In this episode of New Music now, Guilty About Girls talk about how they met as a band and started playing together in 1988, as well as, their plans for the upcoming year 2021!
New Music Now – Guilty About Girls
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Author Archives: Jocelyn Cheung
New Music Now – The Segues
On this episode of New Music now, the Segues talk about how they began their journey as a band together and their plans for the future.
Echoes – The Vancouver Police Museum
In this episode of Echoes, there will be an exploration of the Vancouver Police Museum. This historic landmark carries a morgue as well as archives from the late 1800s till the 1970s. Join Jocelyn Cheung for Evolution 107.9 in discovering what the police force is like during World War One and Two and the interesting cases offered at each exhibit.
Echoes – Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Garden
In this episode of Echoes, we visit the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown, where we find the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Classical Garden. This historic landmark carries a lot of history for the Chinese community and discusses important topics like discrimination. Join Jocelyn Cheung for Evolution 107.9 in discovering what Chinatown was like during the 1900s and how this Classical Garden came to be.
The Watercooler – Starting an Instagram Business During the New Normal
In this episode on The Watercooler, we are joined by Bonnie Ho, an SFU student who decided to open an Instagram business during the pandemic. She follows her passion and uses her business skills to further make her small business successful.
The Watercooler – Being a Game Developer During the Pandemic
In this episode of The Watercooler, Gabriel Koenig joins us and explains what the gaming industry is like for a gaming developer during the pandemic. How the virtual world has the potential to change individual’s lives.
Two Sisters Becoming Entrepreneurs Amidst the Pandemic
The pandemic has affected not only adults but also young adults who have been laid off since the beginning of COVID-19. Chandani and Ganika Parmar lost their jobs at the beginning of the lockdown. They found that they had difficulty training their dog at home and the dog treats offered at the store were not affordable or healthy. Therefore they decided to turn their problems into a solution. Chandani at age 18 and Ganika age 15 decided to become young entrepreneurs. They put together a business plan to start a dog treat company called Drooler Treats. The sisters launched their store in May 2020 and their mission is to deliver healthy and affordable treats to dogs. The Parmar sisters share how they began their business, “We started our business because we got laid off for COVID but what kind of inspired us was that we had a dog that is super energetic and needed a specific type of treat to be like trained, and treats were super expensive for us to buy in-store, and we were finding that they were not as nutritious and have lots of chemicals, so we decided to make our own treats.”
Additionally, the sisters noticed that there was an increase in dog adoptions at the SPCA. They realized that a lot of individuals were looking for tasty treats to train their dogs and they used that to their advantage to help grow their business. They continue to provide delicious, healthy, and affordable treats to dogs all over Burnaby by providing delivery and shipping options.
The Parmar sisters found a lot of competition in the beginning; however, with their burning passion and determination, they persevered and continue to grow their business to this day. They hope that their story inspires other young entrepreneurs to take the chance during this new normal to start a business.
Local Hispanic Grocery Store Voices Concern About the Second Wave of the Pandemic
This year has been a difficult year for many local shops. The pandemic has caused many losses and many store closures. The second wave is upon us and many store owners are expressing deep concern. One of the local Burnaby Hispanic specialty stores that have been running for over 20 years is worried whether or not her store will survive. The store owner of Pacific Sun Produce, Susan Fung, speaks out about the issues she is facing, “We change the system totally. We tried different ways to keep the business running. We loss a lot of customers, we lost more than 50% of the business. If we don’t have enough business, we need to close, we can’t keep run the store if no business.”
(@Pacific Sun Produce / Facebook)
Fung continues to think of different ways to continue running her store, and to this end, she has implemented delivery and in-store pickup. This is an effort to help customers who are immunocompromised and require assistance. The store has also implemented safety measures to ensure her and her customers’ safety. Her hope is to continue running the store and to make it through the pandemic with as little loss as possible. Fung also mentions that she appreciates all the support she has received during the pandemic.
Delivery service map around Burnaby Area (@Pacific Sun Produce / Facebook)
Many local shops are experiencing the same thing as Fung right now. Small stores and restaurants are closing down due to low turnouts, making it hard to keep up with operating costs. It’s important to continue to think about shopping with local businesses on your next trip to the grocery store. Take the time to take a look at your neighbourhood and support the small businesses that need your help, as this helps make our communities stronger and more stable.
Possible New Deer Disease in B.C.
Amongst the pandemic, there have been recent reports of deer deaths on the Gulf Islands. The causation is unclear but it is suspected it is from Adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD). There are no known cases to date in BC. After the death of more than 60 deer, Wildlife Health Officials became suspicious and believe that this disease is responsible. The first reports of this disease happened in California and Oregon as they had a couple of outbreaks.
Helen Schwanpje, the Provincial Wildlife Veterinarian, has collected tissue samples from the first couple of animals and sent them to a California lab for further testing. She is 99% sure that this is the problem that the deer are facing, “I’ve asked that the tissues from the first couple of animals that were sent to the lab, to be sent to California for confirmation, and that’s why I say that it’s suspected up here because we don’t have it one hundred percent proven but to be honest I’m more than ninety percent if not ninety-nine percent sure that’s what we are dealing with.” The symptoms that the deer face are difficulty breathing, foaming or drooling from the mouth, diarrhea, and seizures.
There is no need to worry about the disease unless you are a mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk, moose, or a caribou. There is no evidence that this disease can be transmitted to humans, but people are advised to not consume meat from a dead animal or an animal that seems ill to be safe.
If you encounter a deer that is experiencing symptoms of sickness, report it to the Wildlife Health Laboratory at 250-751-7246.
Supporting Local Food Truck Vendors During the Pandemic
The pandemic has been difficult for many local food truck vendors. Many trucks are normally found at the big events or festivals that happen all over the Lower Mainland. However, with the new health regulations placed many events are canceled. The regulations are placed to ensure the safety of the public.
The Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival predicted that many local food truck vendors were not going to have as much business this summer. They came up with creative ideas to combat the pandemic. They looked into creating a drive-thru food truck festival in efforts to support these food trucks.
Jason Faria, the owner of the Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival, mentions that it was difficult to run this event, “ In order for us to make it happen, we had to comply with not only the restrictions of the province of Fraser Health. But we had to go above the standard in order to, [ ] put our best foot forward and show that you can operate during a pandemic. This shows the creativity of trying different ways of running a business, and it can end up successful.
It will become more difficult for food truck vendors to stay open during the chilly winter months. The last opportunity to support many local food truck vendors in one place is this long weekend. On October 10th and 11th, catch the Maple Ridge Drive-Thru Food Truck Festival, and take the time out of your day to support the local vendors.
For more information about the event click here.