Mikki is one of the many dogs in Canada providing companionship to people. Do you know how many dogs live in Canada? (Kim Lawton photo)

QUIZ: Are you enjoying the dog days of summer?

For many, dogs are constant and loyal companions

Mikki is one of the many dogs in Canada providing companionship to people. Do you know how many dogs live in Canada? (Kim Lawton photo)
TEASER PHOTO

Could you eat this B.C. pub’s big burger in 30 minutes? Only 2 ever have

Competitive eaters twice videoed their Blarney Stone Challenges at Donegal’s in Surrey

TEASER PHOTO
A pair of conchuela stink bugs crawl over an amaranth plant at the front of Kathy Crosbie’s Salmon Arm home. (Lachlan Labere-Salmon Arm Observer)

Meet the little stinker sucking the life out of B.C. Interior farms and gardens

Conchuela stink bugs causing a real stink for fruit and vegetable growers

A pair of conchuela stink bugs crawl over an amaranth plant at the front of Kathy Crosbie’s Salmon Arm home. (Lachlan Labere-Salmon Arm Observer)
FILE - Matty Healy of the 1975 performs at the Reading Music Festival, England, on Aug. 28, 2022. The organizer of a Malaysian music festival is seeking 12.3 million ringgit ($2.7 million) in losses from British band The 1975, after its lead singer’s on-stage protest of the country’s anti-gay laws prompted authorities to shut down the festival, the company’s lawyer said Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Suit seeks $2.7 million from band whose gay kiss got music festival canceled

The 1975 singer criticized Malaysian government stance on homosexuality

FILE - Matty Healy of the 1975 performs at the Reading Music Festival, England, on Aug. 28, 2022. The organizer of a Malaysian music festival is seeking 12.3 million ringgit ($2.7 million) in losses from British band The 1975, after its lead singer’s on-stage protest of the country’s anti-gay laws prompted authorities to shut down the festival, the company’s lawyer said Friday, Aug. 11, 2023. (Photo by Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)
Twitter logo. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

How businesses respond to Twitter complaints can affect reputation: study

10,000 tweets were collected and analyzed to show the responses to consumer complaints

Twitter logo. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Canadian filmmakers Sean Horlor, left and Steve J. Adams pose in Montreal on Monday, July 31, 2023. Their latest documentary, “Satan Wants You,” is an exploration of the Canadian roots of the so-called “satanic panic” of the 1980s and ’90s. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

‘Satan Wants You’ a cautionary tale as Victoria’s satanic panic repeats in U.S.

Documentary compares QAnon conspiracy theory to B.C.’s ‘Michelle Remembers’ in the 1980s

Canadian filmmakers Sean Horlor, left and Steve J. Adams pose in Montreal on Monday, July 31, 2023. Their latest documentary, “Satan Wants You,” is an exploration of the Canadian roots of the so-called “satanic panic” of the 1980s and ’90s. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
FILE - In this long exposure photo, a streak appears in the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower at the Guadarrama mountains, near Madrid, in the early hours of Aug. 12, 2016. The best viewing for the annual shower visible around the world will be from Saturday night, Aug. 12, 2023, local time, into early Sunday morning, when viewers might be able to spot a meteor per minute. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend and it’s even better than last summer

With only a sliver of moon in the sky, conditions this year will be ideal for seeing lots of meteors

FILE - In this long exposure photo, a streak appears in the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower at the Guadarrama mountains, near Madrid, in the early hours of Aug. 12, 2016. The best viewing for the annual shower visible around the world will be from Saturday night, Aug. 12, 2023, local time, into early Sunday morning, when viewers might be able to spot a meteor per minute. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Rick Austin catches a juvenile great white shark while fishing for striped bass in the Minas Basin, N.S., in this handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Rick Austin

Nova Scotia angler hooks juvenile great white shark and story of a lifetime

‘When you hook them up, they’ll come back and wreak vengeance on you’

Rick Austin catches a juvenile great white shark while fishing for striped bass in the Minas Basin, N.S., in this handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Rick Austin
Hot dog champ Chestnut smashed his own record for eating mini doughnuts at Regina’s Queen City Ex this weekend. (The Canadian Press)

Hot dog champ Chestnut downs 304 mini doughnuts in 8 minutes

He smashed his own record for eating mini doughnuts at Regina’s Queen City Ex

Hot dog champ Chestnut smashed his own record for eating mini doughnuts at Regina’s Queen City Ex this weekend. (The Canadian Press)
Ryan Rasmussen completed the 200-plus kilometre Coco Run on Aug. 5, with donations to it aimed at fighting cancer via integrative treatements. Photo by Edward Hitchins/Campbell River Mirror

Islander completes improbable sleepless marathon for charity and late sister.

