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Kelowna
Alleged gangster convicted for cache of guns released
KELOWNA – A man suspected of having ties to the Hells Angels who was convicted of almost a dozen weapons-related charges last year has been released from custody pending an appeal. Cory Joseph Montemurro, 45, was driving a rented Jeep Grand Cherokee Nov. 25, 2010 when police found him and three other men with an...
What Colin Basran had during the election that rival Sharon Shepherd didn’t
KELOWNA — The 2014 mayoral race in Kelowna, which quickly came down to current councillor Colin Basran versus former mayor Sharon Shepherd, was billed as youth versus experience. It might have been better pegged as 'have' and 'have-not.' Winner, and now Mayor, Basran outspent Shepherd well over three to one, raising through contributions almost $76,000...
Kelowna woman charged after trying to smuggle 35 kg of cocaine into B.C.
WEST KELOWNA – A large amount of drugs found in a hidden compartment in the trunk of a car over the summer have led to charges against a Kelowna woman. Charges of were laid against Caitlin Christine Gladdish, 26, over the weekend for trying to bring more than 35 kilograms of cocaine into Trail, B.C....
How the city is going to try to make it easier for tourists in downtown Kelowna this summer
KELOWNA - Summer in downtown in Kelowna is going to be all about construction, traffic congestion and scarce parking as the city deals with an unusual number of big, building projects. “The biggest concern is construction during the summer when the volumes are highest and parking stalls are used the most,” Purvez Irani says. He's...
Trailer Park Boys actors sell out show in Kelowna
KELOWNA – A couple of cast members from the hit Canadian TV show The Trailer Park Boys were in Kelowna for a sold-out comedy show Thursday night. Around 250 people packed the Habitat for the adults-only show featuring actors John Dunsworth, better known as the drunken manager of Sunnyvale Trailer Park Jim Lahey and his...
Community centre set to reopen nearly 18 months after arson
WEST KELOWNA - The Westbank Lions Community Centre, the unofficial meeting place for the West Kelowna community, has officially recovered after being destroyed by fire nearly 18 months ago. The hall was set on fire in September 2013 and while it was initially thought it would need to be torn down the structure was able...
Why is this man standing by a pile of dirt in downtown Kelowna? Hint: it involves the RCMP
KELOWNA - Andrew Gibbs manages projects for the City of Kelowna. To hear him talk, shepherding the $48-million police services building through its design and construction is no big deal, in some ways similar to all the other projects he’s managed for the city. Except it’s the biggest he’s ever handled. And it’s one of...
Kelowna’s Matt Dwyer fighting in Brazil this weekend
KELOWNA – Toshido MMA’s Matt Dwyer is in Brazil this weekend for a UFC welterweight fight against William Macario in what Sherdog.com calls a “loser leaves town matchup.” This is Dwyer’s second UFC appearance since his debut against Albert Tumenov in which he was stopped by a surprise head kick in the first round. Although...
Lack of funding forces closure of Kelowna overnight homeless shelter
KELOWNA - Homeless people in need of a warm place to spend the night will have fewer options next week. In an effort to protect their year-round services, Inn From the Cold is closing their overnight services as of March 1, 2015 due to lack of funding, according to a media release. Normally, the overnight...
Lake Country counters CN rail objections with mass mail out
KELOWNA - Lake Country civic officials are countering what they are calling misinformation by residents opposed to the purchase of the CN Rail corridor and the alternative approval process being used to seek its approval. Corporate services manager Reyna Seabrook said the district decided to do another mass mail out to all Lake Country households...
‘One can hardly imagine a more horrific assault’ than Bobbitt’s: Crown
KELOWNA – Reckless, self-serving, grandiose, entitled, antisocial, narcissistic, lacking in empathy, sexually sadistic, psychopathic and violent. Those are some of the words the Crown used to describe David Wesley Bobbitt in a hearing to determine if he deserves dangerous offender status. Bobbitt, 39, has already pleaded guilty to seven charges, but before Justice Peter Rogers...
