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Kelowna
Kelowna city council aims to take lead on homelessness
KELOWNA - Admitting it’s out of touch with current community efforts to combat homelessness, Kelowna city council is hoping to jump into a leadership role by hiring a homeless coordinator and adopting a new, more direct housing strategy. The initiative comes amid signs of increased homelessness in Kelowna, including a doubling in the number of...
Busy conflict season winding down as Central Okanagan bears seek higher elevations for hibernation
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - An extremely busy bear season might be coming to an end, at least as far as local conservation officers measure it. “I think this is the first day we haven’t had a call for service,” Sgt. Josh Lockwood said this morning. Nov. 6. “Of course, it’s early yet.” The most recent numbers...
Some risks in Kelowna’s civic block condominium plan
KELOWNA - Right now, visitors to 350 Doyle Ave. are usually of the reluctant kind, brought there in the back of a police cruiser or paddy wagon. But if the goals of the civic block plan are realized, 350 Doyle Ave. — current home of the Kelowna RCMP detachment — could find favour within a...
Interior Health Authority old stomping ground for new CEO
KELOWNA - The new head of the Interior Health Authority spent the first week on the job travelling and expects to to do a lot more before things settle down. “I was out talking with staff, physicians, community leaders, volunteers. I’m just going around to communities and listening to what people are telling me. I...
Fictional sport gets real tournament in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Teams from across North America will be in Kelowna this weekend for a real tournament of a fictional sport. Quidditch is a mixed-gender, full contact sport played with seven athletes on each team that was made famous in the Harry Potter books and movies. Players pass, shoot, score and defend their three hoops...
Flu shot season in the Southern Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - With the peak of flu season just a few weeks away, Health Canada has started its yearly vaccination program. Although last year’s flu vaccine wasn’t particularly effective, Interior Health medical officer Kamran Golmohammadi says, this year’s vaccine cocktail will target the more severe of the two types of viruses – Type A. Every...
The changing gym culture in Kelowna
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Newcomers to the Okanagan, once they get past the wineries and beaches, often remark on the fitness culture here and how everyone seems to be doing some kind of workout. That’s reflected in the many gyms that serve the Central Okanagan, from huge commercial facilities with lots of equipment to small boutique...
UPDATE: Body discovered following suspicious West Kelowna house fire
WEST KELOWNA - The body of a woman has been discovered after a suspicious house fire in West Kelowna early this morning. West Kelowna Fire Rescue and RCMP responded to the fire at 2311 Boucherie Road around 1:45 a.m., Nov. 4, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Joe Duncan says in a press release. Jason Brolund, the West...
Kelowna’s Stuart Park named Canada’s best public space
KELOWNA - Locals know Stuart Park, with its seasonal ice rink and funky public art, as a great place to hang out. Now the downtown park has been recognized on a wider stage, winning best public space in Canada, as judged by the Canadian Institute of Planners. “Stuart Park bridges the re-emergence of Kelowna’s downtown...
Employers in Kelowna, Sorrento fined for exposing workers to asbestos
OKANAGAN - WorkSafe B.C. has slapped two local employers with heavy fines for exposing workers to asbestos. The first, Kelowna’s Kone Inc., was handed a $15,000 penalty for potentially exposing its workers to harmful levels of asbestos. According to WorkSafe B.C., the company, which installs, maintains and repairs elevators and escalators, was first told to...
West Kelowna looks for choices in Okanagan Lake second crossing project
KELOWNA - A project that would see a second crossing installed over Okanagan Lake has yet to get the full backing of West Kelowna council. West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater says his council doesn’t have the full understanding neccessary to take a firm stand on what the city wants from the Okanagan Lake second crossing...
Watch for Taurids fireballs, northern lights over the Southern Interior this week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The Taurid meteor shower is one of the longer meteor showers, running from September through December every year, but this year it could be more active than usual with the possibility of fireballs tearing through the sky later this week. The Taurid meteor shower only produces about five to 10 meteors per hours...
