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John McDonald
John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.
It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.
But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.
If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca
Crash closes Connector between Merritt and Highway 5A
MERRITT - The Okanagan Connector was closed between Merritt and Highway 5A after a car crash this afternoon. Details are limited but multiple emergency vehicles responded to the vehicle incident, Dec. 28, including a B.C. Ambulance helicopter. Some reports on social media said the crash was a rollover. Drive B.C. says Highway 97C, east of...
Kelowna hopes to end year without ‘significant snow event’
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - About half of Kelowna’s civic workers will be off the job over the holidays but snow removal crews won’t be amongst them. “Yes, it’s all hands on deck if needed,” public works manager Darryl Astofooroff says. “It’s looking good though, nothing much in the forecast." The city has gotten off lightly so...
Garbage and recycling pick-up changes over the holidays
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Along with the holidays comes celebrations and gifts, which means more garbage and recycling. But the pick-up people get some days off too which means some slight adjustments to the schedule. Curbside pick-up ervice is largely unaffected by the holidays with Christmas and New Years the only days with service changes throughout...
Some quirks of the calendar will bring you a lot more fun next year
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Before you book your vacation next year, you might find some surprises you haven’t seen on the calendar — like an extra four long weekends next year. Thanks to a few quirks of the calendar, all four date-based holidays fall on or near weekends this year. Canada Day, Remembrance Day and New Years...
A look at what the City of Kelowna accomplished in 2015
KELOWNA - The city claims its goal is building the best mid-sized city in North America and progress toward that goal is outlined in the 2015 Year in Review, released by the city this week. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment the city made this year actually involved other communities. This past year the abandoned CN Rail...
Spirit of Kelowna volunteers drives the the holiday season
KELOWNA - The giving nature of the holiday season has inspired many people to volunteer their time and money to help those less fortunate, but many organizations rely on volunteers year round and hope those they can recruit at Christmas will keep helping out the rest of the year. The Kelowna Gospel Mission describes volunteers...
Snow removal frustrations? YouTube shaming your neighbours probably isn’t the best approach
DO YOU KNOW YOUR OBLIGATIONS FOR SNOW REMOVAL? KELOWNA - Dealing with snow can be kind of frustrating but this probably isn't the best way to deal with it. We discovered this YouTube video from user 'imabushwacker' publicly shaming his neighbour on his Kelowna street. He heads down the street, camera rolling, to confront her...
Sample local authors for last minute gifts
KELOWNA - Books make a great last minute gift and the latest from a local author is the perfect touch. Here’s the latest from some local talent. All True Not A Lie In It This novel by Okanagan College professor Alix Hawley made the Giller long list and won amazon.ca First Novel Award in 2015. All-day...
Red Deer man missing more than a month may be in Kelowna
KELOWNA - A Red Deer man missing for more than a month may be in the Kelowna area and RCMP need your help finding him. James Currie, 22, of Red Deer last had contact with his family Nov. 4. They reported him missing Nov. 25 after concern arose for his well-being. Currie is described as...
Kelowna leisure takes a breather with holiday schedule
KELOWNA - The winter break is a great time to swim, workout or visit the library as a family, but before you head out the door make sure you know what the holiday hours are. Parkinson Recrecation Centre runs altered hours from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 21 to 23, closing early at 4...
Fortis jacking up power rates on New Year’s Day
OKANAGAN - The price of electricity will be going up almost three per cent in the Fortis service area. Rates will be going up 2.96 per cent New Year's Day, the publicly-owned utility announced last week after receiving regulatory approval. The company says that amounts to a monthly increase of $3.81 for the average Fortis...
How the City of Kelowna plans on spending your money in 2016
KELOWNA - The city will require about $120 million from property owners to cover costs in Kelowna next year. While big ticket items like police officers and recreation centres often get the headlines, the city spends millions on dozens of other initiatives in many different areas as well. Here, in no particular order, are some...
Don’t tie property tax increases to inflation says Kelowna city manager
KELOWNA - Kelowna city manager Ron Mattiussi thinks using inflation as a yardstick for property tax increases just makes the type of problems the city is now facing worse. "The rate of inflation, although an interesting benchmark, really should not guide these decisions,” Mattiussi said, to councillors considering a 4.11 per cent tax increase. Kelowna...
Kelowna to give some love to 14,000 street lights
KELOWNA - Most people don’t think much about street lights unless they happen to crash their car into one of them. Kelowna has 14,000 street lights with a replacement value of $23 million, Kelowna council heard during budget deliberations today, Dec. 17. Many of the lights, however, are past their service life and require maintenance...
Public safety top of mind as Kelowna council approves tax increase
KELOWNA - Taxpayers will likely face a property tax increase of 4.12 per cent after city council passed the 2016 provisional city budget. The increase is heavy on public safety as more than half the increase of about $6 million is dedicated to hiring more police and bylaw officers while moving ahead with construction of...
City of Kelowna playing catch-up on roads after pothole complaints go up
KELOWNA - Ignore potholes in your roads and they will come back to haunt you. That’s the lesson Kelowna city council took away after approving $3.4 million for road resurfacing in the 2016 budget. Councillors heard the annual roads resurfacing program has been underfunded for several years as the city focused on other priorities. Complaints...
Kelowna Fire Department to buy four new trucks for $1.6M
KELOWNA - The Kelowna Fire Department is going to get a bunch of new trucks in 2016. The city will spend $1.6 million next year replacing four of the department’s service vehicles, including $1.33 million for two new fire engines. That will buy the department two engines; an $810,000 replacement for engine four, a 1996...
Curriculum change the first challenge for new Central Okanagan superintendent
KELOWNA - The incoming superintendent of the Central Okanagan School District praised his predecessor Hugh Gloster even as he acknowledged some of the challenges the district is facing. Top among them is the province-wide introduction of the new curriculum, something Supt. Kevin Kaardal acknowledged today, Dec. 16, at a media event with school board chairperson...
Emergency response team used to arrest prohibited driver in West Kelowna
WEST KELOWNA - RCMP had to use the emergency response team to arrest a prohibited driver in West Kelowna this afternoon. The 37-year-old man was arrested after he fled from police in his vehicle, Kelowna RCMP say in a press release. Officers tried to stop the man a number of times. West Kelowna RCMP then...
Kelowna councillors face hard choice in hiring more police officers
KELOWNA - Kelowna city councillors are facing a hard choice in the 2016 budget — hire all six police officers recommended by formula, or hire just three for now even though street crime has increased over the past year. Councillors are already facing a 4.11 per cent increase on the 2016 budget, of which 1.97 per...
UPDATE: Kelowna man located
UPDATE: 9:38 A.M., DEC. 16, 2015 RCMP say Randy Burns has been located and is safe and sound. Personal details and photo have been removed from this story. 2:58 P.M., DEC. 15, 2015 KELOWNA - Randy Burns, 46, was last seen Nov. 28 by a family member, Kelowna RCMP say in a press release. Anyone...
Peachland bypass could result from new traffic study
PEACHLAND – What to do with the highway through Peachland is the question a new…
Site of prison originally planned for Kelowna could soon be an industrial subdivision
KELOWNA – A site in north Kelowna once touted as a location for a new…
Kelowna councillors to pore over budget during all-day review
KELOWNA - Preliminary projections place the 2016 budget increase for the City of Kelowna at 4.11 per cent, more than a $6 million increase on taxation. That number is based on a 2.14 per cent increase for city operations and capital projects, City manager Ron Mattiussi said in a report to council Monday, plus a...