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Kelowna
West Kelowna eyesore up for redevelopment
WEST KELOWNA - One of Westbank’s biggest eyesores, and A source of many complaints, has been sold with plans to develop the site. The old Cattle Country restaurant strip mall and gas bar has been sold to an eastern developer and plans include reopening the gas station and retail stores on Highway 97 at Elliot...
Former Okanagan MPs to earn millions in pension
OKANAGAN - Colin Mayes may have retired, and Ron Cannan may have been defeated in the 2015 federal election, but with pensions set to pad their bank accounts to the tune of between $1.3 million and $2.3 million over their life-times, taxpayers are not quite done with them yet. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released the...
Voter turnout jumps in Thompson-Okanagan ridings
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Voter turnout numbers in the 42nd federal election jumped to more than 70 per cent throughout the region, just above the national average and well ahead of 2011 turnout. In the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding, where Conservative Cathy McLeod was re-elected, voter turnout jumped to 74.07 per cent this election, up significantly from the 63.3...
ELECTION 2015: Fuhr ousts Conservatives as Kelowna-Lake Country goes Liberal
"AN HONOUR AND A PRIVILEGE:" CANNAN KELOWNA - In a surpise upset Liberal Stephen Fuhr has won Kelowna-Lake Country, ousting three term Conservative Ron Cannan. The riding has been a bastion for the Conservatives but the surging Liberals managed to tap into a desire for change that washed across Canada in recent weeks under leader...
Kelowna tackles need for second dog beach
KELOWNA - There isn't a lot to building a dog park — but figuring out where to put it can take years. With that in mind, the city’s urban planning manager Terry Barton is proposing the city start a public engagement process to figure out what is needed and, most importantly, where people will tolerate another...
Kelowna Diwali dinner raises $30,000 for orphans in India
KELOWNA - A Kelowna fundraising Diwali dinner and dance over the weekend raised roughly $30,000 for a local orphan’s foundation that helps kids in India. The first ever East Meets West Orphans Foundation event at Rutland Centennial Hall included traditional Indian food, a live dance performance, an auction and a lively dance to Bhagra music...
Referendum likely for Kelowna recreation centre replacement
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - No matter what shape or form Parkinson Recreation Centre takes in future redevelopment, planners think it’s going take another city-wide referendum to get funding approval. There are four different directions the city can take, from ongoing redevelopment to full replacement of the aging recreation centre and pool, the only multi-purpose recreation facility...
VIDEO: Nitro Circus honours Okanagan athlete’s historic return to the ramp
KELOWNA - The biggest freestyle motocross and action sports promotion in the world is honouring a Kelowna rider who made history last week as the first paraplegic to pull of a backflip in front of a major audience. Bruce Cook was paralyzed from the waist down two years ago while attempting the first ever double...
Warm weather and chance of rain on the way for the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - It might be fall in the Okanagan, but that’s not stopping Mother Nature from keeping temperatures mostly above seasonal normals this week. Environment Canada is calling for a high of 16 Celsius in Vernon and Kelowna today, Oct. 19, with the expected high gradually dropping off to 10 C by Friday. Overnight the...
Kelowna General Hospital could face fines for laundry room crushing accident
KELOWNA - A workplace accident that saw a laundry worker crushed by automated equipment at Kelowna General Hospital resulted in a number of work orders from WorkSafe B.C. And Alan Davies, regional director of support services, says the Interior Health Authority could eventually face some fines over the infractions that saw the young laundry worker...
Rats are here to stay; Kelowna ramps up eradication efforts
KELOWNA - Rats were once unknown in the Okanagan but in recent years have suddenly become firmly established. That’s the conclusion of urban forestry supervisor Blair Stewart in a report to Kelowna city council that says above all, rats are here to stay. Stewart says black rats may have been accidently introduced and separate populations...