Course operators look forward to February golf
KELOWNA — Forget the groundhog, hardcore golfers are the new harbinger of spring. At least at Kelowna Springs Golf Club and some other Central Okanagan golf courses where agreeable weather is allowing for the earliest opening some courses have ever seen. “This is unheard of in 20 years,” Ian Robertson, general manager of Kelowna Springs,...
Shoebox suites are the trend and Kelowna residents better get used to it
KELOWNA - A pair of micro-suite projects set to go ahead in Kelowna are part of a trend across Canada to smaller and smaller living spaces, says Kelowna city councillor Gail Given, one that the older generation had better get used to. “This generation is exploring different options, and these two projects have opened the...
Road hogging continues as big block construction projects dominate downtown
KELOWNA - If you think Kelowna has endured a lot of big-ticket construction projects in the last few years, you would be right. If you thought it was over, you would be wrong. A number of large building projects, and all that goes with it — detours, lost parking spaces, narrowed roadways — have either...
Spring-like weather may be interrupted by snow
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - We’ve been experiencing spring-like weather here in the Southern Interior and while that is not set to change we may see another blitz of snow before Saturday. Environment Canada is still calling for above seasonal normal temperatures during the day but with overnight lows close to seasonal normals of -3 Celsius and a...
Blocking the path to higher learning
KELOWNA - The ongoing dispute between UBC Okanagan and the residents of Curtis Road which runs right behind the school has ended up again in the courts, blocking access to the popular back trail. Michael Shakespeare, the school’s vice-president of operations, said in a prepared statement that the easement granted to UBCO has not been...
Bobbitt sentencing reconvenes in Kelowna
KELOWNA – An ex-girlfriend who says she too was sexually abused by David Wesley Bobbitt is not credible, according to defence lawyer James Pennington. On Wednesday morning Bobbitt’s sentencing reconvened in Kelowna Supreme Court after a seven month break. Since starting June 23, the focus has been to determine if Bobbitt, who pleaded guilty to...
Free speech examined at Philosopher’s Cafe
KELOWNA - A local professor will discuss the challenges and importance of free speech in Canada at a Wednesday evening event in Kelowna. Andrew Irvine, a UBC professor and past president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, will be speaking at the Philosopher’s Cafe at the Okanagan Jewish Community Centre. His talk, Where to Draw...
Where is the fog going to show up next?
EVEN THE METEOROLOGISTS AREN'T TOO SURE KELOWNA - It may not seem like a real valley inversion — the kind locals dread which leaves a thick layer of cloud hovering just overhead, lasting sometimes for weeks — but the inversion and the rolling fog clouds it is causing are very real, enough to cause flight...
Dog that survived horrific attack now has just days left to live
KELOWNA – She has defied the odds before, but this one she won't come back from—one of the two dogs that survived a horrific attack five months ago has developed terminal cancer and will be euthanized this week. Sheena is a 10-year-old Rottweiler and one of three dogs subjected to a brutal late night attack...
New Kelowna history app will have you chasing pigs around downtown
KELOWNA – A new smartphone app will take you on a walking tour of downtown as you chase virtual pigs through the streets of Kelowna. Pigs On Bernard is in partnership with the Kelowna Museums Society and gaming company QuestUpon. By answering trivia about the area and taking photos of the pigs that appear in...
Developer-financed road to the Mission a first for city hall
KELOWNA - The city's director of corporate ventures has never heard of developers both financing and constructing a road, but that's the proposal for the new South Perimeter Way. “We have never delivered a road in this manner,” said John Vos. “In fact, this is unique in my experience.” A group of developers active in...
How long will this spring weather last?
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - We saw several high temperatures records broken over the weekend and while the record breaking weather is likely over, the warm temperatures should stick around a while longer. Lisa Coldwells of Environment Canada says looking into the early part of March arctic air will stay on the other side of the Rockies and...
Utilty rate increases gets water users coming and going
KELOWNA - They get you if you pour or flush. Kelowna city council has approved a two per cent increase in rates for both city water and waste water utilities. Beginning in May, rates for customers drawing city water — about half the businesses and houses in Kelowna — will climb about $.59 a month...