I spent 5 days in Port Alberni for @nytimes tracing the last days of the teenagers who went on a killing spree in Northern, BC. and talking to locals of a town grappling with the infamy of producing Canada’s two most notorious killers. My editor (Craig Allen) told me to show the world how Port Alberni "feels" not how it looks. It was perfect advice while I was struggling to find a way to communicate with a town in the grips of media fatigue.
The story of Port Alberni, which ended up a main character in the story is this: As in all of history labour goes where it is cheapest so the mills shut down. Big box stores saw an opportunity to catch people in their way to Tofino, thus sucking the life right out of Port Alberni which is two minutes off the highway. It left businesses shuttered and buildings crumbling and locals with little opportunity other then to leave or get a job in the towns struggling service industry. By the time we got there for an in depth look into how these murders occurred the town was in the throws of media fatigue. People were feeling harassed and sometimes wronged by media. It was a tough assignment. Port Alberni feels and right now it is hurting.