Quadra’s Ryan Rassmussen runs from Duncan to Campbell River to finish improbable Coco Run for charity

Ryan Rasmussen completed the 200-plus kilometre Coco Run on Aug. 5, with donations to it aimed at fighting cancer via integrative treatements. Photo by Edward Hitchins/Campbell River Mirror
Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, left, and her Nepali sherpa guide Tenjen Sherpa, right, who climbed the world’s 14 tallest mountains in record time, arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. Harila and Sherpa shattered the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains more than 8,000 meters (about 26,000 feet) high when they topped Mount K2 in Pakistan late last month. The previous record was 189 days, and the pair did it in 92 days. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Record-setting Sherpa guide sets a new goal for the world’s highest peaks

Man who set record for scaling 14 highest peaks now wants to do it twice

Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, left, and her Nepali sherpa guide Tenjen Sherpa, right, who climbed the world’s 14 tallest mountains in record time, arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023. Harila and Sherpa shattered the record for the fastest climb of the 14 mountains more than 8,000 meters (about 26,000 feet) high when they topped Mount K2 in Pakistan late last month. The previous record was 189 days, and the pair did it in 92 days. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Tom Hooper of the ‘Grapes of Wrath’. (Tom Hooper Facebook photo)

PODCAST: Tom Hooper of legendary B.C. music group ‘Grapes of Wrath’

TODAY IN B.C.: Kelowna band hit the stage more than 40 years ago

Tom Hooper of the ‘Grapes of Wrath’. (Tom Hooper Facebook photo)
The lights on the Science World dome are set to go on once again every evening, beginning Aug. 10, after months of work. (Science World)

Science World to light up Vancouver skyline once again

The dome will be illuminated each evening with 651 LED lights

The lights on the Science World dome are set to go on once again every evening, beginning Aug. 10, after months of work. (Science World)
The jagged surface of the Mendenhall Glacier is shown on June 8, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. The glacier is a top attraction in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city. As the Mendenhall Glacier continues to recede, tourists are flooding into Juneau. A record number of cruise ship passengers are expected this year in the city of about 30,000 people. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)

What will happen in Alaska’s capital as its magnificent glacier recedes?

Mendenhall Glacier is receding so quickly that by 2050, it might no longer be visible from the visitor center

The jagged surface of the Mendenhall Glacier is shown on June 8, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. The glacier is a top attraction in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city. As the Mendenhall Glacier continues to recede, tourists are flooding into Juneau. A record number of cruise ship passengers are expected this year in the city of about 30,000 people. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
In this photo provided by the Alaska SeaLife Center, Wildlife Response Animal Care Specialists Halley Werner, left, and Savannah Costner feed formula to a male Pacific walrus calf who arrived as a patient in Seward, Alaska, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center via AP)

VIDEO: 200-pound walrus calf rescued, prescribed cuddles in Alaska

The calf was found by oil field workers about 6.4 kilometers inland from the Beaufort Sea

In this photo provided by the Alaska SeaLife Center, Wildlife Response Animal Care Specialists Halley Werner, left, and Savannah Costner feed formula to a male Pacific walrus calf who arrived as a patient in Seward, Alaska, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center via AP)
FILE - This combo of file images shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Elon Musk says his potential in-person fight with Mark Zuckerberg would be streamed on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. “Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X,” Musk wrote in a post Sunday Aug. 6, 2023, on the platform. “All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.” (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, Stephan Savoia, File)

Musk may need surgery before proposed ‘cage match’ with Zuckerberg

Elon Musk says he may need to get surgery before a proposed…

FILE - This combo of file images shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Elon Musk says his potential in-person fight with Mark Zuckerberg would be streamed on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. “Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X,” Musk wrote in a post Sunday Aug. 6, 2023, on the platform. “All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.” (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, Stephan Savoia, File)
UBCO engineers are testing research that uses discarded plastic bottles to help stabilize clay banks in landfills (UBCO).

B.C. engineers study how repurposed plastic bottles could protect landfills

The research is published in the journal Waste Management and funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grants Program

UBCO engineers are testing research that uses discarded plastic bottles to help stabilize clay banks in landfills (UBCO).
The B.C. Legislature in Victoria was designed by architect Frances Rattenbury. Which city was British Columbia’s capital before Victoria was selected? (Don Denton photograph)

QUIZ: How well do you know British Columbia?

There is a lot to celebrate about this province during the B.C. Day long weekend

The B.C. Legislature in Victoria was designed by architect Frances Rattenbury. Which city was British Columbia’s capital before Victoria was selected? (Don Denton photograph)
Long-time Sooke resident Doreen Carscadden, shown here with a few of 36 books of art she’s catalogued and the sandals chosen for an exclusive run of two pairs of Birkenstock sandals. (Rick Stiebel - Sooke News Mirror)

Island artist’s designs adorn limited edition of Birkenstock sandals

Best foot forward: art work used for exclusive Birkenstock design

Long-time Sooke resident Doreen Carscadden, shown here with a few of 36 books of art she’s catalogued and the sandals chosen for an exclusive run of two pairs of Birkenstock sandals. (Rick Stiebel - Sooke News Mirror)
The 2023 World Happiness Report looked at impacts of pandemic, other life disruptions. (WHR screenshot)

People may be coming out of the pandemic nicer: World Happiness Report

This was the 11th edition of the World Happiness Report; ten years since the first International Happiness Day

The 2023 World Happiness Report looked at impacts of pandemic, other life disruptions. (WHR screenshot)