Elevate your local knowledge

Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!

Select Region

Selecting your primary region ensures you get the stories that matter to you first.

Julie Whittet

Julie Whittet

Sexy without the strip

NUVO BURLESQUE DANCE TEACHES SUBTLETY: SHOW EVERYTHING BUT NOTHING KELOWNA – On Monday night 30 Kelowna women assembled in ranks to meet their new sergeant. But with drills like nailing a pirouette in three-inch heels to the roar of jazz music, they're not your average bunch of soldiers.  They call themselves the Army of Sass...

Kelowna gets colourful for the first weekend of fall

KELOWNA – It's official, the cool evening temperatures are here to stay as the fall season begins Sunday - but don't head indoors just yet. With rain showers and a possible thunderstorm forecast for Saturday, you'll want to dress accordingly for the Grant Thornton Run in Colour. More than 500 have already signed up for...

Kelowna marches tonight to take back the night

KELOWNA - Tonight local residents, their friends and families are invited to make some noise after dark in the streets of downtown Kelowna. A 7 p.m. gathering at Stuart Park will kick off the annual Take Back the Night march calling attention to sexualized violence. The Central Okanagan Elizabeth Fry Society and Okanagan Roller Derby...

VERMA TRIAL: Dealers describe final transactions with Irving

KELOWNA – The only witness who dealt drugs to both Brittney Irving and the man alleged to have shot and killed her testified today in Kelowna Supreme Court. Former pot broker David Osborne told a fourteen member jury he met both Irving and Joelon Verma coincidentally at a Rutland tattoo shop about a week prior...

Vandal or street artist?

KELOWNA - Can you still call it vandalism when graffiti turns artistic? One Kelowna artist begs the question by turning street shadows permanent with ink. Or at least semi-permanent. You might have noticed the work on a busy downtown Kelowna street, jutting out - as a shadow would - from fire hydrants and bus benches....

Kelowna mayor has no words for anti-abortion group this year

KELOWNA - Anti-abortion activists demonstrating outside Kelowna General Hospital on Pandosy Street have another issue to protest. For the past six years Kelowna mayors have supported a local right to life group by proclaiming their Protect Human Life Week, but this year Mayor Walter Gray and council are rescinding that support. The city has decided...

YLW flying high on cheap airfare

KELOWNA - Airfares are down and affordability up for those travelling to and from the Kelowna Airport. With an average round trip for $432 (tax included) YLW now ranks as the second most affordable of popular Canadian and American border airports. It's a big jump from Kelowna's eighth place ranking in 2012. The findings are...

VERMA TRIAL: Clothing from crime scene shown to jury

KELOWNA – A stained dark green T-shirt with two tear marks found on the body of Brittney Irving was shown to a Kelowna Supreme Court jury today, one of the nearly 200 pieces of seized evidence in the trial for Joelon Verma. It's evidence the fourteen member jury will have to consider when deciding their...

Car meets Clancy’s meats

KELOWNA - Remains of the front entrance to Clancy's Meat Co. in the Mission were being scooped up by cleaning crews this evening. The shop's front doors were reduced to shards of glass after a woman drove her car well past the parking stall and into the store. Lyndsay Mokonen was working inside the shop...

VERMA TRIAL: Irving was secretive about her relationship with accused

KELOWNA – Brittney Irving wasn't usually secretive about her boyfriends, but she was with Joelon Verma, her brother told a Kelowna Supreme Court jury today. Continuing his testimony today, Joze Macculloch explained his sister was reluctant to share information about Verma, the man she said she was selling $100,000 of marijuana to. “She didn't want...

Expansion of Crystal Mountain resort stalls again

WEST KELOWNA - An expansion project proposed over five years ago for the westside's Crystal Mountain ski resort is close to reaching its expiry date. The Regional District of the Central Okanagan announced yesterday Crystal Ski & Golf Resort Inc. has a final six months to get the project off the ground before its zoning...

