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Jennifer Stahn
Penticton, Kelowna renters spending nearly 30% of income on housing
KAMLOOPS, VERNON NOT MUCH BETTER THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A new study shows people renting in the region are spending, on average, 24-29 per cent of their income on rent and utilities, putting the rental landscape in the poor to severe category. The B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association released the Rental Housing Index, in partnership with Vancity Credit...
O’Fee: Election ‘unremarkable’
DEVER LOSS A 'LOSS FOR COUNCIL' KAMLOOPS - A look back at our civic election shows few surprises according to a local lawyer and former city councillor. Only 22,672 people, or just over 33 per cent of eligible voters, actually voted in the 2014 civic election. Those votes saw two new faces elected, but they were...
Snow heading to town
SYSTEM COULD CLEAR SMOKE FROM AIR THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Snow has already been accumulating on some highway passes and this week we may see some of the white stuff hit valley bottoms as a system moves over the region. Environment Canada is calling for warming temperatures through the weekend as cloud cover moves in. Highs of...
ELECTIONS 2014: Where did all the voters go?
KAMLOOPS - Voter turnout was up in Kamloops for this year's municipal election — and remains just above the provincial average — but only about a third of eligble voters showed up to cast a ballot. This month 22,672 of the 68,410 eligible voters cast ballots at the advance polls and on Election Day, for a voter...
Set your alarm clocks, Leonid meteor shower peaking
TUESDAY MORNING SHOW IF CLOUDS KEEP AWAY THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If the clouds part and the smoke clears, we could be in for a great showing of the Leonid meteor shower early Tuesday morning. While the moon, currently in the waning crescent phase, is not expected to interfere with viewing the storm, increasing cloudiness overnight could...
Air quality advisory remains in place
WAITING ON THE WEATHER TO CHANGE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - It is mid-November and yes, that is smoke in the air. Unlike the summer when large wildfires in northern B.C. caused air quality advisories the smoke visible throughout the region is due to open burning. “There are hundreds of burn registrations issued,” Kayla Pepper of B.C. Wildfire...
ELECTIONS 2014: Results from around the region
KAMLOOPS - Voters have spoken and while there are only two new faces around the council table in Kamloops there are a slew of new faces around the rest of the region. Council tables in both Clinton and Sun Peaks will remain unchanged with all incumbents unchallenged but in Ashcroft, Barriere, Chase, Lillooet and Merritt...
Sam Roberts bringing supernatural to Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - The Sam Roberts Band is returning to Kamloops in February for the only remaining B.C. Interior performance of the Lo-Fantasy tour. The latest album, Lo-Fantasy, is described as the most wide-ranging collection Sam Roberts has ever written, infusing his particularly rousing brand of rock and roll with elements of funk, house, electronic, and...
ELECTIONS 2014: Little change at council table
TWO NEW FACES AT CITY COUNCIL KAMLOOPS - With 32 candidates vying for a council seat and another 15 looking for a Kamloops school trustee seat it has been a busy month of campaigning, but we finally found out who will lead our city for the next four years, and there is not much change. ...
SPCA looking at feral cat fix and release program
KAMLOOPS - Colonies of feral cats run rampant in the Kamloops area and little has been done to control the felines. That could change as a task force applies for grants to trap, spay or neuter, and then release the cats. Without a program in place to spay or neuter, the cats colonies can quickly...
ELECTIONS 2014: Who, what, where, when and why
KAMLOOPS - In case you’ve been out of the loop, there’s an election going on. In fact, general election day is this weekend. WHO CAN VOTE Canadian citizens who are 18 years of age or older can vote. You must have lived in B.C. for at least six months and in Kamloops for at least...
ELECTIONS 2014: Online engagement falls short
MANY CANDIDATES RELY ON EVENTS, SIGNS KAMLOOPS - Most city council candidates have a Facebook profile these days, but not all of them seem to know how to effectively use that tool or other online tools to campaign. At least four candidates used GoFundMe pages to help raise money for their campaigns. One hit more...
