Rochelle Baker
Journalist | Quadra Island |
English
About Rochelle Baker
Rochelle Baker is the Quadra and Cortes Islands reporter for Canada's National Observer, thanks to a grant from the Local Journalism Initiative of the Government of Canada. Rochelle has worked as a newspaper reporter and photographer in BC's Lower Mainland for over 10 years.
May Day Metamorphosis
This spring, Quadra Island's historic May Day celebrations are undergoing a metamorphosis due the COVID-19 crisis.
High school grads struggle with uncertain futures, prom cancellations
“It’s hard to process that for first time in my life, I don’t know what I’m going to be doing in the fall, or even next month in June,” said Carihi Secondary School graduate Kailen Crosson about COVID-19's impact on her future.
Police report rise in property theft
“This theft, however, is in a category of its own, and is especially low. This was an epic loser move,” Cpl. Sean Bulford, Quadra Island RCMP detachment commander, on the robbery of a memorial plaque from the Quadra Legion's cenotaph during a recent spike in property thefts.
B.C. classes will soon be in session, but parents' reactions are mixed
The B.C. government's announcement that classes will resume on a voluntary, part-time basis June 1 got a range of reactions from Quadra Island parents, with some outright rejecting the idea and others expressing relief.
Small farmers are big players in food security during pandemic
In the early stages of the pandemic, isolated islanders were fearful about potential food shortages from being at the end of a very long supply chain. But as the weather improved and dramatic food shortages due to COVID-19 didn’t materialize, the mood has shifted. People are more excited about the opportunity to increase food production locally.
COVID-19 isolation threatening mental health of rural youth
Rural children and teens in the North Island region of Vancouver Island are facing increased mental health risks due to COVID-19's isolation protocols.
Tourism operators left confused by B.C.'s COVID-19 reopening plan
B.C. tourism operators being crushed by COVID-19 are hopeful but confused about how the critical summer season will unfold after the province unveiled its plan to reopen the economy on Wednesday.
Grocery store workers provide the essentials in isolated B.C. communities
Grocery store workers on isolated islands off B.C.'s West Coast are keeping their communities fed often with personal costs to themselves.
B.C. seafood processors not all in the same boat when it comes to impacts of COVID-19
Some B.C. seafood processors have less immunity to COVID-19 impacts than others.
Rural seniors on low incomes falling through COVID-19 funding cracks
Seniors on a fixed low income, particularly in rural and remote areas, are falling through the cracks when it comes to federal response funding during the COVID-19 pandemic, NDP party whip Rachel Blaney said.