Julie Whittet

By Julie Whittet New money announced from Kelowna's Farm to Table program may be good news for the city's existing local food scene, but leaves something to be desired for smaller producers outside the spotlight. Tourism Kelowna announced Monday it will match up to $100,000 in funds for restaurants and producers wanting to promote local...

By Julie Whittet No matter how much it rains or snows, today is still officially the first day of Spring, 2013. Also known as the Vernal Equinox, today marks the moment when the Earth's axis is in just the right position to give us near equal hours of daylight and darkness. It also means we...

By Julie Whittet Two Kelowna residents got an official nod of recognition from RCMP yesterday, for helping police track down a bank robbery suspect last year. Jane Hahn and Sean Hansson were each presented with a Certificate of Appreciation at a private ceremony held by Superintendant Bill McKinnon yesterday morning. The ceremony commended Hahn and...

By Julie Whittet Look out for another three Saturdays of free parking coming soon to downtown Kelowna.  City council announced today the incentive aimed to encourage local residents and visitors to eat, shop and hang out downtown – despite the construction. Expect to park for free on April 6th, June 22nd, and a day in...

By Julie Whittet RCMP are looking at a potentially large list of fraud victims after catching a Kelowna man in a door-to-door card-skimming scheme on Saturday.  Police arrested 22-year-old James Alexander Graham, after being tipped off by a local resident who reported a suspicious man claiming to be collecting funds for the Ronald McDonald House...

By Julie Whittet A Surrey man who fired a gun at police while fleeing a Kelowna jewelry store robbery pleaded guilty to multiple offences in Kelowna Supreme Court this morning. Devan Markcus Wong fired at police on Dec. 6, 2011 while fleeing to West Kelowna after robbing Premier Jewelry and Loan. Wong managed to escape by...

By Julie Whittet The City of Kelowna is asking for public feedback on the amount of truck traffic passing through Ellis street.  As the downtown core expands with new commercial and residential developments, the city intends to re-direct industrial traffic headed for the North-end. A notice released by the city this week says the amount...

By Julie Whittet Citizens may soon expect to see bigger events in Kelowna, and more often. The city has recently decided it needs to pursue a more aggressive strategy if it wants to host popular cultural and sporting events. Don Backmeyer, the city's event development manager, says this is a new initiative for Kelowna. Up...

By Julie Whittet New hotels, apartments and upscale condos will mean busy days ahead for local shop owners in the Mission. The tourist-commercial developments planned near South Pandosy and through to the Lakeshore Drive near Rotary Beach are sure to bring new foot traffic to local businesses in Kelowna. From the 11-storey SOPA Square project...

Kelowna RCMP are looking for a robbery suspect or suspects after a business owner found computer equipment missing from his shop in downtown Kelowna. Mounties say on Monday morning the owner of marketing company Roketto, on Bernard Avenue, found the back door of his office ajar and four computers stolen. The owner recently upgraded the...

A Kelowna RCMP officer got a scare this morning when she stopped a man driving in the wrong direction on Leon Avenue. The officer asked the man to step out of his vehicle, and pulled out her gun—then she noticed he was in black uniform and appeared to be armed. When police detained the man,...

$130 MILLION DEVELOPMENT ALREADY APPROVED By Julie Whittet Two major development plans before the City of Kelowna this week could potentially re-shape the city's tourism with a focus far from downtown. On Monday, City councillors approved a public hearing for Westcorp's $150-million Hiawatha Park revitalization project, and Tuesday approved a $130-million expansion project for Manteo...

By Julie Whittet Current mobile-home owners residing in the Hiawatha RV Park have been offered a number of options for leaving the site, now slated for a major tourist-commercial development. Shortly after purchasing the park in 2007, Edmonton-based Westcorp launched a relocation strategy intended to meet the various needs of home owners.   Westcorp has...

By Julie Whittet A man caught for housing a large grow-op in the basement suite of a Peachland rental property will serve a one year at-home jail sentence. Judge Brad Chapman of the Kelowna Provincial Court sentenced Charles Vernon Bowlen today to six months of house arrest, followed by a six month curfew, for pleading...

By Julie Whittet City Council approved today a recommendation to continue two new bus services introduced as an experiment last September. In the first four months of their trial operation, the Quail Ridge Service and the Late Night 97 Express Service far exceeded the minimum ridership threshold of 12 rides/hour  required by the Kelowna Transit...

By Julie Whittet Kelowna city councillors are reviewing the Official City Plan for a large commercial development on Lakeshore Drive, across from Rotary Beach. Council passed a motion for the proposed large-scale retail, tourism and housing development in the site currently occupied by the Hiawatha RV Park to get first reading to public hearing March 26....

By Julie Whittet A trailer park on Lakeshore Drive across from Rotary Beach may soon be a new urban hub for visitors and residents of Kelowna. City council will meet today to review a proposal to create a large-scale retail, tourism and housing development in the site currently occupied by the Hiawatha RV Park. Real...

By Julie Whittet A West Kelowna man who fled police last year in a stolen truck is applying to appeal both his conviction and prison sentence in the B.C. Court of Appeal. But before he does, Frederick Raymond Gilliland needs a legal aid lawyer and after numerous delays in getting an answer on the free...

LEADS POLICE ON CHASE, DOUBLE SPEED LIMIT AND NO LICENCE By Julie Whittet A 28-year-old Kelowna man who fled police in a brazen car chase last year will spend 11 months in prison because a judge said "he hasn't learned his lesson." Cassidy Oliver told Kelowna Provincial Court judge Brad Chapman today that he accepts full...

By Julie Whittet A mother of three children who was caught selling drugs in Kelowna asked for a longer prison sentence to get help with her addiction. Karina Derby pleaded guilty to two charges of drug trafficking and asked to served time in a federal penitentiary of two or more years.  Under the federal system, she...