Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Kelowna news
Victims of West Kelowna assault were mistaken for someone else
WEST KELOWNA – A West Kelowna couple seriously injured after being assaulted in their homes…
Heritage council a step closer to reality in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Heritage management in Kelowna by an independent committee is a step closer to reality. City council agreed to have staff move on to the final stage of resurrecting the heritage advisory committee, an arms-length group to consist of nine representatives from local heritage groups, Westbank First Nation and Tourism Kelowna that also includes...
Temperatures cooling off in the Okanagan this week
OKANAGAN - The temperatures will drop back below 0 Celsius this week after a long run of weather warmer than seasonal normals in the Okanagan. Environment Canada is calling for the mercury to stay around 2 C to 4 C throughout the region today, Dec. 14, but then the overnight temperature will drop to as...
Thieves strike Kelowna’s Candy Cane Lane
KELOWNA - Christmas spirit has taken a hit after thieves stole several laser light show displays from homes in Kelowna's Springvalley neighbourhood decorated to spreak holiday cheer and collect food for local charities. Every year, home owners create Candy Cane Lane by decorating their homes and yards with blinding Christmas decorations. Last year they collected about...
Hefty Kelowna property tax increase resting on contract obligations, mayor says
KELOWNA - Mayor Colin Basran would love to pare down the 4.11 per cent tax property tax increase council is considering but says they don’t have much room to move. Basran says the combined costs of recent union contracts with city workers and firefighters, plus initial borrowing cots for the new police station, all contractual...
Kelowna rollover backs up Christmas shopping traffic
KELOWNA – RCMP are investigating after a car crash on a busy road near Kelowna’s biggest shopping mall this morning. Emergency crews were called at about 10:54 a.m., Dec. 12, to a rollover on Springfield Road at Durnin Road. A car hit a light standard and flipped, according to a Global Okanagan report. The driver...
Why workers at some City Halls must take holidays in December
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Civic governments in Kamloops, Vernon and Penticton keep their main offices open over the holidays but they do it a little differently in the Central Okanagan. City Halls in both West Kelowna and Kelowna will be closed for the week between Christmas and New Years along with the offices of the Central Okanagan...
Empty Kelowna house badly damage by fire
KELOWNA – Fire crews put out a blaze in an unoccupied house in Rutland this morning and a fire investigator is looking for the cause. Kelowna firefighters were called to the fire at a house in the 200-block of Dougall Road North at about 6:30 a.m., Dec. 12. The first crew on the scene reported...
Winter storm bringing heavy snow to mountain passes
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It wouldn’t be the weekend without a warning from Environment Canada about heavy snow on the highways through B.C. Interior mountain passes. A heavy snowfall warning has been issued today, Dec. 12, as a strong Pacific frontal system is expected to start crossing over the Interior this afternoon. Forecasters say people heading to...
Good marketing is good, says UBCO professor
KELOWNA – A UBC Okanagan marketing professor says Starbucks' successful and controversial red cup campaign was good marketing. Assistant Professor Eric Li said in a news release that attention to a product is actually good for sales. He also claims the anti-Starbucks Facebook video, uploaded by an American evangelist four days after the release of...
Choose your side: Live action role play comes to the Okanagan
"IT'S KIND OF LIKE PAINTBALL BUT WITH SWORDS." KELOWNA – A weary band of Kelowna locals are the only thing standing in the way of a bloodthirsty and dangerous new collective called The Legion who are trying to take over the entire Thompson-Okanagan. The two groups met for the first time in Kelowna last weekend...
Three sent to Kelowna hospital after elderly driver hits gas instead of brake
KELOWNA – A 95-year-old West Kelowna man may face charges of following another vehicle too closely after he mistook the accelerator for the break, causing an accident that sent three people to hospital in Kelowna this morning. Kelowna RCMP and Traffic Services responded to a two vehicle crash on Harvey Avenue at the Abbott Street...
