Happy Friday, Langley! It's a cool and partly sunny day around 16°C with a 35% chance of showers, but hold tight, because we're set to climb to 27°C by Tuesday.
On the news front, Langley City is making its dog poo bin program permanent and ditching its old ad-covered street garbage cans for new ones built around people instead of advertisers.
Langley schools are also among the first in B.C. to hand AI chatbots to students 13 and up, even as students elsewhere push back hard. Charlie Fox is jumping into the fall race with the new Langley Strong slate, gunning to challenge Eric Woodward's Progress For Langley group, and School District 83 is warning parents about a dangerous Benadryl TikTok trend.
On the sports side, Vancouver FC has settled a lawsuit with its former coach Afshin Ghotbi, and the Langley-based Bandits have signed ex-Brooklyn Nets G League guard Dre Davis. And if you are looking for something to do tonight, Americana singer-songwriter David Graff is playing the intimate Bez Arts Hub in Willoughby.
Langley City Makes Dog Poo Bins Permanent, Drops Ad-Covered Garbage Cans
Langley City is keeping its dog poo bins for good. A year-long pilot cut the amount of dog waste in street garbage bins by 31%, so the City has made the red-lidded program permanent and will add more bins in the coming months.
The City is also replacing the old street garbage cans, which a contractor installed for free in exchange for plastering them with ads, meaning they sat where ads sold best rather than where people actually needed them.
The new city-owned bins will focus on downtown and higher-density areas, match the downtown streetscape standard, and include a basket for beverage containers, with funding already in place.
Langley Among BC Districts Rolling Out AI Chatbots in Schools
Langley schools are already handing AI chatbots to students 13 and up.
The Vancouver School Board is set to do the same before the school year ends, rolling out Microsoft Copilot accounts and joining Langley and other districts, according to a new Tyee report by Katie Hyslop.
Students are pushing back, with a Grade 10 Vancouver student helping launch a petition for a two-year pause over concerns about the environment, privacy, mental health, and weakened critical thinking.
AI ethicists and cybersecurity experts share the doubts, warning that "policy comes before practice" and that student data on Microsoft servers, even those in Canada, can still be reached by the U.S. government under the CLOUD Act.
Veteran School Trustee Charlie Fox Joins Langley Strong Slate
Langley school trustee Charlie Fox is running again this fall, and he is bringing his name to the new Langley Strong slate.
The team is gearing up to challenge Township Mayor Eric Woodward and his Progress For Langley group, fielding candidates for all nine council seats and the five Township school board seats.
Fox brings deep local roots, with years as a teacher and principal in Langley schools, four terms on Township council, and two trustee wins since a 2021 byelection.
He also runs the Starfish Backpack program in four Aldergrove schools, which sends nutritious food home with kids in need on weekends, and says he joined Langley Strong for its focus on careful spending, transparency, and student success.
David Graff Brings Americana Sound to Bez Arts Hub Tonight
A night of Americana storytelling lands in Langley tonight.
Singer-songwriter David Graff and his band take the stage at Bez Arts Hub from 8 to 10 p.m., delivering radio-friendly songs with a vocal style critics have likened to Tom Petty, Don Henley, and Joe Walsh.
Local favourite Andrew Gordon, a singer-songwriter who also works as a film lighting professional, opens the show.
Tickets are $43.41 and the venue is at 20230 64 Avenue in Willoughby.
Schools Sound Alarm on Dangerous "Benadryl Challenge" Circulating Among B.C. Students
School District 83 is warning parents about a TikTok trend encouraging young people to ingest dangerous amounts of diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl.
The so-called "Benadryl Challenge" has already caused hospitalizations across North America, and B.C. schools are seeing signs of it reaching local students.
Health experts stress that high doses of diphenhydramine can cause seizures, cardiac events, and death. This is not a harmless dare.
Parents and caregivers are being urged to talk with young people about the risks and to monitor social media activity, while advocates continue to push platforms like TikTok to take faster action removing harmful content that targets children.
Rise FC Chase Third Straight Win in Laval Rematch
Vancouver Rise FC head east this weekend on a hot streak.
The Northern Super League club travel to Laval on Saturday to face league-leading Montréal Roses FC, chasing a third straight win after back-to-back victories over Halifax Tides FC and AFC Toronto.
Rise FC are out for revenge after a 4-0 loss at Roses FC earlier this month, and they will lean on in-form forward Latifah Abdu, who scored the opener and drew the penalty in last week's 2-1 win over Toronto.
Abdu, who used to play for Roses FC, will face her former club hoping to grab her first goal against them.
Vancouver FC Settles Lawsuit With Former Coach Ghotbi
Vancouver FC has settled a lawsuit with its former head coach Afshin Ghotbi.
The case centred on a disputed $500,000 loan that Ghotbi said he gave to ownership group SixFive Sports & Entertainment in 2023, when the Canadian Premier League club hit cash-flow trouble.
Ghotbi claimed he was later told his loan ranked behind other creditors, while SixFive denied the allegations and filed a counterclaim.
In a joint statement Wednesday, the two sides said they reached an amicable deal on confidential terms, with SixFive agreeing to meet its financial obligations to Ghotbi, who was fired in July 2025 after posting an 18-37-20 record.
Bandits Sign Ex-Nets G League Guard Dre Davis
The Langley-based Vancouver Bandits have added a new guard.
The club announced Friday that Dre Davis II has signed for the rest of the 2026 CEBL season. The Indianapolis native spent last year with the Brooklyn Nets' G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, where he averaged 7.0 points and 2.5 rebounds over 37 games, before a short stint in Venezuela.
Davis, who started all 34 games for Ole Miss in his senior college season, will wear number 34 for the Bandits.
What did you think?
Help us improve! Take a quick 60-second survey to share your thoughts on this article.
Take the Survey