VERMA TRIAL: Brother describes last days with victim

"MY BABY SISTER WAS GONE, HOW DO YOU THINK I FELT?" KELOWNA – Brittney Irving was going to do one last drug deal—selling two large bags of marijuana—before checking into rehab, her brother told a Kelowna Supreme Court jury today. Joze Macculloch was one of the last people to see Irving before she disappeared in...

VERMA TRIAL: Irving’s drug use escalated before she was killed

KELOWNA – Brittney Irving was heavily addicted to drugs in the months leading up to her fatal shooting, a Kelowna court heard today. Irving's best friend Cassandra Berard told the jury how Irving's drug habit escalated in the last two months she saw her - taking up to 14 pills of oxycontin a day. Berard's...

VERMA TRIAL: Victim found shot to death in woods east of Kelowna

KELOWNA – Brittney Lee Irving handed over two garbage bags of marijuana to the man accused of shooting her four times, a jury heard in the first day of the murder trial of Joe Verma.  In her outline of the Crown's case today, prosecutor Mallory Treddenick told a Kelowna Supreme Court jury text messages recovered from...

VERMA TRIAL: Victim’s body found in early state of decomposition

KELOWNA – By the time police found Brittney Irving, her body was in an early stage of decomposition, a Kelowna Supreme Court jury heard today. A cluster of larvae found in the victim's nose at the crime scene indicated her body was left there for a number of days, pathologist Charles Lee said today in...

Last dance for OK cowboy bar star

HAVE YOU DANCED WITH ARNIE AT OK CORRAL? KELOWNA– If you're an Okanagan woman who likes to two-step to country rock, chances are you've danced with Arnie.   He's likely the only man who can walk into Kelowna's OK Corral cabaret with a guaranteed lineup of pretty girls vying for a dance. Now 79 years old,...

Mission sportsfield hosts Terry Fox Run this Sunday

KELOWNA - The beautiful sunny weather is expected to stick around this Sunday as runners and walkers of all ages, their pets included, meet for the 33rd annual Terry Fox Run. The Kelowna community is invited to celebrate the life and activism of Terry Fox by joining the race and raising money for cancer research....

Kelowna teen found

UPDATE: A Kelowna teen reported missing last Friday has now been found 9 a.m. September 12, 2013 Police are thanking both the media and public for their assistance in locating 18-year-old Jonah Bohn, reported missing by his family September 6. Bohn fled his home on rollerblades after refusing to take medication for his schizophrenia. Police...

New commercial plaza approved for Superstore site

KELOWNA – An empty lot beside the Harvey Avenue Superstore is destined for a new urban commercial development. After initially rejecting the project for inadequate pedestrian access, City Council approved revised plans today for three single story commercial buildings at 2280 Baron Road.  Revised designs promise more aesthetically pleasing store fronts, building corners, as well...

Abandoned Kelowna dog captures hearts province-wide

KELOWNA - Despite provincial media attention no owner has come forward to claim the white male poodle that made headlines last week after it was found severely injured in the yard of a Rutland home. The owner's three-day grace period has expired and the dog, nicknamed Buddy, is now property of the Regional District of...

UPDATE: Overnight street parking in downtown could costs taxpayers

UPDATE: The City is having second thoughts about overnight parking on the streets of downtown. City council is deciding to hold off on lifting restrictions on street parking between 3 and 6 a.m. in the downtown core. While Coun. Colin Basran says there are some concerns the restriction forces people to get behind the wheel...

Thief leaves West Kelowna woman without a wheelchair

KELOWNA – After being released from the hospital last week a West Kelowna woman came home to an unfortunate surprise: her $2,800 wheelchair was missing from her carport, leaving her without mobility. RCMP received the report last Friday, Sept. 6 but say the Stellar Manual Tilt Wheelchair could have been stolen sometime earlier that week....

Prime Minister could be paying the Okanagan a visit

WEST KELOWNA - Last April, Laureen Harper made a stop in the Okanagan and now the Prime Minister himself could be in town for a Conservatives caucus meeting next Friday. Okanagan-Coquihalla Conservative MP Dan Albas says next week's B.C. Yukon caucus meeting is an open invitation to all party members, including Stephen Harper. While Harper...