Victoria’s homeless residents were granted a day of easy access to much-needed services and a chance to re-arm for the coming cold season on Wednesday, Oct. 14, as part of Victoria’s Homelessness Action Week, Oct. 11-17. But a prominent figure in Victoria’s homeless service community is calling for the event to turn into year-long action.

The crowd at Sugar Nightclub on Oct. 6 was a mixed bag of old guys — old guys who had outgrown punk rock 10 years ago and old guys who still thought punk rock was all right in small doses.

The Sisters in Spirit Vigil, held on Oct. 4 to honour missing and murdered aboriginal women, became a plea for government action for all missing and murdered women as well as a call to recognize problems of violence against First Nations peoples. The event sought to honour those dead and missing mothers, daughters and sisters. Speakers from local bands and churches called on the government to rise above inaction and bring closure to the families of missing and murdered women. The Native Women’s Association of Canada has 520 documented cases of women gone missing. Community activist Rose Henry claims to have 3,000. A crisp wind blew down the legislature lawn as a crowd of 50 or so, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women and men, gathered to stand vigil for those lost. The first speaker, local aboriginal elder Bob Nye, made a plea for equitable treatment for Aboriginal men and women. “The government should be held responsible. They are just as guilty as the people who murdered these women,” Nye said, in reference to what he and others in the Aboriginal community feel is lax police work and ineffective government support for the cases. Bishop John Hannen of Christ Church Cathedral was the next to speak, offering a prayer for the dead and missing women. He spoke of the Highway of Tears, a stretch of the Yellowhead Highway 16, where so many Aboriginal women have disappeared. Henry was the last to give her speech, about her family, her friends and her sisters who have gone missing. “[The issue of] missing and murdered women is not just about poor people, not just about Aboriginal people, but about [all]women,” Henry said. Speaking afterwards, UVic Law’s Maxine Matalpi stressed the event was intended to be apolitical. “We’re here to celebrate and honour the lives of these women,” she said. Learn more about the Sisters in Spirit campaign at nwac-hq.org.

UVic Idol is proving to be more than a showcase of student talent — it’s also a social marketplace.

WHAT: The Livestock Art Show — the posters of Rifflandia WHERE: Olio Artist and Workers Collective, 614 1/2 Fisgard St. WHEN: Sept. 25 to 27 HOW MUCH: by donation

The Michelle Pujol room resembles a packed cattle car. It’s Sept. 17, and Club and Course Union Days are in full swing.