Lucy O’Brien
LightNews LightNews
banner
psketti.ca
Lucy O’Brien
@psketti.ca
310 followers 750 following 980 posts
(she/her) Urbanist, gardener, bike commuter, armchair architect, interested in local politics and journalism. If you’re cis I trust you less. Read as many books as you can. YYJ
Posts Replies Media Videos
psketti.ca
Sometimes the bus route has to change when a sewer line explodes and it leads you to beautiful tucked-away places you’d otherwise never go #yyj
A painted mural in a back alley, displaying orcas cresting before a seascape with beautiful mountains in the background
November 29, 2025 at 12:09 AM
psketti.ca
I just think that if we’re going to spend money on text blocks, but it should be art made by an artist. You can make it way more interesting. Look at this for example
This is a photograph of a sign in Salt Lake City, Utah. The sign reads Salt Lake City is for lovers. The Salt Lake City part of the text is written in pink neon sign.
November 26, 2025 at 3:40 AM
psketti.ca
On October 30th you can see award-winning journalist Angela Sterritt give a talk at Sngequ House! It will be a very powerful night of storytelling. This event is free but pre-registration is required. #yyj #uvic
This is a poster for the event. It says the following: KEYNOTE ANGELA STERRITT October 30, 2025 Angela Sterritt is an award-winning investigative journalist and national bestselling author from the Gitxsan Nation. Swipe to learn more about Angela Sterritt Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ (Sngequ House) Conference Room A University of Victoria 4:30 p.m. Doors open 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Keynote Register for your ticket Link in our bio
October 11, 2025 at 3:37 PM
psketti.ca
Everyone on earth should take a calm quiet walk through their neighbourhood at 6am.
A view to the east of a rising sun, the gradient of dark blue to brilliant orange to gentle yellow to soft blue is centred in the frame and enclosed on each side by street trees. In the foreground, Gladstone Avenue crests a hill and falls out of view.
October 7, 2025 at 4:26 PM
psketti.ca
Getting across town for me in #yyj is the same. Bike times and car times are almost always balanced.
A screenshot of google maps showing travel times for my unspecified school drop off route. It shows car travel time at 11 minutes, transit at 27 minutes, walking at 50 minutes, and cycling at 15 minutes.
September 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
psketti.ca
I just defer to authority, because I’m incapable of independent thought
This is a partial screenshot of the opening paragraph of the Wikipedia article titled “New York (state).” The visible text of the article states the following: New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. New York is the fourth-most populous state in the United States, with nearly 20 million residents, and the 27th-largest state by area, with a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km3).
September 1, 2025 at 8:02 PM
psketti.ca
This week the 2025 People For Bikes city ratings dropped. One highlight is that #YYJ is ranked #5 in Canada and #2 in #BC after only Squamish! Our score was dragged down by transit access though, and we’d definitely be higher if it wasn’t for that!
A poster that says the following: Victoria British Columbia, Canada SIZE: MIDSIZE CITY REGION: CANADA CITY RATING: 77 73rd Overall City Ranking OUT OF 2901 CITIES — 97TH PERCENTILE 19th place IN MIDSIZE CITY GROUP 77/100 Network Score AVERAGE NETWORK SCORE FOR ALL CITIES IN 2025 WAS 30.
August 2, 2025 at 8:11 PM
psketti.ca
Today from 1:30 to 3:30 at the central branch of the Victoria Public Library there is a family-friendly event to mark the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. This is a free event with children’s activities and two important speakers for the grownups. #yyj
It is a poster with a stylized picture of the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome in the background. This is the building that was directly under the atomic bomb when it exploded. The poster reads as follows: The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Poster Exhibition 80 years after the Atomic Bombings in Japan July 29-August 15 Greater Victoria Public Library-Central Branch 735 Broughton St. 10am-6pm on Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat 10am-7pm on Tue and Thu Closed on Sun Family Friendly Event Sat, August 2 1:30pm-3:30pm Speakers Doug Kobayashi, Mayor of Colwood Midori Ogasawara, University of Victoria Children's Story Time Making Paper Cranes (Origami) All Admissions Free Hosted by Victoria Peace Project victoriapeaceproject@gmail.com Supported by Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society Human Rights Committee, Canada-China Focus, The Simons Foundation Canada, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Canada, Greater Victoria Peace School, Hiroshima Nagasaki Day Coalition, Victoria Peace Coalition, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives
August 2, 2025 at 6:59 PM
psketti.ca
Too close to call! I’m shaking in my boots!
