Victoria, BC: Moe Sihota, one of the most controversial and media literate politicians in the recently defeated NDP government, has signed on as co-host of the 6 p.m. news at The New VI, CHUM’s Victoria station going live this September.

In 1986, the Vancouver Island native was the first Indo-Canadian MLA and later the first Indo-Canadian cabinet minister – and then the first to get ousted from cabinet three times for various infractions and political differences.

Joining Sihota in the main CIVI news show is Tasha Larson, another Island native, who moves from CHUM-owned Canadian Learning Television.

Susan Edgell will return to her home town of Victoria to host the Weekend News. Previously, the 1997 Broadcaster of the Future Award recipient was a television and radio reporter for CFJC in Kamloops.

Weather specialist and international yacht racer Tony Latimer has been ‘local’ since 1977 when he settled on Vancouver Island from his native Australia.

Victoria-born Alex Lee, AKA Sexy Lexy on Vancouver’s Rock 101 morning radio show, joins VI as an entertainment specialist. Mary Ruth Snyder, a Victoria resident since 1992, is the sports specialist.

Up Island, Richard Tomborello will cover Nanaimo Life. He founded his video company in Nanaimo in 1982 and has been a field reporter or camera operator for CBC, BCTV, CHEK-TV and CTV since.

Nanaimo is also the home base for the weekday morning show hosted by Bruce Williams, one of the few Easterners imported for the launch. Currently, he fills a similar role at the New PL/NX/WI stations owned by CHUM in southwestern Ontario.

Local broadcasting fixture Terry David Mulligan will continue his long affiliation with CHUM ventures by filing segments from Vancouver.

As part of the fall launch of CIVI, CHUM has renovated and upgraded a historic 1907 building on the corner of Broad and Pandora Streets. *