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John McDonald
John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.
It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.
But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.
If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca
Kelowna mother rattled by fake RCMP phone hoax
KELOWNA - Its a phone call no parent wants to get — a call from their son or daughter saying they’ve been in an accident, made twice as scary when the call supposedly comes from the RCMP detachment. “My son called and said he wasn’t having a great day,” a local mom says, who asked...
Vials of E. coli found in Kelowna transient camp
KELOWNA - Vials containing the bacteria E. coli, apparently stolen from a medical laboratory, have been discovered at a transient camp near Munson Pond. The unusual find by local bylaw officers prompted a call to Kelowna RCMP and a local hazardous material disposal company, who sent out personnel to retrieve the vials. "It's pretty common...
Kelowna property tax exemption denial a hit for local non-profit
KELOWNA - City hall handed out more than $1.5 million in property tax exemptions this week to churches, private schools and other non-profit organizations, but one organization did not get approved for exemption status. Most of the organizations receiving the exemptions are already on the books with the city, so after a review by city...
Cloudy brown water soon a thing of the past in Glenmore Ellison
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - It’s taken almost seven years and $20 million, but residents who have endured near constant water quality advisories in the Glenmore Ellison area are getting some relief. Darwin Kutney, geneal manager of the Glenmore Ellison Improvement District, says its new Okanagan Lake intake and pump station plus a closed reservoir are set...
Blue Rodeo to make Okanagan stop during Canadian tour
KELOWNA - Iconic Canadian band Blue Rodeo is coming to Kelowna early next year. The band announced today, Oct. 7, a cross-country tour in support of their new album Live at Massey Hall. Blue Rodeo first pierced the Canadian conciousness with their 1987 album Outskirts and is planning to release a selection of their albums...
Solid consumer confidence drives strong Okanagan housing market
OKANAGAN - As goes the weather, so goes real estate activity, according to the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board, which is reporting a cooling of sales in September after a robust summer. The Central Okanagan and Shuswap markets continue to strengthen and see an improvement year-to-date over last year,” board president Christopher Miller says in...
Kelowna adopts permanent outdoor watering restrictions
KELOWNA - In the wake of this summer’s drought, Kelowna is adopting permanent outdoor watering restrictions and bumping up its enforcement of the new rules. While reducing outdoor water use during drought is one benefit, of equal value is reducing the impact of demand spikes during dry summer months on the city’s water pipes and...
RCMP say prolific offenders, not casual pot smokers, the reason so many possession charges laid
KELOWNA - To all you closet pot smokers in Kelowna worried the RCMP is coming after your stash, you can chill. “It isn’t the recreational pot smoker we’re going after here,” Supt. Nick Romanchuk says, pointing instead to a small group of prolific offenders as the target. “These are the people causing the most crime...
What Interior residents need to know about the killer gas radon
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It sounds like something from a thriller sci-fi movie - a colourless, odorless radioactive gas that seeps from the ground, infiltrates buildings and kills people. In real life, radon gas is a known carcinogen, the second leading cause of lung cancer accounting for 10 per cent of cases and is found in elevated...
You can be on reality TV if you have inherited a house in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - If you’ve recently inherited a house in the Okanagan the producers of a new reality TV show want to hear from you. Anaid Productions, the company behind such shows as X-Weighted and The Liquidator, is searching for families that have been bequeathed a home in the Okanagan. Those selected for the show will be...
George Thorogood coming to the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Famed power blues guitarist George Thorogood is coming to the Okanagan next spring with his band the Destroyers. Thorogood and his band have been around since the 1970s and count many radio hits to their credit, including the famed bar anthem “Bad to the Bone” and others like “Who do You Love”, “Move...
Province balks at paying West Kelowna expense claims for Smith Creek wildfire
WEST KELOWNA – The fight against the Smith Creek fire in the summer of 2014…
Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts brings comedy show to Okanagan
KELOWNA - Legendary professional wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts is trading the wrestling ring for the stand-up stage and bringing his special brand of comedy to Kelowna. That includes his behind-the-scenes tales of life on the road as a professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment and taking on the likes of Andre the Giant, Macho...
Drones provide a new view of Okanagan golf course
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - If you've ever wondered how gorgeous Okanagan golf courses look from above, here's a little help. A local golf course proprietor recently hired an Okanagan company to take aerial footage of the course, by drone. Ian Robertson, the owner and general manager of Kelowna Springs Golf Club, says using a drone finally gave...
High school condoms decision left to Kelowna parent advisory councils
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - They’ve got the kids on board and the principals but a pilot project which would see condoms made available at local high schools still has to get by the toughest critics of all — parents. Superintendent of schools Hugh Gloster says a proposal by the Interior Health Authority to supply condoms and...
UPDATE: Highway 97 in West Kelowna reopens following head-on collision
WEST KELOWNA - A head-on collision on Highway 97 near Grizzly Drive backed up traffic in both directions this morning, Oct. 1, closing the highway and sending a 76-year-old woman to hospital in serious condition. Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Steve Holmes, says in a meida release, the collision between a Toyota sedan and a Jeep...
Orange Shirt Day remembers residential school victims
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you saw someone wearing orange today, don’t assume they are supporters of the federal NDP. “Orange Shirt Day is a reminder of the pain and anguish of residential school survivors and their families,” Rose Caldwell says. “For the ones who made it through and the ones who never came home.” Caldwell is...
Kelowna leads the country in rate of pot possession charges
KELOWNA - A local lawyer who specializes in drug cases says news that Kelowna has the highest rate in Canada for charges laid for simple pot possession shows bad judgement by local RCMP. Stanley Tessmer has practiced criminal law in Kelowna since 1997 and one of his areas of expertise is in drug cases. “It...
Few leafy losses following summer of drought in Kelowna
KELOWNA - All that remains of the two large cottonwood trees that used to shade the city parking lot at the Water Street boat launch are the two big holes where they once stood. One tree snapped and fell over Monday night, Sept. 28, and the other tree was removed by city crews as a...
Kelowna mayor plays it safe with policy for lighting up The Sails
KELOWNA - Tourists and locals alike have long flocked to The Sails at the foot of Bernard Avenue for postcard moments in the Okanagan sun. The sculpture’s graceful curves can also be lit up at night in a variety of colours. At the discretion of the Mayor’s Office, community groups can ask to have The...
You could soon buy wine with your cheese at Kelowna grocery stores
KELOWNA – It’s taken a while but consumers could soon be able to pick up…
Cyclist killed in Kelowna car crash
KELOWNA - A cyclist has died after a collision with a car on Springfield Road. Kelowna RCMP are not releasing the name of the 63-year-old man who they say may have run a stop sign on Belgo Road. “I don’t know that charges will be laid because it’s alleged the cyclist is at fault,” said...
Construction worker needs help with recovery after severe spinal injury on the job
WEST KELOWNA - Cole Bernier, a construction worker injured last week in a workplace accident, is facing a lengthy recovery after being crushed under some roof trusses. “Cole is someone you’ll never see without a smile on his face and if he’s frowning, it is typically because you changed his music or didn’t leave enough...
Irrigation districts say Kelowna mayor jumping the gun on water quality push
KELOWNA - Kelowna’s four major irrigation districts say they are well into the plan to improve water quality and eventually connect their systems and they’re not quite sure why city council wants to change the plan. Last week, mayor and council announced water quality as their top priority and said they would push to speed...