This is a screenshot of Justin McElroy’s poll that’s part of his ongoing Best Symbols In BC series. This particular poll is from round 2 and depicts the vote between the dogwood flower and the mountaintop. The vote share is 50.03% mountaintop and 49.97% dogwood flower. In my opinion, this vote should go to Dogwood and it is surprising that folks don’t overwhelmingly agree with me.
July 22, 2025 at 2:55 PM
psketti.ca
I don’t go to this church but I found out today that St. George’s Anglican Church is giving away about 100 cushioned, stackable chairs. If any community orgs could use them they can call Amanda in the office at 250-472-2090. They appear to be about 25% leather seat cushions and the rest fabric.
A photograph of many stacked chairs. They are all blue on the cushioned parts and either grey or black on the metal frames. The location this photo was taken is St George’s Anglican Church in Cadboro Bay.
July 16, 2025 at 1:30 AM
psketti.ca
I’m really enjoying this exchange between Councillor Gardiner and council.

1. Gardiner proposes writing a letter asking to shut down the place that just opened 2 years ago, and to do so by the end of August.

2. Everyone votes to talk about writing the letter in November.
This is a screenshot from the above linked article in the Times Colonist. It is 3 paragraphs long. It reads as follows: “Gardiner said drug-consumption sites are normalizing illicit drug use and asked for the city to write a letter asking Island Health to close down The Harbour by the end of August. The city should not support the use of illicit drugs behind closed doors, she said. Council voted to move discussion of Gardiner’s request to Nov. 6.”
July 12, 2025 at 3:07 AM
psketti.ca
Only if they bring back the sexy uniforms the BCPP used to have!
Photograph of a display of B.C. Provincial Police uniforms and memorabilia at the Prince Rupert Fire Museum. Photo from account “Slim S” from Lacombe, Alberta, posted on tripadvisor.com in May 2023
July 6, 2025 at 9:55 PM
psketti.ca
Still shocked when I come across bus stops on major routes that are just empty concrete pads with no schedule, trash can, seating, or shelter. The #10 bus route is not only a major east-west connector, but also a major north-south connector, connecting Gordon Head, downtown, Vic West, AND Jubliee
A photo of an empty concrete pad on Bay Street at Dowler. The #10 bus route stops here, a major connector for Vic West that heads all the way east to the Royal Jubilee Hospital while also connecting Gordon Head to downtown down Shelbourne St, making it a major north-south connector as well. This route hits four major jobs centres and yet right in the middle of the route the bus stops are barebones at best.
July 6, 2025 at 4:38 PM
psketti.ca
Today! Soon! Some wonderful indie makers are having a backyard sale! There will be baked goods, custom clothing, handmade jewelry, recycled and upcycled outerwear and other soft goods, and more! Bikes can park right in the backyard and the 7, 8, 14, 15, and 11 buses go right by! #yyj
A poster that says the following: “Back yard pop up. June 22, 11-3. 1887 Haultain Street”
June 22, 2025 at 3:25 PM
psketti.ca
Also this incredible claim that Victoria is becoming an uglier version of Toronto?? What a thing to say!
An excerpt from another letter from genie Carson, from back in November 2021, where she claims “Victoria is becoming a smaller and uglier version of Chicago or Toronto”
May 29, 2025 at 2:26 AM
psketti.ca
this opinion piece doesn’t have any cohesive structure, jumps between ideas every sentence without making an actual argument, and uses the existence of a downtown public plaza to justify keeping high speed limits in Fernwood?
