Egg-citing art form A guide to making traditional Ukrainian pysanka Page A3
NEWS: Mental health petition gains support /A10 ARTS: Bluegrass festival preview in Oak Bay /A12 SPORTS: Lakehill challenges Bays for Jackson Cup /A19
OAK BAYNEWS Friday, March 22, 2013
Watch for breaking news at www.oakbaynews.com
Without consent Family Act makes many couples spouses under law Daniel Palmer News staff
Mamata Kreisler and her boyfriend are like many modern couples. They’ve lived together for the past two years, share a French Bulldog-Boston Terrier cross and recently bought a house in Saanich together. They each have debt, prefer to keep separate bank accounts and, perhaps most tellingly, have trouble saying exactly when the courting ended and dating began. “He was living with me and my roommate, sleeping on a couch, and then we started dating about six months later,” she said. But as of Monday, Kreisler and her partner now inadvertently hold a legal label they thought was years away from reality: married. The new B.C. Family Law Act provides sweeping changes that will affect many of the 15,000 cohabiting couples in the Capital Region and more than 160,000 couples in the province. “If you have lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years, the new law now considers you a spouse,” said Christine Murray, a partner at Victoria-based Cassels-Murray Family and Estates Law. PLEASE SEE: Regulations, Page A7
Kayla Dinh, left, and Danica Robirtis coached the Oak Bay High junior girls basketball team to a sixth-place finish at this year’s provincial competition. Laura Lavin/News staff
Oak Bay High grads pass wisdom with the ball Former players now on the court as coaches Laura Lavin News staff
Two Oak Bay High grads are taking a shared love of sport to the next level. Danica Robirtis and Kayla Dinh met on the basketball court six years ago when they were in Grade 8 at Monterey middle school. “You get to know each other when you’re on a team together,” Robirtis says. “We played a lot of minutes together in Grade 10 …” Dinh says. “As time went by, we became closer …”
BARCLAY S CUSTOM DESIGN EXPERT
Whether you want to create something new, customize an item from our in-store selection, or upgrade something of yours, trust the experts at Barclay’s.
Robirtis adds. “Now we’re best friends,” Dinh finishes the shared sentence. The two pass the ball back and forth as easily as their conversation. “We’re pretty in-tune on the court, and I guess that’s why we’re like that when we’re coaching,” Dinh says. “We’re best friends on and off the court,” Robirtis adds. Robirtis is the head coach of the Oak Bay junior girls basketball team, while Dinh is the assistant coach. The pair co-coach the U13 Monterey Storm Night League team and Dinh is also one of the assistant coaches of the Oak Bay junior boys team. “I’m pretty sure I spend more time in the gym now than when I was
playing,” Dinh says with an easy laugh. “I don’t see Kayla as an assistant coach,” Robirtis is quick to jump in. “She’s my co-pilot … anyone else, maybe I’d see them as an assistant, but Kayla I see as an equal.” Each of them spends eight to 10 hours a week coaching basketball, at practices, games and even scrimmaging with the Oak Bay High senior girls team to help keep them in shape. “There’s not a lot of competition, so we come and help them out,” Robirtis says. “If we’re beating them, they’re not happy and we’re not happy,” Dinh adds. “We want them to win.” PLEASE SEE: Young coaches lead boys team, Page A11
BARCLAY S FINE CUSTOM JEWELLERS
106-2187 Oak Bay Ave. 250-592-1100
barclaysjewellers.com