Local News

- Dreams of Significant Girls, by Cristina Garcia (Simon & Schuster, 238 pages) $20 FANS of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series will love this story of three teens from wildly different backgrounds who become roommates at an exclusive summe

BEFORE lighting the Christmas candles and letting tipsy Uncle Joe smoke inside again, all North Shore residents should make sure they have working smoke alarms.

Christmas Bureau Urgently Needs Sponsors: Over 100 low income families, including children and seniors who rely on the generosity of the community families at Christmas and throughout the year do not have sponsors this year.

Wednesday Treetop Tales - Winter Solstice: A special story time designed for children ages two and older accompanied by an adult Wednesday, Dec. 21, 1111: 30 a.m. at Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, 3663 Park Rd., North Vancouver.

Author Reading: The second instalment of North Vancouver City Library's local author series will take place Wednesday, Dec. 14, doors open at 6: 30 p.m. for refreshments and the program begins at 7 p.m. at 120 West 14th St.

IT HAPPENS EVERY YEAR ABOUT THIS TIME. The air is crisper, the days are shorter - and your jeans start getting tighter. Ready or not, the holiday season is here and with that comes seemingly endless temptation and reasons for rest.

A Holiday Wreath and Centrepiece Sale will take place Dec. 10 and 11, 10 a.m.4 p.m. at the Entrance Pavilion to VanDusen Botanical Garden, 5251 Oak St., Vancouver. All pieces are created from materials grown at VanDusen. Info: www.vandusengarden.

The Art of Fixing Things, by Lawrence Pierce. Available at Chapters.ca, Amazon.ca, $12.95. THERE is a simple message inherent in Lawrence Pierce's book: if you fix it then you won't have to replace it.

Smoke detector alerts family members to blaze; fire crews contain damage

British Columbias provincial government has called in a veteran American prosecutor to set up and lead a civilian police oversight commission, to be known as the Independent Investigations Office, or IIO.