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This Episode Features:

(00:00) Rod Mickleburgh, veteran BC journalist and co-author, reveals never-before-heard stories from his collaboration with John Horgan on the late premier's memoir. Mickleburgh conducted final interviews from Horgan's hospital bed in Germany, capturing candid reflections about the premier's year at Ocean Falls Pulp Mill, his famous bus rides from Victoria to Sooke, his collaborative approach with the Green Party, and what made him different from typical politicians.

(00:00) Ceri Peacey, of the Hamilton Wetlands and Forest Preservation Society, discusses the urgent mission to raise $7.5 million by late January to permanently protect Hamilton Marsh and surrounding forest near Qualicum Beach. The 360-hectare property—comparable to Stanley Park—contains rare coastal Douglas fir ecosystem and serves as the largest water body in the French Creek watershed, providing critical habitat for amphibians, birds, and wildlife across Vancouver Island.

Episode Quotes:

"There isn't a single reason not to preserve the whole thing... This deal has to come through. I don't have another 20 years in me to keep up the fight, but I don't think that I will rest eternally until the whole 360 hectares have been preserved." - Ceri Peacey

"He was the genuine article and people sensed that. And we all know the number of people would say, 'I don't like the NDP, but I liked John Horgan' because they sensed he was genuine, not just your ordinary politician." - Rod Mickleburgh

Visit hamiltonwetlands.com to donate or pledge support for this critical Vancouver Island conservation project.

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Episode Sponsors: Tablet Pharmacy, Windsor Plywood French Creek, Ian Lindsay & Associates & Fireside Books

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In this episode of NonPartisan Hacks - Pulse edition, hosts Joel Grenz and Sean Wood sit down with Thomas Bevan, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF), to talk trains, trestles, and the tangled politics of one of Vancouver Island’s most unique public assets.

Bevan shares what it’s like to work with every level of government—federal, provincial, regional districts, municipalities, and 14 First Nations—while trying to reimagine a 290-kilometre corridor that runs through the backyards of about 80% of island residents. From Scotch broom removal and firebreaks to high-rail buses and long-term transit-oriented development, the conversation uncovers both the risks and the opportunities of this corridor.

Episode Highlights:

- Corridor ownership: Whose Line Is It Anyway?

- Why the corridor still matters for housing, planning, and the future of Vancouver Island

- The Wesley Ridge fire’s impact on trestles and infrastructure

- Creative short-term uses, including high-rail buses

- How governance silos shape (and sometimes stall) progress

- Whether this “forgotten corridor” can become the island’s true spine

This episode is the NonPartisan Hacks: Pulse edition, originally published on the NonPartisan Hacks website. https://nonpartisanhacks.com/

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Special Thanks to Our Sponsor Ian Lindsay & Associates - Visit IanLindsay.ca for true real estate professionals.

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#PulseCommunityPodcast, #VancouverIslandRailCorridor, #IslandCorridorFoundation, #VancouverIslandTransit, #ThePulseCommunity, #SeanWood, #JoelGrenz, #ParksvilleQualicumBeach, #NonPartisanHacks

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This Episode Features:

(06:48) Kelly Hobbis discusses her husband's chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosis in 2010, his journey through multiple chemotherapy treatments, a life-saving stem cell transplant, and six years battling graft-versus-host disease. Recently discharged from the bone marrow transplant program after successful recovery, Kelly is now organizing Parksville's first annual Light the Night walk to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

(18:47) Peter Kent shares how a $20-a-night room at the Hollywood YMCA led to a career-defining phone call from director James Cameron. Despite having zero stunt experience, Kent became Arnold Schwarzenegger's stunt double for 15 years, working on iconic films including the Terminator franchise. The Qualicum Beach resident discusses his genuine friendship with Schwarzenegger and how a near-fatal car accident at 17 ironically reshaped his face to resemble the action star. The first Canadian in the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame, Kent reflects on practical stunts that can't be replicated today.

Episode Highlights & Quotes

"Everyone's diagnosis is their own journey to go through. Never listen to people who say, 'Oh, I know someone who had blood cancer, and they're just fine.' Everyone's journey is their own. It's their own reality." - Kelly Hobbis

"I was actually DOA in a car accident when I was 17, and I think, you know what? If I avoided that moment, then maybe I wouldn't look like Arnold, 'cause it reshaped my face. I went through the windshield face first and I was laying dead in the ditch and they started me up." - Peter Kent

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You'll find all episodes of The PULSE Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeart, TikTok and YouTube podcasts, as well as PULSECommunity.ca.

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Episode Sponsors: Ian Lindsay & Associates, Windsor Plywood French Creek and Thrifty Foods Parksville

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#PulseCommunityPodcast, #LightTheNight, #BloodCancerAwareness, #LeukemiaAndLymphomaSociety, #ParksvilleBC, #ArnoldSchwarzenegger, #HollywoodStunts, #VancouverIsland, #QualicumBeach, #ThePulseCommunity,#P

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