Shannon Quesnel

SUMMERLAND - Better bring money as well as cloth grocery bags before heading to Penticton to shop as Summlerland Transit fares kick in on New Year's Day. The route between Summerland and Penticton was free since it started on Oct. 28. The free ride was to entice riders to stick with the transit service when...

PENTICTON - Between last minute shopping, picking up relatives from the airport and prepping a house for Christmas Day there might be a smidgen of time for some fun. The weather might also co-operate with snowfall ending early this evening with a low of -3 Celsius. Hopefully, people will be mostly indoors as there will...

PENTICTON - A tax hike of 4.85 per cent in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen is on the planning table but this increase might not apply to everyone. Regional district staff estimated the operating budget for 2014 at $27.7 million in the 2014 budget bylaw's first reading today. This covers shared regional expenses as...

KEREMEOS - A Cawston resident suffered burns when his rented mobile home caught fire Thursday night. The Keremeos Volunteer Fire Department arrived at 665 Beecroft Ave. around 11:30 p.m. to find the home's front half fully engulfed in flames. A nearby smaller building was also on fire. Thirteen firefighters, two fire trucks and two support...

PENTICTON - The new patient care tower just got a little pricier thanks to the cost of a requested business case going from $500,000 to $700,000. The Okanagan Similkameen Regional Hospital District will now be asked to fork over $282,000 instead of $200,000 to cover 40 per cent of the bill as explained by Regional District Okanagan...

CITY VOTES NO TO REPLACING TWO RETIRED FIREFIGHTERS PENTICTON - Council will raise taxes by two per cent and take $182,000 from reserves to pay off 2014's projected operating deficit of $935,000. This marks the first tax increase in three years and a reversal of 2011's decision to drop taxes by .5 per cent. This...

PENTICTON - The city's flood control, Penticton Creek, will get the best care through a design firm talented enough for the job. Coun. Judy Sentes said at Monday's council meeting StanTec was the best firm out of 12 to fix the city-length man-made stream system. "You have no idea of the deterioration of the creek," she...

PENTICTON - Bicyclists and business owners planted their red flag again for the city's green bike lane plans. Business owner Rick Valenti presented a stack of letters from fellow Ellis Street owners and residents, some who are cyclists themselves, to city council on Monday night. Valenti said 100 per cent of Ellis Street businesses are...

PENTICTON - A $125,000 shot in the arm might be too large a dose but council still approved the loan to the new Penmar cinema/theatre project. Coun. Andrew Jakubeit said Penmar's stakeholders have a "realistic action plan", a great location and the support of professional fundraisers such as the Penticton Community Arts Society, the Downtown...

INCREASED CEMETERY RATES STILL BETTER THAN OTHER COMMUNITIES PENTICTON - Cemetery rates are going up but a councillor is not concerned about those left behind looking elsewhere for a better deal. Penticton's leadership approved increasing the fees for plots, interment, staff overtime and more so city-owned cemeteries can get closer to breaking even. The city...

PENTICTON - It's not a bad thing to temporarily turn over the site of Penticton's future hospital to a self-storage business. The two acres next to the Penticton Regional Hospital will still be available when it comes time to build the new expansion South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation executive director Janice Perrino said. The expansion...

PENTICTON - Controversial bike lane plans will be on the barbecue at city hall tonight as a delegation will grill city council about bike lanes for Ellis Street. Back in October, Penticton council chambers were chock full of annoyed business owners and curious cyclists over plans to put green bike lane strips on Ellis Street....