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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
ELECTION 2015: Would-be Conservative-killers already campaigning in Kelowna-Lake Country
KELOWNA - Official campaigning for the federal election is still months away, but in the Kelowna-Lake Country riding, the parties with the best chance of upsetting the federal Conservatives, are knocking on doors like the writ has already been dropped. “I don’t know about the other parties but I’m certainly campaigning,” the NDP candidate Norah...
Three suspects in custody following Kelowna carjacking
KELOWNA - A trio of carjackers are cooling their heels in the Kelowna lock-up after police spotted them in downtown Kelowna Tuesday evening and then tracked them down to West Kelowna. Members were called to the 100-block of Nickel Road yesterday after a man and woman produced a weapon and ordered the victim out of...
Norm Macdonald bringing stand up routine to Kelowna
OKANAGAN - Canadian comic Norm Macdonald is bringing his stand-up routine to Kelowna this fall. Best known as a former Saturday Night Live cast member, Macdonald will be taking to the stage at the Kelowna Community Theatre this September. Macdonald has an impressive resume in the comedy world which includes anchoring the popular Weekend Update...
Local elementary students fight the heat during divisional track meet
CENTRAL OKANAGAN - Rain or shine, the end-of-year track meet for grades 4 to 6 elementary students must go on. This year, the heat was the obvious enemy at Kelowna’s Apple Bowl. “I’ve never seen it quite this hot though I’ve seen days where it was pretty warm and I’ve seen days when there was...
B.C. Dragoons set to expand with new signals squadron
KELOWNA - The B.C. Dragoons, a Kelowna-based reserve unit, is planning an expansion with the formation of a new signals squadron. “This is an excellent opportunity for young and old to join the Canadian Armed Forces on a part-time basis,” Capt. Jeff Daley, a senior member of the Dragoons, said in a press release. Daley said...
Valley athletes do well at crossfit regional games
OKANAGAN - Crossfit athletes from the North and Central Okanagan recently posted some stellar results during the gruelling West Crossfit Regionals in Tacoma, Wash. Crossfit, a type of workout that combines Olympic weight-lifting with elements of gymnastics and interval cardio, emerged out of California in 2002. Participants in the regional games must complete seven different...
Interior Health CEO Rob Halpenny to resign
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After more than five years as chief executive officer, Dr. Robert Halpenny is resigning from the Interior Health Authority. The announcement that Halpenny will resign from his position, effective this fall, came today, June 9. “Over the five and a half years that Dr. Halpenny has served as CEO, he has driven transformative...
Get your butt in gear during the Annual World Naked Bike Ride in Kelowna
KELOWNA - For such a casual event, the Annual World Naked Bike Ride packs in a lot of activism. Billed on its Facebook page as 'light-hearted protest against our dependence on fossil fuels" the weekend ride in Kelowna is also 'a commentary on the vulnerability of cyclists and reinforcement of positive body image values.' If...
Side order of mental health from local coffee clubs
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - You can find one in just about every fast food joint or greasy spoon restaurant; A bunch of men, sometimes women, sitting around drinking coffee, shooting the bull — a coffee club for lack of a better name. If they don’t look like they’re in a hurry to be anywhere, it’s because they...
Fat Cat Festival bounces back after teacher’s strike hurt attendance
KELOWNA - You can’t keep a fat cat down. After a disastrous 2014 which saw attendance plunge because of the province-wide teacher’s job action, registration is way up for the 2015 Fat Cat Children’s Festival set to run June 12 and 13. “We were very impacted by the strike and I wasn’t sure how we...
Competition stiff as Okanagan cities compete to hold seniors’ games
OKANAGAN - Long before the competitors in the B.C. 55+ Games face off against each other at the annual event, there is a competition of another sort amongst B.C. communities vying to host the games. This year, Vernon, Kelowna and Penticton are all submitting competing bids to host the popular event. The competition is going...
