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PEOPLE 'N PLACES: Victoria HarbourCats find their voice

Vu Ndlovu gets a new promotion, and Lisa Help and Dean Fortin eye political fortunes

GOLDEN VOICE … The Victoria HarbourCats have dipped into the local sports scene to fill its broadcasting role for the 2014 season.

Jordan Smith, 28, takes the role handled so well by Ryan Rouillard in the team’s inaugural season. Rouillard, from Oregon, is now the voice of the West Coast League-expansion Yakima Valley Pippins.

Smith has been the play-by-play man for the Victoria Cougars for the past four seasons, and has also handled the microphone as PA announcer at University of Victoria basketball games for the past year.

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MICRO LEADER … Vu Ndlovu is the new executive director of Community Micro Lending Society.

He’s served as the society’s director of entrepreneur support for the past four years.

Lisa Helps, founding executive director, will stay with the organization until the end of August when she’ll take leave to run for mayor.

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WILL HE OR WON'T HE? With the re-organization of the Community Micro Lending Society, it puts more light on the civic election battle brewing in Victoria.

Mayor Dean Fortin won’t say whether he’s decided to run yet, but always claims he has the “best job in the world.”

You can take it from there.

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HERE FOR THE BEER … Our friends over at Vancouver Island Brewery are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year with a beer.

Owner Barry Fisher tells us the new brew is an imperial red ale.

“It’s amazing to look back  at the last 30 years and see how far we’ve come as a brewery, as a community and as an industry,” he says.

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ON THE RUN … Uber-running coach Mike Suminski went on vacation to Hawaii recently and won a half-marathon.

More specifically he placed second in his age category in the annual Honolulu Half-Marathon. Not to be outdone, wife Annabelle came in eighth in her age division.

And how was your week?

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Do you have an item for the People’n Places column? Contact Kevin Laird by email at editor@vicnews.com or phone 250-480-3265.