCA Donation Goes Viral On Reddit Kiana, a girl from Vancouver Island, sold her stuffed animals for $40 and donated it to the B.C. SPCA so "real animals can get better care." (credit:Reddit)
7. Aboriginal Languages Reclaimed By Native Gen Y(54 of60)
Clyde Tallio, 25, is part of a movement of young aboriginals who are working to save their native languages. He's taken a leading role in trying to teach younger students in their traditional tongue. Dustin Rivers, a 22-year-old community activist, has been teaching Squamish Nation members at "Language Nights." (credit:Alamy/Flickr: UBC Library)
6. Dolphins, Rainbow Captivate Horseshoe Bay Boaters(55 of60)
A group of boaters in Horseshoe Bay got the ultimate B.C. experience when a pod of dolphins began following their water taxi back to shore — while a rainbow arched over the water. (credit:YouTube)
5. Lotto Winner Spreads Wealth Around(56 of60)
Bob Erb, a pot activist, won a $25-million Lotto Max jackpot in November. Erb, 60, shared his new wealth around Terrace, B.C., showing up unannounced at local charities and businesses, and making sizable donations. (credit:YouTube)
4. RCMP "It Gets Better' Video(57 of60)
Gay and lesbian RCMP officers in B.C.'s Lower Mainland released a powerful video sharing their struggles and personal stories. It was a rare and inspiring look into the Mounties who don't often get credit for the positive work they do. (credit:YouTube)
3. 7-Year-Old Calls 911, Saves Grandfather In Chilliwack(58 of60)
Evan Rapp, 7, was hailed as a hero for saving his grandfather with a 911 call after the man keeled over in a minivan at the side of the road in Chilliwack, B.C. in October. During the 13-minute 911 call, Raap provided details about a store and train tracks they'd passed before stopping on a gravel road. The information helped guide a police officer to the scene before an ambulance arrived. (credit:Alamy )
2. RCMP Officer Saves Suicidal Woman(59 of60)
Sechelt RCMP Const. Harrison Mohr jumped into the ocean to save a woman who tried to commit suicide. He used his crisis intervention training to calm her down and get her to talk to him. "When it comes down to it, I did what Canadians would expect any RCMP officer to do, and I'd trust any officer I work with to do the same," he said. (credit:RCMP)
1. Oldest Couple Conquer Mount Kilimanjaro(60 of60)
Age be damned. Esther Kafer, 84, and her husband Martin, 85, reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in October, becoming the oldest known couple to do so, according to the Alzheimer's Society of B.C. Motivated by the rapid advancement of Martin's sister's dementia, the couple took part in the climb to help raise money for the society. (credit:Alzheimer's Society of B.C.)
And meanwhile, we gave ourselves a good laugh—and allowed others to laugh at us—with a hilarious video that explained 'How To Be A Vancouverite.'
We never escape a year without tragedy, and 2013 was no exception. "Glee" actor Cory Monteith succumbed to an overdose in a Vancouver hotel room, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Elisa Lam in a Los Angeles hotel were revealed.
The B.C. crime story that interested Huffington Post B.C. readers most in 2013 was that of Kayla Bourque, the notorious animal killer who decided to make her home in Vancouver.
In happier news, beauty queen Patricia Celan's bold move to shave her head for a cancer research fundraiser was the most read story on HuffPost B.C. this year.
Real estate is never far from the minds of Vancouverites. We were fascinated by monthly "most expensive" lists, and couldn't believe our eyes at Roberto Luongo's condo, put up for sale when he thought his Canucks term was done (oops!).
No wonder we sat up and took notice when the Mercer House in Chilliwack was offered free to anyone who could take it home. Fascination in creative housing solutions, such as laneway homes, life in Canada's tiniest condos, or in a micro house also peaked our reader's interests.
Lululemon used to be one of B.C.'s most successful business stories. But 2013 saw one PR failure after another for the yoga-wear company, with former head Chip Wilson's bone-headed comments about women's bodies even making the Colbert Report.
We all like a bit of Hollywood North, and 2013 gave us much to brag about as Vancouver hosted Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, the night before the show's final ever episode aired, James Franco and Seth Rogen transforming downtown into North Korea, and the city's streets became the setting for steamy scenes from "Fifty Shades Of Grey".
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