What to do with 100,000 metres of steel rail, ties and a grafitti-covered boxcar
KELOWNA - Now that the CN Rail corridor purchase is complete, there’s the small matter of removing about 100 kilometres worth of steel rail, railway ties, flashing lights and signs, and some contaminated soil sites. Oh, and one graffiti covered boxcar. Fortunately for the Okanagan communities that just ponied up $50 million in cash and...
Water board calls on province to take action on invasive mussels
OKANAGAN - The Okanagan Basin Water Board is using the province’s declaration of June as Invasive Species Action Month to prod it into increasing its role in the fight against zebra and quagga mussels. “Awareness is great but action is better. The water board is doing all it can within its mandate to prevent the...
Abandoned camper underscores illegal dumping problem in Central Okanagan
KELOWNA - They had to use a tow truck to get rid of a piece of garbage, an old camper, illegally dumped up Postill Lake Road today. The regional waste reduction office says it recently learned through social media of the dumped camper. The camper is just the tip of a much larger problem though...
Gospel Mission extends its reach to courtyard
KELOWNA - The Gospel Mission, Kelowna’s single mens shelter, has announced it will build a courtyard next to its Leon Ave. building, with the aim of giving downtown homeless somewhere to go during the day. “Too often during the day the homeless, due to lack of options, are staying in places that put them at...
Ethel Street cycle track separates bikes from cars and pedestrians
KELOWNA - A determined cycist could cover the first phase of the Ethel Street active transportation corridor in about two minutes but the construction of a new cycle track between Bernard Avenue and Saucier Avenue will be welcomed by local cyclists. Construction on the corridor begins this month and will continue in phases until 2020...
Knox Mountain disc golfers score deal with city
KELOWNA - If disc golf is gaining popularity as a sport it’s because of guys like Ryan Derksen. Despite the rain this week, the young man from Saskatchewan was chucking discs at far-off holes, enjoying a solo practice round at the Knox Mountain Park disc golf course. “I played in Calgary yesterday. Whenever I travel...
Okanagan College receives big donation
KELOWNA - The fundraising campaign for Okanagan College’s new trades training complex has officially raised more than $4 million toward its $7-million goal, with support coming from every corner of the Okanagan. Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton says the outpouring of support for the $33 million renovation and expansion project illustrates the extensive network...
Bike To Work week biggest ever in Central Okanagan
KELOWNA - Preliminary numbers are in and by all accounts the Central Okanagan’s 2015 Bike to Work Week was a resounding success thanks to record breaking participation. Between May 25-31, 2,375 riders on 268 teams cycled 59,103 kilometres. That’s the equivalent of one and a half times around the planet. Those numbers are up...
UBC celebrates 10th graduating class in the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - Two major milestones in health sciences are being celebrated with Convocation 2015. The first class of 30 physicians will have graduated from UBC’s Faculty of Medicine’s Southern Medical Program, based in the Okanagan. The Okanagan School of Nursing sees the first cohort of its “2+2 BSN program” of collaborative nursing graduates. These students...
Salmonella outbreak proof that monitoring system works: Buckerfield’s CEO
KELOWNA - The recent spike of salmonella cases connected to live poultry sales is a good news story, proof the system works rather than an indictment of its failings, according to a local business. “Fourteen cases is a very small number and it was detected and caught and the public was actually protected from what...
Community gardens get big green thumbs up in Kelowna
KELOWNA - Better support for community gardens, both public and private, can happen if there is a better understanding of what food security means for the community. City staff hope to provide a better understanding by amending the food security policy in the official community plan and the zoning bylaw. “This is turning a landscape...
City changes targets after failing to meet greenhouse gas targets
KELOWNA - Despite the many efforts made by the city to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions and those of its citizens, Kelowna is a long way off the target it set for itself in 2007. That’s when Kelowna signed on to the B.C. Climate Action Charter and pledged by 2017 to reduce greenhouse gases...
Experimental affordable housing in Kelowna could mix industrial with residential
KELOWNA – City planners want to see how mixing residential housing with light industrial will…