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.

Opinion General

POULSEN: Water as a cult religion

The story about the success of Kokanee spawning in Okanagan Lake this fall included some other interesting news: Okanagan Lake had been drawn down through the Penticton dam. With all the near-hysterical clamour about drought and impending doom for our water supply throughout last summer, how bad can things be when operators drain water from...

LOEWEN: True Canadians and ‘sunny ways’ ahead

In recent months and years, much has been made in the media about what constitutes a true Canadian. Under the federal leadership of now former-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the whole debate veered into increasingly dangerous territory. It began with bellicose projections of xenophobic fantasies about dark-skinned terrorists in our midst, and eventually settled upon the...

PARKER: Practice, not perfect, what you preach

The phrase “preaching to the choir” has been uttered through my lips so many times it has begun to sound like the word spoon does when spoken repetitively — meaningless, void of any substance and flippant. The phrase “practice what you preach” has similarly gotten some good use over the past 28 years. It is...

HELSTON: Light a candle and remember Taylor this Halloween

Whenever a rainbow paints the sky, Marie Van Diest is reminded of her daughter Taylor. Rainbows, particularly doubles, seem to appear during significant moments, often when Marie needs them the most. “Whenever I see the sun breaking out from the rain, I start looking and wonder if she’s saying hello. I know she is,” Marie...

BEPPLE: How Cavers just made his job harder

I can't remember when I have received an email with from a coworker, let alone a superior containing swear words. No matter how tense these things get, there are other ways to say things. Respectful workplaces are important everywhere, including in politics. In August Coun. Donovan Cavers was sending multiple emails to City of Kamloops...

POULSEN: Crime and punishment in our politically correct schools

The outlaw Aliya Nigro - a.k.a. the Carrot Kid - is the latest victim of crime and punishment in a school system. In the annals of school kids run amok, 14-year-old Aliya may be the first student ever charged with criminal assault by a small vegetable, to wit, as her prosecutor might say: a weaponized...

ANDERSON: Election post mortem

Well, now the election is over and it's time to look at the dynamics involved. First, let's put the results in perspective, because I've heard the term "collapse" applied to the Conservative Party's (CPC) loss, and that's just plain silly. In point of fact the Conservatives emerged from this election with approximately the same number...

PARKER: To Scream or not to Scream isn’t the question

In October, 1998, a 10-year-old girl decided the Wes Craven film, Scream, was a good fit for her Halloween themed birthday party. As both her parents were out until 10 p.m. and her older sister was being a typical 16-year-old chaperone, no one was there to advise the wiser. Fifteen Grade 5 girls gathered under...

STAHN: More questions should be asked before we vote on the performing arts centre

When it comes to referendums the city has a stake in the outcome. Council has already decided a project should go ahead and is lobbying the taxpayers to agree. Council, and therefore city staff, are essentially asking the public to agree with them, to sign the deal and move forward. And just like any contract,...

JONESIE: How Kelowna-Lake Country went from Conservative blue to Liberal red

To understand how a traditionally right-wing riding like Kelowna-Lake Country turned from Conservative blue to Liberal red this week, you cannot ignore the issues imposed on the riding from afar. Former UBC political science instructor Wolf Depner says in many ways, the election came down to a referendum on Stephen Harper and the riding was swayed...