One Vancouver building housed a mystical order devoted to "the laws of the universe" before becoming a house in 2019. Five former churches across the city now hide in plain sight as homes, community hubs and heritage sites, with one tied to Hogan's Alley and the city's historical Black community.

— via Vancouver Is Awesome, author

Hundreds of texts and emails, released after a court forced the city to produce them, show Mamdani aides coordinating with Rent Guidelines Board members more than 100 times before the panel froze rents. One aide reviewed speaker lists and got a draft of the board's final statement a day before public testimony closed.

— via NY Post, John Ketcham

A Milpitas business park could become 791 homes, with Toll Brothers swapping office space near Coyote Creek for apartments, townhomes and detached houses. Construction could start in 2028, but no architect, financing or affordability details have surfaced yet.

— via Hoodline, Emily Johnson

Three months after its Port Moody debut, Nova Kitchen & Bar lands on Lonsdale in the old Browns Socialhouse spot, steakhouse cred intact but the menu wandering into gochujang chicken and Thai curry. A columnist's verdict: the calamari beats the steak.

— via Vancouver Is Awesome, author

A woman says her 3 a.m. Uber driver asked to stop for 15 to 20 minutes so he could charge his EV, then missed an exit entirely. She ended the trip and called police; Uber says it investigated and took action.

— via NY Post, Fox News

A 29-year-old with four prior felonies allegedly shot six people over one weekend and killed a 23-year-old nearly a year earlier, all before Richmond logged its lowest murder count on record. Police still don't know why, and shootings spiked 163% in the year's final quarter.

— via Hoodline, Emily Johnson

David Eby wants the top 3.88 per cent of earners to pay more, with new brackets hitting incomes above $190,405 and a fresh 24.5 per cent rate for anyone clearing $1 million. The BC NDP says it would raise $1 billion a year by 2028/29; critics warn it will chase doctors out of the province.

— via Daily Hive Vancouver, Kenneth Chan

A federal THC ban delayed to Dec. 11 could wipe out a hemp industry worth billions, with one report projecting $28.3 billion in lost retail revenue and 225,000 jobs gone. The proposed 0.4-milligram cap is so strict it would even outlaw non-impairing CBD lotions.

— via PBS NewsHour, Gene Johnson, Associated Press

Reginald Newkirk died Sunday at Kings County Hospital, a day after a medical emergency while held on a drug possession charge in East Flatbush. He's at least the sixth person to die this year after a medical crisis in NYPD custody, and deaths before arraignment escape the public review that follows Rikers deaths.

— via Gothamist, Ryan Kost

Richmond Police closed Gravel Pit Road near I-70 and U.S. 40 Monday, combing woods for a man in his mid-20s they still can't find. Officers won't say what prompted the search, and they're warning residents not to approach him if spotted.

— via Hoodline, Tanner Kowalczyk

Nearly 22,000 Vancouver residents voted on the first day of advance balloting, a 196 per cent jump from 2022. The city nearly tripled voting locations after long lines plagued last year's by-election, and mail-in requests are already topping the last election's full total.

— via Daily Hive Vancouver, Kenneth Chan

A plague institute worker in Siberia died of "pneumonia of unknown cause," and officials insist none of the pathogens she handled are to blame. A hospital is now quarantined, contacts are being monitored, and unconfirmed reports point to pneumonic plague, a severe form that spreads person to person.

— via PBS NewsHour, Associated Press

Six months after Lynette Hooker vanished off a dinghy in the Bahamas, the Coast Guard has seized the couple's sailboat and sent evidence to the FBI lab at Quantico. Her mother now says she believes Lynette made it back to the boat before foul play occurred, while her husband Brian lives quietly in California, uncharged.

— via NY Post, Fox News

A stalled Montclair apartment project is restarting under a 30-year tax break, with just 10.8% of its units affordable, well below the town's 20% rule. Planning staff say an older site-specific plan legally overrides the newer standard, and two council members voted no anyway.

— via Hoodline, Fiona Doyle

David Eby says a re-elected NDP would add a new tax bracket for anyone earning $1 million or more, with proceeds going toward health care. He gave no specifics, promising details later Sunday in Victoria, as the full slate of candidates for Oct. 24 locks into place.

— via Vancouver Is Awesome, author

A new survey of 1,011 NFL fans finds 41% of tailgaters now call themselves sober or sober-curious, citing fitness and money savings as motivators. Yet Allegiant Stadium stocks zero non-alcoholic beers despite 254 sports bars nearby, while Lumen Field offers eight.

— via NY Post, Andrea Palladino

Starting Monday, Utah adults can get an acne prescription from an app that scans their face, no doctor required, a first for the country. Oversight tapers fast: after the first 100 patients, physicians review prescriptions weekly, then just 10% a month, a lighter-touch rerun of Utah's bruising Doctronic chatbot fight.

— via Hoodline, Ella Richardson

Kaylee Hunter's header in the 100th minute broke a 1-1 deadlock, lifting AFC Toronto past Vancouver 2-1. The win doubled as a Canadian Championship quarterfinal while Vancouver keeps fighting for the league's last playoff spot.

— via Vancouver Is Awesome, author

Odell Beckham Jr. says he never expected the Giants to cut him, despite zero catches on one target through three games. In an Instagram reply, he admitted "they got me" and that taking a veteran minimum deal to make the roster still stung when it ended.

— via NY Post, Peter Botte

A new Senate bill would pump $30 billion into replacing aging control towers, copper phone lines and airport tech, on top of $12.5 billion already approved. One in 12 flights ran an hour late in 2025, and a single cut fiber cable once grounded more than 9,500 Northeast flights.

— via Hoodline, Priya Choudhury

A new Lancet review of 2,790 studies says screen-time limits and parental willpower can't fix what infinite scroll and tailored algorithms are built to do: keep kids hooked. The fix, researchers argue, has to hit tech companies' business models and government regulation, not family rulebooks.

— via Vancouver Is Awesome, author

Some voters are letting AI research their ballot, even asking it who to pick. The practice raises questions about accuracy and bias that chatbots aren't built to answer.

— via NPR, Maham Javaid

The Bears outgained the Jets 492-157 with a backup quarterback making his first start since 2023, and Geno Smith went 8-of-15 for 119 yards after three sharp games to start the year. The Jets fall to 1-3 despite ending a 21-game interception drought.

— via NY Post, Mark Cannizzaro

Warm air gives way to weekend gusts up to 22 mph, but the Bay Area's fire-weather risk lingers through Thursday and cooling access splits sharply by neighborhood. Less than half the city has air conditioning, and tree canopy that blunts heat isn't evenly spread.

— via Hoodline, Tony Ng

Eleven of Vancouver's 17 goals have come in the third period alone, including four in Saturday's comeback win over Calgary. Their coach isn't celebrating: he wants the Canucks to stop needing a rescue and start fast against Vegas instead.

— via Daily Hive Vancouver, Daniel Wagner