This is a acreenshot from the TC website that shows part of the combined “letters to the editor” opinion column. The letter is titled Lower speeds, higher taxes in Victoria. The body of the letter is the following: I have lived on a quiet side street in the Fernwood area for just about 20 years. During that time, I have never once seen nor heard of any vehicle speeding down our street. Surely a long-term resident would know more about this than any councillor, many of whom do not even live in Victoria. Is the push for lower speed limits just another high-handed proposal from our council without any further input from residents? They seem to be spending our money and raising the taxes in their usual thoughtless way. If I were not a senior I would be considering trying to run for a seat myself. When their term runs out, I hope many more people might consider this option. We are all still reeling about the so-called and ridiculous splash park and the destruction of the beautiful sequoia. No one is going to take their child to such a place where such unpleasant happenings are pretty well a daily occurrence. I, too, just got my property tax notice and am also aghast at any egregious waste of our money. Genie Carson
May 28, 2025 at 3:20 PM
psketti.ca
We love to see it!!
This is an aerial plan view of the Mortimer Street intersection in the 3rd phase of the Shelbourne Street Improvement Project. Single-lane traffic in each direction, an improved traffic signal, and much safer pedestrian infrastructure, as well as a connection to the UVic Loval Bike Connector are highlighted in the diagram.
May 23, 2025 at 5:09 PM
psketti.ca
Wait, is this the gloose???
May 21, 2025 at 4:36 PM
psketti.ca
This is why we can never ever trust AI summaries
This is a screenshot of my Google search for “least acidic form of caffeine” which shows an AI summary result that recommends decaf coffee as the best form of caffeine for those looking to minimize acidity. It says the following, verbatim: “For those looking to minimize acidity while enjoying a caffeine boost, decaffeinated coffee is often considered the least acidic option. The decaffeination process reduces phenolic acids, which contribute to coffee's acidity. Furthermore, decaf coffee may also help reduce stomach irritation caused by caffeine itself.”
May 20, 2025 at 1:40 AM
psketti.ca
Some good news: it’s baby duck season at Cedar Hill Park #yyj
A photo of a mama Mallard and her three babies A photo of a mama Mallard and her two babies
May 17, 2025 at 1:35 PM
psketti.ca
No matter how you set up your privacy setting on the Instagram app, there’s one setting that is only changeable on the browser, and it’s the most important one there is. I’m so mad that I didn’t know about this sooner.
It’s a screenshot of the setting that’s missing on the app. It says “Show account suggestions on profiles: Choose whether people can see similar account suggestions on your profile, and whether your account can be suggested on other profiles.”
May 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
psketti.ca
Alright religious scholars, answer me this. How do I reconcile these two things:
This is a screenshot of a Google search for “Shinto authority” where it shows two different articles that say “there is no central authority in control of Shinto” This is a screenshot of the Wikipedia article for “emperor of Japan” that has a section highlighted that reads “By virtue of his position as the head of the Imperial House, the emperor is also recognized as the head of the Shinto religion”
April 14, 2025 at 3:27 AM
psketti.ca
When viewed at thumbnail size, I always think his profile picture is a Death Cab for Cutie album cover.
This is the album cover for the first edition of Death Cab for Cutie’s album Narrow Stairs. It’s got striped blocks of colour pasted in a collage-type assortment. It appears to be several narrow strips of paper but it is one composite image, except for the four or five strips on the furthest right-hand side, which are pages of the album booklet if you had the physical copy. In this image they are obviously just flat image elements.
March 27, 2025 at 2:49 PM
psketti.ca
Estimated delivery time: yesterday. Purolator dot com, I live for this shit
A cropped iPhone screenshot that shows a purolator parcel tracker that reads as follows: IN TRANSIT ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATE: Fri. Jan. 25, 2025 LAST UPDATED: Sat. Jan. 18, 2025
January 25, 2025 at 6:38 PM
psketti.ca
Unbelievable, I was #221,728!
September 17, 2024 at 1:35 PM