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Kelowna news

Local immigrant making sure Mexican culture is celebrated in Kelowna

KELOWNA - A Kelowna bar is holding an event Wednesday night to help some local immigrants feel a little closer to home on a special day. Carmen Ruiz says Mexican Independence Day is important for the roughly 1,500 Mexicans living and working in the Okanagan. “This something that makes us really excited,” she says. “Lots...

Locals winners named for Aboriginal Business Awards

THOMPSON-OKANGAN - Some local aboriginal entrepreneurs are coming away from the B.C. Aboriginal Business Awards with wins this week. Troy Fraser Chiropractic of Kamloops has won Business of the Year in the one to two person enterprise category. Skyride Bike and Board Inc. of Vernon has won an outstanding achievement award for companies with three...

ELECTION 2015: NDP candidate vows to do more than toe the party line

WEST KELOWNA - The NDP candidate for the Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola riding believes her experience in urban and rural communities make her the best candidate. Angelique Wood, 45, grew up in Vancouver but moved to the small town of Hedley in 2006. In Vancouver she worked as an art dealer for First Nation and Inuit art...

Two arrested for series of Kelowna vehicle thefts

KELOWNA – Two men have been charged with multiple offences relating to what police call a series of vehicle thefts in Kelowna this month. On Sep. 6 the Kelowna RCMP Street Enforcement Team with the assistance of a police dog arrested two men for possession of break-in instruments and theft of motor vehicles. Kody James...

UPDATE: Owner reunited with artificial leg found on Penticton street

UPDATE: 3:20 P.M., SEPT. 15, 2015 The owner of the prosthetic leg found on Lakeshore Drive over the weekend has been found, Penticton RCMP report. Penticton City bylaw officers called the detachment to say they knew the owner of the leg, Penticton RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Don Wrigglesworth says in a press release. The woman had...

Snow on the Okanagan Connector

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Drivers heading out on the highway should be prepared for a bit of snow at the higher elevations this morning. Drive B.C. is showing snow at several of the higher Okanagan elevations and temperatures are currently sitting around 0 Celsius. At the Coquihalla Summit it is currently raining and temperatures are sitting around...

Water drilling rush in B.C. Interior to get jump on new water regulations

IMPACT UNKNOWN THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Companies drilling water wells in the B.C. Southern Interior appear to be busier than usual and the reason may be the introduction next spring of the provincial Water Sustainability Act and its new well licensing requirements. While hard numbers of how many wells are being drilled are hard to come by...

Westbank First Nation ponies up for public beach extension

WEST KELOWNA - Local residents can now enjoy an extended beach in Gellatly Bay courtesy of the Westbank First Nation. The band dedicated a portion of band land along the lakeshore of Indian Reserve #9 adjacent to the public beach at Gellatly Bay today, Sept. 14. Chief Robert Louie says the band recognizes the importance...

ELECTION 2015: Are you in the new Kelowna riding?

ELECTION 2015 – Those who don't know the exact latitude of where they live may be confused by the Elections Canada description of the new electoral district of the Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola. Even the name is complicated. Made up of areas from the former ridings of Okanagan-Coquihalla, Kelowna-Lake Country and the British Columbia Southern Interior, the...

Return to seasonal normals in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - The mercury soared heading into the weekend, but has dropped considerably coming out of it. Temperatures were in the high-20s Friday and Saturday, well above seasonal normal highs of 20 Celsius. Sunday things cooled off to highs of 23 C in the North and Central Okanagan, but at 27 C remained quite a...

RCMP looking for missing Kelowna woman

KELOWNA - A woman missing since Friday evening is believed to be in the Big White or Nakusp areas. Megan Doyle, 31, was last seen in the Kelowna area around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 11. Volunteers from Central Okanagan Search and Rescue are involved in the search, which focused on the Big White area...

Why vaccinating 71 per cent of 7-year-olds in southern Interior should have you worried

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - To prevent a measles outbreak, 95 per cent of the population is required to be vaccinated, but the province’s southern Interior isn’t meeting that requirement with only 71 per cent of seven-year-olds vaccinated between 2012 and 2014. With the latest school year comes the annual round of vaccinations and kids will bring reminders...

Kelowna airport still flying high

KELOWNA - The city-owned Kelowna International Airport continues to do well, with most indicators on the rise. Airport manager Sam Samadar, in a report to city councillors, will show traffic continues to grow and will so for some time. Some 1.6 million passengers got on or off a plane in Kelowna in 2014, right in...

Kelowna nightclub owners want to keep booze flowing longer

KELOWNA - City staff are recommending against a request for a half hour extention of hours at downtown bars and nightclubs in Kelowna but would support doubling the number of special event nights with closing times as late as 4 a.m. According to a report by community planning manager Ryan Smith, a downtown industry group...

Kelowna area kokanee runs looking strong despite warm, low water

KELOWNA – While many rivers and streams around B.C. are seeing below-average numbers of salmon spawning as a result of warmer temperatures and lower water levels, Mission Creek Regional Park staff say their salmon numbers are higher than they’ve been in two years. Park interpreter Nicole Kittmer says they currently have around 6,000 salmon in...

Put your best paw forward this weekend and help stop animal abuse

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – This weekend thousands of animal lovers from across the Thompson-Okanagan will help stop animal abuse simply by walking their dogs. For more than a decade, residents of cities across the province have laced up their sneakers for the Scotiabank and BCSPCA Paws for a Cause Walk. Manager of the Kelowna SPCA Suzanne Pugh...

Thousands of Thompson-Okanagan renters mired in affordable housing crisis, new index says

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - About a quarter of all renters in the Thompson-Okanagan are facing an affordable housing crisis, according to a new study. The new Canadian Rental Housing Index is an interactive map which offers a snapshot of rental housing conditions across the country. You can search by city or electoral area riding, and find the...

West Kelowna mom says B.C. Transit is preventing her from filing complaint

KELOWNA – A local mother says B.C. Transit has brushed aside her complaints one of their drivers verbally abused her and another was driving dangerously. Carrie Watson, 43, had just left an event at the Parkinson Recreation Centre with her five-year-old daughter the evening of Aug. 29. They boarded the 97 bus headed downtown where...

ELECTION 2015: What does voting got to do with dancing?

KELOWNA - A young voter from Kelowna is determined to put the party back in politics by holding a free youth voter registration dance party. “They’ve been talking for 40 years about how the youth vote is declining and young people are not getting out to vote any more. I’m active in my culture and...

Okanagan church group spends $60k to bring family from Syria

KELOWNA – Three local churches who spent $60,000 to bring a family from to Kelowna from Syria this summer are raising funds to bring even more refugees from the civil war-torn country. For 30 years the Central Okanagan Refugee Committee have rescued families and individuals from countries afflicted with famine, wars and disease. Six months...

Bear sighting on Knox Mountain prompts warning from city

KELOWNA - A bear sighting in Knox Mountain Park has prompted a warning from the City of Kelowna. Bears are not unusual in the park at this time of year, the city says in a media release, and signs are in place to warn park users. Park services manager Ian Wilson says people should respect...