Kelowna
Kelowna wants to boost walking and cycling
KELOWNA - A push to get more residents making trips on foot or on a bike will be enshrined in a pedestrian and bicycle master plan after city council endorsed a staff proposal this week. In a report to council, transportation manager Moudud Hasan says the goal is to leverage the increases already achieved since...
Temporary public art program ruffles some feathers on Kelowna council
KELOWNA - A proposal for a trial temporary art installation program divided city councillors despite the relatively modest price tag of $15,000. For that sum, the temporary art in public places pilot program would deliver one piece of art, installed at a yet-to-be-decided location, which will be gone in six months, then returned to the...
UBC Okanagan seeks change to firearms bylaw to set up ballistics testing lab
KELOWNA - UBC Okanagan and one of its research partners Helios Global Technologies, is looking to set up a ballistics lab in the commercial zone across from Kelowna International Airport. To that end, they are seeking a revision to the city’s firearms bylaw which would exempt ballistics testing within city limits. UBCO spokesman Bud Mortensen...
Okanagan-bound boat caught and decontaminated for possible invasive mussel threat
KELOWNA – Conservation officers in Kelowna decontaminated a boat today which came to the Okanagan from an Ontario lake known to be infested with invasive mussels. The boat was purchased by someone in the Okanagan city and transported from Lake Eerie in Windsor, Ont. It was shipped along with another boat bound for Fort McMurray....
Treat dad like a king with these Father’s Day events in the Southern Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Father’s Day is one day every year where families can tell dad how much he means and do the things he enjoys. So with forecasts calling for sun and temperatures in the mid-20s any of these outdoor events happening around the Thompson-Okanagan should keep him smiling for the next 12 months. If you’re in...
Prospect of liquor stores inside grocery stores prompts Kelowna bylaw review
KELOWNA - No one has even asked yet about putting a liquor store inside a Kelowna grocery store but planning staff will be asking city council if it wants to shore up its zoning bylaw to regulate them. “Right now we have five locations where there is already a retail liquor store on the same...
Beading a path through the Okanagan
PENTICTON - An Okanagan artist and entrepreneur turned a daydream into a unique business opportunity which continues to grow with each new tourist season. Karen Griggs was looking for a way to make a living while following her passion when she came up with the idea of the Bead Trail. According to her blog, a...
Robot invasion: Engineers testing out their gadgets
KELOWNA – Graduate students from across Canada were in the Okanagan this week, testing out and demonstrating the latest in robotic technology. Teams from schools across Canada spent the week in Kelowna programming and testing their machines at an annual event meant to bring together engineers and operators normally scattered across the country. The annual...
Shiny new Interior Heart and Surgical Centre almost ready to save lives
KELOWNA - The Interior Heart and Surgical Centre at Kelowna General Hospital is a technical marvel that you hope never to have to visit but are sure glad is there when you need it. “This facility is the icing on the cake that is KGH,” says Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick, who was on hand...
Pianos in the Park take social media by storm
KELOWNA – Less than a week after they were set up, Kelowna’s Pianos in the Park are filling the downtown streets with beautiful music. Videos of people playing the pianos have flooded social media, including one by local musician James Elser, who covered Elton John’s Your Song in front of Rotary Centre for the Arts....
Hospital laundry workers continue anti-privatization protest as decision looms
KELOWNA - The Hospital Employees Union continued its public pressure campaign against privatization of laundry services this week with a pair of rallies in the largest communities within the Interior Health Authority. Laundry workers sought to bring provincial politicians into the mix by protesting in front of the contituency offices of MLA Terry Lake in...
Enderby woman wins $1M with free play
ENDERBY - An Enderby woman is celebrating her birthday with the ultimate present — a $1 million Maxmillion prize. Tanya Williams, who celebrates her birthday this week, won a free play and $1 on a previous Lotto Max draw and used that to get another ticket. She found out she was a winner when she...
Why CN Rail doesn’t want to talk about soil contamination along the Okanagan rail corridor
OKANAGAN - CN Rail is refusing to release the contents of an environmental study into possible soil contamination along the 48-kilometre Okanagan rail corridor. Even though the report has been reviewed in turn by an environmental consultant hired by the inter-jurisdictional acquisition team, the leader of the team says it will not release the details...
Big air and local talent featured in extreme mountain bike movie
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Ever wondered what it’s like to do a 70-foot front flip on a tricked out mountain bike? Now you can get an idea without risking reconstructive surgery or a lengthy hospital stay. An extreme mountain biking movie, unReal, is premiering in Kamloops and Kelowna next week. UnReal is a movie that does for...
Filmmaker captures awe of Okanagan Valley
OKANAGAN - The essence of what makes the Okanagan Valley breathtaking has been captured by a filmmaker from Summerland in a short video entitled Born To Wonder. Steve Cogbill, 19, says he just finished several months of work on the video and he hopes it will motivate both locals and would-be tourists to take a...