The drowning happened Tuesday night on the Cameron River.

Corporal Jen Allen with the Port Alberni RCMP says the victim was kayaking with a friend and began experiencing some difficulty. She says he flipped his kayak and then became trapped under a log.

Allen says the victim was known to be an experienced kayaker.

No name has been released.

The Coastal Fire Centre is putting a Category 2 burning prohibition in place.

Spokeswoman Marg Drysdale says it applies to grass and debris fires along with burning in barrels and fireworks.

The ban starts on May 18th at noon and stays in place until September 15th.

Drysdale says there have been nine fires in the region in 2012 and all have been human caused.

The plan was approved by an 8 to 1 vote at the council meeting Monday night. Councillor Kipp was the only one opposed.

Residential taxes will go up by 3.9%, or about $70 a year for a typical home valued at $350,000.

The 160 million dollar budget features a city communications officer valued at $140,000.

The designation would, among other things, ban the sale of bottled water at city run facilities and special events.

Councillors voted to become a blue community in March, but at a meeting Monday night they said they wanted more information, and reversed the decision.

Councillor Diana Johnstone says she would like to see more in a staff report, and is concerned about over regulating local events.

A staff report estimates it will cost $5,000 to upgrade all water fountains at city facilities.

It happened at the intersection of the Island Highway and Bowen Road when the bike was pinned underneath the truck after being rear ended by the pick-up.

A woman, who was a passenger on the bike, was taken to hospital and released soon after.

The driver of the truck was issued a ticket for following to closely.

On Friday police were called to a home on Uplands Drive after four males with baseball bats forced their way inside. Two of the males inside the house were assaulted, however 2 women and a small child were unharmed.

Constable Gary O'Brien says it appears it was targeted and there was a former relationship between the suspects and the people in the home.

The second took place Sunday on Townsite Road. 3 men made their way into a home where a male and female were assaulted and had home equipment stolen.

Two arrests have been made in the Uplands invasion, and an arrest warrant has been issued for the Townsite incident.

NEDCorp Board Chair A.J. Hustins says Susan Cudahy is no longer their Chief Executive Officer. He says a decision was made between Cudahy and the board that recognized the need for change.

Hustins says Cudahy is going back to Ontario, and says she is entitled to a severance package, noting those details will be released when they're finalized.

He says a search will now begin to replace Cudahy.

The RDN's Manager of Current Planning Jeremy Holm says a draft version of the plan is in place and says it's primarily geared toward commercial operations. He says the hope is that small to medium sized farms will be profitable, so that young people will get involved in a thriving industry.

Holm says feedback is welcomed for the next month at growingourfuture.ca.

He expects their agricultural strategy will be approved by RDN directors this summer.

The opposition wants to split the 400 plus page bill into five pieces, but the government says it must be passed quickly to "deliver results for the economy".

Crowder says the bill contains much more than financial measures. She wonders why significant change to environmental policies is jammed into a budget bill.

The Conservatives have scheduled a vote on their budget bill for Monday.