Kelowna
Hells Angel found guilty on weapons charges
KELOWNA – The public may never know what would have happened had four armed men not been pulled over for speeding two years ago—but what police found inside the vehicle that night was enough to convict two of them of almost a dozen charges. Full patch Hells Angel Joseph Bruce Skreptak and alleged gang associate...
Taxpayers First slate has plans for the Central Okanagan Regional District
KELOWNA – The slate of five council hopefuls known as Taxpayers First have unveiled a plan that, if elected, would put a massive, multi-storey commercial/residential building on the current Regional District lot on KLO Road as part of a restructuring plan. Taxpayers First, made up of Carol Gran, Graham James, Dale Olson, Michael Gorman and...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Arsonist admits to burning down West Kelowna Lion’s Hall
KELOWNA – Kerry Robert Cooper pleaded guilty Thursday morning to burning down the West Kelowna Lion’s Hall. Cooper, 30, entered the plea from North Fraser Pre-Trial, declining legal representation. Crown prosecutor Dave Grabavac says Cooper admitted to the Sept. 1 arson after seeing video footage of him buying gas, walking in the direction of the...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...