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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Injunction fails, Okanagan Rail Trail land purchase goes ahead
KELOWNA - The last real hurdle to the purchase of the CN Rail corridor purchase was removed this morning in B.C. Supreme Court where an injunction sought by the Okanagan Indian Band blocking the sale was denied. “With no injunction in place CN is within its right to sell the corridor lands,” City of Kelowna...
Young hockey player’s sad story may have a happy ending
KELOWNA - It appears the story of the nine-year-old boy who quit his hockey team in tears after being repeatedly benched, may have a happy ending after all. Our story about Sam Lescarbeau has gone truly viral with people from all over Canada writing to encourage him, share similar stories from all manner of sports teams...
Property tax exemption? How do I get me one of those?
KELOWNA - It's hard to see what Valley First Credit Union in Rutland, the yet-to-be-built luxury Westcorp hotel near Kerry Park and the newly-rebuilt Kelowna Yacht Club might have in common. But what links them is all are either eligible or have already received a ten-year property tax holiday under Kelowna’s revitalization tax exemption bylaw,...
City policy changes aimed at stopping double-dipping shoe box suite developers
KELOWNA - Concerns about micro suites and their impact on City of Kelowna finances, plus how and where they are built, are raised in a new report by city staff. City planner Ryan Roycroft says the city has already foregone $1.7 million in development cost charges for the 315 so-called shoe box suites which have...