There's a new group in town for young professionals (23 - 39ish) who are looking to meet like minding people and socialize. If you're a business owner, entrepreneur, or a wanna be business owner in Chilliwack or Abbotsford, then you should definitely check it out. The website is cayp.wordpress.com, or you can follow along on Facebook. There should hopefully be at least one event a month, and it'll be a great chance to pick the brains of other people who and moving and shaking in Chilliwack or Abbotsford. The first event will probably be sometime in the near ... Read more...

For those of us in British Columbia, a new law is coming into affect on December 31st that will restrict the usage of cellphones in vehicles to only those people who have hands-free gear. The B.C. government is reminding drivers that on New Year's Day it will become illegal to drive in the province while using a hand-held cellphone or other electronic device. Under the changes to the Motor Vehicle Act effective Jan. 1, most drivers will be allowed to use hands-free units with earpieces or speaker-phone functions. But talking, texting or gaming on a hand-held device will no longer ... Read more...

The other day I suddenly had the urge to make homemade poutine at home. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, poutine is a Quebec-based food invention consisting of french fries smothered in cheese curds and gravy. While many restaurants serve poutine with cheddar or mozzarella cheese, the original uses fresh cheese curds, and it tastes so much better. I tried various establishments throughout Chilliwack, and none of them had what I was looking for. I was told about a smaller cheese shop on Barrow road in Sardis called Heavenly Cheese, so I decided to go ... Read more...

While I don't technically have an office (who does nowadays?), I am a full time web developer for a company I co-own called BraveNewCode. My partner is a guy named Dale who lives out in Hamilton, Ontario. We spend a good portion of our days doing work together over iChat, and have special cell-phone plans that let us talk to each other whenever we want without worrying about long distance charges. While I sometimes work from home, it's just as likely you'll run into me at a local coffee shop, or when the weather's nice, a ... Read more...

As someone who works virtually, I'm always on the lookout for trendy establishments that offer free wireless access. Yesterday I was hanging out with a few of my friends from Vancouver, and we decided to head up to Cultus Lake for a few drinks at a pub across from the waterslides. The establishment is called Pala Lago, and it's truly a little gem (I just found their website too, and it's actually fairly modern). Without a doubt, it has one of the nicest patios of any restaurant I've been to in a long time. I sure hope they ... Read more...

Rachel Murrell and Yanika Tytherleigh knew they were onto something good. After years of making laundry soap, baby wipes and house-hold cleaning products for personal consumption, they decided to take their eco-friendly endeavor public. The two Chilliwack mothers became Green Gals, a niche business offering the Fraser Valley an opportunity to purchase environmentally sound, sustainable products that they created and tested through years of careful experimentation. Murrell and Tytherleigh were able to give their new customer-base innumerable variations in scent, product content, a plethora of size options, as well as  the ability to refill containers a customer may already have on ... Read more...

I just got back from the friends and family event down at the new Coopers store in Garrison Crossing. The store was pretty much jam packed with friends, family, media, and a few distinguished dignitaries, including the head of Overwaitea Foods and Chilliwack's mayor, Sharon Gaetz. I've been anxiously awaiting the store for various reasons, the most important of which is that I literally live a block from the store, and will now be able to walk to get all of my groceries. It's going to be quite the treat being able to simple stroll through a little forest ... Read more...

Tomorrow evening I'm getting a tour of the new Coopers location out near Garrison Crossing on Vedder Road. I've been anxiously awaiting the opening of the store, since it's literally next door to me and I'll finally be able to walk and get groceries (something that I used to do quite regularly out in Vancouver). I'll be bringing my camera, so tomorrow night I'll hopefully post some photos of the new establishment. I believe the official grand opening is this upcoming Saturday, so I'll post more information on that once I know. If anyone has any questions they'd ... Read more...

I spent the weekend over in Victoria on a type of press trip, courtesy of Coast Hotels. We stayed at their luxurious harbour-side hotel, and I had an amazing view of the water. As most people around here know, Coast Hotels is current taking over what used to be the Rhombus hotel here in Chilliwack. I'm hoping to get the inside scoop on the new hotel as they slowly finish it off, so will hopefully be able to post some more information on it shortly. If you're on Twitter, make sure you follow Coast Hotels. Read more...