Good Morning! It’s Morgan again with your daily Tri-Cities Dispatch newsletter.
Today I’m covering some pretty uplifting material to start your Monday off right: a new tech company might be popping in Port Moody, a local sewing group donates their efforts, and BC opens up provincial camping soon. Keep reading, it will be sew great!
The lowdown: This Wednesday James Hursthouse will pitch Port Moody as a potential location for his company AMPD Technologies. The company specializes in producing computing and cloud solutions for commercial and entertainment purposes – including virtual reality and e-sports. The proposed location is near the Moody Centre Skytrain Station making it easily commutable.
Creating jobs:
- The new location would expect to bring 2,000 jobs to Port Moody
- The average employee salary at AMPD Technologies is $84,000
A Port Moody location for AMPD Technologies would allow for connections with local educational institutions as well as create avenues for new businesses to form.
- “The existence of the production facilities and the data centre within the precinct would also catalyze a mix of start-up and more established companies in the games, digital media and mixed-reality sectors” – Hursthouse
Tech landscape: Metro Vancouver has an emerging tech sector. Tech giants as well as smaller start-ups have been popping up across the area.
Stitching it: A local community group donated 50 reusable shopping bags to Port Moody’s Share Family and Community Services food bank. Fabric Bag Solution has produced 1,500 bags over the past year using repurposed fabrics such as old clothing and tablecloths.
The pandemic: Hobbyists have found their place in the news during the COVID-19 pandemic. An increase in interest for sewing has sprouted due to isolation.
The closing of big boxed stores has resulted in people turning to smaller businesses and individuals to purchase reusable masks and clothing.
Want to get involved?: You can email the founder Joanne Morneau.
The great outdoors: BC provincial campgrounds will be open for booking next week on March 8th. Initial reservations will be available for BC residents only and will occur on a 2 month rolling basis.
- The closest provincial park to go camping in the Tri-Cities area is Pinecone Burke Provincial Park. Pinecone Burke only facilitates backcountry camping so remember to bring a tent!
- The camping policies have been updated for the 2021 season to reflect the current state of the pandemic. Make sure to check them out before booking.
High demand: Last year the booking system continuously shutdown due to an overwhelming amount of website traffic – over 43’000 people booked in the first 6.5 hours were reservations made available.
Happening around town
- Diversity in Books: The first Wednesday of every month at 6:30 PM the Coquitlam Public Library hosts a virtual book club that features works from marginalized authors. This week the club will be talking about the novel Older Sister – Not Necessarily Related by Jenny Heijun Wills. I’ve read this book before – it’s pretty good!
- Authentically Connecting for Entrepreneurs: This Friday at 9:30 AM Happy Healthy Women is hosting a virtual networking event for women entrepreneurs to connect with each other. Tickets start at $11.62.
- Online Cooking Class: This Saturday at 11 AM Port Moody culinary companies Eden West Gourmet and Tartine & Maple will be hosting an online breadmaking class. Learn how to make delicious desserts, bread, buns, and pizza dough! Tickets start at $34.48.
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In other news
- A recent COVID-19 outbreak at a Port Moody pub has now been linked to up to 300 cases. Many community members are not happy with how the pub handled the outbreak.
- Did you notice the wind last Friday? Gusts were so high that BC Ferries stopped operating.
- There have been a few COVID-19 cases at local McDonald’s – an employee at a McDonald’s in Coquitlam recently tested positive.
- A teen from Port Coquitlam is urging community members to go green for the week of March 8th-12th.
One more thing
The Sto:lo Nation follow a lunar new year calendar. This current full moon cycle, the month of March, is called Welek’es. Welek translates to “little frog” in Halq’emeylem language. Sto:lo ancestors dubbed this month Welek’es because it is when frogs leave hibernation and begin croaking to signify the start of spring.