Kelowna looks perfect in new tourism promo video
KELOWNA - A slick, new promotional video touting all that Kelowna has to offer was released Friday, Dec. 11. In the video, which has an obvious professional polish, was produced for Tourism Kelowna and features dozens of Kelowna locals, including Global Okanangan's Wesla Wong, shopping, sipping wine, boating, dining, skiing and generally loving life in...
UPDATE: Traffic moving again after car crash on Highway 97 through Kelowna
KELOWNA – A serious car crash in Kelowna this morning had the westbound lanes on Highway 97 closed near the city’s downtown causing a traffic nightmare for drivers. RCMP say traffic was moving again through the intersection of Harvey Avenue and Abbott Street at about 11:30 a.m. today, Dec. 11, once the initial investigation was complete...
B.C. pilot project in 2016 could see more people getting regular care: minister
KELOWNA, B.C. - B.C. government incentives to attract doctors are leaving residents in some areas scrambling for care because physicians go to smaller communities, says a spokesman for an association of walk-in clinics. Mike McLoughlin, who owns such a clinic in Kelowna, said operators in some parts of the province are reducing hours or even...
Okanagan MP mimicks Trudeau’s Vogue cover with funny tweet
KELOWNA – Local Conservative MP Dan Albas is getting some attention in the Twittersphere this week for recreating a Vogue cover photo featuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Must. Work. On the hair. #vogue,” he tweeted Wednesday, Dec. 9. The black and white photo attached shows him seemingly lost in thought and striking a pose that...
Warm weather sticking around just a bit longer in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - It seems our stretch of well-above seasonal normal temperatures is coming to an end, but we still have a few slightly warmer days ahead of us. Environment Canada is calling for a high of 3 Celsius today, Dec. 11, in the Vernon and Kelowna areas, with a high of 4 C expected in...
Zentangle a soothing remedy for your jangled mind
KELOWNA - So who knew when you were doodling your way through high school, filling the margins with aimless drawings, you were already experiencing the stress-reducing mindfulness of Zentangle. “Research shows doodling students retain a lot more information than those that don’t. Doodling is similar in ways but Zentangle is more structured. You start with...
UPDATE: Missing West Kelowna teen found
UPDATE: 10:26 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015 WEST KELOWNA - RCMP have confirmed the 17-year-old girl reported missing has been located safe and sound. All personal information has been removed from this article. 4:35 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015 WEST KELOWNA - RCMP are asking for your help to find a West Kelowna teenager missing since...
Alberta’s oil patch woes hit home at Central Okanagan food banks
KELOWNA - Plunging oil prices and substantial layoffs in Alberta’s oil patch are making their mark here in the Central Okanagan through a surge in food bank use. Public relations director Ami Catriona says the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank, which has branches in Kelowna and West Kelowna, noticed an unusual uptick in requests around...
Candy Cane Lane shines again in Kelowna
KELOWNA – The most Christmassy neighbourhood in Kelowna is back again this year, delighting young and old with block after block of brightly lit homes. And it's all for a good cause. Candy Cane Lane has become an annual tradition in Kelowna. Nestled in the Springvalley neighbourhood, it is several blocks of blinding, decorated houses...
Kelowna kitchen fire quickly contained
KELOWNA - Residents were able to quickly put out a kitchen fire with the extinguisher they had on hand, but crews still needed to open up the walls when they arrived last night. The kitchen fire was called in around 7 p.m. yesterday, Dec. 9, and when crews arrived at the house in the 200...
Sensitive Santa brings Christmas closer to children with autism
KELOWNA - A visit to see Santa in the mall, along with the obligatory photo, is a rite of passage in Canada for most kids. But if your child isn’t fascinated by the flashing lights, ringing bells and ornate costumes or together it creates a kind of sensory overload that leads to anxiety and even...
Owner begs court to save dog on death row
KELOWNA – The owner of a dog that’s spent the last year on death row says the judge made a mistake. Owner Drew Panton spoke passionately and capably as he represented himself at a Kelowna Supreme Court appeal Wednesday, Dec. 9, trying to save the life of his dog Jake, an eight-year-old Presa canario that...