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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
Second phase of Stuart Park finishes off Kelowna’s waterfront facelift
KELOWNA - Stuart Park, part two, is scheduled to open just in time for Canada Day. Walkways and the new sidewalk fronting Water Street are complete and the lawn has been laid although the City of Kelowna says it will be fenced off for a few more weeks so it can get established. A pair...
Old Western Star plant could soon meet the wrecker’s ball
KELOWNA - The last vestiges of Western Star Trucks, a manufacturing success story in Kelowna, could soon be meeting the wreckers ball. Owner of the site on Enterprise Way, 3752 Investments Ltd., has applied for a permit to raze the former Western Star truck and replace it with a Lowes home improvement store and garden...
Cracks were showing in Westbank First Nation’s private hospital plan last year
WESTBANK FIRST NATION - Despite assertions from the partners behind Canada’s first for-profit private hospital that it is proceeding as planned, documents show the deal to develop the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre was in disarray last year. When it became clear in October 2014 that Ad Vitam Health Care was out of money and unable...
Stalled private hospital has Westbank band members, police asking questions about finances
FUNDING COLLAPSE; RECALL CAMPAIGN WESTBANK FIRST NATION - Canada’s first private, for-profit hospital, slated for development on Westbank First Nation land, has stalled amid lost venture capital funding and criminal allegations and the political fallout could claim the band’s chief and councillors. The Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre is a project the band announced with much...
Central Okanagan amongst the leaders in wildfire fuel reduction in B.C.
KELOWNA - The B.C. Forest Practices Board is praising Kelowna’s wildfire fuel mitigation efforts as amongst the most advanced in the province even as it criticizes the overall lack of progress in B.C. in protecting urban interface areas. “Today, Kelowna is an example of what communities can do to protect themselves. B.C. has been lucky...
B.C. sending more firefighters out-of-province
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - B.C. is answering a request for assistance from the Yukon, sending 31 firefighters there to help fight wildfires. According to B.C. Wildfire, the request was made through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, responsible for coordinating sharing of firefighting personnel and resources with other jurisdictions. B.C. just sent 21 firefighters, four fixed wing...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Luck changes for Las Vegas contest grand prize winner
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Elizabeth Christie used to say she never wins anything. Her story has changed since winning the InfoNews.ca grand prize of a trip to Las Vegas. “I guess I can’t say that anymore,” Christie laughs as she picks up her prize. “I tried a couple of other contests the same week and nothing.” She...
City moves to revamp public sign bylaw
KELOWNA - In the face of changing tastes and technology the City of Kelowna could soon deal with signs in a different way. City council is directing staff to revamp its sign bylaw, but they expect plenty of consultation with business owners and other stakeholders. “Signage is important to everyone really. The city gets a...
Kelowna bell-ringing ceremony to honour missing and murdered aboriginal women
KELOWNA - The bells will be ringing in Kelowna this weekend, 1,122 times to be exact. A request by The Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels on Sutherland Avenue to ring its bell multiple times this Sunday has been approved by city council. The symbolic ringing of the bell on June 21, National Aboriginal...
Kelowna firefighters sign seven-year labour agreement
KELOWNA - Firefighters and adminstrative staff with the Kelowna Fire Department will enjoy a series of raises after signing a new collective agreement with the City of Kelowna. Firefighters have been without a contract since the end of 2012 but on Monday, June 15 the local firefighters union and the City of Kelowna ratified an...
Kelowna seeks federal cash to upgrade City Park promenade
KELOWNA - A section of the popular promenade through City Park could be in line for a serious upgrade should the city successfully secure a grant from the federal Canada 150 community infrastructure program. Parks planning manager Terry Barton recommended to city council today, June 15, an application be made for the maximum grant of...
Annual Naked Bike Ride gets the reaction it was looking for
KELOWNA - Organizers of the second Annual Naked Bike Ride in Kelowna are calling the event a success with much more media coverage and more positive reaction from the people they passed in the streets, even if their numbers were about the same as last year. “Last year we had zero media, we flew under...
Kelowna church asks for noise bylaw exemption for bell-ringing marathon
KELOWNA - If Kelowna city council gives the okay, the bell at The Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels will toll over 1,000 times, once for each of the missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. The church is asking the city to temporarily set aside its noise bylaw beginning 11:30 a.m. on...
Kelowna man says police arrested him for nudity they had tolerated many times before
KELOWNA - A Kelowna man says RCMP, anxious to keep a lid on the party scene at Mushroom Beach, arbitrarily arrested him for public nudity after walking by ignoring the sunbathers many times before. Mushroom Beach is the nickname for what the city calls the Lake Avenue beach access and has become increasingly popular with...
Naked Kelowna cyclists plan to ride with respect
KELOWNA - Responding to rumours of possible interference in their event, and concerns about conflict with the Fat Cat Children’s Festival, organizers of Nake Bike Ride Kelowna say they will respond with civil obedience. “If police or bylaw were to show up, if they demand we cover up, we will comply. We’re not there to...