Break in cold snap around the corner
WILL STAY BELOW ZERO A FEW MORE DAYS THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - After a few days of sub-zero temperatures everyone is looking for a break, but we still have a few more days of staying below zero before it will finally begin to warm up again. Through the Okanagan temperatures only rose to -0.2 Celsius in Penticton...
STAHN: When is it time to listen to the students?
Students and teachers have been asking for it. A petition with more than 770 student signatures was submitted to the school board last year. This year another 300 students have already signed another petition. Yet an anti-homophobic harassment policy still does not exist in our schools. The bureaucratic process has its place. Legally steps need...
Advance polling sees 56% increase overall
KAMLOOPS - After three days of advance voting more than 2,500 ballots have been cast, an increase of just over 56 per cent from the 2011 civic election. In total 2,526 ballots were cast over the three days, Nov. 5, 6 and 12, where as only 1,615 ballots were cast in 2011 during the three...
Kamloops a dream destination for Illinois longboarder
WANTS TO RIDE AT WORLD'S FIRST LONGBOARD PARK KAMLOOPS - An Illinois longboarder is doing anything she can to get to Kamloops so she can experience the world’s first longboard park. Samantha Marsteller is a sophomore at Eastern Illinois University where she is majoring in psychology and minoring in art and criminology. In her spare...
Ajax clarifies stance on civic election support
REGISTERING WITH ELECTIONS B.C. A 'COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY' KAMLOOPS - The company behind the proposed Ajax Mine is looking to clarify why they are registering as a third-party sponsor with Elections B.C. On Monday the company issued a confusing statement about a letter they had sent out to supporters. What they didn't say was why...
Ladies night to pamper deserving women
‘WHY THE HELL CAN’T THESE WOMEN HAVE JUST ONE NIGHT?’ KAMLOOPS - One of the experiences for many distressed women and children in Kamloops is sharing Thanksgiving and Christmas meals at the food bank in a room full of strangers, many of which are drunken men, according to a former social worker. These women will...
ELECTIONS 2014: Vote 50 wants voters to see glass as half full
FINAL COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY KAMLOOPS - If positive thinking is key then the organizers behind the Kamloops Vote 50 campaign may have unlocked the secret to beating Kelowna and Prince George when it comes to getting more voters out to the polls. With an 83 per cent increase in voter turnout after the first...
Ajax public comment period opens next week
INFORMATION SESSIONS AT END OF MONTH KAMLOOPS - The round of public comment period promised by the provincial government on the proposed Ajax Mine will run for one month beginning Nov. 18. Council and residents fought for the chance to have another say on what should be included in the application requirements for the project...
Kamloops Symphony commemorates 100th anniversary of WWI
KAMLOOPS – Kamloops Symphony will honour the centennial of the beginning of WWI with their performance Remembering on Nov. 15. This will be the first time Kamloops Symphony does a performance of remembrance. “We believe that it is important to acknowledge the sacrifices of those who served in WWI during this 100th anniversary year,” said...
Clara Hughes to speak at TRU
KAMLOOPS - Clara Hughes, a mental health advocate and six-time Olympic medal winner in speed skating and cycling, will be speaking at Thompson Rivers University next week as as part of the President’s Lecture Series. Hughes’ speech, in which she will talk about her own experience with struggling with depression, will be held Nov. 20...
Hospital budget approved, no tax increase for 2015
KAMLOOPS - The hospital board approved the 2015 budget for Royal Inland Hospital and while the budget is $16 million higher than in 2014 it will not impact tax bills next year. The Thompson Regional Hospital District board of directors approved the $34.4 million provisional budget, which is nearly double the 2014 budget. The 2015...
Ajax to officially enter the election
PLANS TO REGISTER AS THIRD-PARTY SPONSOR KAMLOOPS - After saying they would not endorse specific city council candidates KGHM Ajax now says it is registering as a third-party sponsor this week. The decision comes just over a month after the company said it would not support anyone running in the civic election. A spokesman declined...