City not much help in downtown Kelowna rat battle
KELOWNA - Just because you’ve never seen a rat, doesn’t mean Kelowna doesn’t have rats. Just ask Gary Mandl, who never saw a rat in his downtown Kelowna neighbourhood until his neighbours started composting last year. “We went from zero rats to all of a sudden being able to catch a rat, reload the trap...
Rollover accidents a sign of winter weather on Okanagan mountain highways
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - A rash of rollovers on the Okanagan Connector is highlighting the arrival of winter weather at higher elevations. West Kelowna RCMP say there were two rollover accidents on Saturday, Oct. 31 with both vehicles hitting ice. This comes amid reports of two other rollovers which happened this mornining, Nov. 2. One of...
Liquor store faces little opposition in UBCO neighbourhood
KELOWNA - Imagine, if you will, an application to open a liquor store in Kelowna that faced little opposition from local neighbours and in fact, will likely be warmly embraced when it finally does open. That’s because the neighbours in the building on Academy Way where the liquor store will be located are by and...
Chance of snow in the Okanagan this week
OKANAGAN - A system moving through the Southern Interior coated mountain passes in heavy snow this weekend and early this week the white stuff could hit the valleys too. Between 14 and 17 centimetres of snow is being reported on the ground at Pennask Summit, Coquihalla Summit and Allison Pass this morning after receiving a...
City of Kelowna hedges bets against strong U.S. dollar
KELOWNA - Finance officials with the city will now use currency forecasts in advance of all big ticket purchases from the United States, hoping to avoid price swings that render budget estimates obsolete. “It’s certainly affecting us when buying products directly from the U.S. or if we are buying from a Canadian supplier who is...
One year after killing, why there still aren’t any cameras on Okanagan buses
KAMLOOPS HAS 25 KELOWNA – One year after the horrific killing of a Kelowna man on a B.C. Transit bus and six months after they promised to begin installing them, there still isn’t a single operational camera on any Kelowna buses. Last year, on Oct. 30, Caesar Rosales was killed in front of more than...
Keeping safe on Halloween night
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - The first thing that comes to mind on Halloween is safety, at least for parents. Kids are only thinking about the candy and costumes, but there are ways to help keep them safe on Halloween night, even if it’s the last thing on their minds. Always make sure young children are accompanied by...
Falling loonie costs Kelowna taxpayers extra $180,000 for new fire truck
KELOWNA - By last March, the sagging Canadian dollar had already cost Kelowna taxpayers an extra $130,000 for purchase of a new fire engine from the U.S. But the loonie has dropped further since and Kelowna Fire Department chief Jeff Carlisle is again asking Kelowna city council to top up the purchase price of the...
Web series following Kelowna photographer looking for funds to start season two
KELOWNA - A local production company has just released the last episode of the first season of a web series that follows a Kelowna photographer around the world. State of Mind Films produced the series 1 Stop Closer, which features Shawn Talbot as he creates images in exotic locations like Death Valley, Hawaii and the...
Kelowna has dozens of Halloween events happening this weekend
KELOWNA - It’s the spookiest day of the year and with Halloween landing on a weekend this year, it's also one of the busiest for events in Kelowna. This weekend you can enjoy plenty of haunted houses, a massive corn maze and lots of other frightful options. Throughout the weekend, you can take a stroll...
Halloween will be a wet one in the Okanagan this year
OKANAGAN - Make sure your costumes are either waterproof or you have an umbrella handy because Mother Nature is looking to rain on your Halloween fun this weekend. Environment Canada is calling for at least a chance of rain throughout the weekend, with showers expected Saturday evening throughout the region. Temperatures are expected to be...
Lots of official eyes on downtown Kelowna streets
KELOWNA - Having eyes on the street is one of the keys to safe city streets, according to the downtown plan, and Kelowna’s urban core now has quite a few with more coming. The primary eyes are Kelowna RCMP, followed by the City of Kelowna bylaw officers, transit security, the downtown ambassadors and private security...