Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Opinion General
ARCHER: A lot of talk, how about some action?
The group TimeForChangePenticton has become a sort of phenomenon over the last few weeks. I “liked” the page early on and my Facebook feed has been blowing up with notifications of posts and pictures and comments. People are talking about issues that many argue were not being talked about (enough) before. All the talk is...
STAHN: Casino relocation shows the power we hold
Let’s not fool ourselves about who holds the power when it comes to politics, especially at the municipal level. The casino debate at City Hall recently makes clear it's not city staff, it's not city councillors but you—the vocal voting public—who has the power. On Tuesday, I watched a procession of nearly 30 people take...
HELSTON: Suspects walk without charges in high profile cases—what’s going on?
Over the course of a week, police let the suspects in two separate, serious incidents walk without charges. The first incident was a shooting in Polson Park Aug. 12. Police said multiple people were involved and several shots were fired. Later that day, one person was arrested in Vernon and three in Kelowna. The next...
GOG: How to reclaim the pub from the nannies and kiddies
I have been going to pubs since before I was born. I like pubs, or at least I used to. But there has been a slow erosion of everything pubs stand for, which culminated this week in a catastrophic sign appearing outside my favourite local watering hole. It read: “New! Childrens Menu.” Given the missing...
LOEWEN: Matroyshkas and news from Ukraine
We live amidst a seemingly endless stream of “news” sources, Info News among them. Their challenge is the same as it ever was: To present as factually as possible the irregular lurchings of a world resembling Harry Houdini attempting an escape from the ties that bind. Over the course of recent decades, many have come...
PARKER: Friends before selfies
The first picture of the four of us was taken by the front door in her house. We didn’t have to beckon for her mother to come and take it either. Two gothic Disney princesses, an alien dressed like sporty spice, and a cowgirl before they wore short shorts stood, arms around each other, smiling....
RAESIDE CARTOON
%%image2%% %%image3%%
GOG: Hey, red plates: size matters
Unfortunately our idyllic BC summer has yet again been spoiled by a nasty infestation of annoying pests. They are everywhere, buzzing around making everyone’s life a misery. No, not wasps. Not mosquitoes. Albertans. I have been considering what it is about them that raises my hackles. It’s not them being here that annoys me; since...
LOEWEN: What a little moonlight can do
It’s not easy being a rationalist in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. On one side of the imaginary equation you have the incalculable preponderance of churches large and small petitioning for your heart and soul (not to mention a healthy percentage of your take-home pay); on the other side one meets incalculable members of various New Ageist cliques vying for your brain.
PARKER: Pinning the tail on panic
This week, I heard a saying that inspired great thought. It went something like, “If it sounds like a gallop, it’s probably a horse — not a zebra.” I’ve been repeating it daily — not as a mantra, but as a reminder — because I like to panic about the little things, and I often...
BROTHEN: Waiting for facts is hard, but probably best
We demand answers when we see the damage at Mount Polley but inevitably those answers take longer than we like as they test and measure and study. And while we wait to understand the full scope of the carnage created when the tailings pond at the mine near Likely, B.C. failed, flooding forests and rivers...
HELSTON: A rail trail might be easier than we thought
While the scenic, lakeside railway between Vernon and Kelowna rolls closer to being put on the market, the fact remains there’s not much prospective buyers could do with the property. The land, which carves its way through several Okanagan communities past lakes and parks, comes with a few strings attached. The City of Kelowna has...