Vancouver rundown for Wednesday, August 14, 2024.
A young Burnaby man is now charged with close to two dozen counts of extorting teens across Canada.
The majority of the victims are between 15 and 18, and the investigation started after police
looked into threats of explicit photos being shared online of teens in Ontario, Quebec,
and Nova Scotia. 19-year-old Anwar Jalassi is charged with multiple counts of child-luring,
child pornography and extortion. Other news investigators think a home in
Surrey's Portcals neighborhood is linked to an uptick in South Asian business extortion.
Shots were fired at a home on 192 Street near 88 Avenue on Saturday. A short time later,
there was an attempted arson at the same house. The residents of the home got a letter demanding
money the next day. No suspects have been arrested. BC United leader Kevin Falcon promises
to eliminate provincial income tax on the first $50,000 if he becomes premier after this fall's
election. Falcon says that would get rid of provincial income tax for about 60% of BC's
workers. By the way, BC United currently trailing the Green Party in most polls.
Lightning continues to be the main problem as crews fight forest fires around the province.
Despite the cooler and wetter weather, close to 90% of the current fires were caused by lightning
according to the BC Wildfire Service. There are four fires of note right now. None are threatening
any communities. So what happened to summer? That's the question many are asking. Partly cloudy
and much cooler conditions will be in the forecast for the next few days, with lows barely cracking
20 degrees. There is a strong chance of rain for the weekend. For all the details on these Vancouver
area stories along with those links, go to vancaverundown.substack.com.