This year’s flu vaccine to target relatively vicious strain
KELOWNA – If you feel like this fall has already been worse than others for getting a cold or the flu, Interior Health has some bad news for you. It won’t peak for another month. According to Interior Health medical officer Kamran Golmohammadi the influenza virus and all the other viruses that cause flu-like symptoms...
Third sexual assault reported in Kelowna involving half naked hoodie wearing man
KELOWNA - A third sexual assault involving a man wearing only a hoodie is under investigation by Kelowna RCMP. Spokesman Cpl. Joe Duncan says in a media release a man dressed the same way as in two previous assaults, exposed himself to a women walking to work about 6:19 a.m., Oct. 16, on the Mission...
Okanagan rail trail opening still a ways off as planning process begins
OKANAGAN – Don’t plan a party around the Okanagan rail trail corridor being open for…
Help these local musicians win the chance of a lifetime
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Your vote could help a local artist win over $100,000 and some serious musical cred. The B.C. Peak Performance Project opens up the public voting portion of its contest today, Oct. 16. Online voting runs until Oct. 23. Two artists from around the Thompson-Okanagan are in the running this year: Vernon’s Corey Myraas...
Mission Creek restoration project begins Monday in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Regular users of the popular Mission Creek Greenway will lose access to part of the creekside trail for almost six months, starting on Monday. But in exchange, the whole of Kelowna will eventually be gaining a revitalized and restored waterway that will look a lot like the lower part of the creek did...
Warm weather, chance of frost in the Okanagan this weekend
OKANAGAN - Day time temperatures will remain above seasonal normals this weekend but overnight lows mean there is a chance of frost in parts of the Okanagan. Environment Canada is calling for highs of 17 Celsius today, Oct 16, and 16 C Saturday and Sunday in the Vernon and Penticton areas while Kelowna will see...
Man steals from Lake Country laundromat
LAKE COUNTRY - In early October a man entered the Winfield Coin Laundry and used a technique to get the coin dispensing machine to give him coins without paying for them. The incident happened around 12:30 p.m., Oct. 5, when the unknown man entered the Highway 97 location and began ‘stringing’ the machine. RCMP describe...
Paralyzed Okanagan FMX rider makes history
'WHEN YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO SOMETHING YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN' KELOWNA - A freestyle motocross rider who was paralyzed two years ago while attempting a double front flip has just made history. Bruce Cook is the first paraplegic to land a backflip on a motorcycle in front of a major audience. And he...
Deadline to register your off-road vehicles quickly approaching
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Backcountry riders have until Nov. 1 to register their dirt bikes, ATVs and snowmobiles. The new law, which also stipulates several safety regulations while on Crown land, has been voluntary since last November, and back in May the provincial government extended the hard deadline from June 1 to the start of next month....
ELECTION 2015: West Kelowna mayor says endorsing federal election candidates is bad politics
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Firmly on the fence is where West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater is sitting as far as publicly endorsing a candidate in the Oct. 19 federal election. “I have to work with whoever is elected, although I can say we worked well with Dan Albas (incumbent MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.) He helped us...
Fire ban fully rescinded in Kamloops Fire Centre this week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As the weather continues to cool off and fire season comes to a close, open burning is now allowed throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre. As of noon today, Oct. 15, the current open burning ban will be completely rescinded in the areas under the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction. Many local municipalities are following...
Okanagan man with terminal brain tumour fights for time
KELOWNA - They say time flies when you’re having fun. The same is apparently true when you’re fighting for your life because of a brain tumour. “It just seems like yesterday,” Sean Connor says of the four years that have passed since he was diagnosed with chordoma, a rare form of bone cancer that can...
Brace yourself, pop culture is set to take over the Okanagan
KELOWNA - The second major expo celebrating comics, cosplay, sci fi and all things nerdy is coming to Kelowna this weekend. The Kelowna Entertainment Expo event organizer Matthew Odland says the two-day event at the Capital News Centre will feature famous actors in fantasy and science fiction, comic book and art vendors, collectibles, action figures...