Business
Here’s what the Osoyoos Indian Band chief and council are paid
OSOYOOS - Newly released Osoyoos Indian Band financial statements show a huge gap between First Nations and local governement when it comes to salaries and expenses. The 2014 financial documents, submitted as required by the new First Nations Financial Transparency Act, outline the earnings and expenses of Chief Clarence Louie and the band's five councillors....
High retail vacancy rate ‘a one-off for Kamloops’
KAMLOOPS - Commercial space vacancy in Kamloops is the highest it has been in the last three years but market analysts at a local real estate firm suggest the percentage is based solely on the thousands of square footage left empty by the now-defunct Target Canada in Sahali Mall. Prior to the big box departure,...
‘Free until three’ promotion aimed at bringing people downtown Vernon
VERNON - A new promotion allowing people to park free from noon until 3 p.m. on Fridays this summer is geared at creating a more inviting atmosphere downtown. The free parking will be offered in the lead-up to the Avenue Market, which runs on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Main Street (30...
Restaurant growth brings new flavours to Vernon
VERNON - Kristina Sidorczuk’s is just one of many new faces you’ll see around town if you’re sampling the city’s new restaurants. The 22-year-old is the proud owner of one of the newest establishments in Vernon’s growing restaurant scene, EATology. The restaurant, located at the Greyhound Station in downtown Vernon across from Cenotaph Park, opened...
Kelowna Flightcraft rebrands with new name
KELOWNA – Kelowna Flightcraft is getting a facelift with a new name meant to encompass the wide variety of services the company offers. The new name — KF Aerospace — along with the new logo and look better encompass the breadth of services the company offers, including air cargo operations, aircraft leasing, maintenance and engineering...
Vernon night market to proceed despite concerns
VERNON - A Friday night market in downtown Vernon will go ahead this summer, but there’s still some unease among city councillors about the event. Coun. Catherine Lord says she’s been contacted by several businesses, some anonymously, wishing to express their concerns about the market. “We’ve been getting some really upset people with it because...
Okanagan Spirits has a taste for expansion
VERNON - When the shiny pieces of Okanagan Spirits' new state-of-the-art copper stills arrived, there was only one problem: The instructions were in German. With no one fluent in the language, setting up the 50-plate still and 1,500 and 2,000 litre copper pots—now the largest in Western Canada—was an entertaining process, laughs owner Tony Dyck....
Doubt cast over 2015 season of Vernon’s Avenue Market
VERNON - There’s concern that a Vernon market designed to attract people to the downtown core is actually having a negative affect on some merchants. The summertime Avenue Market, which is coming into its second year, invites vendors to set up on 30 Avenue on Friday evenings. When it started, the hope was that it...
Nearly 50 people laid off in Kamloops due to oil price decline
KAMLOOPS - The change in oil price has directly affected 48 people who are now out of a job in Kamloops after receiving notice from Horizon North Logistics today, Jan. 19. “I’ve had better days,” President and CEO Rod Graham said. “It’s never a happy day when you have to start Monday with this kind...
New city service intended to make it easier to do business in Penticton
PENTICTON - The City of Penticton continues to look for ways to make it easier to do business in the city. Penticton recently signed on to be a part of the BC OneStop Program, a provincial initiative through the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens Services designed to make it easier to launch a new...
These videos about small Thompson-Okanagan towns will make you proud to live here
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - From brewhouses to outdoor theatre companies, a number of small businesses in the Thompson-Okanagan are being celebrated in a six-part video series. It’s part of a project called Small Business, Big Culture that highlights select cities across B.C. and Alberta. Vernon, Armstrong and Kamloops made the cut, in addition to Medicine Hat, Lethbridge,...
Downtown’s Ellis Street could see new life with relocating business
PENTICTON - A Penticton business’s relocation to a downtown side street could provide the impetus for a new look - and new uses for a street that presently sits underdeveloped and underutilized. As Cannery Brewing’s new facility on Ellis Street nears completion, Manager Pat Dyck is excited about the prospect of relocation to the downtown...
UPDATE: Naramata Centre to close after 70 years
NARAMATA - Naramata Centre, a pillar of the community since the late 1940s, is closing its doors after nine months of labour struggles, declining revenues and a failed plan to push forward. A release late Wednesday, Jan. 21, says the board of directors decided to pull the plug effective immediately, sending some 34 workers represented...
Dragons’ Den brings auditions tour of hit show back to Kelowna
KELOWNA — The Dragons are coming to Kelowna and it will be their only Southern Interior stop. Producers of the hit CBC series have announced the latest round of online auditions for the show, which pits would-be entrepreneurs and inventors against a panel of seasoned and successful business people and possible investors from across Canada...
Gluten-free baker from Kelowna catches chef Jamie Oliver’s attention
KELOWNA - A large cardboard cutout of a slice of bread caught food guru Jamie Oliver’s attention. Matthew and Nicole Knegt of the Kelowna-based Four Spoons Bakery, which specializes in gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and nut-free goods, sent the lazer-cut two-by-one-and-a-half-foot cardboard toast with a bite mark in it to world-renowned chef Jamie Oliver’s production company...