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Kelowna
Over-heating pumps threaten water service in the Mission
KELOWNA - A faulty pump motor is forcing the City of Kelowna to spend $300,000 on an additional pump for the Cedar Creek lake intake. Failure to do so, could leave parts of the Mission and the South Slopes without drinking water and fire protection service, utility planning manager Andrew Reeder says, in a report...
IT department prepares for digital future at City Hall
KELOWNA - The City of Kelowna is moving to bolster information technology and lessen the risk of future redundancy, data breaches and possible failure of key systems, says a new report. Information services manager Rob Entwistle, in a report to council, says the department is moving ahead in four of 19 areas identified in its...
Province wants to know where you would put a second bridge across Okanagan Lake
KELOWNA – Here’s a chance to move beyond complaining about local traffic to actually providing…
Work begins on new dike for Mission Creek restoration in Kelowna
KELOWNA - City crews have taken the first step in reversing decades of misguided management of Mission Creek in Kelowna. The first phase of the Mission Creek Restoration Initiative began this week with the closing of the creek’s south dike between Casorso Road and Gordon Drive, according to a city media release. With creek waters...
Cold snap continues in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - While the temperatures continue to remind us why the stereotype of all Canadians living in parkas and igloos exists, it is nowhere near the record lows recorded in the Okanagan. Environment Canada is calling for temperatures to remain well below zero all weekend but is forecasting the mercury to hit near seasonal normal...
Popular rink to open next week in Stuart Park
KELOWNA - Crews have begun making ice at the popular Stuart Park outdoor rink in Kelowna with opening planned for next week. City crews will be working afternoon shifts from 4 p.m. to midnite at Stuart Park over the next few days readying the rink for an opening Tuesday, Dec. 1, according to arenas supervisor...
Kokanee numbers keep rising in Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Kokanee numbers are up from last year in all of the big valley lakes, the provincial government says. Wood Lake’s kokanee population continues to recover from a disastrous 2011 when poor in-lake conditions lead to a huge increase in fish mortality of all ages, according to a media release. Over 20,000 returned to spawn...
Kelowna church prepares to welcome and support Syrian refugee family
KELOWNA - Four generations of a Syrian family will soon be enjoying the relative safety of life in Kelowna with the support of a local church congregation. Kelowna Gospel Fellowshop Pastor Mike Penninga says he’s not yet sure when the Tounousian family, originally from Allepo, will arrive in Canada but when they do, they can...
Animation diploma in the works at Okanagan College
KELOWNA - Responding to the demands of industry, Okanagan College could soon be offering a diploma in 2D animation. Artistic skills are in high demand in the Okanagan and around the world, and the two-year diploma will prepare would-be animators for careers as character designers, storyboard artists, background painters and animators, according to a proposal...
Water main break disrupts service in East Kelowna
KELOWNA - A broken water main in East Kelowna has cut off water service to a number of homes. Service will be affected for several hours and crews are on site making repairs, South East Kelowna Irrigation District spokesman Toby Pike says in a press release. The areas and address affected include the 3300, 3400...
New rules, new date confirmed for Centre of Gravity 2016
KELOWNA - Kelowna’s biggest extreme sports and music festival has announced it will be returning again in 2016, but with a few changes. The most significant change is instead of happening the end of July, Centre of Gravity 2016 will take place July 8 to 10. This is the second date change to the beach...
One year in, new Kelowna councillors are finding their groove
KELOWNA - It’s been a year since three brand new members joined Kelowna city council and while they don’t agree on everything, they do agree on one thing — it’s been a fast ride. “It went by in a blink of an eye,” Coun. Brad Sieben says. “It seems like just yesterday we were planting...
Elvis Stojko among stars set to hit the ice in Kelowna
KELOWNA - A Canadian figure skating legend is coming to Kelowna next May as part of the Stars on Ice tour. After a 10-year absence, Elvis Stojko, the two-time Olympic silver medalist, three-time World Champion and seven-time Canadian Champion, is returning to Stars on Ice, Canada’s premier figure skating tour. The tour will be at Prospera Place May 18...
Downtown Kelowna alley an ‘untapped resource’
KELOWNA - Currently home to illegally parked cars and overflowing garbage cans, a stretch of downtown alleyway could soon be delighting locals and visitors alike if plans to beautify it get council approval. Councillors gushed over a staff proposal aiming to beautify a chunk of the lane off Bernard Avenue across from The Sails with...
First year a lesson in time management for Kelowna mayor
KELOWNA - It’s been just over a year now since Colin Basran grabbed the mayor’s chair in a convincing election win. While Basran had already completed a term as city councillor, he says it barely prepared him for the complexities of working as a full-time civic leader. “The sheer volume of invitations to events is...
Mandy and Me owner alleges GoFundMe money stolen
WEST KELOWNA – The owner of Mandy and Me Trailriding says a woman she trusted…
Two people facing charges following Kelowna drug bust
KELOWNA - Two people are facing a myriad of charges after officers executed a search warrant in Kelowna last week. When they arrived at the residence in the 1200 block of Clifton Road on Nov. 18, officers found a loaded sawed-off shotgun, a loaded sawed-off .22 calibre rifle previously stolen from a vehicle, methamphetamine, cocaine,...
Kelowna scraps policy of paying for political forums
KELOWNA - A long-standing policy of providing a free venue for an all-candidates forum during municipal elections has been dropped by city council. Deputy city clerk Karen Needham told council today, Nov. 23, at their regular weekly morning meeting, the policy stems from 1976 when council granted a request for a grant-in-aid by the Kelowna...
Wintery week ahead in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - With a snowfall warning in place and cooler temperatures in the forecast, the Okanagan is in for a wintery start to the last week of November. Yesterday, Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the South and North Thompson, Shuswap and North Okanagan regions, saying snowfall would begin overnight and continue through today, Nov....
Southern Interior braces for winter storm with blast of Arctic air
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The first Arctic outbreak of the season is going to blow through the Thompson-Okanagan bringing blowing snow, cold temperatures and “crummy travel conditions,” according to Environment Canada. A special weather statement, which covers most of southern B.C., has been issued by Environment Canada warning of a winter storm expected with the worst of...
Makeover in the works for downtown Kelowna alley
KELOWNA - A stretch of downtown Kelowna alleyway could soon get a permanent, big city make-over. Real estate services manager John Saufferer, in a report to Kelowna city council, is recommending the city turn the stretch of alley near The Sails off Bernard Avenue, into what amounts to an urban park. “The Bernard Avenue laneway...
Curious about the price of marijuana in your city? Check PriceOfWeed website
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It isn’t legal yet in Canada, but that won’t stop people from keeping a close eye on weed market in their city. Akin to the website Gas Buddy, which monitors gas prices to help consumers find the lowest price in town, there’s a website called Price of Weed, in which users report the...
Can you help this Kelowna teenager get his sentimental birthday present back?
KELOWNA - A Kelowna teen is hoping social media can help him recover a pile of car stereo equipment stolen from a car parked outside his house, some of it a gift from his father for his 17th birthday. “It was an early birthday present,” Kristian Magee says. “He just gave it to me last...
Gas prices steady in the Okanagan while Kamloops prices drop
OKANAGAN - While gas prices were trending downwards earlier this week drivers in the Okanagan didn’t get a break, unless they were up in Kamloops where prices dipped well below a dollar per litre. According to Gas Buddy, an online consumer reporting website, gas prices are currently in the 107.9 to 109.9 cents per litre...